When Summer Ends (16 page)

“You know what? That was almost worth getting slapped for.
Cheered you up no end, huh?” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me when I
finally calmed down.

Sam took my hand, pulling me over to the ticket desk, buying
two tickets for the next movie that was playing. He was right. That had definitely
cheered me up… and so did the reddish tinge to the side of his face.

“Are you okay, Sam?” I asked, trying not to laugh again.

He nodded and rolled his eyes. “Thanks for your concern,
though maybe it should have come before the hysterical laughter to actually
mean something.”

I choked back another laugh. “Yeah maybe you’re right. Who
the heck was that girl anyway? Seriously,
that’s
the type of girl you
pick up?” I turned my nose up. She wasn’t exactly a class act or anything. Her
skin had a nasty orange tinge to it and her hair was bleached to the point of
looking like it would snap in a strong wind.

He shrugged. “Someone I met at a party,” he answered. “And
no, that’s not usually my type, but it was slim pickings that night. I didn’t
want to go home on my lonesome, that’s no fun.” He winked at me playfully,
grinning.  

“You really are a slut,” I scolded. “I hope you use protection
because seriously, she was… yuck.”

“Jealous?” he asked, smirking at me.

I nodded and stepped closer to him, putting my hand on the
opposite side of his face to her slap mark. “Absolutely I’m jealous. My hand
fits pretty good here; it’ll leave a nice print. I bet I slap harder than her.”
I was overcome by another fit of giggles as I remembered the sound and the
shocked expression on Sam’s face as her hand connected with his cheek.

He laughed, and we went to get some popcorn and a drink
before heading into the screen. The movie wasn’t very good, but I still managed
to enjoy it. Sam and I were throwing popcorn at each other and behaving like kids,
gaining us glares from the people around us. I was definitely glad that he made
me come with him.

After it finished we had a pizza before he dropped me home.
It was nice. Relaxed, and actually quite fun. We didn’t talk about Will at all
which I was grateful for. We talked about other stuff like his college and his
family, just easy stuff.

“So, maybe next week we can meet up again?” he suggested as
we pulled up outside my house.

I smiled. “Sure, if you want to.” Sam was actually an exceptionally
nice guy, and I could definitely see us being great friends.

“Okay, well maybe next time we could do something a little
less public, there’s less chance of me getting slapped again then,” he said, grinning
wickedly and making me laugh again.

“Maybe if you stopped sleeping around and not calling girls
back then you wouldn’t get slapped,” I countered as I hopped out of his car.

“Nah, a slap now and again is totally worth it.” He waggled
his eyebrows.

“Whatever, slut, call me then okay?” I laughed. He nodded in
agreement so I shut the door, turning to go inside the house.

He unrolled his window. “You know, that’s the first time
I’ve ever agreed to call a girl and actually meant it,” he mused, laughing as I
walked up the path to the door.

I turned to look at him and smiled. “Well then I’m honoured,”
I replied sarcastically. I waved and went inside. My parents were sitting on
the sofa watching TV; I flopped down next to my mom.

“Hey, honey, you have a nice time?” she asked, smiling.

I shrugged. “Yeah it was good.”

Her smile got broader. “That’s great, Chloe. It’s nice to
see you smile again. You’ve been so down all week.”

“Yeah I guess,” I muttered uncomfortably. I didn’t want to
talk about Will, and she was going to bring it up I could tell. I stood up
quickly. “I’m a little tired. I’m going to bed, night guys. Oh, Nick’s coming
to pick me up in the morning and I’m going to his to study for the day,” I told
them, changing the subject before she mentioned Will.

“Okay, honey, see you tomorrow then.”

I kissed both of my parents on the cheek before heading
upstairs. I pulled on my nightshirt and slipped into bed. Turning my iPod on
quietly, I decided to ignore Amy’s text’s that had been buzzing on my cell
phone all night asking how I was getting on with the ‘hottie brother’. I’d talk
to her tomorrow; I couldn’t deal with her tonight. She seemed desperate for me
to hook up with someone. That was her answer to everything, when you break up,
you move onto someone else to take the pain away, but it just didn’t work like
that for me. I wish it did, that would be a lot easier.

