Boys of Summer

BOYS OF SUMMER PENN CASSIDY Boys of Summer: Copyright © 2023 Penn Cassidy. 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. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used simply for the purpose of furthering the storyline and do not represent the institutions or places of business in any way. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental or used for fictional purposes. CONTENTS About Boys of Summer Before… Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Epilogue About the Author ABOUT BOYS OF SUMMER I made a mistake when I left them without a word or a goodbye. I had my reasons, but try convincing them of that. I spent every summer of my life at that beach, and stupidly, I let myself fall in love. When it was time to go, I figured cutting all ties would be easier than the inevitable rejection. I was so damn wrong. But now I'm back at that beach of my childhood permanently, and they're not happy about it. They've moved on without me, and I have to live with the fact that it's all my own fault. Because of one stupid, reckless choice, my boys of summer slipped right through my fingers. This novel is a complete rewrite of a previously published novella from the author's retired pen name, KM Raya. This is a second chance, friends to lovers romance. TW for light bullying, enemies to lovers vibes, grief and angst. Otherwise, this is a sweet, beachy read about young love blooming into something real. BEFORE… There’s something so final about watching everything you know in life fade away from the small window of an airplane. The California coast grows smaller and smaller the higher up we travel, and yet I can’t help but feel pulled in a different direction. My eyes wander to the far off horizon, where the vast, golden foothills eventually meet with the Pacific ocean somewhere too far for me to see. Squinting my eyes, I strain, trying to catch a last glimpse of the best part of my life and it hurts more than I thought it would. I wonder, not for the first time if they’ll miss me the way I already miss them. Summer is my season, the most wonderful time of the year and every single time we’re forced to return to our real lives, a small part of my soul remains on the coast. I can picture them now—my River and my Luca, waiting at the docks for a sixteen-year-old girl who’ll never come back. Not next year, or the year after that. My time with the boys of summer has come to an abrupt end. They were my everything. Now, I’m their nothing. Nora My heart is racing, but not from anxiety. I wish it was just anxiety, at least that would be a familiar poison. I honestly can't tell what I feel more, excitement or terror. Both probably. Yeah, it’s definitely both. Stopped in an intersection staring down at my phone, I try to let my mom’s words sink in, but all I keep hearing are two other voices. Voices from my past. They’re laughing at me, telling me I might as well not even bother getting on that plane my mom just booked for me. They tell me to stay in New York since I so obviously wanted to be here instead of with…them. Several cars honk, jolting me back into the present, and I send the taxi drivers a half-hearted apologetic wave, to which they just flip me the bird. I’m only a block from home, so I break into a light, fast walk as my mind races. We’re moving. As in leaving New York forever. After seven years, my mom finally met someone that convinced her to marry him, and now we’re following him to California. In three days. Three whole days until my entire life changes…again. I’m twenty-three, so yes, technically, I could stay in New York if I wanted to, but Mom and I have always been partners in crime. She’s been a nanny for the same family since I was a kid, and I’ve never had a reason to separate from her. The idea of watching her fly off to the other side of the country without me hurts too much to even contemplate, so that’s not even remotely an option. Call me a momma’s girl, but I own it. She’s the best person in my life. She’s been alone for too long and despite the happy face she puts on for everyone else, I can see behind it. She focuses too much on work and not enough time on herself, which makes me feel guilty sometimes since so much of her money goes into paying for my dance classes. But trying to convince her to let me pay my way is laughable. Mom’s the least selfish human being I know, which is why this news is so shocking. Married? It’s all happening so suddenly, and I’m confused. Where is this all coming from? Who the hell is she marrying? I race down the New York City street, suddenly realizing that this might be the very last time I get to call myself a New Yorker. Not that I really am one, but for the last seven years, this has been home. I love it here…right? Working as a live-in nanny for the Pembrokes has