Next Summer (5 page)

“Sure thing,” Adam said, squinting a little bit as he looked
at her. “Listen, I’m a decent surfer. Let me know if you ever want a partner, okay?”

“That would be great.”
I probably look like I could use one.

“Excellent.” He started back toward the Jet Ski, which was still bobbing with the tide. “Don’t get washed away, now,” he told her over his shoulder.

“I promise you won’t have to rescue me again,” Beth told him with a laugh.

“Would be my pleasure,” Adam replied.

He waved with one hand, and then climbed back on the Jet Ski. Beth watched him zip away, skimming across the water like a skipping stone.

She trudged up the beach to her towel and dried herself off as well as she could before stepping into her shorts. She felt sandy, salty, and tired right down to the bone. But, as she started up toward the cottages, she was also smiling, for what felt like the first time in days.

On the third day of July, Kelsi bundled her three younger cousins into their wet-weather gear, and pulled on her own windbreaker. It was an obnoxiously bright shade of yellow, but the key point was it had a hood, which was essential for fending off Maine thunderstorms. The drenching rain had let up a little bit, so Kelsi just wore her Timberland boots, cutoff Gap jeans, and a purple T-shirt underneath the windbreaker. She was ready.

Once outside, Jordan and Drew took off at a gallop, having been stuck indoors for the entire rainy morning. The rain was washing everything clean, so Kelsi could smell the grass, the dirt, the trees—all of it distinct. She took a deep breath.

“Are we going to walk
all the way
to the farmer’s market?” Jessi asked as they started down the dirt road, which, after a whole morning of solid rain, was more like a mud-filled swamp. The littlest of the cousins, Jessi, was wearing a bright
pink slicker with a pair of matching galoshes that had Hello Kitty faces on the front of each foot. Kelsi thought she looked adorable, but knew better than to say so.

“It’s not far—just down from the pier,” Kelsi reminded her. “And we can watch them building the clambake pit on the way.”

“I love the clambake,” Jessi chirped, clinging tightly to Kelsi’s hand.

Every year there was a huge community clambake on the Fourth of July, right down on the beach, near the spot where they’d attended the bonfire a few weeks ago. Kelsi preferred the Tuttles’ tradition of eating out in town and then wandering off to see the fireworks, but she loved the way the clambake infused the air all day long with the rich aroma of fire, seaweed, and salt.

Today, the Public Works employees would be out digging the pit and getting everything ready for the celebration. When she’d been younger, Kelsi had been fascinated by the process of digging the hole. She could spend hours watching the men in their bright orange overalls, calling instructions to one another in the Down East accents Kelsi loved to hear and always failed to mimic correctly.

Jordan and Drew ran ahead and jumped in all the puddles while Kelsi and Jessi took the slower route and tried to avoid getting any wetter or muddier. By the time they all reached the farmer’s market, Kelsi felt disheveled from trying to keep all the kids from running into every yard on Peachtree Road for a sudden tree-climbing.

“Well, look at this,” said an amused deep voice, interrupting Kelsi’s thoughts. “Lucky for you, Kelsi, I decided to remember your name. Because that’s the kind of nice guy I am.”

Kelsi knew exactly who it was—she recognized that self-satisfied drawl immediately—but she looked up just to make sure.

Sure enough, Tim was lounging against a nearby bin of cucumbers, grinning at her as if he’d known she would turn up. Insufferably blond Tim, looking slightly more rumpled than he had that night at the bonfire.
Rumpled, but still tragically hot
, Kelsi thought. She wondered if it was her lot in life to trip over guys like Tim wherever she went. It made for nice scenery, sure, but why couldn’t she ever find a good guy for a change?

“I know what kind of guy you are,” Kelsi replied, probably with more bite in her tone than necessary.

“Kelsi! Kelsi!” Jordan came tearing up to her, and rebounded off her legs. Kelsi grabbed him to keep him from falling over. She could just imagine her hyper cousin upending one of the vegetable carts and causing a huge commotion.