Chapter Ten

A drip of something cold dropped onto my cheek. I squeezed my
eyes shut tighter, swiping at my face. Another drop landed on my forehead, then
another on my nose. I gasped, suddenly having a thought that the roof was
leaking or something. I sat up so fast that my head started to spin. Hysterical
laughter came from my right making me jump and squeal from the shock. I turned
to see Nick sitting on the edge of my bed, a glass of water in his hand.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” he chirped happily.

I groaned as I slowly worked it out. “Did you put water on
me?” I accused, wiping my face again.

He laughed. “Don’t start being all dramatic, it was five
drops of water.”

I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here anyway? And how
did you get in?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

“We said ten, and your mom let me up,” he explained, nodding
at my alarm clock. I blinked a couple of times then gasped as the red glowing
numbers came into focus. 10:06.

“Oh crap! I’m sorry,” I apologised, quickly climbing out of
the bed and heading over to my drawers to get some clothes for the day.

I glanced back to Nick to see he was looking anywhere but me
and was sitting a little uncomfortably on my bed. I frowned, wondering what
that was about, and then realised that I was only wearing one of his T-shirts
that he’d left it at my house before we’d broken up. I quite often slept in it,
but I guess it barely covered my butt.

“Nick, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” I said,
shaking my head and chuckling.

“Yeah well it’s a little different now though. I mean, I’m
not supposed to look now,” he countered, blushing slightly.

I rolled my eyes and carried on grabbing some clothes. “Do I
have time for a shower?” I asked, shooting him a puppy dog face complete with
pouty lip.

He sighed dramatically. “Yeah, whatever. I knew I should
have just come at half past. There was me thinking you’d changed and would manage
to be ready on time for once,” he teased. His gaze was firmly fixed on his
nails as if they were the most important thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“You never know, there’s a first time for everything.” I shrugged
and headed into my bathroom for the quickest shower ever.

Fifteen minutes later I was dressed and ready. I pulled my
wet hair up into a messy twist and then we headed out. We chatted easily while
he drove. Nick always had something to talk about, that was one of the things I
loved about him. He pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket and grinned
at me.

I looked around, confused. “What are we doing here? I
thought we were studying.”

“We are, but you’re cooking. I want something good, so you
can come and tell me what to buy.” He slid out of the car and headed around to
my side, opening my door for me.

I followed him into the supermarket and grabbed a shopping
cart. “So what do you want to eat?” I asked.

“I don’t know. How about chilli or something?” he suggested
excitedly. I grinned and nodded. He always chose that, I should have known.

I followed him up and down the aisles while he grabbed
random things from the shelves: shampoo, deodorant, everyday stuff. I was
totally bored. The next time he stopped I grinned and swung my leg up over the
side of the cart, climbing in quickly. He used to do this all the time to me,
push me around in the cart, racing down the aisles, well, until we’d get caught
by the security staff that was.

“You’re such a child,” he scolded, laughing.

I nodded, grinning unashamedly. He smiled wickedly and pushed
the cart forward making us hurtle down the aisle. Nick jumped on the back, both
of us laughing hysterically. As we neared the end he got off and stopped us
well before the end in case someone came round the corner. Safety first, as
always with Nick.

We got the rest of the supplies in a flash. Nick named what
he wanted from each aisle, and I tried to grab it as we whizzed past it. Most
of the time resulting in knocking things off of the shelves though. The whole
time I was giggling like crazy.

“Hey stop that!” someone shouted angrily.

Nick immediately pulled the cart to a stop. “Oops, well that
fun didn’t last long,” he mused, chuckling and shaking his head.

I grinned and stood up in the cart as a security guard came
walking up the aisle, glaring at us. “What on earth are you two doing? I’ve
told you about this before,” he accused, pointing at the cart.

Nick nodded, looking at him apologetically as he put one arm
around the top of my thighs and the other around my back, lifting me out of the
cart and setting me back on my feet. “I’m sorry, sir. Won’t happen again,” he
said, looking extremely reproachful.

