Caramel | A Short Story Collection ✓

2. All The Summers I Loved You

My submission for the Summer Shorts 2018 Anthology.

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He first met her in the summer of 2000.

His little sister had been endlessly complaining all day, stamping her tiny feet and crying. Eventually he caved into her demands and brought her to a nearby ice-cream shop. That was when he saw her.

She was serving a large family cones dripping with ice-cream, her wavy caramel hair flipping over her shoulder as she laughed. His heart flipping over backwards, he approached the ice-cream counter with Kealie holding his hand.

"What do you want, sweetie?" Her voice was like honey, sweet to his ears.

"Bubblegum!" Kealie squealed, and the girl smiled.

"Good choice," she said as she handed her a cone. "And for you?"

Her eyes were on his suddenly, and they were bright, brighter than the sun that shone outside. "Um, vanilla."

She raised an eyebrow, and he regretted picking the most boring flavour in history. She served him his ice-cream, her tanned hand briefly touching his as he handed over the money, and in a moment, he was out of the shop like nothing had happened.

He went back to that shop every single day. He learned that her favourite flavour was strawberry, that she was sixteen, like him, and that her name was Summer. It fit perfectly.

The summer was nearly over when he went in. He ordered vanilla, same as always, and Summer raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"So, Jackson, are you ever going to ask me out?" She said teasingly, and he gulped.

In the summer of 2001, they made the most of their time away from school in the good weather. They spent days going on trips to wherever their heart's desired in her open-topped car. He always liked picnics because they were able to curl up together on the blanket afterwards, looking up at the clouds.

"This has been the best summer ever." Summer told him as it was drawing to a close. She grinned, and he smiled back at her, at her free spirit, at her sense of adventure, at her longing to someday leave their small town and embark into the great wide world. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

"I love you," he told her, because it was true. He loved her so much it made his heart burst.

She giggled. "I know that, silly." She flicked his nose. "I've been waiting for you to say that for so long." She closed the gap between them, and he tasted strawberries off her lips.

They decided to go on a big road trip in the summer of 2002 with all their friends, to celebrate leaving high school. They travelled along the never-ending coastline of America, drinking beer and partying at night and holding each other's hair back in the mornings. They stayed at cheap motels along the way, Summer nestled in beside him every night, her steady breathing making him feel at ease.

They'd been together nearly two years, and they were still overflowing with love with each other. He never got bored of being with her. Summer was his, and he was hers; that was just the way it was, the way it always had been. It seemed impossible for that ever to change.