Spring Fling (7 page)

“There‟s nothing wrong with our relationship,” Josh had said. “Stop being so melodramatic.”

“I‟m not being melodramatic,” Ava had calmly pointed out. “We made plans to spend spring break together and now we‟re not.”

“Plans change,” Josh shot back.

“But you didn‟t even ask me if it was okay!”

“Why should I?”

Ava couldn‟t believe what she was hearing. “Because I‟m your girlfriend!”

“Not if you keep acting like this.”

For Ava, that had been the last straw. She wouldn‟t allow Josh to talk to her like that. Maybe she should have given herself a day or two to cool off, but she had been angry.

And she had wanted to show Josh that he couldn‟t take her for granted. So she instantly told him that if he went to Cancun, it was over between them.

“Then I guess it‟s over,” Josh had said. “I‟ll send you a postcard from Cancun.” And then he had hung up on her.

At first, Ava had been in shock. She couldn‟t believe that her relationship with Josh had ended in less than five minutes. Then she had gotten angry. How could he just hang up on her? Hadn‟t the last ten months meant anything to him?

Instantly, Ava had called Danielle and Lindsey, asking them to come over to her house. She didn‟t tell them why, but they heard the urgency in her voice and raced right over. When they arrived, she lost it and turned into a blubbering mess, telling them that it was over between her and Josh. Both had been speechless when they heard the story and asked what they could do to help. Just listening was enough, Ava told them.

Then, when the chance to go to Miami for spring break came up a couple of days after her breakup with Josh, Ava jumped at it. The last place she wanted to be during spring break was in North Ridge. That was because she and Josh were supposed to have spent the week together at home, and she didn‟t want to be reminded of that.

“She hasn‟t even told anyone at school!” Lindsey exclaimed, cutting into Ava‟s thoughts. “Everyone thinks she and Josh are still a couple.”

“Ava‟s breakup with Josh is her business,” Danielle sternly said. “If she doesn‟t want to talk about it, then she doesn‟t have to.”

Ava wasn‟t ready to discuss Josh with anyone else. It was still too fresh. Eventually, she‟d have to tell her other friends at school, but for now, she was keeping quiet.

“All I‟m saying is that sometimes talking about things helps.” Lindsey went over to Ava and gave her a hug. “I know you‟re hurting. I just want to help take away the hurt.” When Lindsey said things like that, there was no way Ava could stay mad at her.

“I know you‟re only trying to help,” Ava said. “I don‟t mean to be so crabby. I guess I‟m still processing things. Trying to figure it all out. Josh was the first guy I was really serious about. Even though we never said the
L
word, I thought about it. That never happened to me before.”

“Really?” Lindsey gasped, giving Ava another hug. “You never told me that!”

“It‟s going to take some time,” Danielle said. “And you can take all the time you need. Right, Lindsey?”

“Absolutely. But won‟t you please, please, please change into another outfit? I want us to all look fabulous tonight, and I know you packed that cute denim skirt and yellow halter top that you bought on sale at American Eagle last week.” Ava threw up her hands. “I surrender.”

“Go hurry up because Ethan—and his friends, I hope!—are going to be here soon!” The doorbell rang as soon as the words were out of Lindsey‟s mouth.

“He‟s here!” Danielle squealed.

“Calm down,” Lindsey said. “You‟re getting all flushed in the face.”

“I can‟t help it,” Danielle confessed. “I‟m nervous.”

“He‟s the one who should be nervous,” Lindsey said. “He has to impress
you
, not the other way around.”

“Don‟t be nervous,” Ava said. “Just go with the flow. You don‟t have to fall in love with this guy. Have some fun. You can be anyone you want this week.”

“That‟s right,” Lindsey agreed. “Forget about being Danielle. This week you‟re Daring Dani!”

Daring Dani. Danielle mulled it over. She liked it!

Lindsey took Ava by one hand and Danielle by the other, pulling them out into the hallway. “Come on! Let‟s go get this party started!” Then Lindsey stopped in her tracks and pushed Ava in the direction of their bedroom. “But only after you change your outfit!”
Chapter Seven

“Which one are you interested in?” Cooper asked Ethan as they walked into the backyard, where the barbecue was taking place. They‟d been let in by Crystal, who had gone off into the kitchen to get some sodas.

“Danielle,” Ethan said.

