Till Summer Do Us Part(91)

“No ‘How are you? How are you doing? Everything okay over there?’”

“Mika, you know I don’t have a lot of time on these phone calls. You good?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay, then tell me everything.”

He chuckles and says, “Just that she was freaking out that you guys kissed and that she really liked it and that she thinks you’re really hot, and Denise called her out on having a crush on you.”

I feel like a crazy man, because what?

“Wait, so she was freaking out about the kiss?”

“She was. Big time. Why? Is she acting differently?”

“Uh, yeah. Really fucking differently, as if the kiss didn’t even affect her in the slightest.”

“Oh, it affected her. Pretty sure she used the word ‘throbbing’ when talking to Denise.”

Throbbing?

That liar!

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I say as I shake my head. “Jesus, here I was thinking that she couldn’t care less about it, but in reality, she was throbbing.”

“I heard there was a lot of throbbing.”

A lot?

I mean…that does make me feel better.

“Well…fuck.”

I drag my hand over my face.

“What are you going to do about it?” Mika asks.

“I don’t know. What do you want me to do about it?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Yeah, I really do,” I say, feeling lost, confused, on edge.

Mika chuckles again. “Brother, listen carefully, okay? I want you to show my best friend a good fucking time. The best fucking time you can give her. She needs it.”

“Really? You think I should?”

“I know you should.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Uh, the moment I found out you two were headed to a camp together where you have to share a cabin, there was no doubt in my mind what you two would end up doing. I’m just shocked it took this long. But the question is, do you want to do anything with her? Are you attracted to her?”

“Dude, she’s gorgeous. Has the prettiest fucking eyes I’ve ever seen, and her lips are fucking incredible. Soft, dude. So fucking soft. And she kissed with confidence. I was almost waiting for her to be shy about it, but she wasn’t. She was so goddamn confident. I want…I want another taste. I’m desperate for it.”

“Okay, I don’t need the details.”

“You asked.”

“I know, but seriously, keep the lip stuff to yourself.”

“It’s true.”

“I’m sure it is. I’ll trust you on this. But if that’s how you feel, then maybe test it out, have some fun.”

“And what happens when we get back home and camp is over and we’re no longer pretending?” I ask. “I’m not…I’m not one to be in a relationship or anything like that. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“And why don’t you want to be in a relationship again? Because of Mom? Because of me? That’s no fucking excuse, and you know that.”

“I’m not looking for an excuse, I’m just looking to be ready is all.”

“I get that. My love life is all kinds of fucked up, so I have no room to judge, but I will say this. Scottie is a once-in-a-lifetime girl. She’s loyal, she’s smart, she keeps her friends close to her heart, and she deserves the world, something I believe you could give her.”

He really believes that about me? I haven’t really thought of any of the girls I’ve dated as long-term material. I haven’t even wanted a relationship, if I’m honest. He’s not wrong about Scottie though. Scottie is a once-in-a-lifetime girl, and she deserves the moon. At the very least, she deserves to have her world rocked sexually, and it sounds like that has never happened. Fucking Matt. What a tool. I’m honestly still surprised that she’s only been with one guy.

But if Mika thought we were such a good fit, why hasn’t he said anything about her before?

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you introduce us sooner?”

“I was planning on it,” he says. I can hear the smile in his voice. “But I was just waiting for her to be ready. She beat me to it with this marriage farce. So now you have to ask yourself: now that you know her and have been around her, what are you going to do about it?”

Great fucking question.





“Let’s go for a walk,” I say as I step up to the table, startling Scottie and causing her to spill her drink on her hand right before she looks up at me.

“You, uh, you startled me.”

I pick up her napkin, take the drink from her, and then dab the liquid off her skin gently. When I’m done, I slip her hand into mine and pull her from her seat.

“Are we allowed to leave?” she asks, looking around for permission.

“We can do whatever we want,” I say into her ear, causing her to shiver. And then I pull her toward the exit just as I make eye contact with Sanders. I nod toward our cabin, and he smiles brightly. That’s all the permission I need.

Hand in hand, we make our way outside into the humid night air, where I guide her down the pathway that runs parallel with the lake.