Before the end of Summer

Chapter Two

Two

Brothers can be so stupid sometimes. Especially mine. Yep, I'm talking about Ricky and Johnny. Apparently, mom thought it would be nice if they got me up this morning. You'll never guess how they decided to do it...they poured a nice big bucket of ice cold water on me.  

I'm completely furious with them. However, I am way too preoccupied to plot my revenge now. I'm in the middle of getting ready to go over to the Callahan's house. I pull open my closet and look at all my clothes. Jesse said to wear something I wasn't afraid to get wet. I was not going to wear any of my landscaping outfits, and definitely not going to put a dress on either. I settle on a white, lace, skater dress and a pair of sandals. It's perfect, and doesn't make me seem like I'm trying too hard. I get my outfit on and slip into my shoes, running a brush through my hair. I decide a little make-up won't hurt and put on some mascara and lip gloss. With a last glance at mirror, I close my door and head downstairs to meet my family.  

"It's about time you showed up." Ricky mumbles when he sees me. I roll my eyes. There's no way I took that long to get ready. 

"Where's mom?" 

"She and Johnny are already in the car. They sent me inside to come get you." You'd think they would've called my cell if they wanted my attention. 

"Why didn't anyone tell me you guys were ready?" I ask, a little annoyed. I don't want to make a bad impression on our clients. 

"Doesn't matter. Let's go." We leave the house and Ricky locks the door. When we get in the car, I'm suddenly nervous. I should have gone with a different outfit. Or maybe pull my hair up? I peek at my family's clothes. They look nice enough, no jeans or sneakers in sight. I need to calm down. I'm not sure what is getting to me more, the fact that this dinner could mean a huge increase in clients, or that I was going to see Jesse again. My palms are sweaty, I wipe them on my dress. The ride is over too soon, and we park on the street next to the house. Mom leads us to the front door, picking lint off of all our clothes on the way. She's just as nervous as I am. We ring the doorbell. 

"Hello, and who might you be?" A woman, probably 50 or so, answers the door.  Her nose is scrunched, and she is looking at us like we don't belong.

"Hi, we're the Lawson family. We got a call yesterday about a dinner?" My mother speaks, and I'm suddenly nervous. The woman is looking at her like she's confused. Were we not invited? 

"Oh! The landscapers! Yes, come in." Her face changes, and she doesn't look so alarmed.  She smiles, opening the door to let us through. We step inside and mom lets her guide us. "I'm terribly sorry about that. I've been so busy organizing this dinner that I've forgotten all of the invitations I've sent out." I want to point out that it had been less than 24 hours since she sent ours, but I'm not rude. Well, I'm not rude outside of my own head. "We're all out back." Her heels click against the hardwood floors as she leads the way. I look around while we walk. I spot the picture of the baby girl, and that beautiful rug that allowed me to feel Jesse up close. My daydreaming almost causes me to fall behind. I rush through the glass doors and see the dinner is in full swing. It shouldn't be called a dinner though. This is a party. There's a caterer, a DJ, and servers.  

"I thought you said this was something small." Johnny grunts.  

"Well, that's the way Jesse made it seem." I shrug. 

"I didn't know you were on a first name basis with him." I can't help the eye roll. My brother never stops being protective. 

"We had plenty of time to get to know each other when you guys left me yesterday." Johnny shakes his head and walks away. I've won the argument. I search the room, feeling a little awkward. Ricky is attacking the food table, and mom is working the room, no doubt handing out business cards. I turn toward the pool, and find what I was looking for. Jesse Callahan is standing by the pool, laughing with some people around our age. He looks amazing, dressed in khaki shorts and a pale blue polo shirt. I can see the definition in his arms and his calves, he was definitely working out yesterday. His eyes lock on mine. I look away. I was staring way too hard, and he felt it. I pretend to look interested in something the men in suits are saying to each other before peeking back at Jesse. He's still staring. Oh no, he's going to come over. I watch him end the conversation with his friends and walk my way.