Next Summer (6 page)

After the Fourth, Beth’s days took on a comfortable routine. In the late morning, she would head down to the beach and work on her surfing alone until Adam took his break. Then he helped her try out different moves. Adam had totally undersold himself—he wasn’t a decent surfer. He was practically a surf Zen master, and he was an even better teacher. Beth felt herself improving by the minute. And her mood was brightening, too.

“I lived in California until I was about twelve,” Adam told her on this particularly humid July day, when they were taking a breather. They sat together just above the waterline, watching the waves crash against the sand and then reach for the dunes. “I got into the whole surfing thing out there. The waves are way better there than here on the East Coast.”

“Hey, don’t disrespect the East Coast,” Beth teased, leaning back on her hands.

“I was not!” Beth sat up, pretending to be mad. She’d been cold, true, but they’d been having fun, so who cared? It was like when Beth had been little, and her parents would have to literally drag her, Jamie, Ella, and Kelsi out of the water. The girls had been so hyper and excited that they’d had no idea if they were freezing-cold or not. Surfing with Adam was that kind of fun.

“Hey, it was very becoming,” Adam joked.

When their eyes met, Beth felt a warm glow, like the sun was inside her as well as beating down from up above. She couldn’t believe that only a few weeks ago, she’d been a mopey, missing-George mess. Funny how making a new friend could cheer her up.

“Want to catch one more wave before you have to get back?” she asked Adam. His breaks always felt way too short.

He was still watching her, a gleam in his blue eyes. Beth felt warmed by that, too.

“I have to get back,” he said with regret in his voice. “For some reason, they actually want me to
work
.”

“That’s crazy!” Beth laughed. For the briefest instant, she wondered if she was flirting.
Nah.
She never flirted.

“Tell me about it.” He paused and then shot her a look from beneath the curls that spilled across his forehead. “But maybe we could grab some dinner tonight, if you felt like it.”

Beth froze.
Hang on.
Was Adam asking her…out?
Taking their friendship from the beach to places where they’d have to wear shoes seemed like a big leap. Adam was her “beach buddy.” They existed only in this safe zone. But now Beth felt panicked by Adam’s invitation. “Don’t swim beyond this point!” she wanted to say.

But maybe she was overreacting. Adam
was
her friend. He’d practically saved her life. Of course she liked him and felt safe with him. It was silly for her to feel like she was betraying George in some way by accepting Adam’s invitation. So what if she’d forgotten to check George’s text messages that day? It didn’t mean anything. She could have a boyfriend and a boy friend at the same time. Couldn’t she?

“That would be great,” she said at last, trying to play it cool. But then, her smile seemed to get lost in Adam’s smile for a long moment.

“Adam’s a great guy,” Beth told George later that evening as she made her way down the beach, where she was about to meet her favorite new lifeguard. She held her cell phone to her ear and clutched her shoes in her free hand. Beth much preferred to go barefoot, even if the sand was a little chilly in the evening. “Not to mention, he saved my life.”

“I owe him, big-time,” George said at once. “Anyone who saves you from the clutches of death is a god.”

“You would love him,” Beth laughed. “I wish you could meet him. I feel like he’s practically one of your friends already.”

“As long as he’s funny,” George was saying. “I have low-to-zero tolerance for people with no sense of humor.”

“He has
exactly
our sense of humor,” Beth said, and wondered if she was gushing. “Here, find out for yourself,” she added as she approached Adam. She grinned, and handed him her phone. “It’s George,” she said. He looked at her blankly, and Beth suddenly realized that somehow, in all their conversations, she hadn’t even mentioned that she had a boyfriend, let alone one named George. Beth didn’t even think that it was possible to flake on such a thing, since she usually referred to George constantly. Didn’t she?

After a short, tense pause, Beth added, “He’s my boyfriend,” hoping to clear up any confusion.

Adam seemed to stiffen, but he already had the cell phone.

“Hi,” he said, sounding surprisingly awkward.

Beth furrowed her brow. Surely she’d mentioned George to Adam before. But she wasn’t sure she could remember doing it. Her pulse quickened. How could she have missed George so much that she was ready to ship herself to Boston via FedEx, and yet neglect to tell Adam about him at all?

Adam didn’t seem to have much to say to George, so Beth took her phone back from him.

“I’ll call you later,” she said to George.

“Or sooner,”George countered. “Don’t let Mr. Personality try any funny ‘mouth-to-mouth’ stuff on you, okay?”

“So, that was your boyfriend,” Adam said, watching her.

Something fluttered in Beth’s stomach, but she ignored it. Probably just hunger.

“Yup. Sorry to foist him on you. He’s a character.”

It seemed like Adam might say something else, but the moment passed. Then Adam gave her his typical warm smile.

