Summer Girl

Summer Girl - Chapter 2

Chapter TWO

I had only seen him that one time, up until that point. We had only made eye contact for a split second, that day on the beach, when I was with Cay. I hadn't considered ever seeing him again. My infatuation had not yet began. I didn't even know his name.

  And yet, a few days later, he walked into the Burger Hut while I was working. He was with one of the same guys from the beach, and an older guy, who looked familiar. I watched from afar, since he wasn't seated in my section. I watched him laugh, eat and laugh some more. He was loud. He was outgoing. He was like no boy I'd ever seen before.

  I was off at seven o'clock, while he was still at the table. I signed out and went to sit on the patio for awhile, with a Diet Coke. It was a rainy day, hence why the patio was empty and everyone was eating inside. But I didn't mind the rain. I liked the sound of it hitting the tin patio roof above me. It was soothing. I wasn't in a rush to get home. I never was.

  "If you want him to notice you, you have to talk to him," a voice said from behind me, only ten minutes later.

  A tall guy, with dark hair falling into his eyes, was leaning against the post, a few feet away from me.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head.

"My brother. The blond with the tank top and flower tattoo?"

"Uhh..." I felt myself blushing.

"I saw you staring at him for the past hour," the guy said, grinning.

"No. I wasn't."

"He's clueless. I'm the one who knows what's going on around us," he went on.

"Okay, but -"

"We are here all summer. You live here?" he asked, stepping closer.

"I do. How did you know?" I asked him.

"Most people don't work while on vacation." He pointed to my uniform shirt.

"Right."

"You have a phone?" he asked.

"Uh. Yeah." I nodded.

"Take my number. Maybe we can-"

"Sorry. I'm not..." I let my voice trail off. This was so strange.

"Oh, pretty girl. I'm gay. And I'm twenty." He grinned, holding out his hand for my phone.

"Oh. So..." I didn't know what to say.

"I'll introduce you to my brother."

"It's okay. Really," I told him, trying to stay calm.

He held out his hand again. "Max."

I smiled at him, because what else was I supposed to do? "Izzie."

"Well, Izzie. We've been here a week and we don't have many friends. We are here for another six weeks, with our dad. We need friends," he laughed.

"Friends?" I repeated.

"Yeah. And, I mean, if you and my brother end up -"

I shook my head at him, but I took his number anyway.

   The next time I saw him, I was walking down the dirt road behind our house, towards downtown, a few days later. It took me twenty-six minutes to get to the general store, but I liked the walk. We needed milk and tomatoes, it was mid-day and I was off work. Cora asked me to drive to get a few things, but I decided to walk.

  "Hey!" A voice called out to me.

  I glanced over to where it was coming from. A handful of guys were tossing around a frisbee in the front yard of a cottage, him included. I had walked past that cottage a thousand times before and I'd never seen teenage boys there.

  "Hi," I said, trying to sound friendly, but kept walking. I felt so awkward talking to people that I didn't know.

  I was almost out of their sight when I heard someone else call out. "Izzie!"

  I looked back instinctively. There was Max, walking out to the road. I waved but didn't stop. I didn't know how to do this. I felt so embarrassed. Part of me wanted to make new friends but the rest of me was just unsure about it all.

  "Hey, wait up," Max said, speeding up.

  I stopped walking. "Sorry. I'm on my way-"

  He smiled. I stopped talking. "Where?" he asked.

  "Oh. Just the store."

  "You're walking? Downtown?" He looked shocked.
  

  "I do it all the time."

  "I can drive you." He pointed to a white car, not far away.
  

  I shook my head. "No. Thanks. I'm okay."

  "Okay."

I started walking again.

"What are you doing tonight?" Max called out, after a few seconds.

I looked back. "Nothing."

"Text me. Tonight." He wasn't asking.

"Maybe," I shrugged.

   I put my headphones in to listen to music for the rest of the walk, but didn't stop thinking about Max and how he asked me to text him. Why did he care about me? Why was I someone he would ask to text him? I couldn't figure out why he would want to be my friend.

  I talked to Henry, the fourteen-year-old who worked at the general store; his parents owned it. I remembered when he was a toddler, always on his mom's hip, while she worked. Cora used to take Clara and I there for snow-cones, when it was really hot.

"Need anything else, Izzie?" Henry asked me, bagging the milk.

"No, thanks. I'm walking, so..."

"My moms having a baby," he spit out, like he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Oh, wow. Congratulations," I smiled.

"Yeah, for her and dad. Not for me."

"Oh. Yeah, well I'm the youngest. I wish I had a younger sibling, actually."

"You can have the baby when it comes," Henry laughed.

  I took a different way home, even though it took ten extra minutes. I didn't want to pass by that cottage again. I was definitely not going to text Max that night. I was far too awkward in social situations and was too afraid to find out what might happen if I saw them again.