Summer Girl

Summer Girl - Chapter 15

Chapter FIFTEEN 

I hated waiting. Waiting, in my experience, usually lead to disappointment. Waiting for a text message, or waiting for someone to show up at your door, was way more difficult than I would have liked.

  I poured a bag of plain potato chips into a big bowl and left it on the island. I found a bottle of white wine in the back of the fridge, so I grabbed it and left it out, with a few wine glasses. I'd never done this before and I felt silly. And I really hated the waiting.

  It was close to 9 P.M. before there was a knock on the door.  I'd already texted Cay more than once, to see where she was at. I'd been waiting for over an hour, since Clara left.

  I opened the front door, slowly.

  "Hey!" Cay yelled, throwing her hands into air. "Look who I found on my way over."

  Max was standing just behind her. Alone. He grinned at me, then pulled me into a hug. "How does it feel to have this huge house to yourself?" he whispered.

  "It's weird. And kind of scary," I told him, pulling him into the house. Cay followed.

  "Clara left, too?" Cay asked, slipping off her shoes by the door.

  I nodded. "Yeah. And she was being weirdly nice to me before she left."

  "Well, that's not bad," Cay shrugged, following me in towards the kitchen.

  Max put the six pack of beer cans he brought down onto the island. "Well, this is a party," he said, then laughed. "Beer, wine and chips."

  "Yeah, three people. What a party," I laughed.

  Cay was already pouring herself a glass of wine. "This is the best party I've been to since I've lived here," she smiled at me.

  "You haven't been to any others," I said, shaking my head.

  "That's true, but it's not the point," she laughed. "Anyone else coming?"

  I looked at Max, who - I could tell - wasn't sure what to say.

  "Maybe, maybe not," I answered, then grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go sit on the deck."

  Max came out a minute later, with a beer in each hand. He opened one and passed it to me, then opened his own. I watched as he sat down on the chair to my left, then took a sip.

  "Man, this is going to be an awesome summer," he said, looking out at the water. "I can just feel it."

  "How long have you guys been here?" Cay asked him.

  "A few weeks? I guess... almost a month. We got here right after Harley finished school."

  "And you're here all summer?"

  He nodded. "Technically we were supposed to go home by mid July... our Mom is getting married in August... but I think we'll stick around as long as we can."

  Cay looked at me, then grinned. "Well, we would love for you guys to stay."

  I rolled my eyes at her. Max reached over and squeezed my arm.

  "I'm going to grab those chips," Cay went on, jumping up. She disappeared inside a moment later.

  I sighed, looking at Max. He knew that I wished Harley was there, which was just ridiculous. Harley didn't care about me, as far as I was concerned.