Spring Fling (22 page)

“We‟re almost ready to go,” Danielle announced as she walked outside. “Oh!” She pretended to sound surprised. “Hi, Cooper! I didn‟t know you were out here.”

“Hey, Danielle,” he greeted as he jumped to his feet.

“You coming to Mindy‟s?” she asked.

“Ethan and I are going to drive over together.”

“We‟ll see you there.”

“See you there,” he said as he waved good-bye.

“Pretty flowers,” Danielle said, picking up the bouquet on the steps. “Where‟d you get them?”

“You know where I got them,” Ava said. “I saw you hiding in the doorway. Real subtle, Danielle!”

“I didn‟t want to spoil things!”

“How much did you see?”

Danielle made kissing noises. “Only the juicy parts!”

Ava groaned.

“What‟s wrong?” Danielle asked.

“Cooper!”

“He likes you.”

“You think I don‟t know that?”

“And from what I just saw, I think you like him, too, right?”

“Right,” Ava slowly answered.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Ava sighed. “I don‟t know. I feel like I‟m sending him mixed signals. Kiss me!

Don‟t kiss me! I need to make up my mind about what I want and then stick to it!” Danielle picked up the photo album on the steps. “Why don‟t we start by throwing this away?”

Ava snatched the album away from Danielle. “I can‟t! I‟m not ready!” She tossed the photo album back into her shoulder bag. “Let‟s not talk about me. Let‟s talk about you and Ethan. Are the two of you officially a couple?”

“We‟re hardly a couple,” Danielle said. “We haven‟t been dating for even a week.”

“You did lock lips with him yesterday.”

“That was for charity.”

“I thought you wanted to kiss him again?”

“I did! I do! But after the kissing booth, we ran into Steve and Howie, and they spent the rest of the day with us. We could hardly kiss in front of them. And then they rode home with us. I didn‟t even get a kiss good night!”

“Poor Danielle,” Ava teased, making kissing sounds of her own. “Not getting her daily dose of kisses. I guess you‟ll have to make up for it today.”

“You bet I will!” Danielle vowed.

“Your party seems to be off to a nice start,” Carmela said as she took a tray of mini pizzas out of the oven.

Mindy peeked out into the backyard. Ethan, Cooper, and Damian had just arrived and were taking off their T-shirts, getting ready to jump into the pool. Naturally, Wanda, Lacey, and Vivienne had rushed over to Damian and surrounded him. The poor guy! She was surprised he could even breathe!

“Let‟s dance!” Wanda exclaimed, turning on the music and grabbing Damian by the hand, pulling him away from Lacey and Vivienne, who glowered at her behind her back.

“She didn‟t waste any time sinking her claws into him,” Carmela commented, handing Mindy a bowl of potato chips and pretzels. “Take these outside to your guests.” Mindy walked onto the patio and put the bowls down on a table, watching as Wanda draped her body against Damian‟s while she danced.

“I thought she had a boyfriend,” Carmela said, coming out with a bucket of ice and cans of soda.

“She does. Rick.”

“Then what‟s she doing with him?”

“It‟s spring break,” Mindy explained. “Wanda says she‟s taking a break from Rick this week.”

Carmela rolled her eyes. “She can call it whatever she wants, but that girl is cheating on her boyfriend!”

“You could also say that,” Mindy agreed just as she heard the doorbell ring. “I‟ll get it. It‟s probably Ava and the girls.”

Mindy went to the front door and opened it, expecting to find Ava. But when she saw who was on the other side, her mouth dropped open. It was the last person she ever expected to see.

Rick Cho.

Wanda‟s boyfriend.

He gave her a smile, his backpack tossed over one shoulder. “Hey, Mindy!” She struggled to find her voice. “Rick! What are you doing here?”

“Why do you seem so surprised?”

Uh, maybe because you’re not supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be back
home! Oh, and your girlfriend is busy cheating on you with another guy only a few feet
away from us!

Mindy‟s mind scrambled for an answer, but all she could think was:
Danger!

Danger! Wanda is wrapped around Damian tighter than a boa constrictor! If Rick gets a
peek at that, there’s going to be a major explosion! Must prevent that from happening. If I
don’t, I’m dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Courtesy of Wanda Wong!

“We didn‟t know you were coming,” she said.

“My dad had to fly down for business and I asked if I could tag along.” Rick looked puzzled. “I called yesterday and left a message. Didn‟t you get it?”

