This Summer At The Lake

by Daphne James Huff

  Logan raised an eyebrow, and her heart raced as she grasped for the threads of an idea to pull together.

  “My dad’s an alum and there’s this alumni…match…thing. But he’s really busy this summer. He told me all about it though, wanted me to reach out since we already know each other from school.”

  She was talking at super speed now, her stomach churning at the spontaneous lie. It was never this hard to make things up for her parents or teachers. Amazingly, he seemed to be following what she was saying, despite the rapid-fire delivery.

  “Alumni match? I haven’t heard of that.” He frowned.

  Ignoring how cute he looked when he was confused, Cassie waved her hand, her heart rate slowing somewhat.

  “It’s a new thing. I’m sure you got a letter or something at home, but you’re here for the summer. Call your mom to check.”

  “No, she has enough to worry—” He stopped short and shifted in his seat. “I mean, she’ll let me know if I get anything from them.”

  Cassie drove a while longer in silence, thinking through the details of this invented alumni summer connection. It was kind of brilliant, actually. A way for her to check in on him without it looking like that’s what she was doing. She’d be able to see if he needed more money for the doctor or a ride somewhere. And it was a good excuse for hanging out with him if Spencer asked. And she really hoped Spencer would ask. Soon.

  “Why didn’t you just say that when you came by this morning?”

  Cassie shrugged.

  “I was more worried about getting you to the doctor. You looked really bad last night.”

  He was silent for a minute.

  “Thanks for worrying about me.”

  “Well, Lions look out for each other.” Cassie cringed at the sugary sweetness of her voice. She sounded fake even to herself, but she couldn’t expect to break a years-long habit in just a few hours. Giving people what they wanted and expected was what she did best, after all.

  Logan raised an eyebrow.

  “‘Lions look out for each other?’”

  “Yeah, it’s lame, but you gotta get used to it. Welcome to Columbia!” She smiled her perfected cheerleader smile just as she turned into his driveway. He didn’t react, just stared out the window, not getting out of the car.

  “So what does this whole match thing involve?” he said slowly.

  Her heart raced as fast as her mind did, scrambling for something to say. But she’d been in trickier situations before. The rush of competition and pressure was as familiar to her as the shores of the lake. So why was it so much harder to lie to Logan?

  “It’s just a few check-ins over the summer with an alumnus. To answer your questions about the school, or about New York, whatever.”

  “You know New York.” It was a statement, not a question, and he said it with a sigh behind his words.

  “Oh yeah, really well.” Cassie was at her chattiest, brightest best. The peppier you were, the less people noticed anything was wrong with what you were saying. “We go maybe once a year, sometimes twice. For Mom and Dad to see friends, and to go shopping. It’s fun. You’ll like it.”

  Logan nodded slowly. Cassie held her breath. Could this actually work? It would make her dad happy. And helping Logan would help her feel a little better about what she’d done, too. She’d put in some time with him this summer, and it would be like the accident had never happened. Spencer would get jealous enough to break up with her and turn to Marissa for comfort. Everyone would get what they wanted.

  “So you’ll be there to answer my questions instead? Or do I need your dad’s number or something?”

  Cassie shook her head.

  “He is so crazy busy this summer, he’s barely even up here at the lake,” she lied, thinking about the days that went by with no sign of her dad returning to Helena for work. He’d been on the couch when she’d left that afternoon, watching ESPN and eating cereal.

  “Could I get your number then?” Logan stumbled a bit over the words.

  The little flutter in her stomach caught Cassie by surprise. A guy hadn’t asked for her number since freshman year. She knew it wasn’t because Logan was into her—he clearly still wasn’t a big fan—but it was a nice reminder that she had her whole life ahead of her for guys to be asking for her number. Spencer would be ancient history by the time she got to New York.

  “Just add me on messenger,” she said, not wanting to appear too available. No sense getting too close, even if they did end up heading to the same school in the fall. She didn’t want the constant reminder in her phone of the guy she almost ran over. It was easier to block someone on social media.

  “Done,” he said, tapping on his phone. He opened the car door, then turned back to look at her and smiled, his dimple making a brief appearance. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Cassie sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched him walk into the house. She could do this. Just hang out with him a few times, tell him stuff about New York, make sure Spencer knew about it, and then be done with it. It wasn’t even a sure thing she’d go to Columbia, but Logan didn’t need to know that. All he needed to hear was whatever would make him think she was great, just like her dad had asked.

  As she pulled out of the driveway, she thought of messaging him that night to meet again the next day. If she could turn on the charm, it might even all be over by the time the Fourth of July party rolled around. She was already thinking about the crazy good food her mom ordered, and the annual tradition of jumping into the lake from the dock with her sister and Marissa, right as the fireworks started.

  She was definitely not thinking about how her heart had skipped a beat when Logan had smiled at her.

  Chapter Eight

  “I think it’s time to call your mom,” said Hideki when Logan walked in the door. “My mom and dad will be home tomorrow and it’s not like you can hide what happened.”

  “I will, just give me a minute.” Heart still thumping a mile a minute, Logan made his way to his bedroom in the office to lie down. He needed to process all of this.

