Page 14 of Summer Love

CHAPTER 6

Summer

For a moment, neither of us moves. The wind, the waves, the kids’ shouting—it all goes distant, muffled. There are thirty feet of sand between us, Flip circling him and yapping, and six years of silence.

His name slips out before I can stop it.

“Jace…”

His jaw tightens. His eyes stay locked on mine—but what I read in them has nothing to do with what I saw there at seventeen. No warmth, no softness. Just a wall.

“Well,” he says. “You’re not dead.”

Three words that break me a little more.

I don’t get why his voice is so cold. Why he’s looking at me like I’m something the tide dragged in. I’m the one with reasons to be angry, after everything…

A hand settles on Jace’s shoulder. He doesn’t flinch. The curly-haired instructor—the one I saw from the window, out in the water with the kids.

The gesture is easy, like she’s done it a hundred times.

“Jefe, can you go grab the first-aid kit? Kai’s got a kid who split his knee open.”

Her voice is warm, direct. She calls him something in Spanish I don’t understand.

Of course she’s got a pet name for him.

Up close, she’s smaller than I thought—all muscle, tan skin, an easy smile.

She’s his girlfriend.

The thought lands—blunt, stupid, shameful. I’m not supposed to feel this. Not after six years. Not after what he did to me.

Jace looks down. He sets his board in the sand, too hard for a guy who takes care of his gear. Then he unclips the leash from his ankle and walks off toward the surf school yard without a backward glance.

Flip hesitates, takes a step toward me, whines. Jace lets out a short, commanding whistle. Flip flattens his ears and takes off after him.

She turns to me. Her smile is open, nothing calculated in it—she has no idea.

“¡Hola! I’m Maya,” she says, holding out her hand.

I shake it. Her palm is callused, warm, and firm. No polish, no rings. Surfer’s hands.

“Summer.”

“And that’s Kai over there.”

She tips her chin toward the tattooed guy crouched beside a boy sitting in the sand, one knee hugged to his chest. Kai lifts two fingers our way, then turns back to the kid.

“You a friend of Jace’s?” Maya asks.

“I was.”

The words come out on their own, too fast. Maya doesn’t blink. Her eyes slide over me for a second, then come back with the same kindness.

“Are you here for surf lessons?”

“No. I’m here to sell the house.”