Summer Forever

12.

Last Summer

I laid down on Everett's mattress, letting the cold breeze from the overhead vents wash over me and my sun-kissed skin. Even at night, after the sun had long set, the Australian summer air remained thick with heat and humidity. The cold air was like a breath of relief, soaking through my bones.

A day on the beach had left my skin buzzing with heat and sun sleepiness, and lying here with Everett's body beneath me, his chest pressed against my back, only made my eyes heavier.

Except, I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to stay awake. I wanted to savour every minute we had together, every second. I couldn't let the time slip past us.

Everett shifted from beneath me, one hand resting loosely on my waist, the other tugging a curl that sat on my forehead—an escapee from the bun I'd piled my frizzy curls into. I tilted my head up, meeting his eyes.

"Everett," I muttered. He hummed, looking down at me. "What were you like in high school?"

"In high school?" he echoed. "Why do you want to know?"

I shrugged, struggling to turn to properly face him. His hands slid over my back, holding me at my waist as I straddled him.

"I just figured that we never went to school together. We never will. I want to know what high school Everett was like." I poked him in his side, grinning. "Were you popular?"

"Oh, yeah. People turned wherever I went. Parted ways like the red sea. I was the Justin Bieber of my school, you know?"

I snorted, poking him even harder in the side. "Stop teasing me."

He chuckled, his hands sliding over my hips to rest on my legs. "I don't know. I had friends. It was high school. I don't know what to tell you."

"Tell me, like—where did you sit to eat lunch? What did you wear to school?" I paused, my lips twitching. "Were you a good student?"

"I sat in the cafeteria. There was like this one bench near the middle of the room that was right under the vents, so it had the best heating in winter. And then, after I—well, when I got back from Australia and online school, I started sitting on the bleachers. I wore a hoodie most days, which is why I have so many for you to steal. And yeah, I was a decent student. I didn't have the best influences around me, so I was in and out of trouble, but I got good enough grades."

I let my mind wander, imaging those bleachers that he'd sit on, imagining Everett sitting in a classroom, a textbook in hand, studying Pythagoras or something. It was hard to imagine an Everett that didn't live on the beach. His fingers squeezed my thighs and he grinned up at me.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Me?" I scoffed, my smile turning smug. "Oh, so now you're curious too?"

He rolled his eyes, but his grin grew wider. "Just tell me. In lots of detail. I want to imagine it."

He settled further into the mattress, closing his eyes theatrically and waiting for me to begin. I giggled, pinching his bicep, but he refused to give up.

"I'm..." I trailed off. "I don't know."

"See, it's harder than you think." He was looking at me now.

"It's harder for me because we have uniforms. And besides, Shellside Bay is so tiny. There's only, like, fifty kids in my whole grade. We don't have a cafeteria."

"I want to see you in your uniform."

"You weirdo," I teased, but his words made me warm anyway. I could imagine it for a minute, us going to high school together. Him teasing me for how high I would roll up my skirt. I imagined him ditching his blazer and unbuttoning his shirt collar, always getting into trouble by the teachers. Maybe we'd meet by the lockers and jig class together. I could almost imagine it. An Everett that was here, permanently.