“Hungry?” he asked her.

She nodded. “You?”

“I’m so hungry I could eat your shirt,” he said as he grabbed the hem of Beth’s T-shirt.

It was so something George would have done.

Beth yanked the fabric from Adam’s grip and felt a spark when their hands touched. But it didn’t mean anything. Adam was just a friend.

The next morning, Beth and Ella made their way down to the beach, picking a path across prickly beach grass and pieces of glass. Beth liked the company while she waited for Adam’s break, so she could tolerate Ella’s newfound interest in all things Jeremy. Apparently, Ella seemed to think that because Beth and Adam were tight, Beth somehow had a window into Jeremy’s brain. So Ella asked tons of questions about the shy lifeguard. But Beth couldn’t have cared less about Jeremy.

It was the craziest thing, but she couldn’t stop thinking
about Adam. Dinner last night had been so much fun that Beth couldn’t wait to see him again. She didn’t have a
crush
on him or anything, but it would be stupid not to admit that she found his attention the teeniest bit flattering.

“Adam’s really funny,” Beth told Ella then, as if they’d been talking about Adam all along. “He had me laughing so hard last night I almost choked on my clam sauce. He was one step away from doing the Heimlich and saving my life again.”

Ella peered back at Beth over the top of her sunglasses, like some kind of movie star, but said nothing.

“He’s been a lifeguard here for a few years now,” Beth continued. “I can’t believe it—I mean, it’s so weird that I never saw him before this summer.”

“Weird,” Ella echoed, her tone slightly wry.

“He showed me this really cool new way to balance on my board,” Beth chattered on. She didn’t know why Ella was being so quiet, but she didn’t care. “It’s so simple, but I never would have thought of it on my own. He’s an amazing surfer.”

“The most amazing thing about Adam,” Ella said, shoving her sunglasses back up on her nose, “is how much he reminds me of this other guy we know.”

Beth wrinkled her nose in confusion. “He does?”

“You don’t see it?” Ella shook her head. “Come on, Bethy. I’m not exactly Ms. Perceptive, but I noticed it right off.”

“You
are
perceptive,” Beth said. She frowned at Ella as they reached the last turn of the path that cut through the dunes to the water. “But who do you think he looks like?”

“Take a moment and think
real hard
,” Ella said through an
amused smirk. Seagulls jeered at one another overhead, and Beth shrugged and wiped at the dried salt on her face.

“I give up,” she said.

“Well,” Ella began, sounding particularly pleased with herself, “he could be George’s brother. Not his identical twin. Maybe fraternal.”

Beth went very still. “Adam isn’t anything like George.” Even though, last night, she’d told George that they had a similar sense of humor. But so what?

Ella was on a roll. “And that laugh? Hello—
totally
George,” she said, shaking her head. “Trust you to go out and find a carbon copy. I think I’ll call him G-2 from now on.”

Beth didn’t respond. She was suddenly acutely aware of how hot the sand beneath her feet felt. She picked up her pace so much, she shot by Ella altogether, each grain of sand embedding itself in her feet along the way.

Ella dressed carefully for the night’s activities. The cousins were all going out to eat at the Lobster Shack, the new dinner joint in town, where, according to Beth, G-2 was supposed to turn up with the delicious Jeremy. Ella was wearing a skimpy pink miniskirt she’d picked up at Urban Outfitters with a pair of pink round-toed Steve Madden heels that would have looked dangerous in New York City and were—at best—highly inappropriate for a beach town. She’d chosen her strappiest black tank top—courtesy of Abercrombie—because it clutched her breasts lovingly and made her waist look practically nonexistent.

“How do you walk in those shoes?” Kelsi asked, as Ella—who believed in mind over matter when it came to stiletto heels—sauntered down the dirt road like it was her own personal runway.

Ella just smiled mysteriously. There was no point in
explaining the art of walking in heels to her boring sister—it was all about leaning back.

“I’m impressed,” Beth chimed in, linking her arm through Kelsi’s and observing Ella.

Ella noticed that Beth wasn’t wearing her jogging clothes tonight. She’d opted for what looked like Levi’s, a cute little T-shirt that said ADULT SWIM on the front, and, if Ella wasn’t mistaken, lip gloss.

When they got into town, Kelsi and Beth headed straight toward the Lobster Shack, but Ella found herself far more interested in the flashing lights and music coming from another new Pebble Beach venue, the Lighthouse.

“Have you guys checked this place out yet?” she asked.

“You can’t get in there unless you’re twenty-one,” Kelsi said firmly, sounding very “big sister.”

“Whatever,” Ella replied breezily. “Don’t underestimate me, Kels.”

“Trust me,” Kelsi said to Ella. “They won’t let you in.”

