Free Wasted by Suzannah Daniels

of
June, a few early-bird sunbathers and swimmers dotted the fenced-in
area. Many of them were teenagers, out of school for the summer.
The sight brought back fond memories of my own teenage years. The
community pool was where I’d met many of my new friends after I’d
moved away from Creekview. It had made starting a new school less
awkward, which had not only relieved me but had relieved my
parents, also.
    I found a seat near the diving board.
Shielding my eyes from the rising sun, I watched as a boy
back-flipped off the board and landed with a major belly buster. He
surfaced, unperturbed, hurried up the ladder, and rushed back to
the diving board, trying his best not to break the rules by
running.
    His eagerness made me smile as I remembered
how magical summers were in my youth. He dared his friend to do a
back flip, but in the end, his friend decided on a cannonball, and
a few splashes of water actually hit my legs.
    I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my
mother. I hadn’t talked to my parents in a few days, and I’d missed
a call from my mother the night before.
    “ Hey, Mom.”
    “ Lexi, I tried to call you.
Dad wanted to check on you since we hadn’t heard from you lately.
Everything okay?”
    “ Yeah. I’ve just been busy
working. Guess who came to see me?”
    “ Who?”
    “ Seren.”
    “ How’s she doing? Her
parents okay?”
    “ She didn’t really mention
them, but she’s doing fine. We’re supposed to get together in a few
days and hang out.”
    “ So is Creekview everything
you remembered it to be?”
    “ Yeah, it is, actually.
It’s easy to see why Papaw wanted to come back here. Everything’s
slower paced than it is in the city. It has a more intimate feel,
you know?”
    “ I remember. Maybe after
you get settled, Dad and I will come down for a visit. I think
it’ll help him not to worry so much.”
    “ Dad does realize I’m in my
twenties, right?”
    “ And what difference do you
think that makes? You’re his only child, and even if you weren’t,
he’d still worry about you—no matter how old you are.”
    “ Tell Dad I love him and
not to worry. I’m perfectly fine.”
    “ I’ll tell him.”
    “ I love you, too,
Mom.”
    “ And I love you. Take care
of yourself, and come home for a visit soon.”
    I watched the boys take turns jumping off
the diving board a few more minutes before I finally headed back to
the apartment.
    Mason lay on the couch, wearing only his
jeans, one hand splayed across his face as his thumb and fingers
clutched his temples.
    When he heard the front door close, he raked
his fingers through his damp hair, his muscles rippling below his
skin with the movement. “I’s gonna cook you breakfast, and then I
realized I had one hell of a hangover. Take a rain check?” A
dimpled smile spread across his face.
    I had thought this moment, the moment that I
first saw him after waking with his warm body covering me like an
electric blanket, would be awkward. But it wasn’t. One smile from
him made everything so comfortable, so normal.
    “ Sure.” I walked to the
kitchen, fixed him a glass of ice water, and brought it to him.
“Here. It will help hydrate you.”
    He pulled himself into a seated position and
took the glass. After taking a sip, he said, “Thanks. My friends
usually just let me suffer.”
    “ I have a one-time rule.
I’ll help someone with a hangover one time. After that, if you’re
stupid enough to get drunk again, then you have to fend for
yourself.”
    He chuckled. “Ouch.”
    “ Hey, it’s one more time
than my mother would give you. She warned me during my teenage
years that if I ever came home drunk, she’d make me even more
miserable than my hangover ever could.”
    “ Funny how different
mothers are, isn’t it? My mother used to encourage me to drink
beer. Said it would make me a man.”
    I gasped. “How old were you?”
    “ I think she started when I
was twelve.” He shot me a sad smile. “It was all good until she got
drunk