Spending every summer with his grandmother in the south of England isn't Ryan's idea of a good time, and when he finds someone his own age to hang out with, he doesn't much care who that is. Alex might not say much, but company is company when there's nobody else to choose from, and Ryan will simply have to make do. It isn't, after all, like he really needs a friend. But Alex is more than just a kid with a thing for smashing up greenhouses, and Ryan finds himself dragged further and further into a dark, uncertain world of alcohol, bruises, a mother's madness, and a father's anger. Worst of all, Alex is dragging Ryan into a world of lust, attraction, and midnight kisses that Ryan is struggling to keep confined to southern summers. This thing with Alex can't go further than summer -- but Alex, and the shadows that surround him, are not so easily forgotten. Ryan can't forget Alex, but the longer he hangs on, the more he discovers ... not just about Alex, but about himself, his future, and the things that really matter. But eventually, summer must come to an end.

Our Last Summer

“What?” he asks defensively, in response to that collective stare.


“You,” Tom says flatly, “couldn’t keep it in your pants long enough to get rejected.”


Danny doesn’t bother to object. “Yeah, well,” he returns, “maybe it’s time I stopped being such a jerk.”


Danny shrugs one shoulder. He’s not looking at any of them, fixated on the muddy ground. “I just— it’s not fair, you know? I keep messing her around, and she’s not going to take that forever, and she’ll find someone else if I don’t.”


“You sound like you’re in love with her,” Ryan observes.


“Yeah, well, maybe I am,” Danny snaps. “And you know what? It’s not a bad thing. She’s a great girl, and I’ve been a dick for years, and I need to stop messing her around.”


“So you’re going to, what? Ask her out, settle down, start saving for that white picket fence?” Tom asks.


Chapter 39