The Imperfections Of My Perfect Summer

Baby you a song

The city of lights. In the dark this magnificent state was lit up, hiding all the faults, imperfections, in the shadows. I was glowing with happiness. We had just eaten hotdogs, had a pack of four beers and music blasting as we drove open top along the open highways. Lance wasn’t drinking, thank goodness, but the rest of us were getting a little tipsy since we had already had a couple of drinks in the hot dog bar. I wasn’t normally a beer drinking girl, I liked mixes and cider, but in California with three guys you learn to live with it.

“Hey baby

Yeah, when I first saw that bikini top on her

 She’s poppin’ right out of the South Georgia water

 Thought, "Oh, good lord, she had them long tanned legs!"

 Couldn’t help myself so I walked up and said” The radio sang. This song was perfect. This was the most amazing moment, like a movie. Lance lifted one hand up and the other sat on their knees in the back. I turned the song up so it echoed along the road. Sitting up myself for the chorus, lifting both hands in the air.

“Baby you a song

 You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise

 Down a back road blowin’ stop signs through the middle

 Every little farm town with you

 In this brand new Chevy with a lift kit

Would look a hell of a lot better with you up in it”

Lance-

She looked hot, beautiful, oh I don’t know. I couldn’t help but notice, I wasn’t looking for it. Her beauty just appeared whenever I got close to her. Her copper hair was flying around, her sunglasses balanced on top of her head so her blue eyes twinkled in the city lights… She’d been walking round Hollywood looking like a freaking model, short denim shorts and a really big shirt that exposed one of her slightly burnt shoulders- I’d been catching my breath all day. Damn, what was I thinking? She was basically my sister, we shared a bathroom for 2 months a year. And then she sang… there was nothing like it. Even when she occasionally missed a note or forgot a line it was the aura given out from her, like a wave of joy. Everyone felt it, they must do. I sang along quietly too, I wasn’t very good but with her I didn’t really care.

I had almost forgotten about the other morons in the back seats when I heard an almighty scream as if Oakley had witnessed live girls for the first time. I focused my attention back on the road now, Lissa had given me a strange look and Tim had poked me, asking if I’d drunk too much with his own alcohol breath. The song had finished, sadly but smoothly played an old song, at first I didn’t recognise it. I wasn’t one for musicals but this one was a classic.

“Summer lovin’ had be a blast,

Summer lovin’ happened so fast.” Sang John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. I snuck a glance at her but she wasn’t singing like I had expected, not even lip singing the lyrics. She was just staring at the horizon in front of us, in a daze. Her skin reflected the cities lights slightly so she glowed even more. I hated how we didn’t even live in the same country. England was just so far away it hurt to think about, even just as friends I hated it when people had to leave. What was I thinking of course we were just friends? Jesus Christ, get your act together man. I pushed her as far away as I could out of my mind until the next time she caught me off guard.

Alicia-

 It was the perfect night and I know I keep on saying it but it was literally cycling around in my brain every second. We were nearly home and the fuzziness of the beer left my mind as we drove through the front gate. I just wanted to repeat it, but you can’t relive these kinds of moments. I was expecting some kind of final end of the evening. Something to signify the importance of it but nothing happened. The boys slowly climbed the stairs off to bed but I wasn’t ready to sleep, I was too buzzed. Jenny and Mum were out on the deck eating ‘chips and dip’ Jenny’s favourite. I popped my head round the corner to check they weren’t in some deep discussion because I hated interrupting them.

“Oh hello dear. Come give your mother a hug. I feel like I’ve hardly seen you.” My Mum looked tired but happy, she didn’t have that glow at home -of being happy. Her hair had been curled and looked beautiful, I wonder where they’d been tonight.

“Likewise.” I looped my arms around her neck and she rubbed my back.

“What did you do today hon?” Jenny asked. “I’ve been trying to get Lance away from those horrible friends of his he’s made down here. Were you successful?”

That explains the cigarette smell. “We went to Hollywood. I was a really good day. What did you two do?” I pulled out a chair and sat to join them.

“We visited some friends.” Like they’d been doing every day this week… suspicious. Oh well, I’ll let them have their secrets.

“So, Lance didn’t mention these friends? Honestly, he’s going to get himself into a lot of trouble soon and Andrew isn’t here to sort him out. I can’t handle him on my own. Before you guys and Andrew got down here he would sulk in his room all day and go out in the evenings and not return until the early hours drunk and stinking like weed. I told him that it wasn’t happening under my roof but he’d ignore me.” She put her head in her hands. I couldn’t believe what Lance was doing to himself, I wouldn’t believe it. “Anyway, seems like he’s made an improvement. I shouldn’t worry.”

The conversation carried like normal until my mother’s sleepy head almost hit the table before she woke up. “Okay, you golden oldies. Time for bed. Look whose still out in the early hours of the morning.” I laughed and helped them clear away before making my own way upstairs. I could hear music playing in Lance’s room and knocked on his door wanting to tell him I’d had such a good day but when I opened it, the room was empty. So it hadn’t stopped. He was still hanging around wither these ‘friends”. I turned the stereo off and left a note on the back of an envelope: Next time turn the music off-Lis x.  He needed to know I wasn’t doing him a favour, I just didn’t want Jenny to know he’d disobeyed her again. I then heard a phone, his text tone. He’d left it behind. I didn’t open up the messages but I could read a few of them from the front screen.

 Where are you man? -JK

You better be there. X –Poppy

I couldn’t help but be worried.  And whether it was jealousy for just seeing a girl’s name on his phone but I felt more threatened by her text than the others. I ran out of his room, removing my note for fear that he would know I saw the messages and got into bed worrying until I heard the door being opened and locked at around 4am. For goodness sake Lance, what have you gotten yourself into?