This Summer

My previous next door neighbor, Will Carson, looks the same, but different. His boyish face is a golden brown and the lines are more pronounced. His hair is shorter than I remember, barely touching the tips of his ears. My fingers numb knowing what the strands feel like. Or what they used to. He was thin as a boy, his strength coming in the later years of our friendship. But now his lithe muscles are tight. His chest fills the black t-shirt in a way that elicits a shiver down my spine.

His jaw clenches in that nervous way as he looks around the room. It tightens further when his hazel eyes meet mine.

CHAPTER TWO

Will

My hands grip the steering wheel, tightening with each rolling mile towards the house I’d locked up almost two years ago. In the thirty-six hours of driving I had the urge to turn back at least a hundred times. But this was the last time I’d ever be in Spring Falls. Once the house was sold I’d slam closed that chapter of my life.

The green sign for Bryn Street appears from behind the leave of an overgrown tree at the corner. I suck a breath in through my teeth and turn the wheel.

I keep my eyes on my childhood home, growing larger as I near. I break out of the tunnel vision when I pass the Beauman house. I don't expect anyone to be home, considering we're due at the camp in less than an hour. I know Mr. Beauman will give me leave, considering I'm doing him a favor.

A blue car sits in my driveway as I pull into it, turning off the truck. I flip my phone open just as a woman gets out of the car.

The line picks up on the first ring. “Mornin’!” Aunt Mabel exclaims.

My chest squeezes at the sound of her voice. “Mornin’.” I hold a finger up to the woman outside the truck. She nods, walking toward the house with a ring of keys. Not that I don’t have one. “Although it’s almost noon here. How y’all doing?”

“We’re just fine, sweetheart. I’m assumin’ you got home okay?”

This place isn't my home. My home is with her. “Yes, I’m here.”

“Now off with you, we can carry on later.”

“Love you,” I say.

“Love you too.” She’s the first to hang up.

I toss the phone into the cup holder and grab the bag from the seat next to me and sling it over my shoulder as I get out of the car. I stride up the driveway and the real estate agent, Trudy, turns around, grinning with a set of gray teeth.

“Welcome back, William.”

I clear my throat. “It’s just Will.”

“Oh, sorry about that. I’ll just let you inside”

“I have a key. Listen, can we talk later? I’m late for work.”

She blinks a few times but nods. “Sure thing. Let me just get you the paperwork and you fill it out at your leisure.”

She run-walks down the driveway, her heels looking as if they were about to snap and leans through the open window of her car pulling out a large folder. “These are just the standard contracts,” she says on the way back up the drive. “Just take a look at them and let me know if everything is okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She beams. “How polite of you. Well I’ll let you be on your way. My card is in there, call me with any questions.”

“Sure.”

She waves her long fingers at me and goes to her car.

I turn to the house and fight the urge to get back into the truck and get the hell out of here. I pull the single key from my pocket, the one that burned against my leg since Mabel handed it to me three days ago. I push it into the keyhole and turn. I allow the door to open in front of me, my feet planted to the ground. The door ricochets off the wall and starts to return, but I enter the house before I lose my nerve.

I bump the door closed with my foot. The air in the house is stale, lingering with the spicy scent of whiskey from that final night. I peer into the living room, which needs a serious cleaning. My nose wrinkles at the amount of dust on the fireplace mantel. I head into the kitchen and open the door to the basement. I don’t need lights to find what I’m looking for, not that they work anyway. I find the electric panel and flip on the switches. The house hums to life. I take the steps two at a time and am back in the kitchen. The clock above the stove blinks 12:00. I check the time on my phone. I should leave soon.

I round the corner and take the stairs to the second floor, ignoring the two bedrooms on the right side of the hallway, and fling open the middle door on the left. My shoulders droop and my bag falls to the floor. My room is exactly how I left it. An outdated PC sits on the desk I made in wood shop, still unstained. A full-sized bed takes up most of the room. I make my way to the window, pushing aside the navy blue curtains that match the bedspread, revealing Hadley’s bedroom window. My heart lurches at the thought of her. Soon enough I’ll see her again.

