Page 29 of It Started with a Sunset
Summer stepped closer to him, her foot bumping against his, their legs almost touching. “Okay, but I feel like I need to warn you that I was in a bowling league for three weeks when I was younger.”
His eyebrow rose.
“So be prepared to play with a pro. Oh, and I have the perfect bowling outfit. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “I can’t wait, either. Does next Friday work?”
She nodded. “Friday it is. Now can I have that kiss that I’ve been dying to get all morning?”
He was still smiling when his lips first touched hers.
Chapter Thirteen
Summer
Summer, Valeria, and Avery all stepped out of her car and walked to the shore of Lake Baldwin for the tri-town meet-up.
“Oh my heck specks, that’s a lot of people,” Avery breathed.
Summer grinned. “I know. Isn’t it great? Let me show you around.”
As they walked to the heart of the action, Summer and Valeria both said hi to people, gave out lots of hugs, asked about people’s dogs and jobs and significant others and whatever else had seemed important to them the last time they’d chatted, and she introduced Avery to all of them.
Then, when they’d gotten to the middle of everything, still far enough away from the water that they were at the top of the slope and could see everything, Summer started pointing it all out to Avery. As usual, someone was playing music from big speakers, which always kind of worked as the soundtrack for everything going on.
“There are always people showing off dance moves right there in front of the speakers. And games—always beach volleyball, but people bring different beach games every time. Those are fun. And people playing hacky sack or throwing a football. And lots of food trucks. Are you hungry? We’ve got a bit of everything. There are lots of tables to eat at or play cards or just hang out. Anyway, lots of people to talk to, meet, mingle with, get to know. Oh, look! There’s Deja down on the shore dancing with her man.”
Avery seemed a bit overwhelmed, so they stayed together for the first while and chatted with a bunch of groups of people until Avery got really invested in a conversation with a cute guy.
Summer felt her phone buzz, so she pulled it out and saw a text from her dad saying hi and asking her what kind of fun she was up to on a Saturday night. So she typed a quick text back saying hi and asking what he was up to, then snapped a quick picture of her with the group of people she was chatting with, the beach and all the people in the background, then sent it to him.
When they all met up again, Avery seemed much more excited about being there and a whole lot more comfortable in her surroundings, which was exactly what Summer had been hoping for when she’d invited her to join them.
Summer glanced down at her watch. “Hey, do you two mind if I leave a bit early? I want to see if Brock is free.”
Valeria shook her head. “No leaving early. It’s only been something like ten hours since you saw him at Aquamoose Tracks.”
“Okay...” Summer said, pulling out her phone. “What about if I call him to see if he wants to join us here, then?”
Valeria took her phone out of her hands and shoved it into Summer’s back pocket. “Nope, not doing that either.”
It was all so unlike Valeria, so she just looked at her in confusion. “Why?”
Valeria tapped a finger on her lip. “Let me try to think of an analogy for you.” She looked out at the campfires on the beach. “Pouring gas on a fire? No...Oh! I know—I’ll use your life.”
“You want to use my life as an analogy for my love life?”
“Yes. Let’s talk about your hobbies and how quickly you master them and move on. What was the last thing you decided you were going to pick up and learn?”
“Archery.”
“And how long did that take?”
Summer shrugged. “A few weeks.”
“And before that?”
“Cooking Thai food. A few weeks on that, too.”
