Waking Up to Boys (6 page)

C
ould they have picked a nicer day to hold the Fourth of July on?” Leo joked, standing on the top of the ladder as he stood to hang red, white, and blue bunting along the deck. “Hey, do me a favor and refill this staple gun, would you?”

“No problem.” Chelsea dug around in the toolbox and slipped a row of industrial staples into the staple gun, handing it back up to Leo along with more bunting. Looking out over the tops of the guest cabins and the red clay tennis courts to the lake, she had to agree with Leo. It was a balmy seventy-eight degrees, and the sun shone cheerfully overhead, warming her shoulders as a light breeze rippled the lake’s sparkling surface.

“Oh, the deck looks wonderful!” Chelsea’s mom called over. Patty slipped through the double-glass doors with her cell phone in one hand and a big sheaf of papers in the other. She was clearly in a hurry to get down to the delivery dock around the side of the building and greet the pyrotechnicians who had come to set up the fireworks, but she still stopped to give Chelsea a kiss on the cheek before hurrying down the wooden stairs.

The sweet gesture made Chelsea happy, but that was quickly shot through with a cold prickle of guilt. Earlier that day, while her parents were doing their daily inspections of the guest cabins and outbuildings, she had sneaked into their office and slipped the spare set of spa keys into her pocket.

She watched as her mom’s back disappeared down the stairs; then she pulled the key out of her pocket and handed it to Leo.

“Thanks!” Leo said, giving her a conspiratorial wink. “And don’t worry about a thing. I have it all under control.”

Chelsea laughed nervously. She knew she could trust Leo, but she was still a little afraid. “You know, if we get caught—,” she began.

“Hey, relax. Everything will be okay,” Leo said easily, squeezing Chelsea’s shoulder. “It’s all good.”

“What’s all good?” Sienna hurried up the stairs with Mel right behind her.

“Sorry, can’t tell you,” Leo laughed from atop the ladder. “Top secret.”

“Ooooooh,” Mel breathed. “I know what
this
is about.” She leaned in toward Chelsea and whispered in her ear. “Thanks for doing this, Chels! It’s going to be great.”

Chelsea’s cheeks warmed at Mel’s excitement. It was the first time she had ever felt really included by the other staffers. While they had always been perfectly nice, Chelsea was used to feeling like the staff was a popular clique that could never really include her—and that Mel and Sienna were its ringleaders.

“Good times.” Sienna absentmindedly air-kissed both Chelsea’s cheeks before hurrying inside.

“Well, Chelsea, I think we’re all done.” Leo climbed down the ladder with the staple gun balanced in one hand.

“You sure?” Chelsea asked.

“Positive,” Leo assured her. “I’m gonna go find your sister and see if she’ll give me a hand with the American flag window decals.”

Chelsea almost reminded him that Sara was her
half
sister, but at the last minute decided not to. It was too beautiful a day, and she was in too good a mood.

Chelsea thought she could really get the hang of the whole skirt thing as she made her way from her family’s
house down to the barbecue area on the lake. In honor of the special occasion, the day’s unusually balmy weather, and her new commitment to dressing more feminine, Chelsea was wearing a knee-length maroon skirt she had borrowed from Sara’s closet in another weird hot-clothes-induced trance. She’d meant to tell Sara about it, and apologize and offer to return it, but she had been so busy, she just hadn’t gotten around to it. She figured Sara owned so many clothes that she probably wouldn’t even notice—and if she did, Chelsea could always just say she owned the same one.

“Chelsea, you look totally cute!” Mel exclaimed, greeting her with a hug when she arrived at the barbecue area. Chelsea flushed with pride. She had paired the skirt with one of her cuter tank tops and even pulled it all together with a pretty but simple pair of dangly gold earrings from H&M. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a skirt before. And that’s a great tank top—you have amazing shoulders!”

“Thanks.” Chelsea smiled, embarrassed but pleased at the compliment. She looked around: The nearby tables and lawn were swarming with summer staffers and tourists scarfing perfectly grilled burgers and salmon steaks and drinking freshly chilled Sierra Nevadas. “Are those burgers as good as they look?”

“Delicious,” Mel laughed. “Go get one!”

Chelsea wove through the crowd toward the big gas
grill that she knew was her father’s pride and joy. He stood behind it, brandishing a spatula and grinning through the rising smoke.

“Medium rare for my favorite Champ?” he asked jovially, flipping burgers as he talked. “Grab a bun.”

