Be My Summer

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“Are you serious, old lady? Are you trying to give my old man a heart attack?” Breathlessly, I asked my stepmother.

“You don’t think that’s a good idea?”

“Someone jumping out of a cake, Ma? I think it’s a horrible idea unless you have medics on standby.”

“Well, your brother is a physician, so that wouldn’t be much of an issue.”

“No. Speaking of my brother, have you run this by him?”

“No.” She sighed, defeated.

“Exactly. Don’t.” Chuckling, I shook my head, wondering how many more tricks she had up her sleeve.

Though she meant well and simply wanted my father to have the time of his life at his party in two months, the ideas she tossed my way simply weren’t sticking.

“How about we go with a large, elegant dining experience that he’ll remember for years to come? He’s a simple guy. We can’t miss him with an extravagant dinner.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Maybe I’m just overthinking it all.”

“You are. Just relax. Don’t stress. When I get a chance this week, we can have lunch and hash out the details. Make sure your son is in attendance because he’s not going to nod his way out of this one.”

The son who she and my father shared had inherited our father’s mellow demeanor. He hardly protested anything and simply went with the flow. However, this was something we wanted his input on, and wouldn’t accept the nonchalant head nods and shoulder shrugs.

“Words. We’re expecting words,” I emphasized, finally slowing my stride to catch a breath.

“I know. I will talk to him.”

With my hands on my hips, I began pacing in a large circle to keep my legs moving and my heart pumping. I watched from atop as the soles of my shoes collided with the cement beneath them. It was a calming mechanism. One that helped me settle before my last stretch.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too hot to be running out there, son? You’re going to pass out.”

Chuckling, I lifted my head with a nod, agreeing with my mom’s statement. However, it wouldn’t deter me. My mid-day run was a source of relief from the unsolicited stress creators managed to incur as a daily right of passage in the creative realm. It was welcomed chaos.

A fluffy fabric that littered the green grass captured my attention as I responded to the comment and question that had been posed. My attention had been divided. My adrenaline had been reinstated.

“Maybe it is a little hot, but a good sweat has never hurt anyone, has it?”

Long, dark legs that rested against the blanket made my eyebrows race to the center of my forehead. Curiosity was the cause of my lingering gaze. I was utterly, completely intrigued.

Inch by inch, I studied the umber-colored skin until I reached a white dress that led to long, slim arms and fingers that huddled around a thick book to keep it steady. The face that was stuffed inside was almost impossible to get a good view of, but I didn’t need to.

Soft, straight hair dangled with the slant of her head. And then, it fell backward. Laughter erupted from her soul as a result of whatever she’d just read. Just as her finger turned the page, I witnessed her beauty in its entirety.

Be still. I commanded my heart, placing a hand over my chest.

As if time had frozen, she paused, briefly, before beginning to read again. The sound of my beating heart, as loud and thunderous as it was, led her directly to me.

Be still. I begged it.

Our visions aligned.

“Saul?” My mom called on the other line.

“Ma, I uh– let me hit you back later, aight?”

Without waiting for a response, I removed the AirPods from my ears and shoved them in my pocket. Instead of continuing my jog along the designated path, I accepted the unofficial invitation to join whoever the fuck this gorgeous woman was sitting before me. The run could wait.

Her eyes fell into the book as my journey began. She picked back up where she’d left off, concealing that beautiful face of hers again and leaving me gutted. With haste, I trekked through the grass to meet her, anxious to see those big, round eyes and full lips that were painted red.

She was something like a daydream. Something straight out of the JET magazines that were delivered to our front door because my parents had a subscription. Had her face ever graced the cover, she’d stop every person who passed the shelf she sat on. She was astonishing.

There was something so nostalgic about her presence. Something that reminded me of my mother and my stepmother and my grandmother, and my aunt. Something delicate. Something fragile.

A softness that was reserved especially for Black women.

A gentleness that only a woman with melanin-infused skin had the right to possess.

A kindness that radiated far beyond their vicinity.

It was exactly what drew me to her, exactly what had me squatting before her, reciting the question that had been playing in my head since I made the first step in her direction.

“Has anyone told you you’re beautiful today?”