“You did?” Could Carmela have forgotten to give them Rick‟s message? But Carmela never forgot to give messages. She never forgot to do anything. “With who?”

“Lacey.”

Aha!

Now
everything made
perfect
sense!

Lacey hadn‟t told Wanda that Rick had called because she wanted her to get caught with Damian!

“Aren‟t you going to let me in?” Rick asked.

Mindy laughed nervously. “Of course!” She held the door open so Rick could walk into the house, trying to figure out a way to buy more time. She had to warn Wanda that Rick was here.

If she didn‟t…

She shuddered.

She didn‟t even want to think about it!

“What‟s going on?” Rick asked. “I hear music.”

“We‟re having a pool party.”

“Where‟s Wanda?” Rick asked. “I want to see her.”

“Wanda‟s in the pool.” Mindy steered Rick in the direction of the stairs leading to the second floor. “Why don‟t you change into a pair of swim trunks and then join us?

There‟s a guest room at the end of the hall with extra swim stuff.”

“Sounds good,” Rick said.

Mindy waited until she saw Rick reach the top of the stairs. Then she ran out into the backyard. She needed to do
major
damage control. She had to warn Wanda that Rick was here.

As soon as she saw Wanda, who was still dancing with Damian, she grabbed her by the arm, pulling her off to one side.

“Hey!” Wanda complained, trying to shake off Mindy‟s grip. “What are you doing?”

“I need to talk to you,” Mindy whispered. “It‟s important.”

“Later,” Wanda hissed. “I‟m busy with Damian.”

“Now!” Mindy insisted, yanking Wanda into the kitchen.

“This better be important,” Wanda warned, snatching her arm away from Mindy.

“It is.”

Wanda sighed. “What‟s the crisis?”

“Rick.”

“What about him?”

“He‟s here.”

Wanda stared at Mindy in disbelief. “What do you mean he‟s here?” Mindy pointed a finger up in the air. “He‟s
here.
He‟s upstairs changing into a pair of swim trunks.”

Wanda‟s eyes widened with horror. “What‟s Rick doing here?”

“I don‟t know! He said he called yesterday and left a message.”

“I didn‟t get any message,” Wanda growled. “Did your stupid housekeeper forget to give it to me?”

“Carmela‟s not stupid!” Mindy exclaimed.

“Then why didn‟t I know Rick was coming?”

It was on the tip of Mindy‟s tongue to tell Wanda that Lacey, her so-called
friend
, hadn‟t given her the message. But if she did that, she would be pulled into whatever feud was going on between Wanda and Lacey. And Lacey would think she had stabbed her in the back. After all, wasn‟t she also supposed to be Lacey‟s friend? The best thing to do would be to keep her mouth shut for now.

Mindy shrugged. “I don‟t know!”

“Someone messed up,” Wanda hissed, staring at Mindy.

The message was clear.
Mindy
had messed up. And
Mindy
would pay the price if Wanda wound up in hot water with Rick.

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Seconds later, Rick, wearing a pair of yellow boxer-cut swim trunks with a black stripe down the side, was in the kitchen, pulling Wanda into a hug.

“Miss me?” he asked, giving her a kiss.

Wanda kissed him back. “You don‟t know how much!”

“Glad to see me? You seem kind of stunned.”

“Actually, I wasn‟t expecting you,” Wanda confessed.

“Didn‟t Lacey give you my message?”

Mindy sagged with relief against the kitchen counter. The secret was out! And it hadn‟t come from her lips!

Wanda‟s eyes narrowed dangerously, sending chills down Mindy‟s spine. “You gave a message to Lacey?”

“Yesterday morning,” Rick said.

“She didn‟t give it to me.”

“No big deal. Why don‟t we go join the party?”

“Let‟s,” Wanda said.

Mindy followed Wanda and Rick back outside, wondering what was going to happen next. Whatever it was, it was
not
going to be good.

When they reached the pool, Wanda pointed out Ethan and Cooper, who were swimming. Vivienne was sunbathing on a chaise lounge while a smug Lacey was sitting on Damian‟s lap, running her fingers through his hair.

“Look who‟s here,” Wanda said to Lacey, giving her an icy glare. “It seems you forgot to tell me something yesterday.”

Lacey shook her head. “I didn‟t forget.”

