Summer Fling

“Relax, you’re just having a summer fling.”1

“A summer fling?  I’m twenty-eight years old, aren’t those supposed to end in high school?”2

“Well,” she sighed, “OK, maybe not a summer fling, per se, but it’s still nothing to worry about.”3

“Are you sure?”4

“Of course I’m sure, Katie. Last summer you called me saying the same thing about… Brian or somebody.  You were just as worried, and you weren’t even engaged then!” 5

“Well, but…this is… different.”6

“How?”7

“I don’t…know…”8

“See? It’s not different.  And you have nothing to worry about.  Just control yourself for another month.”9

“O…K…”10

“I’m going to be now, it’s almost midnight here.”11

“Oh, yeah,” she glanced at her alarm clock-- 8:52. “Sorry, good night.”12

“Good night.”13

Katie hung up the phone.  After a moment she got up and rummaged around in the kitchen for a snack.  Finally she went out to the balcony with a granola bar.  It was a square, cement, uninteresting balcony, but at least she could catch the sea breeze, and the last few threads of sunset.  A tall Ramada hotel blocked her view of the ocean, but it was good to know she was so close.  She missed these smells, these sounds, back East.  Luke would like it up here.14

No! No he wouldn’t!  She almost stood up from the force of the recoil.  How would she know if Luke would like it or not?  She didn’t even know Luke, she just worked with him.  That was all.  She was engaged to Terrence, not Luke.  Luke was just a summer fling, just a summer fling like Laura said.  She whispered it to herself with just a trace of disappointment.  “Just a summer fling.”15