Page 73 of Forever Summer

Adam reached out to me, sliding his hand around the side of my waist, drawing me closer to him. His mouth hovered so close to me I could feel his breath ghost across my lips for a long moment before he leaned in and kissed me. He kissed me so passionately fire burned under my skin, my hands bunching the fabric of his shirt as I drew him into me.

Just as we thought the world and everything around us might melt away in all its insignificance, a distant echo of cheers and wolf whistles interrupted us. We broke apart, turning to see we had gained a rather impressive audience peering through the sliding glass door of the hotel. The entire Onslow gang, clapping and cheering us on. Amy banging on the glass in excitement, Ringer singing out, “About bloody time.”

The sound became louder when Chris slid the door open, disguising as best he could the smile that danced under the surface as he leant in the doorway, shaking his head.

“Now, can I have my beer garden back?” It earned him a rather impressive whack to his upper arm by Tammy.

“What?” he cried. “It’s Saturday night, people are asking …” Chris’s words were cut off by Tammy shutting the door, and drawing the blind, not before a rather daggy and elated Tess gave us a huge ‘thumbs up’.

“I swear he’s adopted,” Adam said, shaking his head and encircling his arms around me, bringing his lips back to mine just like I hoped he would.

We didn’t give up the beer garden that night; instead, we sat on the steps of the gazebo, watching the stars and reading the photocopied diary entries one by one, laughing and talking long into the night. He promised to keep my mortifying secrets if I promised no more Starship songs.

My heart was full knowing that Adam finally had no doubt about how I felt about him, and as much as that made me happy, there was a lingering, unanswered question that rolled over in my mind, something that didn’t feel right, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. And in that very moment, as if reading my mind, Adam broke his gaze away from the stars and looked at me, really looked at me, lost in deep thought as his eyes ticked over my face for what seemed forever.

“I love you, Ellie Parker.”

I took in the depth in his expression, his beautiful eyes, the very ones that had lured me into a thousand different kinds of trouble, the eyes that would have me following him anywhere.

I broke into a winning smile, leaning my head against the warmth of his shoulder, hiding the tears that threatened to well in my eyes.

Adam Henderson loved me.

“Sounds like I’m going to need a new diary.”

Sliding his arm around my shoulder and kissing the top of my head, he said, “Don’t worry, Parker, we’ll fill up those pages in no time.”

I laughed out into the darkness, lacing Adam’s fingers with mine. “Of that, Adam Henderson, I have no doubt.”

Absolutely none!