All Summer on a Date: Three Romantic Comedy Short Stories (4 page)

“And Starbuck's,” Alan added.

“My absolute pleasure,” Jeff told them. “What an awesome way to ring in the New Year.”

“We better get on the road,” Romy said, looking up at the wall clock. “It's getting late.”

Summer looked at Starbuck, who was leaning against Mary's leg. “You've got the meds and instructions?”

Chuck held them up in confirmation.

“Well, I guess that's it then.” Summer looked down at Starbuck. “It's been an honor.”

Jeff bent to Starbuck and kissed her on the head. He kept his lips pressed to her fur for a long moment before he straightened up and ruffled the dog's ears. “See ya, Starbuck.”

“Starbuck,” Summer cried, and threw her arms around the dog. “Don't forget to call. And write. Be good.”

Starbuck licked her face, and Summer never wanted to let go. But she had to.

Summer and Jeff watched through the double glass doors as the family drove away. Neither one looked at the other. They turned back inside to get their stuff.

“Huh,” Summer said, noticing she'd gotten a text. “What?!” she squawked. As she read, her eyebrows slammed fiercely downward.

It made no sense. None at all. She scrolled up her screen and saw that Noly Parker had left a first message, a few minutes earlier. Now Summer really didn't understand. First, Noly is angry because Summer “blew her off” when she'd “found something better to do.” Better to do? Who would even know what she was doing?

Kyle would.

What
was he saying about her at the Silversmith Party?

But then the second message.

Noly
: Summer, I am so sorry - I can really get going when I get my bitch on. I got some bad intel. You are a hero. I can't think of anyone I'd rather give my money to. Be at my office on Wilshire on the 5
^th
at
10 am and we'll get started on the Watts project.

It couldn't be true. It made no sense. But Noly had to be serious—she'd texted Summer using whole sentences, and Noly only did that when she meant business.

But what had happened? She must have gotten her bad intel from Kyle. But then ... what? Kyle had experienced a miraculous change of heart and told the truth, casting Summer in a more flattering light? As a hero?

Her phone buzzed as another text from Noly came through.

Noly
: And after watching that video, I am totally going 2 adopt a friend for my little Minka!

Video? Minka? Noly was going to adopt another Maltese?

Summer's head snapped up and she found Jeff watching her intently, looking like he was holding his breath.

“Jeff?
Jeff?
What did you do?”

“What's happening?” he asked instead. “Good or bad?”

“Jeff!” Summer cried. “I asked you first!”

“Okay. Okay. A text came through when you were with everybody. From Noly, and it was bad. I got her number off your phone and texted her the video of Starbuck's family reunion. And I wrote, “This is why Summer's late. She found a lost dog on the way to the party.”

Summer just stared at him, her eyes growing as round as planets.

“It was one of those moments, Summer. At least for me.” Jeff took a deep breath. “Noly was mad at you, and at a party. Any second she could put her phone away and not look at it for the rest of the night. If I didn't act right then, when I had the chance to make a difference, I … Please, just tell me what happened.”

“It worked,” Summer said quietly, almost as if she were just realizing it. She nodded slowly, trying to catch her suddenly short breath. “You were trying to help me, and it worked. She's giving me the green light. It really worked. IT WORKED!”

Summer threw herself at him, hugging him hard. She felt how solid his lean frame was under the
Doctor Who
T-shirt. He was warm and in her arms and felt so good. And he was hugging her back.

But then he pushed her away, holding her at arm's length. “Summer Hodiak, you kicked butt tonight.”

“Thanks to you!”

He bowed. “A pleasure, m'lady. An old Honda, grandma's quilts, and a cell phone. My weapons of choice.”

“Well, I don't have a scarf or hanky or anything to toss to you, so I guess I'll just feed you instead. If you want to come home with me,” she offered, “I'll cook for you.” But then she took a step back. “I mean, unless you just want to get home. I mean, to your home. You don't—”

“Summer,” he interrupted. “I'm starved. Let's go.”

“How's this for starters?” Summer led Jeff into her hallway of a kitchen. “I can put on a pot of coffee, and then we can get changed and warm up.” She turned to face him. “Or do you want hot chocolate?”

“Uh,” Jeff looked around the kitchen as if he'd never been in one before. “Both? I mean, can we mix them together?”

