I've Got Summer

T W E N T Y - S I X

S U M M E R

"Are you being safe?" mom asked through my phone as I kept shoveling spoonfuls of overnight oats into my mouth.

"We're not even kissing," I replied, feeling like I was fifteen again, and she was interrogating me after I slept over at my boyfriend's house. "It's...we're waiting, I think."

Mom's laugh made me smile. "I don't know what that means. Your father and I certainly didn't—"

"I don't want to hear any of this," August commented as he walked into the kitchen, grunting away as I kept eating my breakfast.

"Morning, Augie!" Mom's chipper voice almost made me grimace. "I was just asking if your sister and her new boyfriend are being safe, and—"

"I heard," August interrupted. "I also heard that you and dad never were, and I assure you that Leon and I aren't. But neither of us can get pregnant, so."

He shrugged and gave me a look that said he wished he never walked into the room. I chuckled and shrugged back, telling him silently that he dug his own grave, now.

"When are you having kids, honey?" The question came out of my phone like clockwork. I rolled my eyes and lifted my gaze to look at my brother, who was too busy facepalming to see that I was grinning like an idiot.

August sighed. "When we're both working, have a bigger place and a kid somewhere needs a home."

"And you, Summer?" Mom asked.

"When pigs fly," I retorted, stuffing my mouth with as much oats I could before leaning back and crossing my arms.

"Oh, I gotta go! Someone needs some readjusting," she suddenly said, as if my answer was non-existent. Fixing chakras and auras were emergencies, though, so it was absolutely understandable—and welcome—that she had to hang up. "Love you both, and your dad! August, propose already, and Summer, just kiss the man. Bye now!"

The line went dead before any of us could reply, and I picked up my spoon, only to drop it back down and take a deep, cleansing breath.

I really was fifteen again, kissing boys and being nervous about it. Except that Chris was a man, and I wanted to do unspeakable things to him, not just kiss him. It probably didn't help that I was still living with my dad at the age of twenty-four, but I didn't care. I liked it. It was freedom, in its own way. But it was also sort of limiting. Especially now that dad needed me more than ever, and I was looking forward to the day my brother finally went back home. I loved him, but we got along better at a distance.

Right now, he was staring at me. I could feel it.

"So, he's your boyfriend now?" The question was like honey, sticking to every surface around us. I couldn't possibly get out of answering it, and I didn't really have a good way to reply anyway. "All that time spent at his house isn't just...renovating?"

He sounded so suspicious, I almost laughed.

"It's just renovating," I said, keeping my voice flat. It wasn't just renovating; it was looks and lip-licking and longing, too. It was laughing and bantering and talking about so many things. It was me witnessing the tightness of his pants whenever we were close, and him letting his hand linger on my skin whenever he helped me with something heavy.

It was magical.

It was...something I'd never experienced before, and everything I wanted to hold onto for the rest of my life. It was safety. It was fun and exciting and thrilling. It was home.

"Right," August scoffed, "like Leon and I were just friends before I came out."

"We all knew you were more—"