All I Want For Summer Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Clare

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Also By Clare

  Connect With Clare

  Acknowledgements

  All I Want For Summer

  (All I Want series, Book 4)

  By Clare Lydon

  First Edition August 2016

  Published by Custard Books

  Copyright © 2016 Clare Lydon

  Editor: Laura Kingsley

  Copy Editor: Gill Mullins

  Cover Design: Kevin Pruitt

  Find out more at: www.clarelydon.co.uk

  Follow me on Twitter: @clarelydon

  Follow me on Instagram: @clarefic

  All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters & happenings in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons (living or dead), locales or events is purely coincidental.

  ALSO BY CLARE LYDON…

  The London Series

  London Calling (Book 1)

  This London Love (Book 2)

  The All I Want Series

  All I Want For Christmas (Book 1)

  All I Want For Valentine’s (Book 2)

  All I Want For Spring (Book 3)

  All I Want Series Boxset, Books 1-3

  Other Novels

  The Long Weekend

  Nothing To Lose: A Lesbian Romance

  Coming in 2016

  All I Want For Autumn (September)

  New book in the London Series

  SIGN UP TO MY MAILING LIST TO GET FOUR FANTASTIC BONUS STORIES!

  >>>SIGN UP NOW!>>>

  CHAPTER ONE

  The London heatwave showed no sign of easing off and the city was in meltdown, with commuters drooping and tubes melting. Sweat glistened on Tori’s arm as she pulled her suitcase into the lounge, the wheels trundling noisily on their laminate floor. She’d only been out of the shower half an hour and she already wanted another.

  “There you are!” her mum said, giving her a beaming smile. “All packed and ready for the weekend?” She eyed Tori’s suitcase. “Wouldn’t a rucksack be more appropriate?”

  Tori smiled. “If I owned a rucksack, I’m sure it would be.” She’d toyed with buying one, but decided she wasn’t a committed camper just yet. “And yes, we’ll be off just as soon as Holly’s done.” Tori’s girlfriend, Holly, walked out of the lounge and into her bedroom, shaking her head and talking sternly into her phone.

  “Everything okay?” her mum asked, nudging her head towards Holly.

  Tori shrugged. “It’s not been since her new boss started, but hopefully it’s just teething problems and things will settle down.” Tori hoped so, but she wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out.

  “And how do you two manage to look so serene and cool when I’m roasting from the inside out?” The temperature in the flat had to be touching 40 degrees, with sticky golden sunshine sliding down their widescreen lounge windows. It was all Tori could do not to stick her head under the cold tap.

  In contrast, Tori’s mum and gran were sat on her sofa, both wearing pastel colours and looking as if they’d just stepped off a magazine shoot for the more mature lady.

  Her gran flicked her short, grey hair and turned her head from watching the trains rattling by their window. “Years of practice, dear. That, and linen clothing. Lots of linen: just remember that in your future.” She let out a cackle. “So what float are you going to be on?” her gran added. “Are you dressing up like a banana?”

  Tori let out a sharp laugh, going to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. “Why would we be dressing up as bananas?”

  “I saw some footage of the Pride parade last year on the news. Two men were dressed as bananas,” replied Gran, as if that was explanation enough. She turned back towards the window. “You know, if I lived here I’d make up stories about the passengers. Either that, or just sit here waving.” Gran waved to illustrate her point.

  “You get bored with it soon enough. Well, everyone apart from Holly’s sister, Elsie, does. But in her defence, she is only three.”

  “Perfect age,” replied Tori’s gran. “At three years old, trains are still magical.”

  “That’s because she hasn’t had to be a commuter yet,” Tori said. “And to answer your question, the float is for a lesbian dating app, and I’m guessing there’ll be no bananas. At least, none that I’ve heard of.”

  Tori’s mum frowned and leaned forward, her dangly beads clicking together. “What are you going on that for? You’re not single!”

  Tori laughed. “Well spotted, mother,” she said. “I may not be single, but I can still support my friend’s business. Plus, I’m doing the marketing for her, so it’s sort of work.”

  “But everything’s okay with you two?” her mum asked, flicking her fingers towards the lounge door. “This is just a work thing, not a ‘you two’ thing?” She put the ‘you-two’ in air quotes with her fingers.

  Tori shook her head. “Everything’s fine, ‘us two’ are fine.” She mimicked her mum’s air quotes. “Like I said, we’re helping out a friend, that’s all. It should be fun, I’m looking forward to it.”

  Holly’s return interrupted the conversation and all three women turned to her. She took a step back, raising a single eyebrow. “What’s going on? Why are you all staring at me?”

  Tori walked over and gave Holly a kiss on the cheek. “Mum was just asking if we were okay, being that we’re going to Pride to promote a dating app.”

  Holly cracked an enormous smile. “If something was up, I think I could find more subtle ways of telling your daughter than that,” she said. “But everything’s fine. We’re supporting our friend, Trudi, as well as spreading the lesbian love.”

