Chapter 39 Summer
“Well, Park. This wasn’t what I expected when I heard you were cooking, but it was probably for the best.”
At the dinner table, Melody pops the last of her French fries into her mouth, courtesy of the emergency takeout that Parker ran down to get at Oakley’s.
His poor chicken is still intact in its platter on the stove, completely undercooked but burned on the outside, while I scrub at the globby remains of the pasta sauce coating its pot at the sink.
Parker stands at the counter with me, filling the dishwasher while I rinse.
His family, plus Shy and Rosie, lounge around the table.
“Actually, the food looked quite fantastic before we got to talking,” I say in Parker’s defense. Behind the coverage of the kitchen island, he slides his foot to touch mine. “The disaster was completely my fault.”
“Melody, you’re being too hard on your brother,” Caroline says. “It was a lovely meal that brought us together as a family.”
I smile down at the pot in my hands.
I know I’m not supposed to get ahead of myself. But between the flowers, the dinner, the making me come so hard my life actually flashed before my eyes, I’m almost certain that tonight was a date that I ruined. And yet, the night turned into something just as good.
I can’t remember the last time I had a family dinner.
I pass the pot to Parker, who crouches to load it in the dishwasher. “For the record, I regret nothing. You, on the other hand…”
I smother a laugh. He spent the entirety of dinner shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Threatening sexual comeuppance with his eyes, while I gave completely exaggerated, satisfied sighs. Maybe trying to rile him up, just a little. Inspire him to draw out my inevitable punishment.
I hand him a plate. “Is there an end to that sentence?”
Parker looks up at me. “How’s this one: The second they go, I’m strapping you to that table and having my way with you all night, like the perfect little fuck doll you are.”
My eyes dart around the room to make sure no one else heard. Parker pinches my ass. I swat his hand away, but he laces our fingers and squeezes. So does my heart.
“Well, isn’t this the picture of domestic bliss?” We disentangle when Shy wanders over with a couple of plates.
I shoot her a warning glare. She’s been sending me gleeful looks all night, whenever Parker and I so much as glance at each other.
“How long are you in town, Caroline?” I ask before she can get going.
“Just for the night,” she says between sips of the homemade kombucha she brought. “We’ve got a wedding in Virginia the day after next.”
“Anyone we know?” Parker asks.
“Oh no, we’re not guests. Did we never mention your dad got ordained?” Caroline gestures at her husband with the glass bottle, the liquid swirling dangerously close to the lip. “The Traveling Officiant. Gained a nice little following online.”
I look over at Parker. He shakes his head. Leans in and whispers, “Order of business when they leave: titty fuck, followed by an internet search.”
“Promises, promises,” I whisper.
Caroline takes another long sip of her drink. “We’ve made a bit of a business of it. Show them, Brian.”
Brian pulls out his phone and I feel Parker stiffen at my side. Melody and Zac do the same from across the room.
“Prepare yourself,” I whisper to Shy. “Brian Woods doesn’t say much, but whenever he does, it’s…”
Brian hands his phone to Zac, while Melody tentatively leans in to have a look.
“Fuck!” Zac jerks away from the phone, almost fumbling it. His panicked gaze bounces from his in-laws to Rosie obliviously playing in the living room. “I—I mean, wow. You—you’re—it’s…”
“Dad,” Mel wails, ripping the phone out of her husband’s hand, who’s gone alarmingly pale and is now staring at the wall with unfocused, horrified eyes. “Why are you naked in these pictures?”
I dig my nails into Parker’s arm, trying to contain myself.
“Oh!” Caroline exclaims. “Did I not say they were weddings on nudist resorts? Dad’s a big hit with them. Besides, we made sure to paste stars in these pictures, over his—”
“Mom.” Parker flings an arm toward Rosie. “There’s a child in the room.”
“My eyes.” Mel sobs into her hands. Meanwhile, Shy has melted into my other side, laughing hysterically.
Caroline holds out the phone. “Summer, darling, do you want to see?”
“No,” Parker practically shouts.
