Then Summer Came Read online

  “Well, that’s…good, right?” She asked the question very carefully.

  I thought about the question. It was good. It felt nice having someone around, someone to talk to and hang out with, but that’s as far as Beck and I could take it. We’d gotten caught up a few times, and even Derek understood that, but we were done, and…it was definitely a good thing. “Yes! It’s a good thing.”

  “Did you tell Derek?” She leaned up trying to get a glimpse of my face. She was trying to read me, analyze me. I hated when she did that. She’d definitely be great in her future career.

  “I haven’t seen him. I’ve talked to him once or twice,” I sighed, “but we weren’t talking about it. He just said he knew about us, and he hasn’t mentioned it since. I don’t really want to talk about it, if he doesn’t. So, I have no intentions of saying anything.”

  “Are you still going to see Beck? As a friend?”

  “As a friend?” I repeated the words that I knew would probably never be true about us. “I guess…”

  Em nodded. She looked like she wanted to add something, but she spared me. “Do you want to go to the beach?” she asked, instead.

  “Ugh, I could so use some beach time!” I jumped up from the bed and dug in my swimsuit drawer, looking for any swimsuit that wasn’t that swimsuit. I grabbed my yellow two-piece and we headed down to the beach.

  We spent the whole day in the sun. I hadn’t realized it, but I’d not really been out of the house much lately. I’d either been at work or at home watching a movie. Beck had taken me out a few times, but I usually stayed in Derek’s room or in my office, trying not to think about how much I missed Derek. So, it was nice to soak up some Vitamin D.

  Emily invited Mik, and he’d finally made it for the last few hours. He was the sweetest guy I’d ever met, and he adored Em. It was strange to see her like that, but she adored him, too, and it was good for her. They’d been dating for a week, but if you looked at them, you’d have thought they’d been together for years.

  I liked Mik, but I tried to avoid conversation with him, if I could; I just didn’t want to hear anything about Beck. I’d done a fantastic job at avoiding him and his randoms for a week, and I didn’t want to hear about any of it. I never thought a man could bring home so many women in one week. I knew I’d have to talk to him eventually, probably sooner than later, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it. I was fine with my almost-subtle eye rolls and sighs that were aimed at his whoring around; I didn’t need to talk to him. Lucky for me, Mik never mentioned a word about Beck. Not one word.

  Derek called and said he was going to dinner with his dad at seven. He said he wanted me to join them. It’d been over a week since I’d seen him, so I really wanted to meet him there, but as usual, I couldn’t help but wish it was going to be just us.

  

  Mr. Easton was full of jokes, as usual, and he made the evening a pleasant one, but I spent our entire meal wishing I had Derek alone.

  He took me back to my apartment afterwards, and I asked him to come up. I’d thought he might, for a second, because he’d said “Let me make a phone call.” But after he’d hung up, he’d said he had to be in Arizona first thing the next morning, so he was going to go ahead and head out. He did cushion the blow with a make-out session in the back of his limo, though, and I took advantage of the rare occasion, ripping into his suit and getting my hands on him everywhere I could in those few seconds.

  His hands slipped under my dress, and I was immediately on fire. It was only caresses, but it’d been so long since I’d been that close to him and any touch would’ve been my undoing.

  I kissed him with everything I had, knowing it would probably be a week before I saw him again—or longer—but I was also holding back; I didn’t want to get too into it, only to be left hanging.

  “This dress is too much,” he breathed into my mouth. My whole body tensed up as Beck conquered my thoughts. He’d said almost the exact same thing to me at the club. Suddenly, he dominated my senses and I pulled away from Derek.

  He sighed and dropped his head onto the back of the leather seat. “I could stay here with you all night.”

  I smiled down at him, and his hands brushed over my thighs. He pulled me back to his lips. “I love you,” he whispered and swept my hair behind my ear.

  I climbed off his lap and pulled at the hem of my dress. “Call me when you get back.” I made him promise, and then I headed inside.

