Don’t Fall for the Summer Fling Read online

  Don’t Fall for the Summer Fling

  Tammy Andresen

  Copyright © 2019 by Tammy Andresen

  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 in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Don’t Fall for the Summer Fling

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Alyssa

  Sven

  Epilogue

  Camp Crush

  Read all the Boy’s of Summer books:

  Don’t Fall for the Summer Fling

  The first rule of summer flings…don’t fall in love.

  Alyssa

  I lay on the beach, the July sun beating down on the already bronzed skin of my back. I’d been in Virginia Beach for nearly two weeks with little else to do but work on my tan. Ugh. Any other time, a beach vacation would have been amazing. But this time, it just plain sucked.

  Without much warning, I’d had to abandon a great summer job scooping ice cream with all my friends, or at least people I’d thought were my friends. One of my actual best friends, Erika, the one I’d known since kindergarten, had called me last night.

  “Hey, girl,” she’d said. “How’s the beach?”

  A smile had dominated my face when I answered. I was so glad to hear her voice. “Lonely. What’s happening up there?”

  “Um…” She had paused, her breathing heavy and audible over the line. “Nothing.”

  My gut had clenched. “You might as well spill it. At least I’ll be able to deal with it privately in Virginia instead of having a public meltdown when I get home.”

  “I don’t think I should. You know what they say happens to the messenger. And besides, you have enough on your plate.”

  Wasn’t that the truth? My parents had sent me from Massachusetts to stay with my grandmother in Virginia Beach. That was when my boyfriend, Josh, had decided it would be best if we didn’t see each other anymore. He’d broken up with me at a time when I needed him the most.

  My parents had announced they were separating. I lay my head down on the fluffy beach towel beneath me and willed myself not to cry. That was the reason I’d been shipped down to Mimi’s house with almost no notice. My parents had declared they needed some time to figure things out, which was total bull. They wanted to fight without feeling guilty.

  “Lay it on me, Erika. I’ll be fine.” I squeezed my eyes shut, my stomach churning.

  She pulled in a hissing breath. “Josh and Kelly started dating.”

  “Kelly?” My voice rose two decibels and three octaves. Erika was my childhood best friend, but Kelly was my high school bestie. We did everything together. Everything.

  “I’m sorry, Alyssa.” Erika’s voice dropped low. “Don’t hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you. You’re not who I’m angry at.” I had gritted out the words as a tear, born of frustration and anger, escaped my eye.

  So there I was, on the beach alone. I had no friends, no boyfriend, and no parents, or at least it felt that way. I longed for company, even though I didn’t feel like talking, but there was no one. Mimi didn’t do the beach much. She said her skin was too old for so much sun.

  A group of teenagers who looked to be my age passed by me. There were four girls and three boys, who yelled, teased, and taunted each other as they went by. They looked like my former friends, laughing and jostling around as a group. Were they total fakers too?

  “Dude, I’ll throw you the ball, head downfield,” a tall, muscular kid called to another boy. He clutched the ball in his hand as he dug his feet into the hot sand.

  “It’s not a field, man. It’s a beach. Is everything football with you?”

  I sighed rather loudly. I should be hanging out with annoying boys, watching them play and yell. More precisely, I should be watching Josh throw a long ball, and then shoot me that cheeky, how-awesome-am-I grin he always had ready. Yeah, it was kind of cocky, but also super cute. I squeezed my eyes shut as the memory refused to vanish.

  How could I miss one person and yet hate him so much in the same moment? I’d really liked him, so how could he dump me like that right when I was going through so much? How could he start dating one of my best friends? He’d never been super supportive, but he’d been something. A dark feeling settled in my mind as I tried to remember when he’d supported me at all. The more I thought about it, the more I realized everything we had done had been about him. I lifted my head and took a sip of water as not a single instance of Josh being truly there for me came to mind.

  I knew one thing for certain. My own relationship had tanked right when my parents’ twenty-year marriage fell apart. Relationships were a terrible idea. What was the point of putting my hopes and dreams in the hands of anyone else when they will inevitably let me down?

  “Hey, mind if I sit?” A baritone voice reverberated through me as the sand to my right shifted. I had my head down on my arms and I didn’t feeling like looking up to see who was interrupting my private pity party.

  “Yeah, actually,” I said in a mumble as a shadow covered my back.

  A deep chuckle sounded next to me. “Loner, huh? Or is just me you object to?”

  With my head still down, I turned it to the side as I opened my eyes. Long, muscular legs stretched out next to me. He had the sort of golden tan that made mine look rather dull in comparison. I lifted my head a little and skimmed past his red board shorts to the six-pack abs resting above them. My lips parted as my gaze continued up over the lean muscles of his chest to his broad shoulders, currently lounging next to mine. I swept my gaze further upward, taking in the long column of his neck, his square jaw, and the dirty blond hair that fell carelessly about his ears.

