Page 103 of Summer Love

“I was sixteen, Jace. My brother almost dies, and the second I start breathing again, I’m told my future’s gone. And nobody asks if I’m okay.”

“I know you’re not okay,” I say, my voice rough.

Noah shakes his head.

“I’m depressed, damn it!”

The swell lifts us, sets us back down.

“It’s been years, and I don’t even know anymore if it’s because of you, or college, or Dad, or me. I’m not doing anything with my life, and it’s not your fault, but it’s still tied to all of it, and I don’t know how…”

His voice breaks.

Without a word, Kai puts a hand on Noah’s shoulder, then takes it away.

“We’re here, man,” Evan says.

I don’t say anything.

I look at the horizon, fingers clamped on the rail of my board. Noah just said out loud what I’ve known for a long time but never dared to bring up with him.

Eventually, Evan gives us a nod, catches a wave, and heads back up the beach—he has to start his shift soon.

And I still haven’t asked…

“Noah… what did you want to talk to me about?”

He blinks.

“What?”

“When you got here… You looked like you had something to tell me.”

Noah takes a little too long to answer. His gaze slips away and comes back, less sure.

“It’s… about you and Summer.”

“There’s nothing left between her and me,” I shoot back.

“Jace, listen to me…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Noah stares at me. He opens his mouth, closes it again.

I don’t push. If I push, I’ll have to talk about what I still feel for her, and I’m not ready.

“Come surf with us again, okay?” I say.

Noah manages a half-smile, the first of the morning—the first in a long time.

“We’ll see.”

“Look,” Kai says.

On the beach, Summer pushes her pink beach cruiser through the sand. The bike’s overloaded—paint cans wedged in the front basket, a bag hanging off the handlebars, a rolled-up tarp balanced against the frame. Everything’s tilting, everything’s about to fall. The bike sinks into the sand. She drags it forward. The bag slips. She catches it without missing a beat, tucks it under her arm, and keeps going.

Flip gets up and trots over to her. Traitor.