CRUSHING SUMMER Excerpt #2
CRUSHING SUMMER EXCERPT
Here’s another CRUSHING SUMMER excerpt, just to hold you over until I have the official release date. And then after that, it’s time for TOUGH LUCK. I hope you’re ready for this because it’s going to get crazy!
Unedited Excerpt
It was barely seven thirty and already, there were at least a hundred people smiling at one another, pretending they didn’t care when in all reality, this night meant more to them than homecoming, than prom, than graduation. For the seniors, this was their last chance to shine in our small pond, the last place they could stand out and be worshipped before they slipped into the real world and became invisible. This moment meant everything.
I watched them set out a table and place rocks over the piles of paper that would be used for voting. The wind picked at the edges and threatened to steal the small scraps away anyway, but hardly anyone noticed. They were too wrapped up in the subterfuge and the play of politics. I did my best not to sigh.
“You’d think we’d have advanced to voting via Facebook or something, huh?”
The voice behind me made me jump, spun me around and brought me face to face with Cage Lawrence. He was smoking a cigarette, leaning against the metal legs of the giant goose sign that had adorned the drive-in theater for more than fifty years. When he caught my eyes with his, he smiled.
“It would make more sense,” I said, my voice hardly audible over the whisper of wind and the crash of the waves. “And it would be more accurate, I’m sure.” Cage grinned and dropped his cigarette to the sand, covering it up with a kick of his foot.
“I’m glad you decided to show.” I smiled back and tucked some stray hair behind my ear. It didn’t stay long and went whipping right back out in the next gust of wind, sticking to my glossed lips until I peeled it away with careful fingers.
“I’m not here for the Assignments. I have a date.” Cage raised his thick brows and moved towards me, sliding his hands into the front pockets of his blue jeans. He was the all-American boy, that’s for sure. Tall, beautiful, dressed in a white sweater and pristine tennis shoes that looked like they’d been pulled straight from the box. But then, he was exotic, too. It was something about his glossy black hair and his slanted eyes, those gray irises and that bronze skin. He had a look I’d never seen before, not in movies or on TV. The word gorgeous sprung to mind.
“With who?” he asked, voice mild, like he couldn’t have cared less. And maybe he didn’t, maybe he was just curious. I don’t know.
“Casper,” I said, feeling odd with those two simple syllables. I felt like I should have a last name to throw in there somewhere. I’d never asked. Cage chuckled, but he didn’t make any ghost jokes. He moved up beside me and tilted his head back, examining the gull nests perched in the rafters of the old building. There were none there now, just remnants, long forgotten. The man that owned the Gander, Alan something-or-other, had put up those little metal spikes on every available surface. He hadn’t bothered to knock the nests down though, or clean up the bird crap. The whole place needed work, really, but he was never going to put in the time or money. I guessed it was why the Gander was a casual teen hangout and nothing more. It could’ve been fabulous.
“Don’t know any Caspers,” he told me honestly, dropping his gaze back down to mine. I didn’t miss the fact that we were close now, maybe too close. I wanted to take a step back, but I didn’t like the implications, so I stayed put. “He the son of the guy that moved in across the street from the high school?” I shrugged.
“I met him at the beach today. He saved my life.”
“I heard.”
“How so?” Cage smiled and it was he who moved back.
“News travels fast here, Chloe. You know that.” He shrugged his shoulders and took another step. “Are you sure you don’t want to get in on this? It wouldn’t interfere with your date. All you have to do is sign the roster and that’s that. We could always give you your official title after the movie.”
“Assuming I’d even get one.” Cage’s smile turned into a grin.
“Assuming that.” And then he turned away and moved quickly around the building and out of sight.