“Careful, there,” she warned him.

“Two loaves,” Jordan said, thrusting the items in question at her. “Am I first? Did I win?”

“You win,” Kelsi told him, laughing at his excitement. “You can pick one thing from the Penny Candy, okay?”

“I won!” Jordan whooped, and took off again at top speed.

Kelsi looked back over at Tim and blushed a little when she found him watching her, his hazel eyes still.

“What?” she asked, feeling defensive. “My cousins respond best to bribery.”

Tim just kept smiling, which was seemingly motivated by Kelsi’s obvious annoyance at his mere presence.

“Why are you here?” she finally asked. “You don’t look like the grocery-shopping type.”

“You’re all about what ‘type’ I am, aren’t you?” he asked, suddenly serious. He stepped around the side of the bin, and Kelsi noticed he was wearing one of the green aprons that indicated he was a working volunteer.
Excuse me?
Frat Boy Tim was also Charity Volunteer Tim? Mr. Football actually planted seeds and grew stuff out of the ground, then donated his time to the community? He cared about doing something that
didn’t involve running with a ball and colliding with burly guys? Kelsi wasn’t used to ever feeling this confused.

“You work here,” she said, realizing that she sounded like a complete tool. She felt her face go hot again.

Tim pushed his hair back from his forehead and leaned in close. Kelsi stiffened. She could feel his breath against the damp skin of her neck. Goose bumps popped up across her skin, and she shivered under her windbreaker.

It was the cool, wet weather, she told herself.

“Yup. And I recommend the blueberries,” he said, his mouth close to her ear.

“Um…” was all Kelsi managed to say.

Tim smiled. He reached over and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger, and then sauntered off, losing himself in the crush of people beneath the big canopy.

Bewildered, Kelsi stood there longer than she should have, looking at him walking away. But this time,
he
was the one who never turned around.

Ella spent the Fourth of July the way it was meant to be spent: lounging on the beach in a tiny bikini, Diet Coke in hand, Bain de Soleil-ing her skin toward a perfect tan.

Yesterday’s rain had given way to today’s bright heat, and Ella had staked out a perfect spot, where the soft white sand gave way to the harder-packed tidal sand. She could smell the clambake in the air, that hard salt tang that almost made her mouth water, and she didn’t even like seafood. Families were setting up elaborate picnics up and down the shore, preparing for the fireworks later that night. Ella’s tanning spot was smack in the middle of the commotion. She didn’t mind. She liked to be where she could check out the entire beach.

Not that she was checking
anyone
out, Ella reminded herself as she applied another coat of Bain de Soleil. After her wild night with Inigo, she was reformed. No more boys this summer. Period. Even if being boyless was so darn…boring.

Ella couldn’t help it if she had a certain power. Kelsi was a brilliant student. When Beth performed some athletic feat, everyone talked about her talent. Ella’s talent was making boys drool. Everyone had to be good at something.

Ella was turning over when she saw Beth walking up the shore with a lifeguard. As they drew closer, Ella appreciated the way the guy’s shoulders moved, to say nothing of the six-pack he was sporting. She debated flinging herself into the water so he could rescue her, but discarded the idea. Daring rescues were romantic, sure, but she didn’t like getting wet. All that seaweed and the possibility of jellyfish—yuck.

Beth was deep in conversation with the lifeguard. Her eyes were sparkling in a way Ella hardly recognized. When Beth finally looked away from the lifeguard and waved, Ella wiggled her fingers in reply, but continued to study the lifeguard. He was laughing, and Ella thought he had a familiar-sounding laugh. She tilted her head to the side and considered it. He had that dark curly hair and there was something about the way he—

Ella gasped out loud when she got it.

Pack on a muscled body and skin that actually tanned, and Beth was talking to a clone of George.

“Hey there,” Ella said, smiling her brightest smile, when Beth and the boy arrived at the edge of her towel. “I’m Ella,” she told the hot lifeguard.

“Adam,” the lifeguard replied. He was even cuter up close. Definitely a movie-star version of George.

