Falling for the Rich Boy: Boys of Summer Page 2

  “In the meantime,” he went on. “How about we get out of the heat? I don’t know about you, but I could eat, and I know this great diner back in my hometown.”

  Okay, now this was going too far. What would he do next? Offer to stuff us in his trunk?

  But before I could speak up, my mom had already agreed and was corralling me with our stuff to his car.

  Luckily, we only had a couple duffle bags and some pillows and blankets between us, but still, it was embarrassing.

  After helping Nolan load our stuff in his trunk, Mom hopped in the back, and I scoffed. Mom gave me a wink and mouthed talk to him.

  I gave her the death stare but climbed in. Luckily, Nolan was too busy getting in on his side to notice our little exchange.

  Right away, he turned on the air conditioner, and the cold air blasted out of the vents. He got on the road, and I longed for an open window.

  But more than that, I wondered how in the universe we’d ended up with a broken down car in the middle of nowhere.

  Not to mention in a bright blue Camaro with a rich boy named Nolan.

  What kind of name was Nolan, anyway?

  Three

  Nolan slowed and turned right.

  Welcome to Sterling Beach, the sign read.

  I exhaled, wondering when we’d finally make it to my mom’s friend’s house.

  Tomorrow?

  If we were lucky. Who knew how long this mechanic friend of Nolan’s was going to take to figure out what was wrong with our car.

  Or how much it would cost us.

  The thought of where we would get that kind of money made my stomach sink, as if a heavy stone had just landed inside of it.

  I already felt bad leaving our Honda back there, all alone.

  That car took us everywhere, and now we’d left it behind.

  I focused my attention on the approaching town, blinking back tears for the second time that day.

  Main Street, I read on a street sign that flashed by.

  I took in the shops and restaurants. Not very many. And definitely no McDonalds or anything like that. All local mom and pop places.

  Murdoch’s Gift Shop.

  The Pizzeria.

  Had the residents of Sterling Beach decided to keep their little town in the past? There was no mall I could see.

  Was that a drive-in movie theater?

  I craned my neck, but couldn’t get a good look.

  Not far in the opposite direction, though, I spotted something else. A Ferris wheel. I could see the top third of it a few blocks away.

  And in the distance…was that the beach?

  I blinked, gazed as far as I could, but it was no use. I couldn’t see much of it from here.

  But I knew that if I rolled down the window, I’d be able to smell the ocean in the breeze more than ever.

  Nolan turned left up ahead. The Star Diner, the big red white and blue sign read. This place looked like it was straight out of those America’s best places to eat TV shows. The one where people from around the country came to taste the best burger in the USA or something.

  Except the place wasn’t packed at all. The diner looked busy enough, but definitely nowhere near the dinner rush I’d seen working restaurants with my mom the past few years.

  Nolan found a place to park. “Come on. You guys are gonna love this place.”

  I got out of the car, and my mom did the same. She gave me a quick side hug. “Things will work out. Ya veras, mija.” She glanced up at the sky. “Your abuela is always watching out for us.”

  After giving her hand a squeeze, I followed her and Nolan inside.

  She was talking about my Grandma Carmen. Her mom. I still kind of remembered her from when I was little. But not that much. It’d been years since we’d visited family in Mexico, and at least ten years since she’d passed away.

  But she’d always made the best tamales and given the best hugs.

  Inside, the Star Diner buzzed with locals chatting and sinking their teeth into a burger.

  Occasionally, you heard someone call out an order and the sizzle of patties hitting the grill.

  All familiar sounds. Part of me wanted to ask where the cleaning spray and rags were at. There were definitely a couple tables that needed clearing.

  Instead, I sat down in a booth across from Nolan, my mom scooting in beside me.

  A young woman with a pen and notepad came up to our table. “Hey, Nolan. Hey, y’all. Guests from out of town?”

  Nolan smiled. “Something like that.”

  She introduced herself as Betsy, and we said hi. My mom began telling her everything. I was happy to let her do the talking.

  I picked up the menu, feeling nervous and out of place more than anything.

  A minute later, Betsy left with our order, and Nolan got up. “I’ll be right back.”

  I stared after him, still in disbelief that we’d gone from being on our way to a new start to now being stuck in this small town with the local rich boy as our guide.

  It was a lot to take in.

  The ice cold Coke I ordered helped. A lot.

  It wasn’t long before three juicy burgers and sets of fries landed in front of us. Along with Nolan.

  Mom glanced at me. “Oh, this looks delicious, doesn’t it, Dulce?”

  “It sure does,” I managed. My stomach growled, and I snapped up a fry. A perfectly crispy, still hot, salty fry.

  Nolan grinned. “Good?”

  “Good,” I said, refusing to meet his gaze for more than half a second.

  After the burgers were long gone, Nolan’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it then said, “So I called my friend. The one with the shop I told you about. He already has your car back at his place. And he’s looking at it now.”

  Mom gasped. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you.”

  We got out of the booth, and Nolan left a crisp fifty dollar bill on the table.

  Neither Mom or I failed to notice despite Nolan attempting to be discrete.

  Mom glanced at her feet. “We really can’t thank you enough. I promise you, we’ll pay you back every penny.”

