“Please don’t apologize again,” I said. “Let’s just say we got caught up in the heat of the moment. It happens in summer. When everything feels just right and everyone is their Summer Self. The self that doesn’t fit into who they think they are the rest of the year. No one is their Usual Self in summer, not here. So, um, yeah. Heat of the moment.”

He let me ramble on while he stayed quiet. Listening, actually listening. Even if none of it made sense to him, he didn’t push. A hint of Levi’s playful side came to the front as he tilted his head toward the rain. “Heat?”

“Okay, we got caught up in the rain of the moment.” I poked my elbow into his side—not hard enough to hurt, just enough so he knew we were good.

He nudged me back.

Shoulder to shoulder, we stood together, watching as the rain faded to a drizzle. And just like that, we were back to normal. Just a girl and a boy in a cave, letting the world come rushing back.

nine

The hum of energy was palpable from the moment I biked down to town the next morning. Main Street was lined with cars, most of them with out-of-state license plates, windshields dusty and bug-spattered from travel. A little girl and her labradoodle waved energetically at me from the back-seat window while the parents lugged coolers and beach umbrellas from the trunk.

I trekked across the beach and down the pier. Here, at least, there was no activity. No prying eyes to hide myself from, no cheerful tourists who wanted to smile at me, no old friends who would make an inconvenient appearance. There was just me and Penny, and the front door that stood between us. The houseboat was her kingdom. I just needed her to let down the drawbridge and let me back in. I sucked in a breath, rallied all my courage, and knocked.

Nothing. Well, that was okay. I wasn’t expecting her to answer it right away.

“Penny, it’s me.” Then, uselessly, I added, “Babe.” I waited. “Please, can I come in?” I pressed my lips to the door, close enough to touch. “Can we talk?”

There was no way our friendship was this impermanent. I silently willed her to open the door, to give me even a sliver of hope that things could go back to normal. The morning breeze brushed my neck, but it felt like it went all the way through me. My bare legs trembled with the cold. I was paper-thin, seconds from crumpling into a ball.

“Penny, I am so sorry. The kiss meant nothing to either of us. He’s your boyfriend. I don’t want Chad, you know that. It was just—he was being stupid. But it’s not me he wants.” I hesitated. “It’s always been you. You know that.”