Page 17 of Sweet Summer

“I do, and this is why you’ve asked me to help you. Makes me glad I brought a few of my old party supplies with me when I moved from LA last year. Who would have thought it would come in handy for you when you need help with your love life?” She rolls her eyes as she steps back to survey the dock. It’s still light out, so we don’t have the full visual impact yet, but we both can see where my spark of an idea is finally starting to come together. Well, my idea with the help of Dylan’s professional event planning skills.

Next to me, I hear a low whistle escape Dylan’s lips. “Not to toot my own horn, but wow. This looks great.”

I can’t disagree; she’s worked her magic and then some.Once it’s dark, this spot is going to be exactly as I need it to be, and I can’t wait to see the look on Freya’s face.

Freya has always loved the Fourth of July. Since we were kids, we’ve spent the night of July fourth together and usually ended up here, on her grandma's dock, watching the fireworks light up the night sky. Summer has always been ours, and if I’m going to have any kind of chance to win her over and get her to see how much I care, it’s going to be tonight.

Dylan grabs her bag and car keys. “Okay, I’m outta here. You good for tonight?”

I look around and survey the scene before me. I want this to be right. Ineedthis to be right—I’ve waited this long to speak up, so I can’t screw up in the home stretch.

I go down my list; decorations and ambiance pulled together by a real life event planner? Tick. Although, I’m sure I’ll have to help Dylan with her Intro to Heat Transfer and Fire Measurements course, which is a small price to pay.

Food basket prepared by the best chef around? Tick. Thank you, Aunt Maisey. And I’m happy to repay the favor by checking the Red Bird for any would-be fire hazards. Again, it’s a small price to pay for winning over Freya’s heart.

Playlist ready to go with some mood music later? Tick. It hadn’t taken me too long to organize a list of songs I know she likes. I even included some from Dirty Dancing because for some weird reason, I’ve decided that’s our movie. I just hope Maisey will remember to turn on the speakers, and turn up the volume, at the right moment.

Now, the rest of this night…is all up to me.

Freya

Coming home to watch the fireworks from our dock solo was not in my original action plan, but it’s certainly fitting for my current mood. Even though I wasn’t in a war, I feel defeated, and apparently defeat has a smell and I think it’s seeping out of my pores.

I open the door and find a smiling aunt jamming out and dancing to Katy Perry's “Firework” in the kitchen. Yep, Aunt Maisey is right here letting her colors burst, and loudly. To be honest, I need to laugh. The bruise may be feeling better on my chin, but the bruise of my ego is another situation altogether. Behind Maisey, I see a buffet of bad choices spread out on the counter which include, but is not limited to, a bag of Grandma Utz’s potato chips, onion dip, a giant bar of chocolate, and what looks like sundae fixings as well. Comfort foods abound.

One look at me and Maisey stops her concert for no one and turns down the music. The woman can read me like a book. She crosses her arms, squints her eyes, and looks at me in that all-knowing way only family members can do. “I know it was busy at the cafe today, but you’re dragging those feet like someone burst your happiness balloon. What’s going on?”

I pull out a stool at the counter and plant myself in the seat. “I made a decision about where I’m going to live, and I’m coming to terms with it.”

Maisey’s face clouds over. “Judging by the way you look, I’m thinking I’m not going to want to know where you’ll be moving to, because it won’t be here. Will it?”

“Actually, I’ve decided Iamcoming home. I’m coming back to Lake Lorelei.” I shrug my shoulders, leaning into the back of the stool and making myself comfortable. I can feel my shoulders release some of their tension, and it’s glorious. “I wasn’t positive I wanted to come home, or that I could, but none of that matters. I realize I need to be here. I could feel the pull of this place as soon as I walked in the house and even thefirst shift back with you. New York will always be there, but time with you and the rest of the family here, that’s where I want to be right now.”

I barely finish before Maisey swoops over, pulling me into her arms and jumping up and down. “Yay! Yay! Yay! Oh, Freya, you’ve made me so happy. You’re going to live here with me, right? Say you will because I don’t think I could have it any other way.”

“I will.” I laugh as I extract myself from her exuberant embrace. “At least for the first year, if that’s okay? I’ll pay you rent and my share of the running costs.”

She waves a hand in the air. “We’ll figure it out. I’m just thrilled our girl is coming home. So, now that’s outta the way, can you tell me what else is going on?”

I can never keep anything from this woman. “It’s Wyatt.”

“Okay, what about him?”

I fill her in on the night before. “I messed up, and I don’t have the ability to go back in time and fix a parameter I put on our friendship. I stuck us in the friend zone because I was scared to lose a friend. My best friend.”

“I swear I don’t see the problem here.”

I grunt my displeasure. “The problem is me, Maisey. I played a game and lost.”

“Sweetie, you didn’t play any games. And you surely have not lost anything.”

I wag a finger at her. “This is where you’re wrong. I started to feel something this week. No, that’s wrong. I’ve been sitting with the feelings for years, and I was finally ready—see definition for ‘mature enough’—to acknowledge them this week. The problem is that I’m too late to the party and that boy, who you said had that crush on me oh-so-many-years ago, has moved on. I just needed to hear it so I can close this chapter, tucking it into the ‘we really are just friends’ basket and get back to normal programming.” I take a sip of the iced tea she’dslid in front of me while I was talking. “I may have opened my heart to a possibility this week, one that isn’t reciprocal, but it showed me it’s time I started owning my choices. Which is a big reason I decided it’s time to come back here.”

Grinning, Maisey holds up her glass. “Then we need to toast to that. To making bold choices and owning them.”

“Here, here.” I raise my glass and clink hers, my grin spreading wider now that I’ve shared my choice with someone. Makes it real.

“Well, not to rush things here, but look at that.” Maisey taps her watch. “Fireworks start in a few minutes. Feel like watching them on the dock?”

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