  He wore sunglasses so I couldn’t see his eyes, but my eyes, much against my will, focused on his mouth. His lips were full and perfectly sculpted. They turned up in one corner as he looked over at me, offering me a lopsided smile. “It’s nothing personal,” I said with a croak in my voice as my stomach did a funny flip as I looked up at him.

  He stared down at me, his eyebrows coming up above his sunglasses. “Look…,” he said. It was then I noticed it. A faint accent that I couldn’t quite identify. “I’m tired of sitting here by myself every day. I won’t bother you, but could I at least park my towel next to yours so I don’t look like the weird guy who’s always alone?”

  His comment struck me as slightly comical and I found myself returning his half smile. “Fine,” I said. “Just tell me you’re not a stalker or something.”

  He lay back on his towel, his arms tucking under his head to reveal the bulging muscles of his biceps. “Not a stalker, just Swedish.”

  “Swedish?” I asked and then cringed. What a thoughtful and intelligent question. I mean, I couldn’t come up with anything better than that?

  He turned toward me then, propping his head on one of his hands. I caught a whiff of his scent over the aroma of sunblock currently filling my nostrils. It was fresh and clean, like pine and snow. So odd. How could he smell like snow in the middle of summer? “My sister is playing nanny for our aunt and uncle until the end of August. They agreed I could come too.”

  “Wow. That is pretty generous.” In fairness, I had a similar gig. Honestly though, I’d never done anything like this before. It was all thanks to
my parents’ current “situation.”

  “Yeah. It is. In exchange, though, I take care of the yard and do daily chores around the house.”

  “Sounds fair. Do they live here full-time? Your aunt and uncle?” I asked, lifting my head too. What was I doing? I was encouraging him. Hadn’t we only minutes ago agreed we were only pretending to hang out? That should include a code of silence.

  “No, they live in New York most of the year. My uncle is helping out another branch of his firm and my aunt thought it would be a good opportunity for them to get out of the city for the summer.” He shrugged.

  “So you’re Swedish, but your family lives in New York?” And I thought my family was odd.

  “My mom is the oldest and the only one of her brothers and sisters who was actually born in Sweden. The rest are American-born citizens. My grandparents moved to the US when she was two. My mom was not a US citizen when she turned eighteen so she went back to Sweden for an extended vacation, you know, to think over where she wanted to live. There, she met my dad, fell head over heels, and she decided to stay. For now, I’m a citizen of Sweden.”

  I nodded. “Cool.” Though I was determined not to ask any more questions, they danced on the tip of my tongue anyway. I wasn’t sure if I was simply starved for conversation or if this guy was interesting. I wanted to ask if he came to the United States a lot, and how it compared to Sweden. Where did he wanted to live? Did he like vacationing here or did he want to move? I clenched my teeth together and lowered my head.

  “What about you? How come you’re here alone every day?” he asked.

  “Every day?” I pulled down my sunglasses as I lifted my head and glared at him over the top. “You are a stalker.”

  He laughed again. The deep, rich sound skittered down my backbone. “I’m not. I swear. But you’re very pretty and hard not to notice.”

  My cheeks heated up, but it had nothing to do with the sun bearing down on us. I dropped my head again with my sunglasses securely over my eyes once more. Someone nearby turned up the music, and though I hated the syrupy-sweet pop song, I was glad for the distraction. “Um. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “So why come alone? I’m sure you have a whole gang of friends.”

  I shrugged the shoulder not propping up my head. “I’ve got a few, but they’re all back in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. I’m staying with my grandmother for the summer.” Because we were not supposed to be getting to know one another, I left out the part about my boyfriend and my parents—and my backstabbing friends. Instead, I rolled over onto my back to keep my tan even. Then, I grabbed an extra towel to cover my face. I didn’t want my face to burn and, I hoped, it would discourage further conversation.

  The beach was super-crowded, so despite my stalker comment, I felt pretty safe. We lay there in silence for a while, the sun beating down on us until he finally spoke again. “I am getting too hot. Want to go for a swim?”

  I lifted one side of the towel to glare over at him. “I thought you were just putting your towel next to mine to not look weird. Going swimming together? That implies that we’re actually hanging out.”

  “We’re not.” He sat up and stretched as the muscles in his back flexed down to his tapered waist. No wonder he was so confident despite my standoffish attitude. The guy was perfect. I knew he wasn’t really the stalker type. With his body and his confidence, I was sure girls fell at his feet. “But the same rules apply to swimming. It looks strange to always swim alone.”

  I didn’t move for a second as I gave him a thoughtful once-over with my eyes, as if I was considering my options. “If we swim, we stay where everyone else is. No asking me to go off under the pier or to take a long walk down the deserted section of the beach.”

  “Brutal.” It was his turn to pull down his sunglasses. His eyes were a vivid shade of blue which nearly matched the ocean. They were fringed with long, dark lashes. “I feel like you’ve made a jump from thinking I’m a stalker to assuming I’m a serial killer.”

  I dropped the towel back over my face. “You said it, not me.”

  “So,” he asked. “Are you going to swim with me?”

