The Summer I Met The Girl

eight

Mason pays Matt $100 the next morning while they clean.

"I saw a girl go into your room!" He says, throwing a cup into a trash bag.

"Yeah she didn't stay!" Matt says quickly.

Landon is passed out on a raft in the pool. He's the most hungover Matt has ever seen him.

Henry throws a wet towel in Matt's direction, "Who was in your room?"

Crew, Jude and Grant stop what they're doing to listen to Matt's answer. Matt sighs, "The girl from the beach."

There's a chorus of "you found her?", "what!", and "hell yeah." amongst the group.

Matt holds up his hand, "Nothing happened. We talked and then she left."

"Please tell me you got her name this time," Crew says with a half smile.

Matt nods, "Cameron."

Jude frowns, "Wait are you talking about Cameron Boone?"

Matt nods, uncertainly. "I think? I don't know she never gave me a last name."

"Theo's little sister?" Jude asks.

"Yeah."

Grant nods with a smile, "Go Matt."

"Why?" Crew asks.

Jude sighs, "Cameron is the heiress to the Boone Real Estate fortune. Her Dad made like billions of dollars during the market crash of 2008. Probably one of the only people who actually made money during that time. Anyway, Cameron is set to inherit it."

Mason frowns, "Not Theo?"

"Theo is only her half-brother. Theo's Mom married Cameron's Dad. But he was never going to get the inheritance. Maybe some, but Cameron will get most of it." Jude explains.

Matt sighs, "I didn't know."

"Not many people do. She was telling us at that party, before she met you apparently, that she doesn't even use her real last name in school. She doesn't want people to know who she is."

Matt nods, but quickly goes back to cleaning. It takes the kids almost 6 hours to get the house back in shape for their parents arrival on Monday morning. They're exhausted, hungover and to make matters worse, Matt has to go down to the Surf Shack to teach a class. Normally he wouldn't start for another week or two, but Brad, the owner of the place, called him and said he really needed the help. Matt stupidly agreed, not knowing how hungover he would be today.

The summer families are just starting to show up. This is the first wave. The families that send their kids to private school and can pull them out whenever they want — they're always here first, ready to celebrate Memorial Day.

Matt is surprised at how busy the beach is when he arrives at the Surf Shack. This building, which is basically just a large hut in the sand, is an institution in Cousins. It's been around for almost 25 years, and he has a picture of him in front of it, on his dad's brand new surf board, the day it opened.

Brad Jenkins is a Cousins local. He grew up here, raises his family here, and runs a successful business. It's the only place to get a decent board, and get decent training.

"Hey kid." Brad fist bumps him.

"Hey Brad. How's the season looking?"

"Good so far. The water was violent this spring, but things are looking good now. You want to ride a few before your class?" Brad offers.

Matt chuckles, "No thanks. I'm sporting a major hangover and want to hold everything down."

Brad shakes his head with a smile. "You're lucky this is just a beginner."