Summer Love

A ringing noise stirred me from my sleep and I groaned when I realized that it was my phone. I sighed when the clock showed me that it was only 10:30 a.m. and flipped open my phone.

"Hello?" I groaned and flopped back on my pillow.

"Oh shit, did I wake you?" the guy on the other end cursed and apologized.

"Obviously, dumbass, whose this?" I was pissed off that I was woken up, by a stranger nonetheless.

"Sorry, it's Matt,"

My eyes snapped open at those words and I started stuttering, trying to find a way to apologize to Matt for being so rude, but his gentle laughter interrupted me.

"It's okay J.D, I would've acted the same way if a stranger called me while I was sleeping too,"

"I'm so sorry Matt," I groaned and rubbed my face.

"It's ok J.D, really,"

"Not to sound rude or anything, but how did you get my number?"

"Max gave it to me last night when he came over,"

"Oh, alright then. So, why'd you call?"

"Oh! I didn't have band practice today and I wanted to know if you cared to hang out with me? If you're busy then I totally understand," he started rambling and I giggled, feeling my stomach fill up with butterflies.

"Matt, of course I'll hang out with you," I cut him off.

"Oh, thank goodness," he sighed on the other end. "I'll pick you up in an hour, is that fine?"

"Perfect,"

"Ok, see you in a bit,"

We hung up and I tossed my phone on my bed as I stretched underneath my covers. I continued to lie in my bed and a smile slowly made its way onto my face. I squealed and flung my covers off my legs. I raced downstairs and into the kitchen where I knew mom would be.

"Guess what mom!" I rushed up to her.

"What sweetie," she asked with an amused expression.

"Matt just called and asked me to hang out with him today,"

"Oh, so you guys are going on a date?" she smirked.

"Well, he didn't exactly call it a date," I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, go get ready for your date," she made quotation marks with her fingers when she said the word date.

I swatted at her, but ran back upstairs two at a time. When I got into the bathroom I started to mentally put together an outfit as I brushed my teeth. Just then I realized that I never thanked Matt for helping me during my drunken fiasco that occured nearly two weeks ago. He was even nice enough not to bring up the situation where I stripped off all my clothes and he needed to rescue me. As I stepped into the shower I started thinking of ways to show my appreciation to Matt today.

I had just finished straightening my hair when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Butterflies formed in my stomach again as I stuffed my feet into some shoes. I put my wallet and keys into the pockets of my shorts and did a once over to make sure I looked okay. I gave myself a nod of approval in the mirror and walked downstairs where I knew Matt was waiting.

At the sound of my feet hitting the wood floor, Matt turned around in his seat on the couch and stood up.

"You look pretty," he smiled, showing me his dimples, and taking in my outfit. His eyes lingered on my exposed legs and I coughed to get his attention.

"Thank you," I blushed.

"Aw," mom cooed from the kitchen doorway. I rolled my eyes at her and she quickly stuck her head back in the kitchen.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yup," I grinned.

Matt walked ahead of me and held open the door while mom called out. "Be back by 12 for the latest!" she hollered.

"Okay!" I yelled back and walked down the porch steps with Matt.

He held open the car door for me and I thanked him while he ran around to the driver's side.

"So, where are we going today?" I buckled my seat belt as Matt drove onto the PCH.

"I'm not going to tell you that," he grinned and kept his head forward.

"Aw, why not?" I pouted and turned in my seat to face him.

"Because it's a surprise,"

"Fine," I pouted and faced forward again.

"You'll have fun on this date,"

"Oh, so it's a date now?" I smirked and saw his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "I thought we were just hanging out,"

"Well, it doesn't have to be a date," he mumbled.

I started laughing and playfully pinched his cheeks. "It can be considered a date Matt,"

"Really?" he perked up.

I nodded my head and we sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride. I stifled a laugh when Matt pulled up near the boardwalk and I saw that he brought me to the carnival.

"You brought me to the carnival for our date?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"We can go somewhere else," he nervously said and got ready to put the key back in the ignition, but I stopped him.

"I love carnival's, but I didn't think big bad, M. Shadow's would like them too," I smirked, using his stage name that I learned a few days ago from Brian.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he pouted.

I laughed and shook my head as I climbed out the car. The warm air blew, making my hair go flying everywhere and Matt laughed while he watched me try to fix it. I stuck my tongue out at him and he stuck his out at me too. This little game continued until we got in line to buy our tickets to get in.

"Hey Matt?" I caught his attention.

"Yeah?" he looked down at me.

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of me the other night when I was drunk,"

"It was no problem," he shrugged.

"And, I also wanted to thank you for not bringing up the whole thing about me stripping and having you jump in the water after me so I wouldn't drown myself,"

He chuckled, putting me at ease. "You're welcome J.D, I enjoyed the view," he winked at me and playfully swatted my butt.

My mouth fell open as he put all of his attention to the person on the other side of the window and bought two tickets for us.

"Excuse you," I said as we entered. "But that's my butt you just hit back there,"

"Yeah, you touched mine that night so I returned the favor,"

"What are you talking about?"

"You tried taking off your clothes again so I threw you over my shoulder so you couldn't and while I was walking with Max you said I had a squishy butt and proceeded to poke my right butt cheek over and over again,"

My face flushed red as he told the tale of my drunken action.

"I'm never drinking again," I groaned and hid my face in my hands as Matt chuckled and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Yes you will and next time I'll still be there to take care of you,"

"I guess you're my new knight in shining armor?" I asked as we got into line for a ride.

"Of course, because you're my damsel in distress,"

Matt and I had just gotten off the Ferris Wheel and decided to eat some lunch. We got our food and sat down on a bench in the shade. While we ate, we asked each other questions so we could get to know each other more. Turns out, my birthday is just a few days before his, but I'm still younger because while I'm turning 17, he's turning 18.

