The Summer I Turned Hot

1. Day One

I was waiting for this day to come for months: this ride, this place. Summer was the only thing that mattered. I look out the window and notice that we are closer than I expected. My bro Anthonyher stops at a gas station a few minutes later. I get out to get snacks.

I go to the candy aisle. I grab sour patch kids, gum, and chocolate. Then, I get Taki's and lemonade. I go up to the cash register. I set my things on the counter. "Hey, are you new this summer?" The guy behind the counter asks. "No, my family has been coming for years," I answer.

"Why haven't I met you before?" He asks. "I don't know," I say. I look at his name tag. "Dan?" I question. "Yep, what's your name?" He asks. "Cassidy," I answer. "Hi, Cassidy. Are you going to the bonfire tonight?" He asks. He smiles at me. "Maybe." I smile back.

"Good, maybe I will see you there." He says. I nod as he hands me the bag of my things. I walk out and go back into the car. I put down the car mirror. I comb through my hair. I put on lip gloss. "You ready for this summer?" Anthony asks. He asks me that every summer, on the car rides.

"Mostly. I just have this feeling that it is going to be different." I say. He smiles at me. "Isn't that a good thing?" He asks. I sigh. "I'm into sure," I say. "It's going to be fine, okay? Don't worry. I am here for you. We can talk. At any point in time." He assures.

"Thank you, Anthony," I say. Then, the mom gets in the car. "Okay, let's get driving," Mom tells Anthony. He starts to drive again. Thank you, I mouth to him. You're welcome, he mouths back. I grab his hand and squeeze it.

A few minutes later, we are at the house. It's a beautiful two-story blue house. Mom and Anthony get out of the car. Paige and Henry get out of the house. "What's up?" Henry asks. Mom walks up to Henry. "Oh, how you've grown," Mom exclaims. "Oh, thank you." He says. Mom goes over to Paige. While Anthony goes over to greet Henry.

"You look great, man!" Henry exclaims. They hug each other. "So do you!" Anthony says. "Thanks," Henry says. This was my cue to get out of the car. Henry notices me quickly. "Oh, look who came back all grown up." He smiles. He runs up to me and pulls me into a hug.

"Wow, I can't believe how tall you are." He says after he puts me down. "Crazy growths burst during the school year," I say. He smiles at me. "Well, when you are done unpacking. We have to go swimming." He demands. I chuckle. "Yeah, I am waiting for Luke." I smile.

"Yeah, he should be here in a minute." He says. "Okay," I say. I see Luke come from the backyard. He had a white undershirt and a sweater on. It was like he was trying to show off his new abs. Henry walks away. Luke walks up to me.

"Cassidy, you look different." He says. "So do you," I say. "Where are your glasses? I liked you better with them." He says. He smiles at me. "I like myself better without them," I say. He laughs. "Why?" He asks. "What about you? You not wearing yours, either." I ask, ignoring his question. "Okay, that is fair. But, really you look so weird without them." He says.

"I know, I feel weird without them," I say. He looks at me confused. "Then why aren't you wearing them?" He asks. I look down at the ground. "Jamie has been convincing me to get contacts and I finally did it to get her off my back," I say. "Well, I'm going to go unpack," I say. He smiles and nods. "Do you need help with those?" He asks. I shake my head. "Henry would help. Thank you, though." I say. I wave at Henry and he comes running.

"You ready for the summer to start?" Henry asks. "Oh, hell yes," I say. Apart from them has always liked Henry and Luke. I liked them both. But also Henry was my best friend so it wasn't like I could tell him. We walk up to my room. This room was Paige's old room but I took it over when I was little. He lays the bags on my bed.

"Can we go swimming now? I have swam all day. I want to go." Henry begs me. "But, I have to unpack," I say. "We can do it later. Please, pretty please?" He continues to beg. "Fine, I will be down in ten," I say. He runs out of my room happily.

******************************************************************************10 minutes later -

"Come on!" He shouts as he sees me come out of the back door. "Okay, I'm coming," I say. I grab a towel hanging on a rack outside. We start walking the path to the Beach. "Hey, how is everything with your mom?" I ask. His mom has had cancer before. My mom has gone to see her because of her chemo. My mom goes with her to her chemo. "She is doing okay. She will have up and downs sometimes but there is nothing I can do about it," he replies. "Yeah, that must be tough. But, Luke seems weird this summer." I say. He stops walking and looks at me.

"You noticed that, huh?" He asks. " Seriously, what happened?" I ask. "Well, mom and Dad got divorced. It was hard on him. I mean it was hard on everyone. But, it hit him the worst. Then, he found out about moms cancer. It has been a hard year for him so just be patient with him, please." He says. "Shit, I'm sorry that happened," I say. He smiles and nods. That is his way for say thanks. He started to have a bit of a sad face. I hug him. He hugs me back. "Thanks for being there. Just you calling me like you did help me so much." He says.

"Okay, enough of the sobs. I have waited all year for the beach and we are going." I chuckle, to lighten the mood. We finally get to the beach. "This, I have waited all year for this moment again," I say. He looks at me with a smile. "Wanna race?" He asks. I nod and I do a fresh start. I throw my towel on the way. He is behind me. "No fair, you cheater," Henry yells. "Your just slow, Ree." I chuckle. Ree is my nickname for him. So as Henz and Henny Bean. "You're too fast, Cass." He exclaims. He pushes me into the water. I bring him with me as I go down.

We get back up and he splashes me with water. I burst into laughter and splash him back. We splash each other a few more times. I push him one last time in the water. He gets up and grabs my arms. I stop him from doing anything else. I pull his hand and we sit on our towels. I turn towards him. "I missed you so much," I say. "So did I." He says. "No, I mean the year was pretty sucky and it would have been nice for me to see you more," I say. He looked confused. " What are you talking about?" He asks. "You don't have a clue what I am talking about?" I ask. He shakes his head. "I just figured Paige told you," I say. "What are you talking about?" He asks.

"My parents got divorced. Jamie disappeared for two months. Also, Brownie passed away." I say. "Shit, I am so sorry, Cass. That sucks. I know what parents divorcing feels like. And Brownie, that is awful. I am so sorry, Cass. I wish I was there for you more." Henry says. "No, it's alright. I don't blame you for not being there. It was kind of hard when you live hours away from me." I say he smiles at me. I lay my head on his chest. I could feel his abs since he had no piece of fabric hiding them. he starts to comb my hair with his fingers. "It's okay, Cass. I'm here." He says. I wrap my arms around her. "Okay let's go back." He says.