Summer of Sloane (14 page)

“Seriously? An arm or a leg? Crap, I don’t know…I guess my left arm, but only because—”

“Uh-uh, I said without explaining why.”

“Fine. Okay, hotshot, would you rather lose your sight or your hearing, without explanation. Go.”

“Neither.” He stares at my face for a second, then belts out in laughter. “You never said I had to choose.”

Damn, he’s good.

I stare at Tyler’s words. Reread each one a hundred times. Then read them over again. Like that will change anything.

But it’s Finn, not Tyler, that I’ve been thinking about lately. The one I
want
to think about. But then I get an e-mail like this and I can’t help it. A small part of my brain keeps going back to Tyler. Because after more than ten years of knowing each other, we have a history together.

I close my eyes and remember him walking into my room the morning I was leaving for swim nationals. Flowers in one hand and a sweatshirt draped over his shoulder, he wore a silly grin as I fidgeted with the bag I was packing.

“I have no idea why you’re nervous—you’ve got this,” he’d said. When I bit my lip to stop it from trembling, he only pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on top of my head. “I’m not joking, Sloane, this is what you do. And I don’t know anyone better. But just in case, I brought you my lucky sweatshirt.”

It was the sweatshirt he’d worn both years the football team went to state. He’d never let anyone else touch that sweatshirt, and I don’t think it had ever been washed. When he’d pulled it from his shoulder and wrapped it around both of mine, it smelled
just
like him, and I’d inhaled deeply. And just like that, I’d felt a calmness overwhelm me that hadn’t been there before.

I can still smell him as I open my eyes and see that I’m back in my room in Hawaii. My hands are balled into fists, and I’m shaking. I don’t want Tyler to have this kind of control over me, especially when something so great is happening with Finn.

As if to make it all worse, a new text comes in from Mick, like they’ve somehow agreed to tag-team me:

Without even thinking, I hit reply:

But I don’t hit send.

Because that’s exactly what she wants.

God, I’m so sick of all this. I’m so sick of them. My focus should be on what’s in front of me now, not what I left behind. Even though I have no idea what’s going on between us, Finn has had a lot to do with my summer turning out better than expected. It’s been an amazing couple of weeks. Not to mention, the idea of something new is exciting. And I haven’t felt that way in a long time.

As if he’s somehow heard my thoughts, I get a text from him—it’s a funny GIF of someone getting shoved unexpectedly into a pool.

I send him a GIF of one of my favorite late-night entertainers giving the camera the bird. He replies:

My phone beeps again, but this time it’s from Mia:

Her text makes me laugh. Out loud. And that’s when I realize that these are the type of people I need in my life. Finn and Mia make me happy. They make me smile. When I first got here, I said I wouldn’t waste any more time on Tyler or Mick or what happened in the past. Yet somehow I keep letting them creep back in.

But not anymore. Because now I know I really need to keep that promise to myself. No more texts, no more e-mails, no more letters. No more nothing. All they do is bring me down and make me think—about them, about us, about everything. And I’m sick of it.

Instead, I reply back to Mia that I’ll be ready in forty minutes and head for the shower.

“I love the dress!” Mia takes my hand and spins me around. “Damn, woman, you look hot today! Keep dressing like that, and you won’t be single for long.”

She kisses my cheek, then grabs my hand and pulls me to her car.

“Speaking of single,” she continues. “Or maybe not…Shep mentioned you and Finn have been hanging out? So spill it, sister.”

“Not a lot to spill. I’ve been giving Luce swim lessons, so he’s been coming over with her. And we may have grabbed dinner a few times. I swear, he knows all the great restaurants, from pizza to the most ono poke.” I wiggle my eyebrows, but hold up my hands when her mouth drops open. “It’s not that big a deal, just getting to know each other better, I promise.”

“But you do want to get to
know
him better, right?” She pushes her tongue into the inside of her cheek, and I laugh.

“Yeah, I think I do. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” I lay my head back against the headrest and close my eyes to the sun. I wish it could be like this always. “So where are we headed anyway?”

“Oh, I thought we could go to Waikiki and people-watch today. Sound good?”

It’s one of our favorite pastimes. We bypass our local beach and instead go down to Waikiki to watch all the tourists. On any given day, you never know what you’ll see.

“That, my friend, sounds like a plan. We can park at the Echelon and cut through to the beach.” I take my employee badge out from my bag and wave it her way.

“Ooohh, free parking, sweet!” Mia nods her head in approval. “And isn’t Penn working today? Maybe we can swing by and say hi.”

When we get to the pool at the Echelon, Penn is standing in the shallow end, giving a pair of blondes a few pointers on how to swim. They look to be about nineteen, not that my brother cares. Nor do I believe either girl has any interest in learning how to swim.

“Hey, P.,” I say, crouching down near the edge of the pool. A current of wind picks up, and I have to grab at my hat to keep it from flying away.

He smiles, but then he sees Mia, and a cocky grin takes over. “S’up, Mia?”

Rolling her eyes, she walks away toward Logan’s guard stand. Penn’s smile falters slightly, but a second later, any trace of that hesitation is gone. He makes his way to the edge in front of me.

“Mornin’. You look happy today. Could it be because of a certain someone?”

