One Summer Read online

  One Summer

  After Kellen Reger graduates from college, his parents gift him with a summer at the lake. When he asks his best friend, Jamie McKinnon, to come with him, everything changes.

  As the guys settle down for a summer of fun, a night at the local bar brings a realization that scares Kellen. He’s in love with Jamie, and how do you tell your best friend, you want more than his friendship.

  Between meddling friends, nosy neighbors, and casual dating, Kellen doesn’t know how to approach Jamie. As the summer winds down, he’s running out of time. One evening, Kellen’s neighbor tells him her story of a lost love from long ago, and Kellen knows he must find a way to confess his love to Jamie or risk spending a life without him.

  One Summer

  Teegan Loy

  Cottonwood Hills Publishing

  Published by Cottonwood Hills Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are product of the author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is accidental.

  One Summer © 2019 by Teegan Loy

  Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com

  Editor: Boho Press

  The licensed Art Material is being used for illustrative purpose only.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Warning: This book contains material that is intended for a mature, adult audience. It contains graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations.

  First Edition, March 2019

  Contents

  1. It’s Just a Couch

  2. Lake Living

  3. Well-Adjusted People

  4. The Severed Grass Heart

  5. The Clock Keeps Ticking

  6. Lost Loves

  7. Baked Goods and Old Boyfriends

  8. The Collision of Past and Present

  9. Soap Operas with Happy Endings

  10. Sweeping Away the Past

  About the Author

  Also by Teegan Loy

  1

  It’s Just a Couch

  “Kellen,” Jamie yelled as he slammed the front door.

  “In here.”

  Jamie thundered down the hall, shouting that he passed his final class. “I’m a college grad. Me, Jamie McKinnon.” He shook his phone in front of my face, grinning triumphantly.

  I sat up and focused on the man currently bouncing on my bed. Even after four years of being roommates, he could still take my breath away. “Congratulations, your student loans are now due. It’s time for you to make your way in this wonderful world and start paying off your debt.”

  “Jeesh, Kell, did you fail or something?”

  It was my turn to flash my phone in his face. “Kellen Reger, college grad with honors.”

  “You’re such a ball of happiness. Maybe you should consider entering the world of politics or perhaps a career in digging graves.”

  “That’s me, Mr. Sunshine. I bring joy wherever I go.” I bared my teeth and gave a low growl.

  “Your hair’s sticking up, Kelley boy.” He massaged my scalp for a few minutes before shoving my long bangs to the side to expose my eyes. It made me feel like a wet noodle.

  “Stop it.” I slapped his hand away because no amount of product or finger combing would tame my hair, and right now I didn’t want to be touched. I’d just ended a crummy relationship I’d never even considered serious. For me it was only fun times and a regular screw, and I’d planned to end it when school was over. Baylor thought we were going to move in together, so the news of my desires took him by surprise. It had been an impressive breakup in front of my apartment building with several spectators.

  “I need a beer,” Jamie said. “And some food.”

  “Me too.”

  Jamie forced me to my feet and dragged me into our kitchen. I took a seat at the table and waited while he dug in the fridge. I suddenly realized we hadn’t talked about what we were doing after graduation. The thought was a bit disconcerting. I’d come here an inexperienced, unsure young man, and Jamie had helped me come out of my shell.

  The thought that Jamie wouldn’t be around anymore made me physically sick. But at the moment, I was too tired to get into a serious discussion about the future. I yawned and laid my head on the table.

  “I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks,” I said.

  “You and Baylor put on quite a show last night. You doing okay?”

  “Yeah, shut up about that.”

  “Your mom called me. She said you’re ignoring her. Your parents will be here Sunday to watch us march around in our cute dresses.”

  I grumbled into the crook of my elbow. “I told them I wasn’t participating in the ceremony.”

  Jamie popped open his beer and chugged it. “You’re going.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Kellen, it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

  “I’ve already had the pleasure of wearing a grad gown and cardboard hat.”

  “High school doesn’t count.”

  “Without high school, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not going,” I whined.

  “Your mom said no walk, no gift.”

  “It always comes down to blackmail.”

  “I love your mom,” Jamie said as he handed me a beer. “Pizza. I want pizza.”

  “Taco?”

  “Yep. We’re going to have to come back down here just for the taco pizza. I don’t know how I’m going to survive without it,” he said.

  The reality of not being with Jamie every day slapped me in the face again. How had I not thought about this huge problem? The way Jamie talked, he’d already packed his bags and was ready to leave this city behind. I was actually really close to securing a job here. I’d been on one interview and it had gone really well, and I enjoyed the hustle of the big city. But I also loved living with Jamie. I guzzled my beer and demanded another drink while we waited for the food.