  I walked into my apartment and saw a note on the counter. The note prompted me to check the fridge and microwave, where Lidia had left me a dinner plate and some banana bread. I decided that sleep was really my only desire, and I skipped the chicken stir fry and banana bread and headed to bed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After work the next day, Mik had mentioned to Emily, who casually mentioned to me, that Beck was spending the weekend with some girl he knew in Long Beach. I just nodded at the information and then began talking about how my grandmother had left her entire estate to me and my mother and we were heading up to Roseville next week.

  Though I acted as if I’d not even heard them mention his name, I used the information about Beck being out of town to my advantage, and I had breakfast at Derek’s apartment for the first time in over a week. It was just like old times, which also meant it felt pretty lonely; that cold, icy kind of lonely that I didn’t care for.

  I spent the day at the craft store picking out flowers and things to piece together a new topper for my grandmother’s grave. It would keep me busy and give me something to do for the rest of the day. I decided to have lunch a Derek’s apartment, and then I’d start on the topper.

  I sat the bags down on the dining-room table and headed to the kitchen for a salad. I rounded the corner and saw a girl sitting on the counter, her legs wrapped around Beck’s waist, her ankles crossed. His hands were all over her as he kissed her under her chin.

  Guess he decided to bring her back from Long Beach, I thought.

  I watched for a second until I realized that I was just standing there staring at them, and then I padded across the kitchen, trying not to notice the repulsive display of groping going on to my left. I grabbed the lettuce from the fridge and the chopping knife from the drawer, slamming it shut. I sat the cutting board down onto the counter, a few feet from their make-out session, and I chopped loudly, the knife slamming into the wood grain.

  I saw their faces out of the corner of my eye. They were staring at me, but I continued to chop the vegetables and toss them into the bowl, ignoring them completely.

  Beck cleared his throat. He was obviously trying to get my attention, but I kept chopping.

  “What’re you doing?” he asked over the loud chopping.

  I said nothing as I shook some croutons into the bowl.

  “Lissa!”

  I jerked my head toward him, giving the impression that I hadn’t noticed he’d been talking to me. “Hu?” I added for effect.

  “What are you doing?” he asked again, sounding a bit grouchy at this point.

  “I’m fixing my lunch,” I explained, sounding grouchy myself. “It is a kitchen, after all.”

  He sighed. “I’ll meet you in my room,” he spoke quietly to the random and kissed her again. She slid from the counter with a giggle and left the room.

  He leaned against the counter where I was mixing the bowl of veggies. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Uh, I think you know exactly what I mean, Lissa. Why are you acting like this? Like you’re mad?”

  “I’m not mad at all.” Yeah, it sounded pretty sarcastic.

  “Lissa, save me the bullshit. Why are you being like this? Why do you act mad every time I bring a woman around?”

  “I told you, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t done anything! You’re the one parading floozies around and allowing them to plop their asses on the same surface I prepare my food on.” I poured o
n the Italian dressing and stirred the salad, not looking at him. I wanted him to know how little our conversation meant to me right then.

  I could almost feel him rolling his eyes. His head fell back, and he growled, sounding exasperated. “Jesus, Lissa,” he rubbed harshly at his forehead, “how are we ever supposed to be friends if you keep acting like this?”

  I shrugged. “We just won’t be friends, I guess.”

  He crossed his arms across his chest and scoffed, shaking his head. And with that, he left the room.

  He didn’t wait long to let me hear how great he was in bed. I knew how great he was, but hearing it in the form of screams, in the shrill voice of his current random was infuriating. He was doing it on purpose. He was such a jerk, but I wasn’t going to leave and give him the pleasure of seeing me scathed. He could forget it.

  He finally decided to leave, the random locked onto his arm. Damn starving piranha. I spent the rest of the evening crafting my grandmother’s grave topper. It was a nice escape. After a few hours, it was perfect and ready for me to take to Roseville.

  I bided my time in front of the TV. I really hated to go straight to bed, only to wake up and head into work. I wanted to do something, even if it was only watching TV.

