Summer Love at the Beach (Summer Instalove)

bag into a mug, it was hard to stay still. My feet needed to pace, to move, to do something.

“How was your ice cream?” Julie asked.

I shook my head. “I really can’t talk about it.”

I expected her to pry, but instead, she simply nodded. “Okay. I’ll be around if you want to

talk later.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. With a horrible shiver, I wondered if she’d already heard what had

happened, and I was hit with another wave of humiliation.

Pouring the boiling water into the mug, I took it out to the yard so that I could hear the

waves of the beach. The emotions swirling through my mind were making my body rattle.

After about five minutes, I realized that sitting still with tea wasn’t working, so I left it to steam by itself on the table.

The prettiest spot to walk along the beach was past Mitch’s house. I had told him flat out that I didn’t want to speak to him, and had to wonder whether he would listen or not. Maybe

if I was really quick, he wouldn’t even notice me.

Standing up, I stretched up on my toes to peek over the cedar hedge, but I couldn’t tell

whether his car was in his driveway or not. Taking a chance, I quickly walked past his

house, going down the beach, watching as the sunset turned the sky peach. I t was the

exact shade of Mitch’s peach ice cream, and the tears started again.

Walking faster, I wished that I brought my phone so that I could call one of my friends. I

knew that Laura and Joanna would tell me to listen to his side of the story. Kim would

probably tell me to kick his ass. There was no way to guess what Kate might say. She was

usually the most logical, but in this case, I had no idea what the logical reaction would be.

Maybe I should have forced myself to go on a few dates back in high school, when I was

used to being this awkward every single day. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.

Maybe this was some sort of sign that I shouldn’t be sleeping with a guy I had only known a

few days.

It didn’t feel like punishment. It felt like…random anger.

That woman had seemed so vicious. Mitch was a gentle thoughtful guy, or so I had thought.

Was I completely misreading him? Was he showing me a different side of himself? Was he

one of those chameleons who put on a different personality with every person they dated?

Staring up at the sky, I realized that it was getting dark fast. Clouds were moving in, but it didn’t look like rain, it was just blocking the light. There were enough porch lights on all of the houses that I’d be able to make my way back in the pitch dark, but I’d rather not.

Turning back toward Brendan’s house, lost in thought, I stared down at my feet, staring at