A small bright orange piece of yarn still hangs from her sill, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn’t looking. At ten I thought it was the greatest idea to build a zip-line between our houses using Hadley’s grandmother’s knitting yarn.

I tear my eyes away from the window and let the curtain fall. I cross the room to the closet. I didn’t take much the night I left. I grab a black t-shirt from the hanger and toss it on the bed, lifting the same one I’d worn for three days over my head. I pull on the black shirt and bring the fabric to my nose. Good enough.

I take a deep breath and leave the room. Here goes nothing.

***

I speed the whole way to the park, my mind on autopilot. I avoid looking at the swing set in the distance and accelerate through the winding roads toward the main building smack dab in the middle of the park. I pull my truck in one of the last spots of the small parking lot and hop out, tucking my phone in my back pocket.

I stride up the sidewalk and pull open the door. The air conditioning blasts my face. Connecticut heat used to bother me, until I moved to Texas. My hometown knows nothing of heat, but the air still felt nice against my skin.

“Will!” Rocky calls from behind the desk. I could swear the man looks the same since I was a kid at camp. He pushes himself off his chair and offers me his hand.

I shake his hand. “I thought you would have retired by now?”

“I’m going to die in this chair,” he says with a grin.

I laugh.

He points a crooked finger to the left. “Peter started a little while ago, but he told me to expect you.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“It’s nice to see you again. We’ve missed you.”

I nod. “You too.”

Peter Beauman’s muffled voice gets clearer the closer I get to the room. A door opens down the hall and I look up. Carter Daniels fastens his eyes on mine. I stand up straighter and meet them. His gaze flicks to the door and his nostrils flare.

“What are you doing here?”

“Working.” I need his shit like I need a nail through my foot. I grab the door handle and turn, pushing into the room.

Mr. Beauman is at the front, reading from his clipboard. His eyes lift to mine and a warm smile crosses his lips. “Looks like we’re all here now.”

Everyone in the room turns to me, but the only thing my eyes settle on is the back of Hadley’s head. Her hair longer, falling in waves over the back of the chair.

Lily looks exactly the same, down to her glower. Hadley turns in her seat, confusion transforming to shock.

I glance at Mr. Beauman, who is indicating for me to take a seat.

I do. Didn’t he tell her I was coming? She’s still staring at me as if I’m a ghost. I suppose I am after leaving two years ago. As many times as I wanted to call her, I just didn’t. I couldn’t. Not after sending Dad away. We can never go back to that place.

“Now that Will’s arrived,” Mr. Beauman says, “I can announce the last pairing. Hadley Beauman and Will Carson will have the twelve to fourteen year old group.” He pushes on and Hadley finally turns in her seat. A held breath seeps through my teeth. “The schedules are up here.” Mr. Beauman points to a small table next to him. “Enjoy your lunch and please spend the next hour getting to know your co-workers. I’ll be back soon to get started.”

The room bursts into movement and excited voices. Most move towards the big sub on the table at the far end of the room. Mr. Beauman comes to my side and I stand, shaking his hand. “Sir.”

“It’s so good to see you again, Will.” He hands a stack of papers to me with a pen. “Application and waiver. You can fill these out now and bring them to me.”

“Will do.”

He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for doing this. You’re a lifesaver.”

I nod.

Mr. Beauman pats my shoulder one more time before leaving the room. I’m barely in my chair before a flurry of blonde hair catches my eye. Between Hadley’s face and her sprinting from the room I know Mr. Beauman didn’t tell her I was coming. Shit.

A plate topped with two pieces of the sub appears close to my face. I look up at a blonde girl. She delicately sits in the chair next to mine, her legs tuck under the chair. She smiles, showing her bright white teeth. “I’m Skye,” she says.

I take the plate from her. “Thanks. I’m Will.”

She opens her hand to me and I shake it. She winces. I loosen my grip.

“Is this your first year?” she asks, combing fingers through her hair.

My stomach growls. I haven’t eaten since the night before. “I worked here for three years before I left.” I bite into the food.

“Where did you go?” Her green eyes widen.

