The Summer I Met You

Guitars, Barbeques, And A Whole Lot Of Surprises

We were called over back to our families. When we got there we realised that they had made a little camp fire. The atmosphere had changed. It was cosy, warm and cheerful.

Matt motioned for me to sit next to him. I sat down, on his right, studying the fire. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment or two before I felt a nudge in my right side. I turned to find Eddie was playing a guitar. It came as a shock at first, I never thought of Ed as a musician.

I listened to him playing a tune. It was a song from my childhood. I began humming along to it, quietly at first, but grew louder as I got into the swing of it.

"What are you smirking at?" I asked, pausing from my humming to look over at Ed.

"Just you, humming. You know the song?"

"Yeah, I knew it when I was a kid." I told him, admittedly.

"Oh, really?" He smirked, mischievously, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, why?" I gave him a concerned look.

"How about you sing for me?" He asked, although it sounded more like an order.

"No, no. I can't," I said, turning away.

"Come on, I'm sure you're not as bad as you think you are! Here, I'll sing along with you," Ed sure won't take for an answer, huh? So, that was it, I ended up singing with Ed, along with his guitar. It was a whole lot more fun than I thought it would've been. It was nice to let loose and have fun, especially with Ed. It felt like I'd known him for years, I felt so comfortable around him.

I waited a moment before saying "Ed, how long does it take to learn the guitar?"

"Now, that depends whether you really take it seriously." He told me matter-of-factly.

"Well I've never really played one before. So how long would it take me?" I perked up at the thought, even though it would take me longer for sure.

Ed thought for a minute before answering, "D-Do you want me to teach you?" He asked, unsure of himself.

"Yeah! Could you?" I almost shouted.

"Yeah, I could teach you. Since you're staying for the summer, how about we start tomorrow?" he asked, quietly, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Okay,"

We had a barbecue on the beach for dinner. After a while the sun began to set. We decided to pack up and go for a walk down the seafront. I went up to Matt and Ed who were talking about Crystalbay for some reason. I walked up behind them and plant myself in between the two.

"May I ask why you're talking about Crystalbay?" Maybe they wanted to visit Crystalbay at some point. I know I do!
"Well, you see Steph," Matt began, "We live there," he told me. WHAT? Ed and Matt live in Crystalbay?

"WHAT? SINCE WHEN?" I demanded.
"Since forever," Matt said simply. Why didn't Ed tell me this? Did he not want me to know? I turned to my left to find Ed facing the sea, away from me. "Ed?" I nudged him.

"Hmm?" He said quietly, facing me as he did so. "Why didn't you tell me?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

Ed shrugged, "Well, the subject was never brought up,"

I frowned at him playfully, "No kidding!"

We began crossing the beach, away from the sea and up towards a building. I was going to say something when Ed beat me to it.

"Steph, welcome to your home for the summer," Ed stated.

"What?"

"You heard me,"

"So you live in Crystalbay and you have a beach house too!"

"I guess you could say that," The boys said in unison.

We headed inside, it was massive! Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a big flight of stairs flooding into the main hall like in a fairytale. Colourful, beach-like coloured walls and calm music playing in the background. The rooms were spacious yet cosy.

As I neared the main sitting room, I gazed around the room, taking in my surroundings. A big flat screen tv, comfy velvet sofas and a glass coffee table in the centre of the room.

"Just when I thought my summer was coming to an end," I muttered, not meaning for anyone to hear. I heard Matt cough as he approached me, only to appear next to my side. He faced me with a smirk,

"Oh, Steph! The summer's only just begun."