  “Will you be wearing feather boas?” Tori’s gran asked.

  “What’s with you and dressing up, Gran?”

  “Isn’t that what you do at Pride?” she replied.

  “If your granddaughter wears a feather boa, I’ll take a picture and send it to you, how’s that?” Holly said.

  “Perfect,” Gran said, appeased.

  “What are your plans for the weekend, anyway?” Holly continued. “I assume you’ll be painting the town red?”

  Tori’s mum and gran were staying at their flat to cat-sit. The object of their attention, their cat, Valentine, was currently flat out on the sofa, legs in the air, trying to get cool. It wasn’t an easy task.

  “We’re going to take in a matinee tomorrow, then probably get some dinner before heading back here to spend the evening with Valentine,” Tori’s mum said. “Looking forward to it — I haven’t been to a show in a few years.”

  “And I haven’t been in over a decade, so it’s a real treat,” her gran said. “I told everyone at my bridge club and they were all very impres
sed I had a granddaughter who lived in London.”

  “For what it’s worth, I prefer the sound of your weekend,” Holly said. “I’m not a huge fan of Pride, I’ve never had a good one. Plus, camping isn’t my bag. I’m reserving the right to book into a hotel, especially if it chucks it down.”

  “Brighton Pride is always sunny,” Tori countered.

  “Apart from last year?”

  Tori grinned. “Apart from that.” She paused. “It’s going to be great — camping is romantic. I wasn’t sure at first, but Trudi has convinced me. And apparently the campsite has a clubhouse and a shop, so it’s not like we’re in the middle of nowhere. Besides, didn’t we decide this summer will be all about trying new experiences?”

  “No, you decided that,” Holly replied, with a tight grin.

  “I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Camping is romantic,” Tori’s mum said. “You know, your dad always got grumpy when we were going away, but he always enjoyed it in the end. It was just a trait I learned to live with.”

  “Are you telling me I’ve got together with my father?” Tori asked, unable to wipe the smile from her face. Her dad had been gone nearly eight years, but he was still her benchmark for the perfect partner.

  “Nothing wrong with that,” her mum replied with a sad smile. “I had many happy years with that man, once he’d learned to open up and go with the flow.”

  “I’m not grumpy about going away — Pride and me just don’t see eye to eye. But who knows, maybe this one will change my mind.” Holly checked her watch. “But if we’re going to have these new experiences, we better shoot. We’re already going to hit the beginning of rush hour.”

  Tori gave her mum a hug, then her gran. “Now you’ve got my number if something happens, but I think everything is pretty self-explanatory. You’ve got your Oyster cards?”

  Tori’s mum nodded. “You don’t have to worry, I’m not old and senile just yet.” She gave Holly a hug. “And remember, just relax and have a good time.”

  “I’ve got your daughter on the case, I’m sure she’ll remind me,” Holly replied.

  Tori leaned down and stroked Valentine. Their cat cracked open an eye warily. “Be good for your grandmothers, Valentine!” His fur was a furnace under her fingers. “Poor kitty, he must be baking.”

  Valentine stretched in response, before closing both eyes again.

  “Ready?” Holly asked Tori, picking up their tent and grabbing their suitcase.

  Tori gave her a nod. “Let’s do Brighton Pride!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The campsite was already three-quarters full by the time they arrived on Friday evening, but their friends Trudi and Shauna had saved them a spot. Holly was beyond grateful. They were, after all, camping virgins, but they’d been persuaded with the promise of no rain, coupled with Trudi promising to cook them breakfast both mornings. That, and the exorbitant hotel prices in Brighton on Pride weekend had sealed the deal.

  Now, they just had to put their tent up. How hard could it be? Lesbians did it every single day, and usually with gusto. Heck, some of them even filmed themselves doing it and put the footage on YouTube. Holly knew; she’d watched enough ‘how to put up a tent’ videos this week.

  They dumped their stuff, and Holly scanned their surroundings. A patchwork of multi-coloured tents dotted the landscape, the recent hot weather turning the grass a crisp shade of dusty yellow. She’d already spotted four rainbow flags, and even though it was gone 7pm, the sun was still strong, bathing the whole site in a golden anticipatory glow of the weekend to come. The air smelt smoky, with aromas of sausages and weed, while over the sea in the distance, orange and white clouds hung in a pink-flecked sky.

  Holly hugged Trudi and Shauna, both long-haired lesbians with a penchant for heavy metal and technology. Together, they’d created a lesbian dating app called Babe Magnet, and that’s what they were all here to promote this weekend. It even had a polyamory option, which Shauna and Trudi were particularly proud of, being polyamorous themselves.

  “You look very comfortable already,” Holly said, as their friends sat back down in their stout black camping chairs, handily accessorised with drinks holders. “Anyone would think sunshine and beer agreed with you.”

