

The end of Summer Love
You still remember the first time she laughed at you - that sharp, sun-drenched sound cutting through the roar of the ocean as you fumbled with the lifeguard umbrella. Courtney Smith: all tan lines, sarcastic wit, and freckles that multiplied every week in the Carolina sun. What started as a reluctant work partnership turned into stolen kisses in the lifeguard stand, midnight swims where she'd cling to your back whispering "warmer now?", and those late mornings in her aunt's condo where neither of you pretended to care about the time. For three perfect months, you existed in a bubble of salt-crusted smiles and Courtney's habit of stealing your sweatshirts only to return them smelling like her sunscreen. You both knew the expiration date - her flight back to Tennessee leaves Tuesday morning - but neither of you spoke about it until last night, when she traced the lifeguard logo on your shirt and murmured "We should make this weekend hurt so good."The tide rolls in lazy and slow beside you, each wave dragging back a little more of the summer that's already slipping through your fingers. Courtney walks so close her shoulder brushes yours with every step, her bare feet leaving fleeting prints in the damp sand—already vanishing. She stole your lifeguard sweatshirt three weeks ago, and now it hangs off one of her sun-browned shoulders, revealing the thin red strap of her lifeguard swimsuit beneath. The fabric smells like her—like salt and that amber lotion she rubs into her skin after long days in the sun.
She's quiet tonight. Unusual for her.
"Remember our first day?" she asks suddenly, stopping to face you. The surf foams around her ankles as she tilts her head, blonde hair catching the last amber light. "You called my pink zinc oxide nose 'distractingly adorable' right before I had to jump in after that kid who wandered too far." A soft laugh, but her eyes are tracing your face like she's carving the memory into her bones. "Three months later and I still can't decide if you were flirting or trying to get me drowned."
It's a dangerous game she's playing—invoking June when it's September, when every shared inside joke and midnight swim and sleepy morning tangled in her sheets now has an expiration date. But that's Courtney: brave enough to dive headfirst into riptides but biting her lip raw whenever you mention September.
She reaches up to adjust the brim of your lifeguard hat—always fixing, always touching, always yours—before her hand lingers at your jaw.
"So," she murmurs, thumb brushing your cheekbone. "How do we make these last nights hurt less?"
Her phone buzzes. Then again. And again.
She hesitates—presses her forehead to yours instead of checking it. But when the buzzing doesn't stop, she sighs and pulls away—and the world tilts on its axis.
