Waking Up to Boys (14 page)

T
here was always something bittersweet about the last day of the summer season. All the tourists were gone, and the summer staffers were running around packing all their things, cleaning out the barracks, and getting ready for the Last Afternoon Picnic that had been a Glitterlake tradition for as long as Chelsea could remember.

Chelsea sat on Sara’s bed, watching her carefully fold her clothes into a huge suitcase.

“I’m sure going to miss your wardrobe,” Chelsea joked.

“I knew it—you just love me for my clothes.” Sara pretended to be insulted.

“Clothes, boy advice, and general sisterly there-ness,” Chelsea checked off on her fingers.

Sara looked up from packing shoes in a garment bag and flashed a smile. “If you need help with any of those things, I’m just a phone call away.”

“I may very well take you up on that.” Chelsea fiddled with the corner of Sara’s quilt. “So are you and Leo going to do the long-distance thing?”

“No.” Sara laughed incredulously. “He’s moving to Santa Cruz to be with me while I go to school. He’s already hooked up a bartending gig there! Can you believe it?”

“Wow.” Chelsea slowly let the news sink in. “He must like you a lot if he’s willing to give up a season on the slopes.”

Sara shrugged happily as she folded a cardigan into her suitcase. “He says he’s always wanted to work on his surfing.”

“Hey, girls,” Patty McCormick called from downstairs. “The picnic is about to start—do you want to head down there?”

Sara grinned at Chelsea. “Good,” she said. “I am ridiculously hungry.”

The two of them thundered down the stairs, and Patty grinned at them, obviously happy to see they were finally getting along. She put an arm around each girl and they headed down to the beach, where most of the summer staffers had already gathered and were chowing down on hamburgers, hot dogs, and shish kebabs.

“All right, I know you’re all busy eating, but it wouldn’t be the end of the summer if I didn’t give my famous end-of-summer speech.” Mark McCormick got up on a picnic table and stamped his foot to get everyone’s attention.

“Then don’t give it!” Leo called out, and the entire staff laughed.

“Sorry, but a resort owner’s gotta do what a resort owner’s gotta do,” Mark said jovially. “So, here goes…as I’m sure you all know, it’s been a benchmark summer here at Glitterlake: from the resounding success of Sara’s nature hikes to hosting the Northwest Extreme Water Sports Challenge. And of course, I can’t help mentioning a certain not-quite-off-the-radar pool party”—many of the staff members giggled—“and all the great free hard manual labor I got as a result: That Breakneck Ridge Trail looks awesome!” At this, the entire staff burst into full-blown laughter, and Chelsea’s father joined them.

“In all seriousness,” he continued, “you did a stellar job this year, and thanks to you, Glitterlake had a better summer season than ever. I wish you all the best of luck in the coming year, and hope that you choose to spend next summer right here at home with your Glitterlake family.”

Chelsea looked around and noticed that several of the staffers were actually getting misty-eyed. She felt sad herself: sad that summer was over, sad that Todd was
going away just when they had finally realized their true feelings for each other, sad that wakeboarding season would soon be done, and sad that the resort would empty out and she would have to wait until the first snow brought all the tourists back for ski season.

“And now I want you to enjoy the rest of this beautiful afternoon,” Mark said. “The tourists are gone, and the resort is your playground until you have to leave. Enjoy…and make sure you come and say good-bye to me and Patty before you leave!”

The end of his speech was met with thunderous applause. As the staff slowly rose and began to mingle, Chelsea found herself hurrying over to Sebastian.

“I know you’re leaving for the airport in a couple of hours, and I wanted to make sure I got a chance to say good-bye,” she said.

“I’m glad you did,” Sebastian replied. He held out his arms and wrapped her in a huge, friendly hug. “I’m glad I met you.”

“Me, too,” Chelsea said. “Are you coming back next summer?”

“If your dad will have me,” Sebastian joked, releasing Chelsea and planting a kiss on her cheek. “You take care of yourself while I’m gone, okay? No more broken bones.”

“None, I promise,” Chelsea laughed. She took off in search of Mel and Sienna, but Todd waylaid her. He was wearing his wetsuit.

“How about one last run before the season is over?” He leaned over to give her a kiss, and Chelsea’s head swam with joy. Todd was kissing her in public! He was willing to let the world know that they were together!

“You know I could never say no.” Chelsea grinned.

Ten minutes later she was zipping along behind the boat, the sun on her face and the cool Lake Tahoe breeze whipping through her hair. She could feel the energy of all the summer staffers on the shore: people she finally felt comfortable with, who finally seemed like her friends. She felt freer and happier than she had all summer. She was where she wanted to be, but she was also
who
she wanted to be: a strong, kick-ass girl who was, nevertheless, a
girl
, and who was comfortable enough with herself to land the guy of her dreams.

She maneuvered far out of the wake and began to edge in again, gathering the speed and momentum she would need to hurl her body into the air. As she did, she glanced toward the boat. Todd looked back at her in the rearview mirror and sensed exactly what she was doing. He quickly brought the boat around in a double-up, causing the wake to swell to twice its normal size before Chelsea launched herself in the air on her board, the wind whipping around her face and the sunlight glaring off the lake. She was going to do it! Chelsea turned around again and again and again, her feet hitting the middle of the wake in a strong, perfectly timed whirlybird 720.

She thought all the noise she was hearing must have just been exhilaration and blood rushing in her ears, but when she turned to look at the shore, she saw everyone watching her, clapping and cheering. Her face flushed with happiness and triumph. She had finally done it! It might have taken her all summer, but she had mastered one of the most difficult tricks in the book. It could only get better from there.

“How was that?” Chelsea asked Todd as she climbed back into the boat.

Todd cut the motor so he could turn and devote all his attention to her. He put his arms around her waist and looked at her, smiling. “Well, I don’t know…. I think your rotation timing was a little off. You may want to try counting it out in your he—”

“Would you just shut up?” Chelsea said, grinning at him as she grabbed him around the waist and pulled him toward her for a long, passionate kiss.

And for once, Chelsea didn’t care if the whole resort could see everything she was doing. All she knew was that she was happier than she had ever been before. In the warm summer sunlight, Todd kissed Chelsea back, feeling awake, happy, and alive. The summer season might have been over, but Chelsea knew that her life had just begun.