Page 41 of Hook, Line, and Summer

“Perfect.”

“If Seaside Sweets is still open when I’m passing by, I’ll pop in and see what she has left.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I just finished packing so I’m all ready to move when you get home.”

“Your mom is okay with it?”

“What’s she going to say? We’re not teenagers anymore,” I said with a chuckle. “She actually asked how it’s going to be different from what we’ve been doing.”

“Of course she did.” I heard someone speaking in the background. “I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you.”

I glanced at the time and decided I have time for a quick nap before I take a shower. After setting my alarm, I laid down and closed my eyes. Since spending time with Summer, I haven’t gotten a whole lot of sleep, so I should have fallen asleep immediately, but I didn’t. Instead, a sense of anticipation kept me awake, kind of like a kid not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve.

I’m excited to move in with Summer, even if it’s only temporarily. When we lived together before, it was so easy. Our relationship was easy, still is. The only difficult thing is how we’re going to mesh our lives together when we live thousands of miles away from each other.

CHAPTER13

Summer

I steppedout of the bathroom and took the time to admire Andrew and Maggie’s living room on the way out. I’ve been here before, but it’s been a while. Maggie has such a great sense of style and that’s reflected in their home. The woman in question was at the sink when I entered the kitchen.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve done to the house since you moved here,” I said. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She picked up a towel and dried her hands. “Hopefully now that you and Adam are back together, you’ll come around more often.”

Maggie and Andrew started dating around the same time as Adam and me, so we spent a lot of time together back in the day. She still included me after I moved back, but between working and taking care of Nanny Jules, I turned down her invitations more often than not. And if I’m being perfectly honest, I backed away because of Adam. Spending time with his brother and our friends was difficult after we broke up, so I chose not to.

“I’m sorry, I just…” I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain.

She stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.

“I know.” She moved back to look me in the eye. “But promise me you’ll start hanging with us again no matter what.”

“I promise.”

“You know I’m going to hold you to it.”

“I know,” said with a smile, then decided to change the subject. “You must be thrilled that Andrew doesn’t have to wear his sling anymore.”

Which is technically the reason for this barbecue. Andrew got cleared to take off his sling, so we’re celebrating his use of his right arm. Any excuse for a party works for this gang.

“You have no idea. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t such an awful patient.”

I thought about asking her when he’d be released for work, but decided not to. Knowing an end date to Adam being here will only take away from enjoying the moment.

We went back outside and I settled next to Adam on the couch. He placed his hand on my knee without missing a beat in the conversation he was having with Liam.

I half listened as they talked about Seattle baseball and watched Ethan, Amelia, and Johnny play Noah, Lily, and Owen start a game of pool volleyball. Laughter and shouts filled the air as Andrew acted as referee and made up his own rules for the game.

Like with Adam, being with this crew is easy. Being with them now, I regret ghosting them after he left. Well, I didn’ttotallyghost them since we saw each other around town, but I should have done better. For them and me. No matter what, I won’t isolate myself again.

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful shades of orange and red. As the air cooled, we all settled on Adirondack chairs around the firepit just to the right of the patio. The teasing and antics from earlier calmed to quiet laughter and conversation.

The fire crackled and shot sparks into the gathering darkness, its warmth caressing our faces. Adam had moved his chair until it butted against mine and we sat with our hands entwined between us. His thumb stroking along my index finger might be a strange form of foreplay, but it’s doing the trick. If not for the effect that simple gesture is having on me, I’d be content to sit here for hours, just watching the flames dance and flicker in the breeze, enjoying the company of good friends.

“We should probably head home,” Adam said, “Thea has been alone for a few hours and she’ll want some attention before bed.”

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