Page 18 of The Summer of Us

She heard Olivia’s curtain shuffle open and composed herself before stepping out too. “Let’s go see if we can snag another bargain,” Olivia said, grinning as she swung the dress around in her hand.

Paige nodded, following her back to the storefront.

They spent another half hour looking around and pulling out clothes to try on, and by the time they had stepped back out onto the high street, they were both bright-eyed and laughing, carrying two pink paper bags between them.

“I don’t remember the last time we had a shopping spree like this,” Olivia said as they paused by a bench to sip from a bottle of cold water. “I had so much fun.”

Paige bit her lip. She had managed to push aside her thoughts long enough to enjoy their little spending spree, but it wasn’t long before they came flooding back as she watched Olivia gulp down the water, leaving a glossy sheen on her lips.

“Is there anywhere else you want to go?” Olivia asked as she stretched her arms over her head.

Paige glanced down the street, a signboard catching her attention. Books by the Beach.

“I wouldn’t mind popping into that bookshop,” she said, nodding towards the small, white-cobblestone building at the end of the street. “If that’s okay with you.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Olivia’s eyes tracing the movement before landing on her face.

“Why wouldn’t it be? I love bookshops,” Olivia said as they gathered up their bags and headed over towards Books by the Beach.

The air con was either faulty or non-existent inside the store, because the air was just as stifling inside as it was out, and a bead of sweat dripped down Paige’s neck as she walked deeper into the rows of bookshelves, Olivia on her heels. The smell of dust and old paper was heavy in the air, reminding Paige of the library at college.

“I’m going over here to look,” Olivia said, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder, towards a shelf labelled ‘Classics’.

Paige nodded, then padded over to Fiction. She tended to dabble in most genres, depending on her mood, and the season. Right now, summer called for long fantasy books or sweet contemporary reads.

She browsed along the shelves, tugging on spines that caught her eye, until she almost walked right into a rickety old table half-hidden in the shadows. She glanced down, pursing her lips. The stack of books perched on the table wobbled for a moment before righting themselves, the pink and blue spines contrasting sharply against the dusty brown shelves behind them.

Curious, Paige crouched closer and read the laminated sign stuck to the table: Signed by local author, Avery Cole.

A local author? Interesting. She picked up the book at the top of the stack, turning it over to study the cover. It was an illustrated depiction of two teenage girls holding hands, a beautiful pink and orange sunset behind them.

She turned back to the blurb, her heart thumping in her chest.

Amy and Steph have been best friends for years, but now their friendship is starting to feel like it isn’t enough, like they want more…

Paige felt a strange tightness in her stomach as she read it. Two female friends who realise they’re in love with each other? She’d never read a story like that before—a sapphic romance—but something was drawing her to this one. Something about it almost seemed to mirror the confusion in Paige’s own heart.

Their friendship is starting to feel like it isn’t enough, like they want more…

Paige swallowed, her throat dry with all the dust. Was that the reason she was feeling like this around Olivia? Because she wanted more than just a friendship?

No. No way. She wasn’t in love with her best friend.

Paige didn’t even know what love felt like. It wasn’t something she had ever experienced before. Surely this—the butterflies, the sweaty palms, the weird thoughts—was something else. Something she didn’t yet understand.

She ran her gaze over the cover again, at those two girls holding hands.

Did she want to hold Olivia’s hand like that? Olivia was always hooking their arms together, but that wasn't the same, was it? There was something more intimate about threading one's fingers through another's, something close and touching. Her fingers curled around the book, and she shot a glance back over her shoulder, finding Olivia still perusing the classics.

Keeping the Avery Cole book clutched to her chest, she continued searching the shelves until she found another book that caught her interest—a paranormal fantasy that seemed fun—and brought both books to the counter to pay.

Olivia walked over just as Paige finished putting the books away in her bag.

“What did you buy?” she asked, trying to sneak a glance before Paige zipped them away.

“Just a fantasy book,” she said dismissively.

“Cool. All finished here?”

Paige nodded, thanking the cashier again before they headed back out.

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