Three's a Crowd (3 page)

Drew couldn't have timed his remark better. He was probably coming the protective male over Louise because of the sexist rot she had been pitching him, but he just didn't know our Louise. Her golden tanned cheeks flushed even pinker. She sat up to apply more zinc to her face and her narrowed blue eyes lost their soft glow.

“Watch me,” she snapped. Geordie came back then carrying Julie's blue bag and Louise wriggled into the suit.

“Geordie,” she ordered as he stood watching her, or should I say drooling over her, almost licking his lips. Geordie was not a great one for hiding his feelings. “Climb back into your suit. We're going surfing.”

Geordie looked pleased at this attention from Louise. Julie and I helped push and shove him into his old one-piece suit before Louise changed her mind and homed in on Drew again. Geordie did buy decent new wetsuits every season, but the last one had been a casualty when he had rolled against some coral up North, so he was back to his old suit again.

“Yeah,” Sandy drawled. “Our Louise wants to show the king of the waves how to ride a board.”

“Use my board,” Murray offered. “It's the lightest.”

Murray was small and wiry and had this specially made board that was supposed to be something. The guys accepted him because he could do some really hairy things with his board and had guts. Geordie grinned down at him. You could see that Geordie thought Murray was very generous to donate the use of his board.

Most of the girls steered clear of Murray the Murk. With a few mouthfuls of bourbon he turned into an undiscriminating sex fiend. I'd worry about my grandmother when he was on the prowl! Yet the boys just thought his heavy handed lunges were just silly as we shrieked to be rescued from his clutches. Geordie grinned, grabbed his board, clutched Louise's hand and towed her down the beach. Sandy and Murray followed, Murray carrying his board.

They stopped at a good vantage point nearer the water and Murray handed his board to Louise. I could see him gesturing and explaining about how to use it. I guess Murray wanted to keep a good eye on his board, and Sandy was going to watch Louise like a hawk hoping she would fall flat, or at least take a few tumbles.

Geordie and Louise waded into the water and were immediately engulfed in the oncoming wave. Once behind it they appeared again, paddling the boards out past the first line of breakers. I could see that Julie, like me, was watching Drew out of the corner of her eye. Was he going to follow the other boys down the beach, in which case Julie and I would have to join them all, or was he too comfortably settled?

“Still don't think it's any surf for a beginner,” he said. “But, she's in good hands with Geordie.” He settled his hat to shade his face, and relaxed back on the sand.

Julie and I exchanged glances. The long, tanned, beautifully built length of Drew was stretched out beside us. At last we had an ideal opportunity to get to know Drew Jamison much better, and it had been handed to us on a platter.

 

 

Drew Jamison stretched out beside us. His eyes were closed and he looked totally relaxed – too relaxed. Julie and I again looked at each other. We were not going to be able to get too friendly with Drew if he stayed asleep. I searched to identify Louise and Geordie in the surf.

“Louise has managed to stand on the board,” I exclaimed.

Drew was interested enough to open his eyes, sit up, and take notice. We watched as Louise swayed for a few seconds before tumbling off and vanishing. When she reappeared she was paddling out again to the first line of breakers with Geordie beside her. Louise hated to let anything beat her.

Drew let out a small sigh and relaxed back on the sand. I guess he was hoping she would come back out again. Julie plunged straight into the business of getting to know Drew on a more personal basis, with her opening question.

“Did you know that you are our new neighbour? You've moved into the house with the tennis court haven't you?”

Lucky Julie, I thought enviously. Fancy having Drew live right next door. Julie lived in a really prosperous corner of the town, a street of big houses set in spacious grounds. Although to be fair to Julie, their big house was shabby and run down and the grounds overgrown, but they did have a sparkling pool in their yard as Geordie trained all the time.

“Yeah,” Drew agreed. A dimple appeared at the side of his mouth as he smiled and his face lit up. “Mum wanted to come back here to settle. Her family came from around here.”

“What was their name?” I asked.

“Plympton-Smith.” Drew's smile now looked smug. “Have you heard of them?”

