Page 3 of One Last Summer

Gillian

The warm air streams into the truck’s open cab windows on the way toward the old quarry. My eyes can’t stop fixating on his hands on the steering wheel, the smell of the old pickup where we’ve made out for hours, not wanting to say goodbye late at night. I’d never tell him how I laid awake last night scared how I’ll survive this town without him.

When he insisted I choose what we do today, I wasn’t sure how to best spend our last day together until his Christmas break. It’s a given that we’ll end up at Plain Daisy Ranch at the end of the day, everyone does. I considered hanging around the ranch before the entire town showed up or taking a couple of the horses and hitting a trail for a picnic.

Then I remembered all the fun times we had throughout high school at the quarry and it felt right. That’s how I want Ben to remember me while he’s gone, a fun-loving, happy girl. Not the sullen and sad girl I’ve been repressing lately.

I can barely hear Carrie Underwood sing about heartbreak on the radio over the sound of the wind funneling through the truck. Which is probably a good thing, otherwise I’d be a crying mess. He mindlessly reaches over for my hand, gripping it in his large one. I’ve never felt safer than in this truck with him by my side. Now, he’ll be ripped away from me like my childhood security blanket and I want to fall down and wail, but I’m putting on a brave face because he deserves the amazing opportunity of playing college football.

I look over at him and my heart does that thing it always does when I study him, it skips a few beats and then picks up the pace.

He’s so good-looking with his soft brown eyes and matching hair. His hard, muscled body might intimidate some, but his baby face makes him more endearing.

Sometimes I can’t believe he’s mine, that he chose me. I’m not the head cheerleader, hell I’m not even a cheerleader at all. I was much happier keeping to myself.

Unlike him, I don’t have a bright future ahead of me.

That’s not to say that I don’t have dreams and aspirations. I’m just not going to a D1 school on a full scholarship. I do okay at school, but I was never an academic whiz which is why I’m going to the local community college to be a court stenographer.

Ben is the anomaly in our small town. Hardly any of our class is going so far away. Most are attending state colleges, many will work on their family’s ranches, or businesses. For me, my dad needs me to help out with Rowan and Koa. He has to work long hours at his job to support us and they’re not old enough to be left on their own.

So, Ben will be leaving me and Willowbrook in his rearview mirror to start a life I can’t imagine. He’s going to experience new things, meet new people and eventually, I’m going to look like a used ragdoll compared to all the shiny new girls.

Which is why I’m determined to make today the best day ever.

We pull up to the area where everyone always parks and there’s already a decent amount of people. It’s not unexpected, teenagers and college kids gather here all summer long.

The old quarry is the spot for the local young people to hang out without adult supervision. It’s not like the adults don’t know about this place, most of them hung out here when they were younger. Maybe that’s the reason they leave us alone.

Ben parks and we both hop out of the car, me with the beach bag full of supplies. He’s great for a lot of things, but preparation isn’t one of them. If I relied on Ben to bring what we need, we’d be dehydrated and burnt by noon.

We approach the swimming hole and say hello to a few classmates but don’t join them, instead veering off to the side to sit on our own.

The water surrounds us on three sides by tall rock walls and on the fourth side, where the land gently slopes into the water, is where everyone congregates. It’s sandy there and I don’t know if that’s a naturally occurring thing or if someone trucked in sand at some point—it’s just always been this way.

We spread the blanket and Ben’s eyes flare with appreciation when I strip off my sundress. I need him to remember me like this. Then I grab the sunscreen from the bag, squeeze a dollop into my palm and rub it on my legs, arms and chest.

“Can you rub sunscreen on my back?” I offer him the bottle.

Ben swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Sure.”

I lay face down on the blanket and Ben crawls over me, straddling my ass, being careful not to rest all his weight while he leans forward and rubs sunscreen on my skin.

“Love the bikini.”

I chuckle. “You say that every time I wear it.”

“Well, you look smokin’ hot every time you wear it.” His fingers work in the sunscreen over my back, ending with a light smack on my ass. He rolls over onto his back beside me on the blanket, staring up at the blue sky and bright sun.

“My turn.” I scoot up onto my knees and grab the bottle of sunscreen, dispensing a generous amount into my palm. Ben shrugs off his T-shirt and uncaringly tosses it into the sand.

The space between my thighs tingles when his broad chest comes into view. There’s a dusting of hair that leads from his belly button down below his shorts that always gets me hot.

I playfully straddle him and his hands move directly to my hips. My hands move over the rise and fall of his muscles, making sure sunscreen is covering every inch.

“You’re giving me ideas,” he says in a strained voice.

His growing bulge under my ass tells me exactly what kind of ideas he’s having, but I play innocent.

---