“No, thank you.” I give him a pointed look, before beaming at his parents. “I’m sure you officiate lovely ceremonies, Brian.”
“Kiss-ass,” Parker mutters, bumping me with his hip. He takes a dish from me, chuckling to himself. And it does feel domestic. All of this.
Tonight has felt like a dream that eighteen-year-old me might’ve had, hosting my husband’s family for dinner.
And what a blessing it would be for this to be my family.
To have two of my closest friends as a sister and brother-in-law.
To have Caroline and Brian Woods, who opened their home to me when I was three, as parents.
Then there’s Parker. If I’d have told myself that I’d be falling for him one day, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I can’t for the life of me remember why that is.
He’s transformed from lost boy to a man who makes my heart pound just by standing next to me. And what I wouldn’t give to be that lucky, one-in-a-million girl. Who fell for my best friend, my person, and had him fall right back. Forever.
If you stayed, you might. You could have all of it.
My muscles tense in protest, the way they do whenever my heart urges me to quit on a wave. Give up on the idea of the tour. And with my next event just a few days away, I’m running out of time to decide what I want.
Go and lose this.
Stay and lose me.
The déjà vu is haunting. I gave up surfing for love once. Have regretted it ever since.
“Since we have you here,” Parker says now. He glances at his sister and Zac, who’s still staring blankly at the wall, then around me to Shy. “What’s the plan for next weekend?”
I nearly fumble the plate I’m holding. I nudge Parker’s foot but he gives me an oblivious dimpled smile.
“What’s happening next weekend?” Shy asks.
“Summer’s event. She doesn’t surf until mid-morning, but we’d need to arrive first thing to get her ready,” Parker says.
The apartment goes silent, except for Rosie who’s wandered into the living room and is playing with the TV remote.
Undeterred, Parker reaches on top of his fridge and produces a glittering TEAM SUMMER shirt, showing it off. “I made us all T-shirts.”
Melody’s gaze swings from the T-shirt to me. “I thought you were just volunteering.”
Parker makes a confused sound. I avert my eyes and tuck my hair behind my ear. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m competing this year.”
“Well, that’s wonderful!” Caroline exclaims. “You have such a knack for surfing, darling.”
“You definitely didn’t tell us.” The news seems to have resuscitated Zac, who now looks at me curiously. “Are you trying to qualify for the tour again? I never understood why you gave up on that—you were so close to making it the last time.”
“God, no!” The words slip out before I can stop them. “It’s a simple matter of good old-fashioned revenge.”
“Revenge?” Shy says slowly.
“Yeah. Why should Denny get to win that prize money when it can contribute to my retail addiction instead?”
“Her next event is next Saturday, at Crystal Cove. Just half an hour away,” Parker says slowly. “We could all go together. Maybe Brooks and Siena can catch a flight—”
“No, don’t put that on them. It’s too short notice.” I muster the courage to look at him, but it’s to tell him to drop it with my eyes. “But if the rest of you want to come, I’d love to have you. No pressure, though.”
Melody’s face falls. “Sum, I really wish you’d have said something sooner. We’ve just invited Zac’s coaching team to a dinner at our place in the city. It took forever to get the date lined up.”
“My parents are away, and Max is training at the base for the next few weeks,” Shy says softly. “I don’t have anyone to watch Rosie. Sum, I’m so sorry.”
I wave away their long faces despite the sinking feeling in my stomach. It’s not as though I have the right to be disappointed. They only just learned I was competing. But, in a way, it only validates the reason I kept it from them in the first place.
I spend enough time hoping Dad will make it. I couldn’t add my friends to the list of impending disappointments.
“Of course, I totally get it! It’s not at all a big deal, which is why I didn’t mention it in the first place. This is just something silly I’m doing. So not worth the effort.”
But Caroline claps a hand on the table, making her kombucha splash in its bottle. “Nonsense! We could make it back in time. Couldn’t we, Brian?”
Brian lifts his phone off the table. “If we leave immediately following the ceremony. Let me check the schedule.”
