Read Wild Summer for Free Online Page A

raw as it had ever been, he knew Summer had been hurting and that was why he’d blown apart emotionally.
    At fifteen Crash had been so enamored by the idea of being responsible for Summer’s life after he’d saved it, that when Summer had told him in no uncertain terms he wanted nothing to do with him, Crash felt worthless, his tender heart broken. Now he was ashamed he hadn’t tried harder for something that had been so beautiful and true (something unparalleled), ashamed he’d never contacted Summer again, tried to work through what had gone wrong.
    Doing nothing had made what they had seem worthless too.
    A lot has happened since then, though. You’re both grown up now, Romeo signed, giving Crash a wry smile. And technically you already saw him at the tube station. Romeo sat back and plucked a few long tips of grass to deftly thread together while he waited for Crash to respond.
    Crash sighed. Seeing someone by chance was completely different than actively seeking them out, and although his confidence had grown exponentially in dealing with all sorts of situations in life, in this single scarred corner of his heart, it had not. He shrugged and got up.
    The strange thing was, he thought he’d come here to Romeo and Julian’s isolated haven to escape, but now he was beginning to see it was more than that—he’d come here to let himself be convinced of what he needed to do, and Romeo was the one person he knew would do that.
    They spent the rest of the day in the cold gray sea, surfing on the choppy waves, occasionally swimming in the murky water. At lunch Romeo sat and sketched Crash’s face while they ate the sandwiches they’d brought with them from the cottage. Sketches were coursework for Romeo, but they sold well too at local galleries, and Crash was flattered.
    It’s not going to get any easier. It’s eating away at you. You need to find him , Romeo signed with his pencil in his hand.
    From his expression, Crash realized it wasn’t an instruction, just an observation of the thoughts Crash knew played out across his features. He was too obvious, too easy to read.
    He looked away. After surfing all day, the salt burned Crash’s skin as he stared out at the unsettled sea. Too much was welling up inside him to look back at Romeo.
    All along he’d known what it was he had to do, but he’d needed the words to come from someone else. Of course he had to see Summer and make sure he was okay — it was inevitable, inescapable. Not because he thought there was any real chance at restarting the friendship, or whatever it had been between them, but because it was the right thing to do, and perhaps the only thing that could stop his repressed consciousness dreaming about a past too long gone and too painful for him to think about during sunlit hours.
    I would come with you, if you like? Romeo signed hesitantly when Crash finally turned around. I have a few things I need to take into college anyway.
    Romeo did most of his college coursework distantly, here, but he stayed with Kay and Peter for a couple of weeks every so often. He had a room in their house, and they were still classed as his foster parents. Estella, his social worker, didn’t really have a clue to the extent of the time Romeo spent here, but he was nearly eighteen now, and anyway, Julian missed him like hell when he went back to London. Crash had witnessed the skype conversations they’d had. So he knew Romeo would have fought Estella desperately against any change to their routine.
    Crash shook his head. He was grateful for Romeo’s offer, but he needed to do this on his own.

Chapter 8
     
    Before….
     
    “D O YOU want to come back to mine?” Summer rolled onto his front and propped himself up on his elbows so Christopher could see him speak.
    Still naked, they lay side by side on the sand. To Christopher, the knowledge that he could reach out and touch Summer’s skin was like a drug, one he wanted desperately to take more of.
    His erection