Island Girls (And Boys) Read online

  �Where did they all come from?�

  �Here, there, everywhere.�

  I took the brownies out of the oven.

  �You�re okay with people inside the house?� she asked.

  �Sure. It�s a new me, Amy. Live and let live. I�m an islander. Take life easy.�

  �I�m glad we decided to spend the summer here,� she said. �You had a great idea.�

  �Yeah, it�s been good.� I leaned near her and winked. �And you got a boyfriend.�

  �He�s thinking of moving to College Station at the end of the summer, to be near me. He says college towns always need bartenders.�

  �You really like him,� I mused.

  She nodded enthusiastically. �A lot.�

  I hugged her. I didn�t know why. Maybe I wanted some of her true happiness to rub off on me, because the truth was, if I was honest with myself, I was only pretending to be happy, and I was afraid that it showed.

  There was a time when I wouldn�t have pretended with my friends. I would have told them that I�d never been so lonely in my entire life, that the loneliness was like a sharp pain in my heart that pricked every time I moved. But they were happy, and I didn�t want to bring them down. Not any more. Not for the rest of the summer.

  I went into the living room, and Alex poured me a strawberry margarita. He grinned at me. �This was a great idea. We can drink till we drop, and no one has to drive.�

  �Exactly.� I took a sip of the thick frozen concoction. It was good. �You know, if you hurt Amy I�ll break your kneecaps.�

  He laughed, apparently taking no offense at my statement. �Then my kneecaps are safe. I�d never hurt her. I like her too much.�

  �Good.�

  I made my way outside. Someone had set the stereo speakers on the balcony, and music was raining down on us. Chelsea and Noah were manning the grill. The aroma of charred meat wafted through the air.

  �Steaks?� I asked incredulously once I got near enough to see what he was cooking.

  �We thought we should go all out, and we got a huge discount from the guy who supplies the restaurant,� Chelsea said.

  �My Chels is a bargain shopper,� Noah said.

  Chelsea stepped away from him, took my arm, and led me a short distance away. �You and I haven�t really had a chance to talk since I quit the campground. So you see how it was with me and Noah? We just never saw each other.�

  I wanted to say that explanation gave him no excuse for kissing another girl, but I bit my tongue. Chelsea had to live with her choices, not me. �Yeah, I see.�

  Although I really didn�t.

  �He wasn�t kissing that girl. She was kissing him. She�d gotten drunk��

  �Chels, it�s not my business.�

  �I just don�t want you thinking badly of him.�

  �As long as you�re happy, that�s all that matters.�

  �I am happy, Jen. Totally.�

  �Then I�m happy, too.�

  And I was. For Chelsea and for Amy. And in a way for myself. Because I was free to play the field. And I planned to do exactly that. I was going to have fun with every guy here, dance until my feet ached, drink until my head spun, eat until my stomach hurt. Then I was going to watch the fireworks at this end of the island, climb into the crow�s nest and watch them going off at the other end of the island, near the campground.

  And I didn�t plan to watch them alone.

  Chelsea had gone totally still and quiet. I figured she was ready to get back to Noah.

  �You and Noah have fun. I�ll catch up with you later. Right now, according to my horoscope, I have a guy to hook up with.�

  I had no idea who he might be, but I had to believe that he was out there somewhere, lost in the crowd, waiting for me to find him.

  I turned around, and my brain stopped functioning. My heart hammered, but nothing else worked. My legs wouldn�t move, my lungs wouldn�t draw in air. I simply stood there like a dolt.

  I�d planned tonight to perfection. Planned every minute. Every aspect.

  But I hadn�t planned for Dylan to return.

  If at all possible, he looked more gorgeous. More tan. His black hair longer, shaggy looking. He needed to shave. I curled my fingers against my palm to stop myself from reaching up and touching the roughness of his face, from reaching out for him period.

  In thirty-five days�not that I�d been counting the days since he left�I�d changed. And he probably had as well. I wasn�t going to be pathetic like Chelsea. I wasn�t going to let him sweep me into his arms.

  I was going to be cool, calm, collected. I was going to walk away as though he was nothing. As though he didn�t make my heart sing. As though the very sight of him didn�t cause pleasure to ripple through me.

  I wasn�t even going to acknowledge him. I was simply going to turn and take a step away and then another and another until I couldn�t see him, smell him, hear his breathing. Until he was a speck of dust, a forgotten memory, a�

  �I missed our sailing date,� he said quietly.

  I gave him a jerky nod, swallowing hard. Then to my eternal mortification and embarrassment, I burst into tears.

  CHAPTER 35

  �You what?!� Chelsea asked.

  I was in my bedroom, wiping my eyes, trying to regain my composure after making a mad dash into the house. So much for remaining calm and cool. I�d run off like a total lunatic.

  Chelsea had followed close on my heels. Noah had actually blocked Dylan from following me. His protective stance just made me cry harder. I�d been so unfair to him all summer. Once inside, Chelsea had yelled, �Emergency, Amy!�

  And Amy had stopped whatever she was doing.

  Now they were both sitting on my bed, holding me, comforting me. Being there like they hadn�t been all summer. Or maybe they had been, and I just hadn�t noticed.

  I sniffed, wiped my eyes, and rasped, �I fell in love with him.�

  �Why didn�t you tell us?� Amy asked.

  �What could you have done about it?�

  �Been a little more sympathetic?�

  �Bought lots of chocolate ice cream!� Chelsea said. �We could have been there for you.�

  �I felt so stupid. You warned me that he wouldn�t stay. I knew he wouldn�t stay��

  �But your heart isn�t your brain,� Amy said. �You can�t control it.�

  I started crying again. Not just because Dylan had shown up, but for everything.

  �I didn�t know y�all anymore,� I confessed. �We had no harmony. We each had our own problems, troubles�we didn�t seem to care about each other anymore.�

  �We always cared,� Chelsea said. �Maybe we got bad about showing it, but we always cared.�

  �What are you going to do now that he�s back?� Amy asked.

  �I don�t know. My first thought was this enormous gladness because he was here�and then I thought what a pathetic loser I was. To be so glad when he�d hurt me so much. He didn�t even say good-bye.�

  �Did you think I was pathetic when I got back together with Noah after he kissed that slut?� Chelsea asked.

  I was embarrassed to admit it, but I was ready for honesty between us again. �Yeah, I did.�

  �I love him, Jen. He�s not perfect, and the truth is, sometimes guys are totally stupid.� She shrugged. �But he came back.�

  �I know that Noah came back��

  �Not Noah.� She laughed lightly, the kind of laugh that we used to share when one of us was being silly, and we thought it was funny but didn�t want the person to feel like an idiot. �Dylan. Dylan came back.�

  �So what do I do about it?�

  �What do you want to do about it?�

  I shook my head, majorly embarrassed.

  �Tell us, Jen,� Amy urged.

  I bit my lip and took a deep breath. �I lay here every night in the dark, alone, wishing he�d climb onto the balcony like Noah h