One Summer with Annie

I don't know what you were going to do the summer after graduating high school, but I had my plans laid out to perfection. For the three months before heading to an in-state school and a decent scholarship I would be at the beach, at the river, at the lake. Wherever the sun was warm and the water cool I planned to be. I had friends with houses, I had friends with boats, I had friends with older siblings who would buy us alcohol. The night after graduation we had one last big party at Nick's house. His sister and I had always had some chemistry, so she gave me a special goodbye after Nick passed out. I woke up the next morning with a slight hangover on the floor of her room, her on top of me, her breasts pressed against my chest. I coaxed one last quick goodbye from her as we showered off and I snuck out before Nick woke up.

This was going to be a summer to remember.

In the next four days, everything fell apart. Nick and his family took off for a surprise summer long trip to France (did I mention they were loaded?), Roger's mom found his stash of pot in the room and shipped him off to his dad's, Chris and Mark got jobs at summer camps on the other side of the state, and I got t-boned by a guy running a red light late on a Friday. I was fine and so was he (the drunk bastard), but my car was totaled. The next morning my dad shrugged and apologized, but with two kids in college a new car was not happening. He was smiling by the time he finished his apology though, because he said he knew how I could save up for at least a decent used car by the time I left for school. I stared at him over my bowl of cereal in silence. We both knew the answer.

I was by his side as he left the house the following Monday, and that is how I wound up working in my dad's warehouse for my last summer before college.

--

The job wasn't bad, really. Everyone knew the only reason I could wrangle a job was because my dad owned the place, but they still treated me alright. It was a crew of about fifteen, and I had more or less won their respect over previous breaks by working alongside them and not acting like the boss's kid. The heat and humidity wore you down, but it was a lot easier than two-a-days throughout July. I was pretty bummed out through the first week, but it was a good group of guys who worked for my dad and they had been together a long time. They gave me some heat for the wreck, but I could toss it right back at them. I worked as many hours as possible, and my when my first paycheck came through it looked pretty good. With my closest friends getting scattered to the wind my nights and weekends were pretty boring, but I soon settled in for a productive, if not boring, summer.

-

"Think you could show someone around the warehouse, help them get started?" My dad asks me at dinner one night. I shrug.

"Sure, no problem. Hiring somebody new?" He grins at my mom. She rolls her eyes.

"Well, your sister will be home tomorrow." I giggle.

"Sarah is going to be in the warehouse?"

"Hey, that is your sister, and you know she will work hard." My dad holds my eye for a minute before we each break down.

"Enough you two!" Says my mom. "Sarah will be just fine in there."

We stop long enough to look at her, and she joins in. We all love my sister to no end. She is a phenomenal person, loving, funny, caring. Everyone who knows her genuinely likes her, and she is generous to a fault. She also weighs 100 pounds max and has been known to complain about lifting a coffee can up to the top shelf in the kitchen.

"Seriously though, she needs the money, and everywhere else that she was looking into is apparently full for the summer. I know how she is, but I'm still giving her a job. We have some room in the books for her and her friend."

"Friend?" My ears perk up. "Is she hot?"

"That is enough!" My mom kicks me under the table. "She will be our guest for the summer, and you will treat her as a human being. If I catch you ogling her I will punish you terribly."

"What will you do?"

"I don't know," she confesses, taking a sip of wine. "But I will work it out."

"If she feels uncomfortable for one second, I'll run you over with a forklift," my dad offers, and he and my mom salute each other with their wine glasses.

"Kind of harsh, isn't it?" I ask. My dad shrugs.

"Parenting."

I grin at my plate. My parents are great. I sneak in one last question before letting the matter drop.

"What's her name?" My dad grunts, my mom squints as she tries to remember.

"Anne, I think."

--

The next morning at the warehouse is hot and busy, with a couple dozen orders to fill before lunch. By the time we finish them no one is in much of a good mood, and most guys go their separate ways for the half hour break. I sit in the lobby of my dad's office with my bag lunch and slouch into a chair, soaking in the A/C. I wolf down what food I have and lean back, ready for a quick nap.

My eyes are barely closed when the door opens and a human hurricane bounds into the room.

"Wait 'til I tell dad you're asleep!" Sarah yells, and I crack one eye open.

