Summer by Summer (3 page)

I was going to the party.

CHAPTER 2

Bray

Mom loved the underdog. She was one of those people who still believed love could change the world and that if everyone recycled there’d be no war, famine, or death. Usually, I liked Mom’s attitude — juvenile as it was — but not tonight.

I drove to the party in silence with Summer beside me. Dad sent us in his convertible Beamer — trust was not an issue for my dad. He believed the best of me. I glanced over and saw Summer was pencil straight, staring intently at the floorboard. Outside the car were palm trees trimmed in white lights, and the most interesting thing she could find was her feet?

I really hoped she’d change out of her librarian costume, but no such luck. Flat shoes, floral dress, and a white top. Boring. And it looked like you could make five outfits out of it if you were handy with a sewing machine. Seriously, we could park the car in the folds of that skirt. Her hair was combed down in meticulous, straight lines, and a ribbon of all things held it off her face. Very
Little House on the Prairie
.

I should say something. “You smell good.”

I felt her head snap toward me followed by a loooooong pause. “Thanks.” The word was small and almost sounded like a question. She really did smell good.

“What scent is that?”

Her hands folded over a giant flower on her skirt. “Vanilla,” she said, then let out a long and — if I wasn’t mistaken — embarrassed sigh. Her eyes returned to the floorboards.

I didn’t know what that was all about, but I had to chuckle that she
wore
vanilla when I’d told Cory on the phone she
was
vanilla. Guess I didn’t know how accurate I could be.

“We’re here. You bring a suit?”

Her eyes met mine in the dim light of the dashboard.

“They have a pool.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. “No.”

Of course not. That would be too easy. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” I stepped around the car and opened her door, which seemed to surprise her. When she stood, the wind threw the vanilla scent to me again as if marking me. Most of the girls here on the island smelled like coconut. And I’d hoped to carry a little of that home on my clothes . . . but unless Summer found someone to entertain her, I was on babysitting duty. My night was already over.

Summer

Vanilla.
My face flushed each time I thought of it. It didn’t matter what Bray said about me. Vanilla was my signature scent, and if he didn’t like it, too bad.

But he did like it.

And I hated the fact that his recognition gave me the faintest hint of triumph. I didn’t want there to be triumph. That would suggest
a battle. There was no battle here, simply a group of people who were everything I wasn’t. And it was okay for me to step into their world, just like it would be okay for them to step into my world. That was why I’d come. I could peacefully coexist.

The house was a gargantuan island thing filled with golden, glowing light seeping from every window. We walked in without knocking and headed for the back. A breeze blew through the house as we rounded a corner, and my breath caught.

Bray stopped, and I felt his eyes on me but I didn’t care.

It was like being inside and outside at the same time. The arched wall of slider doors was open, exposing the yard and everything beyond. The moon hung low over the water, which looked like it was sneaking up on the house. A torch-lit lanai waited beyond the arched open doorways. A sparkling pool with a built-in rock waterfall anchored one corner of the landscaped yard. People were scattered around, but I barely saw them. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. And I was instantly glad I’d come.

A low and velvety voice drifted over from beside me. “Nice, huh?”

I smiled, trying to take it all in. Then, I closed my eyes and inhaled deep. Capturing it. In case I never saw it again.

“Why’d you do that?” His words were a whisper, and in them I heard the intrigue.

“I’m stealing it,” was all I said.

I’d expected him to mumble some stupid remark, but he didn’t. He just stood there beside me, probably trying to see what was invisible to him.

Bray’s breathing was in rhythm with the water, and I hated to admit it was nice. Deep inhales, the faintest rumble in his throat on the exhale. I glanced over. He closed his eyes and mimicked me, drawing a cavernous, full breath.

His face was smooth and he looked like less of a jerk with his eyes closed, his strong jawline close enough I could reach over and run a
finger along the taut skin. But then his eyes popped open, and the moment was gone. He shrugged. “Now what?”

My gaze dropped to the tile floor. “Now nothing.” I wouldn’t explain it to him. He wouldn’t get it.

“
Braaay!
” A girl with dark hair and slick, shiny lips came running at him and fell into his arms. “You
made
it.”

And that was my cue. I slinked past the drink station and an outdoor kitchen and meandered down to the water’s edge. That’s where I’d spend the evening. Staring up at the stars and wondering how the pretty people can do this night after night and never even notice the sky. It was a perfect black-velvet blanket with pinhole lights puncturing it. Sometimes at night, I liked to stand at the ocean and listen to the sea. And even though the Garrison’s house wasn’t far, it somehow felt different here. Sounds and music from the party drifted down to me, buffered by the expanse of soft sand. Tiki torch light flickered behind me, casting an occasional shimmer on the approaching waves. I smelled salt and sea and torch fuel, the combination euphoric. I could probably sit here all night. But my mind began to drift to last summer, and I had to shut down the momentum or I’d end up curled in a ball crying. So I did what I always did and mapped the constellations one by one. It kept me busy the entire evening, giving me false hope that this night would end okay.

“Hey, you looked lonely down here.” The guy’s words were a little slurred, causing a thread of panic to trickle down my spine.

“No, I’m good.”

Instead of turning and going back, he stepped closer and extended a hand. “I’m Morris.”

“Summer.” I shook his hand and shot a look up to the house where Bray stood at the drink station with that girl draped on his arm.

“Summerrrrr,” he repeated. “I’ll go get you a drink.”

Panic turned to annoyance. “No. Thanks. I don’t drink.” Even I could hear the finality in my words.

He shrugged. “Not even water?”