“What‟s she look like?”

“She‟s a blonde.”

Cooper‟s eyes traveled around the backyard and stopped when they came to a blonde in denim shorts lighting the barbecue. He whistled. “Foxy!”

“That‟s not her,” Ethan said.

At the sound of Cooper‟s whistle, the girl at the barbecue turned around and gave them a smile. “Hi!” she said, walking over. “I‟m Jade. You must be the guys that Ava and my sister invited.” She waved to the picnic table, where there were bowls of pretzels, potato chips, and other munchies. “Make yourselves at home. We‟ve got plenty of food.”

“Thanks,” Cooper said, reaching for a handful of potato chips.

At that moment, Steve and Howie arrived, and Jade went off to greet them. Ethan watched as Damian‟s brother instantly turned on the charm, making Jade laugh at something he said. Unlike Ethan, Steve always knew what to say to girls.

Ethan could feel his palms getting sweaty and wiped them on the sides of his shorts.

He wanted to sniff his underarms to make sure his deodorant was working but thought that would be too gross. He was so nervous! He‟d changed his clothes four times before deciding on a pair of khaki shorts and a white linen short-sleeve shirt with a pair of yellow Crocs.

“Calm down,” Cooper said. “She‟s not going to bite you. Just be yourself.”

“I‟m
not
myself, remember?” Ethan said, bringing up their bet. “I‟m you!”

“At least you‟ll be able to impress her.”

“Yeah, but only for a week,” Ethan shot back. “What happens when we get back home and I‟m myself again? She lives in our town!”

“You‟re thinking beyond this week?”

“Yes. No. I don‟t know!” a flustered Ethan tried to explain.

Starting tomorrow, he was going to have a fancy car and money to spend, but that wasn‟t his life back home in North Ridge. How was he going to explain that to Danielle if he kept seeing her? Unless he
didn’t
spend Cooper‟s money! Yes! Why hadn‟t he thought of that sooner! As for the car, he‟d try to come up with some sort of logical explanation.

Instantly, Ethan felt like a huge load had been lifted off him.

“Why are you thinking beyond the moment?” Damian declared, sticking his head between Ethan and Cooper and wrapping his arms around their shoulders. “For all you know, the two of you aren‟t going to click! Enjoy the perks!”

“He‟s right,” Cooper agreed. “You worry too much.”

“That‟s because I don‟t want to mess things up with her!”

“So which one is she?” Damian asked.

Ethan looked across the backyard and saw Danielle carrying a tray of hot dogs and hamburgers, with Ava and Lindsey by her side.

“There she is,” Ethan pointed out. “The one in the middle.”

“Wow!” Damian exclaimed. “She‟s hot.”

“She‟s off-limits,” Ethan reminded him. “Eyes back in your head, Wolfie. And stop drooling!”

“You want the brunette or redhead?” Damian asked Cooper.

“They‟re both cute, but I want to talk to the redhead,” Cooper said.

“That‟s Ava,” Ethan said. “Lindsey is the brunette.”

“Hey, Ethan!” Danielle called out. “Want to help me barbecue?” Ethan‟s entire face lit up with a smile as he abandoned Cooper and Damian and raced over to Danielle‟s side.

“We‟re staying for an hour and then we‟re out of here!” Wanda declared as they walked into the backyard. “I didn‟t come all the way down to Miami to hang out with girls from North Ridge High,” she huffed. “Why did we even come tonight?” She didn‟t wait for an answer. “Danielle and her friends aren‟t exactly high on the social ladder at school. This barbecue is probably going to be a dud.”

“Jade said college guys would be here,” Mindy reminded her.

College guys who you’re planning to cheat on Rick with!

“I‟m not holding my breath,” Wanda said. “Jade wasn‟t exactly Miss Popularity when she was at North Ridge High.”

Actually, she had been, but Mindy wasn‟t about to correct Wanda.

“I‟m sure this place is going to be packed with losers and they‟re going to be hanging all over us because we‟re so hot.”

Jade and Crystal were pretty hot, too, maybe even hotter, but Mindy decided not to mention that, either.

“Who‟s the freak wearing the Crocs?” Wanda sneered.

