by Destiny Webb
“You know, I don’t see the point behind this either.”
“Oh, don’t you start on me,” she shushed me.
“I’ll see you later?” Sean asked me, pouting.
“Promise,” I smiled, blowing him a kiss from inside the Jeep.
“You guys are sickening,” Cara balked from the driver’s side.
“You’re just jealous.”
“Oh yes. That’s exactly it. All of these years I have been hopelessly pining after Sean. Oh the jealousy!” she mocked.
I laughed at her as she turned up the song on the radio. Singing along with it at the tops of our lungs, we sped towards her place.
***
By the time we got to the party, it was already in full swing. Music was blaring all the way outside. People were everywhere, leaving little red plastic cups scattered all over.
I had thought that what Cara had picked out for me was too skimpy until I saw the girls who were already there dressed in short shorts, miniskirts, and skimpy, flashy tops. It made me feel less exposed in my too short, strapless, crème colored dress, paired up with a pair of wedges that made me Cara’s height when she wasn’t wearing her ever-present heels.
When we got inside, it seemed like everything was going on. There were people playing pool, beer pong, quarters. Straight ahead of us a bunch of people were dancing in the living room, and I could see Jonathon. I knew that Sean would be somewhere nearby.
“I’m gonna go find Sean,” I told Cara, pulling away from her. She rolled her eyes at me, laughing. “You gonna go find Chad?”
“Oh, no. I broke up with him today,” she informed me nonchalantly, already scoping the room for a new guy to hang on.
“What?! Why?”
“He kept asking me about the rest of the summer and the fall. I mean, we both knew this trip was going to end, right?”
I laughed. It was so Cara. Despite her saying he was so wonderful and everything, he was just a summer fling. And of course, with college looming, that meant there would be college boys in the future, and Cara could never resist a college boy.
We headed in opposite directions, and I found Sean standing with my brother watching a game of beer pong.
“Hey,” I said, sliding up to him. He looked down at me and completely skipped over greetings.
“Wow.”
“What?”
“It’s just…I never usually see you dressed up like this. You look really good.”
“So, you’re saying I don’t look good when I’m not dressed up?” I asked, pretending to be offended.
“No, no, no. That’s not it at all, Sammy. I love the way you look all the time, even when you’re in sweats and some old ratty t-shirt…especially in sweats and an old t-shirt.”
Blushing, I smiled. He pulled me in closer so my face was a few inches from his.
“I love you just the way you are.”
“I love you too.”
He leaned down and kissed me softly. My brother coughed loudly.
“Come on guys. Could you not get all gross on us tonight?”
I looked at him with my eyebrow raised. It was obvious that he was joking; he had his arm wrapped around Alisha and a smirk on his face.
“Fine,” I said, laughing at him. “We’ll take our grossness somewhere else.”
I grabbed Sean’s hand and started towards the dance floor.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To go dance.”
“Uh…do I have to?”
“Sean! Come on. You never dance with me,” I protested.
“That’s not true,” he denied.
“When was the last time we danced together?”
“I danced with you at that one dance.”
“The dance that was my freshman year?”
“Yeah…,” he trailed off, seeing that he was going to lose this battle. I shot him a look. “Okay. I don’t dance.”
“I know for a fact that that is a lie.”
He didn’t respond.
“Why are you being so anti-dancing?” I asked him, whining slightly.
He glanced away and I followed his gaze to where Tasha was standing with his sister. I knew he was remembering the dance I had mentioned when she came up to us while we were dancing. She had let both of us know who he belonged to. After that, I never even saw him dance with another girl.
“Is it because of Tasha?”
“What? No.”
“And we have nothing to hide?”
“Of course not,” he replied, looking down at me.
“Then Sean?”
“Yeah Sam?”
“Let’s dance.”
Not letting him protest, I pulled him towards the makeshift dance club. The lights were dimmed and there were strobe lights flashing all over the room. The music was going so loud you could feel the beat through the floor.
Once we were in a position where we could dance, I pulled Sean close to me, wrapped my arms around his neck, and started dancing. At first, he was reluctant, but then got over it and started dancing with me. I glanced to the left and saw Tasha standing in a corner with Cassie.
She glanced away from Cassie and caught my eye. I smiled at her, wiggling my fingers in her direction. Glaring at me, she stormed off in the opposite direction.
“What are you smiling at?” Sean asked me.
“Nothing,” I smirked. “I’m just happy.”
“Yeah. Sure,” he said, not believing me, but he left it at that, enjoying the moment. We danced for a while until it got too crowded in the room and we could barely move. Once that happened, we made our way off the dance floor and to the other side of the room, where we found Brian and Alisha.
“Man, I forgot that you could dance.”
