A Boy She Loved

David Taylor

I love summer. No school, no schedule, and best of all no rules. I mean here it is five o'clock and we are heading out on the boat. Got a new girl on my arm. Dont really care to know her because I'm not looking for love. I'm just looking for fun and Amy, well she looks fun. I know that makes me sound like a bad guy. Like I am some kind of player. And really I'm not. I just got enough going on in my personal life that I want to come to the lake with my friends and just have fun. Not think about the problems that are going on at home. As I'm climbing in the boat I glance up at the Sinclair's house and see Ivy standing there watching us. For a moment I feel a twinge of regret that we are not nicer to her. Because in all honesty she is a really nice girl. And surprisingly very pretty. But she goes out of her way to not fit in with the other girls which makes it impossible to date her. You kinda have to choose girls in your group to go out with. It was like some unwritten rule. Besides I didnt want to be involved in their drama so I went along with the group. And girls like Amy was what I ended up with. Simple. Looked good. But that's all there was. I couldn't talk to them about things and I seriously doubted we had anything in common besides partying. Which for tonight was fine by me. I reached in the back of my truck and grabbed two six packs of beer before climbing into the boat.

"Who is up for a beer?" I asked as I began handing out a few to the guys. Turning to Amy I held a beer bottle towards her, a test. She looked at me and smiled before grabbing it. She passed the test. She was here to have a good time.

And the night was turning out to be fun. We circled the lake a few times before heading to our spot by the docks. There we tied up the boat and put on some music. The night air had cooled so some of us guys decided to build a fire as the girls stood around talking, comparing notes. As I'm walking about gathering wood for the fire I know I should be curious to what Amy thinks of me and where the rest of the night is heading but my thoughts drift. Instead I find myself looking up towards the Sinclair's house again and notice lights on in the upstairs. I wonder if that is Ivy's room and what she is doing on a night like this. I'm surprised my thoughts are on her for the second time tonight. I dont know what has come over me. I'm out partying with my friends and I'm pretty sure the attractive blonde is into me but I'm thinking of a girl who isnt even a part of our group. Angrily I grab up some wood and start heading back to where they have started to build the fire. I smile at Amy and she blushes but I'm not into it. I toss the pieces in and shove my hands deep into my pockets. 'Get a grip David,' I tell myself. Whatever is wrong with you is going to be forgotten the minute you kiss Amy. But as I slowly head her way kissing is the last thing on my mind. For the first time in my life I wish I had a girl that I could actually talk to. Not just one that was a distraction for a night. And something told me Ivy was the kind of girl that you could have a real conversation with.

Somehow the rest of the night went by without incident and I managed to keep my reputation in tact. Yet as I dropped Amy off at home I knew I didnt want another date with her. But everyone was expecting us to be this new couple and already making plans for an upcoming party. Pulling into my driveway I saw my dad's car was home and was a little surprised. Here lately he hadn't been coming home and my mom was growing sadder by the day. I knew he was cheating on her again. And this time around I wish he would just leave for good. He had done enough damage already. Part of me wanted to throw my car in reverse and drive back to the lake. I didnt want to see him. I was so angry I was afraid of what I would say. But just as I began to drive away I saw the front door open and my dad head to his car followed by my mom. I parked my car on the street and ran to where the arguement had broken out.

"Mom," I called out. "What's going on?"

"Stay out of this David." My dad turned to look at me. His face drawn and tired.

"Kinda hard to when you are doing this on our front yard."

He opened his car door and placed his suitcase inside. "It wasn't my intention to make a scene."

My mom began crying and turned to walk back into the house. Instantly I was angry. I turned on my dad. "Why dont you do all of us a favor and just leave?"

"Okay David. I'm leaving." He got in his car but paused before shutting the door. "But maybe some day we could talk and you could hear my side of the story too."

I just stood there stone faced and silent. And waited for him to leave so I could go inside and check on my mother. Finally after what seemed like forever he drove off and my anger began to die down. So much for a great start to summer.