It was the final day of the school year and Summer couldn't wait for the weekend. The summer break was almost in reach and relaxation was just around the corner. But first, Summer and some of the other staff had to power through one more event - the elementary children's disco. It was six-thirty on a Friday evening and rather than sipping wine with Alana and Levi she was still at work volunteering for something that she wasn't going to be paid for. And she was trying not to focus on the fact that a couple of the volunteers had failed to show up and now she was short on helpers which meant that there would be even more work to do. But it was all for the kids, right? As they hung the last balloon banner and poured chips into various bowls the children began to arrive.
There was no denying that they looked adorable all dressed up in little suits and dressed and Summer couldn't seem to stop a smile from forming on her face when children from her class began to show up.
They all greeted her with chirpy voices and expressed their excitement for the dancing and the music. And when she saw one child in particular her mood lifted even higher as her eyes settled on the man who had brought him to the party.
Lucas stood in the doorway of the gymnasium with his hands shoved in his pockets and his six-year-old nephew standing by his side. He looked around taking in the scene and Summer found herself watching him as he did. He hadn't yet seen her and she was wondering if it was her he was looking for and when his gaze finally found her, she could tell that the answer was definitely a yes.
"Cool party," he said as he approached her.
"Thanks, it didn't turn out too bad with only two hours of work."
"You did this?"
She nodded. "I had a little help but it was kinda my idea. These kids deserve an end-of-year party, they've all worked so hard."
"I think their teachers probably deserve a party more than they do."
"You're not wrong. So hey, how come you brought Charlie tonight?"
"Charlotte's stuck at work so she asked me to help him get ready and bring him here. And I couldn't say no, he was lookin' forward to showin' off his dance moves."
"Is that the only reason you're here?" She asked with a furrowed brow and feeling like he could have simply dropped Charlie off at the door and turned to leave but didn't.
He let out a small chuckle. "I figured this is where you'd be since you didn't answer my text about gettin' pizza..." Heat instantly rose to her cheeks and she turned away from him knowing that wasn't the time nor place to talk about those things. "But that's not why I'm here," he quickly added.
"Well since you are here, we're short on a couple of volunteers. Would you mind staying? Just for an hour?"
She could tell that he wanted to say no but she wasn't going to let him get out of it that easy. "Summer break starts tomorrow, so...." She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear. "We can have pizza all you want."
He grinned from ear to ear and Summer could tell that he was about to say something in return but stopped himself after remembering where he was. He cleared his throat and then shuffled uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "When do you head off to camp?"
"In two weeks," she stated.
"Got any plans from now until then?"
She shook her head. "What are your plans?"
"Work."
"That it?"
He shrugged. "I don't really take time off. Wouldn't know what to do if I did."
"Relax? Or you could go to the beach? Or see a movie?"
"Shouldn't I bet tellin' you to relax? You're the one who is goin' to be workin' during your break."
"Technically it's not working because I'm not getting paid. I'm volunteering."
"How long is it?"
"Two and a half weeks I think, but sometimes it runs on a little longer. It depends on their schedule this year."
"Any plans for after camp?"
She thought for a moment. The simple and easiest answer was no but that wasn't strictly true. "I might be going to Florida for the end of break."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "My friend Alana and her husband have a vacation house down there and they've asked if I wanna stay with them for a few weeks."
"Are you gonna?"
"I'm not sure. They'll be on family vacation and I don't want to intrude."
"If they've invited you there's no way you'll be intrudin'."
"I guess..."
"You should go." She wanted to say she didn't want to because she'd miss seeing his stupid face so much but she didn't. Because, for one that would go against their agreement and two, she wasn't even sure if that was the case or if she just longed for intimacy.
"Yeah. Maybe."
The principal appeared at the front of the room and called for one of the teachers to turn down the music and welcomed all of the children and volunteers to their end-of-year disco. He expressed that there was a suggestion box at the back of the room where parents could fill out suggestions for the following year and then wished the children a good time before disappearing back into the crowd.
"Thanks for agreeing to stay," Summer said and turned in Lucas' direction.
"Of course."
"You didn't have any plans this evening did you?"
He shook his head. "They weren't important."
"You should have said something. You don't have to stay."
"Like I said, Summer. It wasn't important."
"What...what was it?"
He gave her a look of warning and she knew exactly what he was about to say and she mimicked his words as he spoke. "That's against the rules."
"I know," she said afterwards. "But I just feel like we know nothing about each other."
He looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. "That's what you wanted."
"Yeah..."
"But maybe we could get to know each other a little...I don't see the harm in that." She smiled a little but quickly turned her head to the side so that he couldn't see her expression. She felt a small wave of relief flow into her body. Which was strange because it was her idea to remain only as two people - who were barely even friends - having sex.
