Summer Love

Kalei Preston and Xander Neil had suffered their fair share of losses over the years. In a desperate search for peace, they travel back to a place filled with loving memories. By chance, they run into each other, and the summer they shared as teenagers causes old feelings to resurface.

Will the sweet memories be enough for them to give love a second chance?

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Kalei

With my bag and umbrella in hand, I walked two blocks over to the beach. I did a quick scan of the beach for the perfect spot to set up my umbrella, then laid out my blanket. The sun beamed down on me, getting a smile from me as I wiggled my toes in the warm sand. As I trudged through the sand, I looked around at all the families. 

Children were running into the water, jumping the waves as they came onto the shore. Another group of children was building a sand castle. One family that caught my eye was a dad and his daughter running to the water, then running back once the waves came too close. The girl looked to be about four years old. The cutest pink and white beads adorned her braids, and they matched her bathing suit. The sight made me think of Joseph and Jayde. Shaking away thoughts of them, I set up my umbrella and laid out my blanket.

After getting settled, I called Carrina to let her know I made it safely. She had texted me every hour on the hour since I left this morning. Thankfully, our conversation was brief since she was about to go on a date with her boyfriend. 

With a smile, I took a few pictures of the ocean to start my 100 Days of Summer blog on Instagram. I got the idea from a Pinterest board. Every day I would post photos of the beach or places on the boardwalk. After snapping a few pictures, I put my phone down and pulled out a book I’d been dying to read. Just as I was about to crack open “Care for Me” by Bria Felicien, a pink beach ball came flying my way, knocking over my bag and bottle of water. The cute little girl from earlier came running over to me with her hands covering her mouth. Behind her, a man who I assumed was her father, stalked my way with a scowl.

“Sorry,” she said while frowning.

Handing her the ball, I smiled. “It’s okay, sweetie.”

“Kennedi, I told you not to kick it so hard.”

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open. 

Kennedi’s father was Xander Neil?

“Xander?” I asked while standing and wiping away the sand on my thigh.

“Kay?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Kennedi looked between us and smiled. My eyes darted from her to him as I swallowed the lump in my throat. 

“It’s been a minute,” he said, pulling me into a hug.

My heart pounded against my chest as he wrapped his muscular arms around my waist. His hug felt familiar, and without reservation, I settled into his embrace and inhaled his woodsy scented cologne. 

“Ten years. It’s been ten years,” I said as he released me.

I met Xander during my last visit ten years ago. We met at the teen club downtown, and from that night on, we were inseparable. It turned out his father owned a beach house a few houses down from Aunt Ethel’s beach house. Every day until our departure, we hung out. We spent our mornings walking along the beach as the sun rose, then snuck to the beach at night to listen to music together. 

He and his twin brother had just graduated from high school and were excited about going to college. Despite being a rising senior and two years younger than him, Xander promised to keep in contact with me while he was at school. We had it all figured out, too. Whenever Xander had a free weekend or a break, he would come visit me, and once I got my car, I’d visit him. 

We stayed in touch for a while, but as the months passed, our calls became less frequent, and texts went without a response. By the time the spring semester started, we weren’t speaking at all. Xander broke my little teenaged heart. I was sad about it for months, especially with all that happened with my Aunt Ethel during that time. Eventually, I got over it and moved on.

“Seems like a lifetime ago,” he said, peering down at me. There was a hint of excitement in his eyes, and I hated how it made my skin warm.

Xander had grown into a fine ass man. 

Seeing him shirtless with his skin glistening under the sun should've been a sin. His skin was the color of roasted almonds, and a thick beard covered his chin and jawline. I smirked when his slanted, chestnut colored eyes narrowed. 

“Kalei Preston.” He shook his head and smiled.

Even his voice had changed. It was deeper and had a little rasp to it. The sound of my name rolling off his tongue caused my stomach muscles to tighten.

“Is this your daughter?” I asked, looking at Kennedi as she continued to watch our exchange.

“I’m his niece,” she said.

“Malcolm’s daughter,” he added.

“I remember him.” I nodded. 

Before I could say anything else to her, Kennedi ran off toward who I assumed were her parents. Xander never took his eyes off me as I watched Kennedi run to Malcolm. She pointed in our direction and I chuckled.

“She’s adorable,” I said, returning my attention to him.

He nodded. “She is. How you been?” His tongue swiped across his bottom lip, and I shuddered a sigh. The crush I had on Xander was innocent. We kissed a few times as teens. The memories of those kisses came to mind at the sight of his full lips.

“I’ve been okay. You? How’s your father doing?” I asked, remembering how sweet and kind Mr. Neil was to me and Aunt Ethel. 

“I’ve been the same, and he passed away four years ago.” His eyes lowered, and I saw the same sadness I felt when I thought about my aunt.

Reaching for his shoulder, I said, “I am so sorry to hear that. I’m sorry for asking.” 

“It’s cool you didn’t know.”

“How long are y’all in town?” I figured changing the subject was the best idea. I didn’t want him to bring up my aunt and send us down a grief-driven rabbit hole.

“I’m here for the summer. Mac and the fam are here for the week.” He scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. “We need to fix up the house. We kind of neglected the place after Pops died.”

Nodding, I replied, “I know the feeling. If it weren’t for my brother coming here every couple of weeks, I’d have a laundry list of things to do. Luckily, I only need to start my garden.”

“Ms. Ethel sent us home with so many vegetables that summer and Pops made sure they didn’t go to waste.”

I smiled as I remembered the hefty bag of vegetables she handed over to Mr. Neil.

“Uncle X, mommy says it’s time to go,” Kennedi yelled, making us laugh.

“I can’t believe Malcolm is married and a father. I just knew you’d be first.”

With his head hung low, Xander shrugged. “Shit, me too. I guess life doesn’t always go the way we want, huh?” There was a glint of sadness in his eyes. My heart dropped at his words. We’d both suffered insufferable losses that proved life didn’t always go as planned. “I’ll see you around?” he asked, hopefully.

“You know where to find me,” I said, shooting him a smile.

With that, he jogged back over to his family. I watched as they packed their stuff and walked toward the boardwalk. Once they were out of my sight, I reached for my book and ignored the urge to reconnect with him. 

I wasn’t available in that way anymore. 

And I was sure he wasn’t either.