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Our Summer

Chapter 38

     The rain had stopped overnight, and the clouds had passed. It was a little cooler than usual, but that didn’t deter any of us from going swimming.
For the most part, the day passed as usual, except the cute little smiles Lucas flashed me now seemed to have a different meaning. When he dunked me playfully, his hands definitely lingered. He touched me, almost imperceptibly, a lot more – a brush of our hands, and gentle hand on my back, tucking a stray hair off my face… They were all little things, but they meant the world to me.
After supper that night, Lucas murmured into my ear, “Let’s go for a walk.”
We both headed outside unnoticed and started down the beach. Neither one of us had bothered to put on shoes. The water lapped at our ankles as we walked, and Lucas slid his hand into mine, making me feel warm and bubbly inside.
“It’s only been a week and a half, but this summer has already been the best summer of my life,” Lucas told me. I smiled and blushed.
“It’s been pretty amazing,” I agreed. “I never thought,” I stopped in the middle of my sentence and shook my head.
“What?” Lucas asked curiously.
“It’s just – Jamie always gets the guys. I never thought I’d actually find a guy on this trip.”
“Well, considering she’s my cousin, she wasn’t much competition,” Lucas pointed out, and I smiled. “Not that you would’ve either way,” he added with more seriousness. I blushed.
“You’re only saying that because you don’t know what it’s like to not be related to her. Every other guy falls head over heels for her.”
“Well, I’m not every other guy, and I say that you’re just as beautiful as her, if not more,” Lucas said firmly.
Beautiful? I must’ve heard him wrong. No one has ever called me beautiful, except Jamie and my mom, (and I don’t even think that counts) especially a guy.
“You’re bias,” I replied.
“No,” Lucas stopped and turned me so I faced him. “I’m not. I’m right this time. Don’t deny it.” With that, he stepped forward and gave me my very first kiss.

    AN: Ughh, it's been forever; I know :( so sorry you guys!! I just have a whole bunch of stuff going on right now, I never seem to get a chance to type this up! I have the next few chapters typed up, and hopefully I'll be able to add one a day for a few days at least. I'll try my hardest. So sorry, again. Thanks so much for reading, though! I love you for it. (: Have a wonderful day. ♥

Our Summer

Chapter 37

     The next morning, I almost fell out of bed in surprise when I realized Lucas was sleeping next to me. I flashed back to last night.
We’d talked for a couple hours about nothing, really. We told each other stories about our childhoods, school, just life in general. I had laid down next to him after awhile, and he had played with my hair. That was the only time we had touched all night. I some point, I had fallen asleep, and here we were.
I glanced at the clock quickly. 6:33. Thank God for Lucas’ odd sleeping patterns – I’d gotten so used to him waking me up early I did it by myself, which meant he’d have time to go and get dressed so no one would find out about last night.
I looked at Lucas. He looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake him up – but I had to.
“Lucas,” I said softly, shaking his shoulder lightly.
“Mmm,” he groaned and turned away from me slightly.
“Lucas,” I repeated a little louder. He opened his eyes, and he seems surprised to see me. Then he rubbed his eyes.
“Good morning,” he mumbled. Then he frowned. “Sh*t.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, knowing that he had just realized exactly what I’d realized a few moments earlier.
“I’m going to go get dressed,” he hopped up, and then turned back towards me as if he’d forgotten something. “Sleep in today,” he told me, kissed my cheek, and hurried out of the room.
I touched the place on my cheek where his lips had touched it. I was still holding it when Jamie rushed into my room a few minutes later.
“Did I just see Lucas leave your room in his pajamas?” she asked, rushing to me bed. I smiled and didn’t say anything. I knew she would ask anyways. “Spill,” she sat down cross-legged on the bed.
“He couldn’t sleep so he came down, and we talked,” I shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“That’s it? You talked?” Jamie said astonished. Most people would automatically assume more than that had happened, and that I was only saying that, but Jamie knew I would tell her if it had.
“Hurry up, girl!” she whacked me with a pillow. “You’ve barely got two weeks left!”
I laughed, but her words hit a sensitive spot. Barely two weeks – that’s all I had left to spend with Lucas. 

    AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 36

    After I kicked Brayden’s butt at checkers (okay, I kicked his butt the first time – the other two games? Let’s not go there), we all played Monopoly. I would have won that, but Jamie got Boardwalk and Park Place. Lucas just failed at everything.
All day we played games and laughed at each other. Revenge was a big deal, especially in Trouble.
I was disappointed when the day came to an end. I was even more disappointed when Lucas was the first to go to bed. I sighed and told myself I’d get a chance to talk to him tomorrow.
Jamie, Brayden, and I all stayed up pretty late talking and messing around. When Jamie announced she was going to sleep, I did as well.
She used the bathroom before me, and when I came out, I was surprised to see Brayden still sitting in the living room. It reminded me of the other morning when he was sitting on the deck.
I shrugged it off and went to my room to go to sleep. It took me forever to fall asleep, and once I finally did, a knock  on my door woke me up.
I rubbed my eyes and looked at my alarm clock. 1:43. I flipped my lamp on and dragged myself out of bed.
I opened the door to see Lucas in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else. Of course, I’ve seen him shirtless before, but it affected me differently when it was 1:43 in the morning, and I had just woken up.
“Hey,” he asid. That was it. Just ‘hey’. I raised me eyebrows and he gave me a little smirk. He looked tired – which somehow made him more attractive. I bit my lip and smiled back. My face had started to heat up.
“It’s two o’clock in the morning,” I pointed out.
“I know,” he replied, looking away. “I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. “I woke up when Brayden came up.”
“And…?” I prompted him. He shrugged.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“So you came and woke me up at 1:45 in the morning?”
“Probably not my greatest idea,” he grinned sheepishly.
“Not really,” I agreed, but I let him into my room anyways.

     AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 35

 The next day, as predicted, was rainy and stormy, which meant all four of us kids – Brayden, Jamie, Lucas, and I – were stuck inside. After breakfast, we congregated in the living room.
“Who’s up for cards?” Lucas asked.
“I want to play!” Jamie squealed excitedly.
“What about you?” he asked me.
“It’s not exactly my forte,” I replied, awkwardly.
“What she means is, she fails epically at it and refuses to play,” Jamie translated. I rolled my eyes, even though it was true.
“You two play cards,” Brayden jumped in. “I’ll play something else with Natalie.” Then he looked at me. “Checkers?” he raised his eyebrows.
“Sounds good,” I laughed, and he headed to get the board with Lucas who was getting cards.
“Rainy days are amazing,” Jamie told me. “Almost as good as sunny days – but only because they’re rare.”
“Do you just play games all day?” I asked.
“Pretty much,” Jamie replied. “But just a warning, they’re both really competitive.”
“As in, more than you?” I teased.
“Me times like, ten, and you’ve got it.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” I teased. “Are you sure that’s even possible?”
“Shut up,” she retorted, throwing a pillow at my head.
“Girls, girls,” Lucas came strutting back in. “There’s no need to fight. There’s plenty of me to go around.”
“Ew!” Jamie made a face. “She can have you!”
“Well,” Lucas sat down. “If we weren’t cousins –“
“But we are,” Jamie interrupted.
“But if we weren’t,” he repeated. “You would be all over me and you know it.”
Jamie made a gagging noise. “Puh-lease!”
“Let me guess,” Brayden walked in. “It has to do with how hot he thinks he is.” Bullseye. Jamie and I laughed, but Lucas crossed his arms and glared at us. He looked absolutely adorable.
“You’re all just jealous,” he said, a few moments later, causing us to burst into laughter again.
And so began the best rainy day I’ve ever had.
  
       AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 34

  He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “Maybe we should head back up to the house,” he suggested.
“Wait,” I said as he started to turn and squeezed his hand. “Let’s sit and talk for a little bit,” I said, suddenly shy when he turned back.
“Okay,” he agreed with the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. We moved away from the edge of the water and sat down. “What do you want to talk about?” he asked. I was disappointed he didn’t take my hand again once we sat down.
“I don’t know,” I blushed and averted my eyes. He smiled and brushed a finger over my cheek. I turned to look at him again, and I was caught in his gaze. I’ve never seen eyes like his – they were the perfect mixture of blue and green.
“Do you like me too?” he whispered. The question surprised me and I caught my breath. I nodded, unable to speak. A grin spread across his face and he hugged me tightly. I laughed, loving how it felt to have his strong arms holding me against him.
“That’s good,” he whispered when he finally pulled away.
The wind began to pick up.
“We should head back to the house,” he stood up. “The weather’s supposed to get pretty bad tonight and tomorrow.”
“That sucks,” I said. He pulled me up to my feet and shrugged.
“We’ll still have fun,” he promised, dropping an arm around my shoulders nonchalantly as we started to walk.
“Okay,” I laughed. “If I don’t, I’ll be very disappointed in you,” I warned.
“Don’t worry,” he grinned, and I nervously slid my arm around his waist. I couldn’t believe how right it felt. “You will.”
“Okay,” I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder.
Once we got to the house and went inside, we sat in the living room and talked for awhile. I was yawning and half asleep on the couch before we finally decided to go to bed. 
      AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 33

  “You know how you asked about Bree?” he asked. “Why I get nervous around her?” I nodded, my throat tight; I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to know.
“Yeah,” I said, attempting to act natural.
“She’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a girlfriend,” he explained. I bit my lip. “When she moved here in eighth grade, we talked a lot. I started liking her, and freshman year I finally got up the nerve and asked her to homecoming. She said yes, but we were only going as friends.
“After that, we hung out a lot more and I told her I liked her. She said she liked me back, but we never went out. I guess she stopped liking me at some point because before I knew it she was dating someone else,” Lucas explained.
“I’m sorry,” I told him, although I was surprised that he still got nervous around her even though this had happened over a year ago.
“There’s more,” he said. “Beginning of sophomore year, she found out her boyfriend had cheated on her over the summer, and she told me about it, and we started talking again. After a couple weeks, she got back together with the guy, but we kept talking this time. They were constantly on and off again, and she always turned to me when they were fighting, or broke up. Finally, I told her I still liked her, and that I couldn’t stand seeing her so sad and that she should just break up with him for good,” he said.
“Big mistake?” I guessed.
“Huge. We stopped talking as much, and eventually she wouldn’t talk to me at all,” Lucas finished.
“Is she still dating him?” I asked.
“As far as I know,” he replied.
“She seemed really nice.”
“She is,” he sighed. “Well, now you know. I’ve never told anyone that story before.”
“Really?” I said, finding it adorable, despite the situation.
“Really,” he admitted.
“Why tell me?” I asked.
“Because,” he paused. “I like you Natalie. A lot. And I trust you. I feel like I can tell you anything.” We had stopped walking now, and he was looking down at me. “I’ve never felt like this before.” 
        AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 32

 I didn’t get a chance to see Lucas again that evening. It was strange for him to stay up in his room like that – that was more Brayden-like behavior.
That night, at about 10:30, I went to get a drink of water, and I noticed someone was sitting out on the deck. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Lucas. I set down my cup and stepped outside.
“Natalie?” he said, surprised. “What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I replied as I sat down next to him on the steps.
“I’m just thinking,” he sighed.
“’Bout what?” I asked, bumping his knee with mine. He didn’t answer. As we sat there, I began to get goose bumps. It was surprising how chilly it was.  A breeze picked up, and I shivered a little.
“You’re cold?” Lucas realized. I nodded. “Put some pants on, girl!” he teased. I was wearing my pink plaid pajama shorts. He handed me his sweatshirt, though, and I gratefully pulled it on.
“Thanks,” I smiled up at him. He smiled back and absently brushed a stray hair off my face. My skin burned at his touch and the butterflies in my stomach went wild.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” he asked suddenly, standing up.
“Sure,” I giggled. He offered me his hand to help me up, and when we started walking he didn’t let go.
We walked in the sand, just on the edge of the shore line.
“How mad would you be if I threw you in the water right now?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned.
“Too late,” he replied. I rolled my eyes.
"You would die.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.”
“Well, I better not do it then. I wouldn’t want to make you break a promise,” Lucas said. I laughed and hit him lightly with my free hand. His grip tightened on my fingers.
“Can I tell you something?" he asked seriously.
“Yeah,” I said. “Go ahead.” 
        AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

