A Summer Like No Other

Chapter 33 - Em

I'm out of breath when I arrive at the park. It's almost dark out but there are still groups of people wandering around, five women are jogging and cheering each other on, an old man is sitting on a bench talking to no one in particular.

He seems content to be there. But then, a man about my dad's age sits next to him and they cry together. I don't know what their story is, but my heart cries with them.

The back of my throat hurts and my chest feels heavy.

I hurry away from them, walk until I find our spot. It looks the same and it looks different. That's where I told him I liked him on the Fourth of July. It seems like such a long time ago, it seems like I dreamed this moment, that it never happened.

I imagine him being here, I imagine him leaning closer to me and telling me the words I've been dying to hear. But the fireworks couldn't bring us closer and our relationship isn't meant for the grand gestures, for the grandiose and epic love I always dreamed of.

Nonna told me that my grandfather fought for her, that he courted her for years before her parents even let her talk to him. She laughed, saying they used to sneak out, that it was harder than today without the phone and what she calls the end-of-romance technology. Poppa took her dancing, Poppa told her that he wasn't afraid of going to war but that he was afraid of losing her.

They had a real relationship. They had true love.

What I had with Nick wasn't even a relationship. Just a simple agreement between friends to help each other for the summer.

And the summer is almost over now. Finding my birth mom hasn't changed the face of the world. I only know I need to become better. That I can't be second best anymore.

I take off my shoes and let the grass go through my toes.

"Em!" Nick calls my name, but I don't turn around.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "How did you even know where to find me?"

"Your brother called me. He was panicked because you weren't home when they got back from your Nonna's restaurant. They all were. They looked for you everywhere. At school, at the usual spots."

I look up at the sky. "I wanted to sleep at school, in the rehearsal room actually, but then I felt the urge to come here, to see the water, to imagine I was on a beach with the warm sand almost burning my feet, with the salt water splattering on my face. So, I came here. Do you remember last year, how much fun we had in the summer?"

He nods and sits behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I stiffen.

"I'm here. I'm here for you," he whispers.

And I don't put up a fight, it doesn't change anything and for a few minutes, I simply want respite. I let myself fall into his embrace because there's nowhere else I'd rather be. "It all seemed easier before. I'm sixteen and I feel like it's never going to be the same again." I pause, but the tears I've been trying to keep inside of me spill out in a sob. "You should have seen the look on her face when I knocked at her door. You should have seen how she closed the door of her car. She didn't close it, she slammed it."

"Maybe she didn't want to be found."

"I'm not sure. It wasn't like she said she didn't want to be found, or it's not like she was scared. She looked disgusted. By me." I shudder, and he tightens his embrace.

There are laughs in the distance and the breeze gets stronger. "She has a family. She has everything she needs. Why didn't she keep me?" My body shivers and my voice trembles. "Why wasn't I enough?"

"Em..." he says, but then I turn my head to him. Our faces are close to one another. I want him to kiss me, I want to feel his lips on mine again. Forget about all those talks we had about not getting involved, forget about all the reasons why it's not a good idea: his career, his parents, my brother, his reputation, my need to focus on dancing...

I'm sixteen and my summer romance cannot end this way. My summer romance cannot end with that hollow feeling inside my chest.

"One last time," I whisper, getting lost in his green eyes.

"One last time," he replies, and his lips find mine.

One last time.

THE END

Dear Reader,

Thank you SO MUCH for reading A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER! I know you have the choice between a lot lot loooot of books and I'm grateful you took a chance on mine.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Emilia & Nick!

Their story continues in ALWAYS SECOND BEST (available on all e-retailers). 

Do you think they're going to end up together? Do you think Em is going to reconnect with her mother? How about Nick, will he stand up to his father?

Thanks again for reading!

And don't hesitate to visit me on www.elodienowodazkij.com

Elodie