Chapter 6: Sometimes.

SUMMER.

Summer days were the most perfect, the radiant sunshine, the shiny flowers and the beautiful songs of the birds in the air. The scent that usually filled the city, awakening something buried in the depth of one's stomach. The days were magical but the nights were far from that.

I clapped my ears at a buzzing sound that zoomed across and when I turned to my side,m to hug my pillows, a deep sigh escaped my lips. Beads of sweat had formed along my back, soaking through the bedsheet and I was too uncomfortable to even sleep.

The night was hot and sultry, and even though the windows were wide open, the absence of any air conditioning whatsoever was undeniable. My dad didn't tell I would have to sit through nights like these, literally sit up like I did in that second with a paper in my hands.

Otherwise I would have thought twice about coming to Oregon.

Who was I kidding—I'd do it all over again if I was sure Vincent was coming. I could be flaming hot but each time I closed my eyes, he was all I saw, Vincent, and his snarky signature smirk and there was a way his eyes usually burned intensely that you could tell when he was talking about something that meant a lot to him.

And as I stood from my bed, a smile crept to my lips. So did a finger as I dwelled in my delusions. But was it really a delusion if it had actually happened? His kiss was still on my lips but it felt so unbelievable that it ever happened.

For the many years I knew Vincent, he was more of like an uncle figure to me and I could never have sworn that he felt something. Though how wrong it may seem, it didn't deter me.

A thousand thoughts roamed in my head as I slipped out of my dress, urging myself to go into the shower. The bathroom was merely a compartment in the room, just in the corner like a typical cabin structure.

I had one room and Vince had another while Taylor and my dad shared the third. The cabin came with four rooms meaning there was one extra yet to be filled. But the architecture of the building wasn't what filled my head as I crept into the shower.

I flicked the knob and even the wave of water that hit my skin was hot but it was refreshing. And I stepped beneath it, running my hands through my hair. A faint moan almost left my lips—water truly was life. Or maybe it were the carnal thoughts of Vincent that immediately flashed behind my eyes. It was hard to remember what happened at the lake.

More so what happened after.

The picture of his massive junk that had engraved itself into the depths of my memory. It felt so wrong to even think about Vince that way but then again he could've hidden it if he didn't want me to see. The feeling that towered over me however felt the exact opposite of wrong.

Goosebumps arose across my skin as I closed my eyes. My head did a three sixty beneath the running shower as my hands slowly slipped down my tender torso, rubbing the wetness that had gathered between my thighs. A more than faint moan was what left my lips this time as I tenderly touched myself, thinking about him.

This was the effect Vince had on me and it was maddening, it was intense. Never for once had I touched myself before but I was mature enough to know what it meant. I just found it hard enough to get turned on and for the majority of my teenage life, I feared I was asexual.

Luckily if this summer had proven anything, it was that I was far from asexual and all I needed was the right person. Was Vince my right person.

I didn't know the answer to that but I knew I was close ordinarily thinking about him, I was close to climax. It was as if I could feel his heated breathes trail down my shoulders with his soft burning kisses at every right part of my body. And as I rubbed further, my eyes rolled to the back of my head with a thick groan fleeing from my lips.

"Oh Vincent" Alongside his name and immediately I opened my eyes, I was met with the shock of my life. "Vincent!" Jerking forward, I almost tumbled out of the shower. He was there and I didn't mean my imaginations, he was actually standing there at the adjoining doors.

Maybe I should have thought more about the cabin architecture...

"Shit."

-

He turned around, thankfully not having to see how badly my face was flustered. I could only imagine the smirk across his lips and all I hoped in that moment was that he hadn't heard me moaning his name. I scurried across for my clothes, letting go of my towel.

"You can...you can turn around now" I stuttered and Vince looked back at me. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were busy..." "Can we not talk about that, for the sake of both our sanity" I ran my hands through my hair and he scoffed lightly.

"I don't have a problem with you touching yourself, you know that."

"Vince" When I called his name, he just raised his hand in the air. "I mean it's normal..." "For the love of God, Vince!" I exclaimed and he ended up chuckling, climbing through the windows to the balcony. I trailed right after him because I could use from fresh air.

"What are you even doing here anyways? That was creepy just standing there like that." I muttered. "I thought we weren't going to talk about it" He threw me a look over my shoulders and I looked him dead in the eyes. "Were you watching me?" I gasped.

"Calm down, I was barely there for a second. The night was so hot I was just on my way to the kitchen for a glass of water" He replied and I looked down at the sides of the building. The wind was so refreshing on this end and I just wished I could fall asleep here.

