Summer's Last Breath

Part 11

Unknown: I forgot to kiss you last night.

Me: who is this?

Unknown: Jamie. who else could it be?


Me: no one. you said you didn't have a phone


Jamie: I do now. when can I see you again?


Me: I have practice after school. where will you be tomorrow at 5:15?


Jamie: where ever you are.


Me: where would you like me to be?


Jamie: the beach behind my house?


Me: see you then.

I pulled into Jamie's driveway at 5:06. I grabbed the plastic container from the passenger seat, tucked it under my arm, and got out. Noah was in the garage. It felt a little weird that I was here to see Jamie and not him. Half of their two-car garage was set up as a kind of a gym with a bench and weight rack and an assortment of weighted plates. Noah and his friend, Jeb, grunted their way through bench-pressing a barbell with an extraordinary amount of weight on it. 


"Hey, Erin," Noah said. I could tell by the way his lips twitched and his eyes gleamed he wanted to play the asshat little brother and tease me about being here to see Jamie. "Jamie's on the beach."


"Wait," Jeb said, stalling in his lift. He set the bar on the rack and sat up, sweat trickling down his abdomen and the sides of his face. "You're here for Jamie?"


"We're going to hang out for a while," I said as nonchalantly as I could. The idea made me giddy and the goosebumps on my arms had nothing to do with the Gulf breeze coasting over my skin.


"That's why he took a shower," Jeb mused, hitting me with a toothpaste—commercial smile. "How did that Neanderthal bag a girl like you? You're breaking my heart, Erin."


Oh, I'm sure. 


As far as reputations went, Jamie was known as the fierce, driven one. Noah was the one you wanted to break out of his shell. But Jeb was the one you avoided at all costs lest you become another notch in a really long string of notches on his belt. 


"You're too pretty for me Jeb." His hair too glorious. His smile too bright. He was slightly taller than Jamie but not nearly as big, his frame more lean than bulky, but no less defined. "I'd end up being jealous of my own boyfriend."


"If you tell me you brought food, I'll get down on my knees."


"It's for Jamie," I said, hiding a smile and clutching the container like a prize. I made for the path that led to the beach, leaving them to their workout.


"You're too good for him," Jeb called, and I waved over my shoulder.


Even though the Jacobs's house sat on a piece of government-owned land that doubled as a state park, not many people visited, so they pretty much had their own private beach.


The sight of Jamie waiting for me on a blanket made my heart skip a beat or two. When he turned his head and smiled at me, my heart threatened to stop altogether.
"Hi," he said and stood when I approached the blanket. 


"Hi." I waited a few beats so my voice wouldn't tremble when I spoke. I'd forgotten how different he looked when he was on the beach, as though he owned it—his dark hair, the light green eyes, the absolute wonder of him. "What is all this?"


"I thought you might be hungry after practice. It's just a snack." He wiped his hands on his boardshorts. He was shirtless, which was how I preferred him, and looked nervous, which I found adorable.