house, out the back door and through the trees to get here.”
“Holy stalker.” I scoot over a couple inches. “FYI, I am bad ass and I’m not afraid to use those bad ass skills if I need to.”
My summer boy laughs. “I don’t doubt that. And I’m not a stalker. Just…curious.”
Those words do something to me. Turn me inside out. They’re so simple, but there’s never been anyone in my life that’s been curious about me. Probably because everyone knows everything about me. I’m Charlie Rae Gates. My family has lived in Lakeland Village since it’s creation. Mom’s family opened The Village right after they got married. Dad was Mom’s high school boyfriend. He worked here. They got married and took over the place. One day it will be mine. Not Sadie Ann’s, but Charlie’s.
It’s my destiny. I was born to take care of The Village.
“I know. It sucks here. I don’t get why people come. You must be pretty bored if the only thing to do is be curious about me.”
“Ouch,” Summer Boy says. “Is that your way of telling me to get lost?”
“What?” I look at him and he’s looking at me and I wonder if this could be another one of my moments. No, I tell myself. That’s ridiculous. I don’t know this boy. I’ll probably never see him again after this summer. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…” I shake my head. “Never mind.” It’s not like I’m going to tell him I don’t understand how someone could be curious about me. I may be lame, but I’m not real stoked on making that public knowledge.
“How ya feeling?” he asks.
“Huh?” Then I remember yesterday. I ignore the urge to puke, not out of sickness, but embarrassment, and say, “Oh. Much better.”
“You live here?”
“Yep.”
“Like, all the time?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.”
“I guess.” Gah! What’s wrong with me? I sound like an idiot. “Where do you live?”
“Upstate New York.”
I look up at the sky and pretend the stars are lights in New York. I wonder if they’d compare to the stars here. If you can see the stars in the city. “I bet this place sucks compared to there.”
I feel him shrug. “It’s a whole hell of a lot smaller, I can tell you that.”
I laugh and wonder if maybe he won’t be so bad after all.
“So…is your boyfriend going to realize you’re gone, coming looking for you and then freak out when he sees us sitting here? My dad might freak out. He gets mad when I get caught fighting.”
It takes me a minute to realize what he means by boyfriend. I know, I know. It should be obvious, but everyone knows Alec isn’t my boyfriend. They all know I’ve never had one. “Oh, God. He’s totally not my boyfriend.”
“Looked like it to me.” I think there’s a laugh in his voice. I wonder if he’s laughing at me.
“Well, he’s not, okay? He’s my best friend.”
Summer boy stands. I do the same. Neither of us moves, we just stand there side by side.
“I’m pretty sure that’s code for he wants you. He just hasn’t made a move yet.”
I don’t reply because it’s so not Alec's style and this summer boy just doesn’t get it.
“Well, now that I’ve figured out the mystery to where you were sneaking off to, I had better go. I don’t want my parents to freak out. No, that's a lie. I know they won’t freak out, but I’ll pretend they might. My brother might be bored and wonder where I am though.”
“Oh…okay.” I’m bummed he’s leaving. I’m curious about him and liked the idea of him being curious about me. Waiting for him to go, I look out into the forever night at the stars I love.
“You like stars?” he asks.
“I love them. I sneak out a lot at night just to come look at them.” I don’t know why I said that last part, but I figure if I try to make up a reason, I’ll screw it up.
“Cool,” he says. “Sneaking out is fun. Maybe I’ll see you sometime.”
That quickly, summer boy turns and starts to walk off. He stops about ten feet away. “Do you want me to walk you back? I feel kind of wrong leaving you out here like this. Not trying to be sexist. Just…what’s that word? Oh, yeah, nice.”
I giggle. I’m not sure if I’ve ever giggled in my whole life. He’s funny. I like that. “Thank you for asking, but I’ll be okay.”
“Okay. Cat’cha later. Oh,