by Kailin Gow
Too late. I beat him to the punch.
I had already spent the day with Summer, arriving into town this morning and having breakfast with her. My excuse? Anything, but it turns out I have something legitimate for an excuse. I’m here visiting campus, trying to decide whether or not to go to USC for early admissions. That’s a legitimate one, but the other one I give Summer is that I wanted to celebrate her birthday with her early. She’s turning eighteen, like Rachel and I had a few weeks ago.
Man, I do not know how it’s possible, but Summer looks even more stunning now than she’s been during summer. She’s gotten more toned everywhere, and her face has that golden tan. That’s just the natural part of her. The rest, the hair and the way she dresses…it’s like she’s become super sexy. She’s definitely now the girl who walks into a bar (not that she can be at one right now being under 21) and all the guys will be ogling her. I don’t think I like that idea. Seeing her all sexed up looking drives me over the top with want for her, but at the same time, I want her to tone it down. I’ll be fighting every single guy who looks at her that way.
“Since losing Aunt Sookie,” Summer says when I asked how she’s doing, “I poured more of my time and energy into being on the volleyball team just so I wouldn’t miss her. Then we got good, really good and kept winning all the games. It wasn’t until some scout from USC came by and told me they were building their women’s volleyball team there and wanted me to be part of it, that the reality of me winning a scholarship to USC to play volleyball, became a reality. Scholarship to USC and all.”
“Sounds like you’re doing great,” I say, a bit disappointed she didn’t mention how much she missed me. I have a bit of an ego, I know, when it comes to women and how many of them keep throwing themselves at me. But all that doesn’t matter when it comes down to Summer. She’s what counts to me, and I have almost nearly given up all girls and all sex because of her. She’s the reason why I haven’t slept with a girl for a while.
Although she’s been dating Astor Fairway for a while, I still have hope she’s going to come around and notice me standing there, always there for her when she needs me, always there for her when she wants someone who can really show her what passion is. Because someday when we make love, I’m certain I can and will rock her world.
I keep hoping and I know things are changing. I can feel it deep within my bones she’s changing.
So when I get a text from her a couple of days ago, I dropped everything to see her again.
Drew, Summer texted: How are you? I need some advice. Maybe you can help?
I texted back: How can I help?
I find out the next day after her text that USC has offered me a football scholarship, and even early admission with some conditions. The news couldn’t come at a better time. In fact, it’s the news I’ve been waiting for since I left Summer and Malibu at the end of summer. It tore my heart that I couldn’t stay with Summer, that I couldn’t be there physically for her right after Aunt Sookie’s death.
I never let anyone, not Mom, not Dad, not Nat or Rachel know my plans to come back to Malibu, to move there and hopefully be with Summer. It makes sense. I’ll move back and help out at the acting academy while I attend college at USC. But I had to get into USC, whether it is because of football or any other way. I was that determined. And it paid off.
USC granted me a scholarship and early admissions. Turns out I had enough AP credits from the year before and even this semester for a half a semester early graduation from high school. I didn’t know it, but someone had rigged it so that I had several extra credits to graduate early, and at first I thought it was Dad. What with him being a billionaire and his connections. But it doesn’t make sense. He would want me to stay in San Francisco for as long as he can so he can make sure I attend his Alma Mater Stanford, play professional football, and enter the family business. Not graduate early, traipse off to Southern California, attend another college besides Stanford, and spend my free time teaching acting at some acting school. Dad’s practical, and what I have planned, is not practical at all. No, it couldn’t be Dad’s hand in helping me graduate early and get settled into my college of choice early. It has to be someone else. But who?
Whoever helped me couldn’t have had better timing.
I had to admit I was going crazy in San Francisco. Busy with trying to get my grades top notch and getting references and everything needed to get that football scholarship to USC, but my mind and heart was here in Malibu. It has been hard leaving, especially when I left so many pieces of it here throughout the years, many of them with Summer. I couldn’t go back to being the way I was before last summer. Drew Donovan, football hero, the body, the one-night stand artist. Although I get looks and smiles from girls all the time, and they still come up to me to hand me their phone number, I just can’t go back to sleeping with them and have it not mean anything.
Rachel will be so proud of that, and I know she has Summer to thank for that. Because right now, the only girl I want to sleep with is Summer, and that means more than just a one night stand. It means forever.
It is the best thing that could have happened to me, and once I move to Southern California, I can spend more time with Summer, be there for her. Let her see that I’ve changed, that I’m the kind of guy she can be proud to be with and to lean on. I don’t know if I’d get that chance since she’s caught up in that whirlwind of glamour and celebrity that is Hollywood with Astor Fairway and all. But it doesn’t matter because sooner or later, she will see it, and she will see through that glamour and realize there isn’t anything special about Astor except for his celebrity.
*****
I don’t waste time. The very next day, I call Steven the pilot at Donovan Dynamics, to get us to Los Angeles for me to tour the USC Campus, and to see Summer. It’s a Thursday, and I tell Steven it’s an emergency since I have to be at USC today so I can make a decision.
