That Summer

Time passed quickly that summer. Daniel and I went to late-night parties, spent time together, and waited while summer passed by.

I hadn’t seen Aaron since that day at the lake. We seemed to exist in completely different worlds. I never saw him at the parties that I went to and he certainly wasn’t seen anywhere near Daniel’s house. At the park I pretended that I wasn’t hoping to see him; I pretended I wasn’t disappointed when he wasn’t there.

Daniel was the only one for me and I loved him more than life itself. But I was curious about Aaron only because he let nothing in except for that day in the park.

I was eager to see if he could ever show that side of him again. Maybe if he did, he and Daniel could get along better. But I instantly gave up on that idea when I see how Daniel reacts to Aaron’s very name.

It was a Monday morning and I was rushing to get to work. I didn't have my own car yet, so I shared the family car. But my mom was at work herself, so I had to walk.

It was a quiet road through the suburbs, so the whole time there weren't any cars passing by. I glanced at my watch. I only had five minutes to go on a ten minute walk. I began to jog, hoping cut the time in half.

After a few minutes, I heard the gentle purr of an engine approaching behind me. It was speeding fast and I waited for the car to pass by me, but instead it slowed. I turned.

It was a black Mustang. I felt my heart speed up as the driver's window rolled down.

"Get in," he said.

I rocked off and onto my tip-toes. It was a bad habit of mine that I did when I was nervous. "I have to get to work, Aaron," I mumbled.

He shrugged. "Let me drive you then."

I almost accepted his offer when I remembered Daniel would be working today too.
"I don't think that would be a good idea, but thank you for the offer."

He shrugged again and slid mirrored sunglasses down over his piecring gaze and sped away with nothing but a screech of tires and a purring engine.

I let out a breath that i hadn't realized I'd been holding. What would Daniel have said if he'd seen me show up to work with Aaron? He would have never spoken to me again. He would go insane! But I couldn't ignore the feeling that I regretted denying his offer.

I arrived at work with barely a second to spare. I worked at a coffee shop on the strip. It was small, but popular among high school and college students. It was Daniel who suggested I come work with him. Between him being my boyfriend and my love for coffee, it just seemed like a good idea.

I was putting on my apron when I felt arms wrap around my waist. I felt my face form a smile. "Hi, Daniel."

He spun me around. "Bonjur, ma cherie!"

I laughed. "Stop fooling around, I'm already late!"

Daniel pouted, but walked back to the counter where he manned the cash register.

I shook my head and went into the kitchen to start preparing orders and refilling on coffee beans. I let my mind drift as I fell into a pattern of opening ags and filling them into their containers. Open. Fill. Open. Fill.

"Haley!"

I jumped and turned. Melanie Sanchez, my friend and co-worker was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"O-of course, I'm okay" I stammered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem...lost," she said slowly.

I smiled. "I'm fine."

Just then, Daniel walked in with his keys jangling from his fingertips. "Are you ready to go?"

I blinked and frowned. "What time is it?"

"It's three o'clock...your shift is over," he said.

"Oh, yeah, let's go."

It was quiet as we got in the car and I felt myself drifting away again as I stared out the window. As Daniel started his car, I pretended not to notice, in the side mirror, that there was a black Mustang zooming away.