“Texas,” I say, taking another bite.

She giggles. “That’s where you got your accent, huh?”

I smile politely.

“So adorable,” she adds.

I finish most of the sub, dropping a sliver of bread onto the plate. “I need to fill this out. I’ll see you later okay? And thanks again for the food.”

A flash of disappointment etches her face but she recovers quickly. She picks up her plate and stands, walking down the aisle toward the others. I put the plate on the chair next to me and lean over the paperwork, scribbling down my name, address, and other identifying information. I’m on the waiver page when a pair of familiar tennis shoes appear in my periphery. The same ones I threw in the park duck pond four years ago.

“Hello William,” Lily says slowly. She knows very well that’s not my name. Mom never wanted me to be a junior and she hated nicknames, so in homage to my father she just named me Will.

I glance at her. “Take a seat.”

Her arms are crossed over her chest and her top lip is curled slightly. “No thanks,” she says.

“Okay,” I say. I sign the bottom of the waiver and stand up.

“Mind telling me what you’re doing here?”

I smirk. “Working.” We fall into step with each other even after two years. Lily and I were never as close as we were with Hadley, but we tolerate each other.

She presses her lips together. “Isn’t your house for sale?”

“I’m fixing up the house. And when it sells, I’m going back.”

“Good,” she says. Her eyes flick to Hadley and Carter, still in the corner of the room. “It would be best for you to do whatever you need to do here and then leave.”

I lift the papers between us. “I’m going to turn these in.” I don’t wait for a response.

I enter the hallway, making a point to relax my shoulders. Lily still knows how to push my buttons. I make my way to Mr. Beauman’s office and just before I knock, I hear Hadley’s voice. It’s wrong but I lean closer to the door, listening.

“A little warning would have been nice, Dad.”

Mr. Beauman says something, but I can’t make it out.

“Well,” Hadley continues, “don’t expect him to stick around longer than he chooses.”

Her form nears the door and I don’t have a chance to move just as the door flings open.

A version of the sixteen year old girl I left two years ago stands in front of me. I was right, her braces are gone.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hi,” she says with a shake of her head.

We stand frozen in place for a few seconds before Mr. Beauman speaks. “You all set?”

Hadley jolts and steps aside.

I brush past her. Her scent follows me. Strawberries. I place the application and waiver down on Mr. Beauman’s desk.

“Great,” he says. “I’ll see you in a few.”

I turn to the door and she’s still there, her lips parted. I open my hand, signaling for her to go down the hallway first. I struggle to keep my eyes on hers, fighting the urge to move across every inch of her body. She turns and scurries down the hall in front of me, granting my wish. She’s grown into her curves since I saw her last. Her long legs carry her quickly.

She stops at the double doors leading to the front part of the office and turns around. “Did you hear—I didn’t mean—”

“I heard you,” I say, watching her face crumble. “But you’re right. I need to get back.”

“To Texas?”

My teeth grind together. Aunt Mabel did give Mr. Beauman a version of the truth, but I can't help but wonder what Hadley knows. “Yes.”

She nibbles on her lower lip. She nods twice before freeing her lip. My gaze drops to her mouth. She leans against the door and opens it. I hold it for her, my arm grazing her shoulder.

She offers a polite smile. “Then I guess we should make the best of it while you’re here.”

I lean closer. “Sounds good to me.”

She turns around, entering the room.

“Who left last minute to open up the position?” I ask, not wanting to stop talking to her.

“My—” She shakes her head, strands of her hair falling across her face. She pushes them back behind her ear. “Carter Daniels.”

I clench my jaw. “I just saw him.”

“He’s on the pool staff now apparently,” she mumbles.

People mull around the room, eating off paper plates. Hadley halts, staring at the back of the room. Carter and about a dozen people I don’t recognize have gathered around the table. My hands fist at my sides, looking for any excuse to knock him out.

“I’ll be right back.”

Someone claps a hand on my back. “Yo, Will!”

It takes me a second to recognize Ethan Beauman. “Holy shit, kid,” I say. “You grew like a foot.”

