Summer Sunshine (bxb)

Chapter 2. Purple Flowers

Caleb finds his eyes drifting to the clock as he drinks his second cup of coffee. It is now ten o'clock and he still hasn't seen Summer. Sam and Ivy both left for work at eight. Before she left Ivy had taken a breakfast tray into what Caleb guessed was Summer's bedroom.

Which reminds Caleb of the question he's been thinking about since he heard the news.

Why is Summer here?

When he made his plans to spend the summer with Sam at Christmastime there had been no mention of Summer being there. In fact Sam had been a little worried he might get bored since he and Ivy both worked. Caleb had assured him that all the extra alone time to write would be most welcome.

But then in March Caleb's mom had told him that Summer had moved back in with Ivy and Sam. There was no details beyond that. It was a personal matter and Ivy had said Summer didn't want to anything else being shared.

This had left Caleb's imagination open to all sorts of possibilities which ranged from a devastating breakup to Summer dying of some disease. He had to admit that some of his guesses were extremely dramatic but anything was possible and that thought worried him.

Down the hall a door opens and closes and soft footsteps sound on the slightly worn wood floor. Caleb places his coffee mug on the counter as Summer appears with a cereal bowl in his hand.

"Oh," Summer stops at the end of the hall. "Hi."

Caleb blinks at him and almost looks away. His cheeks burn with heat as he takes in Summer's outfit. He's wearing blue sleep shorts and a loose pale blue crop top which shows off most of his stomach especially when he sets his bowl down on the counter and stretches.

There is nothing provocative about the stretch but it gets Caleb's imagination working in ways he was not expecting this morning and he hastily looks away.

Summer washes his bowl and turns to face him. "So, you're the Solana that is staying here this summer. Caleb, wasn't it? Nice to meet you."

"We've met before," Caleb says. Has Summer really forgotten?

"We have? I'm sorry. There's just such a lot of you. I can never keep anyone straight."

"I'm Sam's youngest brother."

"Really?" Summer looks apologetic. "I would have seen you at the wedding, wouldn't I?"

"Yes." He really doesn't remember.

"Hmm, I wasn't at my best that weekend."

Caleb pours another cup of coffee so Summer can't see his face. "Yeah, I know."

Summer looks at him with a tilted head for a moment and then takes a banana from the fruit bowl making Caleb groan internally.

"So how old are you?" Summer asks slowly peeling the banana.

"Twenty."

"That's quite the age gap."

"Not real-Oh, you mean between me and Sam."

Summer looks slightly puzzled. "Yes, what else could I mean?"

"Yeah, it kind of is," Caleb says quickly. "He was in college when I was born. We've never been as close. That's why I'm here this summer. To bond a little. Family is very important to the Solanas."

"That's sweet," Summer swings himself up onto the counter. "Family is never something I've had much of but I like mine a lot."

"You don't see the Solanas as family?" Caleb already knew he didn't but he is curious to hear what Summer has to say.