Cold Summer Nights (2 page)
Read Cold Summer Nights Online
Authors: Sean Thomas Fisher,Esmeralda Morin
His gaze wandered to the gray armchair facing him from across the room. Her jeans draped over its back reminded him of how great last night had been. He smiled, still not believing another woman was actually in his bed.
Chapter Two
The next morning, Nick couldn’t be any happier. Not only had he made it through the restless night but it was also Saturday and his day would have nothing to do with trying to sell houses to people, who most likely couldn’t get the credit if they wanted. The housing market in Des Moines, Iowa wasn’t much better than anywhere else and the competition was fierce.
The pale morning light finally began pushing through the bedroom windows and Nick wasn’t sure if he had fallen back asleep or not. The image of
Summer
standing next to him during the night floated through his mind again. He massaged his head, which felt as thick as the pasty film coating his tongue and teeth. His breath smelled like farts.
Slowly, he turned to
Summer
and his heart sank when he saw she was gone. He groaned, knowing he must’ve fallen back asleep after all. Before Amy, he’d had girls disappear on him during the night like this and, for the most part, he never cared. But this time he did. He liked
Summer
. Maybe he should text her and find out what was going on.
The master bathroom door clicked open, startling him. He hadn’t even noticed it
was shut
. Summer stumbled out, her hair in a rat’s nest and his black Metallica t-shirt barely covering her purple panties. A sigh of relief escaped him. Not only was she still here but he wasn’t the only one still in their underwear. He admired her smooth, ivory skin as she crawled back into bed.
“I found a bottle of aspirin in your medicine cabinet. I hope that’s okay.”
“I’m going to need some myself,” he replied, rubbing his temples in hopes of quieting the pulsating thuds bouncing off his skull.
“I left it right next to your hemorrhoid cream.”
He frowned and she broke up laughing into the pillow.
“Funny.” He smiled.
“Behind my genital warts cream?”
Her face wrinkled. “Ewe, I hope not!”
He snatched his legs away from hers. “Man, your feet are freezing.”
“I know, I’m always cold,” she said, casually stretching her legs out to find his again beneath the sheets.
“I should turn up the heat,” he said, getting out of bed and feeling light headed as he pushed buttons on the digital thermostat in the hallway.
“Come back to bed,” she moaned, her face half buried in the pillow.
He slid beneath the covers and her feet drew to his legs like magnets.
Cold magnets.
“Wow, we
gotta
get you some socks,” he said, pulling the red comforter up to his chin.
She laughed and kissed his cheek.
“Some
thick
socks.”
“Shut up,” she said softly, kissing his lips this time.
They pulled apart and stared into each other’s eyes. Summer was cold but her smile was as warm as her name.
“Thank you again for dinner last night.”
He returned her smile. “How good was that place?”
“So good!”
They kissed again.
When they separated, his grin faded.
She narrowed her hazel eyes. “What?”
He turned to her, leaning on one elbow. “So you’ve never walked in your sleep before?”
She stared blankly before shaking her head.
“Never.”
“Because I’m telling you, you were standing right there.” He nodded towards the spot next to his side of the bed.
Her brow folded. “What was I doing?”
“Just staring at me.”
Her eyes flickered back to the spot.
“I mean, not that I can blame you,” he snorted. “My ex-girlfriend had a door poster of me on her closet.”
She scrunched her face and met his eyes just before a loud laugh burst from her lips. “I bet she did!” she said, stretching her legs out and growing quiet.
Nick glanced to her black jeans on the chair and looked back up, catching
Summer
in the middle of a long yawn. “So…do you
wanna
get some breakfast or something?”
She finished her yawn and rubbed her eyes. “I should probably take care of some errands here pretty soon. I also have to make myself go for a run today.”
“You mean we didn’t work off enough calories last night?”
She flashed him a mischievous grin. “Not after all that wine,” she said, lightly brushing the tip of his nose with her finger.
“Wow, you really know how to hit a guy where it hurts.”
She laughed and pushed herself up off the bed. “I need to clean my apartment today too. It’s a complete disaster zone.”