Summer's eyes brightened. “Perfect.”

She turned to the coffee pot and took filters from the cupboard just above. “And I can cook you up a swordfish steak. My parents sent me some for Christmas.”

“No, thanks.”

Summer glanced at him. “Oh. You don't like fish?”

“I'm a vegetarian.”

Summer's brows shot up as her mouth opened in a big smile. “Cool! Me, too. I make killer mac and cheese.”

“Great.” Jeff leaned against the counter and watched her fill the coffee pot with water. “You're a vegetarian, but your parents sent you
fish
?”

“They don't think fish counts.”

Jeff laughed. “Summer, you need to let your hair down.”

Summer turned to him, splaying her two open palms over the sticky mess on her head. “I do?”

“Definitely.” He reached forward, and slid one long pin out of her hair. Then he slid out the other pin. He stepped back, looking at her.

Summer stuck her hands into her hair and messed it up even more until the gooey mass shifted down toward her shoulders. “Okay,” she said, “now what?”

Jeff laughed again, throwing his hands up in the air. “Just shout it out. 'I'm Summer Hodiak and I don't eat cows or chickens or pigs or fishes or … or shrimp!”

“Or tomatoes,” she called out. “I hate tomatoes.”

“'Or tomatoes!'”

When they both stopped laughing, Summer leaned her butt against the counter and folded her arms. “I try,” she told him. “You know? I have all these rational, logical thoughts lined up in my head. But then, when they start talking to me, my family ... Suddenly I just feel like a stupid twelve year-old. I can't say anything coherent.” She looked at him then. “Know what I mean?”

“Uh … yeah.”

“Your family's like that, too?”

“Nah,” he said. “My family's cool.”

“Then who can't you talk to?”

He looked at Summer, then blinked. “Women.” He lifted his eyebrows. “Duh.”

“Women?”

“Yeah,” he assured her, turning to tidy up her trail, shutting cupboard doors and swiping away errant coffee grounds. “I'll know exactly what smart, charming thing to say, but then I'll walk up to her and say something lame like, 'Yeah, I have that one in tangerine.'”

Summer laughed. “You have
what
that's tangerine?'”

“When I was in college, there was this awesomely cute girl checking out an iBook in the campus store, so I go up to her. But all I manage to say is, 'Yeah, I have that one in tangerine.'”

“Well … I wasn't exactly Don Juan in college either,” Summer offered.

“Yeah, but ten years later, I'm not much better.”

“Not true.” Summer reached into the fridge for the milk. “You've never had any trouble talking to
me
.” She turned back to look at him, setting the milk on the counter. “Not at
Consequence
, not tonight. Never.”

“That's different.”

“Why?”

“You talk to me like a normal person,” he answered. “You have from the beginning.”

Summer scrunched her face. “I do what?”

“The first day we met,” he explained, “I walked into your office. You jumped up from your desk and said, 'You must be the man who's here to help me.' Summer, nobody ever refers to me like that.”

“As someone who helps them?”

“As a
man
,” he countered. “You came up to me and said, 'I'm Summer Hodiak.' And do you remember what I said?”

“Uh … You shook my hand and said, 'Jeff Tracy'?”

“Exactly! And everyday since, you've called me Jeff. Not 'IT Guy,' not 'Kid From the Basement,' not 'Computer Guy.' You're different, Summer, because you just jumped right in and started treating me like a person, not like a technogeek or a fanboy, both of which I am. But it doesn't seem to faze you. So, I never had to worry about approaching you. You were always just, like, 'Hi, here I am.'”

Summer's face fell. “But I'm trying to be more aloof than that, more composed. Rein myself in.”

“Why? Don't you like talking to me?”

“Of course I do! It's just ...”

“Summer, if you'd reined yourself in tonight, you wouldn't have gone racing into the rain in a thousand dollar dress to save an injured pit bull.”

She looked at him.

He took a step closer to her. “Do you really want to put away the woman who did that?”

Summer took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. She shook her head. “No.” Her breath quickened. “No, I don't. No!” She ripped off the sweatshirt and tossed it to Jeff. “I'm going to take a shower and wash this disgusting hairspray off my head! Can you start the macaroni? It's in the cupboard next to the fridge.”

