“Truth,” I say, because he’s right. It does suck. “But she’s been gone so long that I’m used to it now, I guess. I mean, at this point, if my mom wanted an actual relationship with me, I’m not even sure what I’d say. It wouldn’t matter, though. She’s not the type to follow through.”
The air between us is quiet, somber.
Caleb reaches out, tugging my hand into his. “You know what I just realized? We’re birthday twins.”
“You were also born on September 14thth?”
He smiles. “Beat you by a week. The 7th.”
I look at the beautiful boy across from me. The one who’s spontaneous and never shies away from a good time. The one who stays out past curfew and kisses me even when there are people around. The one who’s always the center of attention and who rarely follows the rules. “Our birthday month may be the only thing we have in common,” I tell him.
“Nah, Lucy,” he says, waving off my worry and leaning forward to kiss me. “We like kissing each other, too.”
Breaking our kiss, I push away from the table and stand. Caleb tugs me toward him and pulls me into his lap. Our bodies are so close. I can feel his breath on my neck. I can almost feel his pulse, or maybe that’s mine, beating time loudly in a frantic rhythm. His fingers reach around to skim the hem of my tank top.
Our bodies still as we both hear it at the same time: the rumble and chatter of a hundred or more people leaving the rec center and heading to their respective cabins. My cell phone chimes just as his buzzes.
I freeze, then brace my hands on his shoulders. He holds me close, breathing us in for one final moment.
“Until next time?” he asks hopefully.
“Until tomorrow,” I promise, kissing him.
* * *
It’s been a reallygood summer. The campers all left today, but we have one more night here before we shut down camp for the summer. There was a bonfire earlier, and I sat with Caleb while he sang as another guy played guitar. We walked through the woods holding hands, sharing kisses, making plans. Caleb was going to drive me home tomorrow We were going to hang out, get dinner, see a movie, and make the summer last a little longer.
But I just got off the phone with my dad. Plans have changed. He’s sending a car to come for me at nine tomorrow, even though I’m not officially off the clock until I’ve thoroughly cleaned my whole cabin and helped with close-up. But he called the director and squared things away. There’s an end-of-summer seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s being sponsored by their business school and a spot opened up. I’d applied ages ago, figuring my chances were slim because most of the slots go to older kids. But someone backed out and now I have a fantastic opportunity. It’ll look great on my college applications. And if I impress the professors, I could be invited to attend a full summer session next year and earn college credit.
So, of course, I can’t say no.
But I can do this. I can break the rules, just this once.
I lock my cabin door and walk as quietly as possible along the path. I swear I step on every tree branch between my cabin and his.
I knock gently on his door, but in the quiet night, it sounds more like I’m banging a gong. Oh my God. Just my luck that the one time I color outside the lines I’ll get—
The door opens and Caleb stands there, shirtless. His boxers leave nothing to the imagination. We’ve explored each other’s bodies all summer, though we haven’t gone as far as we’ve both wanted to.
Maybe that changes tonight?
“Lucy? What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t that usually my line?” I ask, walking past him and perching on the edge of his bed. The sooner I can get inside, the safer I’ll feel.
“Yea, but…you said it was too risky to hang out tonight. And that’s cool. There’s no rush. I figure we'll leave around two tomorrow. We can hang at my place or—"
"We can't,” I say.
“We can’t?”
I nod and tell him everything. By the end of my explanation, I’m wringing my hands and he’s holding me.
“It’s ok. I mean, it sucks…but it’s a really good opportunity for you. Besides, we don’t live that far from each other. We can both drive. And there’s always next summer.”
For years to come, I’ll regret my next words. “There isn’t next summer. Or even this year. I’m sorry. I really am. But my school year is packed with extra-curriculars and an honors schedule. I need all of that so I can have my pick of the top schools. And if all goes according to plan, I’ll spend next summer at U Penn. It’s a fast-track and my dad’s right. I can’t say no to this opportunity. I can’t afford to pass it up.”
Caleb kisses my temple. “I’d never ask you to, Lucy.”
