I was not totally kidding myself, though. Despite the fact that I’d never before had a summer romance, I knew how the majority of them ended. Most of the girls I knew, other than Daisy, had fallen for a tourist boy at least once, with a few believing it was actually forever. Quickly—usually by October at the latest—they learned otherwise. Then, all they could do was hang out at Jump Java on the boardwalk, where everyone who’d been dumped long-distance convened in the fall, like some big, tremulous support group. Even if I had been planning to be in Colby, I did not intend to count myself among them.
Theo was going back to New York. I was leaving for East U. Done and done. If I wanted—and I didn’t—I could chart exactly how it would go if we tried to stay together. Lots of phone calls/Hi There! chats at first. Plans made for trips to visit each other, one of which might actually occur, although probably right before the Very End. Which would come after a marked trailing off of communication by one person—usually the tourist, although not always—followed by an awkward confrontation you could only hope would not be on video chat. Nobody looks good sobbing in screen resolution size. Just ask the girls at the table with the tissue box at Jump Java.
I was not up for this. Which was why the way things were with Theo and me now was just perfect for me. The summer would end, we’d go our separate ways, and that was that. If I was sad, I’d have all of our Best Memories Ever, painstakingly created, to flip through whenever I wanted. Until then, though, I chose to think about it as little as possible.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that it was only a matter of time before our events went from the Best Fill-in-the-Blank Ever to the Last One. Which made me even more conscious of the other things I needed to be doing, like spending enough time with my mom so she didn’t sigh as dramatically or loudly whenever I left the house, seeing Daisy and Morris both together and separately, working extra hours at the office to make money for school, and hanging out with Benji. At least now, I could do these last two at once.
“Emaline,” I heard him say now. I looked down, and he nodded behind me. “Car.”
“Right.” I shook my head, getting back on track as a black convertible pulled up beside us. “Name, please?”
“You already forgot? Man. That’s harsh, Emaline.”
It was Luke. That he was even in the check-in line, in a car I didn’t recognize, was only one of the things that immediately threw me off. Add in the fact that he was dressed in a shirt and tie and the girl driving was a very pretty redhead, and I was unsettled.
“Sorry,” I said. “I just didn’t expect—”
“Luke!” Benji hollered, popping up beside me.
Luke jumped, surprised, and despite myself, I laughed. The fact that he was easily scared was legendary. Leaping out at him from behind things just to hear him shriek like a little girl—we called it Gotcha!, a game he’d learned from his cousins Wes and Bert—had been one of my favorite pastimes. “Whoa,” he said, flushing, then laughed as well. “You scared me, dude!”
“Sorry,” Benji told him. He was literally jumping up and down, like a dog, to get a glimpse of him. “Guess what? I’m working with Emaline now!”
“Really?” Luke said. Beside him, the girl—who was wearing a short flowered dress and cowboy boots and did, actually, look sort of familiar—smiled. “Hope she’s paying you the big bucks.”
“Kinda.” Benji looked at me. “Did you ask their name yet?”
“Um . . .” I said.
“Best,” the girl said. “I think the property’s called Emerald Belle or something?”
Quick as a flash, Benji handed her the envelope. “Do you want a cold drink, too? We have water, juice, and soda. But no beer.”
Luke looked at me, raising his eyebrows. I said, “I know. He’s good. With him here, they won’t even notice when I leave next month.”
“Oh, I doubt that,” he replied. Which was nice enough to distract me from wondering how serious this relationship had gotten, considering he was actually wearing a tie for her. For about two seconds. “So. How you doing, Emaline?”
“I’m good,” I said. “You?”
“Can’t complain,” he said with a shrug. “Actually, I can. I’m in a tie here.”
“I noticed,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “What’s the occasion?”
I was not being nosy, just making conversation. Okay, maybe being a little nosy. But he’d brought it up first. God, this was weird. He said, “Brooke’s bachelorette weekend. We’re heading up the transportation team, getting the rental settled, and doing airport runs.”
“In a tie,” I said.
“My mother’s idea.”
“I’m so surprised.”
“Aren’t you, though?”
I laughed again. It was so odd that after a month apart—and an awkward split, to boot—Luke and I could be right back like this within moments. Maybe it was just part of growing up with someone. Once you have a rhythm and stay with it long enough, it’s not hard to find again.
I gestured for Benji to hand me a water, then handed it to the girl. “You should have a great week. Although kind of a hot one.”
“Emaline, this is Jacqueline,” Luke said. “Jacqueline, Emaline.”
We smiled and nodded at each other. I said to Benji, “You have a Mountain Dew in there?”