Seeing her dad in such a good mood made Chelsea grin. She grabbed a plate from the long buffet table next to the grill and piled it high with potato salad and a big slice of watermelon. When she looked up, she saw Todd standing directly across the table from her, giving her a strange look.

“What?” she challenged.

“Nothing,” he shot back. “You’re just…Well, forget it.”

“I’m just
what
?” she asked, not wanting him to saunter off and leave her to spend the rest of the day wondering what he had been thinking. She was sick of always wishing she knew what was on his mind.

“You look different,” Todd observed. “Did you do something to your hair?”

Chelsea couldn’t help laughing. “Nope,” she said.

Todd looked her up and down. “It must be the glow of knowing you’re about to do something stupid.”

“What?” Chelsea demanded. Was he referring to the pool party? Couldn’t he just let her have a good time like everyone else?

“I mean—that,” he answered, pointing at her knee.
She looked down to where a blob of ketchup had dripped from her burger and landed on the corner of her skirt.
Sara’s
skirt.
Crap.

“Good luck with that, Little M,” Todd chuckled, turning toward the tables.

Chelsea quickly rotated the skirt so the stain was hidden on the back, and hurried to catch up with him.

“Chelsea, Todd, hey!” A happy chorus went up when they arrived at the picnic table and sat down. Sebastian hadn’t shown up yet, and she briefly wondered where he was. As Chelsea bit into her burger, the staffers began to talk excitedly about the gorgeous weather, the myriad of tourists, and of course, the secret pool party.

“What do you think, Chels, do you want to bring CDs or just trust Leo’s iPod?” Sienna asked.

“Hey, what’s wrong with my iPod?” Leo demanded.

“Oh, I dunno, it’s probably all emo,” Sienna joked.

Leo pretended to be insulted. “Uhm, hello…
and Primus.
”

Chelsea tuned out as they bantered back and forth. Despite Todd’s teasing her, the feeling she’d gotten earlier that day of being truly included for the first time ever had come back, and she let herself soak in it like a nice, warm bath. It felt so good to belong.

“I’m going to go get some dessert.” She started toward the buffet table and piled her plate with strawberry cheesecake. As she was headed back toward the
staff table, she heard her mother’s voice and turned her head to see her sitting on a picnic blanket, head-to-head with Sara. Chelsea was closer to her dad than her mom, but it still bothered her to see her mom and Sara getting along so well and having so much fun together—almost as if they were friends instead of daughter and stepmom. Wasn’t it obvious how Sara was just trying to worm her way into their family?

“Boo!” Sebastian slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Sorry it took me so long to get here—had to finish a long lesson. The fireworks are starting soon. Want to watch with me?”

“Okay,” Chelsea agreed. She was sorry that she couldn’t go back and hang out with Todd and the others, but it made her feel guilty. Sebastian was so sweet and earnest standing there. And he looked at her with such desire that Chelsea couldn’t help but hope that they would end up someplace secluded. Sebastian led her to a blanket far down on the sandy beach of the lakeshore. Although several other groups had the same idea and the beach was littered with blankets, it seemed more peaceful there, and Sebastian felt warm and solid as they sat side by side, their arms and legs touching. Chelsea grabbed a huge piece of the luscious cheesecake with her fork and fed it to Sebastian.

“Mmm…,” Sebastian murmured. “This is amazing. You know, this is my first Fourth of July in America.”

“Well, you picked a really good one,” Chelsea said. “The weather’s perfect.” Sebastian took the fork from her hand and began maneuvering a piece of cake toward her mouth. Chelsea leaned forward to catch it—she didn’t want to risk another spill.

“Not just the weather,” Sebastian said as the first firework whizzed high into the sky and burst into a shower of pyrotechnic white rain above their heads.

“Ooooooh,” said the crowd. “Aaaaaaaah.”

“Not just the weather?” Chelsea probed, picking a strawberry off the top of the cake and slipping it between Sebastian’s lips. A little juice slipped out of the corner of his mouth, and she reached up to wipe it away with her finger.

“Yeah.” Sebastian caught her hand, and with his other, he moved the plate of cheesecake away from them and onto the blanket. “It’s everything: the fireworks, all of the people, the lake…you.”

Chelsea was sure the rush of uncertainty she felt was just because she wasn’t used to being romanced. Sebastian tried to feed her the last piece of cheesecake, but she held up her hand to stop him.

“I’m so full, I’m about to burst,” she said apologetically.

Another firework exploded above their heads, and Sebastian looked at her. He smiled shyly, then moved his hand up and gently tilted Chelsea’s chin. Their lips
met softly, and Chelsea felt a short moment of panic. What if someone could see them: Sara, the other staffers, her parents or—even worse—Todd? She pulled back and looked around anxiously, but all the faces around them belonged to unfamiliar tourist families looking excitedly up at the fireworks show. Their faces dazzled in the darkness.

“Relax,” Sebastian cooed, bringing Chelsea back to reality.

Chelsea smiled and touched the downy side of Sebastian’s face, drawing him in toward her for a longer, more passionate kiss. She leaned in and gave herself up to Sebastian, letting the rest of the world fade away. Over their heads, the fireworks bloomed, burst, and faded, leaving gray trailers of smoke like fading flowers in the sky.

C
helsea stood with her hands on her hips and stared at the colorful plastic bags laid out on her bed. She couldn’t believe the sheer amount of shopping she had done that afternoon during her covert solo expedition to the mall in Reno. During her foray through Sara’s closet several days before, she had tried on tons of clothes, noting sizes, colors, and labels, jotting each one down carefully in a small notebook—and armed with the notebook, she had taken the Meadowood Mall by storm.

Chelsea McCormick was going to arrive at the pool party that night dressed like a girl even if it killed her.

She reached into one of the many shopping bags littering the surface of her bed and pulled out a tiny brown bandeau-style bikini she still couldn’t believe she
had really just dropped eighty dollars on. She slipped off her clothes and carefully stepped into the new swimsuit, making sure it fit one last time before finally removing the tags.

For the first time in her life, Chelsea had forced herself to check out some fashion Web sites and magazines, which gave her a bunch of advice she found essentially useless. But they also told her a few important things, like that brown and teal were “in” this season. So, to complement her brown swimsuit, she had bought a simple turquoise necklace and a pair of matching earrings. She had also bought a short, sheer, cream-colored sarong to wrap around her hips. She was sure that wearing just the tiny bikini would make her feel like she was running around the party in her underwear.

Chelsea went to her computer and pulled up the Web page she’d bookmarked on “Effortless Sexy Hairdos.” With a mouthful of bobby pins, she began the arduous process of creating a bun that looked like it had been haphazardly thrown together in a matter of seconds.
I can’t believe I’m doing this,
she thought, wincing as she jammed another bobby pin into her head.

She had even bought herself a tube of mascara at Sephora. Waterproof, of course. After all, it
was
a pool party.

And then there were the shoes. Teenvogue.com had said that espadrilles were a great starting point for some
one without a lot of experience wearing heels, plus they were totally cute for the summer. So Chelsea had found herself a pair that laced up the ankle. The woven rope heels were of a livable height, so she hoped she wouldn’t go pitching forward into the pool.

Chelsea looked in the mirror, fully prepared to face a laughably grotesque impression of a gawky girl playing dress-up. But the woman who stared back at her was anything but gawky. Chelsea’s new look was everything the fashion Web sites had promised…and more. The bikini looked great on her long, slim athletic body. The bandeau top made the most of her small chest, and the bottom scooped low to expose her firm stomach, with the sarong adding a touch of flirtiness and covering up her butt. Tendrils of hair curled out of her loose bun, softening her features, and the dangling turquoise earrings and touch of mascara drew attention to her eyes, which seemed larger and bluer than ever before. Her legs, which she normally considered her best feature anyway, seemed endless in the espadrilles, which gave her just enough lift to clearly define her muscular calves and thighs.

Chelsea had to admit to herself that she looked better than just “feminine” or “fashionable”—she looked
hot
!

Hopefully, everyone else would realize it, too. The skirt had worked for her at the barbecue the night before. Maybe now everyone would stop calling her nicknames that made her sound like a kid.

The clock on her nightstand read 12:27, and the party was supposed to have started at midnight—getting ready had taken longer than she had anticipated. Chelsea’s stomach fluttered as she stepped quietly out of the house and down the dark path. As she approached the spa building, she was glad to see that the pool had steamed up the big glass windows. There was dim light emanating from within, but that was normal, since the safety lights around the pool stayed on all night. She was also pleased to note that if there was music playing, it wasn’t loud enough for anyone outside to hear. So far, the staff were keeping their promises.

Chelsea glanced around quickly before opening the door, but the area around the spa was deserted. The only sound was the slight sighing of the pine trees in the wind. Most of the tourists had left that afternoon, piling into their SUVs with their faces red from too much sun and their children clutching fake souvenir arrowheads, already begging to come back. That left retirees and honeymooners for the most part: the former returning to their cabins early to sleep and the latter returning to their cabins early to not sleep.

Chelsea gasped as she entered the spa—it was almost as transformed as she was. Tiny votive candles burned all around the large kidney-shaped indoor pool, and a few even floated on its still surface. Aside from that, the only light in the building came from the pool’s built-in
underwater lights, which gave the room a ghostly blue glow and sent wavy shadows dancing across the ceiling. Leo had set up a bar in the corner and was busy mixing drinks behind it, and Death Cab for Cutie played softly through the embedded speakers.

Even the summer staffers seemed artfully arranged, standing in small groups on the mint-green tiles or lounging, drinks in hand, on the chaises surrounding the pool. Although small hand-printed signs reminded everyone to be quiet, occasional exclamations and peals of laughter burst loose and bounced around the room. But as Chelsea closed the door and everyone looked up to see who had joined them, the room went strangely quiet. Everyone was looking at her in surprise: Nina, Mel, and Sienna from the pool; Joel, Ted, and Leo over by the bar; and Todd just emerging from the guys’ locker room. What was
he
doing there? How dare he show up to the party he’d been bad-mouthing for days?

Suddenly feeling like an exotic zoo animal, Chelsea waved. Several people waved back before returning to their conversations, while Chelsea gratefully headed across the room to get a drink. Her legs felt about a million miles long in the wedges, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that people were still scoping her out from the corners of their eyes. What was really unnerving was that she couldn’t tell if they were checking her out in a good way or not. Were all those staring eyes going,
“Wow, Chelsea looks hot,” or, “Oh dear, what is Chelsea thinking?” She sneaked a glance back toward Todd and was surprised to see his eyes still glued to her, an unreadable expression on his face.

Chelsea approached the bar and noticed Sara leaning against it, staring at her through slitted eyes. Maybe she looked awful after all….

“Nice swimsuit.” Sara narrowed her eyes even further. “It kind of looks familiar. Where’d you get it?”

Chelsea’s blush turned from rose to crimson. Without meaning to, she’d gotten a suit almost identical to one she’d secretly tried on from Sara’s collection. Sara probably thought she’d borrowed it without asking. Not a far cry from the truth when Chelsea thought about the skirt from earlier. Chelsea had already put the skirt back where she’d found it, though there was still a tiny smudge of red near the hem that Chelsea hoped Sara wouldn’t notice later. “I g-got it at Macy’s in the Meadowood Mall in Reno. It’s BCBG,” Chelsea stammered. “Does it look okay?”

The moment Chelsea mentioned the designer, Sara’s face relaxed into a smile. Chelsea was glad she’d remembered that Sara’s own suit was Calvin Klein. And she was relieved that Sara wasn’t wearing it that night, having opted instead for a flirty pale yellow string bikini that made her killer tan glow in contrast.

“It looks great on you.” Sara’s voice was warm and
sincere this time, and Chelsea felt a pang of guilt. She turned toward Leo, who was working the bar, and ordered a drink.

“You want the pool party special?” Leo winked as he poured a brilliant blue cocktail into a plastic cup and handed it to her. The beverage was cool in her hand as she eased away from the bar and went circling the pool in search of Sebastian.

“Hi, Chelsea,” a voice behind her said. Chelsea froze in her tracks and turned to face Todd. Even as he flashed his trademark lopsided smile, his blue eyes looked icy. “I see Daddy’s little girl got all dolled up for the big party.”

“What?” Chelsea asked, annoyed. She suddenly felt extremely…exposed. “It’s a pool party. I’m wearing a bathing suit. What’s so weird about that?”

“You call
that
a bathing suit?” Todd asked. “I think those things are illegal in Utah.”

Chelsea’s cheeks blazed as her mind raced over the girls she had seen Todd with over the past few summers. Half of them had worn bikinis just as skimpy as hers out on the lake, so it wasn’t like he had any right to judge.

“And pool parties are illegal at Glitterlake, too—as
you
have pointed out numerous times now,” she spat back, putting one hand on her hip. “Yet here you are, Todd. What’s up with that?”

Todd’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he
looked down at the floor, and Chelsea thought to herself that she totally had him there.
Next step: Toss him in the pool when he’s not looking.

“I, uh…wanted to see if Leo could pull it off,” he mumbled.

“Ahem,” Sebastian interrupted, joining them. Chelsea was positively mortified to see that he had opted to wear black Speedos instead of the baggy swim trunks or board shorts favored by every other guy on the resort staff. Granted, his slim, taut body looked unbelievably hot in them, but he was wearing less than she was. “You mean Leo and his faithful party consultant, Sebastian.”

“Oh, you helped?” Todd tried to hide a smirk behind his cup, but Chelsea noticed it.

“The candles were my idea,” Sebastian asserted. “What do you think?”

“They’re beautiful,” Chelsea assured him, taking his hand. “This place looks great.”

“Thanks.” Sebastian put his arm around her. “You look pretty good yourself. Want to hit the Jacuzzi?”

“Sure,” Chelsea said, eager to get away from Todd’s intense gaze.

Sebastian waved good-bye, and the two of them headed toward the hot tub.

“I can’t believe you’re wearing a Speedo,” Chelsea whispered, giggling as she untied her espadrilles and
eased her way into the foamy water, leaving her sarong in a pile with the shoes.

“Why?” Sebastian seemed genuinely puzzled. “This is what we wear at home.”

“But nobody wears them here,” Chelsea pointed out.

“So?” Sebastian shrugged. “This is what I’m used to, and I’d rather be comfortable than wear something I don’t like, just to fit in.”

Sebastian’s words hit dangerously close to home as Chelsea looked down at the wavy lines of her bikini through the hot tub’s frothy surface. Was that what she was doing? She didn’t exactly feel comfortable, but having people tell her she looked hot was a refreshing change.

Just then Todd appeared above them on the Jacuzzi’s edge, a cold can of beer in his hand.

“Hey.” He stepped into the water. “Mind if I join you guys? The hot tub seemed like a good idea.”

Chelsea’s heartbeat sped up as Todd slipped onto the bench next to her. What was he doing? Did he know something was going on with her and Sebastian? The strong drink in her hand was starting to make her head spin. She slid it away, thinking she had probably had enough, especially given the way her body temperature was suddenly rising. She couldn’t tell if it was from the Jacuzzi’s heat or from being between Sebastian and Todd in such a small place—and while wearing so little clothing. She’d never felt so exposed…and the strange
thing was that some part of her liked it. In a weird, nerve-racking way.

“So how’s it going, Sebastian?” Todd leaned slightly over Chelsea to direct his question. “How are you adjusting to American life?”

“It’s nice,” Sebastian said, sounding strangely guarded. “So far, everyone I’ve met has been really friendly.”

“Yeah, has Chelsea been showing you around a lot?” Todd persisted. “I mean, she’s the best person to get to know here at Glitterlake, since she’s the owners’ kid. You knew that, right? Mark McCormick, Patty McCormick, and Little McCormick here.” He put an arm around Chelsea’s shoulders, spiking her body temperature even more.
What
was going on?

“The whole McCormick family has been very sweet to me,” Sebastian replied neutrally. His hand found Chelsea’s under the water, and he squeezed it tightly. “And I’ve been very lucky to have Chelsea around.”

Todd removed his arm from around Chelsea’s shoulders to reach for his beer, and Chelsea let out her breath slowly. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding it.

Sebastian seemed finished with Todd. He turned away from him and leaned in toward Chelsea. “Hey, Chels, c’mere,” he smirked, glancing at Todd out of the corner of his eyes. “I want to tell you something.”

“What?” Chelsea caught Todd rolling his eyes as he sipped his beer. She felt really weirded out by the
dynamic between the guys. It was almost like Sebastian could read her mind about Todd—and didn’t much like what he saw.

“This.” Sebastian leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, taking another sly look in Todd’s direction. Chelsea’s eyes flew open just wide enough to catch the shock that registered on Todd’s face. Chelsea panicked for a minute and then just became annoyed. Why did Sebastian have to kiss her in public like that? It was just so, so…

So like she and Sebastian were actually,
officially
dating, she realized as Sebastian’s strong arms wrapped around her back. And if Sebastian was her boyfriend for real, then who cared if Todd saw her kissing him? It wasn’t like he never kissed those flirty tourist girls—it was perfectly fair for Chelsea to get a little action, too. She closed her eyes and melted into Sebastian’s kiss. Gently, she opened her mouth a little and let her tongue touch Sebastian’s. He moved in closer, breathing a little heavier as he held Chelsea around her bare waist.

Suddenly Sebastian stiffened in her arms and quickly tried to pull away. A white-hot light flashed behind her eyes, and Chelsea opened them quickly. All the lights in the building were on, the music had stopped, and dead silence rang out over the tiled spa. She pulled away from Sebastian and saw the very last thing she wanted to see right then: her father.