AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aw, girlie, I know, but maybe the only pain will be from his giant penis.”
I cackle and it feels good to laugh with my friend. “I miss you. Please tell me you’ll come down soon?”
“I will definitely come down soon, especially so I can check out the neighbor. I’m going to need some shirtless pics to tide me over.”
“I can barely speak to him without it being awkward city, I’m sure taking a covert photo of him shirtless will end in my spectacular ruin.” She’s the one who has no shame, no filter. On the other hand, time has made me less bold and spontaneous.
“Mollie.”
“Natalie.”
“You are smart, gorgeous, and have a huge heart. If he’s not still interested after all these years then he is a jaded son of a bitch with zero taste.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Your check is in the mail.”
“I know you’re joking but know that I am always team Mollie in any instance. Well, except that time you thought you could pull off overalls.”
“They looked cute!” I scold.
“Overalls look cute on toddlers—the end.”
“Hanging up now.”
“Bye, Daisy Mae.”
“Bye, Snobby Sue.”
I take a deep breath and relax on the lounger, thinking of that summer so many years ago. Man, did I think Owen was my soul mate? I sure as heck did. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, before or since. I wish I could tell you my marriage was built on that surety—but it wasn’t. I loved Steven, but there was never the same intensity and connection that I had with Owen.
Owen just got me, and I got him. We were so happy together that we made plans and I thought we had a real shot at making it. We shared dreams and a future we both agreed on. In retrospect, I see it for what it was, two kids starting their lives and infatuated with one another. It was all an unrealistic dream.
Thinking about it gets me angry. All of the ‘what ifs’ collect in my mind and I feel that heartbreak all over again like it was yesterday. We promised to write and call each other. I never got one note or call, and he was supposed to send me his school email but like I said, I never heard from him. It was like he vanished off the face of the earth.
The summer after freshman year, I debated whether to come back to LBI to lifeguard. My mom wanted me to come but instead, I went to Europe with Natalie and had the time of my life.
I swish my glass, then down the rest of it. A phone ping sounds and it isn’t mine. I turn to the sound and see Owen sitting on the new deck his aunt must have installed recently. I can’t see the whole deck and he can’t see all of this one either, but where we are now, he is in full view.
He is in jeans and a t-shirt, a favorite classic combo on a guy and is scrolling through his phone. I study him a little bit now that I’m not bleeding and mortified. He is still handsome and maybe even more so. The dark hair he wore short on the sides when we met is now almost to his shoulders and wild. His eyes are so blue and the glasses he wears make him even hotter. The scruff adds to the whole picture and maybe Nat has the right idea. I could just sleep with him then get some revenge by ignoring him.
Ugh, why can’t he be balding and have bad skin? I huff out a growl and he turns to me, completely catching me staring. He waves and in an uncharacteristic move I flip him off. I’m surprised to see him laugh and shake his head.
That pisses me off even more. That’s it, I’m definitely going to sleep with him.
CHAPTER 8
NUTTY NEIGHBOR LADY
OWEN NOW
Did she just flip me off? All I can do is laugh at her because it’s the last thing I expect from her. I’m still a little surprised to see her and to hear what I just heard her tell her friend.
After rescuing Mollie from the shower door, I went to the store and then cooked myself dinner. I ended up on the top deck, my new favorite spot in this house, and overheard her talking to her friend about me.
It was encouraging to hear she still finds me attractive. I definitely still think she is beautiful. What disturbed me was her talking about how I disappeared on her, when she was the one to blow me off. I sent her at least five letters and called her house a few times. Her step-mom promised to give her the message the one time someone answered the phone.
I waited for months to hear from her, convinced there was a mistake. It messed with my ability to trust people and I felt like all the things I felt and thought were true were a sack of lies. The summer we spent together wasn’t just a hormonal fling. She was it for me, I saw myself married to her down the line. It wasn’t until I got a letter from her mom that I finally let it go. I was devastated but what her mom wrote to me was clear.
My aunt offered to have me again the next summer but I was so bitter over being rejected, I couldn’t bear to see her again. At the same time, I yearned to go so I could talk to her, ask her why she’d throw away something so special. Then I would feel pathetic for thinking that way. It was a vicious circle until I decided to do a summer with the Long Island coast guard and set my life in a different direction. My dad was not pleased that I put off working in his office but I had already signed up by the time he found out and there was no getting out of it.