He sat up and leaned on both elbows. “Am I ever going to see this apartment?” After two months of dating, he was beginning to think she lived in some secret women’s shelter or something. It was always one excuse after the next.
She pulled on her tight fitting jeans, finishing them off with a couple of small hops.
“Maybe when it’s clean.
Like I said, it’s nothing special.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you have bodies hidden in the closet or something?”
She grinned, stripping off his black t-shirt to reveal to firm breasts.
“Just the last guy who didn’t treat me right.”
“Ooh, there’s a hint in there somewhere.”
She fastened her bra behind her back. “And don’t you forget it,” she said, throwing her white long sleeve top on. “So we still on for pizza and a movie tonight?”
“I hope so.”
She stepped into her dark brown heels, bent over him and stared into his eyes. He tried not to breath in her face by holding his breath.
“Good,” she said, planting a long kiss on his lips. She stood back up and he silently exhaled.
She turned and stopped in the doorway. “And don’t forget to brush your teeth,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face. “That’s nasty.”
“Hey now.”
Nick’s BlackBerry rang with the ring of an old fashioned wall phone. Just like the yellow one that had hung on the white kitchen wall of his childhood home. He looked at the screen, hoping it was
Summer
and frowned when he saw it was his brother, Matt. “What’s up?”
“Hey, what’s going on over there?”
“Just hanging out
watchin
some golf,” Nick said, stretched out on the couch and flipping through channels during a commercial break, the remote working fine again with new batteries.
“So, how’d it go last night with
Autumn
?”
Nick laughed. “You mean
Summer
?”
His brother chuckled.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“It went pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.”
“Alright Larry, did she spend the night?”
Nick hesitated. “Maybe,” he said, landing on a channel with bikini clad girls racing ATVs across a white sandy beach with rich blue water in the background, their long hair blowing in the wind.
“Nice! I knew you had it in
ya
. Tell me everything. What’s her favorite position?”
Nick tried to keep from laughing. He felt like a giddy sixteen year-old school girl. “I’m not telling you anything.”
“Come on, Nicky. You know I’m married with children. Outside of HBO, I haven’t seen another naked woman in over nine years. Is she a moaner?”
“Wow,” Nick laughed.
“She like it rough?”
“Okay, really?”
Matt cleared his throat.
“Hey,
ya
know what? It just takes one to get past what’s her name.
Right?”
“I heard it.”
“So you think she could be the one?”
Nick rolled his eyes. “I don’t know, Matt,” he said, staring at the TV with unfocused eyes. “She’s a walker.”
Matt swallowed loudly into the phone and took a deep breath.
“You mean she’s a zombie?”
he quivered.
Nick snorted. “No, I mean she’s a sleepwalker.”
“Oh man, that sucks. That is something you really have to nip in the bud before you start waking up to find her peeing in the corner.”
Nick busted up laughing again, rolling on the couch.
“But hey, at least she’d be naked, and a naked hot chick peeing in your bedroom is better than no naked hot chick at all. Always remember that.”
Nook inhaled a long breath. “Okay, I think I got it. Is that all you talk about?”
“Sorry, Kathy was watching
Giada
earlier and got me all roused up. That lady’s low-cut tops are lethal.”
Nick shook his head.
“Who?”
“Never mind.
Speaking of the queen, I need you to do your older bro a serious solid tonight.”
Nick drew in a deep breath and held it. “Tonight?” his voice cracked.
“Yeah, Kathy’s friend has an extra pair of tickets for Taylor Swift at the Wells Fargo Arena.”
Nick’s face twisted. “Taylor Swift?”
“Yeah, yeah.
Listen, she really wants to go. Can you watch Madison tonight and we’ll pick her up in the morning?”
Nick exhaled, his eyes roaming the room, searching for an excuse to get out of it. He didn’t want to put
Summer
in an awkward position of baby-sitting his family members quite yet, if ever.
“Hello? Nick? Hello?”
Matt asked a in a bit of a panic.
Nick rubbed his face and stared at the ceiling. “Yeah, um tonight actually isn’t the best night in the world for me.”
“Why? Is that naked hot chick coming back over or something?”
“Something
like
that.”
“What did you guys have planned, besides the nasty?”
