Spring Fling (13 page)

“Don‟t ask.”

“I guess that means you didn‟t get your kiss. If it‟s any consolation, Cooper struck out, too. I already grilled him. So much for being the Smooth Operator.” Ethan wished he‟d never agreed to that stupid bet. If he hadn‟t, he wouldn‟t have taken Danielle out for a lunch he couldn‟t afford and they wouldn‟t have gotten stuck washing dirty dishes. What a way to make an impression on a girl he liked!

If Danielle gave him a second chance—and he wouldn‟t blame her if she didn‟t—he‟d have to make sure everything he did was perfect.

Including their first kiss.

Because if he was lucky enough to kiss Danielle, he wanted it to be for real.

He didn‟t want it to be part of a bet.

But he couldn‟t tell that to Damian. Damian would call him a wuss and tease him nonstop.

At that moment, Cooper walked into the living room and Ethan forgot all about the bet.

“I‟m going to kill you!” Ethan shouted.

Cooper held his hands up in surrender. “Chill out! What‟s wrong?”

“Didn‟t you get my voice-mail message?”

Cooper shook his head. “I forgot to take my phone to the beach. What‟s up?” Ethan quickly filled Cooper in on his lunch fiasco at the Ocean View.

“No wonder Danielle didn‟t kiss you!” Damian howled with laughter, clutching his sides as he rolled back and forth on the couch. “You‟re lucky she didn‟t bop you over the head with a frying pan!”

“Oops!” Cooper exclaimed.

“Oops?
Oops?!
Is that all you can say?” Ethan demanded as he plopped down on the couch next to Damian. “Danielle was up to her elbows in greasy water, washing crusty dishes, and all you can say is
oops
?”

“My dad‟s been threatening to cut me off. Says I‟ve been spending too much money. I didn‟t think he‟d actually do it, but I guess he did. He must have called the credit card companies and lowered my spending limit.”

“Lucky me!” Ethan fumed.

“I‟m really sorry, Ethan,” Cooper said. He pulled out his wallet and removed a wad of cash, holding it out. “This should cover you for the rest of the week. If you need more, let me know.”

“I can‟t take your money.”

“Why not? My credit cards are useless.”

“Spending money I don‟t have is what got me into this mess.”

“You don‟t have to spend it unless you want to.”

“You might want to impress Danielle again.” Damian snickered. “Only this time the right way and without dishpan hands!”

Ethan bopped Damian in the face with a throw pillow. “Har! Har!” Damian snatched the pillow away from Ethan and bopped him back. “You can‟t be Mr. Moneybags without any money!”

“He‟s got a point,” Cooper said.

“If you won‟t take it, I will,” Damian said, reaching for the bills.

Ethan slapped away Damian‟s hand and took the money from Cooper. “I‟ll consider it an emergency fund.”

“Was Danielle mad?” Cooper asked.

Ethan shrugged. “She said she wasn‟t, but who knows?”

“If she wasn‟t mad, what are you so upset about?”

“Oh, let‟s see, maybe I was embarrassed?!”

“Something else is bothering you,” Cooper said. “I can tell. What is it?” Ethan sighed. “When we left the beach, we ran into this guy handing out flyers.

There‟s going to be a Miss Spring Break contest later in the week.”

“Deets!” Damian exclaimed, sitting up. “I want deets!” Ethan ignored him. “The guy handing out the flyers told Danielle she should enter and she did. He was flirting with her the entire time they were talking.”

“So you‟re feeling a little threatened,” Cooper said. “Like he was moving in on your turf.”

“A little,” Ethan admitted. “But it‟s not like they exchanged phone numbers or anything.”

As soon as the words were out of Ethan‟s mouth, Damian smacked him on the top of his head.

“Ouch!” Ethan rubbed his head. “What did you do that for?”

“Duh!” Damian exclaimed. “If Danielle filled out an entry form, she must have put down some sort of contact info. An address. An e-mail. They didn‟t need to exchange phone numbers. If this guy wants to get in touch with her, he can.” Great.

Just great.

Those
so
weren‟t the words Ethan had wanted to hear.

Just when he thought his day couldn‟t get any worse, it did.

Mindy hesitated before ringing the doorbell of Damian‟s beach house.

When Ava had suggested she talk to Damian, she thought the idea was great. Now she was having some doubts.

She and Damian weren‟t exactly friends. She could ask for his help, but that didn‟t mean he was going to give it.

And if he didn‟t…

No!

She couldn‟t think that way.

Damian
had to
help her.

He had to!

Mindy rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. When the front door opened, Damian was standing on the other side.

One day at the beach had darkened his already tan skin. He was wearing white jeans and a short-sleeve light blue pullover. The colors brought even more attention to his glowing tan. He looked even better than he had the day before.

How could that be possible?!

Damian pushed open the screen door. “Mindy? What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice filled with surprise.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

Damian looked behind Mindy‟s shoulder. “Where‟s the rest of your posse?”

“Back at our beach house. I‟m doing an afterdinner ice cream run.”

“Did you stop by to ask me what I wanted?”

“Can I come inside?” Mindy asked.

“Sure,” Damian said, continuing to hold the screen door open.

