Page 25 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
I peek from below the pillow to glare at her. “You know?”
“Of course I know. Sarah filled me in the day they arrived, explained why they were going to be walking around with cameras and asked if it was okay if they showed some footage of the campground.”
I grunt.
“Did you have a good time with Landon yesterday? I saw you go to the cafe for lunch.”
Of course she did—the coffee shop is just across the street.
“Yeah.”
“It makes me happy to see you having some fun. You work too hard.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” I demand, pulling the pillow off my face.
“Because you do.” She squeezes my shoulder as she stands, heading for the door. “There’s banana bread on the counter when you’re ready for breakfast. Mark’s in the office, and I’m going to sculpt for a while this morning.”
“Okay,” I mumble, hoping to fall asleep again.
But sleep doesn’t come because I learned something last night, something that changes everything.
Landon has a girlfriend.
CHAPTER NINE
Sweaty strandsof hair fall in my face, but I ignore them. My whole focus is on the tub in Cabin Three—making sure it’s clean, making sure it sparkles.
If I’m not careful, I’ll scrub a hole right through the porcelain.
I knew better than to soften my heart to a summer boy.
I knew better.
If I’m hurting, it’s my own fault. Summer boys are cheaters. They leave their regular lives, come to Colorado, have flings with the local girls, and then go back to their girlfriends in the fall, pretending nothing happened in the months they were gone.
That’s what Thomas did, except he went above and beyond. He cheated on his girlfriend with me, and then he cheated onmewithGia.
In my mind, Thomas’s face blurs with Landon’s. They become one and the same—the boy who has a girlfriend back home but shamelessly flirts with the meaningless girl he meets on vacation.
“Your mom should give you a raise,” a male voice says from behind me. “You’re putting a lot of effort into cleaning that crazy-white tub.”
Landon.
I whip around, seething mad. “What areyoudoing here?”
His eyes widen with surprise, and he looks torn between responding with shock or laughter. “Your uncle said you were here. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess I’ve done something to upset you.”
I toss the scrub brush in the tub and rip off both of my long, yellow cleaning gloves as I stand. “I watched your videos last night. Straight through.”
Slowly, he raises his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue. Something about the fact that he won’t even fess up to what he knows I learned irks me even more.
And then the anger leaves me. Like a puff of smoke, it’s gone, and I’m left feeling…nothing.
“You have a girlfriend,” I say, letting my hands fall to my sides.
He crosses his arms, and his expression grows cool. “You watched the videos chronologically, I assume.”
That’show he responds?Who careswhat order I watched them in?
