The First Summer of Forever

Chapter 11 - Late

 Conrad

"Oh shit... Belly, we overslept. Belly. Belly." I said, nudging her to wake up. "Huh?" She said, her voice muffled, her head face down in the pillow. I would have stopped to laugh, if there was more time. Her hair was wild, spread out all over her pillow and knotted up in spots. Rat's nests, my mom used to call them. "What time is it?" She asked. "It's 9:30. We told them to come around 9:00." "You're kidding." She said, and jumped up to find clothes. I jumped up too and grabbed the first t-shirt I saw. Laurel, Steven, Taylor, and Jere were supposed to come at 9:00 today. Because Me and Belly are leaving on our trip, they were coming to help us load up, and after that they were going to stay at the beach house for a few weeks this summer.

I looked at my phone. I had two missed calls. One from Jere, and one from Laurel. I had a text from Laurel that said " Hey, Connie. Steven, Taylor, and I will be a little late, we are stopping to get breakfast. See you in a bit." And then I saw I also had a text from Jere that just said "I'm here." I sprinted downstairs, almost slipping on that damn last step. I opened the front door, and I saw Jere's car, but I didn't see him. I looked around downstairs to see if maybe he used his key to wait inside. No sign of him down here.

Then I went out on the back deck, and Jere was sitting on one of the lounge chairs, right next to the wet pile of boxers and Belly's silk nightgown we left out here last night. Shit. The last thing I wanted was to throw "us" in his face. He didn't hesitate to take his shot though, the words digging deep into my skin. " Looks like someone had fun out here last night." was all he said, his lips pressed together and his brows raised as he said it. "Shit. I was gonna clean up a little before everyone got here, but we overslept. Let me get that before Laurel sees." I grabbed our clothes and wrung them out, then squeezed them into a ball in my hands."Seriously, dude, I think everyone knows what's been going on here. You've been married for like, a day. We're all adults." Jeremiah said. "But still-I'm sorry you saw that, Jere." I let out. " Whatever" he said, and exhaled, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed.

"Jere, can we talk for a sec?" I asked. " What is there to talk about, Con?...I told you, if she chose you, I'd let her go." He spat the words out like venom, but I knew he was still hurting by his tone. He puts up a front around Belly because he doesn't want her to see him like this. I thought for a minute before I decided to say anything back to him. "Belly and I never got to explain that summer to you. Hell, I've never even truly told you how long I've felt this about Belly, so of course you think the worst. Look, I'm not trying to defend our actions, or deny the fact that we hurt you. I think about that every day, Jere. I just need you to know how I feel. So hopefully you can understand, and we don't have any more miscommunications."

" Go for it." He said, flatly, not looking at me. " Look, I never told you and Steven, but that summer, that wasn't the first summer I loved Belly. I never told you because I thought I would catch hell for it. Looking back, I didn't know it at the time, but I think it was that summer that I was 10 or 11. We went to the mall, and lost Belly. Come to find out, she was in the glass blowing shop looking at unicorns. For her birthday that year, I used the money I had saved up all summer to buy her the biggest one in the store. When I was 15, I asked Belly to go to the boardwalk with me, because every time she walked by the ring toss, she wanted that polar bear. So I meant that I was going to win it for her that day."

"Seven summers, Jere. I loved her for seven summers before I ever made a real move. Then that summer, when I finally did kiss Belly and tell her how I felt, I struggled with it all summer, Jere. I didn't want to start something with her, knowing mom was sick. I knew I wouldn't be able to be the guy she needed me to be while going through that. It wasn't until after I'd kissed her that I found out you had feelings for her. I had played with her heart all summer. I kept making moves and flirting, and then taking it back because I was terrified I would hurt her. I even dated Nicole to make her jealous. She thought there was something between us a few times, but then she thought I wasn't interested. I feel so stupid, thinking about it. I wish I would have just told everyone how I had been feeling. I'm sorry, Jere." He sat still for what seemed like forever, but the hard lines on his face started to soften little by little.

"Con" I could see tears welling up behind his eyelids and his lips trembled, barely noticeable. "I know I've been a dick about everything, but I loved her too." He started to choke out. "I know." I said, nodding my head. "It's been really hard, you know.You've always been the one who got everything. The big football star, all of Dad's attention, the good grades, the Ivy league, and then, you end up with the girl I thought was supposed to be mine. As soon as I saw her that summer, and how much she had grown up-how she had changed, I knew I had to try. I always assumed that was the first summer you loved her too." He said. " I thought you were just going after her to keep me from her."

"No, Jere. Mom made me promise I would take care of you, and that's why I walked away, two times. The first time, at the motel, and the second, on your wedding day." I said. "After that, I wanted to make sure Belly had space to choose what she wanted. That's why I didn't go after her for a few years. I wanted to give her a break from the Fisher boys."

He paused, his eyes turned to the side, his hand on his mouth, nodding his head just slightly, like he was deep in thought. "Connie, I'm not gonna lie to you, It still hurts like a bitch, but she chose you. I had to let her go. All I care about now is Belly's happiness, and you've given her that. Just know I'm gonna be waiting to beat your ass if you ever fuck it up." he said. "So... we good, man?" I said. "Yeah, we're good." We both laughed, and I brought Jere in for a hug. I felt instantly lighter, finally getting that out. Belly came out of the door just then, wearing her fluffy light blue robe, and I wondered if she had heard anything.