Island Girls (and Boys) (13 page)

I
was in the bathroom getting ready for my big date. After lunch, Dylan and I had returned to the beach for a little while. We�d played in the surf, stretched out on our blankets on the sand. And spent a good deal of time kissing.

Tomorrow I�d follow through on the promise I�d made to him earlier, about getting a sailboat from the marina. We couldn�t do it today, obviously. Because I was supposed to be sick.

Tonight we were going to party at some of the clubs on the island. I wanted to make sure that Dylan�s eyes never strayed from me. Although he�d repeatedly slathered lotion on me through the afternoon, I looked as though I�d been in the sun all day, a very pale pinkish hue. To enhance the island girl look, I used a light bronze eye
shadow and a shimmery, tawny blush. I was leaning over the sink, close to the mirror, applying mascara when the door suddenly burst open. I slashed the tip of the mascara brush across my forehead, leaving a black line. Great. Just great.

�Are you happy now?�

Chelsea stood there looking seriously peeved.

�Well, yeah,� I answered. After all, I was going to spend time this evening with Dylan. Why wouldn�t I be happy?

�Because you know you�re a real bitch, butting in where you have absolutely no business.�

Whoa!

�I�m totally lost here, Chels.�

�Noah got a job.�

I stared at her. �What?�

�This afternoon. He�s going to work as a waiter at the Sandpiper. At night! And I work during the day. We�ll never see each other. And it�s all your fault! Why did you tell him that he needed to help out with the expenses?�

�I didn�t tell him�� I stopped. Remembered our conversation that morning when I asked
him to give me some privacy during lunch. I leaned my hip against the sink. �I wasn�t issuing a command or anything. I was simply reacting to something he said. With a quick comeback line. It didn�t mean anything.�

�Well, it meant something to him. He thinks you think he�s a bum. And he�s pissed at me for not telling him that we were paying for everything.�

�Who did he think was paying?�

She tucked her arms across her chest defensively and shifted her stance. �I told him the summer here was a graduation gift from our parents. That we were only working at the campground to help out some friends of yours.�

�You lied to him! No wonder he�s mad.�

�I just wanted us to have this summer together. Now you�ve ruined it. You�ve been jealous ever since Noah came into my life.�

�I�m not jealous.�

�Just because I have a boyfriend and you don�t.�

�Excuse me? I�m cool with you having a boyfriend. I want you to be happy��

�Then keep your nose out of my business!�

She slammed the door. I could hear her stomping down the stairs. I couldn�t believe this. But I had to admit that a part of me was glad that Noah was going to start contributing his share. It wasn�t fair that we were divvying up the expenses between three when four of us lived here. Well, five, now that Alex was around. I probably needed to talk with Amy to make sure that he was contributing, too.

There was a soft knock. �Jen?�

�Come on in, Amy.� Why not? It was Grand Central Station around here.

She opened the door slightly and peered inside. �Have we got serious PMS going on around here?�

�Apparently.�

�Are you two going to be fighting all summer?�

�We weren�t fighting. She just blames me because Noah got a job.�

�What�s wrong with Noah getting a job? That�s terrific. He can help with the expenses.�

�My thoughts exactly. But he�s working at night��

�And Chelsea works during the day. Bummer.�

�This so was not how I planned for our summer to go.�

I heard the roar of a motorcycle arriving. Dylan.

Amy grinned. �Let it all go, Jen. Don�t think about it. Chelsea will calm down eventually, and she�ll see that it�s all a good thing. Tonight, just have fun.�

�I intend to.�

I wasn�t going to think about Amy�s strays or Chelsea�s tantrums every time something didn�t go her way. I was going to spend tonight thinking only about me�me and Dylan.

 

We ended up at a club right on the beach. The windows were open and the breeze was blowing through. We could see the sunset. And with the promise of night came the promise of something more. I couldn�t explain it.

Dylan was so hot. Not dressed up, of course. His black T-shirt, stretching across his shoulders, was tucked into his snug jeans.

I was in low-cut jeans. My striped top
stopped just above my waist. The area at the shoulders was cut away so my shoulders and a small portion of my arms were bared. It made me feel sexy. But not as sexy as he was.

It wasn�t fair that he could look this hot with so little effort. I�d spent hours getting ready. And he�d probably done nothing more than shower and throw on his clothes.