“Bethy,” Ella pouted. “How dare you hog the attention of the best-looking lifeguard on the beach?”

Beth rolled her eyes, but her cheeks were pink. “Adam’s just helping me with my surfing, El. And there are plenty of other lifeguards. Go check out the guys at the station.”

“Definitely,” Adam said, grinning. Ella noticed, though, that his smile wasn’t directed at her, but at Beth. “They could use a distraction. It gets crazy around here on the Fourth.”

Ella turned to peer down the beach toward the big white lifeguard station, and shrugged. It seemed awfully far away, across a whole lot of hot sand.

“Are we going out later?” Beth asked, already backing away from Ella’s towel.

“That’s the plan,” Ella said. Beth looked as if she couldn’t wait to start her surfing lesson.

“I’ll see you back at the cottages,” Beth said, and then sauntered off with Adam. Ella smiled. If the situations were reversed, and she was parading around with a sexy lifeguard, Ella knew she certainly wouldn’t waste her time on small talk with Beth.

Ella looked back toward the lifeguard station again.
Lifeguards were, by definition, supposed to be in excellent shape. And lifeguarding indicated a certain interest in the welfare of others. That meant they were esentially good guys, right?

So really, she
had
to check it out for herself, just in case her future, serious, long-term boyfriend was there, waiting for her. Ella loosely tied her sarong around her hips. It perfectly matched her fire-engine red bikini. She adjusted her boobs with a few expert pats and she was prepared to go find herself the nice relationship she wanted.

Down near the lifeguard stand, Ella paused to consider her approach. It wasn’t quite the all-you-can-eat hottie buffet that Beth had hinted at, but Ella couldn’t complain. A tall, broad-shouldered blond guy caught her eye immediately. He had a square jaw and a confident grin that deepened when he saw Ella. She smiled back, but she didn’t feel too excited. He was a little too…
wholesome.
Besides, Ella liked to be the blonde one in the relationship. It was just a quirk of hers that she couldn’t explain.

The lifeguard sitting next to the blond, however, was a different story. At first glance, Ella had dismissed him. He had brown hair and eyes, which Ella liked, but he sat in a sort of careless way that gave her the impression that he didn’t think anyone would be paying attention to him. But then he got up and climbed down to the sand in a few easy movements that changed everything Ella had been thinking about him. She took a second look.

He was a puzzle, that was for sure. When he hit the beach,
the easy grace he’d displayed a few moments ago seemed to disappear, and he became a lean, lanky guy with shaggy brown hair. Nothing special.

Except…If she looked closely, there was a certain sexy, dark vibe going on that she couldn’t resist. Even better, it was clear that he had no idea how cute he was. Ella could spot a winner when she saw one, no matter how awkwardly he carried himself.

She strolled right up to the lanky guy as if she were playing a game of chicken and she knew her opponent would definitely budge first. She made sure he got to enjoy the full effect of her red bikini and her curves. She watched his eyes travel over her and felt a little flicker of something in her heart.

This was the best part of meeting boys. Hands down.

“I’m looking for Adam,” she said softly.

“Aren’t we all,” said the blond from up above. Ella smiled at him, but didn’t linger, and quickly looked back at her hottie-in-hiding.

“He’s, uh, giving a lesson,” Lanky said timidly, as if he couldn’t believe Ella was talking to him.

“Oh,” Ella said very brightly. “With Beth, right? She’s my cousin. We were supposed to meet up…” She broke off, and flashed her sweetest smile at him. “I’m Ella, by the way.”

He looked slightly stunned, but Ella took advantage of his reaction by moistening her lips with her tongue and ever-so-casually tousling her hair with her hands while arching her back. And if doing that thrust her breasts out, well, that was okay, too.

“That sounds like a great idea. Why don’t we wait together?”

His wonderfully dark eyes probed hers for a moment, then dropped back over her bikini quickly. Then he looked away and shrugged.

Ella smiled.

Finally, things were looking up.