  If someone had told him twenty-four hours ago that he’d be showing up in Cassie Hart’s messenger inbox, he would never have believed them. Not only that, he was going to see her again, soon, and multiple times.

  He closed his eyes, taking the deep slow breaths he had taught himself to use before heading into a test or math club competition. Usually it worked really well.

  Today, however, all the breathing in the world wasn’t going to do anything. Hideki had followed him in and was now sitting on the office chair, swiveling back and forth and talking loudly.

  “So did you talk to her? I saw you sitting out there in the car. She doesn’t seem all that bad, for a cheerleader.”

  Logan opened one eye and looked at his cousin’s eager face. He was the easiest person on the planet to read, which had made lying about all the shenanigans they’d gotten into as kids all the more remarkable. One look at his face and Aunt Caroline knew if he was lying.

  Logan was a little better at it, thankfully.

  “We were just talking, no big deal.”

  He wasn’t sure why he wanted to keep this whole Columbia thing a secret, other than he didn’t want to rub it in Hideki’s face. They’d always talked as if they’d both go to Missoula together. Hideki had insisted he was happy when Logan told him about Columbia, but his face hadn’t been able to hide his disappointment. They’d barely talked about school, focusing all their attention on the BSE list.

  “At least you got a real sling now.” Hideki was still talking and swiveling. “What did the doctor say?”

  Logan bit his lip.

  “No driving or biking for 4 weeks. No heavy lifting.”

  “Are you serious? So you’ll need rides to work and everything?” He stopped swiveling in the chair and worry lines appeared on his forehead. “I don’t know if our schedules will line up. Can you even clean or wait tables? Do you want to see if you can
do something at the boat house instead?”

  Hideki was working at one of the lake’s many boat rental places during the day and the pizza place at night. For his house cleaning job, Logan usually biked to the first house and someone gave him a ride to the others. It was pretty physical but he hoped there were still things he could do. He really needed both jobs to make enough for the next year. He wasn’t even sure why his cousin was also working two jobs, since his parents were actually able to chip in for college stuff.

  Logan didn’t say any of that, however.

  “Let’s just see how I do tomorrow. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”

  Hideki let out a long sigh.

  “Fine, but call your mom, okay? Getting in serious trouble with the parental units is not on the list, man.”

  “Oka-ay, Auntie C,” Logan teased.

  Hideki threw a pillow at him and stalked out.

  Logan debated taking a nap first—he hadn’t slept that well with a throbbing shoulder—but decided to just get it over with. His mom insisted on calling instead of texting, which normally he didn’t mind, but it was always easier to give her bad news via writing.

  His heart was pounding as he found her number in his phone. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he pressed the green call button.

  “So I got into a little accident with my bike,” he said, without bothering to say hello.

  “What happened?” His mom sounded panicked. “Do I need to come up?”

  A lump formed in the back of his throat. She had finally found a new job the week before and was working extra hours. He knew she couldn’t afford to take any time off.

  “No, it’s fine. Just my shoulder is a little sore, that’s all.”

  “A little sore?” Her tone had switched to incredulous. “Like how your leg was a little sore last summer when you and your cousin dared each other to jump over a bonfire?”

  Logan held back a laugh. That had been pretty awesome, until Aunt Caroline had come down to the beach early to pick them up and had gone ballistic. And then had told his mom about the whole thing.

  “I went to the doctor and got some meds. I’ll be fine.”

  His mom sucked in a breath.

  “Did you have to use your emergency credit card? Let me know, so I can pay it off as soon as it comes in. I don’t want you going off to school with debt.”

  He’d actually purposely buried the credit card in the bottom of his sock drawer, so he wouldn’t be tempted to use it this summer. Four years of hard work during high school could be ruined in a few days of reckless spending.

  “No it’s fine, Cassie spotted me the money.” Logan knew his aunt and uncle probably would have taken care of it had they been home, but his mom hated asking them for help beyond what they already did.

  “Cassie?” There was an undercurrent of hope in his mom’s voice. There had been no time for Logan to have girlfriends in high school. Study partners were as close as he’d gotten, and his mom had always made that as awkward as possible. He loved her, but part of the reason New York was so attractive would be the distance from his mother once he finally entered the dating pool for real.

  “Just a girl from school. Cassie Hart.”

  There was complete and total silence on the other end.

  “Mom?” Logan looked down at his phone to make sure he hadn’t accidentally hung up.

  “Hart as in Jason Hart?” his mom said finally, her voice an odd, flat tone.

  Logan suddenly made the connection.

  “Oh right. Is that the place you worked last summer? Hart and Preston or whatever?”

  “Yes.” His mom’s voice was tight. Logan tried to remember how long she’d been at the job. It had only been a few months. Ever since she’d been laid off from her long-time hospital administration job right before Logan started middle school, she’d only managed to get temp jobs. It was hard to keep track of all the places she’d worked over the years.

  “So is Cassie a friend? You’ll be seeing her a lot this summer?” This time his mom didn’t sound that hopeful about a new girl in his life. She sounded…angry almost.