A live band was playing in the corner. Tables were scattered around the area where people were dancing. We were sitting by the window. As shadows crept into the room, the lights remained low. It was romantic, like something from an old movie.

�What are you going to do after college?� he asked.

I laughed. �I have no idea. I need to get through it first.�

�Take a guess.�

�I�ll work for some company, start out in management and work my way up to CEO.�

�You�re ambitious. Will you be on the island during the summers?�

I wondered if he was asking because he was thinking of coming back.

�Probably. I like it here. It�s so relaxed.�

Except when Chelsea and I were at odds, but I wasn�t going to think about that. Not tonight.

�I love hanging out at the beach,� he said.

�And you�re going to go all the way down the Texas coast?� I knew the answer, but I was hoping maybe he�d changed his mind. Maybe he�d say, �No, I�ve decided to just stay here.�

�All the way,� he said.

I fought not to let my disappointment show.

�I�ve been planning it for years,� he continued. �Bumming along the coast. Seeing what there is to see. Meeting people.�

�You�d think one stretch of beach would look pretty much like the next.� I was beginning to sound desperate.
Don�t leave. Don�t leave. Don�t leave.

�You�d think. But there�s always something a little different. If nothing else, the people are different.�

I didn�t want to think that he really meant the
girls
were different.

I stood up abruptly and gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile. �Let�s dance.�

We danced fast, we danced slow. Even if the music was fast, we danced however we wanted. I loved that about Dylan. The fact that he never conformed to the expected. It was so unlike me, and I began to think that maybe it was true what they said: opposites really did attract.

He was spending the summer as a beach bum, while I was working, worrying about a budget and chores, and being responsible for the care and upkeep of my grandparents� house. Sure, when he went into the army, responsibility would be all over him. But first, he was taking a true vacation away from it.

I admired and envied him at the same time. It seemed so courageous to set out with a plan that was nothing more than seeing what the next day would bring. No lists, no tasks, no budget. To be a free spirit. To see where life took you.

It had taken him to me, and I didn�t know what to do about it in the long run. To accept that these few days, these last hours would be all that we�d ever have, and make the most of them? Or shy away from the challenge?

But how could I know which choice wouldn�t lead to regrets?

Maybe they both did. Maybe it was only a question of the kind of regrets�regrets for doing something, regrets for not doing it.

I was getting way too philosophical and heavy here. And maybe Dylan realized it, because he drew me close while we were dancing and began nuzzling my neck. I stopped thinking about regrets and choices and the future.

I got swept away in the now.

We stayed at the club until it closed at two. Then we walked out into the night, to the beach where the waves lapped at the shore. Since tomorrow was my legitimate day off, I wasn�t worried about staying out late, because I could sleep in.

For a while anyway. Then I�d get up and make a picnic lunch and go sailing with Dylan.

He put his hands on my waist and brought me against him, dipped his head, and kissed me. Long, lazily. I loved the way he kissed.

Drawing back, he placed his forehead against mine. �Do I take you back to your place�or to mine?�

�For tonight, to mine.�

Maybe tomorrow, after another day with him, another evening, I could give him the answer he wanted.

W
ednesday morning I basked in the luxury of sleeping in. Although I�d told Dylan that I wouldn�t sleep in his tent, he hadn�t been in any rush to get me home. We�d taken our time, walking along the beach, kissing, talking. It was as though once he accepted that he would be sleeping solo, he was okay with it.

Disappointed, sure.
I
would have been disappointed if he hadn�t been.

But no hard feelings. Total understanding.

It had taken us more than two hours to make our way back to my place. Even then, we�d gone to the crow�s nest, searched out the dolphins in the bay�using the faint lights from town, the moon, and the stars. We�d talked some more and kissed a lot more.

It was close to dawn before I crawled into bed.

So now I was waking up, stretching, grateful for a true day off. A day to spend with Dylan without the guilt of lying to my boss. Or most of the day. It was already close to noon. I had a sailboat to secure.

I got out of bed, shuffled to the desk, and powered up my computer. It was the first time in days that I�d had a chance to look at my horoscope. Almost since Dylan had come into my life. I clicked the shortcut and went straight to my horoscope.

You�re not the only one thinking of the cost of commitment. A major change is on the horizon. Be prepared.

