Falling into Summer

Chapter 7

It's taken three days, but I've finally recouped from my day spent with Carter.

I didn't wake up until nearly lunch time on Sunday, the result of getting very little sleep both Friday and Saturday nights. The moment I woke up, I felt a pain in my back, and I spent the whole day in bed on a heating pad and constantly applying Benadryl to the countless bug bites all over my legs... Some country girl I am... Although I intended to call Carter to thank him for Saturday, he actually called me before I got a chance, Sunday afternoon. Insisting he was just calling to say hi, we talked for a while as he teased me for sleeping in so late when he himself was up around nine. He informed me he'd already ran some errands, washed his motorcycle, and even found time to make me a copy of the Eminem cd, since I seemed to love it so much during the drive out to the beach. While talking, he'd also invited me to go jet skiing some time, or even night riding on the four-wheeler, for a ride on his motorcycle, or back out to the beach when it's clearer out and we can see the stars, something I wished for while we were there the night before. I was happy to hear that he seemed to like hanging out with me, being that he wanted to do all these things with me, because I for sure have liked hanging out with him. Although we didn't get together on Sunday, we did talk for nearly an hour, during which we teased each other and laughed a lot. I was starting to laugh just as much with him as I do with his mother.

By Monday, my back was feeling better, but my bug bites were still healing. I spent the day around the house, and was happy to see that the pool company had started digging for our new pool. I decided against calling him not because I didn't want to talk or hang out, but honestly I just don't want to make him sick of me. Additionally, I'm about to start school in a week, and I just don't want to get too used to seeing and talking to him when he's just a friend, and I'll need to get focused on my studies again. I didn't think much of it, and when I didn't hear from him, I felt certain I made the right decision.

Recognizing my mother's work number, I answer the phone, "Hey mom, what's up?"

"Hey, I have some stuff to tell you," she announces, and I know instantly I'm about to hear the latest gossip between her and Sarah... The joys of our mothers working together... actually, this might be insightful... I think to myself. "So, I was heading into the kitchen to celebrate Sarah's birthday on Friday because everyone will be out for the long holiday weekend, and apparently everyone knows about you and Carter."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Well, some of the other ladies we work with were like, "Eve, your daughter's dating Sarah's son?"

"What'd you say," I demand, concerned this has gotten out of hand... No one said we were dating!

"I didn't say anything, I just shrugged it off," she insists. "So, after we cut into the cake, Sarah came back to my office with me, and she was telling me that Carter moped around the house all evening yesterday, asking Sarah why you hadn't called him in two days? Sarah said she teased him that after twenty-four-seven together, you probably just wanted to hang out with me, and that some people actually like their parents," she chuckles slightly.

"Oh my gosh, that's so funny," I insist with a giggle, having a hard time reconciling the thought of Carter being disappointed that I hadn't called him.

"Sarah went on to tell me that she thinks Carter likes you because she hasn't seen him spend so much time with someone since he moved here. And I guess before you guys started hanging out, he used to mope around the house waiting for his ex-girlfriend to call. But now he's no longer sitting around the house all depressed, waiting for her to call, and that she's been the one calling him nonstop," she continues, and it's the first time I even think about Leah, the girl he had brought down for Thanksgiving. In all of our conversations, he never brought up what happen with Leah and how she took his moving down here. Not wanting to pry, I never ask, assuming he'll tell me if he wants me to know about their relationship, otherwise it's really none of my business. "... So I guess Leah is planning to come down this week for fourth of July, and before Carter was looking forward to her visit, but now he's made a couple of comments to Sarah that he wished she wasn't coming. Sarah asked me if you knew about Leah?" my mother asks.