Disclaimer: All characters are fictional and of age. Please read and enjoy!
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It was in the way that she smiled when she was looking at something else that had always mesmerized Jordan. Sure, Summer was beautiful when she was smiling directly at him, her pale blue eyes twinkling with mischief, her cheeks flushed pink, her smile lighting up the world, her dimples so prominent. But she smiled like that because someone had made it happen by telling her a joke, or saying something funny, or were just being amusing. What mesmerized Jordan was that she smiled when looking at objects, or just looking off into the distance, awe and wonder clear on her face as she admired the world for its simple and natural beauty; just as he admired her for her simple and natural beauty.
Summer was rightly named, not because she was considered "hot" by all the other guys that they knew, but because she shone as brightly as the summer sun, no matter where she was or what she was doing. Her hair was a shade between blonde and red, and depending on the light, it could be either or. She was cheerful and bubbly and energetic, and she brought enthusiasm to any group or situation.
Jordan absolutely adored her, and had adored her since their childhood, when they had met in the fourth grade. When he didn't think about much beyond how he just liked to be around her and make her laugh.
But it wasn't the fourth grade anymore, and with each passing day, Jordan began to see Summer in a new light.
They were both in first year at university, he studying biology and immunology, and she studying sociology with a special interest in indigenous studies. And this was their first four-month summer, the first time they were having their birthdays outside of the school year, and the year they both turned nineteen, the legal drinking age in Ontario. Summer and Jordan were exactly one week, two days and thirteen hours apart, with Summer being older. And she never let him forget it. It was actually this closeness in birthdays that led to them being desk mates in the fourth grade, and although Jordan resented being "younger", he was happy that they had this connection, as if it was fate.
Ever since they were in the seventh grade, Jordan and Summer began this tradition where they each held separate birthday parties, and then in between their birthdays, they would have another celebration, just the two of them. It was a day that Jordan treasured, and each year he tried to make it out-best the last.
This year was no different.
Jordan held one pack of fruity drinks in one hand, and a pack of regular beer in the other, feeling proud that this would be the last time his older sister would have to buy alcohol for him. And Jenna barely even complained when he handed her the money and dropped her off at the beer store, although she did ask why he just didn't wait a few more days. But Jordan couldn't wait anymore. He had been waiting for this day for ten years.
He was standing outside of Summer's house, but instead of going to the front door, he rounded to the back, to where their old treehouse was. It was too small for the two of them now, but for their party they still liked to sit underneath the huge oak tree and pretend that they were high up in the sky, among the branches.
Summer was already there, spreading out a worn, red and white patterned blanket on the ground, a wicker basket sitting at the base of the tree. For a second, Jordan stopped to admire her from behind. She was tall now, although not as tall as he. At 5'4, she came to just about his shoulder. Her hair was sometimes wavy and sometimes curly, and it fell all the way down her back, to just above the curve of her behind, that looked firm and round in her white jean shorts. Her legs were long and tan, and ended in a pair of tattered white Converse. She wore a blue tank top that would complement her eyes, he knew. And then she turned around, and he was right. And not only did it complement her eyes, it hugged her breasts in just the right way to leave a guy wanting more.
"Hey! You're here! Why didn't you say anything?" She said as she laughed, coming over to him and throwing her arms around him in a friendly hug. He hugged her back, awkwardly holding the alcohol packs, and then as she pulled away, he said quickly, "Just dazed that we're finally legal, that's all."
"Well, I'm legal. You're not quite there yet, mister. Four days, to be exact," she said, teasingly, heading back to the blanket and taking the alcohol with her.
Jordan laughed good-naturedly, grabbing at her and swinging her around. "Younger, but bigger!" She squealed with delight, wrapping her arms around him tightly, her laugh contagious and carefree.
He finally placed her down on the blanket, then kicked at the basket. "What's in there? Food?"
She grabbed at it, frowning. "Hey! Don't kick! It's fragile!" But even though she wore a frown, he smiled, knowing that nothing could spoil their day.
He stretched out on the blanket, staring up at the canopy of leaves above him, with just enough sunlight and sky filtering through to make it a perfect view. He took a deep breath, enjoying the spring air. He finally finished a year of hard work, and was working this summer to help pay for tuition at one of the best jobs in town, at a research lab. Jordan knew he could feel proud about his accomplishments, and he was. Just nineteen, but already paving his path. He turned to look at Summer, who had laid out beside him, staring up at the same leaves, at the same sky, but with different thoughts running through her head. He wouldn't have been able to do it without her, and at this moment, he wondered what she was thinking, if she was grateful for him as he was for her.
"Do you ever feel like life is just one big circle?" Summer asked suddenly, still looking up, her arms going behind her head.
Jordan swallowed, forcing his eyes back to the sky above him. "What do you mean?"
"You know, does it ever feel like it's just a routine that we have to go through, just a line we have to follow until we go back to the point we started at. We have to stop having fun in order to grow up, in order to go to school, so that we can get jobs, so that we can have money, so that we can have fun. We wake up, go to school or work, and push through another day, just to go back home and sleep again. It's so... it's so circular, you know?"
Jordan had noticed that Summer had had these kinds of thoughts for the past year or so. She said she was just maturing, wanting to learn more, to understand more about the world. And while he tried to keep up, he just wasn't good at it. He didn't understand profound and unseen things; he used science, and hard facts to come to conclusions. But still, for Summer's sake, he tried. "I guess so." Well, he usually tried harder.
Summer looked over at him, a smile playing on her lips as she swatted at him. "Be serious, Jord."
"I am being serious," he said, giving her his cheesy smile to show just how serious. But then his smile dropped and his eyes met hers evenly. "Whoever said routine and circles were bad things? I happen to think that circles are very nice. In fact, I like thinking that life is a circle; it means that we'll end at the beginning, and the beginning is where all the possibilities are. Think about that. The end isn't truly the end. Not really. Not when there are possibilities."
Summer smiled even brighter at him, and Jordan melted. "Wow, four days shy of being nineteen and you're already wise. I'd hate to see you at sixty."
Jordan was pleased that she still wanted to know him when he was sixty. That was a good sign. "So what's in the basket?"
"Oh," she shook her head, grabbing the basket, "I bought champagne, my first bottle, but what you brought is so much better. Tell Jenna I said thanks and that we'll enjoy it well."
"Ah, she already knows. Who doesn't enjoy alcohol well?"
