Page 5 of His Girl of the Summer

“Scare you? Are you freaking kidding me? You have been gone all night! No call, no text, nothing! I was this close to calling your dad and the cops!” I throw in a little sniffle. That may be selling it too much.

“Shit girl, you’re right. I’m so sorry. I was having such a good time and just wasn't thinking. I didn’t realize I’d been gone so long.” Nope, still got her.

“Yeah, well, you’re lucky I saw you two walking up from the beach, or your dad would be on his way here right now,” I huff. I give her a bit more of a hard time before she catches on.

“Wait a minute. How did you see me coming up from the beach? Our windows face the street.” Shit.

This goes on back and forth for a while. With a little bit more banter before she gets into the juicy bits and starts telling me about her night. I listen carefully, but the more she talks about how fast she's falling and her feelings, the more I realize I feel the same way about Kas. The difference between Harper and me is that she’s ready to jump all in, fall in love, and have the fairytale.

Me, I know fairytales are built on broken dreams and greed. On abandoned souls and lost love. I’m starting to fall down that same rabbit hole, but I know, for me at least, there's no soft, easy landing waiting at the bottom. I can easily see myself falling for a guy like Kas, and I can't take one more person forgetting about me when this summer is over. He has to go back to school, and I'm doing the same. There's only one thing to do. I’m going to have to do everything in my power to ignore him. Keep him at a far distance from me. Basically, run the other way.

I joke around with Harper some more, keeping on a brave face before it's time to get some sleep. Harper passes out immediately. It takes me a little longer to get my brain to stop imagining every bad scenario that comes with the end of summer.

Finally, with one last image flashing behind my eyes. One where I’m here, with Kas holding hands, happy. Yup, has to be a dream.

Chapter Four

Kas

“Dude, she's not going to magically appear out of nowhere. I’ve never seen you this warped,” Riley complains, causing me to scowl his way. I know thinking I’ll see her in passing is irrational, but I can't help it. I’m seeing her everywhere, but it's like in my periphery.

“Grayson, stop looking at your phone. Damn, don't you know you're supposed to play hard to get the first couple days?” Beck jokes.

“What the fuck would you know about dating?” I ask, raising a brow at him right before I get a glimpse of silver glitter from the side, and my head swings in that direction. Shit, not her.

“Holy fuck, can we get out of here? Maybe some sun will do you guys some good. Get your heads out of your asses,” Riley complains, snapping his book shut and turning and walking across the street, not waiting to see if we follow, already knowing we will.

As we make our way down the beach, I get lost in thought. One thought in particular. One that kept me from getting any type of sleep last night: that kiss. She planted it on my lips out of nowhere, and before I even had time to react, she was running away. Was the kiss really that bad? I’ve been waiting to see her wanting to apologize. Not for the kiss. Even if it was out of nowhere, the little taste I got was absolute perfection.

Or was it the scar? Did she get a glimpse of my face when she closed in for the kiss? She probably saw my mangled cheek and ran away in terror. Fuck, now I know she’s probably disgusted and regretting ever meeting me. Still, call me a masochist, but I crave the sight of her. I just need to know she's okay.

My thoughts keep getting the better of me. Girls love the idea of Beauty and the Beast, but no one actually wants the reality, especially when the Beast can't afford to give the beauty a library as a bribe to stay with him. What could I ever give a girl like Charli? From what she alluded to, her family is very well off. You would never expect it from her down-to-earth attitude, but what the hell do I know? It could have all been an act. I’m about to turn around and head out, not in the mood to socialize, when I hear Grayson sigh. I look up at him, confused, and follow his direction, seeing none other than both girls lying out on the beach.

My heart and brain start to slow as I get my first sight of her. She’s smiling wide, and I swear I would wrestle a shark just to give that beautiful sight to the world. It's full of darkness, but with one smile from her, she could change the world. I swear I fall more in love with her right here and now.

An unexpected determination to make this girl mine comes over my body… then it's immediately extinguished as she glances at me, her eyes go wide, and then she promptly places the magazine she was holding in front of her face. My heart sinks. She was avoiding me.

“I’m such a fucking idiot,” I murmur, ducking my head again.

“Then it's her loss, man. Don't let this shit get you down,” Riley says softly, gripping my shoulder in support.

Grayson swaggers his way up to the girls, putting on all the charm, but I stand back and keep my distance. The last thing I want is her thinking I'm some freak psycho stalker or something. Still, my eyes seem to keep making their way back to her, even if she's doing everything in her power to avoid looking my way.

The conversation continues, but I'm not paying attention. I couldn't care less about what Grayson is drooling over with his girl. While I'm sitting here, just trying to keep my heart intact when it feels like it's falling apart. I’m pulled back when I hear her name mentioned.

“Hey Charli, would you mind if I steal your girl away again today? Feel free to say no. I just want as much time as I can get,” Grayson asks.

“Sure, go ahead,” Charli shrugs, still avoiding me.

“Are you sure? We can all hang out together if you want,” he offers, though I can tell he wants nothing more than some alone time with his girl.

“She’s sure,” I speak up before I can think better of it. Not only do I want my buddy to have time with his girl, but I’m a sucker for any little crumbs I can get out of this girl. If her best friend ditches her, she may have time for me.

“You hush. I can speak for myself.” She shoots me a glare, but I see the softness in her eyes as I stare at her. The longer I stare, the more I see it. She holds my eyes, and I know she can see my scar. There is no disgust or cringe in her expression. Something else is holding her back from me, and I want to know what that is.

“I can’t believe we’re getting ditched again. Man, I need to find a girl or new friends around here,” Beck jokes, looking around the crowded stretch of beach. “What about you, darlin’? Want to hang out? Name’s Beck,” he says to a girl walking by with her head in her phone. She simply scoffs and keeps walking without even looking up from her screen.

“Better luck next time,” Grayson laughs as he leads Harper away.

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