Nick adjusted the brown striped pillow with silver accents beneath his head. “We were going to order a pizza and watch a movie on Netflix.”
“Oh that’s perfect! Madison loves pizza and movies on Netflix.”
“
Dawn of the Dead
,” Nick said flatly.
Silence took the line.
“Nick, come on, dude.
She’s seven.
Ya
gotta
do this for me or Kathy is going to hate you.”
“She already does!”
“That is not true,”
Matt said calmly.
Nick switched the TV back to golf and sat up. “What about mom?”
“Busy.”
“Kathy’s mom?”
“Even busier.
Come on, Nick. I’ll owe you big time.”
Nick let out a tired breath.
“Alright.”
“Sweet!
We’ll drop her off at six with Toy Story 3 and money for the pizza.”
Nick’s eyebrows dipped.
“
Toy Story 3
?”
“Who is it?” Madison
asked,
her hand on the front doorknob.
A slight pause followed. “It’s
Summer
,” came muffled from the other side.
“Let her in,” Nick said, still holding down the couch.
Madison unlocked the deadbolt and opened the large red door with both hands.
“Well hello there,”
Summer
said, stepping inside and smiling at the little freckled-faced girl staring back at her. She glanced over to Nick, puzzlement flickering across her face.
“
Summer
this is my niece, Madison,” Nick said, sweeping a hand out towards his niece.
“Hi Madison.”
Madison smiled bashfully and trotted out into the kitchen. Summer watched her go and then turned to him narrow eyes.
“I’m sorry. My brother and his wife got tickets to Taylor Swift at the last minute, so I’m doing him a favor by letting her spend the night.”
“Oh wow,” she said, taking off her long black coat. “I guess I didn’t know you had a niece.”
“Well, you do now!” Madison piped in, skipping back into the room with a chocolate chip cookie already missing a bite.
“Hey, quit eating all of those cookies,” Nick snapped, pointing a finger at her.
Madison stopped chewing just long enough to stick a tongue out at him.
Nick’s eyes thinned and she began laughing. He sprang off the couch and Madison bolted down the hallway, shrieking as her sneakers squeaked on the hard wood floors. Nick pulled up and casually walked back into the living room “Works every time.”
“I’m not scared of you!” Madison yelled from the spare bedroom across from his.
“You should be! I know Brazilian jiu-jitsu.”
“Looks like you’re going to have a full house tonight,”
Summer
whispered, planting a kiss on his lips. “Hope you have room for one more.” she smiled, pulling a pink toothbrush from her purse.
“We might be able to squeeze you in. Let me check the books,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her again.
“Ewe gross!”
Madison cried, running past them and burying her face into the couch.
He pulled away. “Don’t get crumbs on that couch or you are going to be sleeping in the closet again.”
Madison laughed and turned around, producing a cookie covered tongue this time.
Nick frowned. “Okay, I’m going to be sick.”
Nick tipped the pizza guy and shut the front door. “Alright, who’s hungry?”
Madison’s hand shot into the air.
“No one?
Guess I’ll eat the whole thing myself then.”
Madison pursed her lips and folded her arms across her pink
hoodie
with the word
Colorado
printed in white letters across its front. “Uncle Nick!”
He smiled and set the pizza box next to some paper plates and napkins on the coffee table. “Did you wash your hands?”
Madison nodded, eyeballing the pizza box.
"That a girl," he said, opening the lid to reveal a cheesy sausage and mushroom pizza, glimmering in warm grease.
Madison stared at the pie and licked her lips. "My teacher makes us wash our hands every fifteen minutes at school, but we mainly only use hand-sanitizer."
Nick placed a thin slice on a paper plate and set it in front of her. "Hand sanitizer?"
Madison scooped up the pizza and nodded, chomping into its pointed end. "They have dispensers all over the school, even on the playground."
"Seriously?" he asked, setting a slice in front of
Summer
.
Madison nodded while chewing with her mouth closed.
"When I was a kid, you know what we used for hand sanitizer?"
She shrugged.
"Dirt."
Madison cracked up like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.
"If you got a cut on your knee, we just rubbed a little dirt in it," he said, taking a seat on the couch next to Madison.