  “Um, not really. I mean, she’s going to Columbia, and her dad is an alum, so there’s some match program that I’m in. We’re supposed to meet up this summer, but he’s busy so Cassie might do it instead.”

  “What do you have to do exactly?” The anger was still simmering in her voice. Logan frowned.

  “I don’t do anything. She’s just supposed to like, tell me about New York and what to expect at school and everything.”

  His mom sighed.

  “Does it have to be the Harts?”

  Logan’s frown deepened. What was happening? Most things about Columbia had his mom even more excited than him.

  ‘There was supposed to be a letter or something from the school. Did anything come for me?”

  “No, I don’t see anything, but I’ve just been leaving things for you on your bed. Maybe I can bring everything when I come up for the Fourth of July.”

  “You’ll be able to come?” Now he was the one sounding hopeful.

  “I think so.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Things should be settled by then.”

  “Settled?”

  “I mean settled down,” she said quickly.

  Logan started to ask something else, but his phone beeped, and he pulled it away from his ear to see the messenger icon appear on the side of his screen.

  Cassie was already getting in touch?

  “Mom, I have to go,” he said, burning with curiosity about what the message said. “I’ll call you soon, okay?”

  After the obligatory ‘I love you’ from both sides, he ended the call and quickly swiped open Cassie’s message, his chest suddenly tight. It had barely been an hour since she’d dropped him off. Had something changed? He looked around his room. He hadn’t left something embarrassing in her car, had he?

  Just checking to make sure you were able to get the meds.

  His chest deflated a bit. She was going to be worse than Aunt Caroline and his mom combined, apparently.

  I’ll be okay. It’s just around the corner. I can walk.

  The blinking dots appeared, and hit bit his thumbnail as he waited for her to finish typing her reply.

  I can come over to drive you, I don’t mind.

  He rolled his eyes.

  Don’t you have a party or something to go to?

  Her reply was rapid-fire.

  It’s 4 in the afternoon. Everyone knows the good ones don’t start till at least 9. So you need a ride or not?

  What, are you that bored?

  The second he hit send, he regretted it. He had been more than a little rude to her already, and she’d done nothing to deserve it except be nice to him. It wasn’t her fault she’d been too popular to pay attention to him in high school. Panic flooded through him. He had to remember Columbia. Even if his mom apparently wasn’t a fan of the Harts, they were the first of all the important connections he would make while there. He couldn’t afford to mess it up. His phone buzzed, and he took a breath before looking at her reply to his unintentional teasing.

  You have no idea. ;-)

  Logan blinked, staring at the phone, a million replies racing though his head. Unsure of which one would be better, he hesitated to send a reply.

  So he didn’t send anything. He just set down his phone on the desk and went to find Hideki.

  Their game of Call of Duty had been interrupted this morning, and they still had to finish. He wasn’t about to let Cassie interrupt too much of his life.

  Chapter Nine

  “Hey kiddo, you up for a site visit?” Cassie’s dad poked his head into her room, and she sprang up off her bed in an instant.

  “Totally! I’ll get my stuff.”

  “Okay, hurry up. I leave in ten.” He shot her a smile and Cassie beamed back at him.

  Faced with yet another endless day of tanning on the beach and watching videos online, Cassie bustled around getting ready, t
hrilled for more than one reason at her dad’s unexpected invitation.

  Mostly importantly, it meant that she had a reason not to see Spencer. The tanning and video watching had been happening at his house the past few days, and it was getting exhausting to keep up her perfect girlfriend persona. Biting back her replies to his idiotic comments, pretending not to understand his suggestive comments about taking their relationship ‘to the next level’ and ‘making the most of the summer.’ Yuck. Just a few more days, she told herself, and she’d start slipping in mentions of her chats with Logan to see how Spencer reacted.

  Beyond the helpful Spencer escape, going to a worksite meant that her dad was finally back at work after a weirdly long break. Plus, she loved seeing all the houses he built. She had no interest in building or construction, but the architecture and decorating were always gorgeous.

  And—though she’d never admit this to any of her friends—she really liked spending time with her dad. She’d had her parents all to herself since Di had gone away to California but it wasn’t the same during the school year. There was cheerleading, her dad worked all the time, and her mom was always busy with charity events. Summers were slower, and this one even more than usual with so many of her friends getting summer jobs. The unexpected visit to a worksite excited her probably a little too much, but the combination of time with her dad and break from Spencer was irresistible.

  As Cassie walked around the nearly finished house, the carpets covered in builder’s plastic and the walls unpainted, she couldn’t help thinking about Spencer, however. The house was way more his style than hers. She liked the rustic, antique look of her family’s lake house. She always felt a little uncomfortable at his with its modern lines and sleek decoration. Or maybe it was just his family she felt uncomfortable around. They were so clearly fake and so clearly obsessed with the same stupid superficial stuff as her parents and everyone else they knew. Cassie fit right in with them, that’s what made her the most uncomfortable.

  Looking around the new house, she noticed a few things out of place, and bit her lip. Should she say something?