  The truth was, I was also feeling overheated and a swim sounded heavenly. And like him, I was tired of being alone all the time. I felt the sting of my loneliness, but I had no interest in hanging out with a guy. I wasn’t dating anyone this summer. Maybe I’d never date again. Opening myself up like that was dangerous. It would only end in more heartbreak, and I’d had enough of that for one lifetime.

  What I needed was for some girl to adopt me as her summer bestie. Someone I could talk to about all my problems and go shopping with. I did not need a superhot guy, with all sorts of sexual tension, crowding my space. “Fine,” I said, plucking the towel from my head. “But just so we’re clear, I’m only doing this so that I don’t have to swim by myself. It’s a safety precaution in case of riptides or shark attacks.”

  He grabbed my hand and helped me up from the towel. Electricity shot through my arm at the touch. “Consider yourself guarded from sharks, riptides…” He paused rather dramatically, drawing up his shoulders and puffing out his chest. “And while I’m at it, I’ll keep you safe from actual serial killers or stalkers.”

  Pulling my hand from his, I pressed my lips together to keep from giggling at that one. “I didn’t catch your name.”

  He drew his eyebrows up again as we started walking. “We’re exchanging names. That is progress.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t get any ideas. I only want to know in case I have to file a police report.”

  His step stuttered. “Jeez,” he said, shaking his head, but there was a grin playing at his lips. “I’m Sven Schnitzelcauf.” He stuck his hand out toward me.

  I hesitated. His touch did funny things to my insides, but I finally placed my hand in his. It seemed rude not to and honestly, the flop my stomach did, like when I rode a rollercoaster, was exhilarating. His fingers were lean and strong, yet comfortable at the same time. “Alyssa Masters.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Alyssa.” He squeezed my hand before letting go.

  The same excited energy shot through me. “You too,” I said as I dropped my hand, pressing it against my bare stomach.

  We reached the water’s edge and I stepped in. The cool water swirling about my ankles was a welcome relief. A wave crashed ahead of me, and the force of the water nearly knocked me over. The surf had not been this rough before today and it caught me off guard. Sven shot out his hand and grabbed my arm, holding me steady.

  I sucked in my breath. Was it wrong I missed having a guy next to me like this? Looking out for me? Was it even worse that his touch made me tingle all over?

  I shook my head. I’m not dating. I not dating. I repeated the words in my mind, but I didn’t pull away this time. The surf was rough today and it was easier to get past the break with someone holding onto me. Besides, if we were going to hang out so that we weren’t solo, I might as well take advantage of having a tall, gorgeous, hunky guy at my side. “Thanks,” I said as we made it out to where the waves rolled. Another rush of water crested near my thighs, sending a spray of cool water upward. I bit my lip as my body tried to acclimate to the water temperature.

  “No problem,” he said as he released his grip. “Do you spend every summer at your grandmother’s house?”

  I swallowed down the lump that had risen in my throat and looked out at the open ocean. “First time I’ve visited for this long.” Talking about staying here reminded me of all of the reasons why I came in the first place. Trying to shake it off, I moved out into the water as a wave, less powerful this time, caressed my mid-section.

  He dunked under the water and then came up, his skin glistening in the sun, reflecting back in the beads of water that clung to his skin. My mouth went dry. Had he called me pretty earlier? I found myself collecting my hair over one shoulder and tugging at the strings that secured my bikini around my neck. I had to do something besides stare.
>
  “Do you need help?” he asked.

  The question sounded innocent enough. There was nothing in his voice to indicate he was anything other than concerned I was having a wardrobe malfunction. However, I took a half-step back, my heels sinking in the ever-moving sand beneath them. I might melt into the ocean if he touched my neck or my hair. He was too good looking, too strong, too…everything. I couldn’t let him get that close.

  Sven

  Her mouth fell open as she looked at me, taking a step back. She could tell I’d been lying this whole time. The truth was, I didn’t just plop down next to her to avoid being alone. And no, I hadn’t been stalking her, but I had noticed her. How could I not?

  Her long brown hair fell in a mass of waves down her back. Every day, she’d worn a different colored bikini, but they all showed off her long, muscular legs and her tiny waist. If I were honest, I lived for the times she’d gathered her hair up into a ponytail and then shook the long strands back out as they cascaded down her back. I’d like to run my hand down that smooth, silky skin. It was like sensory overload.

  After watching her for a few days, always at the beach alone, I’d finally decided to approach her. I had considered asking her out, but she didn’t seem interested in much of anything or anyone. Her demeanor bordered on hostile. So, I decided to take a slower, more casual approach. This wasn’t my first rodeo, and I had a few tricks. I also had the feeling I was going to have to use a lot of them to get a date with Alyssa. There was something going on with her. It was as if she was hiding a fresh pain, barely concealed, from the prying eyes around her.

  “I’m good. Thanks,” she said, dipping down into the water up to her neck. A wave rolled in and we both coasted over it, bobbing in the surf.