He tilts his head ever so slightly to something over my shoulder, and somehow I know who I’m going to see when I glance behind me. Sure enough, Finn is stretched out on a deck chair, reading a book.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” I say casually. At least I hope that’s how it sounds. “Oh, there’s a bonfire tonight at our beach, six
P.M.
I’ll hitch a ride with Mia, but I’ll see you there?”

He starts to drift backward and lifts both arms, placing them around the waiting necks of the girls behind him. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sis,” he says with a wink.

Shaking my head, I stand and turn toward Finn. Even though he’s wearing dark sunglasses, I can feel him staring at me. I stroll over, still holding on to my hat as it wobbles in the breeze.

“
The Outsiders
, one of my favorites.”

He doesn’t even try to hide that he’d actually stopped reading to watch me.

“Mine too.” The paperback is tattered and bent from probably years of rereads, so I don’t doubt that at all.

“Hey, bonfire tonight at the usual spot. Think you can make it?”

“I’ll be there.” He nods a hello at Mia, who’s made herself busy talking to Logan, but then his face falls. “Fuck. What the hell is he doing back so soon?”

He stands up next to me, and I see an older man in a perfectly tailored suit, walking our way. Aside from the fact it’s eighty-five degrees outside, even if he wasn’t wearing a suit, I still don’t think he’d look like he belonged out here. And then I see his eyes. They’re this intense shade of blue that leave no doubt who he is.

“Phineas.” It’s said curtly.

“Father,” Finn says in return, shaking his hand. What kind of father shakes hands with his own son? At the pool? “I’d like for you to meet Sloane McIntyre. Sloane, this is my father, Kent McAllister.”

I go to stick my hand out, but then retract it quickly. Damn cast.

“Sorry, swimming accident, shark got me.” Oh my God, did I really just say that? “But it’s nice to meet you, sir.”

For some reason, “Mr. McAllister” doesn’t sound formal enough, and there’s absolutely no way I’d have the balls to call him Kent. And he makes me want to babble, obviously.

“Miss McIntyre.” He nods in my direction, but says nothing more. “Phineas, I’d appreciate you answering your phone when I call so I don’t have to come out here to find you. I’ve had dinner reservations made for the family tonight. Eight
P.M.
, don’t be late. And please,” he says as he eyes Finn from head to toe as if the mere sight of his own son embarrasses him, “put on a real suit. It was nice to meet you, Miss McIntyre.”

Before Finn can agree to dinner or even say anything, for that matter, his father turns and strides away.

“Asshole.” He mutters it under his breath, and I find that I have to agree. “Sorry, Sloane, looks like I’ll need to take a rain check on the bonfire.”

“Hey, no worries. Some other time, okay?” I want to stay and talk to him, but I see Mia patiently waiting for me.

“Yeah, some other time for sure,” he says.

I hesitate for a second too long.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I promise, I’m good.” But he doesn’t sound convincing. “Believe me, it’s nothing new.”

Mia and I make our way down to the sand, weaving in and out between sunburned arms and legs. The beach is packed, but somehow Mia has convinced Logan to let us use one of the private beachside cabanas for the hotel. He’s even laid out our towels, securing them to the chairs so they won’t blow away.

I feel bad that I didn’t try to talk to Finn more. It sucks that this is something he’s used to, and I can’t imagine that being my family.

“What was that all about?” Mia shades her eyes with one hand and stares at me. “Who was the suit?” She takes a sip from some tropical-looking drink that came complete with a little fake umbrella.

“The suit was Mr. McAllister. Looks like Finn won’t be able to make it tonight after all.”

“Wow, meeting the parentals already?” Shaking my head, I throw my little umbrella at her. “Seriously, though. How’re you doing? Really?”

I pick up my drink with a sigh. “Actually, I’m sick and tired of Mick and Tyler. All their e-mails and texts, telling me how
they’re
feeling. So this morning I decided I’m not going to waste any more time on them—that’s it, I’m done.” I stab my straw into my glass as if to prove my point. “But the worst thing? I have no idea how I’m gonna go home at the end of the summer. I honestly don’t think I could ever look at either of them again.”

“Slo, you know you can always stay here. Transfer to Punahou with me. Other than your dad, there’s really nothing for you to go back to.”

It’s definitely something I’ve thought about. But I’m not sure if I can leave my dad, or Penn for that matter.

“Slo, you leave your mom at the end of every summer, what’s the difference?” It’s like Mia can read my mind. “Tyler will forever be the high school sweetheart you think about, even thirty years from now. And for him, you’ll always be the one that got away. But don’t let what he and Mick did control any more of your future than that. You deserve to be happy, and none of what happened is your fault. None of it.”

I lean back against my chair with a sigh. I wish it were that easy.

We spend the rest of the afternoon in the sunshine, watching all the tourists on the beach. By the time we head to the bonfire, the sun is already making its way to the other side of the world to start a new day. The party is in full swing, the fire raging.

“Slo! What’s up, sucka!” Shep picks me up and swings me around before planting a big kiss on Mia and slapping her ass. “Woman, where you been?”

I grab two bottles from the cooler and hand one to Mia, then make my way over to Maile and Stacey to say hello. Drew is also here, and I wave as he spirals the football long down the beach.