Mindy noticed the guy in Crocs standing next to Danielle at the barbecue. What was wrong with Crocs? Mindy wore them when she was at home. They were extremely comfortable. From the look of distaste on Wanda‟s face, she decided not to mention owning a pair. Among other things. She was losing track of everything that Wanda hated. It had been that way the entire day. Wanda complained nonstop!

“Maybe we can go dancing later,” Lacey suggested. “That would be fun.” Wanda checked the time on her cell phone. “We‟ve got plenty of time to kill. I‟m sure none of the clubs are going to start hopping until ten or eleven.”

“We‟d have to be home by midnight,” Mindy said.

“Why?” Wanda asked.

“It‟s my curfew.”

“You have a curfew?” Lacey asked in disbelief.

“Curfews were made to be broken!” Wanda declared.

“Not mine,” Mindy said. Her parents were pretty laid-back, but the one thing they never budged on was her curfew. And her curfew applied to
everyone
in the house. But how was she going to tell that to Wanda?

“Well, while you‟re in bed, we‟ll be out on the dance floor!” Wanda exclaimed.

“If Mindy‟s curfew is midnight, then our curfew is midnight, too,” Vivienne piped up. “Her parents are responsible for us this week and we have to follow their rules.”

“That‟s true,” Mindy said as she gave Vivienne a grateful smile for coming to her rescue.

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Is this entire week going to be boring?” she complained.

“We‟re going to have a great week!” Mindy vowed, hoping that some hot guys showed up tonight; otherwise Wanda wasn‟t going to let her hear the end of it even though it had been
her
idea to come to the barbecue. But of course she would forget that and blame Mindy. “And to commemorate the first day of spring break, let‟s take a picture.” Mindy pulled out her camera. “Come on, everyone, stand together!”

“How does my hair look?” Wanda asked as she positioned herself between Lacey and Vivienne, forcing them into the background.

“Fabulous!” Mindy exclaimed as she took picture after picture.

After Mindy finished taking the last picture, she turned her camera off. She was slipping it into her purse when Wanda suddenly grabbed her by the arm, her nails once again sinking into her skin. Ouch! Was she going to need a skin graft by the end of the week? Then she panicked. Why was Wanda grabbing her arm? What was she upset about now?

“Who‟s that guy?” Wanda asked.

Mindy looked around the backyard. Guy? What guy was she talking about?

“He‟s gorgeous!” Lacey gasped.

“Talk about yummy!” Vivienne sighed.

Okay, had she suddenly gone blind? What guy were they all talking about and was he
that
good-looking?

Mindy took another look around the backyard and then she saw him, standing in a corner talking to Lindsey and sipping from a red plastic cup.

Okay, the girls were right.

He was gorgeous
and
yummy.

Tall, dark, and handsome also came to mind.

But there was something different about him, too.

Mindy couldn‟t put her finger on what it was.

Maybe it was his eyes.

They sparkled with mischief.

Or the way he smiled.

Cool and confident.

Whatever it was, Mindy liked it.

A lot.

As she was studying him, he tore his gaze away from Lindsey and stared across the backyard at her.

Then he waved his hand and started walking toward her.

“He‟s coming this way!” Vivienne squealed. She started rummaging through her purse for her compact. “I have to check my makeup!”

“He‟s heading toward Mindy!” Lacey exclaimed.

“Do you know him?” a stunned Wanda asked.

Mindy shook her head. “I‟ve never seen him before in my life.” But as he got closer, Mindy doubted her words. There was something about this guy. Something familiar. But what? If she thought about it for a little bit, she was sure she‟d come up with the answer. It was buried somewhere in her mind.

“Mindy Yee!” he exclaimed, giving her a hug and lifting her off her feet. “I haven‟t seen you in years.”

A speechless Mindy wrapped her arms around him so she wouldn‟t fall to the ground. As she did, there was no mistaking the rock-hard muscles hidden under his T-shirt.

Or the jealous looks the Princess Posse were sending her way.

“Hey! H-h-hi!” she sputtered as he put her back down. Obviously this guy knew her, but she had no idea who he was! “Long time, no see!”

“You don‟t remember me, do you?”

Mindy laughed nervously. “Of course I remember you!”

“Prove it,” he dared. “What‟s my name?”

His name. Mindy‟s mind scrambled. What was his name?

“How about I give you a clue?”

Before Mindy could say anything, he leaned over and whispered into her ear. “You still owe me a kiss.”