Julie and I looked at each other. I knew immediately what she was thinking. Who hadn't heard of the Plympton-Smiths around our district? The National Trust had restored the mansion on the hill that had once been the family home, and it was open to the public every second Saturday for tours. The big, two storey home next to Julie's on its double block was practically a hovel by comparison. Fancy a relative of the Plympton-Smiths going to our ordinary high school! Traditionally, the Plympton-Smiths always patronized the big public school on the outskirts of the city.

“Where did you go to school before here?” Julie asked.

Drew shrugged and evaded the question. “We've moved around a fair bit. Dad's always getting transferred. He said it didn't matter where I did my Year 11 as long as I passed all my subjects.”

“What subjects are you taking?” I decided to avoid any awkward questions about the reasons for changing schools. He wouldn't be the first kid to change schools because of unsatisfactory marks.

“All the maths/science subjects,” he said with a sigh. He picked up the sunscreen and tapped Julie to lie down so he could slather her back which was pinkening up. “It's the English assignments I have trouble with.” Across Julie's back his blue eyes met mine and my mouth went dry. I felt like a hooked fish. I just couldn't break off eye contact. His eyes were so blue they blazed at me. “I really need help with some of them.”

“I've read all the books on that list,” I heard myself say. It was a stroke of luck that English was my favourite subject and I read everything around. “You're welcome to have a look at my notes if you want to.” I hadn't done any note-taking, but it was not going to be difficult to do a few pages of notes to keep him interested.

“And mine,” Julie offered, giving me a furious look. Julie hated reading and always depended on me to talk her through all the books she had to study. She rolled over and sat up, tilting her hat back. “Amanda and I spend our free periods every Friday afternoon going over our stuff.”

Drew grinned. “I noticed you both in the library last Friday and wondered what was going on.”

I glowed at that. He had at least noticed us at school. I wondered if he guessed that Julie and Louise had been watching him as well.

“Am I to take it I'm welcome to join you on Friday afternoons?”

“No problem,” we chorused.

This was hardly what I had in mind when I'd planned on getting more friendly with Drew Jamison. Still, helping him with his English reading was at least a start. I sneaked a look at him. Was he really behind in English or was it just an excuse to get to know me better?

Suddenly he caught my gaze. The dimple appeared again. He stood up and pulled me to my feet. “What about a quick swim to cool us down before I go back on duty?” he suggested.

I smiled my agreement. Perhaps Drew was as attracted to me as I was to him. Everything seemed to be working out nicely. I saw Julie shed her glasses and hat and get to her feet.

“You keep an eye on our stuff until I come out,” I suggested. She gave me a resigned nod and sat down.

Drew and I ran down to the water, plunged in together, and swam out past the sandbank.

“You're a pretty strong swimmer for a girl,” he said as we bobbed up and waited for a wave. “I watched you swim out after that silly kid on the rubber mat. Do you train during the week?”

“Only on Saturday mornings,” I admitted.

This was almost true if I woke up early enough and there was nothing better to do with myself. However, if Drew trained on Saturdays as well, I promised myself to be more conscientious about my swimming. Just then the wave swelled behind us and we put our heads down and swam like mad. The wave lifted us and we cascaded down its steep slope, tumbling over and over in seething foam right up to the shore.

The wave sucked out again, rolling us against each other and back into the water. Drew flung an arm around my waist and pulled me against him to stop me from moving. His arm was warm despite the coldness of the water, and the sand hollowed under us as the water receded. I shivered and not with cold. My knees had gone all boneless on me.

“There's a disco next Friday at Tootles,” he murmured. His head was close to mine and his mouth tickled my ear. “Interested?”

I didn't have time to reply because the next wave rolled up the beach like a solid wall. Coming right at us like a missile in the front of it was a yellow surfboard. I acted almost instinctively, pushing Drew back hard and spinning away so the big board slid between us.

“Wow!” Brat shrieked exultantly. “Did you see me surf in?”

“You shouldn't be using the board among swimmers,” I snarled.

I looked around for Drew but he was gone. He had overbalanced when I pushed him, and had presented sufficient purchase for the receding wave to spin him back into the water, but he wasn't wading out again. When I stood up to look for him he was swimming fast and strongly out to where Louise, distinctive in the pink banded wetsuit, waited past the breakers.

I just couldn't believe what he was doing. The two heads were together now, clinging to the board. He was going to surf in with Louise. Geordie had already caught a wave and sailed to shore with the effortless grace that didn't seem to belong to such a heavily built guy. I walked back up the beach to Julie, giving Brat such a glare that he backed away and tugged the yellow surfboard up the beach in the opposite direction. I felt like taking Brat out and drowning him like the pest he was.

Geordie ran past me with his board, sprinkling cold water impartially on all the prone bodies. “That Louise is something, aye,” he yelled at me.

He left his board by Julie and I quickened my pace to help her strip off his wetsuit, and then he ran towards the clubhouse. I dried myself and reached for the sunscreen. I was so miserable I almost couldn't talk. The spunkiest guy on the beach had asked me for a date and I had muffed it! Did he really think that my shove meant no? Surely he realized that if I hadn't shoved him away so hard the board would have hurtled into him?

“All the boys are back on duty,” Julie remarked. “Drew looks like he's coming in with Louise. They work out well together, don't they?” I remained silent. Julie turned and examined my glum expression. She looked puzzled. “Did Drew carry on like Murray the Murk down by the water's edge?” she demanded. ”What was going on?”

“I shoved him out of the way of Jeebie's board,” I explained. “It was heading straight for him.”

“Didn't actually see any board from here,” Julie said with a shrug. My heart sank. Suppose everyone else assumed that I had just pushed him away? “It just looked as if you suddenly got mad with something he said.” She looked at me more intently. “Just what was he saying anyway?”

He was asking for a date, I raged to myself and if Brat hadn't come to the beach with me today I would have had my date with the nicest guy in the district.

“Nothing,” I said. “Do you realize how lucky you are to have only older brothers?”

 

 

By Monday morning I had cheered up. So I hadn't sighted Drew again for the rest of the afternoon. It didn't mean that he was steering clear of us or me in particular.

Louise had come back after a while to return the wetsuit, and then returned to her occupation of stalking Drew. Julie and I had watched her move in with our usual envy. It was no disgrace to lose a guy to Louise – she was the acknowledged expert, and made every move look so natural. She used every opportunity for body contact, stumbling against him on the sand and clinging helplessly to him in the surf.

I could see the other guys grinning at this helpless female act Louise put on. Our Louise was the champion swimmer of the club, and Geordie was the only one she couldn't beat. With Drew on duty Louise stayed close enough to the patrol station to keep an admiring eye on him, but not close enough to cause unfavourable comments. As I said, she was the absolute expert.

“Do you reckon he goes for the feminine type?” July asked thoughtfully.

“Maybe just the Louise type,” I mused as I watched her shake her curls off her face and dimple up at Drew as though he had said something witty.

It was something to consider when I got up on Monday morning. Maybe it was about time I revealed my feminine side too. I tried wearing my hair out of its plait, but it cascaded everywhere. I brushed it back and tied it with a ribbon. Louise was not the only one who had curls. I cinched my belt tighter, admiring the way my skirt swirled out when I walked and made my entrance into the kitchen.

“Here comes golliwog,” Brat called out. I swung a backhander and he ducked. “Golliwog, golliwog,” he chanted.

Mum blinked at me and carefully put down her brimming coffee cup. I could see that she was impressed by the new me. Monday mornings I usually scrambled into my raggiest jeans and elderly school jumper; there was no one worth impressing at our school at the beginning of the week.

“Isn't it a school day today?”

“Yeah.”

Mum was silenced. I mean what could she say? She couldn't nag about me slouching out the door in rags this morning – I had even ironed my skirt and my new shirt. I was halfway through my breakfast when she dropped her bombshell.