Free Falling for Summer by Kailin Gow

still need to figure out some things.”
    “Like what?” Drew asks, frustration now in his voice.
    “Like the fact that I may be still dating Astor…”
    “Doesn’t seem like it,” Drew says. “If you’re my girl, and it’s your birthday; I’d do everything to make it special. I’ll drop everything to be with you…”
    His timing could not have been much better As if on cue, my cell phone starts ringing that tune Astor has programmed to play when he calls.
    It’s him on the phone, and I don’t want to have this conversation now, but if I’m going to get this resolved between my feelings for Drew, Nat, and Astor; I have to talk to Astor.

Chapter 8
     
    Summer
     
    “ H i Beautiful,” Astor says in that soft velvety voice that makes me melt every time I hear it, “Happy Birthday. How’s your day been?”
    Hearing his voice like that makes me forget we have decided to step back a bit from where we were heading, which is a committed relationship. I care for Astor a lot, and I love how every time he’s around me, he makes me feel like the only girl in the world, but I can’t help think about the celebrity life he leads, and how now is the wrong time for me to be dealing with everything I’m dealing with in addition to the crazy film schedule, jealous fans who mob him, lack of privacy, and drama that goes with being a famous actor.
    “Hi,” I say, my voice taking on a special sweetness that seems to come out when I talk to him. Gosh, I do miss him. “Oh, been busy going to school today, then working a little bit at the Academy. Still only a handful of students have enrolled this fall. It’s a large drop from last year where the classes were so full, we had to hire another teacher.”
    “Don’t worry,” Astor says. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with you. People may think the school’s close now that Sookie’s not there.” His voice catches a little, and I can tell he’s still moved when he talks about Sookie. He’s never said anything to me before, but I think he really looked up to Aunt Sookie as a mentor, when she was his acting coach. When he started seeing me regularly, he even started calling her Aunt Sookie like I did, and treated her as though she really was his aunt. It was very sweet, and unexpected of someone as famous and established as Astor. “You’ll have to advertise, Sum,” he says. “Let people know the school’s still open.”
    “I have,” I say. “In the local schools, at festivals, ads everywhere, especially online ads; and still only a handful of students.”
    “Summer…” Astor says. “After this film wraps in a few days before the holiday break, I’m coming back to town for a few weeks. I’m going to spend those weeks with you, helping you with the school, and getting more students to come in.” His voice cracks. “We can’t let Aunt Sookie’s legacy die. The school has to carry on her legacy.”
    “I know,” I smile into the phone. Astor seems too good to be true sometimes, and in the beginning I thought it was all an act, but after dating him for a while, I’ve come to realize, he’s just a sweet, all around good guy, who happens to be a hot and charming actor. “Astor,” I said softly. “I miss you.”
    “I miss you, too, Summer,” he says, and I can hear the longing in his voice. “I can’t wait to end this filming so I can get back to see you and be with you. Being up here in Vancouver without you is so hard.”
    “Then come out here, Astor.”
    “I wish I can, but because of the weather, the entire production is behind schedule, and the producers are trying to make up for the lost time with these long days.” Astor sighs. “It’s only a few more days, Summer. Then I’ll be back home, and we can hang out more.”
    “That’ll be nice,” I say. It will be, but I know how busy Astor is, and that right now he’ll have to be gearing up for a tour and television appearances to promote his film and television show. We’ll be lucky if