Love's Not A Competition

Exams finished and we were given boxes to start packing up our stuff. I always hated this part of the year. We would be moving upstairs in the fall when we came back for our third year. We would have single rooms. I wouldn’t be sharing with Zeke anymore and I was sad about that. I would definitely miss staying in the same room as Zeke. I would even miss the sleepovers and the interruptions from my friends. It’s not like we wouldn’t see each other next year but we had been told that the class work was difficult. It would be harder to find time to spend together.

I was just standing up from folding my clothes when arms wrapped around me from behind. Zeke rested his chin on my shoulder. We both looked at the room that was slowly filling with boxes as we packed our things up. It was amazing about how many things we had gathered over the year. I heard him sigh and he pressed his lips against my neck.

“It’s amazing how quickly time has gone by this year,” Zeke whispered.
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” I said quietly.
“We’ve had a very busy year.”
“Hmm, more like drama filled instead of busy.”
“Well, yes, I suppose,” he said.
He turned me around and kissed me lightly.
“I’m going to miss you over the summer,” I said, resting my head against his chest.
“I’m going to miss you.”

I smiled and we hugged tightly before we let go, finishing our packing. We were leaving tomorrow. It was all so soon, it had all happened so fast. Zeke helped me carry my stuff upstairs to the room I would be living in next year. The third years had left yesterday after their graduation ceremony. Brittney had cried when Aidan had left. She had seen him off at the airport and had come back last night in tears. I had let her cry and had even helped her clothes up last night which had been a hard job considering she had so many items of clothing.

I looked at my friends as I stood in the airport, ticket clutched in my hand. Zeke was holding my free hand while Brittney’s head was resting on my other shoulder. Eric was standing near us while Katie and Jesse weren’t there. He had driven home and she had left earlier this morning. We were both from Las Vegas and could’ve flown together but she had booked an earlier flight. Eric looked pretty down as well since Amy had left in the early of hours of the morning. I sighed when my flight was called over the speaker system.

“I’m going to miss you. Promise me that you’ll call,” Brittney said.
Zeke dropped my hand so I could hug Brittney. I promised that I would call her as often as I could. I hugged Eric next and smiled sadly.
“Thanks for everything,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome.”

I pulled back and looked over my shoulder at Zeke. He looked back at me before pulling me against him. They all lived in California so they didn’t have to go far. Eric and Brittney looked away as Zeke kissed me deeply. I had to drag myself away from him to the security gate. I blew kisses at all three of them before meeting Zeke’s gaze again. He nodded and I blew him an extra kiss before walking through the security gate.

I arrived home safely and my mother picked me up from the airport. I was slightly reminded of the time I had come home after my father had been in the accident. It seemed like it had happened so long ago. Everything was different now. She had even pulled me into a hug when she had first seen me. I kept glancing at her as she drove. She still seemed to be doing badly but I knew that she was slowly doing alright; she was slowly healing just like I was. I wanted to ask her how she was but I couldn’t find the courage. Our relationship still had a lot of mending to do. I was just happy to be home.

Everything seemed to just fit together when I was back at home. I called Zeke and Brittney nearly every day and I emailed Eric occasionally since he was away with family for the first month of summer. Katie had even called me a few times and we had caught up. She seemed to be having a good summer with Jesse. I had only been home for about two weeks and it had been hard at first with the absence of my father but it was getting easier. I even ate dinner with my mother every night. I didn’t see Mason or Rebecca since they had taken the kids to Florida for a vacation since Mason had gotten time off of work.

“What’s up?” I asked my mother as I came down for breakfast on a Tuesday morning, last week of June.
“Not much. I was just going to go and hang out the washing. Then I am going to do some gardening. What are your plans for the day? Have you rung any of your old friends from here yet?”
“Nah, we don’t really talk anymore. I was going to work on my tan and then maybe read a book or something.”
“Sounds very relaxing,” she said.

I smiled and nodded. She left to go and do the housework while I poured myself a bowl of cereal. I grabbed the milk and poured it in before I carried it upstairs to my room. I got dressed between bites, pulling on my purple bikini. I carried my empty bowl downstairs and was just walking into the bathroom to find the suntan lotion when the doorbell rang. I heard my mother yell out to me that she was busy so I walked down the hall and pulled open the door, certainly not expecting any guests. My mouth dropped open and I was swooped up in a hug.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to stay with you for the rest of the summer,” Zeke said. “Don’t you worry; I already sorted it with your mom.”
“You talked to my mother?”
“Yeah, she picked up one time when I rang and I asked her about it. She said that she would be thrilled to meet me. Surprise,” he said when I just stared at him.

We both turned as I heard my mother call out, asking who it was. I told her it was Zeke and she came hurrying in from the backyard. They shook hands and he was very polite which I had expected from him. Mom seemed very pleased to meet him which was a very strange experience for me. They talked for a bit before I led Zeke upstairs. She told me to put him in Mason’s old room which was across the hall from mine.

“I can’t believe this,” I whispered.
He just grinned and pulled me into a hug again. “I missed you.”
He kissed me deeply and I smiled when he pulled back. I looked at the bags he had brought with him and smiled.

“You’re staying for the rest of the summer,” I said slowly, trying to wrap my mind around it.
“Yeah, I’ve never been to Las Vegas before so you have to show me everything.”
“You do realize that we are underage and can’t gamble in the casinos.”
“I know that,” he grinned. “This is going to be the best summer.”

I smiled and we kissed again. I still couldn’t believe that he had been able to keep this a secret from me. I was surprised but definitely happy. I couldn’t believe he had come. I couldn’t stop smiling whenever I looked at him. We wouldn’t be apart now and we didn’t have to worry about school. I was looking forward to this summer now. It was definitely looking better now that he had shown up. It was going to be one amazing summer with him.