When Summer makes a bet with his best friend to remain romance free for the summer it seems easy to him. He has rarely dated or had much interest in dating and it's the last thing on his mind right now as he recovers from a bad depressive episode.
S...
Just a quick heads up that I'm changing the story's name. Summer Sunshine was only ever supposed to be the working title and I never liked it but I couldn't think of a title I liked so I just left it. I'm changing it to Soleil now. Hopefully no one got attached to the previous name but if you did, my apologies.
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"Summer!" Caleb hastily steps out of the way as a blur dashes out the door and flings himself into Summer's arms.
Summer laughs returning the hug. "I missed you too, Ares."
Ares clings tightly to him. "God, I've missed you," he says so quietly that clearly only Summer is meant to hear him.
Summer presses his cheek against the soft brown waves of his best friend's hair. "I'm sorry," he whispers. Ares was one of the people he pushed away after his maman died. He remembers the months of unanswered texts and all the ignored calls and guilt resurfaces.
"It's okay," Ares says pulling back but not letting go of Summer. "You're back now."
"I am." Summer gestures behind him. "This is Caleb. My boyfriend."
"Your what?" Ares looks between Caleb and Summer. "You didn't mention that."
"It's a recent development."
All Ares' attention is now on Caleb. "How recent?"
"The day before yesterday," Caleb says. He and Summer had decided they didn't mind telling Ares and October. Summer thought Ares would quickly figure it out anyway. Their relationship was still so new that they knew they wouldn't be able to keep themselves from being extremely affectionate.
Summer had to ban Caleb from touching him during their drive here because they both kept getting distracted. Sex this morning seemed to have opened something for both of them and they couldn't get enough of each other.
"I fucking told you, October!" Ares yells over his shoulder. "I told him that if you were bringing someone who wasn't Vee then you were probably into them. So, how did this happen? Is that why you took so many days just to get here? Who confessed first? Have you—"
"Breathe, Ares," October comes up behind him. "You haven't even let them in the house yet."
"Oh. Right."
Summer shakes his head in amusement and follows Ares and October inside. He slips off his shoes and glances at Caleb. "You okay?" he asks softly. Caleb isn't as sociable as him and he is afraid Ares might be a little too much.
Caleb gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm good."
"Bedrooms are upstairs," Ares says leading them through the house. Caleb glimpses some of Summer's art on the walls, all in soft shades of blue and green like the rest of the house. It reminds him a little of being underwater.