"Who let you in here?" I ask, and she kicks my foot. I open both eyes and see her standing over me with her hand on her hips.

"I haven't seen you since spring break and that's the best welcome I get?" I grin and stand up, dwarfing her almost rail-thin frame. My real joy at seeing her dissipating some of my weariness. We hug.

"How was your trip?" She leaps back.

"Amazing! Wait until you see the pictures. We had a phenomenal time."

Sarah had been with a group from her school travelling across Brazil, a trip that was half-tourist and half-humanitarian. You could chalk it up to basic college-age idealism, but she really seemed passionate about the stuff they were doing.

"I can't wait to hear about it," I say, and then I look past her and words stop forming in my head.

She has dark hair that matches her eyes, a figure that is firm but soft in the right areas, and skin that holds a phenomenal tan. Her jeans hug her hips and her white shirt stops just short of them. She has a small smile watching me and Sarah, drawing my eyes to a beautiful pair of lips. We lock eyes and she gives me a little wave.

"Derek, this is Annie," Sarah says, stepping back. "Annie, Derek. My little brother."

"Hi," she says, extending a hand. I do the same.

"Hey." It's more of a grunt. I realize I'm staring.

"Great to meet you." I turn back to Sarah. "Let me grab dad, alright?"

"No need, you have already done a wonderful job as my acting secretary." Sarah laughs and pushes past me as my dad leaves his office and wraps her up in a hug.

"Glad to have you home," he says, and she kisses her cheek. "This must be Anne."

"Annie," Sarah corrects him. Annie waves her off.

"It's really okay, I'll answer to either."

"Well what do people call you?" My dad asks. She shrugs.

"Mostly Annie."

"Annie it is then! Girls, please, into my office. Derek?" He glances at the clock. I sigh.

"Right. Great to see guys. Nice to meet you Annie."

"You too," she says, and her smile widens. Sarah winks at me.

"See you at there soon." I roll my eyes.

"Of course you will." The three of them head to my dad's office. I wait to leave until they're through the door. I meant to leave before that, I swear. But Annie walked at the back of them, and with the way her shirt ended above her jeans, and the way she filled them out, the way her thighs barely touched as she walked, the incredibly subtle sway of her hips...

I stopped staring when she was out of my line of vision and I realized it was my dad who now stood before me, one eyebrow raised. I shrug, give him a sheepish smile, and head back out to the floor.

--

Sarah and Annie meet me out on the floor about twenty minutes later.

"That was quick," I say, a partially-filled ticket in my hand.

"You know dad," Sarah shrugs. "Efficient."

"He is that. What'd he say?"

"He says we're with you. You're showing us the ropes, in a calm and supporting manner."

"Does that mean I'm lifting all the heavy stuff?"

"Hey!" Sarah hit me in the chest. It is not much of a blow. "I've been working out."

Her shoulders do look somewhat more filled out. Behind her, Annie grins and rolls her eyes.

"Annie, is she telling the truth?"

"If you count a couple six packs of cheap beer on the weekends then two 20-minute guilt ridden trips to the gym on Monday and Tuesday." Sarah whirls around, betrayed. I laugh a lot harder than I should.

"Sounds about right," I say. Annie laughs as Sarah defends herself.

"Well, seriously, what's the point? I run a lot. Running distance breaks down muscle." I look at Annie. She nods.

"Sarah runs all the time. She's a good pacer."

"You run too?" I will my eyes to not travel down to her legs, no matter that they're hidden under jeans.

"As much as I can."

"Derek wishes he could run as fast as us," Sarah says, grabbing the ticket from my hand, then sighs. "But seriously, he's actually pretty good. We ran a marathon together over spring break. He was nice enough to stick with me the first 20 miles, than I let him go for the last 6. He did pretty well."

"Not bad," Annie says, her eyes taking on an appraising look. To my horror, I start to blush.

"So what, we just grab what's on this list and put it on a pallet?" Sarah asks, flipping through the paperwork.

"That's right."

"Pfffft. Cakewalk." She tosses the ticket onto the boxes I already have stacked for the order. "Easiest dollar I ever made."

"Good. The next item is four of those 50 pound boxes on the third shelf. Climb on up and hand them down to me." Sarah shuts her mouth.

"How about... you hand them down to us." We lock eyes.

"That's what I thought." Annie steps in between us.

