Page 3 of Home Again

I felt myself blush as a memory raced through me and hoped Max couldn't read my expression.

My apartment was close to the hospital, so Max was taking advantage of the proximity to his workplace before joining me on the last leg of the vacation. I quickly grabbed the spare keys and handed them to him.

"Here are the keys. Don’t destroy this place while I'm gone." I turned to Max for a quick hug. "I am looking forward to spending some time with you out there, you know. It's been a while since we had time off together, and I think we'll have fun."

"We will totally rock the place, and who knows, maybe even have some summer lovin' fun," Max sang with excitement, heading for the door.

Later, as I lay down on my bed, I looked at the ceiling and allowed the memory to come back to me.

The last time I'd been to Portugal, I had just turned fourteen. It was the best summer I'd ever had, and probably the best since. I had time with my grandparents and cousins, enjoyed family barbecues, and spent endless days on the beach with my best friend, David.

I hadn't thought of David in years, but the conversation with Max brought back some memories. With his brown eyes and dark hair, David was the complete opposite of my blond hair and blue eyes, but that was where the differences ended. Just like our mothers had been best friends, David and I’d grown up together and had been as close as two young boys could be. That was until my parents had decided to live in the States because of my paternal grandmother's failing health. The geographical distance became too much, the short time together over the summer not enough, and I wondered if one day we’d just naturally drift apart. It didn’t seem likely, especially after the day we shared our first kiss. A kiss that to this day was burned into my memory, if not my heart, and it had to happen twelve hours before I flew back to New York for the last time.

With a big sigh, I prayed I’d survive this vacation, and as sleep overtook me, I dreamed of sunsets on the beach, goosebumps, and dark brown eyes.