"I'm going to the bathroom really quick," I told Matt.

He nodded and I walked off to the bathroom that was just a few feet away from the bench we were sitting on. I hurried up and did my business and washed my hands before walking back outside. On the way over to Matt I fought to get through the crowd when I felt a hand grab my upper arm. I looked up and saw a boy around my age grinning wickedly down at me.

"Let go," I said and tried prying my arm out of his grip but he squeezed tighter.

"Why don't I help you get out of those shorts?" his other hand snaked around and grabbed my butt.

I gasped and went to smack him, but he caught my tiny wrist in his large hand. He started to drag me away until Matt's voice stopped him.

"She said let her go you fucking piece of shit," Matt growled and yanked me so hard that I would've fell to the ground if it weren't for him holding onto me.

"And who the hell are you?" the guy asked and stepped closer to Matt.

"I'm her boyfriend, asshole," Matt sneered and stepped closer to the guy, pushing me behind him.

The guy put his hands up in defense and started to back off.

"That bitch isn't even worth the time," he scoffed and walked off before Matt could get his hands around his throat.

"Calm down Matt, everything's fine now," I grabbed my now bruising arm back and stepped in front of him. Matt was still breathing heavily and I hesitantly placed my hands on either side of his face. He looked down and I stared at him straight in the eyes until he calmed down.

"I'm sorry J.D, did he hurt you?" he asked and inspected all over my body, not letting me get a word in. When his hazel eyes spotted the finger marks on my upper right arm and the bruise on my left wirst he nearly lost it again.

"I'm fine Matt, really," I reassured him. "My knight in shining armor saved me again," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

He softly laughed and kissed my knuckles before pulling me into a hug. His breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck and I shivered.

"Come on, let's go on some more rides," I smiled and pulled him by the hand.

We had gone on more rides and the sun was nearly gone, making a small section of the sky above the water bleed a deep pink.

"Let's go on one more ride," Matt whispered in my ear from behind as his arms were wrapped around my waist and I held onto my cotton candy that I occassionally fed him, and my other hand held onto the stuffed teddy bear he won for me by beating a basketball challenge in one of the stalls.

"What ride?" I asked as he led me along by grabbing my hand.

"The Ferris Wheel, it's gorgeous up there at night," his hazel eyes twinkled from the many lights on the rides.

By the time we got in line, I had finished the cotton candy and threw away the stick, but my other hand was still occupied with the bear. While we waited, he resumed his position behind me and wrapped his muscular arms around my waist and put his head on my shoulder. His breath tickled my ear and I bit my lip as he occassionally placed tiny butterfly kisses behind my ear.

Soon we stepped into a cart and the ride began to move. I snuggled underneath Matt's arm and sighed in content.

"I had fun today Matt," I told him.

"I did too," he ran his fingers through my hair.

"You did? Or did you enjoy hitting my butt and kissing behind my ear?" I smirked up at him.

"That too," he chuckled. "Here's the best part," his hot breath washed over my ear.

I sat up as the cart stopped at the very top of the ferris wheel. I gasped as I took in the view of Huntington Beach at night. The moon and stars reflected against the ocean as waves crashed in the distance and the smell of salt water hit my nose. Lights in the buildings and houses below twinkled in the night and a nice gentle warm breeze blew around us, making small goosebumps form on my bare arms.

"This is so gorgeous," I said, still soaking in the sight.

I felt Matt's gaze on me and one of his fingers found its way underneath my chin and redirected my face to look at his. Our eyes met and his briefly flickered to my lips as mine did the same. The closer we got, the more my eyes shut down and our lips finally met after an agonizing three seconds. His lips were warm and soft as they molded against mine. His large hands cupped my face as his wonderful lips went in sync with mine. My hands wrapped around his neck and my fingers grazed his nape where the small hairs resided.

We pulled away once the ride began moving again and we stared at each other with our foreheads centimeters apart. He moved away and gently pushed my hair behind my ear before pecking me one more time as the ride came to a stop. He grabbed my hand and led me off the ride and towards his car. His arm was wrapped around me as I wrapped one arm around his waist.

We walked in a comfortable silence, bumping our hips together and laughing. I jumped on his back and I inhaled his scent.

"So, what are you going to name your bear?" he asked as he hooked my legs with his arms and looked at the bear that was dangling in front of him.

"Hmm, maybe Matthew," I teased.

He laughed before answering. "Matthew? Why are you naming him after me?"

"Because he reminds me of you. You're cute, cuddly and have a squishy butt," I laughed.

His laughter rang out in the air, giving me tingles. "That's not a very manly description of me,"

"But it's accurate," I pointed out.

"True," he said and put me back down once we reached his car. Like earlier, he opened the door for me and I snuggled into my bear as I watched him walk around.

On the drive home, the music played softly in the back and Matt held on my hand and drove with the other. He pulled into my driveway and left the engine running as I sighed.

"Thanks so much for today Matt, I had a great time,"

"I did too, hopefully we can do it again soon,"

"Maybe, and maybe next time you'll be able to come up to my room instead of Teddy Bear Matthew here," I stuck the toy in the air.

"Lucky bastard," he mumbled.

We started laughing and I bit my lip, not being able to hide my smile.

"Since this was a date," Matt started to say. "Can I end it the way they usually do with a good night kiss?"

"You already got one on the ferris wheel," I pointed out.

"True,"

"But you can give me a proper goodnight if you want to,"

He smiled at me and for the second time tonight, his lips danced against mine. This time the kiss was short and sweet, but it still left me wanting more.

"Good night J.D," he whispered.

"Good night Matt," I said and reluctantly climbed out of his car.

I unlocked the door and waved to Matt before he drove off. I stepped inside the house and leaned against the door with an ear to ear grin.