  Channel after channel blinked onto the screen as I flipped tirelessly through them. There was nothing on at that hour. I watched an infomercial for every kind of household item you could think of. I was literally sick to my stomach at the sound of the generic hosts’ voices.

  I heard Beck’s key turn in the lock. He came in sporting his usual gym attire. He pulled his running shoes off and slouched into the chair.

  “Really, they make little tents for food?”

  I glanced over at him, surprised that he’d spoken to me…or around me, I guess. I couldn’t seem to find anything to say, so I just turned back to the TV.

  A new commercial started. “Tired of your unorganized shoe closet?” asked the host.

  “Ha!” Beck scoffed. “You’d have to have twenty of those!”

  “Have.”

  “Hu?” he stared blankly at me.

  “I have twenty of those,” I corrected. “Well, twenty-four…”

  A smile began to stretch across his face, and we both laughed. But it slowly came to a stop, and an awkward feeling set in. The I’m-not-sure-if-I-should-be-mad-at-you-or-not kind of awkward feeling.

  “You want a pizza?” he asked, dismissing the awkwardness.

  I nodded, happy to settle the tension between us. I was glad to be talking to him. He didn’t bring anything up about our argument, he just laughed and joked, and it was nice.

  The pizza deliverer knocked at the door. Beck stood and fished his wallet from his jeans pocket. He flipped out a few bills and opened the door.

  “Oh, yum.” A seductive female voice oozed into the apartment.

  I leaned up and saw a black-leather clad blonde pasting herself all over Beck. Her mouth was almost swallowing his.

  He pushed her away and she pouted. “You don’t look very happy to see me.”

  “Well, we thought you were the pizza guy,” he explained. She looked over at me, clearly seeking the “we” he spoke of. She shot me a nasty smile and grasped Beck’s pants where they buttoned. She walked toward the stairs and tugged for him to follow her.

  He tossed his money onto the table by the door and eyed me, shrugging—his way of telling me to enjoy the pizza alone.

  I decided to take the pizza to my apartment and invite Em over.

  “I just hate it. There’s always some chick at the apartment, or three or four. It’s so annoying.”

  Emily sat at our coffee table, painting her finger nails a shimmering gold shade. She quietly listened to me bitch about Beck and his never-ending line of randoms for the better half of an hour, while we ate our free pizza.

  “I wish he’d just…leave!” I griped.

  ”Really?” She looked shocked that I’d said that.

  “Yes, really!” I snapped.

  “Lis, you guys can’t just get along? You’re going to be in-laws.”

  “I don’t care! I try to be nice, but he’s not very receptive to that,” I said; it was basically a lie. I think I used every opportunity I had to be rude, but I didn’t think I was being unnecessary. He was being an ass, so it was definitely necessary. “Ugh, I’m just…I need to sleep.”

  “I wish you would,” she murmured.

  I sighed knowing I was the one being obtuse. “Nite,” I said and headed to my room.

  The next morning, I didn’t even bother eating or doing anything, for that matter. I wanted to work. Work was what I needed.

  I grabbed my keys and headed out. “I’ll see you later, Em,” I said as I passed the sofa, where she’d fallen asleep eating pizza.

  

  Work had actually been a really nice escape. I walked into the apartment, hoping Beck had found a place to crash for the night. I thought about going up to my apartment instead, but I just wanted to sleep in Derek’s bed, and there was no way I was going to be run out of the apartment that was basically mine.

  On the elevator ride up, I called Derek in hopes that he would come spend the night with me, but of course, seeing me two nights in one week was just too much to ask.

  I opened the door and was almost trampled by three disheveled, giggling girls. They looked like they were about sixteen, but I knew Beck would never have anyone younger than eighteen in his bed. He’d mentioned it too many times when we’d first met.

  I growled under my breath as the girls wiggled out of the apartment, Beck holding the door for them. I gripped all of my stuff tight to my chest and rolled my eyes as I pushed passed him, bound for Derek’s room.