  “I told you, camping is brilliant if you do it right,” Trudi replied. “And I can tell by your face you don’t believe me, but try to.” She waved an arm at her own tent, which was far bigger than the one Holly had brought: Holly could already tell she was going to have tent envy. You could stand up in Trudi’s tent, and it even had a porch. And was that a fridge Holly could see just inside the door? Add chilled-beer envy to the list, too.

  “I’m not sure you’re going to look on our tent as ‘doing it right’,” Holly replied. “It’s about a third of the size of yours, and I went for the easy option. Apparently you just shake it and it opens automatically. At least that’s what it said on the box.” She got the tent out of its case and shook it.

  Nothing happened.

  Holly frowned and shook it again. Still nothing. “Damn,” she said. “I read the instructions and watched it on YouTube, and it looked so easy.” She was trying to ignore the amusement on Trudi and Shauna’s faces.

  Tori stepped forward. “Maybe you have to unclip it first?” She took the tent from Holly’s hands, shaking her head. Tori proceeded to unclip it, laid out the ground sheet, then shook the tent loose. It sprung up obediently. “And here was me thinking you were the butch one.”

  Holly grinned at her girlfriend. “I sometimes forget,” she replied. “You know, I thought I’d have tent envy, but ours has a certain something, don’t you think?” Holly stood with her hand on her chin, admiring their lemon and grey tent, which Tori was now down on her knees beside, shaking out the canvas and straightening the frame.

  She looked up at Holly. “When you’re done admiring, can you help me with the guide ropes?” Tori held out some tent pegs.

  “Course,” Holly replied, grabbing two from Tori. “This might even be fun. At one with nature and all of that.”

  Tori glanced over at her, blinking. “You’ve changed your tune from the gloom of the train.”

  “That’s because the train was the temperature of Satan’s pizza oven,” Holly replied, sweeping her arm in front of her. “But now we’re here, I see the open air has its attractions. Plus, it’s far away from Gordon, which is always a plus.”

  “Who’s Gordon?” Trudi asked.

  Holly’s face clouded over and her stomach churned. Even the mention of his name had an effect. She hammered in a tent peg before replying. “Gordon is my new boss who’s currently making my life a living hell. But we’re not going to talk about him this weekend because he’s already ruined my week.”

  Trudi frowned. “Sorry to hear that — you’ve always loved your job. You’re one of the few people I know who does.”

  “I did love it,” Holly replied. “But now, not so much. I haven’t been the best to live with this week, what with that, plus I’ve been dreading Pride.” She cast her gaze around the site. “But even I have to admit, this isn’t too bad. It feels like a festival — there’s even a bar over there.”

  “Welcome to camping in the 21st century,” Trudi replied. “You’re going to love it.”

  “And look,” Shauna said, producing two extra camping chairs. “We brought these for you as we had a car, and we’ve got ice-cold beer and wine, too.”

  “We appreciate that,” Tori replied. Together, she and Holly finished hammering in their tent pegs, and then the tent was up — all within ten minutes.

  Tori stood back, admiring their work. “Not bad for an amateur.”

  Holly had to agree as she accepted a beer from Shauna, sitting down in her camping chair. “If this sun keeps up, I might change my mind on camping.”

  “Camping rocks,” Shauna replied. “Plus, sex in a tent is just that little bit more thrilling.”

  “Now that I can get behind,” Holly said with a grin. “Maybe at the end of thi
s weekend, I’ll be a camping and Pride convert. Maybe I’ll book every Pride going, you never know.”

  “I’ll just settle for you enjoying this weekend,” Tori told her with a smile, before turning to her friends. “I’m surprised you’re so relaxed — is everything ready for tomorrow?”

  Trudi nodded. “All done — we’ve been putting the finishing touches to the float all day. All we have to do tomorrow is climb aboard and have a fabulous time.”

  “That we can do, no problem,” Tori said.

  “A toast then: to a fantastic Pride!” Trudi said, raising her can to the crowd.

  “And here’s to us camping. May we survive and not get blown away in a giant tornado,” Holly replied with a grin, touching her can to Trudi’s.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Holly’s camping enthusiasm lasted a whole eight hours, till around 3.30am the following morning. Because it was then she was woken with a loud screech, followed by a pressing weight on top of her and hot, searing pain all the way down her right side. Her eyelids sprung open and she struggled to remember where she was. Then it hit her: she was camping. Only, something was very wrong with her camping situation right now. Something — or someone — was moving around on top of her, just a couple of millimetres of tent canvas separating them, and whoever it was, they were crushing her into the uneven ground beneath. The tent roof was now stuck to her face, as was whoever was on top of it.

  “What the actual fuck?” Tori spluttered, as she eased her eyes open, trying to make sense of what was going on. “What the hell is on my leg?”

  “I think it’s a person. I’ve got one on me, too,” Holly replied, her voice raspy as she tried to breathe. It wasn’t easy, and the pain in her side was getting worse. Nothing made sense at all. “Can whoever just landed on our tent get the fuck off it?”