The sound of the pages of her book slamming together brought cheer to my heart. I could feel my lips aim for my ears as a smile curved them upward.

“My father,” she admitted, slightly tugging at my heartstrings.

The southern accent assured me she was from the south, possibly a Perry-bred girl. A woman I loved dearly had the same southern drawl. My smile faded slightly as I nodded.

“But, hearing it from you feels a little different,” she continued, mending the pieces of my heart she’d broken so soon.

The competition began again. My lips raced for my ears as my smile reappeared.

“Mind if I join you?”

“It seems as if you already have.”

Tilting my head, I tittered. Her observation was partially correct.

“Unfortunately, my food is all gone, my blanket is way too small for us both, and my page count for the day is almost complete. I’ll be leaving in the next fifteen minutes.”

“Don’t leave,” I blurted, unsure why I felt the overwhelming urge to maintain the connection we’d established.

Though small, it was something. And, simply by hearing the warmth that laced her voice, I knew that I wanted to enhance it. Not later, but now, rather.

“I’m Summer,” she introduced herself, extending an arm.

Her confidence was enthralling. I was completely and shamefully smitten. Every nerve in my body was in place, yet somehow still attempting to split at the sound of every syllable from her lips.

I took her hand into mine, still smiling as I responded, “Saul.”

The tingling in my face revealed details about this encounter that I wanted to keep to myself.

“Saul,” she repeated after me.

Summer and Saul. Like a fucking kid in elementary, I paired the two. The match was a hit, covering me with small, fine bumps that pained as they sprouted on my arms and back.

“I’ll be back in less than ten minutes. Be here upon my return.”

“Are you asking or are you telling me?” She asked, furrowing brows centered on her face.

“Both,” I confessed with a shrug.

The flaring of her nostrils was enough to see that she was straddling the fence.

“Please,” I encouraged.

“I imagine we’ll have to find out what I’ve decided upon your return, huh?”

Her wittiness was darling. So was the smirk on her face. So was her ability to captivate a complete stranger. So was the power she immediately dominated my morning with. Plans had changed. And, within a matter of seconds, so had I.

A yearning much more profound than anything I’d ever felt was born inside of me. A desire. A need. An aspiration. A hunger. An eagerness to share more spaces and more time with her.

Chuckling, I stood until my six-foot frame was completely upright and then jogged toward the building that housed my loft.

Within four minutes, I was inside the elevator tapping my fob against the motherboard so I could gain access to my unit.

I closed my eyes and pressed my back against the cold steel, relying on it to regulate my temperature as visions of smooth, flawless umber skin flickered behind my lids.

Ding. The elevator sounded, confirming I’d reached my destination. Immediately, I stripped myself of the shirt I’d sweated through and tossed it onto the back of one of the barstools that rounded the kitchen island. I moved through the openness in search of everything and nothing at once.

Honey-roasted turkey. Crackers. Goat cheese. Grapes. Pineapples. Nectarines. Oranges. Low-calorie bread. Glasses. Chilled wine.

One by one, I piled the items onto my counter before rushing through the hallway where the linen closet rested at the very end. The largest, softest blue blanket filled the gaps between my fingers as I pulled it from the shelf and closed the door behind me.

It’ll work, I promised myself. Determination spiked my adrenaline.

The closet in my bedroom was my next stop. Inside, I searched the top drawer for a crisp white tee from the array of colors piled inside. It didn’t take long for the discovery.

White shirts in my wardrobe were plentiful, while there was only one of every other color of tee I owned.

I tossed it over my head and pulled it down onto my body, eventually freeing my hands to grab the deodorant from my dresser and swipe it down my armpits.

A shower would have to wait, but concealing the scent my daily run covered me with was the priority.

With everything piled into the largest tote I could find, I stepped out of the elevator and back into the open air.

My legs assisted my efforts, swiftly moving along the pavement until I reached the beautiful greens of the park.

It wasn’t until my chest deflated and I began to breathe again that I realized I was holding my breath.

Not much had changed in my absence. A book was still hoisted in the air.

Dark brown eyes were still hidden behind the pages.

And, the prettiest girl I’d ever laid eyes on was planted on the lawn, still.

God was truly the homie. Her presence convinced me of his realness for the millionth time since the day I’d learned of his existence.