My eyes met my clock and it was well into the earliest hours of the morning. "It's almost 2AM" I puckered my lips, breaking the few seconds of silence between us and desperate to change the subject. "Yeah, and your dad wants to leave early tomorrow..."

"He wants us to go into the city" Vince said and I heaved a deep breath.

"It's like half an hour from here, it was Taylor's idea. She wants to go shopping" And maybe it was seeing my tight knitted brow that Vincent let out a soft chuckle. "What is it now?" I looked back at him.

"Nothing just Taylor" He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just crazy or she's been looking a little too intensely at me especially when we're in the same room" He started and I couldn't even act surprised. "It's definitely not you. She came to me asking who you were..." I replied him.

"And what did you tell her?" Vince asked.

"It's not exactly her business. I mean you're basically like my dad's brother. She can't be staring at you" My hands unconsciously reached to adjust my face as Vince glared back at me. "What?"

"Is that how you see me?" He asked and upon the realization of what I said, I just sighed. "You know that's not what I mean" He hummed in response and I rolled my eyes. "Away from that, I'm just really skeptical about her from the moment I first met her" I added.

"She seems like the kind of person that would have ulterior motives and my dad is the kind of person to fall in love quick. He hit a jackpot with mum, the girls these days are..." "Tell me about that" Vincent scoffed and I arched my brows, although not saying much.

"I...I guess he did hit a jackpot with Lily" He quickly wavered. "Do you think there's still a chance with both of them?" I asked. "It doesn't matter what I think..." "I just want to hear it from someone else so it's not as if I'm crazy because if I know mum still likes him and you know he still likes her, maybe we can help them get back together" And a glimmer of hope flashed in my eyes in that moment.

"Like I said, Summer, it doesn't matter what I think" He reached out to my hands and Vince sat upon the edge of a stool in the corner of the balcony. He didn't have to pull me before I inched closer to him. "And I have already told you sometimes love is just not enough."

"It's a start, it's the root." I bit back.

"And Taylor," He paused. "How are you going to get rid of Taylor?" He was awfully bothered by my silence once he asked that question. "Oh no what are you going to do?" He groaned.

"Summer..."

"Nothing" I whispered with a pout and he drew me in to lean against his thighs. His hands rested perfectly on the waist of my silk night gown and it shouldn't have felt sexual but it definitely was. The tension between us was relentlessly pulsating, more and more each second.

I just pushed a hard lump down my throat as I shook it off my head.

"Maybe I could just prove to him the kind of person Taylor really is. He'll figure out how to get rid of her" I chimed. "You know they are pretty serious" A smirk crept to the corner of his lips. "On whose end?" I asked and he understood perfectly what I meant that.

"Oh Summer."

"What?" I asked lightly before Vince cupped his chin. "You're just as prying as I can remember" He answered and I gasped at his words, faking offense before he lifted back up his gaze. "—in a good way" He blurted.

"Damage control." I snarled.

"I'm serious" He laughed. "You're always looking out for the people you care about. I used to tell your mother I wanted to be just like you" Vince said and something about those words or the way he said he them reverberated through my whole body. My heart melted, rarely did anyone have anything good to say about me.

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me" I whispered before pulling away but as his hands reluctantly drew mine back, he exhaled. "I am sweet" He argued. "Leave that for me to decide" And I was the first to climb back through the windowsill, yawning for a second.

It was to 3AM now and I really should be asleep.

"Summer" Vince called back, holding firm to my arms and I looked back at him. His smile dropped from his lips as he said. "Don't get mad but maybe you shouldn't pry this one time."

"The divorce is still fresh wound and the drag really hurt your father. Taylor might not be good for him but she could be a breath of fresh air"

And even though I could hear the truth sublime in his words, I really wasn't ready to admit that it was truly over between my parents.

Something about there not being any hope was devastatingly painful.

"Sometimes," A cruel whisper left my lips and Vince arched his brows. "You said sometimes love is not enough that means sometimes it IS. It's always been enough for my parents and they just need to realize why they first fell in love with one another..." I turned back around to leave but Vincent pulled me back into him.

Close enough that our breaths mingled in the air, he glazed through my glassy eyes. "Summer," "You won't understand" I blurted out. I didn't want to hear anything from him and I made that clear by finally detaching myself from his hands and falling into my bed.

I turned to the other side, desperately holding unto my pillow and trying to contain the sound of my sobbing. I didn't know when he left but after some minutes, I turned around to see that he was no more standing there and I reeled in regret for the last things I said.

And as tears clouded my vision, I failed to catch the glimpse of someone else standing by the corner in the darkness. Did no one else sleep that night—but that wasn't the alarming question.

How much did Taylor hear, how much did she see?