Wanda‟s eyes widened in shock, and Mindy couldn‟t believe what she was hearing.

Did Lacey have a death wish?

“You
didn’t
forget?”

Lacey gave Wanda a sweet smile. “I knew how much you were missing Rick, so I wanted his visit to be a surprise. That‟s why I didn‟t tell you he was coming. So, surprise!” Lacey glanced over at Rick. “Was she surprised?”

“You should have seen the look on her face.”

“I would have loved to have seen it.”

“I bet you would,” Wanda muttered.

“I didn‟t know you had a boyfriend,” Rick said to Lacey.

Wanda laughed and gave Lacey her own smug smile. “She doesn‟t. That‟s
Mindy’s
boyfriend, Damian. Lacey just doesn‟t know how to keep her hands to herself!”
What?!

Mindy couldn‟t believe what she was hearing. This day just kept getting crazier and crazier!

“You‟ve kept Damian‟s lap warm enough for Mindy. Time to let her take over,” Wanda said, grabbing Lacey by the arm and pulling her away from Damian. “Go on, Mindy,” Wanda urged, giving her a little shove. “Go sit on your boyfriend‟s lap.” Damian held his arms out to Mindy, his green eyes sparkling with mischief. Oooh, he was enjoying this! “I missed you,” he said. “Did you miss me?” Mindy‟s gut told her to play along. Wanda wanted Rick to think Damian was her boyfriend, so that was what she was going to do.

Mindy slid onto Damian‟s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“You know what I really want to do?” he whispered in her ear.

“What?” she asked, looking down at him.

“Kiss you!”

And before Mindy could say or do anything else, Damian gave her a kiss in front of everyone.

An hour later, Mindy was still remembering Damian‟s kiss.

As she had suspected, he was an excellent kisser.

Well, that had been no surprise.

He probably got plenty of practice at South Ridge High.

Mindy had been kissed before, but Damian‟s kiss had been unlike any other kiss she‟d ever had.

She had melted into it.

Melted!

As soon as his lips had touched hers, she‟d gotten all warm and soft inside. Like a Hershey‟s Kiss that had been left outside in the sun too long.

Unfortunately, there had only been one kiss. Damian‟s kiss had ended just as Ava, Danielle, Lindsey, Jade, and Crystal had arrived, along with Steve and Howie, and Mindy had thrown herself into the role of hostess, making sure everyone had something to eat and drink.

Now Mindy was in the kitchen, getting some more ice, when Wanda came inside.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Wanda said, making sure no one was around.

“About what?”

“Damian.”

“What about him?”

“I wouldn‟t get too used to his kisses. He was playing along.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?” Wanda asked. “Because it seemed like you were enjoying his kiss a little bit too much. Remember, you‟re not really his girlfriend.” Mindy couldn‟t believe what she was hearing! Where did Wanda come off telling her how she should feel about Damian‟s kiss? She was acting like a jealous girlfriend, and Damian wasn‟t even her boyfriend. Rick was! And why was she getting all this heat? She wasn‟t the one who had tried to expose Wanda! Lacey was!

“I know I‟m not really his girlfriend,” Mindy said.
I don’t need you to remind me!

I’m well aware of it! But you want to make sure I don’t forget, don’t you?

“Good,” Wanda said, filling her red cup with ice and heading back outside.

That doesn’t mean I couldn’t be his girlfriend if I really wanted to!
Mindy felt like shouting at her. Then she smashed a tray of ice on the counter and began filling an ice bucket, practically throwing the cubes in.

“Working out some issues?” Ava asked as she came into the kitchen.

“Sometimes Wanda makes me so angry!” Mindy exclaimed.

“What‟s the Wicked Witch done now?” Ava asked, popping a Cheez Doodle into her mouth.

Mindy needed to talk to someone, so she filled Ava in on what had happened before her arrival.

“Damian is fair game,” Ava stated when Mindy had finished. “Wanda has no claim to him. If you want him, you should go after him.”

“But I don‟t know if I want him,” Mindy admitted. “What makes me so mad is that Wanda already has a boyfriend and it‟s like she‟s trying to have another one! That‟s not fair! If she wants to be with Damian, then she should break up with Rick. She shouldn‟t be trying to keep him from the rest of us.”

“Do you like him?” Ava asked.

“Yes,” Mindy answered. “I like him. And he‟s a nice guy, but I don‟t think he‟s looking to date just one girl.”