Page 18 of Summer's Echo
“I…” I began, but the words caught in my throat as I felt someone else’s presence on the patio. Echo and I turned in unison, pulled from our moment by the sight of Deshawn and who I assumed was Kourtni standing in the doorway. Brooke told me that Echo had a plus-one for the reception. Deshawn’s expression curious; hers accusatory.
“Summer, babe, what are you doing? I’ve been looking for you,” Deshawn said, his tone matter of fact.
“Echo, where’ve you been?” Kourtni chimed in, her eyes darting between us, but pausing to slowly examine me as she waited for him to answer. Echo leaned casually against the patio railing, his hands clasped in front of him. His calm demeanor contrasted sharply with my racing pulse. I felt like a guilty party, though I had done nothing wrong—well, maybe except walk down the dangerous road called memory lane.
Clearing my throat, I forced myself to speak. “Shawn. Hey. I just needed some air,” I said, my voice thin.
Kourtni’s stare was unwavering, silently demanding Echo explain himself. He stayed quiet, briefly turning to me before shifting to our visitors. Desperate to diffuse the tension, I spoke again. “Oh,um,Deshawn, this is Echo.”
Echo stepped forward, extending a hand toward Deshawn. “What’s up, man? Echo Abara.” His tone was smooth, practiced, like nothing about this moment was uncomfortable. “And this is Kourtni Lang,” he added, finally acknowledging her presence.
“Deshawn Towns, Summer’s fiancé,” Deshawn announced, his chest puffing slightly. Then his brow furrowed, and he snapped his fingers as though he’d just pieced something together. “Wait. Didn’t you two go to the same camp with Brooke one summer?”
Echo’s lips curled into something that could hardly pass as a smile, his sneer barely concealed. If his dark eyes were fire, we would’ve all been incinerated. “Yeah,” he said, his voice clipped. “Something like that.”
Straightening from the railing,Echo strode past me, his movements unhurried and deliberate, like he had already decided this conversation was over.I turned just in time to watch his back as he moved toward Kourtni, the woman who, despite standing only a few feet away, her connection to him remained a mystery to me. He hadn’t introduced her as a friend. Not as a girlfriend. Not as anything. Just there, existing in his space with no clear title. Her expression was caught somewhere between frustration and uncertainty, as if she couldn’t decide whether to be mad at him or to ask him what the hell was going on. But Echo didn’t stop. He barely even acknowledged her. Instead, just before disappearing back into the party, he tossed one last glance over his shoulder, his voice casual,his words anything but.
“Oh, and congratulations, man. On the engagement.” A beat of silence followed. The kind that stretched just a little too long.
Deshawn nodded, his thanks clipped, maybe even cautious.Then, without hesitation, he stepped closer, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me into him like a quiet claim. His lips pressed to my forehead, a soft, lingering kiss, but the warmth of it did nothing to ease the sudden chill settling in my bones.
Theunspoken tension buzzedbetween Echo and me the rest of the night—electric andundeniable, fueled by thecharged history we shared. No matter how crowded the room, Deshawn and Kourtni’s awareness never strayed far. Their curiosity was palpable, relentless, yet silent scrutiny and muted accusations hung heavy in the air, teetering on jealousy. Maybe they were justified because they became glue, clinging to us all night.
I thought about how Deshawn described my connection to Echo.Camp one summer.For anyone else,it might have sounded harmless, just words spoken without substance, but forme and Echo? Thatone summerwasn’t just a fleeting moment. It waseverything—friendship that blurred into something deeper, love thatsimmered quietly beneath the surface, and a thousandwhat-ifsthat still lingered between us…unexpressed and unexplored. And no one—not Deshawn, not Kourtni, not anyone—could ever fully understandwhat it meant.
Chapter Ten
Summer
That One Summer in 2004
“Your ass isdefinitely crazy, Sunshine!”Echo’s words replayed over and over in my head, blaring like a song I couldn’t turn off.
Unlike Ice Cube’s iconic words, today wasnota good day. It was one of those Gemini days for me—the kind where nothing felt right. Two days had passed since Echo and I had spent the evening at what we’d claimed as our hideaway, and his words still had me in a mood. Abadmood. He’d been trying to get my attention ever since he’d walked me to my lodge that night, but I’d basically ignored him. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to deal. I just wanted to be left alone, though that was nearly impossible when we were responsible for about fifty campers every day.
My roommate and one of my best friends, Trinity, could always tell when I was in my feelings. She knew the second Mariah Carey’s heartbreak anthems started blaring through the room, with me belting the lyrics from the depths of my soul, as if Iactuallyknew what that kind of heartbreak felt like. Mario’s “Let Me Love You” played, and I maxed out the volume. My conversation with Echo played on a relentless loop in my head, tangled up with the saddest love songs I could find.
“Your ass is definitely crazy,”I recalled him saying. He thought that shit was funny. Of course he did. I’m not sure why I was surprised. I’d always been the girl guys thought was cute enough to be their friend, little sister, orbaby girl, but never sexy enough to be taken seriously as a girlfriend.
Skipping the night’s festivities, I paced the small piece of floor available in my compact bedroom, dressed in pajama shorts and a tank top, my face dotted with skin cream. I stopped to glance at my reflection in the mirror, scrutinizing my body again. I guess the figure staring back at me wasn’t what boys my age considered sexy. Why did I care what Echo thought anyway? He was just a friend, not a boy I wanted to like me. His opinion shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.
“Summer, you have company!”Brooke’s voice rang out from the common area, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts.
Company? Who the hell?I sighed, already irritated.“Who, Brooke? I’m busy!” Before she could answer, Echo strolled into my room like he owned the place, hat turned backward,repping Chicago like always, basketball shorts hangingjust low enough to test my resolve, and a jerseyclinging to the muscles he was clearly working on. Icrossed my arms, my irritation flaring.
“Yo, what’s up, man? Why are you not talking to me?”His voice carried just enough bite to tell me he wasannoyed, too.
Heat creeped up my face.“Brooke! Why would you let him back here?” She knew I was in amood. She also knew I hadskin cream smeared all over my damn face.
Brooke peeked down the hall, her expression torn. With a shrug, she threw her hands in the air and walked off, wanting no part of the brewing storm. I sighed, turning back to Echo, who was now standing in the middle of my space like he wasn’t about to make my entire evening worse.
“What do you want, Echo? I am not in the mood for—”
“Sun, go wash your face, and bring your ass outside,” he cut me off, his voice low and brimming with frustration.
“Echo, I’m not—”
“Summer!” His tone sharpened, a seriousness I’d never heard from him before.
