A Summer to Remember - By Jessica Gunhammer Page 0,5

on our right.

“What’s that all about?” I asked Lily.

“I don’t know. Let’s check it out.” We squeezed through all the people and finally made our way into the room.

“Beer pong. We should’ve known,” I said to Lily.

“There you are! I see you two found the beer pong table. I just signed Steven and I up for the next game,” Jesse said as he handed me a drink.

“Thanks.” I grabbed the red cup and took a drink. I’d never been a big fan of beer, but tonight I made an exception. Anything to help take my mind off that jerk Jason.

“No problem.” He smiled. I never realized how nice his smile was until tonight.

“Dude, I already told you, I’m not playing. There are at least five houses I’d like to hit up and remember before I get shitfaced,” Steven snapped at Jesse.

“Come on, man, just one game.” Jesse liked to be the center of attention. Especially when it came to beer pong, he prided himself on his “skill.”

“Yeah, and one turns into two, and two turns into three, and three turns into waking up tomorrow and not remembering a damn thing.” I lost interest in listening to Steven and Jesse arguing and browsed the room to see if I knew anyone. I wasn’t having any luck. Most of them must go to the college.

I turned to the door and there he was. Jason.

He strutted in with that skanky redhead Cally on his arm. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to walk up and punch him in the face, or her. I’d be just as happy punching her. Maybe I should just pretend like I didn’t see them. I decided to go with the less violent of the two, so I turned to look the other way.

“Are you okay?” Lily looked at me and immediately zeroed in on Jason. “Oh Ava, are you going to be okay? We can leave if you want.” She leaned in for a hug, but I pushed her away. I knew if I hugged her, the tears would start again. She turned and glared at Steven. “Why is your brother such a jerk?”

“I’m okay,” I said quickly. She raised her eyebrows. “Really! I’ll be fine.” I was doing everything in my power not to fall apart.

“All right, dude, since you’re being a baby, I’ll go cross our names off the list.” Jesse was completely oblivious to the current situation, as usual.

“No! Wait! I’ll play!” I yelled after Jesse as he turned away.

“Are you sure?” A grin spread across his face.

“Yeah. Are you sure?” Lily asked, staring at me with a blank look on her face. I ignored her and turned to Jesse.

“Yeah, I’m not very good. I haven’t played for a while, but if you’re down, I’m down.” The look on his face told me he was definitely excited.

“I don’t need you to be good, I’m just in it for the free beer!” Jesse laughed and put his arm around my shoulders.

“All right! Next up! Greg and Adrian against Jesse and Steven!” a guy yelled over the crowd.

“Actually, it’ll be Jesse and Ava!” Jesse grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd towards the table. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. I even heard a few people laugh in the background. I’m not a big fan of crowds. I could feel myself get a little nervous.

“Are you sure you want a girl on your team?” the announcer asked as he eyed me up and down.

“For all you know, I could be his secret weapon,” I snapped at him before I even realized it.

He looked me in the eyes. “All right then,” he said. “Let the games begin.” He proceeded to hand me a ball and back away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jason pop out of the crowd and into the front row. Great, just what I need. First, I made myself sound like some badass beer pong player and now I had the guy who could make me turn into an emotional wreck in a matter of minutes standing in the front row. I was going to be the laughing stock of the night.

I closed my eyes for a second and tried to get my mind straight. I looked up to make eye contact with the guy standing across the table from me, but I froze. It took every muscle in my jaw to keep it from dropping. This guy was gorgeous, all six feet of him! You could see