“Yeah. You seem to forget a lot,” I teased sarcastically.
He laughed at me, kissing the top of my head.
“I’m gonna go get a drink. You want anything?”
“No. I’m okay.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back.”
I made my way through the crowd towards the kitchen, where I found Cara in line.
“Hey. How’s your night?”
“It’s been pretty good. There are some interesting guys here.”
I laughed at her. “That’s good.”
“Yeah, but I think I’m just going to hang out with you guys for the night. I’m kind of over it. You know?”
“Yeah. Well that’s good.” I smiled at her. “We miss you when you’re off being a social butterfly.”
“I know. I can’t help it though. It’s in my genes,” she laughed.
We made our way through the line and were heading out the doorway. I could see Sean across the room, smiling at me. I returned the smile when someone behind me addressed me.
“You have to know I’ll get him back.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Sean must have seen her or my face. He knew something was up and started making his way towards us quickly. Cara turned around before I did.
“Excuse me?” she said as I turned around.
Tasha didn’t even look at her. She stared at me, a smug expression on her face.
“Sean,” she clarified. “I’ll get him back, if it’s the last thing I do. It won’t be hard. He and I were meant to be together. Why would he want to be with someone like you?”
I saw red. Who did this crazy psycho think she was?
“What’s going on?” Sean asked, coming up behind me.
“Hold this for me please, baby,” I said, calmly handing him my cup.
“Sure, why?”
Before he had even finished his sentence, I had turned back around, brought my right fist back and swung as hard as I could. In one fluid motion, I connected solidly with Tasha’s nose. Everyone turned to look at us as she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground.
“You bitch!” she groaned from behind her hands. “You broke my nose!”
“It’ll be an improvement,” Cara remarked snidely from the sidelines.
<
br /> “Take it as a warning Tasha. Stay away from me. And stay away from my boyfriend.”
I turned back around to Sean, who had shock covering his face, and grabbed my cup, taking a drink.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Man, you’re so much more fun to have around than Tasha ever was.”
“Thanks,” I said, not really paying attention anymore. Jonathon had seen the scene across the room, along with my brother. Quickly, they had joined us, and in their shock, no one could seem to just let it go.
“Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like that,” Cara said.
“Yeah…,” I replied. Sean noticed my growing irritation with our friends and wrapped his arm around me, leaning his head down to whisper in my ear.
“You want to get out of here?”
“Desperately,” I pleaded, loud enough for him to hear me.
“Alright,” he said kissing my cheek. “Okay guys, Sammy and I are gonna head out.”
“Aw,” they all groaned. “Take the fun away.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
“Don’t let her hit anyone else,” my brother told him, and I rolled my eyes.
“You keep it up and I’m gonna hit you next.”
“Oh, I’m so scared,” he replied sarcastically. “You’re what, ninety-five pounds soaking wet?”
“Ninety-six, thank you very much.”
Brian snorted as Sean and I made our departure.
Quietly, we walked down to the lake. As we walked, I tried to forget about the Tasha incident. I finally felt vindicated. Hopefully, she would take the hint and stay away.
I glanced up at Sean, who was still being completely silent. The fact that he was holding my hand was the only thing that even kept me aware of his presence. There was a smirk across his face that took me off guard.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said, smiling at me.
“Yeah, okay,” I allowed, not believing him. We continued to walk in silence until he snickered again.
“What?!” I asked again, stopping in my tracks.
“Nothing. Nothing,” he tried to assure me. “I promise.”
“Alright.” I hesitated, still not fully convinced. He pulled me into him and gave me a kiss. I leaned into him and smiled, putting my hands on his shoulders. We were kissing for about three seconds when he started laughing hysterically. I pulled away from him.
“What are you laughing at?!”
“I just, I can’t…I…!”
“Sean!”
“I just keep replaying it in my mind. You should have seen the look on her face when she realized that you were swinging at her, when she realized it was two seconds too late. It was… it was priceless!”
I stared at him blankly until he stopped laughing.
“Are you finished?”
“Yes,” he tried to answer soberly.
“Good. Now, can we please just forget that it even happened?”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed quickly.
“Thank you,” I smiled and went to kiss him again. I was only about an inch from his face when he started laughing uncontrollably again. Frustrated, I threw my arms up in the air and started to walk away.
“You’re ridiculous!” I exclaimed, trying not to laugh as I headed in the opposite direction.
“Sam. Wait! I’m sorry! I’ll be good. No more laughing, I promise!”
“Nope. You lost your chance, buddy.”
“Ha!” he said, grabbing me by the waist and picking me up, “That’s what you think!”
“Hey! Put me down!”
“What are you going to do? Hit me?”
At that statement, I lost my composure and joined him in his laughter.
“It was pretty funny, wasn’t it?”