Ella always enjoyed a challenge, so she blew a kiss at her
sister and Beth and headed straight for the Lighthouse. She could meet up with them—and Jeremy—later. As she approached, she could see the bouncers already sizing her up. She ignored them and concentrated on the music she could hear from outside. Whenever the door opened, she liked what she could see of the wooden and red interior. It looked exciting and
adult
, the sort of place cool people would go to drink whiskey or something. She imagined it was the kind of place guys like hot alterna-rockers would hang out in. Ella got a little closer so she could get a better look.

“Don’t even bother, little girl,” the bigger of the two bouncers growled.

Ella wasn’t fazed at all and gave him a sultry wink. Flirting with thirty-year-olds didn’t intimidate her in the least. She produced a cigarette from her bag and put it to her lips. The bouncer just stared at her. “Come on,” Ella wheedled. “You won’t let me in
and
you won’t give me a light? Is anyone that mean?”

The bouncer shook his head, but he laughed and dug a lighter from his pocket.

“Oh boy. You’re trouble,” he told her.

“Whenever possible,” Ella agreed.

She gave him another big smile, and made sure she wiggled her hips as she turned and walked away. She took a drag of her cigarette, and then decided she didn’t really want it and flicked it away. She was trying to figure out a better way to get inside the Lighthouse—and Ella had no doubt that she
would find a way in, eventually—when she saw a familiar figure walking toward her.
Jeremy.

Things couldn’t have worked out better. Jeremy was right there in front of her, and she didn’t have to deal with any of his lifeguard friends or anyone else. His attention would be where it belonged: on her and her alone.

“Hey there,” she said, stepping boldly in front of him. He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t recognized her from far off, which Ella dismissed as unlikely.

“Ella,” he said in his usual wobbly voice. It was almost as if he were scared of her. She dismissed that, too.

“Jeremy,” she replied, helping herself to his arm and leaning into him. “What perfect timing. I was just wishing that I had someone to walk with me.”

All Jeremy could do was fidget and shift his weight around uncomfortably. Ella loved the way his shaggy hair got even messier when he raked his hand through it. He was truly the cutest geek she had ever laid eyes—and hands—on.

“I’m going to the Lobster Shack,” she said, trying to coax him out of his shell. “Were you on the way there?”

Jeremy scratched his face. “Uh, not really, no.”

“Well, I thought you were going to meet up with us for something to eat.”

“Yeah, I was…but now, I, like, can’t,” Jeremy stammered.

Ella found herself smiling at him. Could she really make someone this nervous? It was pretty flattering.

“Why not?” she asked.

“The one that never has any good movies?” Ella asked dubiously.

“No, they do,” Jeremy told her. “They’re showing
Better Off Dead
and
One Crazy Summer,
” he added. As he talked, he got more and more animated and much less awkward. It was like when he’d climbed out of the chair. When he forgot to be self-conscious, he had the kind of vibe that Ella adored. “I mean,
Better Off Dead
is a work of genius, really, but there’s something to be said for
One Crazy Summer,
too.” He seemed to realize he was rambling, and he smiled, more at himself than at Ella. “You’re not a John Cusack fan?” he asked.

“Of course I am,” Ella said. “I saw that thing at the motel, with the serial killer.”

“Early John Cusack,” Jeremy clarified, still wearing that adorable smile. “It’s a whole different thing. He was, like, his own genre.”

He suddenly seemed so confident that Ella was dying to kiss him.

“I have an idea,” Ella murmured, leaning a little bit closer, so her breasts brushed up against him. “Why don’t I join you? We can watch the movie, or we can…”

Jeremy looked at her for a long moment, and his eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what she was suggesting. But instead of smiling, as Ella hoped he would, Jeremy stepped back
and put a Texas-size chunk of space in between them. Then he moved his arm so Ella let her hands drop away. This was
not
the usual boy reaction to her. Ella was completely stunned.

“Thanks, but I’m okay going alone,” Jeremy said softly, his face dark red.

Ella was actually embarrassed—imagine that—when she saw the red blotches on Jeremy’s cheekbones as he stepped around her as if she were a pit bull about to attack.

Jeremy reverted to his awkwardness. “I…uh…really should, you know, get going. The movie…um…starts in…like, ten minutes.” Then he turned and bolted. Ella was left standing on the street, speechless.

A group of guys walked by her and there were a few whistles, but Ella was too out of sorts to appreciate it. Much less look to see if any of them were hot.

An angry surge suddenly charged through Ella. She’d just have to march into the Lobster Shack, find other boys to adore her, and have a great time
without
stupid Jeremy—a great time she fully intended his friends to see and report back to him.

U BACK YET? NEED 2 C U

But it was the name at the bottom that sent Ella’s head spinning:

PETER.