  The buzzer rang and Jamie rushed to the door and threw it open. The smell of pizza filled the room, and as I settled on the couch, I was assaulted with a memory. When we’d first moved into this place, we didn’t have much furniture. Late one evening Jamie called all excited about something he’d found. He’d borrowed a friend’s truck and was waiting outside for me. I’d bounded down the stairs and jumped into the truck, wondering what had him so worked up. We drove for twenty minutes, winding through the city until we were deep in an unfamiliar neighborhood. When we stopped in front of a house with a pile of garbage stacked on the curb, I freaked out.

  He ignored me and jumped out of the truck to caress the back of a really ugly couch.

  “Isn’t it great,” Jamie said.

  “No,” I said.

  “There’s nothing wrong with it. I checked.”

  “Someone’s throwing it out.”

  “It’s perfect for us.”

  “It’s plaid and really ugly, and maybe someone was murdered on the cushions.”

  “You’re obsessed with murder. Nobody died here.”

  “I still don’t want the couch.”

  “I sat on it. It’s comfortable and it doesn’t even smell, but I promise we can clean it before you put your royal ass on it.”

  “It doesn’t match our décor.”

  “Nothing matches. It’ll fit right in.”

  We argued for several minutes before I gave up and helped him load it into the truck.

  “It was free, so we can afford more pizza,” Jamie reminded me on the drive home.

  An
d now we were leaving the thing for the next tenants. I ran my hand over the coarse fabric and felt the edge of melancholy tickling my thoughts. It was just a stupid couch.

  He dropped the pizza box on my lap and sat down next to me, propping his feet on a large garbage bag filled with four years of junk. We’d acquired a lot of stuff together and I had no idea how to separate it, so I’d just packed, not paying attention to the particulars of what was mine and what was Jamie’s. Thinking about it now made my stomach twist into knots.

  Jamie leaned against me, his body warm and comforting, which brought about thoughts of lonely days and nights in my own apartment while I searched for my place in the world. Before the blues could really sink into my bones, Jamie elbowed me.

  “Let’s talk party,” he said.

  I scowled. “Party? I thought we weren’t having another one. I just wanted to hang out at the bar or something simple.” I grabbed another slice of pizza and tried to ignore his many reasons for having a final party.

  Arguing with him wasn’t doing any good. Even bringing up the past run-ins with the law, campus security, and the university disciplinary committees wasn’t working.

  “Fuck that. We’re going out with a bang. I’m calling it the ‘We’re not getting our deposit back’ party or maybe the ‘Kellen gets his groove going again and moves on from that jackass Baylor’ party.”

  “You have to promise that I won’t go to jail,” I said. “And there’s nothing to get over. Although I will agree Baylor is a jackass.”

  Jamie laughed, and I didn’t know if that meant I was safe from a night in a cell or if I should make sure I had a number of a lawyer programmed into my phone. A few of the parties we’d hosted were considered epic by a large portion of the student body. A couple ended with a visit from the local police department where I thought we’d all end up in handcuffs. Somehow Jamie always managed to sweet talk his way out of trouble. But the last time the police were here, they warned him they’d be taking mug shots if they visited us again.

  He patted my knee and winked. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll handle it all.”

  His statement sent my nerves into overdrive. My plans to go out and get drunk enough to erase any lingering memories of my latest failed relationship were crumbling. With a party in my apartment, I’d be surrounded by a ton of people, stuck filling keg cups and listening to bad pickup lines.

  “Don’t look so sad, bud. It’s all cool.” He gave me a quick squeeze and started to text the entire campus. “Remember the first party we went to?”

  “How could I forget? You practically dragged me out of our dorm. The house was gross and there was a couch on the lawn.”

  Jamie chuckled. “You got wasted, and I found you sitting against the wall. People were using you as a table.”

  “Shut up.”

  “You also told me you were gay by accident.”

  “I’m not the same guy. I embrace my sexuality now.”

  “Good for you.”

  He ruffled my hair and grinned at me, making my insides feel like melted butter.

  I excused myself to go finish packing up my bedroom. With every garbage bag and box I filled, the intensity of my headache increased. Graduation was soon and my future was in doubt. I collapsed and fell asleep until Jamie bounced on my bed and tried to smother me with a list two feet long of stuff he wanted for the party.

  “If we skip this, I will pay for a night out. Whatever you want. We can go to that fancy steak place you like so much. I will even wear a tie,” I said.

  “Just let me finish a few more things, and then we can go out.”

  “No, I meant . . . Ah, forget it.” I rubbed my eyes, snatched the list from Jamie’s hand, and then shoved him off the bed.

  Fulfilling Jamie’s demands would take my mind off the dwindling time I had remaining of my college life. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t come out and ask Jamie what his plans were. Maybe I was scared they wouldn’t include me.

  I unfolded the paper and concentrated on everything he’d written down. By the time I finished, I was starving. Lucky for me and my wallet, dinner did not include going to the steak restaurant. Instead we ate cheap burritos while organizing the bottles of booze on the counter Jamie collected from our neighbors and talking about all the crazy parties we’d hosted.

