She pulls into the park and I shake my head. “You know Carter is going to be there.”
“I don’t see the problem. This is what single people do.”
“I just wanted—” I pause, unsure of what I really want.
She groans. “Wanted what? This is what you wanted. You aren’t tied down. You can go out with whoever you want. I’m not telling you to sleep with the guy but you can’t be a hermit until college. Don’t feel guilty about Carter. He’ll be fine. The girls at the pool are already plotting.”
My head snaps in her direction. “Who?” I shove down the reflexive jealousy that floods my veins. He’s not yours anymore, remember?
Lily eyes me and takes a large swig of her coffee, draining the first mug. “It’s how guys get over girls. By replacing them with another.” She catches my look. “What? It’s a simple fact of manhood. You just need to accept it. It’s not fair to hold onto him when you know the outcome at the end of the summer.”
“You’re right,” I concede.
“Yes I am.” She pulls into a spot at the back of the community center that houses all the town’s events throughout the year. During the summer its rooms are used for the campers’ activities and lunchtime. I get out of the car and head for the door, but soon realize I’m alone. Lily leans her hands against the car, her forehead resting against them.
“Come on!” I urge.
“Give me a minute,” she grunts. She drops her sunglasses over her eyes jumps back and forth on her feet, shaking her hands at her sides in some crazy wake up dance. I laugh and she stops. “Let’s do this.”
The back entrance to the building filters into a hallway with several different rooms on either side. For the purpose of the camp these are divided into the various activities that take place during the summer. Inside one of them there are paint supplies and canvases the next one has gym mats set up across the floor.
Lily chugs the last bit of her coffee and lets out a whoop, as if I had been the one to challenge her to do that. Her voice bounces off the concrete walls and we follow it to the front entrance. Several six foot tables line the entrance. Five cardboard boxes wait patiently next to the tables, ready to be dug into.
Her nose wrinkles at the boxes. “Ah, registration duty.”
I twist my hair, pushing it behind my shoulder. “A little organizing never hurt anyone.”
She rubs her head as if it just might.
“And there’s always that,” I say, hearing someone entering the room.
Dad comes into view carrying bags from Donut Joes. Lily’s eyes light up. “Please tell me you got the chocolate croissants!”
A condition of Lily helping me out, since most years I did this by myself, I had told Dad her favorite pastry from the bakery.
“Six in fact,” he says, putting the bags down on the farthest table. “But this is for after we get the welcome packets on the tables. I don’t need chocolate all over the paperwork.”
Lily bobs her head and digs right into the first box.
I give Dad a “told ya” look and he winks.
“You know the drill?” he asks. If there’s one thing he didn’t have to worry about at camp, it was me. I had lived and breathed this place my whole life and it started to sink in that this was the last time I’d be doing any of it. Dad had made that very clear to me earlier that year. He wanted summers in college to be filled with places outside of Spring Falls. It was unlike any other parent that I’ve come across, but he and Mom never got away from this town and it was the only thing he wanted for me. And it wasn’t like me to disappoint him. And I was going to be living in the most amazing city in the world. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want to come back.
Lily is already halfway done with her box before I open mine.
I laugh. “Maybe I should bring chocolate croissants everywhere with me. Like Lily treats.”
“Yeah, well,” she says, distracted, rearranging two of the folders in front of her. “Whatever they put in them is like catnip for me. Unless you want me to roll out of this place, I wouldn’t suggest doing it.”
“I’d pay to see that,” I say.
She tosses the empty box at me and I jump out of the way. She’s on a roll and I struggle to catch up. We make quick work of organizing the folders and are just about done when the front doors open. I look up and am momentarily blinded by the bright morning sunlight streaming through. Will and Ethan enter the room, both with a yellow glow around their bodies as if they are angels coming through the pearly gates.
Will locks eyes with me and I can’t help taking in the full sight of him. Even though he’s become leaner throughout the years I can’t help the constricting feeling in my chest that steals my breath. It was the last outfit I’d seen him in the night he left. The hurt resurfaces and it takes all of my strength to turn around.
Ethan beelines for the food but Lily slaps at him. “Not until we’re done.”
He shoots me a look but I turn back to my work, attempting to steady my breathing.
“What can I do?” Will appears at my side, close enough that I can feel his warm breath on my cheek. I inhale sharply, noting a minty scent on his breath.
I indicate the next full box. “Alphabetical, based on age group on the tables.”
He hovers for a second as if he’s going to say something, but I reach down, grabbing the next set of packets, ending the conversation before it starts. He eventually moves the box to another table and gets to work. Ethan joins in with one as well.
“So Will,” Lily says pointedly.
I stiffen and glare at her, but she continues on, fueled by the caffeine shooting through her veins. “What are you going to do around your house this summer?”
He doesn’t miss a beat, again throwing me back in time when their sparring matches were the highlight of many times with just the three of us. “The plumbing needs some work, I need to do some repairs on the trim, and I was going to paint a few of the rooms. Trudy said it will help jump up the price.”
“Do you need help, man?” Ethan asks.
Will nods. “I could use a hand if you have time.”
I snort. “Ethan has plenty of time. He’s been playing Enter Strike since school got out. Actual work might be good for you.”
The corner of Will’s mouth quirks up. “You still play?”
Ethan gives me a see, I am cool grin.
“I never stopped,” Ethan says and fixes me with a look. “Don’t pretend like you don’t either.”
“Seriously?” Will asks incredulously, turning to me.
I blanch. Enter Strike is a first person shooter game. Ethan and Will played for about a year until I got involved. I haven’t signed on since a particularly embarrassing weekend of missing Will where I signed on and stared at the chat menu waiting for him to do the same. For about five hours.
“I don’t!” I exclaim. “Not since—” I stop myself. “Not for a while.”
Will turns back to his task and Ethan continues on about his ranking within the game.
Ethan claps a hand on Will’s back as he tosses the empty box next to Lily. “We should set up your computer and play Enter Strike tonight.”
“Sure,