My Summer of Firsts

Chapter 29 - Life After Summer

Around lunchtime, Shelly entered the pharmacy with a brown paper bag in hand. I wondered what was inside. With Shelly, the options were unlimited.

She plopped the bag on the counter. Spots of grease stained the bottom of the bag. "Hungry?" she asked, opening the top to release a heavenly aroma. She pulled out a sandwich wrapped in foil and waved it under my nose. Only one place in town was so low rent they didn't bother with labels on anything: Bert's World Famous Chicken. Despite the name, I doubted anyone outside our town had ever heard of Bert or his chicken.

I snagged the sandwich and unwrapped it. The chicken was fried crispy and brown. A bit of the secret sauce dripped out the side.

"Oh, my God! I love Bert's." I looked at her and shook my head. "You dick."

There were probably a million calories in each of their sandwiches. I did my best not to eat there often.

Shelly giggled. "Live a little, Steven." She fished out a second sandwich for herself, along with two containers of French fries.

I went to the cooler and grabbed us two drinks—Dr. Pepper for me, Diet Mountain Dew for her.

I returned and picked up the greasy, fatty sandwich and took a bite. I could finally say with certainty that it was almost as good as sex.

I looked over at her and frowned. "I hate you for this."

"Shut up and eat, bitch face."

Covering my full mouth with my hand, I asked, "Where's Nathalie?"

"With my mom. I left them at the thrift shop. I lost interest after the first hour of digging through all the crap that other people didn't want. They seemed to be having fun, so I thought I'd see what you're up to." She looked around the store. "Everything in here is exactly the same."

"Does anything in this town ever change?" I asked.

Shelly watched me with curiosity in her eyes. "I guess not."

"Do I have something on my face?" I wiped a napkin over my mouth and cheeks self consciously.

She shook her head. "Why do you still want to live in this town, Steven?"

"I don't have much of a choice." I said, popping a fry in my mouth.

"Sure, you do."

"I don't even know where I'd go. Or what I'd do when I got there. Honestly, as much as I whine about living here, the thought of going somewhere else, not knowing anyone kinda scares me to death."

"What about Seattle? I'm there." Shelly dragged one of her fries through the excess sauce on her wrapper. "Or New Orleans? Derek's there."

"But you guys are only in those places because you go to school there. I guess Derek doesn't really go to school anymore, but you know what I mean."

Shelly gave me an incredulous glare. "Do you really think either of us is ever coming back to live in this shit hole?"

I shrugged. "There's also my mom to consider. I can't just leave her on her own."

"You said she's dating someone. And she has friends. And your grandma only lives like an hour away."

"I guess."

"Do you think she wants you to hang around here being miserable out of some misguided sense of obligation to her?"

"Probably not."

"Of course not." Shelly said emphatically. "And what about dating? You've been miserable most of your life, desperately wanting to find someone. I mean, come on, Steven, you hate two of the nicest guys in town because they're happy together."

"I don't hate them anymore. Now that I have a boyfriend that kind of just went away."

"Well, you only have a boyfriend right now by accident."

"It was a great accident." I said defensively. "I love him."

"And that's fantastic. But I was talking to him at Derek's the other day. He's going back to Chicago after he clears out his grandpa's house. Did you know that? Are you going with him?" She sounded like she thought the answer was no.

I hadn't actually thought that far ahead. Should I? I definitely didn't want to be separated from him. Chicago was a long way from Arizona.

Would he even want me to go with him?

Shelly sliced her hand through the air, pulling me from my thoughts. "Look, forget about whatever is making you make that face right now. I want you to come spend time with me. Stay for a while. You can crash on our couch. I'd love to have you. I've really missed you." She grabbed my hand, gripping it tight.

"I've missed you, too."

"And, who knows, if you like Seattle, maybe you could make it a permanent thing. Get a job and save up some money for a place of your own. I know a ton of cute guys who'd adore you."

I didn't want to think about other guys. I loved Elian. It may only be my first love, but I wanted it to last longer than a few months. I already couldn't imagine what my life would be like without him.

Actually, that's not true. I could imagine it. And it sucked.

"Will you at least think about it?"

I nodded. I would definitely be thinking about it. Not so much her offer as life after summer.