"Hey! Don't doubt our strength. Those boxes are long. You can definitely hand them down to us and we can handle them together." I cough.

"Honestly we can just wait for a lift. Should only be about 20 minutes." Annie punches my shoulder.

"Forget that! We got this." She and Sarah high-five and move towards the shelves. Annie stand on her toes and stretches her arms up. Her breasts jut out against her shirt and the white material pulls up, revealing a taught and tanned stomach. I catch a glimpse of black lace rising above her jeans.

"See!" She says. I definitely do. "We can grab those boxes no problem."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Sarah says, and I catch her tone. She's staring at me, hands on her hips. Caught.

"Alright," I say, moving past them. "This shouldn't be too bad."

It really isn't. We get the boxes down and loaded with ease and fill the rest of the ticket. The girls are a welcome addition to what had been a pretty lonely routine. They talk and laugh a lot, making sure to include me in their conversation. I learn that they had known each other pretty well before their trip, but had gotten very close while on it. The warehouse is hot and the work is hard, and it's not long before we are all sweating. I'm in loose cargo pants and a light shirt, Sarah is in workout gear.

"I did not dress well for this," Annie says, wiping an arm across her brow. I would disagree, and seize the opportunity for a quick glance. Her shirt has a good deal of sweat is sticking to a form that is even better than I thought.

"Want to change real quick?" Sarah asks. Annie shakes her head.

"No need to throw off our rhythm, or get another set of clothes dirty. I can make it through the rest of the day." She adjusts her bra. "Should have worn a sports bra though."

Maybe, but I am praising God that she did not. The outline of her bra is clear through the shirt. Plain white as well, but it's better than nothing, right? I don't think it's even a push-up, but her breasts still look full and pert. I need to act quick, because I am staring again.

"Right. You guys do what you have to. I'm going to start the next ticket."

"We're fine!" Annie says, a challenge in her eyes.

"Yeah, we're right next to you," Sarah says. They match my pace well the rest of the day, and we get the tickets knocked out fast. It is easily the best day I've had since working there. Me and Sarah get along great, and I really hadn't realized how much missed her. She and Annie are tight, and with Sarah mediating between us we are all pretty tight by the end of shift. Funny how manual labor can bring people close so quick.

Annie's beauty doesn't hurt, either. I find myself catching every glimpse of her I can, whether she is bending over to lift a box or lifting the bottom of her shirt to wipe her face. In a warehouse, there is not much room for decorum.

As we are leaving for the day, Annie runs to the bathroom. Me and Sarah wait for her just outside the main door, reveling in the light breeze.

"Look, Derek, I know Annie is a pretty girl, and if I was you I probably wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off her either." I look at her, but she holds up a hand. "Hold on. She is an amazing girl, as you've seen. Smart and funny and if we didn't tell her to leave today, she would keep working through the night. I've seen her do it. She also got her heart ripped out by a real prick earlier this semester. Same guy she'd been dating since high school got caught banging a girl at a party. By Annie." I wince. Sarah continues. "You are a phenomenal guy, and would any girl extremely happy. Just don't make it weird with Annie, alright? Stay away from her for a while. She's staying with us all summer, and I really want it to be like today, just three friends working and hanging out together. Is that cool?" I sigh.

"But I can keep looking at her butt, right?" Sarah laughs, adding a little volume at the end.

"Just try to tone it down, alright? Do you really think it's all that great?"

"That girl's butt is phenomenal," I say, and Sarah looks past me and grins.

"Whose butt?" It's Annie asking the question. I close my eyes and grimace.

"You laughed louder to cover the sound of the door opening, didn't you?" Sarah giggles and nods.

-

The next day Sarah can barely move and Annie is stiff moving around the kitchen table, but we still all make it work on time. After we get working again they begin to loosen up, and we pick up the same pace we had the day before. I see the guys around the shop, all older, looking at us and shaking their heads at me, giving me grief when the girls aren't around. I tell them they're just jealous they're not working closer to Annie. None of them deny it, and none of them are stupid enough to think about looking at Sarah while my dad's around.