He grinned, eyes glossy and nose red. Of course, eighteen was the legal drinking age in Belize, but that didn’t make it okay in my book. I’d seen what alcohol could do to an otherwise intelligent young man. And for a hot instant, I wanted to reach out and punch this guy in the face and tell him just how stupid he was. My hands fisted at my sides. “Not even water.”

His brows rose as he stared at me. “Lighten up. I know, let’s forget about the party going on behind us and take a walk down the beach.”

When his arm came around me, I ducked, twisted, and headed back up to the house, pausing only to grab my shoes, and then scurried toward the lights and music at the back patio. My night was ruined. Over. I didn’t even want to look at the stars anymore. I headed straight for Bray. He’d moved to a lawn chair and the girl was on his lap.

I stopped at his table where island girl was chattering about something they all seemed intently interested in.

“I want to go home. Now.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

Bray sighed, lifted the girl from his lap, and pulled me a few steps away. He glanced behind me to Morris who was making his way to the table. “He’ll leave you alone now.”

My voice lowered, anger stirring in my stomach. “I want to leave now. I’m done being hit on by juvenile drunks.”

But Bray wasn’t listening. His attention had gone to the table where Morris had his arms draped around Bray’s island girl. And that’s when the fight began.

Bray took two steps away from me and threw a fist at Morris’s face. Island girl ducked out of the way and Morris hit the ground. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

Bray took me by the arm, but I wriggled free. We were nearly to the front door when I stopped. “I’m not going with you if you’ve been drinking.”

His eyes burned into me as he stared, still a little out of breath from the exertion a moment ago. “I didn’t drink anything.”

My gaze narrowed on him, but the words were final. Forceful. And if I wasn’t wrong, completely honest, so when he continued to the convertible, I followed.

He didn’t bother to open the car door for me when we got outside, but he slammed his with such force, the whole car shook. I sat in silence. The cool night air as he turned out of their driveway did nothing to soothe the tension between us.

“Sorry I brought you here.”

My anger boiled.
Sorry he brought me here?
Not sorry the guy hit on me or was a jerk, but sorry he brought me here? “It’s not like you wanted to.” My acerbic tone must have shocked him a little, because his eyes left the road.

“It’s not like you wanted to come,” he countered.

I angled to face him. “No, I love watching a bunch of childish idiots act like they’re God’s gift to the world.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “And what makes you so far above all of us?”

I sucked in air. Was he kidding? Was he actually accusing me of being the stuck-up one? “I don’t think I’m above you. I think people like you — the
pretty
people, the rich people — think the world revolves around them. And the really awful thing is, it kind of does.”

“So, this is about money. You don’t like me because I have money.” He kept a tight grip on the steering wheel, both hands white-knuckled. But his gaze would dart to me now and then, his eyes an eerie glow in the green dashboard light.

“I don’t like you because all you see is what’s in front of your eyes.”

His face clouded for an instant.

I threw my hands up in surrender. “Just forget it, okay? I’m not like you and you’re not like me and we don’t
like
each other.”

That muscle in his jaw twitched. “If you have such a problem with people who have money, why did you take this job?”

“You are so full of yourself; you just can’t get past it, can you? I adore your family. Your mom and dad are awesome. And I already love Joshie like he’s my own brother. It’s
you
, Bray. You’re a jerk. You and all your rich kid friends are more concerned with what car you’re driving than with anything that really matters.” I knew this speech could cost me my job, but right now, it didn’t matter. I was invested. I wanted him to know it. “Do you know how hard your mom worked to get the dinner reservation at Monroe’s? After she found out you were coming, she went down there three times when she couldn’t get it over the phone. She waited for an hour the last time, hoping they would have a cancellation, and they did.”

He swallowed.

“And you blew it off for friends and a party that will be just like your next party and your next and your next. Because that’s what you care about.”

A little of the fire left his eyes. “I didn’t know. She should have told me.”

“She shouldn’t have to, Bray.” He stopped at the big stucco entrance to their posh island neighborhood — tonight, even the entrance made me feel like I didn’t belong.

I got out of the car and slammed the door.

“What are you doing?”

“Walking the rest of the way.” A block or so down the street, I could see the Garrison’s house. I was only a few steps away when he spoke, raising his voice above the soft engine of the car.

“Get in. I’m sorry.” The condescension in his voice caused fire to shoot down my back.

“No.” I stopped and turned to look at him. “You don’t get to have everything you want. People aren’t your servants to order around. And, honestly, I can’t stand to spend one more minute with you.”

“Fine.” His hands left the steering wheel and he threw the car into park.

I turned and kept walking. Half a block away, I spun back around and stared into the bright headlights. “What are you doing?”

“I’m waiting on you,” he yelled. “I’m not going to leave you out here alone in the dark.”

Now
he wanted to be chivalrous? He was just being stubborn. The house was only a few dozen yards away. I pointed to it. He answered by slipping the car into drive and coming up slowly behind me. Just a few feet back, Bray motioned me on by brushing his hand through the air. That went down like acid. I stood my ground.

“Well, we can sit here all night,” he said. “Or you can storm into the house. But my mom’s going to wonder why we didn’t come in together.”

Sandra. I hadn’t thought of her.

“Miss Always-Thinking-of-Others, how you gonna handle that?”

After a moment of victory, he pulled up alongside me.

I drew a calming breath as the car stopped and Bray reached over the seat to open the passenger door.

I gathered my skirt around me and got in.

“Look, it’s very clear we don’t like each other. But we’re both stuck here. Truce? For mom’s sake? And for Joshie’s?” He thrust his hand out toward me.