Summer
I’m 36 years old. I miss summer vacation. And no, not the week or two you spend “on vacation” I mean I miss summer vacation. It has been years since I have had a summer vacation, but I can still remember the rush of cleaning out your locker on the last day of school and knowing you didn’t have to think about anything school related until mid-August. And then only because it was time to go back to school
shopping!
Summer vacation was popsicles, corn on the cob, Solarcaine and swimmer’s ear. Summer vacation was mosquitoes and sparklers, tennis on hot hot hot cement, and green-tinged chlorinated hair. Summer vacation was New Kids concerts, Swatch phones, sparkly nail polish and air conditioning.
Did you have summer friends? Friends you kind of kept in touch with during the school year, but then once summer hit it was like you never were apart? They became your life, everything was my-mom-will- take-if-yours-can-pick-up and will-your-Dad-take-us-to-Dairy Queen? They shared their inner tubes, they sprayed Sun-In in your hair, and they always had change to get a frozen Milky Way at the concession
stand.
And summer guys? Oh my goodness, I need a moment. Summer guys… was there anything hotter? Was there anything more exciting than going to the amusement park with your summer friends and seeing guys from -dun dun dun- other schools? Guys that didn’t know you, didn’t know you’re the girl that dropped a tampon out of her purse in front of Shawn Liberto. They didn’t even know Shawn Liberto! You were in the clear and able to proceed with the flirting as though you were a Summer Goddess at 14, and yes you WILL have that funnel cake and yes you WILL let him win you a stupid teddy bear and hell yes you WILL let him kiss you all sloppy and wet and serious on the slow ride that everyone totally knows why you are going on it. You know the one I mean, the one with the little boat that floats along in
a water flume and goes super slow and its cool and dark inside. There’s a black light that makes your bra light up under your shirt and you feign embarrassment but you are really drunk with that secret female power that you can’t even fathom yet, but you are just becoming aware of.
Yeah that’s right, you know that power. The romance that seeps out of every Clearasil-laden pore, the
one that makes you think that every boy is the one you’re gonna marry. The one that makes every REO Speedwagon song sound like it was written just for you, and that makes 95 degrees and 87% humidity feel balmy and perfect. Damn, I miss that.
But now the summer is, well, it’s just plain hot. And I get cranky when I get hot. And I hate mosquitoes. And anyone that follows me on Twitter knows about my Cicada 2011 Rants. St. Louis was surrounded by cicadas this summer, and it was less than pleasant.
And yet, I admit, there are nights in the summer where I make Mr. Alice take me to Dairy Queen, put the top down on the convertible and just drive. Out on the highway, the mid-summer heat is almost bearable. It’s humid, and the Peanut Buster Parfait is sticky, but the REO Speedwagon is damn near perfect.
And he still kisses me all sloppy and warm and somewhat serious…
Alice
xoxo
For more information about Alice Clayton and her books, check out her website at
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Hi!
I'm supposed to let a comment here, right? Because... I'm not sure, I'm the only one here (to comment)!
Well, thank you so much for this international giveaway. I'm French so I'm happy I can participate!
(But I'm not sure my writing in English is good... Shame on me!).
Since I now follow you almost everywhere, see you soon! ^^
Must have missed this cos I so wanna read these books. I blame it all on Patti who made them sound soooo good :D
lol, I remember all of those things from when I was (cough) younger during summer vacation. The smell of coconut Coppertone alone is responsible for all sorts of flashbacks. :) I wish we had a DQ still around so I could go get a Dilly bar right now...
Thanks for the giveaway, I'd love to read the books!
I didn't know this books, but i'm very curious to read the first one ! thanks for the giveaway !
I didn´t hear about these books yet But I would like to read them :)
Thank you so much for this giveaway!
This is the first I have heard of this author and the books. they sound great!
Nothing beats a summer romance! The summer holidays always used to be so much fun, the best thing about being at school lol.
This series sounds great so thanks for hosting the giveaway :o)
What intriguing titles and covers - makes me want to know more. Thanks for sharing this wonderful giveaway opportunity today.
I love redheads, sometimes I am one too. Sounds good to read about them, so thank you for the contest
I've heard some good things about this series and would love to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
Love the book covers, especially the one for the "Unidentified Redhead" - cute!
danaan at gmx dot at
Funny, my nieces live outside of St. Louis and they were just telling us all about the cicadas and how bad they are this year. I thought they were exaggerating. I guess not.
I would absolutely love to win a copy of the Redhead series. I've heard such raves about it, and the fact that it's in ebook format is even better!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to read this series. Tore923@aol.com
Thank you for this giveaway! I would love to read these :)
I haven't read these books and they look so good! Thanks for bringing them to my attention:)
jwitt33 at live dot com
Oh yes, those were good summer days! Journey and REO Speedwagon and Chicago...
robindpdx (at) yahoo (dot) com
OMG that post made me remember being a teenager again. Forced camping where the only thing cool that every preteen and early teenage boy thought I was the "thing" mostly because I was pretty much the only girl in the age group stuck there too. None of the drama, none of the rumors and that one time of year where I actually felt pretty and popular. lol. Great post.:)
Yes, summer vacation many years ago was the best.
Thanks for offering this giveway. Cheers
tnx 4 the give away
im a goodreads frend
folow on twitter
and tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/rocapri/status/88693637080289280
and im a gfc folower
roro
hope i win
These books are so relatable
Awesome giveaway!
What fun - I am not familiar with this series and it is always fun to find something new. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.
This sounds like a fun series. Id love to read it. Thank you!