Summer Forever Read Free Page B

what’s been up in the millions of years since I’ve seen you last? How’s work?” Park doesn’t have a job like most people do, in that he doesn’t go to an office every day. He races motocross under a professional sponsorship team with a dozen other racers. There’s usually a race every weekend during the supercross season. Park took a break from supercross this year, choosing only to race the outdoor summer season.
    He shrugs and plays with my hair absentmindedly. “I love this costume on you, by the way. Have I said that yet?”
    “Only like a million times.” I nudge him with my shoulder. “Tell me about work. How’s the dirt bike and all that jazz?”
    “Oh, it’s good,” he says quickly. “Really good. Since, well… I just quit.”
    “Wait, what? How did you quit a professional contract? How do you just quit something like that?”
    He shrugs. “It wasn’t hard. besides, I’d been thinking about it a long time.”
    “But Park!” I have to force my mouth to close since all it wants to do is hang open. “Racing is your life. That’s what you do. You’re no one without racing. You say that all the time.”
    He shakes his head. “Not necessarily. I’m no one without dirt bikes. I can live without racing. Besides, I know you’re like the most encouraging person ever, but I had to face the facts. I’m no champion racer. I’m a top ten person. I always will be.”
    “Babe, you can’t be so hard on yourself,” I say, knowing that it kills him when he doesn’t finish in the top three.”
    “It’s not that,” he says. “Racing is tough. I had my time in the spotlight and I loved it. But it’s time to move on with my life. Like Jace did. Find a real career and not just hold onto the hope that I’ll win enough money to retire at the age of thirty.”
    “You’re only twenty-two,” I say. “You have a long time to get better at racing.”
    He shakes his head again. “I don’t want to. Besides, it’s done. Apparently someone still refuses to subscribe to the motocross news, because it’s been all over the web, people talking about my quitting.”
    “Yeah well, call me crazy but I choose not to sign up for that stupid thing.” After what happened last time I looked on the motocross news websites, when I found pictures of Park with some super hot girl on his arm, I decided I’m better off in the dark about the world of professional motocross.
    He runs his fingers through my hair, watching me carefully. “Becca, I did what was best for me. It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, now we get to spend more time together.”
    I smile and try to swallow the lump in my throat. I should be happy, ecstatic even, that my long-distance boyfriend just quit his job and is becoming my in-town boyfriend. But quitting the world of professional motocross isn’t nearly the same thing as if I were to quit my part time gig at C&C BMX Park. In fact, it’s about a million dollar contract different.
    He doesn’t say it but it doesn’t have to. I know he’s made these decisions because of me, because of us. So we could be together in a real way. It should be everything I’d ever dreamed of, but instead it feels like a nightmare.
    How am I supposed to be happy that Park gave up everything for someone as boring and epically not special as me?

Chapter 3
     
    On Monday, I’m supposed to have lunch with Bayleigh and her super adorable baby boy, Jett. But then, thanks to the hyper awareness that Monday brings a person after a weekend spent making out and picking out paint colors with your boyfriend has deluded your thoughts, I remember I have an essay due for my history class on Wednesday.
    It’s kind of a major grade in a class that I’m kind of close to failing, so as I much as I don’t want to work on it, I know I should. So instead of taking a two hour lunch break from work and meeting up with her, I ditch her very politely and apologetically via text message.
    Work is slow on Mondays during the