Summer Love at the Beach (Summer Instalove)

was distracted by a blonde who was telling me everything I wanted to hear. It was all tacky

as hell, and I really don’t ever want to think about that part of my life again.”

He looked so upset that I instantly felt terrible for him. Yet I was too unsettled to think

straight.

“Becca, you are beautiful and amazing and smart and funny. I want to be the best version of

myself for you. So I didn’t want to immediately point out the time I was a loser and a jerk.

Can you understand that?”

Although I wanted to nod, my head cocked to the side. “When she began screaming, you

took care of her instead of me.”

His mouth fell open in absolute horror.

“Baby, I was trying to get her away from you. The way she shrieks it’s absolutely horrible.

She does that to get her own way. She’s basically a five-year-old. I dragged her out of

there so that she wouldn’t cause even more of a scene. Then I saw you get into Mrs.

Moore’s car, and I was relieved that you had a safe ride home, even if it wasn’t with me. I was just glad that you were away from Tiffany.”

“I can’t deal with this,” I blurted out. “I thought I was having all sorts of feelings for you, but now I’m confused. And freaked out. Just don’t speak to me, all rig

ht?”

He tried to reach for me, but I ducked around him, racing back to Brendan’s house. Rushing

straight past Julie and Brendan, I went to my room, but couldn’t even bear to lie on the bed.

Curling on the floor in the corner, my tears felt acidic.

This room wasn’t even mine, it was my brother’s. My job was kind of my brother’s as well. I

thought I was at the start of what could have been an amazing relationship, but it had

disintegrated before it could even really start.

All I wanted was a tiny, calm corner of the world to hide, where nothing could get at me

when I was upset. Maybe that’s why I was so torn apart. Feeling that everything was going

my way might have been too much. Maybe I wasn’t meant to find a nice guy, because I’d

been afraid of them for so long.

Perhaps the universe was proving me right, and telling me that I should stay locked inside

my shell. Swallowing hard, I tried to stop the tears. My hands automatically smoothed back

my hair, as my fingertips touched my necklace...that wasn’t there.

The heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach turned from stones to a cinder block.