A Summer Like No Other

Chapter 3 - Em

The heat engulfs me. Even with an AC barely functioning, the building stayed somewhat cooler than the outside inferno. That or my entire body is in flames. There was a moment.

A moment like you see in movies, or read about in books.

I'm not sure if it was the way he was looking at me, the way he smiled when he first saw me, the way his voice turned much lower when he said I looked beautiful.

But it doesn't matter.

He's seeing Jen. Perfect Jen. Jen with her perfect skin and perfect smile and perfect ballet technique. Jen who feels entitled to everything, who does her best to sabotage me every chance she gets. Jen who fucking hates me. Ever since she dated Nick and he dumped her, she's hated me.

I enter Central Park instead of going straight into the subway, barely avoiding a group of tourists who are walking while taking pictures of everything.

I breathe in the sweet smell of cotton candy, a pang of regret and longing in my chest. Nick and I used to eat cotton candy in the Hamptons at least once every summer. It was something we did together, just the two of us, kind of an unspoken tradition.

I shake my head and stride through the crowds. Jen or no Jen. Moment or no moment. Nothing is going to change. He's got this weird bro code with Roberto that he can't date me, and he changes girlfriends as quickly as his pas de deux. And man, he can spin.

"Can you be careful where you're going?" a lady with a strong French accent hisses. She's holding two kids by the hands. One of them has an ice cream cone almost bigger than his face, and my bag swings dangerously close to it.

"I'm sorry." The words tumble out of my mouth and I hurry out of the way.

She mutters something I don't understand and then pulls her children with her.

My La Vie en Rose ringtone is almost too perfect for this moment. The woman turns around and actually smiles at me. One of those I'm-tired-and-sorry-I-was-bitchy smile. And the more I look at her, the more I see the lines underneath her eyes, the tears gathered in them, the way she keeps on looking behind her as if she's expecting someone else to be with her. But there's no one.

"Hi," I pick up.

"Hey sis, are you sleeping at the studio?" Roberto sounds amused.

"I'm on my way to Nonna's and then I'll head home. Where are you?"

"I'll be home soon," he replies, avoiding my question in true Roberto-fashion. And then he continues, "Did you run into Nick? He wanted to go rehearse too. He said something about a certain list you should be using."

My mouth gapes open. "You talked to Nick about my rehearsal?" I stop walking. "By the way, I didn't know you went to his place last night to play."

"It was about time." Roberto sighs. "It's not his fault Dad got fired."

My chest constricts remembering the look on Dad's face when he told us he no longer had a job. "I know."

Roberto clears his throat—his usual sign he doesn't want to get all sentimental. "Nick and I are planning on finding ways to have a blast since we're both stuck in hell for the summer. I'm sweating so much it's repulsive." He pauses. "The beach. That's more my scene. Anyways, wanted to let you know we're going to be moving some boxes in the pod tonight. Fun times."

"You know how to make everything fun," I reply.

"Be careful. See ya, sis." He hangs up and my eyes search for the woman with the two kids. They're by the Bethesda fountain. Nick and Roberto love that place because it's the starting point for Delta in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. I have a love/hate relationship with the fountain because that's where I thought Nick was going to kiss me for the first time last winter. But instead of feeling his lips on mine, he kissed my cheek, cleared his throat and mumbled something about me being Roberto's little sister.