  Recalling the memories didn’t help my emotional stability, but I was exhausted when I climbed into bed. I fell asleep quickly only to suffer through odd dreams featuring Oscar-worthy sexual fantasies where the guy I was with kept morphing into Jamie.

  I woke with an aching dick, but I wasn’t about to jerk off to thoughts of my roommate. It was weird and crossed way too many boundaries. I thought I’d put those feelings behind me.

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty,” Jamie shouted before barging into my room. I managed to pool the blanket around my still-hard dick.

  “Take a shower and get out here. I want help pushing some of these boxes against the wall.”

  I tossed my pillow at him and flipped him off.

  “I love you, Kell, but get out of bed before people start showing up. I need help with the keg too.”

  “What time did you tell everyone to be here?”

  “I thought we’d get an early start.”

  “How early?”

  He glanced at his phone. “You have twenty minutes.”

  “What the fuck? Are you insane? It’s barely ten.”

  He leaned over, kissed me on the cheek, and then backed out of the room. “Epic party, remember.”

  We were going to end up in jail, and the school was going to cancel my degree. Unfortunately, when Jamie had an idea, it was full steam ahead, so I went to the bathroom to get ready.

  By noon the party was in full swing, and just like I predicted, I was stationed at the keg, filling cups so people wouldn’t spill all over the floor. It was a losing battle, and I finally gave up when someone grabbed the nozzle and poured the beer directly into their mouth and down their chest.

  Some girl dropped into my lap and confessed to having a crush on me for the past seven months. I politely told her I was gay. The words came so easy now.

  “I know,” she said. “I thought maybe you were drunk enough to forget.”

  I chuckled. “Honey, that’s not how it works for me.”

  She smiled brightly. “It was worth a try. I know you’re leaving, so I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have a chance.”

  “Thanks for the proposition.”

  “No problem.” She climbed out of my lap, and I caught sight of Jamie, who smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. Jamie was hell-bent on me moving on from Baylor. He’d ignored me when I told him I was fine and there was nothing to move on from. And even if I did pick up tonight, it wouldn’t be with a woman.

  I poured another beer, chugged it, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand while looking around the room and studying everyone who was trying to hook up. My gaze landed on Jamie again as he accepted a beer from a brunette with a nice smile and a killer body. He took a step forward and whispered something in her ear that made her face turn bright red.

  For some reason, I crushed my cup and went in search of another drink. I got sidelined when some guy handed me a shot. We toasted the end of an era along with successfully graduating. Every time I drank, I thought about the end of Jamie and me, which was way more depressing than breaking up with Baylor.

  A different guy sat next to me and rambled on about how his bachelor days were ending because his girlfriend was knocked up and they were going to get married.

  “Congratulations,” I said.

  The guy sighed and downed his beer in three swallows.

  “More beer,” he mumbled and asked me to help him stand. “You’re lucky you’re still playing the field.”

  “You should’ve used a condom.” I expanded on my sage advice and told him to get a grip. I left him swaying and whining to a girl about how depressing his life was about to become.

  After several more drinks,
I was ready for everyone to get the hell out of my apartment. The keg was almost empty, the liquor was running low, and we’d managed to avoid any visits from law enforcement. It seemed to be the correct time to end the party. I tripped over a guy stretched out on the floor.

  “You seen Jamie?” I asked.

  The guy’s mouth fell open, his tongue lolling to the side.

  “Never mind.”

  I turned and banged into the wall of boxes. My next-door neighbor, Mitch, laughed at me and handed me a shot. The drink was clear and burned all the way down to my shoes. I checked to make sure my socks weren’t on fire.

  Mitch clapped me on the back and told me the party was awesome, but he was starving. Discussing food made me forget about closing down the party. Instead, I followed him across campus to order sandwiches.

  When we returned, we were mobbed. It was like being swarmed by a pack of hungry dogs vying for one bowl of dog food. People grabbed at my sandwiches and took giant bites until all I had left was a wilted piece of lettuce and my napkin.

  I had a few more drinks, which meant I was way past drunk when I remembered I wanted to chase everyone out of the apartment. Most people were too sloshed to argue.

  With the room quiet, I stumbled down the hall, flung open Jamie’s bedroom door, and was treated to a very naked woman sprawled across his bed, sucking on his dick. Jamie’s eyes were closed and his hands were laced behind his head, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking at his erection, shiny with spit. Every bob of the woman’s head made my cock twitch.

  When I coughed, Jamie opened his eyes and stared for a few seconds before giving me a lazy smile.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “Just thought you’d like to know everyone went home.”

  “Hey, Kelley boy.” Jamie gasped. “Want to join us? I’m sure . . . er, what’s your name again?”