She giggled again. “That’s so gross, Uncle Nick.”
“I love your pretty red hair,”
Summer
said, gently stroking Madison’s long strawberry locks.
Madison blushed but kept her jaws grinding. “My mom has the same color.”
“Does she? Are you sad you didn’t get to go see Taylor Swift with her tonight?”
Madison shook her head. “I’m tired of Taylor Swift.”
Summer and Nick both cracked up.
“Who do you like now? That beaver kid?” Nick asked.
“It’s
Beiber
, and yes he’s my favorite.”
Nick arched and eyebrow and cast a sideways look at
Summer
. “That’s too bad.”
“So do you work in a bank?” Madison asked, glancing up at
Summer
.
Summer smiled. “I sure do.”
“What do you do there?”
“Well, I handle different kinds of commercial accounts.”
“Oh,” Madison said, bored and ready to move on to the next subject. “Is Uncle Nick your boyfriend?”
Nick’s eyes doubled in size.
Summer threw her head back and laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
For a moment, Nick could have sworn he saw her milky complexion start blushing. But then it was gone. “Madison, don’t start talking crazy talk. You
wanna
spend the rest of your life locked up in a straight-jacket?”
Madison laughed and bounced against the back of couch.
“Your Uncle Nick is pretty crazy, isn’t he?”
Madison nodded and swallowed. “Is summer your favorite time of year or something?”
Summer laughed, trading glances with Nick over Madison’s head. “Yep, I don’t like the cold.”
“Me neither,” Madison concurred, taking another bite.
Nick looked from
Summer
to her steaming cup of coffee. “You sure you don’t want a Coke or a beer or something?”
She shook her head and carefully sipped the hot coffee.
He cocked his head. “That is so gross,” he said, mimicking Madison.
Madison laughed like he had just told the funniest joke in the world and started choking. The smile on her face quickly dissolved into a look of sheer panic. Nick sat up and began patting her on the back as her eyes watered. She tried inhaling but the air held onto the edges of her mouth, refusing to go down. He slapped harder. Summer set her plate down and sinuously wrapped her arms around Madison’s midsection, clasping her hands together into a fist over her bellybutton. Nick hastily set his plate on the coffee table with a loud clank. Madison’s eyes bulged while the color in her face drained. Her breath hitched as she gasped for air that wouldn’t come. Nick’s heart pounded. The one time she spends the night and she was going to end up dead.
Summer jerked her fist back but Madison kept choking. Summer contracted again and this time Madison gagged and sent a piece of sausage flying over the coffee table. It hit the shiny wood floor and slid to a stop in front of the narrow TV stand. Air rushed back into her small lungs with a long wheezing sound. She coughed and drew in another breath that felt like it could move furniture.
Nick sat there with his eyes almost as wide open as his mouth.
Summer turned her around and examined her pasty face. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
Madison nodded, tears already making a break for it down her freckled cheeks.
“Here, take a drink of your pop,” Nick said, handing her a can of Coke.
She gulped down a few chugs and then let out a long, rolling burp.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked, sitting on the edge of the couch.
She nodded with a hearty sniffle and carefully set the can back down.
“Holy cow, you scared the heck out of me,” he said, brushing red hair from her scared little face.
“I thought I was going to die,” she sobbed.
“Hey, hey, you think we’re going to let that happen? No way, kiddo,” he said, shooting her a big smile.
She sniffed again and
Summer
handed her a napkin to dry her tears.
“Now, if you would have gotten pizza on this rug, that would be a different story,” Nick told her.
Madison laughed lightly and coughed a few more times with her hand covering her mouth.
Nick turned to
Summer
, his jaw still hanging in the air. “How did you do that?”
She looked down to her hands and smiled. “I was a lifeguard for two summers in high school.”
He returned his attention to Madison. “Well, maybe Uncle Nick is going to have to get something stuck in his throat soon,
cuz
that looked pretty fun.”
Madison giggled and inhaled another deep gulp of oxygen. “So, are you two going to get married?”
Nick and
Summer
traded an awkward glance.
“Okay, time for
Toy Story 3
!” he replied, grabbing the remote.