Whoever made this montage must have been thoroughly confused at the fact that every image features a different male and female best friend duo. I even added in a young Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears from the Mickey Mouse Club for shits and giggles.
The only genuine photo of us is used on the first slide, along with the words, “Dylan and Summer—Best Friends Forever!”
Summer’s laughter continues as the years go by until the music finally comes to an end. Her eyes meet mine, and I’m blessed with the most beautiful, heartfelt smile she’s ever given me. Her whole face lights up, and her eyes bore into my soul, rendering me speechless at the realization that I’ve never seen her full smile before.How much hurt is she hiding?
That smile right there makes everything we are doing together worth it. Maybe I was wrong to want more from her because I will happily stay in this limbo state of being, until the end of my days, if I can continue to get smiles like that.
“You are one in a million,” she says and shakes her head, laughing again. “This must have taken hours.”
“Nah, I just found the photos. A company made it look pretty.”
“The photos are the best bit.” She giggles and looks back at her phone, pressing play again. “This one’s my favorite,” she says, pausing the montage and handing me the phone. It’s a picture of “us” in fifty years’ time sharing ice cream at the beach, wearing matching sweaters that say, “Ice cream: Keeping friends together since 1935.”
“Ah, I remember that day like it was yesterday,” I say, looking to the roof, appearing lost in thought.
Summer whacks me on the knee and laughs again. I actually don’t remember her ever being so happy and relaxed. I decide then and there that I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure she has more moments, no, moredays, like these.
She watches the video for a third time—I’m going to go out on a limb and say the gift was successful—then leans across the car and pulls me into another tight hug, surrounding me in warmth and her addictive mango and coconut scent. She presses her lips to my cheek before whispering in my ear, “Thank you. This means the world to me.” When she pulls away her eyes drop to the floor, almost shyly, and I’m not sure what it means, except that it makes my heart jump. Before I can question it, she starts the ignition and pulls out of my drive.
“Best present ever,” she exclaims and laughs again.
It’s a short drive to the next town, our apparent destination, so Summer and I talk about mundane shit like the weather and classes. When she pulls into a full parking lot, I look around for some clue as to where we are. A worn-out billboard advertising live music covers the red brick wall of the building that faces the lot. I look at Summer in question, but all she does is smirk in response.
The closer we walk to the building, the louder the music gets, until it’s so loud I recognize the song. All-4-One’s “I Swear” floats through the open doors as a sea of people push their way through.Uh, what am I walking into?
A banner above the entrance grabs my attention. In large black font, the words “One Night Only—Boyz Rock the Music” are written, taking up most of the banner. Those words alone mean nothing to me; it’s the smaller words below that have me stopping in my tracks and bursting out laughing. “Nineties pop cover band winner of the year,”but wait there’s more…“five years running.”Oh, this is so bad.
“Please tell me we are walking right on by and heading into that creepy-looking used car lot instead.” I point to the lot down the road.Anything but this.
Summer laughs and links her arm through mine. “Come on. Like Lucy said, you need some music education. Plus, it’s my birthday, so you can’t say no.”
She’s got me there.
I’m shocked but I’m actually enjoying the music. Good ole Boyz Rock the Music has played three sets so far, and despite what I’d normally callpoor song choices, they’re really good. Maybe even cover-band-of-the-year good.
Five’s “If Ya Gettin’ Down” begins, and Summer cheers in front of me like she has for almost every song. I laugh and pull her tight against me. She definitely loves boy bandswaymore than she was letting on. As she sways in front of me, I note the other reason I’m enjoying the music…Summer. She peers back at me over her shoulder, and a look of pure giddiness shines across her face. God, she’s so beautiful I could spend a lifetime looking into her eyes and never get tired of it. A nervous feeling swirls within me at the thought. But I shake it off.
Still unsure of Summer’s thoughts on us, I follow her lead when it comes to anything physical between us. While there’s been no kissing, Summer’s been very flirty andcoupleyall night. Not a real word, but it’s exactly what I mean. Like now, for instance, she has her fingers linked through mine as she bounces to the music. Squeezing her hand tight, I sway along beside her, not quite matching her enthusiasm. I’m happy to be here, but not bouncing-and-cheering happy. When the song ends, the tempo changes to NSYNC’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” and this time, I’m not ashamed to admit I know all the words. I may have listened to their albums a few times since Summer told me she loved them so much.
Moving Summer in front of me, I rest my hands on her hips and lean down so my lips are pressed to her ear. I sing along to every word of the song as we move slowly, as one, to the rhythm. Summer’s arms come up around my neck, and her fingers run through the ends of my hair. This new position pushes her chest out, giving me the perfect view and prompting me to slowly move my hands up to under her breasts. When her head falls back to rest on my shoulder and she closes her eyes, I’m done for.
I know I should resist her—we’re in public—but her neck is too close, and she smells fucking amazing. I press my lips to the base of her ear and then kiss my way down her neck, alternating between sucking and a light touch. I’m so close, I can both hear and feel her sharp intake of breath, and as I continue to kiss her, my thumb starts to subtly swipe across her breast of its own accord. Despite being involuntary, when I finally realize I’m doing it, I can’t seem to stop.
I lower a hand to squeeze her hip bone, and she tightens her grip on my hair as a soft moan leaves her lips.And that’s enough.I practically growl, “we’re leaving,” into her ear and then pull her from the dance floor, not even looking back to gauge her reaction. Summer lets me drag her behind me, without complaint, making me feel a little bad about my outburst. As soon as we get to the car, I turn to apologize. “Sorry, I—”
My words are cut off as Summer leaps into my arms and presses her lips to mine, sending us stumbling into the car. I catch her before we fall and dig my fingers into her ass, pulling her down onto me. We both groan in ecstasy as our bodies grind together, completely lost in the moment.
We continue making out like that until a car door slams in the distance. It’s faint and far away, but it’s enough to break me from the Summer-infused trance I’m in.
“Wait,” I rasp against her lips. I’m constantly losing my mind when it comes to Summer, but tonight, I’m going to do the right thing.
She breaks away from the kiss and looks up at me through her lashes. Her chest heaves along with mine, and she’s clearly flustered. I smile and am blessed with a beautiful smile in return.
I brush the hair from her face and press a kiss to her nose. “This feels like a date,” I say with a cocky smile. Summer begins to say something, but I press a finger to her lips to stop her. “To me, it feels like a date. I want it to be a date. And I want it to end the right way. The way you deserve.”
She gives me a puzzled expression but doesn’t speak.
“We’re going to go home, I’m going to kiss you good night, and then we are going to make plans to see each other again.”