Steven doesn’t seem to worry about me taking Dad’s private jet. I figure that’s what it’s there for anyways. And I figure, heck with it. Dad owes us that at least, especially with what he put Mom through with the divorce, the affair, and all that. I have a weekend duffle bag packed and ready to go, and in no time, I’m here in Southern California, having breakfast with Summer, and touring USC.
It’s a whirlwind day, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I am excited about being able to go to USC on a football scholarship. I think they don’t hand out too many of those. I’m impressed with everything I see, but at the moment, that’s just something on top of the pie that I see as being there with Summer. If I stay, then seeing Summer is all that I need. The apple pie to my vanilla ice cream with cherry on top.
Chapter 4
Drew
Earlier that Same Day
I would be lying if I didn’t admit to being turned on by Summer and wanting to get her into my pants. I’ve already thought of Summer in that way. What other way can a guy think of a girl?
Then I arrive at Los Angeles, after I get her text, with an insane idea of actually following up with the recruit from USC for a tour and interview, and see Summer looking like that. Tanned, toned, curves in the right places and that small waist…lips, hair, eyes all packaged up like a siren. If she’s a siren, I heard her call, and I’m diving in hook, line, and sinker.
“It’s Astor’s stylist…” Summer said. “She went through my clothes, changed it up, and had me get my hair and face done. If I’m going to be with him, they want me to look good with him,” she says.
“Oh, baby,” I say, letting the word ‘baby’ slip out. The old Summer will have my hide for saying that to her. “You don’t have to change a thing. You’re perfect the way you are.” My voice has gotten lower.
“Thank you,” Summer says. “Coming from someone who’s judged purely on looks alone, I take that as a compliment. Astor doesn’t think I need to change, but his people are getting all over him once that blockbuster film he’s in premieres. I’m glad I’m not caught up in all
that right now. He’s there, and I’m here. They’re not on me if I’m not with him.”
“You’re not with him?” I ask, trying not to sound all too happy about it.
“I don’t know if we ever were,” Summer says. “Maybe for a while, but now we hardly see each other.”
I pull her in and pat her back, careful not to have my hands drift down too low where it will slightly brush the top of her tight jeans-clad bottom. I’m all too aware how we’re at a height where she will be perfect against me, her hips meeting mine right at a perfect angle. “Um, sorry to hear. But now you don’t have to worry so much about how you’ll look just for him. I know how it is, Summer. Just being judged for what’s outside all the time, and not what’s inside.”
“I kinda like this new and improved wild look of mine. I think it’s a statement of freedom and boldness. Ever since Aunt Sookie died, I’ve been thinking of living my life like hers…not caring what other people think of me and living without regrets.”
“No regrets?” I ask, thinking I do like this new and bold Summer. “So you getting all sexy like that is having no regrets?” I move closer.
“Yes, what’s wrong with a woman wanting to express herself? I don’t want any hang-ups about things. Life’s too short. I want to experience life.” She steps closer to me and touch my shoulders. “You still get girls coming up to you, handing you their numbers?” She smirks.
“As a matter of fact, just on my way to see you when I had to get some gas for the car. Some girls at the gas station.
“The nerve of them,” Summer jokes, smiling. “Can’t they just leave you alone? Don’t they know you want to be taken seriously for your mind and only for your mind?”
“Exactly,” I joke. “I turned them down and ran them away. Proud of me?”
“Very,” Summer grins, lifting a finger to straighten my shirt. Her finger brushes across my chest and lingers there for a moment. I’m watching her as she looks at my chest and to my face again smiling this shy smile. She looks like she wants to touch me some more, and I’m waiting, wanting her to.
All this talk about physical appearances has me checking her out further, and I’m a guy after all. Not that she seem to know it, but she truly blossomed into one of the best damn body I’ve seen on a woman anywhere and anytime. She’s like one of those lingerie models, except with a personality and cool like one of the guys. She can be wearing dirty sweaty sweats, and I’d be eating it off like it’s the most delicious chocolate confection mankind has ever made. One whiff of her sweet flower scent, I think it’s jasmine or hibiscus or something tropical, makes me want to tear off that tank top she’s wearing and lick every inch of her flesh to kingdom come. Just thinking about her makes me have to adjust my pants in front. And for a guy who likes to keep his cool in that department, it’s unsettling how much of an effect she has on me.
So when I see her for the first time this morning and then after her school ends, meeting back at the Pad, I am knock breathless seeing her dressed in a turquoise blue bikini top that barely covers her perfectly round breasts. And the denim shorts she wears…I can tear that off with my teeth and eat it for a snack then dive right in for whatever lies underneath.
“Hi,” Summer says smiling and reaching over to hug me. “I can’t believe you’re here. Sorry I only had time for breakfast with you this morning, but now that I’m done with school for the day, how about we grill something up and spend the day relaxing by the pool?”
“Sure,” I say. “I’ll start up the grill and get everything going. You go and relax.”
“Drew,” Summer says. “You’re guest. I can’t have you doing all the work while you’re here for the day.”
“I like to cook,” I say. “Especially here. I don’t get much of a chance at home because of Mom and her cook, but here, out here at this house, I can be me.”
