Page 13 of Summer's Echo
“Like what?” she responded curtly, her voice calm but edged with something I couldn’t quite place.
“Like that was a bad question,” I replied, watching her closely. There was something in her posture, a discomfort she was trying to hide. “My bad. I didn’t mean any harm. I’m just…surprised.”
“Surprised? Why?” she asked dryly, almost daring me to say something stupid.
Because you are fucking gorgeous,I thought, but caught myself before the words slipped out. Instead, I shrugged. “Because you’re dope. I’d think dudes would be all over you.”
Her narrowed eyes darted my way, sharp and skeptical. I couldn’t tell if she was amused or annoyed, but the moment was tense.
“Nope. That’s not my story,” she replied, bobbing her head to the music but looking more annoyed with every passing second.
“Sun, real talk,” I said, leaning forward a little, hoping to break through her distraction. “Nobody likes you? No dudes trying to get with you?” The corner of my lip curved slightly in disbelief because whatever she was going to say couldn’t be the truth.
She wrapped her arms around her legs, shrinking into herself in a way I hadn’t seen before. “No,” she snapped, her tone cold and clipped. “No dudes like me for real. No dudes are trying to get with me.”
For real. I wondered what that meant. The words hit harder than expected because the way she said them stuck with me. It carried something heavier, but I momentarily held back from prying further. She was clearly pissed, uncomfortable even, and I probably should’ve let it go. But like the idiot I sometimes was, I just kept going. “I’on know, Sunshine,” I said, shaking my head. “That sounds crazy to me. It’s plenty dudes around here who try to get with you.”
“Who?” Her pursed lips and creased forehead made it clear she was unimpressed with the flex. “And please don’t say Kyle.”
“Nah, not that corny dude,” I replied, the thought alone making me mad because I’d heard the disrespectful way Kyle talked about girls. “What about Josh? He’s always in your face.”
Summer’s face scrunched into a deep frown, like I’d just said the dumbest thing imaginable. “In the six or seven years I’ve known Josh, he’s never asked me out—ever,” she said.“He lives around the corner from me and goes to my school, so no, not even Josh,” she said firmly. Her voice carried a sharp edge, tinged with impatience and finality, like she was daring me to say something else.
“Well, he’s dumb as hell, man. If you weren’t budding into my new best friend, I would be all over that,” I said, biting the corner of my lip.
Tilting her head slightly, Summer studied me with caution, suspicion all over her face. “Boy, bye. Every girl at camp is ‘Echo this’and‘Echo that.’You would never be checking for me.”
“Nah, Sun, it’s not even like that,” I scoffed. “I’m just a friendly guy. I don’t like any of these girls.”
“Oh, really?” she challenged, her voice a bit lighter now. “So, what do you like in a girl, Echo?”
I spun my hat around before leaning back, thinking aloud. “Hmm. What do I like in a girl? I guess a crazy, sexy, cool type of chick.”
Summer snorted, her lips quirking into a smile. “Soo, basically TLC.”
I nodded, rubbing my hands together with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Exactly. You’re not the only one who loves nineties R&B.”
“Boy, please,” she said, shaking her head. sOur chuckles were faint, floating off with the warm breeze. And for the first time in a while, an awkward lull settled between us. Summer tugged at her ear—a little nervous tic I’d noticed before—and then almost shyly, she whispered, “D–Do you think I’m crazy, cool…and,um,sexy?” Her voice was so soft I almost missed it, but I caught the way she avoided my stare, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
Hell yeah!Those eyes, that smile, those lips, damn, those thighs! Shit, she was all those things and more.But instead of telling her the truth, I played it off, laughing like a fool.
“Your ass is definitely crazy, Sunshine!” I nudged her shoulder, thinking that she’d share in the banter, maybe roll her eyes, or shove my shoulder back, but the smile I was waiting for never crossed her lips. Instead, her face stayed stoic, her eyes fixed somewhere in the distance. I thought I was breaking the tension, lightening the mood, but I’d fucked around and only managed to make it worse.
Chapter Seven
Echo
October 2019
Patience was truly a virtue and never my strong suit, except when around Summer. The temperature was dropping by the second, yet my Sun seemed unfazed by the chill. She’d cried so much, I imagine she was probably numb to the chill. I glanced at my watch, then back at her, wondering how long we were going to stay out here. Caressing her, I realized how perfectly Summer’s body still fit against mine. She wasn’t the same girl I’d known at seventeen—she’d grown, evolved into someone more complex, yet, somehow, she was exactly the same. Soft but unyielding. Delicate yet unbreakable. Fearless, with that familiar trace of vulnerability lingering beneath the surface.
Summer lifted her face toward me, that subtle, closed-mouth smile doing what it always did—make my damn heart skip a beat.“E,” she whispered, her voice the warmth I needed.
“Hmm,”I murmured, the sound barely audible.
“I’m glad you’re here. I needed you more than you’ll ever know.”
“Me, too,” I whispered back. I kept her close, holding her tighter, as restless thoughts of how we ended up here unraveled in my mind. My runaway-bride best friend. Here we were, at the spot that had always been ours. Our complicated friendship, riddled with so many twists and turns, and now this. Once again, it felt like we were teetering on the edge of something we could no longer ignore.
