A/N: So we've had one more writer join in the fun. Please welcome MelissaMotown.

This chapter was inspired by and named after my own summer stock romance at the Jersey shore summer of '97. Hubby and I had already been dating 3 months when we went, but it's a beautiful place to fall in love. Or just to have a fling!


Prompt: The most memorable/meaningful summer fling

Characters: Harmony and Nick

Words: 743

Date: July 11, 2012

*** This chapter was officially Curt Mega approved on July 24, 2012 with a resounding Yes!" ***


There was nothing like the smell of the ocean, the roar of the beach and the thrill of seven mainstage performances a week, a new show every 14 days, three children's theater productions, and six hour rehearsals every day to fuel a love affair. Summer stock was well known for the raw passion that arose from complete exhaustion mixed with living and working together every single second of every single day for three straight months.

They had both promised themselves that they were just there to work. Pay their dues, perform their roles, keep to themselves and go home with their resumes filled. But the moment that Harmony and Nick's eyes met across the circle of that very first read through for "Oliver", the sparks had already ignited. By the time Nick heard Harmony sing "It's a Fine Life" his own heart had melted for her, as much as his Artful Dodger had fallen for her Nancy. Nick's smile at her made Harmony's stomach flutter and she knew she'd have to work on this sudden blush that marked her cheeks during their duet in "I'd Do Anything."

It didn't help that the two had seen each other in passing before. Nick's senior year he and the Warblers competed against Harmony's show choir during Regionals, and he'd been in awe of her talent then, not to mention captivated by her sparkling blue eyes. But he had been too shy to approach her then, slipping into the anonymity that the Dalton uniform afforded. A year of college changed him and he confidently introduced himself to Harmony at the Start of Summer Bonfire.

"I don't know if you remember me…" he started, taking a seat next to the girl. In the glow of the firelight bouncing off her skin, she looked breathtaking.

"Of course I do," she answered with a flirty smile and a soft laugh that swelled in Nick's heart. "You and that blonde boy stole my shot at Nationals junior year." Nick grinned proudly.

They spent the night getting to know one another, huddled together against the chill of the midnight ocean breeze, roasting marshmallows that Harmony expertly pressed between chocolate and graham cracker into delicious s'mores to share.

"You two coming back to the house?" one of their castmates asked. The fire was dying down and a group started to trudge back to the apartments.

Harmony grinned, taking Nick's hand. "Be right there," she promised.

The two stood in silence for a moment, listening to the wave's crash against the shore. "The moonlight is beautiful," Harmony shared.

"You're beautiful," Nick said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

Her eyes twinkled. "There's something I forgot to do the last time we saw each other," Harmony mused.

Nick's eyebrow arched in curiosity. "What's that?"

"Congratulate you on your win." Harmony smiled softly as she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his lips to hers. She gently grazed them, looking up at him questioningly. He nodded and surged forward. Butterflies fluttered as he breathed her in along with the enchanting scent of seawater and burning wood.

They sunk to the sand, eventually falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean mingled with the distant voices and music of the summer night.


Three months felt like forever and only a day. The final curtain had fallen, the sets and props were put away, and their bags were packed for the morning, but they found themselves, as they had many an evening that summer, once again on the beach beneath the moonlight.

"Part of me doesn't ever want this night to end," Nick admitted as he held her closely in his arms.

"Only part of you?" she teased looking over her shoulder into his eyes.

"A very big part of me," he answered as he pulled her close and pressed their lips together one last midnight. "I will never forget you, Harmony."

"Oh Nick, sweetheart, you won't be able to," she taunted. "My name is going to be up in lights everywhere you go."

"And I will send you seashells every opening night in remembrance," he pledged.

They stared quietly out at the water, the summer together playing back in their minds, their separate futures awaiting them. "The truth is, I didn't expect the summer to go like this when I came here," Nick confessed dreamily.

Harmony smiled. "I wouldn't have had it any other way."