“And cooking is you?” Summer smiles. It’s that smile that lights up the room, the smile that I missed for months since going back home.
“Uh huh,” I say, can’t help how I feel at that moment, remembering why I’m here. The room is lit by the golden orange rays of dawn light, and Summer’s hair picks up the light, making it glow softly around her face. She’s stunning, so mesmerizing I almost forget that I once pulled her hair so hard when we were seven years old, that clumps of it came out. She was so sad that she cried for days, and I felt so bad. I reach out to touch a strand of her hair now, feeling the softness between my fingers. “Your hair,” I say, running my fingers through her hair now, and pulling her face close to mine.
Summer closes her eyes, and I can feel her breathing getting harder. “Hmm?” she sighed.
I want to kiss her. Will she let me? She’s not with Astor, not really, and do I care? “Summer?”
“What?” she says, enjoying my hands gently caressing her hair and scalp in a slow luxurious massage. I move my lips and press them softly against her hairline, small kisses I try hard to control.
“Drew…”
“Hmm,” I keep kissing, now headed towards her jawline. “I’m glad it grew back.”
Summer opens her eyes and pulls back slightly, but remains in my arms. “What grew back?”
“Your hair,” I smiled. “Your beautiful hair that I pulled out when you were seven.”
“Oh that,” Summer laughs. “You caused me some major heartache even then. You and Nat.”
“Even then?” I continue kissing her jawline while my hands move down to the curve of her hips.
“Yes,” Summer says, and she leans into me, pressing her hands against my chest. “My hair back then, and now…”
My heartbeat is raised and I can feel the pounding in my ears as the heat between us go from warm to hot. My head is confused at first. I have always been the one chasing after Summer, but now, it seems her body is responding exactly as I wanted it to, and she isn’t fighting it.
“Drew,” she says, “I really missed you.” She puts her head down on my chest, resting it there while I wrap my arms around her. “I didn’t know how much until you left to go back home. This, being here with you now, letting you hold me like this, like you did during summer, it feels good. It feels safe, like I have everything back again.” She drops her head down, burying it into my chest, and I feel her shoulders shake.
I realize she’s crying, and it takes all the lust I felt a moment ago, away. In its place is just my entire body, my mind, and my being wanting to make her pain go away. “It’s okay, Sum,” I say, stroking her back and pulling her closer. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m back, and I won’t ever leave you again.”
I mean it, too. I know at that moment, I mean it more than anything. But I also know, it may be impossible for me to promise her that when there are so many other things that will make it difficult.
But I’m not one to cower from challenges. It’s one thing that pushes me forward, get my game going… “How’s Astor?” I ask. I know I’ve asked it before, but I want it clear that she and Astor are not at all as serious as I’ve heard in the news. If she let me kiss her like that earlier, then, I know she’s not exclusively with him.
Summer stiffens in my arms. “Astor’s doing very well. He won that lead role in that film with the werewolves and has been in Vancouver filming. I’ve visited him a few times there, but last weekend, it got a little much. That film must be a big deal because all of a sudden, he’s being hounded by the paparazzi, and there are girls following him and us everywhere.” Summer takes a breath before continuing. “I support Astor’s career in every way, and I know what he’s doing will make Aunt Sookie proud, but I just can’t deal with all that, with the girls, the fame, the jealousy right now on top of what happened with Aunt Sookie, school work, volleyball, and what’s going on with the academy…”
“It’s okay,” I say. “You don’t have to deal with all that now. One step at a time, and if Astor can’t understand that, then…”
“He’s not even going to be here for my birthday tomorrow,” Summer says. “It
’s the day they shoot the big romantic scene between him and Lauren Banks.”
Lauren Banks? Even I have heard of her or at least seen photos of her lithe slinky body and sculpted face staring out of a tabloid paper from the supermarket. Astor Fairway seemed to be doing very well if he’s in a major film with her.
“That’s fine, Sum,” I just hold her, letting her cry against me. Summer has been through so much more than I thought, and I am feeling pretty badly now. Astor’s not the only one who seemed to have abandoned her. I left Summer too, right after burying Aunt Sookie, thinking in some perverse way that Summer will be alright because she’s always been that way, and in an even more perverse way because Astor Fairway will be with her. Now that I see he can’t be there for her, like I thought he could, I feel even worse.
I want to kiss her so badly like before, but I know that will only complicate things further…with all that she’s going through. So I lead her to the sofa where I pull her up against me while stroking her back.
I don’t know how long I have been stroking her back in hard and then gentle strokes across her shoulders and upper back, loosening all the tension that has knotted up in her. All I know is that I love the feel of her in my arms and the smell of her as I rest my cheeks against the back of her head. Soon we are asleep on the sofa with her in my lap, and me spread out fully on it. She must be exhausted to have fallen asleep like that.
By the time I wake up, it is late, and the house is pitch black. Summer is snuggled up against me, her cheek resting against my chest, and the rest of her on top of me. I look down, and I see her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she breathes in and out peacefully. I want to touch those delicate lashes, to reach out to see if this doll on top of me is real. She looks so young and peaceful in her sleep, it makes me feel that everything will be alright.