Juliet looks at me before taking a deep breath, and I brace myself for the worst. “Look, Summer,” she says softly, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Asher can’t hear us. “You’re very nice, and I can tell you care about my brother. But, please, becareful.” It feels like I’ve swallowed rocks. She doesn’t approve.And why would she? an inner voice asks harshly.
“I—”
She cuts me off. “Sorry, I promise to let you respond, just let me get through this, please. I’m not used to being the protective or responsible sibling. This is new for me.” Despite the terrible feeling in my gut, I try to give her an encouraging smile. “Asher loves his job, and it’s obvious he feels strongly for you, too.” I awkwardly brush sand from my legs to avoid eye contact as she continues talking. “But what you guys are doing is dangerous,” she warns. “If you get caught, he’ll lose everything.”
I give her a beat of silence to make sure she’s finished, and she nods her head, permitting me to speak. “I know,” I respond feebly. “And I wish that I had something better to respond with, but I don’t. I know the consequences if we get caught, and I know they’d probably be worse for Asher than for me. But I really do care about your brother. I tried to stay away from him. I tried ignoring him. I tried to consider other guys closer to my own age. Nothing worked.”
“Asher tried the same.” She nods. Her lips twitch in the smallest sign of a satisfied smile.
“I won’t do anything to jeopardize his career. I haven’t told anyone, and we haven’t taken any photos together. Until we’re sure it won’t be frowned upon, we plan on keeping our relationship quiet. The only reason I even came here with him was that he said you already knew about us.”
She shakes her head, an amused grin finally breaking out across her face. “I’m the black sheep of the family, so anything Asher does wrong, he feels like he can unload it on me and I won’t judge him for it.”
“Is that true?” I ask, curious.
“I judge him for the fact that he literally wants to spend his entire life in school, but that’s about it.”
I laugh. “It’s gotta be the summers off.”
“That’s the only explanation,” she agrees. She gazes out to where Asher and Terra are now splashing each other in the shallow surf of the ocean. The corners of her lips turn up into a small, content smile. “I think you make him happy, Summer,” she says, her eyes cutting back to me.
“He makes me happy,” I respond quietly. I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my head on top of them, looking over at Asher. He throws his head back and flails around as his niece throws sand on top of him, shrieking in delight. He makes me more than just happy. Happy feels like too small a word, but I can’t properly describe everything he makes me feel, just that I never want this feeling to end.
“I know you overheard us last night,” Juliet says, breaking my train of thought. My stomach drops. I don’t turn my head to look at her; embarrassment washes over me, heating my cheeks. Her hand rests lightly on my shoulder, surprising me. “I also know that you left without hearing our entire conversation.” Oh, God. What I would give for the sand to open up and swallow me whole right now. She removes her hand so that she can scoot closer to me and bump her shoulder with mine. “If you had stuck around to snoop a little longer, you would have heard that I told Asher I didn’t believe you two being together was a mistake.”
“You don’t?” I ask a little too quickly.
Her dark brown eyes catch the sunlight, turning them the color of melted chocolate. They crinkle at the corners as she flashes white teeth in a beautiful smile. “No, I don’t,” she says sweetly. “I said that I didn’t think love could ever be a mistake.”
Love.
We haven’t used that word. But if I’m not in love with Asher yet, I know that I could be soon.
“I don’t think it’s a mistake either,” I agree, returning her earlier shoulder bump.
She rises to her feet and wipes sand from the seat of her shorts before pulling me up alongside her. “As much as I love the beach, I think it’s time we head to the bakery so that you guys can listen to me brag about my accomplishments and eat all the free cupcakes you can stomach.”
“Careful,” I warn with a grin. “My stomach is deceptively large.”
She scoffs with a playful roll of her eyes. “I’m sure it’s nothing compared to my daughters. That girl is a cupcake fiend.”
“As she should be,” Asher pipes up as he bounds toward us with Terra on his shoulders. She’s gripping his hair painfully tight, but he doesn’t seem to mind since he smiles at her when she shrieks in delight. “What do you think?” he asks the little girl. “Think we should get some cupcakes?”
The happiest scream comes out of Terra’s mouth as she nods her head manically up and down.
“All right, you heard the girl, let’s go!” Asher exclaims before making his way toward the car.
“Thanks for leaving us to pick everything up!” Juliet calls after him, but it’s obvious by the fondness shining in her eyes that she’s not really upset. In response, Asher bounces forward, earning a joyous cackle from his niece. Juliet shakes her head and laughs. “Come on, let’s feed the beasts.”
30
ASHER
Winter break blew byin the blink of an eye. We watched Terra play with shredded wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Juliet and Summer baked a batch of cupcakes late one night, laughing into the early hours of the morning. We went to a local ‘tavern’ that Summer stated may beat out The Pour House for the top spot as her favorite bar.
All in all, it was an amazing getaway. And it was nice to walk down the street holding Summer’s hand and not worrying about who might see us. We were able to go out on real dates without a care in the world.
I got the briefest glance into what a life with Summer could be like, and I want more. It was a dream that I never wanted to wake up from.