The weeks go by pretty fast, and we fall into an easy rhythm. My parents are ecstatic that both kids are back in the house, and Annie is a welcome addition to our family's table. We do a lot together on the weekends, and the three of us get pretty close from working together so much. I have a lot of good memories from the first part of that summer, one of my favorites being when Annie decided to forego the jeans and started wearing yoga pants to work. After the downer that began my summer, it turned out alright. All five of us went to the beach for the Fourth of July, and I got to see Annie in a bikini. We spent a night on the boardwalk and I won both girls stuffed animals after spending about 20 bucks to knock enough bottles down at one of those cheap little booths. Sarah gave me a high five and Annie a kiss on the cheek. Sarah's eye-roll did not deter my smile of glee.

It was a good summer. But everything that happened the last two weeks made it one of the greatest times of my life.

--

"We're going to Hawaii!" My dad announces one night at dinner. I freeze along with the girls. My mom beams.

"For how long?" I ask.

"Two weeks." He and my mom lean across the table and high-five, but I don't miss my mom's glance at him.

Uh-oh.

"When do we leave?" Sarah asked, her eyes shining. At this point my mom arches a brow at my dad.

Everyone in my family is really good at that.

"Well..." my dad says, and I cut him off.

"It's just the two of you, isn't it?"

Their silence confirms my guess. No one is really disappointed, though.

"That's great!" Sarah exclaims. "When is the last time you two did anything together that was just the two of you? How did this come up?"

"A work thing," my dad says. "A guy at another location got the trip and couldn't take it, so he was shopping it around. A trip for two, all expenses paid, some spending money for when we get there."

"That's awesome!" I say, and Sarah echoes my exclamation.

"You guys are taking this way better than I thought you would," my mom says.

"Hey, we get rid of you guys, we can tear this place apart with parties EVERY NIGHT!" Everyone rolls their eyes at that one.

"We all know you go to Nick's for parties, and his family is gone," my mom says. "You know if your father found out you did that, he would flay you alive."

"That I would dear," my father affirms. "Besides, you guys still have two weeks on your contracts." We laugh. Our contracts were post-it notes on his calendar reminding him to tell his accountant to pay us.

"You caught me," I say. But I am happy for them. They are both incredibly selfless, and they deserve the time apart from everything us.

Most importantly, when she realized we would be staying behind, Annie caught my eye and bit her lip while everyone else was talking. For just a second, I saw something in her eyes.

When she did that, my stomach flipped.

--

Annie catches me that night as I am on my way to my room. Our house has three bedrooms on its second floor. Sarah and I have two on one end of the hall with doors that open facing each other, and the third is on the opposite end, a guest room that Annie has been using with its own bathroom.

I am leaving the bathroom in the upper hallway when I see Annie. Since dinner she has not been far from my mind.

"Hey," I say, suddenly tongue-tied in front of this girl I have spent countless hours with the past two months.

"Hey," she says, and bites her lip again. She must know how good she looks when she does that. "Come here real quick."

She grabs my hand and pulls me to her doorway. She stops just beyond it and turns back to me.

"I have had an amazing summer here with all of you guys."

"Good! It's been awesome having you here. I wouldn't have traded it for the world."

"Thanks." She stops, almost bites her lip again. "Do you still think I have a nice butt?" This catches me off-guard.

"What?"

"My butt. You told Sarah on my first day here how nice you thought it was."

"Oh yeah," I say, the memory rushing back. My cheeks redden. How do you tell a girl that you're friends with that the day she decided to wear yoga pants was one of the happiest of your life? That I had stared at her butt for so long when we went to the beach that I once counted the number of stripes on her bikini? That the best part of my day is watching her leave for her runs with Sarah in shorts that do not come close to covering the spandex she's wearing beneath them?

"Can I take your silence as a yes?" I chuckle, suddenly mute. She pushes forward, her words tumbling out in a nervous flood. "Look, I know about the talk Sarah had with you. She told me all about it that night. And I appreciate it more than you know. Like I said, this summer has been amazing. Getting to know you and your family has been such a gift, and you have been so kind, and our time together has been amazing. And... I've seen the way you look at me sometimes. I know Sarah asked you to stay away from me. I'm just telling you that... if you don't want to do that anymore... you...don't...have to."

My heart stops.

"What?" She takes my momentary confusion for refusal. The blood rushes to her face and she backs away.

"Sorry, sorry, never mind. Have a good night, alright?" She reaches for the door. As it swings forward, I see it shutting on the most amazing opportunity of my young life.