  Nolan gave us a tight-lipped smile. “It’s fine. You don’t have to do that. Anyway,” he said, “I was thinking maybe you guys could rest up at my place in the meantime. Or rather, my parents’ place… We live just a few minutes from here. Until we can get you back on the road.”

  Mom went back to thanking him profusely, and I nodded along. I really was grateful.

  He didn’t have to offer me that sports drink. Or offer us a ride here, treat us to lunch, and hook us up with his friend.

  But the whole time, I just kept thinking: why was he being so nice to us?

  Maybe it was a result of growing up in a world where I’d been pitching in with bills from the age of ten. Helping my mom clean houses or clean tables during her shift at whatever restaurant she happened to be working at.

  Nobody did anything without expecting something in return.

  But like my mom, I thanked Nolan. And then I wondered how things would pan out for us this time.

  Four

  It turned out that Nolan and his family lived in one of the huge houses right in front of the beach.

  Good thing he was busy talking to my mom because I was pretty sure my mouth hung open the minute we pulled in.

  If Nolan looked like he’d stepped out of a fashion catalog, then his house had come straight from a multi-million-dollar budget movie.

  Mom’s gaze went back to Nolan while we walked inside. Me? I couldn’t stop staring at everything.

  Was this real life? Did people really spend this kind of money on a house?

  Could you even call it a house?

  “So Nolan,” she began. “Do you have any siblings?”

  He shook his head and led us past the foyer and a wide set of stairs.

  The nicest set of stairs I’d ever seen.

  “It’s just me,” he replied.

  The house opened up into a living area, complete wi
th a flat screen TV to put every other flat screen TV in existence to shame.

  Thick curtains that I was sure cost more than our Honda framed large windows showcasing the beach just a few feet away.

  The almost white sand glowed in the sun, like diamonds, and I couldn’t help but walk over and peek outside.

  I held my breath at the sight of the blue waves hitting the shore.

  So this was it.

  The ocean.

  You saw it in magazines and movies and stuff, but it was impossible to understand how incredibly vast it actually was until you experienced it in real life.

  I blinked in disbelief at how it seemed to just go on forever.

  The sound of my name had me turning back to Nolan and Mom. A tall woman stood on the opposite side.

  This had to be Nolan’s mom. They had the same dark blue eyes.

  “Hello,” she called.

  Nolan walked a few steps in her direction, and then she came toward us. “Mom, this is Maria and…”

  His gaze stopped on me, and I could tell he was drawing a blank.

  “Dulce,” I finished for him.

  He went on. “They were having some car trouble near the 7-11, and I offered to help.”

  Nolan’s mom smiled politely at us, but I could see that she was wondering what these strange people were doing in their home. “Let’s sit,” she said, indicating the very expensive-looking couch.

  Mom took a seat and eyed me then the spot beside her. I walked over to join her.

  “I’m Sandra, by the way,” Nolan’s mom said. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

  After we introduced ourselves, she said, “Please tell me more about your situation.”

  “Well,” Mom began. “We’d like to get back on the road as quickly as we can. We’re on our way to the Chesapeake area, but our car broke down.”

  “Deek’s taking a look at it now,” Nolan interjected quietly.

  “The thing is,” Mom said, her voice slowing.

  “We don’t have a lot of money,” I said for her. “But we’ll work and earn the money to pay for the repairs.”

  Sandra turned to me. Her mouth fell open a little like she wasn’t sure what to say next.

  Meanwhile, Mom squeezed my hand. I squeezed back, and waited for someone to say something.

  Nolan stepped in. “I told them about how you were looking for a cleaning lady, Mom,” he said.

  Mom spoke up. “Or anywhere in town, really. I’m sure I could find something.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  Nolan’s mom gave us a smile, and said, “Can you excuse us for a moment?”

  Mom nodded, and Nolan glanced at us one last time before following his mom out of the room.

  I exhaled and met Mom’s gaze. She looked as unsure as I felt.

  It didn’t help that we could hear what seemed like a hushed but heated discussion between Nolan and his mom.

  “We should go,” I said.

  Mom bit the corner of her lip and nodded.

  Nolan and his mom stepped back into the room.

  “Sorry about that,” Sandra said. “We just had to make some decisions, but now that we have, we’d love to have you stay in the guest house for as long as you need to, em, get back on your feet.”

  Relief swept through me, only to be followed by something icky at the thought of being someone’s charity case.

  “Oh, we’d hate to impose,” Mom said, and I could tell from her tone of voice that she really did hate to be a bother to anyone.

  “Nonsense,” Sandra said nicely enough.

  Mom began saying something else, but Nolan stepped forward. “Please stay.” He paused, and nobody said anything. “We all know you don’t have anywhere else to go, and we have plenty of room.”

  Sandra offered a closed-lipped smile, and I still wasn’t sure how I felt about staying.

  Mom opened her mouth and then closed it again. Finally, she said, “Okay. Thank you. Really. I don’t know what to say.” She stared at the floor. I fought the frog in my throat, wishing for once that we didn’t always need someone else’s help, but grateful at the same time that we had it.