“That’s what happens when you leave for two years without a visit.” He’s grinning. “Let me introduce you to the others. You have a lot of catching up to do.” He leads me to a group of other lifeguards.

He turns to a petite girl, her arms more muscular than most girls. “Daisy, this is Will. My next door neighbor.”

A few of the pool staff huddle around us as Ethan introduces me. I match names to faces quickly.

“Nice to meet y’all,” I say, making the girls giggle. I’ll have to make a note to curb the accent I inherited.

“You don’t call, you don’t write,” someone comments behind me.

I turn and grin, landing a fist bump with Tyler Goode, a regular rotation in Lily and Hadley’s group of friends. And my exes brother. Seems like a million years ago. “Hey, man.”

“Dude!” Tyler says. “Where have you been? You disappeared off the planet.”

I swallow. “I’m living with my dad and aunt in Texas.” Half true. I divert the question. “How’s your family?”

He nods a few times. “They’re good.” He presses his lips together briefly before continuing. “Sarah is Mrs. Winters now.”

The last name sounds familiar. Tyler answers before I even ask, bobbing his head. “One and the same.”

“No way,” I say.

Tyler rolls his eyes. Jordan Winters owns most of the town’s larger plaza properties. Rumors of his shady deals filtered around town, but no one ever brought it up in his company.

“Isn’t he in his forties?”

“Yup,” Tyler pops the end of the word. “And she’s pregnant. It only took her a month to seal the deal after they got married.”

I try to remember as many details as I can about the guy. “Wasn’t he married?”

“His wife died of cancer almost two years ago. Sarah was his secretary.” He trails off. “It looks like you dodged a bullet.”

I laugh. “That’s your sister.”

“Only by blood.” He grins.

Skye appears next to us. “Hi Tyler. Looks like we’re going to be working together this summer.”

Tyler smirks, a look I know very well. He shakes her outstretched hand and I find Lily, not my top choice but at least someone who knows me. She’s leaning against the corner of the food table, absently munching on the heel of a sub. She’s glowering again. But at least not at me.

I indicate Carter and Hadley talking in the corner. “When did they become friends?”

Lily snorts. “You mean exes?”

My chest tightens. “They dated?” I try to keep my voice level.

She stops chewing. “They broke up a few weeks ago. Not sure he’s cool with it.” She leans close to me, lowering her voice. “It’s a strange twist of fate that you’re here but I am telling you now. If you hurt her again. I will hurt you.” I watch her retreating body as she crosses the room to Hadley. I wasn’t dumb enough to think my leaving wouldn’t have an effect but, with Lily’s warning, I realize I might have underestimated just how much of an effect I had.

CHAPTER THREE

Hadley

I don’t know why I feel the need to explain myself to Carter. It’s not like I was the one to quit the job, but I had told him everything about Will when we became friends after working together last year. Well, the platonic parts. I kept the night he left a secret. Only Lily and Will knew. I hid long enough from everyone. Carter seemed okay with it, but I knew they had some competitive history. I needed to tell him that Dad did this behind my back.

Carter breaks away from the other pool staffers and presses his hand against my lower back, leading me to the corner of the room. His face is close to mine and his jaw is set. His hands hover between us like he doesn’t know where to put them.

“I can’t believe you, Hadley.”

I step back. “What are you talking about?”

“We were together for two years, I know when you’re lying,” he spits.

“Carter,” I say. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He exhales between his teeth. “You expect me to believe that you didn’t break off with me so you could act on your fantasy crush on him?” His voice is a low hiss. “I only quit so I could give you the space you asked for.”

“What do you expect Dad to do? He had to fill it because you quit!”

“How can I work with you after you broke it off? I don’t do the friends thing with girls. We’re either together or we’re not.”

My mouth clamps shut and I close my eyes, remembering our conversation from two weeks ago. “You agreed.”

“Yeah, that’s when I thought we still had a chance”

“Carter,” I say, exasperated. “We broke up.”

“Because of him,” he says.

“This has nothing to do with Will. We’re going to be across the country from each other in the fall. This is going to happen either now or later. I don’t think either of us needs to be tied down. I just need some time to adjust to that. But I don’t want to lose you in the process.”

