Island Girls (And Boys) Read online

  �I�d better make some more popcorn,� I said.

  Amy followed along behind me like the little dog she�d had in her room that morning.

  �It doesn�t mean anything.�

  �What?� I asked curtly.

  �That he�s playing with her.�

  �He kissed me last night, Amy.�

  �Oh. Wow. Geez.�

  I poured popcorn kernels into the pan.

  �You got serious fast,� she said.

  I lifted a shoulder. �It was just a kiss. It didn�t mean anything.�

  �It did to me.�

  I swung around. Dylan was standing there, folded over, arms resting on the counter. His eyes were twinkling. Was he always in a good mood?

  I couldn�t stop myself. I asked, �Who won the game?�

  �I saw you watching.�

  �It was kinda hard to miss.�

  �I wasn�t playing with Susan��

  �Susan?� I interrupted, hating this little green-eyed monster sitting on my shoulder.

  �The girl you saw talking to me. She was telling me about a party she and her boyfriend are having on the beach tonight�if it stops raining.�

  �Her boyfriend?� Okay, I was starting to sound like an irritating echo, but I seemed unable to stop myself from repeating everything. Or being relieved. He hadn�t been flirting. He�d just been talking. And she had a boyfriend!

  He gave me his familiar crooked grin. �Yeah. Tom. Anyway, they�re inviting people. I was wondering if you wanted to go.�

  Guilt hit me, because I�d gotten jealous when I had absolutely no right to. �You know, you don�t have to hang out with me. I mean, summer�s short, and you need to make the most of your time��

  �Hanging out with you is making the most of my time. But if you�re not interested��

  �No, I am.� I just hadn�t expected to meet someone I wanted to spend time with, someone who would be leaving in a few days. Someone who was hot and cool at the same time. Who made my heart swell. Who gave me crooked smiles and slow kisses.

  �Great. Let the gang know.� His grin broadened. �What time do you get off?�

  �Around four.�

  �Okay. We�ll meet you at your place.�

  He turned to go, then stopped and looked back at me. �You weren�t jealous were you? About Susan, I mean.�

  �Of course not.�

  He winked at me. �Too bad.�

  Now what in the world did he mean by that?

  CHAPTER 17

  The rain stopped and the sun came out just a little after one. Everyone evacuated the campground like we�d announced that seashells were turning into money. Chelsea and I were in the cooler, restocking the almost empty metal shelves�people had been in the store buying things like crazy all morning.

  �Zach was in here earlier,� she said, stopping for a minute to rub her nose with a gloved hand. �He said we�re all going to a party tonight.�

  �On the beach.�

  �Sounds like fun.�

  �I think it will be.�

  �Noah really likes Zach and Dylan. I think he�s going to hang out with them today.�

  �Doing what?�

  �I don�t know. Exploring the island. Playing in the surf.� She sighed. �I so do not want to be here.�

  �We�ll get out of the cooler faster if we keep working,� I said, as I continued to put cans on the shelves.

  �I�m not talking about the cooler. I�m talking about working, period. It�s a total bummer, completely lame when everyone else can play and we have to work.�

  �If we don�t work, we don�t get paid, and if we don�t get paid, how can we afford to live in the beach house?�

  �I don�t know.� She started stacking cans on the shelves again. �It just seems so unfair. I mean, it�s summer! We should be out soaking up the rays, lying on the sand, playing in the surf, not being a slave to the dollar.�

  Not being a slave to the dollar? A bit melodramatic. Besides, did she truly not get that without income, we had absolutely nothing? It wasn�t as if Noah was chipping in anything toward our expenses.

  It was like she was seeking some sort of Utopia that didn�t exist. She wanted a world of her and Noah. No work, no cleaning, no cooking, no responsibilities. I was getting tired of arguing with her.

  �So quit,� I said, half-jokingly.

  �I think I�m going to.�

  I stared at her. �You can�t quit.�

  �Why not? It�s a free country.�

  �Mrs. P hired you because I promised her you were dependable. Besides, it�ll leave us short an employee, and you can see how busy we are.�

  �I hate it, Jen. Hate, hate, hate it. I hate the fishermen who smell like they�re storing bait in their pockets. I hate the girls who come in here wearing their bathing suits, smelling like coconut oil, reminding me that they�re in the sun while I�m under fluorescent lights. I hate the guys who remind me how much I miss Noah. I hate freezing my butt off, stocking the cooler, knowing that in an hour I�m going to have to stock it again. I absolutely hate every second of every minute that I�m here!�

  Then she sat down on a case of root beer, buried her face in her hands, and burst into tears.

  I couldn�t believe this. One of the cooler doors opened, warm air rushed in, a hand grabbed a drink, the door closed. Okay. So all the campers hadn�t left, or maybe a fisherman had come in. Not that it mattered. I stared at Chelsea. Her shoulders were bouncing up and down. She didn�t seem to have noticed that someone had come in and taken a drink.

  I knelt in front of her. �Chels, don�t cry. Your tears will freeze.�

  �It�s not that cold in here.�

  �You just said your butt was freezing.�

  She looked up, sniffed, rubbed her nose. �I miss Noah.�

  �You�ll see him in a couple of hours.�

  �I don�t like not being with him. He�s alone all day. And I�m alone here.�

  �How can you feel alone with two hundred campers around?�

  �I can�t explain it. And I know you can�t understand��

  �Because I don�t have a boyfriend,� I finished for her.

  She nodded. �I�m afraid that if I�m not with him, he�ll stop loving me.�

  I felt like she�d punched me. She was my best friend. I didn�t want to see her hurting, didn�t want her to have doubts about herself.

  �Oh, Chels. He�s not going to stop loving you. And you can�t be with him all the time.� And it occurred to me that if she was, then he might stop loving her, because she might get on his nerves as much as she was getting on mine. I was beginning to think that Chelsea was best taken in small doses.

  �What if he goes out on the beach and meets someone he likes better?�

  �He won�t.�

  �How do you know?�

  �Because you�re so wonderful. How could he possibly meet anyone he liked better than you?�

  �You�re just saying that because you�re my best friend.�

  �No, I�m not. I�m saying it so you�ll stop crying and we can get out of the cooler. More than that I�m saying it because now my butt is freezing.�

  She laughed.

  �Noah isn�t going to find anyone better, Chels, because there isn�t anyone better. I mean that.�

  She hugged me. �I�m being silly, I know I am. Let�s finish up so we can get out of here.�

  Abruptly she stood and went back to work.

  Chelsea, Amy, and I had always shared our fears and doubts. But this was something different, and I wasn�t exactly sure what was going on. Noah seemed to be crazy in love with Chelsea. Why was she worried?

  CHAPTER 18

  By the time we got to the house, Dylan and Zach were already there, in the living room, drinking beer, watching one of the Sopranos DVDs with Noah. Chelsea plopped down on the couch beside him. He swung his arm around her, drew he