When she turned back in his direction she had adjusted her facial expression and now, simply nodded without even a trace of a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, i guess there's no harm in it."
One side of his mouth turned up in a small smile as he nodded himself and then returned to his typical state of scanning the room broodingly. After a couple of moments of silence Lucas announced that he best be going but Summer was sure that it hadn't yet been an hour. She glanced up at the clock on the opposite side of the gymnasium and by some miracle an hour had passed.
Before he turned on his heel to leave Lucas asked one last question. "Since we've agreed to be friends now I have a favour to ask. I've got to get my sister a birthday present but I have no clue what to get. Do you wanna come shoppin' with me tomorrow? I could really use a female perspective."
She thought for a moment but with no real reason to say no, Summer agreed and Lucas told her that he would pick her up at eleven o'clock before saying his goodbyes and leaving.
When it came to the end of the school disco only an hour and a half later she had expected to see Lucas return to pick up his nephew from the dance but, the boy's mother had turned up instead which evoked a rather unfamiliar feeling within her.
They were standing side by side staring at various bottles on the shelves trying to decide which perfume to buy. Lucas had taken them to the store in search of the perfect gift for his sister but so far, in the two hours that they had been searching, they hadn't found anything.
"When all else fails, perfume is the way to go," Summer explained as she picked up a bottle from the shelf, removed the lid and smelled it. She then placed it down, picked up another and did the same. "Do you know what kind your sister usually wears?"
He laughed a little. "If I knew that, I probably wouldn't need your help."
She nodded and added a little shrug. "Yeah, you're right."
He glanced from Summer to the perfumes and then back to her. "What would you choose, if it were for you?"
She furrowed her brow as she glanced over the bottles on the shelf again. She hadn't ever thought about it, Summer typically wore any perfume that she was given either for her birthday or as a Christmas gift. In front of her was a circular bottle with pink stained glass and a beautiful rose gold lid. She picked it off of the shelf and the sweet aroma tickled her nose.
"This," she said as she handed it to him. "I think she'll like this one."
Lucas brought the bottle closer to him, took in a breath through his nose and then nodded. "We'll get this one." He selected an unopened box from the shelf and then turned to Summer. "Do you need to get anythin' before we go?" She shook her head. "Alright then."
It was warm when they stepped out of the store and Summer instantly regretted wearing a sweater. "Hold this for a second will ya?" She handed her handbag over to Lucas and quickly gripped the bottom of her sweater and pulled it over her head which revealed her white tank top. As she folded the sweater delicately in her hands she glanced up at Lucas who was staring back at her intently and when he realised she had noticed him staring he turned away.
He cleared his throat before speaking, although he still did not look at her. "Wanna get a coffee?"
"I have to get back..." she said even though it was a Saturday and the first weekend of the summer break.
"You said you didn't have any plans today."
"I have to get back for Bella."
"I'm sure she'll be fine for another hour."
She huffed a little, feeling defeated and then agreed to get a coffee. The pair of them walked silently down the street to the nearest coffee shop and once inside they found a table in the corner away from the other customers. He deposited his baseball cap on the chair opposite her and then asked what she would like. She told him her basic order which wasn't all that basic but he nodded nonetheless and went to the counter to order. She watched him intently, her eyes were glued to him and despite willing herself to look away she simply couldn't bring herself to. She watched him with such curiosity - the way his hair was styled to a level of perfection that she didn't think was necessary and the confidence that radiated from him was so admirable she wished she had the same. She couldn't take her eyes off of this man and wished to know why he was now, all of a sudden, having this effect on her.
Her fantasy was then suddenly interrupted by the chime of the bell above the coffee shop door and two strangers walking in. But, one wasn't a stranger, in fact, it was a man she hadn't seen since they were teenagers. He hadn't seen her and so Summer lowered her head and reached across the table for Lucas' hat. She was quick to place it on her head and pulled it low to cover her eyes. She stared down at the table now to scared to look up. She hadn't seen the man in a long time and, in all honesty, she never thought she would see him again once he moved out of Oak View.
"Everythin' okay?" Lucas asked as he approached the table with a tray in hand. He set it down and then slipped into the chair opposite.
Summer peeked up at him, nodded and then looked down.
"You embarrassed to be seen with me?" This caused her head to shoot up and she shook it furiously.
"Of course not."
"So there's someone you don't wanna see?" She nodded and watched as Lucas scanned the room briefly and then settled his gaze back on her. "An ex?" She nodded again.