A commitment and a major change? I sat on the edge of the bed. It could only be talking about one thing: Dylan. And our relationship. We were going to bump it up to the next level.

I got up, walked into the hallway, opened the door to the bathroom�

And froze.

A strange guy was standing at the sink brushing his teeth. He gave me a frothy grin. �Hey.�

�Who the hell are you?�

�Mike. Amy said I could��

I held up my hand. �Never mind. Just hurry up, will ya? I need the bathroom.�

�Oh, yeah, sure.�

He spit, rinsed his toothbrush�at least, I hoped it was his, and not mine. He wiped his mouth then sidled out past me.

�This is a great��

I slammed the door. Another stray. Another guy. The summer of girls that I�d expected to have was turning into the summer of guys.

But then I thought of Dylan, and decided that maybe it wasn�t such a bad thing.

 

By one that afternoon Dylan hadn�t shown up, and I had one of those
duh!?!
moments. Since we�d made plans to go sailing and the sailboat was at the campground, he�d probably expected me to meet him there, not have him come get me.

I wished I�d realized this long before, like before Amy and Chelsea had taken off in the car to get to work. I thought about asking Noah for a lift but he wasn�t up yet�probably exhausted
from his first night at work. Besides I sorta felt guilty that I�d forced him to get a job.

Get over it, Jen. You didn�t force him.

Still, I decided to rely on my own means of transportation. I stuffed sandwiches, towels, and sunscreen into a backpack. I�d pick up anything else I needed at the CCR store once I got there. I put on an Astros baseball cap to shield my face from the sun. Then I got my bike out of the shed and headed out.

As I cycled along, the sun warming my legs and arms�I was wearing shorts and a tank top over my bathing suit�I thought of Dylan. Our relationship.

I�d only known him a short time, but I cared about him so much already. I loved spending time with him. And I felt a little guilty that I hadn�t been as understanding as maybe I should have been when Chelsea had Noah move in with us. I might owe her an apology. I�d have to think on it some more. But later.

Right now, all I wanted was to think about Dylan. The blue of his eyes. The way his dark hair fell across his brow. The way the breeze ruffled it. His shoulders. His height. He was
quite simply perfect. Nice. Fun. And a magnificent kisser.

I turned off the main road onto the road that led to the campground, my heart pumping as hard as my legs. I could just imagine him�standing beside his tent, hands on his hips, saying something about girls always being late. Then forgiving me for messing up�for not confirming how I was supposed to get to the campground�and giving me one of his long, slow kisses.

I cycled over the blacktop between the main building and the snack bar. I could see the trailer and motor home parked along the bay, the vehicles between which I could usually see Dylan�s tent. Only it wasn�t there. I could only see sand and beyond it water.

It had to be a mirage, the sun somehow reflecting off their tent making it seem invisible�like a Klingon cloaking device. That had to be it.

Peddling faster, I tore through the campground. Gasping, I braked at the edge of a paved campsite. I got off my bike, dropped it on the ground, and walked through the site to the
beach. Maybe he�d moved his tent and it was hidden from view, behind another trailer. I got to the sand, but his tent was nowhere to be seen. Nowhere. The beach was practically empty, deserted. This was all wrong.

This was my day off. We were going sailing.

As I made my way to the marina, I think my staggering walk might have resembled the cat�s yesterday morning. I was in shock, disbelief. I went inside. Mr. P was behind the counter.

He looked up. �Hi, Jennifer. Feeling better today?�

I nodded, but inside I was thinking,
I feel worse, so much worse
. I licked my dry lips. �Did Dylan work this morning?�

�No, those boys were gone before I did my early morning run.�

Every day before dawn, he went through the campground, making sure no one had sneaked in without paying. Not that it would be easy for a trailer to do any sneaking.

�Did he say anything to you yesterday�about leaving, I mean?�

�Nope, but then, he wouldn�t. We had a pretty informal arrangement.�

�Okay. Thanks.�

�Are you all right?�

I shook my head. �I�m not feeling as good as I thought I was.�

�You go on home. Spend another day in bed. There�s a summer flu going around.�

I nodded. �That�s probably it. I�ll see you later.�

I left the marina, walked back to where I�d left my bike, and stared at all the sand.

Dylan didn�t say anything about leaving. But the truth was staring me in the face.

He was gone.