• click to see this quote •

Our Summer

Chapter 30

“Hey, Bree,” Lucas said to the girl, equally surprised. She was our age and gorgeous. Her straight auburn hair was medium length, but it was pulled back in a ponytail and only her bangs fell out. She was taller than me, probably 5’6” or so. “Uhh, this is Natalie – my cousin’s friend,” he cleared his throat.
“I’m Breanna,” she smiled at me. “It’s nice to meet you.” Turning back to Lucas, she said, “Your cousin, Jamie?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. I was surprised when he didn’t say more. He was usually really talkative.
“I didn’t know she was here.”
“Yeah, they came right after school got out,” Lucas explained.
“Are you having fun?” she asked me.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s my first time in California.”
“I love it here. I moved here in eighth grade,” she explained. “So did you get your license?” she asked Lucas.
“A couple hours ago, actually,” he smiled at her. I bit my lip. It was the kind of smile he usually gave me.
“Nice,” Breanna smiled. “Your birthday was yesterday, right? Happy birthday,” she said, when he nodded.
“Thanks.”
“Well, I should get to work,” she said and sounded regretful.
“Alright, well, I’ll see you around,” Lucas told her.
“Bye.”
We both got in the car. Lucas was quiet as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Who was she?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“A girl from school.”
I gave him a look that said, yeah right. I knew there was more to it.
“Why’d you get all nervous around her?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and playful. His grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“I didn’t,” he said defensively.
“Sure,” I rolled my eyes.
“Just leave it alone, Natalie.” The force in his voice surprised me. I dropped the subject, and we didn’t speak for the rest of the drive. I wondered what there was that he wasn’t telling me about Breanna. I wondered why he’d looked at her the same way he’d looked at me last night. Most importantly, though, I wondered what about her had gotten him to snap at me.  
         AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!

Our Summer

Chapter 29

  Not surprisingly, Lucas passed his driver’s license test.
“We should celebrate,” he told me when he got back.
“Really?” I smiled. It was cute how excited he was. He was like a little kid. “And what do you suggest?” He thought for a moment.
“Ice cream,” he decided.
“Ice cream?” I laughed.
“Ice cream,” he repeated, firmly. “Go get dressed.” I laughed and went to my room.
I pulled on a black lace tee shirt over a bright blue camisole tank top and a pair of dark jean shorts. I put on a tiny bit of eyeliner and pulled a brush through my hair.
Once I was ready, I slid on a pair of flip flops the same color as my tank top and went to find Lucas. He grinned when he saw me.
“Ready?” he asked, grabbing the keys. I nodded. He called to his mom to tell her we were leaving, and we headed out to the car.
We went to the ice cream parlor we’d gone to the other day, and I got the same thing he’d gotten then.
When we finished eating, I wasn’t even close to ready to go home.
“What is there to do around here?” I asked as we headed outside. “Other than go to the beach,” I specified.
“Not much,” he laughed. “That’s about all we’ve got.”
“Well…” I thought for a moment. “Let’s go for a walk!” I decided.
“Okay,” Lucas laughed again. “Why?”
“Because I want to,” I replied.
“Alright, good enough for me,” Lucas grinned, and we started walking, where I didn’t know.
“You better hope you don’t get burnt with that shirt on,” Lucas pointed out. I looked down.
“That would be interesting,” I laughed.
“No kidding,” Lucas snorted.
“Hey,” I giggled and purposely bumped into his side. “Be nice.”
“What’s the fun in that?” he teased.
“Maybe people would like you?” I joked.
“Oh, and I’m mean?” Lucas replied, giving my hair a tug.
“Hey!” I protested, pulling his hand away. We walked around for awhile before we decided to go back to his house.
As we walked back to the ice cream parlor a girl in a waitress uniform was getting out of her car.
“Lucas,” she said surprised, upon seeing us. “Hi,” she smiled.
        AN: Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I really appreciate it! Please fave/comment with your opinions. Love you all!!