He leans back, inspecting me as if my nose was about to grow ten inches long. “You’re serious about the friends thing?”

“Yes,” I say. “I just want to be free this summer. It’s our last summer before we move on with our lives.” I want to touch him, somehow reassure him, but I don’t want to lead him on. Instead, I wait.

His frown deepens. “The only way I think this can work is if you don’t see anyone this summer.”

I sigh. I don’t have any intention of hooking up with anyone but he has no right to keep restrictions on me. “Carter, I can’t promise that. This is us moving on. If you’re with someone—” The thought makes my stomach turn, something I will eventually get over. I did it before. “I won’t be upset.”

His nostrils flare. “Fine. Do what you want with anyone. Anyone but him. If you want me to believe you, you can at least promise me that.”

The thought of being with Will presses against my chest. Carter was right. It was a fantasy years ago, but when he left it took a while to heal. I not only lost my best friend but my heart in the process. I couldn’t do it again. “Yes, okay.”

His hand touches mine briefly and a lightness surges in my stomach. “Friends.”

I smile. “Thank you.”

His mouth quirks up but his eyes are intense. For a second I think he’s going to kiss me. But Lily pulls me away, breaking the spell.

I exhale, saved by the best friend. It was easier to deal with the breakup when I was thousands of miles away on a boat, but having Carter inches away from me made me question my choices. If I had waited until the end of the summer, he wouldn’t have quit and all would be right in the world. I might have seen Will but he probably would have been in and out of town before I could blink. I wasn’t sure which situation was better.

Dad returns and starts in on the instructions for the first activity. He insisted that icebreakers were the key to building the foundation for a strong team. Every other year I was happy enough to do them, but what I wanted most at that moment was to be anywhere but there.

***

The next two hours fly by in a flurry of silly games and trust exercises and, when it’s over, I can’t escape fast enough. When I get outside I can breathe for the first time since seeing Will. That is, until I see his truck parked right behind Lily’s car. I completely forgot that I didn’t drive this morning and I’ll have to wait for her. But I’m not going back in that building.

“Screw this,” I mumble.

I sprint across the parking lot toward the playground. My tense muscles relax with each step and I slow my pace. Even though it was the last place I saw Will years ago, it still provided comfort as it always had. A place to reflect on a simpler time. As kids Will, Ethan and I would cut through the woods to get to the swings and battle who could get the highest arc or jump the farthest. Swinging always helped clear my head and at that moment I needed clarity. I plop down into the seat of the swing and sway using my heels as an anchor.

That morning I was excited for what was supposed to be the most memorable summer of my life and it only took one look at Will and that hope shattered. Maybe I should have taken a few summer classes in the city like Mom suggested. I would have been away from Carter and I’m sure my family would have never told me about Will until the house was suddenly occupied by another family.

I shove off the ground and start pumping my legs. The rush of wind in my ears pushes my cares away as I focus on the swing. My hair whips behind me and I take my mind back to a time when I didn’t have responsibilities and the only relationships I had were with friends. I close my eyes and pack all of my problems into an imaginary balloon and let it float away.

I open my eyes. Lily stalks toward the swings, her arms crossed over her chest. She doesn’t say a word as she gets onto the swing next to mine. We pump almost in sync for a few minutes before she breaks the silence.

“That was an interesting afternoon.”

I snort a laugh. “The understatement of the year.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

My shoulders lift. “What can I do about it?”

She blows out a deep breath. “That’s something you need to figure out, sugar,” she says in a thick Southern drawl. She lets out a low whistle through her teeth. “If that boy wasn’t hot enough, let’s just add an accent to that delicious mix.”

I grin but it quickly fades away. “Seriously, though. Carter is on the war path. He thinks I broke up with him because Will came back.”

“He’s still heartbroken,” she says in his defense. “Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to tell him about your intense crush on Will.”

Being honest with Carter made our quick friendship stronger. “Will was a huge part of my life. I couldn’t keep that from Carter. Besides, I didn’t think Will was ever coming back.” His silence after the first year convinced me of that.