One S'more Summer by Beth Merlin

Author:Beth Merlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ink Monster, LLC

Chapter Eleven

The following morning, my phone and fan batteries long dead, I was awakened to Lee Greenwood’s ‘Proud To Be An American’ blasting over the camp’s loudspeaker. It was the Fourth of July, and one-hundred degrees, with one-hundred percent humidity. I woke up drenched in sweat.

July Fourth was always a special day at camp. Each year, the different age groups battled it out in a series of events for Gordy points. The competition was followed by a cookout. Then, the whole camp would go down to the lake to watch fireworks before the Rope Burn Battle. The girls were already complaining about the schedule I’d taped to the wall the night before. Now, with the heat wave, they were really moaning. I was less than enthusiastic myself. July Fourth was one of the few days that I enjoyed spending in the Hamptons. Every year, my parents threw an over-the-top party for their friends and the other partners at my father’s law firm. The grounds of the house were immaculately decorated, complete with white tents and ice sculptures. At night, the guests would all gather on the shore of Georgica Pond for a bonfire and fireworks.

Every year, Alicia and Joshua came as my parents’ guests, but last year, Joshua had come alone, as mine. Certain Alicia was moving to London after all, we’d planned on concealing our relationship just a bit longer, and then coming out to her the next time she was in town. Just being able to sit side by side with him, eating lunch out in the open, had made me feel for the first time that we wouldn’t always have to hide. She’d see Joshua and me together—her two oldest friends having fallen for each other—and wonder why she hadn’t seen our chemistry all along. It was delusional, but I’d been so in love with Joshua that anything seemed possible.

Still, we weren’t ready to go public, so every chance we got, we’d stolen away to dark corners of the house or garden and then returned to the party as if nothing had happened. Under the party tent, he kissed me on the forehead and pulled me in close to his chest. We stood that way for a few seconds before reality, and my mother’s voice had pried us apart. We couldn’t escape quickly enough, and she cornered us.

“Gigi, I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said, slightly out of breath. “Where have you been?”

“Right here,” I answered.

“Thank you so much for inviting me, Mrs. Goldstein,” Joshua said from behind me.

“For the millionth time, it’s Kathryn. Is Gigi showing you a good time?”

“The best,” he answered.

“I’m glad. Gigi, I want to introduce you to someone,” she said, pushing a good-looking man in my direction. “This is David Mincher, a new associate at your father’s firm. David, this is my daughter, Georgica.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending my hand.

“David went to Columbia Law School like Daddy. Gigi was accepted to Columbia. She’s weighing her options right now.”

“Where are you deciding between?” David asked me.

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