“That’s so…” My hand drifts to my cheek. I can feel the hope rising within me, even as I beg it to stop. “That’s really so sweet. But you don’t have to do that.”
“No one has to do anything in life. We’d love to join you, darling.”
A proper lump forms in my throat. Brian leans over to his wife, indicating something on his phone. They start talking logistics, and I use the opportunity to quietly excuse myself. I can feel Parker staring as I head down the hall, diverting to the guest room instead of his at the last second.
Eyes stinging, I sink to the edge of the bed and pull my phone from my back pocket. I adore their enthusiasm, whether they really mean it or not. But all it’s done is set a glaring spotlight on the most noticeable absence in all this.
SUMMER: Hi, Dad. Have you been able to give more thought to Crystal Cove next weekend?
For once, Dad’s reply comes quickly.
DAD: Hey, Sunshine. Meant to text you sooner. Turns out the twins have a soccer tournament. I’m sorry I’ll miss you. I know you’ll do great.
The pit inside me crumbles wider, deeper. And I unravel. I’m sobbing and hiccupping. Face soaked, nose running. The bedroom door creaks open and Parker slips inside, shutting us in.
“Love.” He heads straight for me, kneels at my feet at the foot of the bed, and gently grips my thighs. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you hadn’t told them about Surf’s Up.”
I try to steady my breath. “He’s not coming.”
“Your dad?” Parker catches a tear dangling at my jaw. “Is that why you didn’t tell anyone? You were worried they wouldn’t come?”
“He’s my dad. If he won’t come, why would anyone else?”
“Because they adore you, that’s why.” He looks up at me with the saddest smile. “Because you’re worth better than what your father is giving you, and I hate—hate—it. It breaks my fucking heart, Summer, every time I think about it.”
I sob and his eyes go damp. “I’ve been trying so hard ever since he left town. I chose him over Mom, and she stopped talking to me because of it. I don’t understand what I ever did to deserve this from him.”
“Nothing, love. You did nothing—this is all him, I promise you. And the worst part is that he’s made it impossible for you to see how deserving of better you are—how loved you already are.
” Parker releases a shuddering breath, blinking rapidly as he reaches for more of my tears.
He tips his head toward the bedroom door. “Just listen to them out there.”
It’s muffled by the door and half drowned out by the sounds of whatever Rosie’s managed to play on TV. But I can hear them—Caroline and Brian still conferring over their travel schedule, as though they really mean it. Really think they’re going to make it back in time for me.
And they sound… excited by it.
It emboldens the hope as it battles something ugly inside me. The ruthless, insidious voice whose job it is to remind me of who I am, and where I stand in this world.
I’m Summer Prescott. Only child. A stranger to her parents. Perpetually single. Not worth the time, the effort. Not wife material.
Forgettable.
It’s the reminder that had me retiring from competition years ago, when Dad told me he was leaving town. The one that torments me now, every time I try to surf through a barrel, give my all to a wave.
“You really think they’ll come?”
“My parents are batshit, certifiably crazy, Sum. Especially about you.” Parker scoops me into his arms and sits me on his lap on the bed. He buries his face in my hair. “I’d bet my life on it.”
Parker lets me shift around to press my ear over his heart. What had been a foreign sound to me mere weeks ago now serves as absolute proof—so long as this heartbeat is nearby, I’m never really alone.
Sensible Summer should know better than to let her hopes soar. She’s been the last priority enough times to know this probably ends with her disappointed on a beach.
She’s not in the room anymore, though.
Here, in the safety of Parker’s arms, drenched in his soothing peppery scent and with his steady heartbeat in my ear, I’m wishful Summer. As close as I’ve ever felt to the me from before, who had dreams, a family, and expectations, and the belief that she was worthy of it all.
We sit there a long time, in comfortable silence. Eventually, I frown at the bedroom door. “Did… did your mom just ask Mels whether Crystal Cove is clothing optional?”
“Fuck my life.” Parker throws himself back onto the bed, taking me with him. “Remind me to pack a spare outfit in case my dad shows up with his star-covered bits on display.”