Island Girls (And Boys) Read online

  �Where did she find the dog?� Dylan asked.

  �I don�t know. She heard him last night. She�s like that. Taking in the strays.�

  Noah and Chelsea were up ahead, wound around each other like they couldn�t walk without the support of the other. I wished I had the nerve to wrap my arm around Dylan�s waist, snuggled up against his side. I wished he�d swing his arm around my shoulders and pull me close.

  He took my hand, and for the moment, that was good enough. We held gazes, like we thought nothing would appear in our path to trip us up. Considering all the debris that the ocean washed onto shore, it wasn�t a smart move. But before we did stumble, Zach yelled, �Hey, guys! I think this is it!�

  As much as I didn�t want to stop looking at Dylan, I did. I could see a fire on the beach. It wasn�t much of a fire. I suspected that the party planners had trouble finding dry driftwood. Even though the temperatures had risen into the high 90s that afternoon, a lot of the area hadn�t dried out completely. A small crowd milled around. People who would soon be shadows as the sun sank lower.

  The nice thing about summer was that night didn�t fall until late, which gave us plenty of time to play. Too much time when we had to get up early to get to work.

  But I wasn�t thinking about work now. I was thinking about the party and being with Dylan.

  We met Susan and Tom.

  �So what did you guys bring?� Tom asked.

  I was majorly embarrassed to have arrived empty-handed. Well, not exactly empty-handed, if I counted Dylan�s hand in mine.

  �We brought ourselves,� Noah said.

  �That�s cool,� Tom said, but I had the impression that he didn�t think it was cool at all.

  �We should go get something,� I whispered to Dylan.

  �Yeah.�

  �There�s a convenience store just up the way. We could get something there,� I suggested.

  �I�ve got a better idea,� Chelsea said. �Tomorrow night we�ll throw a party and invite all these people to our place.�

  �I�m not so sure that�s a good idea.�

  �Why not?�

  �We don�t know all these people.�

  �They don�t know us and they invited us. Besides, by the time we leave, we�ll know everyone. Get real, Jen. It�s a holiday weekend. There should be parties every night. People could stay outside if you�re worried that they�ll steal something��

  �I�m not worried.� Okay. I was a little.

  �What do you think, Amy?� Chelsea asked.

  �I think it would be okay.�

  That wasn�t exactly a resounding endorsement of Chelsea�s plan. Her okay sounded more like a hesitant �fine,� like she didn�t really think it was a good idea but was afraid to commit to saying so.

  �Great! Two to one, we�re partying at our place tomorrow night. Spread the word.�

  Before I could argue, Chelsea had invited Susan and Tom. We were forgiven for not bringing anything. I had a feeling that in the long run walking to a convenience store and buying a bag of chips and some drinks would have been less trouble.

  My businesslike mind started planning this party that Chelsea had arranged. We could have the party outside, beneath the beach house. We could grill hot dogs. It could work.

  �It�ll be okay,� Dylan said.

  �Yeah, and fun,� I said, trying to sound upbeat.

  And not worry. And wondering when my friends and I had started to no longer think alike. There was a time when we�d known what the other was going to say before anyone spoke. But I�d certainly not expected Chelsea to suggest a party at our place or for Amy to blithely agree with her.

  �I�ll get us something to drink,� Dylan said. He headed toward a line of ice chests.

  �You�re not mad at me, are you?� Amy asked.

  �You didn�t sound exactly enthused about the idea.�

  �It�ll be a good chance to meet more people. We don�t want to spend the summer completely alone.�

  �We�re hardly doing that,� I said. �We�re a week into being on the island and we have Noah, Zach, and Dylan.�

  �Chelsea has Noah. You have Dylan. Zach is with me by default.�

  �That�s not true.�

  �Yes, it is. I can see there�s something special with you and Dylan. And Chelsea is all over Noah like he�s made of chocolate.�

  I laughed. �They are pretty bad.�

  �Zach is nice and I like him, but we�re just friends. Passing the time until he leaves.�

  �Has he said when they�re doing that�leaving?� I hadn�t asked Dylan because I didn�t really want to know.

  �No.�

  �Then don�t ask, and don�t tell me if you do ask. I just want it to happen without warning.�

  �That�ll make it hard, Jen.�

  �It�ll be harder if I�m counting the minutes. This way, I can pretend that there isn�t an end coming.�

  �But there will be. Soon.�

  �I know, Amy. And I�ll deal with it then.�

  �Deal with what?�

  I turned to Dylan, wondering when he�d returned, how much he�d heard. Obviously not much if he didn�t know what I was talking about, and I wasn�t about to tell him.

  �I was just saying that I�d deal with the party planning tomorrow.�

  �Good idea.� He handed me a wine cooler and grinned. �Right now, it�s party time!�

  CHAPTER 20

  I drank the wine cooler, because I didn�t want to admit that I was too young. Besides, I wasn�t that underage. And, for a while, the drinking age in this state had been eighteen, so back then, I would have been old enough to drink. And, if I were in Europe with my grandparents, I�d be drinking wine. Everyone drank wine over there. It sounded totally rational to me, especially by the time I finished the wine cooler.

  Along with everyone else, Dylan and I were dancing on the sand. Someone had hooked up a CD player to speakers and music was blasting into the night. The fire was still going. Dylan handed me another wine cooler. I was feeling good. Really good. Totally relaxed.

  The party tomorrow night was starting to sound like a terrific idea whenever I thought about it. Which wasn�t very often. Mostly I thought about Dylan. And how much I liked him, and how much I didn�t want to think about him leaving.

  Every now and then he�d pull me close, dance slowly with me nestled up against him. Even when the rhythm of the music was fast. Like we were dancing to a song that only he could hear. Then he�d release me and we�d be dancing again to the same music as everyone else.

  It was nearly midnight when he pulled me close again, rubbed his cheek against mine, his mouth near my ear. I could feel his warm breath against my neck.

  �I�ve had way too many beers,� he said.

  �Me, too.�

  �You didn�t have any beers.�

  �Wine coolers, then. Too many wine coolers.�

  �You know what I�ve always wanted to do?�

  I shook my head.

  �Swim in the ocean at night.�

  �It�s too dark. You can�t see what�s out there.�

  �Nothing�s in the ocean at night that�s not there during the day.�

  I jerked my head back. �Are you crazy? Have you seen Jaws?�

  �Jaws 1, 2, and 3-D. Like I said, there�s nothing in the water at night that�s not there during the day. Let�s go swim.�

  �I�m not wearing my bathing suit.�

  He grinned. �Neither am I.�

  Be bold, Jennifer, I thought.

  �What about Amy and Chelsea��

  �They won�t miss us.�

  Chelsea definitely wouldn�t, but Amy�she�d be fine. She had Zach and her dog. And I had Dylan. For only a short time.

  �Okay.� I sounded breathless, nervous, scared, and excited. Because I was all those things. And a little lightheaded, a little disoriented.

  Dylan