“It was hilarious.” He sat me down and we continued walking towards the dock.
“Are you nervous about school?” he asked me, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I guess. A little.”
“You know, you don’t need to be.”
We were at the edge of the dock and Sean wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Why’s that?”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. Your own personal college guide,” he grinned at me.
“You promise? I am going to hold you to that. You know my sense of direction.” I raised my eyebrows at him.
“I promise. I feel like I might be taking on a full time job, though.”
“You will be,” I confirmed, laying my head on his chest, laughing. He made me feel so safe. I was savoring the moment, staring at the sky, when I saw a spark flash across it.
“Did you see that?” I asked Sean, lifting my head up.
“The shooting star? Yeah.”
“Did you make a wish?”
“Why?” he asked, looking down into my eyes, “I already have everything I’ve ever wished for.”
He gave me a look that let me know he meant me. Beaming, I stretched up on my toes to reach him and he leaned down to kiss me softly. I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck, anchoring myself to him, where I intended to stay for a long time to come. Fireworks started going off all around the lake, illuminating everything in dazzling colors. Pulling back, I pressed my forehead to his, nuzzling his nose with mine.
“I love you Sean.”
“I love you too Samantha.”
With the fireworks blasting around us, we smiled at each other and went back to kissing, looking forward to the adventures that lay ahead of us.
***
The next morning was the last minute chaos that it always was on the last day. Everyone was scrambling to find their missing items, trying to get their things packed in their bags the way they had when they packed in the first place, even though they never would. “Where’s my charger?” or “Has anyone seen my brush?” could be heard all around the house as everyone scrambled to get their searching done before breakfast. While on a search for a pair of my sandals, I found my mom sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee.
“Hey Mom,” I said cheerfully, sliding into the chair beside her.
“Hey baby.”
“What are you doing out here? Did you already get all your packing done?”
“Yeah. I finished it last night. I’m just taking a moment to think about things.”
“Oh. Did you talk to Charles last night?”
“Yeah, he called. We discussed the terms of our divorce. He’s having his lawyer write up the papers.”
“He’s what?”
“He wants a divorce.”
“He wants to divorce you? Wow. What an ass.”
“It’s alright sweetheart. We both saw it coming a long time ago. I was just thinking about all of the good times we had here…the good summers. My wish for you is that you’ll find someone that treats you right, and that you’ll never settle for less. You deserve more than that Samantha. You seem to be doing a good job of that with Sean.”
I blushed. “Yeah, I think so too.”
“I know you do. Now, let’s go eat. I smell some bacon and it’s making me hungry.”
Laughing, we stood up to make our way inside.
“Mom?”
“Yeah Sam?”
Surprising her, I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
An hour and a half later, after an amazing breakfast, we were all fed and ready to go. We carried our bags out to the cars, loaded the quads into the truck, and locked everything up. We stood outside of the cabin for a short moment, each of us taking in our own summer. It had been a summer of changes, that was for sure. Some of them were good, some of them, not so much. In the end though, things would turn out okay.
Brian, Sarah, Sean, and I said our goodbyes to our parents and made our way over to the truck. Sean followed me to the passenger side, where he lifted me into the seat, giving me a quick kiss.
> “I don’t see why she gets to sit in the front. Bros before hoes, man,” my brother complained from the back seat.
“Did you really just call me a hoe?” I asked, turning around to face him, appalled.
“For lack of a better term, yes, yes I did. It’s just an expression.”
Knowing he was joking, I rolled my eyes at him.
“Sam is Sean’s girlfriend now. Didn’t you know that means she gets all the preferred seating?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled, pouting.
“You might want to get used to it, Brian. I have a feeling she’ll be around for a while,” Sean warned. I laughed and sat back straight in my seat. Sean started the truck and made his way towards the road.
I took one last look at the cabin in my side view mirror. I didn’t know whether I would be back or not. The cabin was probably listed somewhere in the terms of the divorce settlement. It could very well be going into my mom’s name, but everything would be different now. Even if she did get it, I didn’t think we would come back. It was the last summer; the last summer of my childhood, the last summer of my parents’ marriage, the last summer before going off to college and starting the rest of my life…the next chapter. Nothing would be the same.
Sean reached down between us and grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. I looked up at him and smiled. Despite everything changing, I was excited. Life was an adventure, and with Sean by my side, I knew that everything would turn out okay.
THE END
♥ ♥ ♥
About the Author
Destiny Webb grew up in Ventura, California. She is currently living in Bakersfield, California where she spends most of her time with friends and family. She is attending Bakersfield College and majoring in Biology with hopes to pursue a career in Pharmacy. My Wish for You is her debut novel.
Table of Contents
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imag...
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven