Spring Fling (11 page)

“I think you have a fan club,” Ava said when Cooper rejoined her. “You‟re really good with kids. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

“I‟m an only child. How about you?”

“I have a younger sister, Carrie, who‟s a sophomore at North Ridge High.”

“It must be nice having a sister.”

“It is when we‟re not fighting with each other.”

“Uh-oh,” Cooper said, staring over Ava‟s shoulder. “I think we‟re about to have a natural disaster!”

Ava turned around and cried out as a big wave came in, splashing over them and washing away their sand castle.

“Yuck!” Ava exclaimed, staring at the wet sand covering her body from head to toe.

“Let‟s go in for a swim,” Cooper suggested.

They jumped into the water to wash off all the wet sand and then floated on their backs, pointing out clouds in the sky and the shapes they resembled.

“I‟m starting to wrinkle like a prune,” Ava said, holding up a finger, after they‟d been in the water for a while. “I‟m going to head back to the sheet.”

“I‟ll go with you,” Cooper said, swimming after her.

When they got back onshore, Cooper took Ava‟s hand in his. Ava let him hold it for a little bit as they walked through the crowd, but then she pulled her hand away. If Cooper noticed, he didn‟t say anything. When they got back to their sheet, Ava started toweling herself off.

“Your back is getting red,” Cooper pointed out, walking over with the sunblock.

“Let me put some more on you.”

“That‟s okay.”

“You‟re telling me you‟d rather take the risk of burning like a lobster?” Cooper waved his fingers. “Magic hands, remember?”

“I can do it myself,” Ava insisted.

“Do you have elastic arms? There‟s no way you‟ll be able to reach the middle of your back.”

“I can do it myself,” Ava repeated as she squirted some sunblock onto her hands and began rubbing it onto her back and shoulders. “See?”

“I can see where you‟re
not
getting it.”

“I‟ll be fine,” Ava said, closing the bottle. “You know what? I‟m hungry. Why don‟t I go to the concession stand and get us some lunch? My treat.” Before Cooper could say anything else, Ava grabbed her tote bag and hurried off.

Cooper watched as Ava headed to the concession stand.

Why wouldn‟t she give him a chance?

Even though he told her he was okay with just being friends, he wanted more than that. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her.

The more he wanted to kiss her.

And it wasn‟t because of his bet with Ethan.

He wasn‟t even thinking of the bet. It was the last thing on his mind.

He wanted to kiss Ava because he liked her.

And the way a guy showed a girl he liked her was with a kiss.

But it was like she had this guard up and she was determined not to let anyone past it.

It was all her ex-boyfriend‟s fault.

He‟d hurt Ava and because of the way he hurt her, she wasn‟t willing to trust another guy.

Cooper sighed, trying not to feel frustrated.

He reminded himself to be patient.

After all, it was only day one.

He still had the rest of the week.

And he didn‟t just have magic hands.

He had magic lips, too.

“Ready for some lunch?” Ethan asked Danielle after they had finished waterskiing.

“Want to grab a hot dog?” Danielle suggested.

Ethan shook his head. “We can do better than a hot dog,” he said as they walked along the dock back to the beach. “Let‟s try this place.” Danielle gazed at the Ocean View, the restaurant Ethan was pointing to. “It looks kind of expensive.”

“Don‟t worry about the price,” Ethan said as he took Danielle by the hand and led her up to the restaurant‟s gold-encrusted glass doors. “It‟s my treat.” Ethan wanted to impress Danielle. So far, their date was going great and he wanted to keep it that way. Why not use Cooper‟s credit card again? He‟d already used it to go waterskiing. Just one more time. After all, his intentions were good. He liked Danielle and wanted to show her that.

“Are you sure you want to eat here?” Danielle asked.

“Positive.”

Ethan held the front door open for Danielle.

Cool air-conditioning wafted over them as they walked inside and a hostess instantly came over. “Welcome to the Ocean View.”

They were shown to a table by the window and handed two menus written in calligraphy and printed on parchment paper. Ethan couldn‟t help but notice how fancy everything was. The tables were covered with white linen and there were multiple place settings, along with two sets of cut crystal glasses and silverware. There was also a bouquet of white tulips in a gold bowl on the center of every table.

“I don‟t know which is the right fork to use,” Danielle whispered.

“I think you‟re supposed to start from the outside and work your way in. At least that‟s what they said on
Charm School.
”

Danielle raised an eyebrow. “
Charm School
? You must be a reality TV watcher.”

“I love it,” Ethan said. “It‟s better than scripted TV because you never know what the people you‟re watching are going to do or say next.”

“I‟m addicted to
The Bachelor
,” Danielle confessed.

“Why does every girl love
The Bachelor
?”

Danielle shrugged. “I don‟t know. We just do. Why do so many guys like WWE

wrestling?”

“This guy doesn‟t,” Ethan said. “WWE is
so
fake.”

“What should we order?” Danielle asked. “There are too many choices.”

“What looks good to you?”

Danielle‟s eyes glanced over the menu. “I‟ll probably get a burger.”

“You can get a burger anywhere. Order something exotic. Something you wouldn‟t ordinarily eat.”

“Like what?”

Ethan peeked at the menu again. “Oysters!”

Danielle made a face. “Gross!”

“What‟s wrong with oysters?”

“They‟re so slimy.”

“I‟m going to get some.”

Danielle decided to order a crab salad, while Ethan went with the oysters and a lobster roll.

As they waited for their food, Ethan and Danielle talked about everything from movies and TV shows to books and music. They also both confessed to being nervous about their upcoming SAT exams.

“It boggles my mind that so much is riding on that one test,” Danielle said as she took a sip of lemonade.

“Well, it‟s not like
everything
is riding on it. Our school grades, extracurricular activities, and letters of reference also matter.”

“I know, I know. But everyone is so focused on the SAT. It‟s like THE BIG

TEST!”

“I‟m sure you‟ll ace it.”

“We‟ll see,” Danielle murmured. “Once I get home, I need to hit the books again.”

“No more talk about serious stuff!” Ethan insisted. “We‟re on spring break!” Just then their waiter, a fiftysomething guy with a full head of silver hair, pouchy eyes, and a deep tan, arrived with their food. After serving Danielle, he placed a plate of oysters in front of Ethan.

“Sure you don‟t want one?” Ethan asked as he squeezed some fresh lemon and added a dash of Tabasco sauce to his oysters.

Danielle made a face. “They‟re all yours.”

Ethan popped an oyster into his mouth. And almost spit it back out! Danielle was right. It was slimy!

“How‟s it taste?” Danielle asked.

Ethan forced himself to swallow.

He couldn‟t
not
eat it in front of Danielle.

“Delicious,” he choked out.

She pointed to his plate. “You‟ve got five more to go.”
Lucky me
, Ethan thought as he brought another shell to his lips. Somehow, he managed to swallow all six oysters. Ugh! At least his lobster roll was edible.

When it came to dessert, Danielle couldn‟t make up her mind. “I don‟t know if I want the chocolate mousse or the peach tart.”

“How about you get the chocolate mousse and I‟ll get the peach tart and we‟ll share?”

“Great!”

Ethan had assumed they would each put part of the dessert on the other‟s plate, but Danielle had her own idea. He was caught totally off guard when she brought a spoonful of her mousse to his lips.

“Open up,” she said.

Ethan had never had a girl feed him before. He opened his mouth, and Danielle slipped her spoon in.

“Good, huh?”

A speechless Ethan nodded. Then he gave Danielle a forkful of his peach tart.

“Yummy!” she exclaimed.

As Danielle licked a bit of whipped cream from the corner of her mouth, Ethan wondered what her lips would feel like pressed against his.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Danielle said.

Yikes! He couldn‟t tell her what he was thinking. Ethan‟s mind scrambled. And then he remembered something.

“You mentioned wanting to go to the beach tomorrow. When we were looking for a spot to put down our sheet, remember?”

“Uh-huh,” Danielle said around a mouthful of mousse.

“Still want to?”

Ethan held his breath while waiting for Danielle‟s answer.

“Sure.”

Yes!!!

This day couldn‟t get any better.

“Your check,” their waiter announced as he returned to the table with a leather billfold. Ethan reached into his wallet and pulled out one of the two credit cards Cooper had given him, handing it to the waiter, who disappeared.

Seconds later, their waiter returned.

“We have a problem,” he said. “Your credit card has been declined.”

“Declined?”

“That means it‟s no good.”

“I know what it means!” Ethan testily snapped. He reached into his wallet and took out the other credit card. “Try this one.”

The waiter left again and then came back. “Also declined. Since your credit cards aren‟t working, you‟ll have to pay in cash.”

How could Cooper‟s credit cards be declined? He hadn‟t had a problem when he used one to go waterskiing that morning. Had he hit Cooper‟s credit card limit? And of all days for it to happen, it had to be
today
?!

Ethan knew how much money he had in his wallet and it wasn‟t enough to pay the bill.

This day couldn‟t get any
worse
!

“I‟ll be right back,” he told Danielle, as he stepped away from the table to use his cell phone.

Outside the restrooms, Ethan dialed Cooper‟s number. But Cooper didn‟t answer.

Instead, the call went straight to voice mail.

“Coop!” Ethan hissed. “Where are you? I‟m in the middle of a super-embarrassing situation and it‟s all your fault. Your credit cards are useless! Call me as soon as you get this message!”

After Ethan got off the phone, he returned to the table. There was only one thing he could do. As much as he didn‟t want to, he had no choice.

“Is everything okay?” Danielle asked.

“Danielle, I hate to ask, but could you help me pay the bill? There‟s a problem with my credit cards and I don‟t have enough cash on me.”

Danielle reached into her tote bag. “You‟re welcome to whatever I have, but it‟s not a lot. I‟m always afraid of losing my wallet when I go to the beach, so I never take a lot of money with me.”

“Thanks,” he said when Danielle gave him what she had.

“Are you ready to pay?” their waiter asked when he returned to the table.

“We don‟t have the full amount,” Ethan said, handing over the billfold.

The waiter stared down at Ethan, making him feel like he was two inches tall.

“Really?”

“But we can come back with the rest,” Ethan promised, trying not to squirm in his seat. “Or we can call our friends and ask them to bring the difference.”

“Stay right there,” the waiter said as he left with the billfold. “I‟m going to speak with the manager.”

Five minutes later, he came back. “Follow me. Both of you.”

“Where are we going?” Ethan asked.

He hadn‟t called the police, had he? Were they going to jail?

The waiter led them into the kitchen, where he pointed to a sink full of dirty dishes.

“Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Once those dishes are washed and dried, your bill will be paid in full. And in the future, I strongly suggest you make sure you have enough money in your wallet before going to a restaurant that you can‟t afford!” Ethan was mortified. Danielle probably thought she was on the date from hell. He turned to face her. “Danielle, I‟m really, really, really sorry about this. All I wanted to do was take you to a nice lunch. I didn‟t know I was going to have a problem with my credit cards.”

And when I get back to the beach house, Coop is going to have an even bigger
problem! Like my hands around his neck!

“Don‟t worry about it. These things happen. I guess we shouldn‟t have ordered those two desserts, huh?”

“You‟re not mad?” Ethan asked in disbelief.

“What‟s the point of getting mad? It‟s not going to change the situation.” She pointed to the pile of dishes they had to wash. “Let‟s just get this over with so we can go back to the beach!”

For a guy who hadn‟t wanted to go to the beach with four girls, Mindy noticed Damian didn‟t seem to be having a problem. Why would he? Wanda, Lacey, and Vivienne were fawning all over him. And he was loving it.

That morning at breakfast, when she‟d returned with the donuts, Mindy had announced that Damian was meeting them at the beach. He‟d called her on her cell while she was at Donut World and confirmed their plans. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Wanda, Lacey, and Vivienne had raced back to their bedrooms to get ready.

“How come you‟re not rushing to make yourself gorgeous?” Carmela had asked as she started clearing the dining room table.

“Damian is off-limits to me,” Mindy had answered.