Goodbye Summer

Two

"It's early in the morning and I was kind of expecting your smile, not your frown, Rice," Sean told Kaycee as she rode shotgun and nodded at Josh behind him that one morning.

"Bet she didn't have enough pancakes for breakfast," Ken quipped as he played with his phone.

"No one asked for your opinion, San Jose," Kaycee rolled her eyes. "It's fuc—freakin' Jevohn Gentry. I don't know how in the hell he got my number," she hissed, irritation marring her expression.

"We honestly thought the house was on fire last night. Turns out the sis was giving him an earful over the phone," Josh said, yawning. "Seriously, what's wrong with that guy?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that guy? What did he see in you?" Ken added.

Josh snorted and they both shared a laugh and a high-five.

Kaycee glared at them at the rear view mirror while Sean shook his head, getting ready for another round of bickering.

"Uh, 'the most beautiful girl he ever laid his eyes on'?" she said sarcastically. "You're the blind one, Ken," she said with confidence to throw him off.

"I wouldn't kiss a girl who smells like a cat," Ken scoffed.

"Why are we talking about kissing? And why the fuck would I want to kiss you?" Kaycee whipped in her seat to face the guy.

"Uh, to experience God's gift to women?"

"Dream on."

"You're just saying that because you're a bad kisser. You probably haven't got your first kiss yet," Ken said absently in his sing-song voice.

"How the hell did this conversation escalated so quickly?" Josh cut in.

"Is that a challenge?" Kaycee said fiercely, ignoring her twin.

Ken finally looked up from his phone and met her eyes with a narrowed gaze. "Game on. Make out session, tonight, the playground, 8:30 pm –"

Then suddenly, they felt their souls leave their bodies as they lurched forward, if not for the seat belts, as the car swerved and skidded into a halt.

"What the hell, Sean?!" Kaycee exclaimed, breathing heavily as she pressed herself to her seat.

"S-sorry..." Sean said, panting.

"Dude, I'm definitely joking. No need to murder us," Ken said.

"You okay, man?" Josh asked, squeezing his shoulder.

"Hm," Sean hummed, nodding, as he started the car again. "I wasn't thinking about that. There was a –a stray cat that crossed the road," he lied. Pathetic.

Oh he was definitely thinking about that. His cousin's words just shocked him and an immediate picture of Kaycee kissing another guy flashed in his mind. He sighed as he now carefully joined the traffic.

The car ride fell into silence except for the low volume of hip hop music blasting from Ken's phone. Kaycee looked at Sean's side profile, noticing that he looked like in deep thought.

"Hey, are you really okay?" she asked, her voice soft, as the car slowed to a stop in red light.

Sean turned to meet her concerned, clear brown eyes that never failed to make him feel like being sucked into a vortex. This was one of the few moments that he loved about her. Despite her endless energy and short temper, a simple moment like this, with him holding her gaze brings him, with her beside him, to a place of sunset, hot chocolates and cool wind that gently caress – pretty much how he would describe what he feels for her. Full of color, warmth, and gentleness.