  I swallowed and said, “We’ll pitch in with whatever you need, around the house or otherwise.”

  Mom turned to Sandra. “Please let us earn our keep.”

  Sandra nodded. “Okay.” She looked at Nolan for a second, who looked almost as relieved as us, and said, “I have to leave in a few minutes, but I’ll be back later. Please make yourselves at home. Nolan will show you around.”

  “Thank you,” Mom and I said in unison.

  After Sandra left, Mom and Nolan began talking again. I went back to the window.

  For some reason, the beach no longer held the same appeal. Not right now, anyway.

  Mom asked to use the bathroom, and Nolan showed her where it was. A minute later, he joined me where I stood.

  “Thank you,” I said, hardly tearing my eyes off the waves.

  He didn’t say anything, and I finally looked at him. “How old are you anyway?”

  A grin played on his lips. “Seventeen. You?”

  “Seventeen,” I replied.

  We went back to standing in silence. Mom came back, and Nolan led us to the detached guest house.

  It was bigger than any apartment we’d ever lived in, but somehow, he seemed abashed. “I know it’s not much…” he began.

  “Nolan,” I stopped him, realizing it was the first time I’d used his name. I kind of liked how it sounded out loud. “It’s more than enough.”

  “Yes, thank you so much,” my mom said. “You don’t know how much this means to us.”

  The sun was setting now. The sky had melted into a palette of corals and oranges.

  I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my life. It was mesmerizing.

  “Do you ever get used to it?” I asked. My mom was already rummaging around in the kitchen, but Nolan stood next to me at the door.

  I inhaled the salty scent in the air.

  When I opened my eyes, he had a crooked smile on his face. “Never.”

  With that, he walked down the steps and onto pavement. “I’ll be by in the morning, and we can go see about your car.”

  I nodded and stared at his retreating figure.

  Then I shut the door quietly behind me.

  His words rang in my head. “It’s not much…”

  This was everything.

  I could tell Nolan was sincere. He really did want to help us.

  His mom was another story. She was being polite more than anything. She didn’t really trust these two strangers her son had brought into her home.

  I couldn’t say I blamed her.

  As much as I liked the view, I didn’t like encroaching in someone else’s home either. But we’d be out of here as soon as we possibly could.

  Pretty soon, Sterling Beach would just be a fading memory in our rearview mirror.

  But for now, we’d earn our keep. And earn enough to get back on the road.

  Five

  The next morning, it took me a minute to remember where I was.

  The soft sheets, the pristine pillow, they all felt foreign to me.

  Then the sound of the ocean reached me and I remembered everything.

  I stood up and walked to my window, sliding aside the sheer curtains.

  So it had all been real.

  Not a dream.

  The waves practically invited me to join them, jump and dance in them.

  Definitely not a dream.

  I dug through my duffel bag and found some gym shorts, a racer back tee, and my favorite—and only—pair of tennis shoes. They were some Acers I’d found at a thrift store and scored a great deal on a few months back.

  But then I thought about the sand.

  I put my sneakers back and found my flip flops instead.

  After that, I found the hall bath so I could brush my teeth, put on a little makeup, and pull a brush through my unruly hair. It was no use, though, so I
did the usual: some anti-frizz solution and let it go free.

  By the time I made it to the kitchen, my mom was already there, wiping down an already spotless kitchen.

  She stood, hands on her hips. “I guess we should use some of that money we have left to go out and get some groceries, huh?” she said.

  Before I could answer, a knock came at the door.

  I walked over, and sure enough, it was Nolan.

  Okay, did he have to look like the latest teen heartthrob every day?

  But I couldn’t be annoyed at him and his perfect looks. Not anymore, anyway.

  “Hey,” he said from the steps. You guys want some breakfast? I thought we could eat and then go check on your car. My friend called, said he’s ready.”

  I eyed the waves one more time. “Sure.”

  An hour later, we were in his car headed to the auto shop, and I was stuffed.

  Stuffed full of fluffy yellow eggs, crispy bacon, buttered toast, and enough fruit to feed an army.

  We pulled into a place called Sterling Beach Auto Repair.

  It was small, but then again, how many mechanics did you need in a town like Sterling Beach?

  Nolan parked and got out of the car. Mom put her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll figure this one out.”

  I nodded, thinking of the Montgomerys’ spotless home. “We’ll clean as many already clean toilets as it takes to get our Honda back in perfect working order.”

  She chuckled at that, and we finally followed Nolan towards the shop.

  Our tan little Honda sat parked inside the garage, hood up.

  A guy in a blue jumpsuit pulled down to the waist and a white tee waited for us. His arms were covered in tattoos, but he seemed nice enough, talking and laughing about something with Nolan.

  They both turned as we reached them.

  Was it me or did he look about our age?

  Nolan introduced us. “So this is my friend, Deek. He works here.”

  Deek gave us a wave. “But I’ve been working on cars since I was yay high,” he said, his hand level at his waist. “I took a look at your car… Yeah, um, I’m afraid I don’t have good news. My boss confirmed it. It seems that your engine is ruined. and at this point, I’d say it’d be more expensive to repair this car than to get something new.”