Boyfriend for the Summer

“I think I might love you.”

I freeze for a second, and then smile. He’s not really saying that. It’s not real. It’s just because of the Starbursts and he’s drunk in his post orgasm state. That’s all it is.

Mabel smiles when she sees us, and to her never-ending credit, she doesn’t ask us where we’ve been. She hands me the Starbursts as we slip into the back of her car and start on the drive back to the camp.

18

Persephone

Present

We sing songs for hours, and I think that the kids would have sung for hours more if Eric hadn’t finally said his voice was shot. Things emptied out pretty quickly after that. They were tired, even if they didn’t want to admit it.

I don’t move as people leave because I want to be alone with Eric. The suffering wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be while other people were present, but as more and more people leave, my body is becoming more aware of him.

Finally, it’s just him, me, and Mabel, who knows how to bank the fire properly so we can sleep without worrying it was flare up and burn down the camp. Eric and I say nothing.

When she’s finished, she smiles at the two of us. Especially at me. “Have a good night, you two.”

“Thanks, Mabel.”

As soon as she’s out of earshot and we’re alone, Eric meets my eyes over the embers, and he begins to strum his guitar again. Oh, no.

I’d know the opening of that song anywhere. I listened to it on repeat for at least a month when he gave me the CD. Back when there were things like CDs. It’s the song that he wrote for me and only me after we took each other’s virginities. I never shared it with anyone—not even Leena. And given everything that happened, I’m glad that I didn’t.

Sometimes I still listen to it, if I’m feeling particularly down. Because this song will always hold a special place in my heart. The words are sweet and vulnerable, and the melody the kind that makes your chest ache. I close my eyes and listen.

We were so young, but this takes me back, and it makes me wonder if maybe things could be okay after all. Maybe we can find a way to pick everything back up and redo it.

When the song ends, Eric doesn’t speak. He places his guitar down on one of the log benches and comes around the firepit to me, and leans down to kiss me. It’s sweet and gentle with a promise of more. I’m not interested in our mutual teasing and suffering right now. All I want is him. And I put all of that into how I kiss him back.

When he pulls me to my feet and takes my hand, I know where we’re going after the first step that he takes.

The waterfall hasn’t changed. Do they ever change? I’ve been avoiding coming here since I’ve been back. Too many charged memories for me to face. But stepping out of the tree line with Eric feels good., and when he kisses me again, it’s full circle. I know why we’re here. This could either be the perfect closure for us or a new beginning. We won’t know which way yet, but we both need this moment.

Eric peels me out of my shirt slowly. Gently. Taking care to touch me wherever he can. It feels like being seen. The complete opposite of what happened at the beginning of the week when we were frantic and desperate and ignored almost everything but the end result.

When I pull off his shirt and add it to the pile of clothes with mine, I trace his lines. He’s beautiful, and for the moment, at least, he’s mine. My bra joins the pile of clothes and then both of our pants, and Eric kneels in front of me. Reverently brushing his hands over my hips as he removes my panties.

He kisses my clit. So softly that it’s almost chaste, but it still steals the air from my lungs. Brushes of his tongue warm me up, suddenly bringing back all that pent-up sexual frustration from earlier, and I moan into the air.

This is primal. Sex under a summer sky with nothing but the stars to watch us. Eric lays me down on the rock, the cool surface a sudden contrast to the fire of his body on mine. His underwear disappears and joins the last of our clothes. And we’re nothing but naked together, kissing slowly. Languorous and unhurried.

Eric moves his mouth to my neck and then my shoulder, dragging his lips and tongue to draw firmly constellations that match the ones looking down on us from above. He kisses my breasts and nipples, letting them harden under his tongue, and I remember that night when the newness of his touch was the only thing in the world.