The guy’s face softened. Nick had that kind of face that you
just couldn’t get mad at. When he wanted to, he could look just like a little
lost boy and you literally felt your anger melting away. It would be like
beating a sick puppy or something. It had gotten him out of some arguments with
me in the past. He was a damn good actor.

“Okay, well don’t let me see you do it again,” the guy scolded,
shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Absolutely, you won’t, sir,” Nick promised, still doing the
face.

I bit my lip and tried to copy his expression. I obviously
didn’t manage to pull it off though because the guy’s face hardened as he
looked at me. “And you, Miss, don’t climb into the cart. It’s dangerous among
other things, you could hurt yourself or someone else,” he chastised.

Whoa, why am I getting all the blame? I really need to
learn Nick’s face!
“Yes, sir, I’m sorry,” I apologised. He nodded and
walked off, looking extremely pleased with himself that he’d sorted out a
problem.

As soon as he rounded the corner Nick burst out laughing.
“Every freaking time we come to the store you get us in trouble,” he accused, digging
his finger into my ribs.

I giggled and pushed him away. “You need to teach me that
face, I swear it’s the best face in the world.” I shook my head, looking at him
in awe.

He laughed wickedly. “Oh no. That’s my trademark getting out
of trouble face. Took me a long time to master.” He slipped his arm around my
shoulders, leading us through the store again so we could finish getting the
things he needed.

Half an hour later we finally pulled into his drive. As we
carried all of the groceries in I spotted his dad sitting at the counter eating
his breakfast. His face lit up when he saw me. “Hey, Chloe, long time no see,
sweetie.” He grinned happily.

I hugged him in greeting. “Hey there, Trevor.” I loved
Nick’s dad, he was a really nice guy. I didn’t get to see him that much though,
only really at the weekends. He worked a lot because he was the only earner in
their house.

“Chloe’s cooking tonight,” Nick announced excitedly.

A grin split Trevor’s face. “You always were a good girl.” He
patted me on the head teasingly as he grabbed a can of soda and headed to the
lounge.

I rolled my eyes and boosted myself up onto the counter
watching as Nick emptied the bags of groceries putting them away. He threw a
pack of sugar into my lap. “Empty that into the sugar pot.”

I snorted. “What am I your slave or something?” I joked,
faking annoyance as I put it down on the counter and crossed my arms
theatrically.

I saw a smile twitch at the edge of his lips. “Do you want
tutoring or not?” he blackmailed, raising on eyebrow cockily at me.

I raised one eyebrow back. “Do you want chilli or not?” I
countered.

He laughed. “Chloe, I could buy chilli from down the road if
you refuse to make it. If I refuse to tutor you, you’d have to go crawling to
Erika.” He smirked at me confidently.

Damn it, he’s right! I guess he wins this round.
“Fine, but just so you know, I’ll be spitting in your food,” I joked.

He laughed and shrugged. “Awesome, it always tastes best
when you do that.”

I laughed and tipped the sugar into the pot while he put
away everything else. He grabbed two glasses and a carton of juice and nodded
towards the hallway. I grabbed two apples from the bag he’d just bought and
jumped down from the counter.

As I made my way to his room I started feeling a little
nervous. It was all right being back in his house again, but going into his bedroom
would be a little weird for me. We spent a lot of time in there because his dad
was hardly ever here. His bedroom held a lot of memories for both of us.

I pretended I didn’t care as I walked into his room. Heat
crept up on to my face as I looked at his double bed.
Damn it, Chloe, stop
blushing!

“Want to do it on the bed or at the desk?” he asked,
shrugging.

I giggled. “Wherever is good for me from what I remember,” I
joked, then immediately wished I hadn’t.

He burst out laughing and shook his head. “That’s filth,
Chloe, and I’m ashamed to say I dated you.” He turned his nose up making me
laugh even more. “Come on let’s go for the bed so I don’t get a numb ass
tutoring you.”

I grinned and headed over to the bed, sitting cross-legged and
munching on my apple as he pulled out his books, paper and pens. He settled
himself down on his stomach, flicking through his text book.

“So what is it that you have a problem with?” he asked,
skimming through the pages.