Summer Girl

Summer Girl - Chapter 16

Chapter SIXTEEN 

An hour later, we were all inside, sitting in the large family room. There were two huge leather sofas, which Cora had purchased when I was a kid. I remembered her telling everyone they were easier to clean, since we were still tracking sand in from the beach every day. There were bookshelves lining the walls, and some collectibles on some higher shelves. The small TV was on a stand, some DVDs and VHS movies underneath. I mostly stayed out of this room, so now, sitting there with these people, I felt like everything was so different.

  Max was sitting to my left, close. Rob was on his other side. Cay and Callen were flirting, laughing, on the other sofa. Harley had left the room to look for another drink. It wasn't late, but I was tired. I didn't feel like drinking - I'd done enough of that the night before. I still didn't know what to think about Harley. Now, things felt different between us. I saw him looking at me, more than once.

  "Iz," Max nudged me, whispering. I yawned, looking at him. "You need to talk to Har. Tonight."

  "Uh, no," I said quickly. "He was just on a date."

  "Trust me, I know my brother. I can see how he's looking at you tonight," Max went on, keeping his voice low.

  "That's fine. But -"

  "No buts. Just do it."

  "Do what?" I asked, as Harley strolled back into the room.

  I hadn't talked to him in an hour. I had barely looked at him. Distracting myself with Max and drinking two beers and eating chips, and pretzels, which I had found in the cupboard, was fine. It had worked fine. Until now.

  Maybe it was now or never. Maybe it was the right time. But that didn't mean I wasn't scared out of my mind.

  "Har!" Max yelled, ignoring my question.

  Harley stopped, just as he popped open another beer. He had this curious look on his face, and it made my heart skip a few beats. He was just so beautiful, and it made me crazy. I looked back at Max, no idea what he was going to say next. He was beautiful, too, in a different way. His features were soft, welcoming. His hair was too long, but fit him perfectly. And I could still remember seeing him on the patio at the Hut, when I was sitting outside in the rain, after my shift. It had only been a few weeks but it felt like a lifetime ago.

  "Izzie wants to show you the balcony," he said to Harley, then covered his mouth, as if he knew he shouldn't have said it.

  The balcony on the beach house looked out over the back deck. It was attached to Sam's old room, which was now Tom's office. I hadn't been in there, let alone on the balcony, in years. I shook my head, without thinking.

  "You do?" Harley asked me, looking unsure.

  Max nudged me again, leaning in close. "Go, see what happens," he whispered.

  "Max," I said, annoyed. "What are you doing?"

  Harley was waiting. Max was just grinning at me, not even looking like he cared that I was mad. I felt like running away, to my bedroom, and not coming back. I was embarrassed, and scared. Didn't he know I'd never done this before?

  But Cay was flirting with and now kissing Callen, a guy she'd only just met, so I figured I could do this. I could go to the balcony and have a conversation with Harley.

  "Yeah, sure," I said, looking at Harley.

  He nodded, and waited for me to stand up and lead the way. I didn't look back at Max, but I knew he was still grinning. My heart was racing as I walked towards the staircase and started up them. Harley was just behind me. At the top, I went straight for the office. The door was closed, so I opened it, hoping I wasn't making a huge mistake.