“Ooh, very gentlemanly.”
“Gentlemanly.” Ashlyn’s eyebrows drew together. “That word sounds very ungentlemanly. Is it even a real word?”
Summer shrugged “It’s probably not a word Matt would appreciate, so I won’t go spreading it around at school.”
“So what did you do?” Ashlyn asked. “I texted you when I got home, but when I didn’t get an answer, I figured you were busy.”
“I fell asleep—that’s how exciting my night was. I also left my phone in my car, and guess who showed up at my house when I went to get it? I was in my pajamas, no shower, no makeup—actually, strike that—I had smeary leftover makeup on. I looked absolutely awful.”
Ashlyn leaned in. “Who?”
“Troy! I mean, who just shows up at nine o’ clock on a Sunday morning?”
“A guy who’s so crazy about you that time doesn’t apply.”
Summer clicked her tongue. “Stop. I’m already messed up over the boy. I don’t need help in adding to my delusions that he actually likes me. Anyway, my tire was flat, so he helped me change it. And by help, I mean he did most of the work while I watched.”
“And that doesn’t convince you he likes you?”
“He’s just a nice guy.”
Ashlyn pressed her lips together. “Summer, you need to tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t.” Just the thought of telling him that she was crazy about him was enough to give her heart palpitations. “Besides, he should know.”
“He’s a guy. You have to tell them straight up.”
“Things are finally patched up between us, though. If I say something, I’ll just mess everything up again.” Summer grabbed her soda and took a large swig. “Let’s start this movie so I can think of something besides Troy.”
“Your wish is my command.” Ashlyn pressed play, then hit fast forward. “We’ll just watch the parts where they fight—Oh, here we go. Hot guys with no shirts.”
The two of them watched the guys sparring on screen. “See, when I move my feet like this,” Summer said in her best guy voice, “no one can hit me.”
Ashlyn took over for the more experienced fighter. “I’m the all-knowing mentor. I can hit you with my eyes closed. I sense when you need a punch in the face.”
The guy onscreen got hit in the nose, but kept advancing. “Hits don’t faze me.” Summer lifted her hands like she was boxing, too. “I’m a tough guy with a rugged past.”
Another hit. Blood poured from the cut over his eyebrow.
“Your past won’t mean much unless you remove the hate and fight for honor,” Ashlyn said. “Nothing is more powerful in a fight than honor.”
“Um, I’d just like to point out that doesn’t make any sense. Your fists are hurting me much more than your honor.” Summer couldn’t add anything else, because she started laughing too hard.
“Oh, now it’s boring talking with shirts on again. I’ll find us another fight scene.” Ashlyn picked up the remote and buzzed through a couple more scenes. They added their own special flare and dialogue until the credits ran up the screen.
Summer leaned back and put a hand on her stomach. “I think I got as much of a workout from laughing as any of those guys did boxing.”
“I’d like you to tell that to my mother,” Ashlyn said. “I’m curious to see where she ranks laughing on the workout scale.”
It was the perfect transition for Summer to say what she needed to say. “So, I know things with your mom are kind of tense sometimes—”
“Kind of. Phft. Talk about understatement.”
“Okay, really tense. But you’ve got to tell her how you feel. Tell her that her comments hurt you. Have a real conversation with her.”
“Not this again,” Ashlyn groaned. “Why are you always trying to talk to me about my mother?”
Things were flowing so easily now. “Because I know what it’s like to not have one. Do you know how many times I wish I could get one last day to spend with my mom? She always told me how much she loved me, but I didn’t say it enough to her. In fact, sometimes I thought it was exhausting how much she said it to me.”
Besides Troy, Summer hadn’t told anyone how her mom had died—the guilt and sorrow of even thinking about it was always too much. She blinked at the tears forming, fighting to keep her composure. “Ash, my mom walked into a convenience store, and some guy decided to rob it while she was inside. You know how much he got away with? A little over six-hundred dollars. That’s how much my mom’s life was worth to him. He shot her and another lady, then turned the gun on the cashier.”
Ashlyn reached out and squeezed Summer’s hand. “Did they catch the guy?”
“Finally. And as I sat through his trial, all I could think about was how he took my mom away from me. I just wanted one more day.” More tears welled up in her eyes. “But it would never be enough. I could keep asking for one more day for the rest of my life.” She lifted her gaze to Ashlyn’s. “Instead, we have to make the here and now count.”
Summer sniffed, a fabulous side effect of the tears. She moved into Ashlyn’s bathroom and grabbed a tissue. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so emotional on you.”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m going to go get a glass of water.” Summer walked across the room to Ashlyn’s bedroom door.
“I can get it,” Ashlyn said.
“I’ll be right back.” Summer walked down the hall and into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard and grabbed a glass.
Pamela walked in as Summer was filling it with water. “What’s wrong?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“I was talking to Ashlyn about my mom. She was shot during a convenience store robbery.”
Pamela’s eyes got big. “I…I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“Sometimes I miss her so much that it seems like the sadness will crush me. The one thing that gets me through is remembering all the times my mom told me how much she loved me. I know you hate how I keep telling you to talk to Ashlyn, but this is why I feel so strongly about it. You never know when you won’t get another chance. Please, tell your daughter how much you love her.”
Afraid adding any more would only detract from what she’d already said, Summer headed back toward Ashlyn’s room. If that doesn’t work, I just don’t know what will.
###
“I better go home, but thanks for the awesome day.” Summer took a deep breath. After her breakdown, she’d recovered, and she and Ashlyn had gone back to laughing and talking. She couldn’t leave without driving the point home, though. “So, you’re going to talk to your mom, right?”
“I’ll make you a deal,” Ashlyn crossed her arms and locked eyes with Summer. “I’ll talk to my mother if you talk to Troy. And not just talk. You have to tell him how you feel about him.”
Summer shook her head. “I can’t do that. It’d be so uncomfortable.”
“You think it’s going to be easy for me to talk to my mom?”
She’s got me there. “Fine. We’ve got a deal. You first, though.”
“Fine.”
Thinking of all that had happened, of having no regrets, Summer decided to take her own advice and let her friend know how much she cared about her. “You know that I…Okay, I’m just going to say it. I love you, man. Girl. You know what I mean.”
Ashlyn smiled at her. “I love you, too. Thanks for being such an awesome friend. Enough of a friend to worry about the kind of relationship my mother and I have. Even if it’s also a pain in my butt.”
Summer leaned in and gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“Count on it,” Ashlyn said.