A Summer Romance

3

John.

"Morgan. Coco. This is my cousin Darcy. Darcy, Morgan and Coco."

"Nice to meet you," a beautiful dark skinned girl walked over to me and gave me a hug. "I'm Morgan. And obvi, that's Coco," she waved at a tall redhead.

John walked straight to me and leaned down to my ear.

"Talk about stalking," he said, only loud enough for me to hear.

"John," Cherry snapped. "How do you know my cousin?"

"Oh, Darcy and I have already met. Haven't we, Darcy?"

"We have. My first night here, I went to Mel's and he suggested a dish for me."

"Okay, knowing John, it was either the shrimp gumbo or something simple like fish tacos," Cherry laughed.

I looked over at Cherry and started laughing with her. The chair directly across from me was available so that's where John took his seat. This wasn't going to be awkward at all.

"He actually did suggest the shrimp gumbo but because a fresh batch was made and bay leaves were added, I wasn't going to cause a problem by asking for more to be made without."

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"She's allergic," Cherry and John said together.

"This girl was always in and out of doctors when we were kids. She's allergic to grass, to cashews and almonds but any other nut, she can have. What else?"

"Ragweed. Pollen. Certain dog and cat breeds. Soy and sesame anything, peanut oil, dust mites and mold."

"Man, I see why you're spending some time at the beach," Jesse said.

"That's one thing that I've not had a reaction to yet," I smiled.

Just then my phone started ringing. I saw that it was my mom and knew if I didn't pick up, she'd just keep calling back. I excused myself from the table to answer.

"Mom, I'm okay."

"Are you with Charity?"

"Yes, and she's introduced me to her housemates," I told her.

"Are they nice to you?" she asked.

"Mom, I love you so much but this constant calling multiple times a day...."

"I know, honey. I know," she sighed.

"You are my emergency contact should anything happen. I'll be sure to have Cherry put your number in her phone. I'm okay."

"You're not having any kind of reactions?"

"Mom," I sighed. "Can I please just have the rest of the night to enjoy? I'll text you once I'm back in my room."

"No matter what time," she said.

"Agree. I love you, mom."

"I love you," she said and then we ended the call.

I felt a presence behind me before I saw anyone. It was weird that I could already tell when he was close to me. I turned around only to see his smiling face.

"You know," he started. "When Charity told us that her younger cousin was going to stay with us for the summer, I wasn't quite expecting..."

"You better tread carefully," I laughed.

"Oh no, not my style, love. I jump in head first. That's why I'm going to be upfront with you. You are absolutely stunning."

"Okay," I said, laughing and pushing at his arm. "I'm sure more than a fair share of locals or even visitors has heard that line."