  “Seriously,” his tone was flat and lifeless, “what’s your problem?”

  I froze in front of Derek’s bedroom door. I turned back to look at him, but I couldn’t say anything; I was fuming.

  “What? Just say it, Lissa! Tell me what your problem is!”

  ”I’m tired of your randoms!” I snapped. “You’re a whore, and I’m fed up with it!”

  “Well, it’s a good thing it’s none of your business.”

  “It is my business! You’re turning the apartment into a whorehouse, and I can’t stand it anymore, Beck!”

  “Well, then it works out perfectly that you have your own apartment!” he shouted. “So, you don’t have to be here!”

  I growled and kicked Derek’s door open. “Why did you come here?” I yelled at him. “Why couldn’t you have just stayed in Hawaii, or gone somewhere else?”

  “God,” he gasped, throwing his hands dramatically into the air, “I’ve been wondering that same thing lately!”

  I shook my head. He was an asshole of ridiculous proportions, and I didn’t have time for his shit. I disappeared into Derek’s room, slamming the door behind me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Our arguments had been plentiful lately. I’d stayed out of Derek’s apartment as much as I could, but I’d left my planner and my clutch there and I needed to go get it. I hoped he wasn’t there; I didn't think I could face him. I just needed to slip in, grab my stuff, and slip back out.

  I turned the knob and shut the door back quietly. I spotted my stack of designs on the dining-room table, and I walked over to grab them up. I’d forgotten they were even there. I grabbed my clutch from Derek’s room, and I headed for the stairs to get my planner from the desk drawer.

  I could hear moans coming from upstairs. I rolled my eyes inwardly and jogged up the stairs quietly. As I walked down the hallway, I realized they were coming from Beck's room. It was a woman, of course. I stopped in my tracks when I heard him groan. I could see his door was cracked open. My face felt hot, and my hands were shaking. I felt angry. How dare he have sex so loudly, with the door wide-freakin-open, knowing other people could've been in the house! I felt every muscle in my body tighten. It was so unbelievably rude for him to just…ugh! I was so pissed off! I wanted to march right over
there and kick his door open and ruin any kind of orgasm the two of them were so obviously building to!

  I stomped down the hall, not nearly as loud as I would've liked to, due to the carpet, and I stopped when I got to his door. I had intended on just yelling something loudly as I passed the doorway; something about how gross they were being, knowing other people lived there, or maybe something about how much of a whore the random was, but that quickly changed when I saw the two of them. Beck was actually staring at me as soon as I appeared in the doorway, as if he'd been awaiting me. It upset me so much that I was struck stiff. I watched him, watching me, while he fucked the brunette random, from behind. He was on his bed, on his knees, her ass backed up to him bitch style, and his fingers were clutching her hips, digging into her tanned flesh.

  They were both completely naked, and I could see how hard he was for her, in between their thrusts. Her unnecessarily large tits were smacking her in the chin as she bounced off Beck with a rough growl, followed by words of encouragement.

  My nostrils flared, and I felt the heat rising in me. I watched the bitch as she gripped his sheets and screamed for more, and when my eyes met Beck's again, he was still looking at me, his face emotionless. I was grinding my teeth mindlessly, so angry I could barely see straight, but he looked like a man with no cares at all. He didn't even seem to notice he was in the middle of a fuck session, but then his eyes rolled into his head and his head fell back, like he'd begun to enjoy it all of a sudden.

  I watched as he gripped her hips tighter. Their moans and rapid breaths became in sync, and I kicked his door, suddenly so angry that I couldn't contain it anymore. I ran back down the stairs, not even taking the time to see if I'd even disturbed his booty call at all. It was childish, but I was pissed, and I didn't know what else to do.

  I ran into the kitchen and yanked a glass from the cabinet. I popped the cork on the half-empty tequila bottle and poured some in the bottom of the tumbler. I shot it and followed it with two more. I let the burn of the tequila going down distract me from what I'd seen, and I could feel it flooding my veins and easing my nerves. I took one more shot and replaced the bottle.