Later, after consecutive hot showers and tag-team meal preparation, the two of them sat all warm and toasty, wearing Summer's flannel pajama pants and cotton T-shirts. They arranged their picnic on the living room floor and stretched their toes toward the real wood fire that crackled in the fireplace.

Summer took a sip of her coffee-cocoa. “I'm impressed that you can make a fire.”

“It's not that hard when you're an Earthling.” He took a bite of mac and cheese and his eyes almost popped out of his head. “Wow! Summer, this is
fantastic
.”

“To my mac and cheese!” She held out her mug to clink with Jeff's.

“And to my fire.” They clinked again.

“And to The New Year,” Summer added.

“Hey,” Jeff said, “Why don't you make a resolution. Something you really want to do, but you've been holding back.”

“I want ...” Summer could feel the excitement churning her up. “I want … to wear jeans to work!” She looked at him and laughed. “I mean, I'm a director. I can wear what I want, right? There's no dress code.
Consequence
is way too crunchy granola for that.”

“Steve Jobs wore jeans everyday,” Jeff added, “and he changed life as we know it.”

“And I want to go to Ireland,” she blurted. “To see The Cliffs of Moher!”

“Sounds spectacular.”

“What about you? What leaps do you want to take?”

“Me? I'm going to bite the bullet,” he decided. “From now on, when I like a woman, I'm going to ask her out. No excuses, no missed opportunities. I'm just going to do it.”

“Sounds good.”

“And I'm going to adopt a dog,” he said, as if suddenly realizing it. “But I live in an apartment, so I should get an old dog, who's not bouncing off the walls. And I work all day, so he'll need a friend. So I'll adopt two old dogs.”

“And I'll get two big cats,” Summer chimed in. “Sometimes I can go on a painting bender all weekend and forget what day it is or that I need to eat. Not so good for a dog. But at least the cats will have a litter box and water and I can put dry food out all day.”

“Maybe we could go adopting together,” Jeff suggested.

“Absolutely,” Summer agreed.

“Wait,” Jeff said. “No, that's not really what I want. I mean, no, I mean, yes, I want to adopt the dogs, but—”

A flurry of noise drifted into the apartment. Horns, music, cheers. Summer looked at the digital clock on the DVD player. “Midnight,” she said softly.

Jeff held up his mug of chocolatey coffee. “To keeping resolutions and living life to the fullest.”

“To keeping resolutions,” she agreed. “And to Starbuck. And to us.” They tapped their mugs together again.

Jeff put down his cup and turned to face Summer. “I said that in the New Year, I'd ask out a woman if I liked her, so—Summer Hodiak,” he said, on a quick intake of breath, “will you go out with me?”

Summer's mouth fell open, just a bit. She put down her own cup. She looked back at Jeff. After such an embarrassing mess of an evening, he
liked
her? But she hadn't even been trying.
And
she'd looked terrible.

But Jeff Tracy liked her.

Summer bit her lip. He was … Jeff Tracy. He was with her, and … and she liked the feeling. A lot.

“Yeah ...” she answered, “yeah.” And her heart started kicking up to the next speed as she got more and more excited by the idea. “Yes.” She looked right at him. “Yes.”

Jeff looked back, eyes crinkling with a hint of a smile. “Summer. You're sure?”

“Oh, yeah.” She leaned towards him then, and he met her half way.

The second their lips touched, Summer felt it. The tingle, the rush, the sudden need for more. More of Jeff. She took him by the shoulders, sinking into him. She felt his fingers dig into her hips.

He pulled back from the kiss, breathing hard, and looked at her. Summer could see he felt it, too. That electric intensity when they touched.

“I'll go out with you,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “But tonight—we're staying in.”

“Deal.”

For Ron

and

Colin, one of the lucky ones

Miss Understanding in the Ballroom with the Wrench

“Jesse, will you get a clue!”

Jesse looked down at her snug jeans and clingy V neck sweater. Her outfit was okay for a party, right? Was the soft, fake fur at her cuffs too much? But it made her rough hands feel so much more feminine. She rubbed her fingertips along her palms as she looked up at Celia. “Is it my shoes?” she asked. “It's my shoes, isn't it? These little booty things are the most heel-ish things I can handle.” She was defending herself the best she could in the chill of Celia's stare down.