Page 11 of That Summer Feeling

“He’s impulsive, for one. And not in a fun way. He gets in the worst moods. Sometimes they last for days. And he—” She paused again. “He never remembers to pick up his clothes off the floor. Or take out the trash. Doesn’t matter how many times you tell him. He’s been like that his entire life.”

“That just sounds like a person to me,” Dara snapped back.

“Thanks for telling me,” I said to Stevie, forcing way too much brightness into my tone. Dara never accepted critique well, even when it didn’t directly affect her, which meant I fell all over myself trying to smooth things over. The last thing I wanted was for Dara to create an enemy out of my ally. “That’s really good to know.”

Stevie directed her attention to my sister. “Look, if Mason really is somehow the man of Garland’s dreams, I want her to know all of that.”

Dara was well aware of exactly how intimidating she couldbe, and Stevie had done the impossible in response—she’d held her ground.

Stevie looked at me and added, “He’s just not the type of person I’d imagine for someone like you, that’s all.”

I had to cackle at how true that was. “Believe me. I never imagined myself with a guy like him either. I don’t actually trust blond men.”

Dara snickered. “That’s exactly the type of weird shit she always says,” she told Stevie.

“Sorry, just categorically, something is amiss there,” I added, feeding on the amusement.

Everyone was smiling now, even Stevie.

“The opposites-attract love story of a lifetime,” Dara said. “Except you’re not opposites, you just have an irrational bias toward people you think are too good-looking.”

“I fear beauty and power,” I said. “I really do.”

Dara made eye contact with Stevie. “She can’t watch the Olympics. Too many talented, good-looking people in the same room.”

“I mean, when I look at you, I have to squint,” I admitted to Stevie. “It’s like staring into the sun.”

Stevie smacked her hands on the wooden table. The loud thwack echoed in my ears, dulling my embarrassment over what I’d just said. “Hold on. NowI’mtoo talented, good-looking, and blond? I thought this only had to do withmen.”

“It does,” I said, lost in my own harebrained logic. “Don’t worry. I still trust you.”

“Good. Because I’m about to offer to help you date my brother, and that’s not something I’d do for anyone.” Therewas a hasty urgency to her pitch that seemed out of character. Her breathing was a little too shallow. Her speech a touch rushed. “No one here knows him better than I do. And if he’s really the one you’re meant to be with, I can keep him honest too.”

It was hardly a minute ago that she’d been listing all of Mason’s worst qualities.

“Besides, we have an alliance, don’t we?” she asked in a softer tone.

I should’ve told her I didn’t want to do this. My heart had been made up the day Ethan left me. If it wasn’t going to be him, it wasn’t going to be anyone. But I’d promised myself to take risks at camp, and this couldn’t have been riskier.

Plus, how many people did I know as a kid who’d gone away to summer camp, then come back at the start of the school year having gotten wrapped up in a brief romantic tryst that was gone as fast as it came? What if that were me? What if it didn’t have to be some big, epic thing?

Now that I’d been married and divorced and was single again, I certainly wasn’t looking to put another ring on my finger. Maybe Mason could just be a summer fling. Adults could do that. A lot of adults did it all the time, in fact. That had never been me, but this was supposed to be my chance to transform myself.

I could be casual here. I could have a summer fling.

“Deal,” I said, shaking Stevie’s hand yet again.

5

When the sky went dark, we gathered in the event hall for the first nightly mixer. The vaulted ceiling was crisscrossed with wood beams. There was a lofted upstairs area that overlooked the ground floor. Light from wall fixtures added far too much dimension to the faces of the taxidermied deer and moose proudly displayed throughout. The whole place was huge, clearly built for crowds, with a draftiness to it that felt nostalgic somehow. Through the years, countless summer romances had bloomed and withered in this very hall. And mine was about to start. My casual, easy, low-stakes summer fling with a blond man. Not a single string attached!

Tables were scattered along the edges of the ground floor, centered around a dance floor. A large stage had been built in front of it, with a bar lining the back right, tucked under the lofted area.

Stevie scanned the crowd with the same focus she’d hadearlier on our campgrounds tour. Then she headed for the bar. “A vodka cranberry with lime,” she said to the bartender. She looked back at me. “What do you want?”

“Whatever you’re having.”

Stevie smiled. “Make it two.” She pulled a five-dollar bill from her bra and handed it over to the bartender for a tip.