Chapter 48 Parker
Follow us…
The pink paper plane note in my palm is the first of several lining a path down the hallway in Summer’s quiet apartment. She’s got them laid out in the same formation I did for her weeks ago.
Last time, it had been for the first of our failed dates. When another man swooped in and claimed her before I had a chance to. One of the worst gut-punches of my life, on what had eventually turned out to be one of the best days of my life.
“I’m gonna be honest, Sum. The déjà vu is a tad worrisome,” I call out. “Last time this happened, I had to chase away a surfer dude with no idea how to take a hint.”
I hear her quiet laugh. The laugh—the nervous one she gives me sometimes—that has me thinking that I might be on the verge of the newest best day of my life.
Heart pumping madly, I follow the paper planes toward the end of the hall. By the time I catch sight of the pillow fort lit up with twinkle lights, my pulse is so rapid that I go a little lightheaded.
I crouch at the mouth of the fort, peering inside to find Summer lounging on a pile of blankets. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Her face falls. “Oh, this is awkward. I was expecting a different guy.”
“Then move over—this is the perfect hiding spot for an ambush. He’ll never see me coming.”
She laughs and I crawl into the tight space so that we sit side by side.
So close together that all I smell is that mind-numbing floral perfume.
Between that, the verging on heart failure, her win today, and the way the green in her eyes shimmers under the twinkle lights, I’m a moment from death. Happy as can be.
Until she winces and says, “Park, we need to talk.”
“Buzzkill,” I mutter, poking her side.
She smothers a smile. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole relationship thing, and… You know I’ve got a lousy history with guys. So if I’m really going to do it again, it has to be with the right man. One who’s exactly what I’m looking for. I won’t settle for less.”
My eyes narrow. “Not convinced I like where this is headed, but go on.”
“All I’m saying is that I have very strict criteria.
” With a breath, she pulls a square of paper from the back pocket of her denim shorts.
I think I’m seeing things when she unfolds it to reveal the words Summer’s Dream Man at the top, because last I saw that list, it sat on my bedside table.
But this list is neater—her loopy writing all over it.
No check marks and no scribbles damning the shade of my hair.
Summer clears her throat. “First of all, he’d need to look damn good in a Hawaiian shirt. And he’d wear them just for the sake of making me laugh.”
I’m the one who laughs then. Every gasp of air fills me with something that feels oddly like helium, until I’m floating, barely touching the blanket-covered floor.
“This dream man, he’d be the type to ride for the people in his life, no matter how long they’ve been in it.
Like… following me blindly into a ridiculous revenge scheme, without ever making me feel small or stupid about it—even when I hurt him in the process.
He’d spend his summer bonding with a kid he didn’t know.
Take the time to understand him past surface level, and he’d care enough to make that kid’s life better in every possible way.
He should have an in with local security guards, just in case we’re looking to break some rules—”
Another laugh bursts out of me. “Would you do that? Break some rules?”
“With him, I would. Because he’d make everything feel safe, like nothing bad could ever happen when he’s around.
And if it did, he’d do anything he could to make it stop hurting.
He’d… he’d be the kind of man to take cooking lessons for someone he loves, who’d put effort into bringing the best version of himself to a relationship.
He’d be brave enough to lean into his feelings, no matter the risk to his heart. He’d have big hands—”
“Huge,” I stage-whisper. “Huge hands.”
She smiles. “He’d have huge hands and light brown hair.”
I clutch my chest. “Thank God.”
“He’d push me to grow. Challenge me to want more whenever I settle.
” Summer swallows, her smile turning watery.
“He’d be selfless enough to let me go, even though I know he doesn’t want me to.
And I’d spend every single minute away missing him.
Craving him. Wishing we were in the same place. Me and him, just existing together.”
Summer folds up her list, clasping it in her fingers.
Put together like that, it sounds like she’s talking about someone else—someone so different than the person I was just months ago.
Who didn’t know where he was headed, could barely look after himself, didn’t even have a proper read on his own feelings for the most important person in his life.
Only to find that the pieces of what I wanted were already there, waiting for me to see them. Fight for them, shape them into a life better than I could’ve dreamed of having. With a golden, indestructible thread running through it all, beginning to end—me and my Summer.
She hasn’t taken her eyes off me. “Know anyone who fits the bill?”
“I might.”
“Well, he’s too late. It would never work out.” Summer heaves the most aggrieved sigh. Tosses away the list and climbs into my lap, taking my face between her hands. “Turns out, I’m in love with my best friend.”
A bomb goes off inside me—warm and fizzy and filled with hot-pink glitter. I let the grin fall from my face. “You’re in love with my sister?”
Summer nips my lip. “Yeah. You think I should go for it?”
“I think she’ll stay away from you if she knows what’s good for her.” I lift my chin, kissing her softly. “Say it again. Please?”
“I love you, Parker. More than I know what to do with. But I promise I’ll spend the rest of our life together coming up with new ways to show you.”
This must be it—the feeling Summer chases with every wave. The pure euphoria of putting yourself at the ocean’s mercy, just praying you survive, and landing on your feet; of handing your heart to the love of your life, just praying she’ll keep it, and earning hers in return.
It’s no wonder she’s making a life out of it. I’ll be chasing this feeling for the rest of mine.
Summer searches my face. “I saw an address on your list. Are you leaving your apartment?”
“Eventually. There’s a plot of land on the beach at Crystal Cove. I figured it’d be a good way to stay busy while you’re away. Give you somewhere nice to come home to, whenever you’re ready.”
“It’s funny to think we’ll all have gone by the time I’m back. We were the last ones left in town.” Her words are a soft, shaky whisper. Homesickness in every syllable. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
I bury my face in her neck. “A house on the beach one day. Worth getting out of bed for.”
She nods. “You hiring me at your clinic once I retire from surfing. Worth getting out of bed for.”
I gulp down her perfume. “A kid?”
“I think so.”
“Dog?”
“Several.” Summer pulls back to look me in the eye. “And even if none of that happens…”
“You and me, just existing together.” I wipe away her tears. “Worth getting out of bed for.”
Summer slides off my lap and settles beside me. I pull out my phone and snap a picture of us. It’s a near-mirror image of the one from the day we met in that pillow fort, twenty-seven years ago, beaming at the camera.
If only I knew then what I do now—I was a kid with my whole life ahead of me. And my entire world sitting right beside me.
Summer hums at the phone, eyeing the picture. “It’s not quite right. Let’s take another one.”
This time, she grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me in at the last second. Kissing me hard for the camera.