Summer Edition Novels & Stories

Annoyance? One thing was clear. This summer just got a whole lot more complicated...

Monday was a perfect pool day. After the rain on Sunday, the sun had came back out in full force for what some of the old timers around town called “Indian Summer”. It’s apparently a time in late fall, usually October or November, when Mother Nature decides that summer is not quite over and hits us with one more blast of hot weather before we have true fall and then the first hints of winter. It was ninety degrees by noon so after finishing a late breakfast and playing some basketball with Nate in the gym inside the large building called the pool house, we switched gears and climbed in the pool.

“Totally thrives on this. Loves every second.” I nod. “Yep. And Josh… well, he’s chaos incarnate.” We both laugh softly, glancing at the boys and then back at Gavin, noticing the subtle way he shifts his weight, always quietly aware, letting the antics play out around him. “And that,” Gemma whispers, grinning, “is why summer will never be boring with this crew.” I chuckle, letting the thought settle in. “Never boring… definitely not.” Eben stretches dramatically, still dripping, and grins. “By the way… bonfire tonight. Full-on chaos. Fire, drinks, music—the works. Don’t worry, it’s going to be wild.”

I looked up, and under the shade of the trees, he stood quietly—tall and composed—but his face was hidden in shadow. It was summer, and the cicadas buzzed noisily in the background. It suddenly brought me back to the end of the video I had seen in the theater. He had been sitting there, hands clenched tightly together, saying, “Sadie, I want you to be happy.” Even now, I couldn’t forget those words. So, I answered him, “Because someone wants me to be happy.”

Maybe I was destined to feel this only for him. "Well we have to leave you now, Joshua has to open up the salon and I have to meet with the real estate agency." Anthony said as he and Joshua got up. "Well see each other this weekend for camping, Summer you said you know a perfect spot." Huh, Summer had no clue, somehow I think she never even went camping. "Yes, my driver will pick us all up and drop us off." Summer said, her eyes shined as she looked at Anthony. It was either the shine of love or the shine of a hangover, either way it was nice to see.

MAEVE Waves of nostalgia hit me as I stood by the window; I shook my head slowly and moved away from it. The room felt warm which unnerved me. The Brockbank realm had a balanced climate so it was easy to deal with the weather. Here, it was different. It was warm and sticky, and not in a great way. I sighed and looked into the distance as I studied the landscape. One thing my forced adventure has opened my eyes to is the glaring difference in our cultures. In the Blackwell realm, we tried to learn as much as we could about the others we shared a world with. But, given that everyone knew that hostile undertones lurked amongst the houses, we focused on defense. We were more concerned with know

The head of the orphanage found me in the middle of the scorching summer, which was why he named me Theros Sommar. When Daisy learned of it, she then said that moving forward, the summer solstice every year would be my birthday. She then prepared birthday gifts for me and even baked a birthday cake for me to celebrate. Ever since my gastric bleeding the other day, she had forbidden me from drinking again. But the mood back then had been just right, so I pestered her until she gave in and allowed me to drink some red wine. One thing led to another, and that night, she finally gave herself wholly to me.

I scoff and punch his firm back once more, I think I feel more pain than him because, with every punch, my knuckles hurt and he doesn't even flinch. Once we're inside, he sets me on the couch and sits beside me. Is he really that scared I'll run away again? "So, as I said earlier, Adelina will be gone this evening, her father will be here in three hours, and we have to be somewhere tomorrow, the Summer Soiree Summit, it's like a kind of getaway for the young elite, from all over the world, held once a year, in a tropical country, at the end of summer, it's like a business connect disguised as a getaway," he explains.

The third of July bonfire has been a tradition since childhood. Summer glanced up from the wicker chair she was curled in, looking past me instead of at me. The mention of Jenny's name should have pulled some reaction from her, but no. Nothing. Summer liked Jenny, always had. Well, maybe more like tolerated her. Jenny was a local woman I hooked up with once a year while we were on vacation. Nothing serious, friendly even. Of course, I didn't plan on sleeping with her this trip, not after everything with Summer, but Jenny had hung around our circle since we were teens and to leave her out felt unnecessary.

“Sorry, but we don't have time for this, Nathan you and Noah have to set up the barbecue. Liam, you go and bring in the bags from your car. Quinn, you go get a shower, and I’ll pick out an outfit for you. Summer gave up all our instructions then clapped her hands when we didn't all move fast enough. I ran up the stairs and into the shower, and I couldn't help thinking about how the last time I was in this shower, I was terrified to meet my mate, thinking it was Xavier, and now I could be wait to mate and mark with him. After my shower, I dried my hair and walked back to my room, well, the guest room. I‘m assuming I will be moving into Nathan’s room at some point, finding Summer flinging clot