Saving You, Saving Me (21 page)

            “Nah,” Nat says, and his voice is a little deeper than it was. It sounds more self-assured. “You’re all still babies compared with me. Good to see you again, Summer.”

            I glance at Rachel. She knows. She knows exactly how big a crush I’ve always had on Nat. Okay, so it didn’t go anywhere after I kissed him, but I wanted it to. I wanted it to so bad. Just from the way Drew’s looking at me, he knows too. About the only one who doesn’t seem to is Nat.

            Nat throws an arm around my shoulders and I feel myself start to blush. That’s just him. Being near him.

            “You’re taller than you used to be,” he says. “I won’t have to bend down to talk to you.”

            Or kiss me, I think, but I stop myself from saying it. I manage to make a joke of it. “Oh, come on, I was never that much shorter than you.”

            “Midget,” Nat said simply, his smile widening.

            “I was
not
a midget.”

            Nat raises an eyebrow. “It looked that way from up here. The same as Rachel. The Two Midgets of Malibu.”

            “It’s not our fault if you’re just unnaturally tall,” Rachel shoots back, and that starts off a brief argument about exactly what kind of height counts as unnatural. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed
them
.

            “Do you remember the time Aunt Sookie decided to teach Nat to surf?” I say, while they collect their bags.

            “Of course I remember it,” Rachel says with a wicked smile. From the way Nat looks suddenly uncomfortable, I guess he remembers it too. “He looked like someone had tried to drown him by the time he came in.”

            “Those waves were big,” Nat protests.

            “Sure they were,” Drew says. “Though mostly not right on the beach.”

            Pretty soon, they’re all talking about the old times we had at the beach house. There were the plays we’d put on right on the beach when we’d spent too much time around Aunt Sookie’s Acting Academy, and the beach fires where we’d roast marshmallows, and a dozen other things. Some of them, like playing at being pirates in the surf, were just kids’ things. Some of them, like that kiss with Nat, definitely weren’t.

            “Do you remember the time we decided that a beach house wasn’t enough,” Rachel asks, “and we ended up camping out on the beach maybe twenty feet from the door?”

            I nod. I can remember all of it, from the stars above us then to trying to erect a tent that kept falling down around us through the night. We always had the best time at the beach house when we were kids. It’s hard to believe that we’ve left it so long before doing this again. Will this time live up to it? I smile as I realize it will, because the most important thing is that we’re all here. That’s what matters.

            I lead the way out into the airport parking lot. It’s a huge place, and it takes a while to find my car. When we do, the others seem impressed by the huge, shining black expanse of the Grand Cherokee.

            “This is yours?” Nat asks like he can’t quite believe it.

            I shrug. “Mom and Dad want me to be safe out on the road. I guess they thought that an SUV would do it, and Aunt Sookie pitched in to get this one.”

            “Well, short of a truck, I guess there isn’t much bigger than you out there,” Rachel says.

            “That’s the idea.” They pile in, and Rachel gets the passenger seat. I’m kind of glad of that. Having Nat beside me would be too much of a distraction as I drive us out of LAX, through the constant traffic that’s there on the way out towards Malibu. The beach house is out on the Pacific Coast Highway, and we can see the pier from it, with all the surfers gathered nearby, waiting for the waves to be perfect for them. Maybe we’ll join them in a while.

            Rachel certainly seems excited about that possibility. “I can’t wait to get to the beach and into a swimsuit,” she says. “Do you know what the temperature was when we left? Sixty degrees. That is not the right temperature for summer. I want to be out on the beach getting tanned.”

            “There are tanned Goths?” Drew asks. I’d forgotten what it can be like with the two of them, constantly bickering in that way that says they really love one another as deeply as only twins can. It must be nice having brothers and sisters who are that close. In fact, I know how good it can be, because I’ve had that with them before. I’ve been that extra sister, as close to any of them as they are to each other. Maybe I’ll have that again this summer.

            Maybe I’ll have other things too. I have to admit, the thought of Nat in board shorts is pretty good.

            “We can do that,” I say. “We’ll get back to the beach house and head straight for the ocean, if you like.”

            “That does sound pretty good,” Drew says. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I last surfed. I used to love being able to just go out and surf first thing in the morning before breakfast.”

            “That or running along the beach, while the sun’s still coming up,” Nat says, and I can picture him doing it. It’s only half a memory, because it’s not him three years ago that I’m picturing. It’s him now, looking gorgeous as he does it.

            “So you aren’t both ready to rush home to everything back there?” Rachel asks, and I can tell that it’s some kind of private joke between the three of them.

            “Are you kidding?” Drew asks. “I’d forgotten how good Malibu could be.”

            I can see Nat in the rearview mirror, and he’s smiling. “I think it could be pretty good here,” he admits. “Okay, so there are things I’m going to miss about San Francisco, but they’ll still be there when I get back.”

            “And for now, there’s the beach,” Drew adds.

            I can’t help laughing at that. I guess when you live somewhere every day you forget just how wonderful it can be. Or maybe you forget just how good some of the other things in the world are, like great friends.

            “You know,” I say. “I’ve really missed all of you. I’ve missed
this
.”

            Rachel nods. “I’ve missed it too.”