The heat stayed in the air at night and everything felt uncomfortable. Any breeze simply pushed the hot air around the city. The longest day of the year had passed months before anyone knew that that was what it was. But days stay long even without sunlight. After the street lamps had extinguished for the night, Lawrence climbed over the park fence. He laid on his back on the paving stones in the park. Perspiration still crept over his body and tasted salty on his lips. Sweet kisses would have to wait for later.

Georgia and John came down the path. She laid out next to Lawrence. Her short hair formed a neat cushion beneath her head. It used to fan out around her head as a halo, but that was before she had had it cropped as a victim to the heat. They stared up at the night sky, a sickly orange color from the city lights. The darkest spaces had fallen to earth. John passed around a bottle of wine. A swallow made Lawrence feel flush and he wiped the sweating bottle across his forehead. John brought the alcohol for these nightly rendezvous. Plans were made and forgotten, dreams spoken aloud and regretted. Georgia had enjoyed being one of the boys that summer. Lawrence just tried to stay cool.

"We could stay here all night. No one would notice. We could watch the sunrise--it happens early still too,"

Georgia said. "Next week it will be too late. The weather is turning. You can see it in the leaves already."

John answered: "No, I think I'll go. Nature has its limits."

"And sleep in that hot room of yours with no fan? It won't be like this next week--everything will change."

John wanted his bed, but he did not want to leave Lawrence and Georgia. He knew that three was a crowd and had kept it that way on purpose. "Lawrence, you make the decision."

He was quiet a moment and spoke, "Not to be on anyone's side, but I don't feel like moving."

John gave in and laid out on the stones next to Lawrence as well. He took a swallow from the bottle. It never made him feel flush, just drunk. The silent stalemate lasted until everyone fell asleep. No one really had to say anything this evening--it had all been said before. Insects chirped and a car door occasionally slammed.

When Georgia woke early the light was rising. She stretched and watched the long shadows move correspondingly. She knew the summer was fading away. In a few weeks everyone would be behind locked doors and locked windows well into the next year. She would probably let her hair grow out again. The morning air felt cooler and she moved closer to the still sleeping Lawrence to whisper in his ear. The weather felt more comfortable now.

The Clientele have released A Fading Summer ep. Lyrics lean towards images of walks in rain damp leaves, and that is where the summer goes.