She turned her head ever so slightly so that she could glance in the man's direction and when she saw that he was settled at a table at the other end of the coffee shop, she began to relax.
"Here," Lucas said as he slid her coffee mug across the table and then did the same with a muffin.
She thanked him and wrapped her hands around the mug. It was a little hot to the touch but she didn't mind, if anything the warmth on her hands became a distraction of sorts. She took a sip of the coffee and felt the hot foam tickle her lip as she tipped the mug. When she placed the mug back onto the table Lucas let out a small laugh and pointed to her lip. She grinned knowing what he was pointing at and wiped the foam from her lip with a napkin.
"I appreciate you comin' today," he said.
"Why wouldn't I? That's what friends are for, right?"
"We're friends now?" There was a little shock and confusion in his voice.
Summer nodded ever so slightly. "Yeah, I suppose so."
"It's about time."
"What do you mean?"
"We couldn't exactly pretend that we disliked each other forever, right?"
"I never said I disliked you."
"No but this deal we got goin' on made it hard to be friends. I mean, you didn't want us to get to know each other because it'd be too complicated. But look at us now, I'd say we've got that friends thing down and nothin' is complicated."
"You really do like proving me wrong, don't you."
He shook his head. "No, I just like bein' right."
"That's the same thing."
"No, it's not. By provin' you wrong that'd imply that I was tryin' to be better than you. But by just bein' right we can have a conversation about it. It becomes a discussion."
"You're really smart, do you know that?"
"That ain't true," he said in dismissal.
"You are, I've never heard someone speak as much sense as you do. You always have something intelligent to say about everything."
"I just like to talk, and like I said...I like being right."
"But to be right all the time you have to have the facts to back it up."
He glanced across the room and suddenly his facial expression changed. "Well, here's a fact, that ex of yours is walkin' right to us."
"Summer?" The familiar voice in which she hadn't heard in years said. He was now standing beside their table with a woman on his left. Summer glanced up at him with a sheepish look in her eye. "I thought it was you."
"Hi..."
"It's been years."
"Yeah, it has. How are you? How's your Mom?"
"We're both doin' well. How are you? You look different...a good kinda different."
"I'm fine."
Lucas then spoke up from across the table as the conversation had died down to a level that became almost awkward. He reached across and extended his hand out in the man's direction.
"Lucas," he said as he shook the man's hand.
"Will," he returned and then gestured to the woman standing beside him. "This is Billie." Lucas gave a small, lopsided smile to the woman who greeted him with a shy hello. "So how do you two know each other?"
"We're just frien-" Summer started but she was quickly cut off by Lucas.
"I'm her boyfriend."
Will looked from Lucas to Summer and then back to Lucas before nodding. It wasn't obvious if he believed what was said or not but he nodded nonetheless. Summer couldn't quite understand why Lucas had said what he had. Was he staking a claim that wasn't even there to be had or was there something she just wasn't seeing right away?
"Anyway, we best get goin', we're lookin' at an apartment in town and we don't wanna be late."
"You guys are moving in together?" Summer asked out of curiosity.
"Yeah, been together four years and now it just seems like the right time."
"Well, I hope you guys find what you're looking for."
"We'll have to catch up sometime," Will said before he was dragged out of the coffee shop by his girlfriend who was muttering words of how they were already late and they wouldn't have been if he hadn't insisted on stopping for coffee.
When the couple were out of sight Summer folded her arms across her chest and stared at the man sitting opposite her.
"What?"
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Say that you're my boyfriend." Lucas shrugged. "Don't just shrug. Why did you do it?"
"You didn't wanna see him so I just figured that your break-up was messy. I guess I thought you'd wanna make him a little jealous. Show him what he lost?"
"Why would you think that?"
"You went red in the face when you saw him. Like the feelin's you had for him are still there? And I thought, maybe...I dunno...He's the reason you don't wanna commit?"
Summer let out an audible laugh along with a small snort. "He was a high school boyfriend. We literally dated for all of three months and I was sixteen. Trust me, Lucas, there are no feelings there whatsoever."
"Oh, right..."
"I appreciate the thought but let me just make something clear..." Her tone was now serious as if she was angry. "The reason why I don't want a relationship has absolutely nothing to do with you. So don't go assuming things you know nothing about."
"Got it."
"Thanks for the coffee but I need to get going." She stood from her chair and collected her things but before she could reach the door Lucas reached out and gripped her hand bringing her to a stop.
"Will you ever tell me?" He said and without explicitly saying it, she knew exactly what he was talking about. He wanted to know why she couldn't commit and why she didn't want a relationship.
She slipped her hand out from his and then muttered two very simple words before leaving Lucas sitting alone in the coffee shop. "Will you?"