As Mindy walked past Damian, she could smell the cologne he was wearing. It was a clean, citrusy scent that she liked.

Damian hurried past her into the living room and cleared a pile of towels off the couch.

The beach house looked like a bunch of guys were staying in it. After one day, it was already a mess. There were newspapers and magazines scattered everywhere.

Sneakers, socks, and sandals had been tossed in corners. T-shirts, shorts, and
even a wet
bathing suit—ewwww!
—were scattered all over the floor.

An open pizza box was on the coffee table. “Want a slice?” Damian asked, holding out the box.

Cold pizza? Double ewwww!

“No, thanks,” Mindy said as she sat in an oversize leather armchair.

“What‟d you want to talk about?” Damian asked as he put the box of pizza back down and sat on the couch.

“Where are your roomies?”

“Out.” Damian raised an eyebrow at Mindy. “We‟ve got the whole place to ourselves. We can finally have some alone time.”

Okay, it was time to burst that bubble. If Damian thought they were going to have some
alone
time, he was mistaken. “I don‟t plan on staying very long.”

“Why don‟t you come sit next to me?” Damian suggested, patting the spot next to him on the couch.

Why did she suddenly feel like Little Red Riding Hood with the Big Bad Wolf?

Okay, she
did
look fierce. That was the point. She was no dummy. She had dressed for battle and was wearing a strapless blue-and-white-print sundress that hugged all her curves, along with thong sandals. She was almost positive that when it came to a pretty girl, Damian would have a hard time saying no.

And that was what she planned on.

“I‟m fine here,” she said, remaining in her seat.

“Don‟t you like me?” he asked, pretending to sound hurt. “I thought you liked me.

If you liked me, you wouldn‟t be sitting so far away. You‟d be sitting closer. Why don‟t you show me how much you like me, Mindy? Come sit next to me.” Oooh, he was good. Damian
so
knew how to turn on the charm.

“Of course I like you. And so do my friends. That‟s why I‟m here,” she said, getting to the point. “All three of them like you. They
really
like you. And I need you to help me out.”

“How?”

“They all want to date you.”

“Can‟t say that I blame them.”

It was all Mindy could do not to roll her eyes. She hoped Damian was playing with her and not being serious. His ego couldn‟t be that out of control, could it?

“I was wondering if you could do me a favor,” she said.

“What‟s the favor?”

“Could you go out with each one of them? Just this week. When we get back home, you don‟t have to call them again. That is, unless you want to.” Mindy held her breath as she watched Damian think about it.

“Sure, I suppose so,” he said.

Mindy exhaled. Phew! Success!

“But if I do,” Damian continued, “what‟s in it for me?” Mindy stared at Damian in disbelief. No! No! No! He couldn‟t do this to her!

“Obviously you‟re in some sort of bind; otherwise you wouldn‟t be here asking for my help, right?”

Mindy reluctantly nodded before filling Damian in on the North Ridge High Princess Posse and how she wanted to be part of their group. She was hoping if he knew the whole story, he‟d take pity on her.

He didn‟t.

He settled back into the couch, crossing his arms behind his head. “So you need me.

If I go out with them, they get what they want and you get what you want once we‟re back home. But what do I get?”

At that moment, Mindy‟s cell phone buzzed. She pulled it out and saw there was a text message from Wanda.

I WANT MY FROZEN YOGURT! NOW!!!

WHERE R U???

“I‟ll do anything you want if you go out with them,” a desperate Mindy begged as she texted Wanda back and told her she was on her way home. “Anything!” The second the words were out of her mouth, Mindy regretted them as Damian gave her a devilish smile.

“
Anything?
” he asked.

“Within reason!” she snapped back.

“I want the kiss you promised me three years ago.”

That was it? Easy enough.

“Deal!” Mindy exclaimed, closing her eyes and puckering her lips as she waited for Damian to kiss her.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, she opened an eye and saw Damian still sitting across from her on the couch.

“Aren‟t you going to kiss me?” she asked, opening both eyes.

Damian shook his head. “I‟ll collect my kiss when I‟m good and ready. So be prepared! Because you‟re not going to know when it is!”

“Other than the screwup with Ethan‟s credit cards at the restaurant, it sounds like you had a nice day with him,” Lindsey said as she dabbed a nail with nail polish remover on a cotton ball. “It was way better than my day at the beach with Jade and Crystal. All the guys were buzzing around them. You would have thought I was invisible!” Danielle turned from the closet, where she was sorting through her new outfits.

“Yeah, it was a nice day.”

Lindsey turned to Ava, who was working on her own nails at the vanity table. “And it sounds like you had a nice day with Cooper.”

“Cooper and I are
just
friends,” Ava said.

“For now,” Lindsey shot back.

“For always.”

Lindsey sighed as she tossed a used cotton ball into the wastebasket. “But I thought you said you had a good time with him.”

“I did!”

“So why not see if it develops into something more?”

“I
don’t
want it to develop into something more.”

“But you‟re not giving him a chance!”

“I‟m still not over Josh,” Ava said. “You know that!”

Lindsey held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! I‟m backing off! I know Josh is still a sensitive subject. All I‟m saying is, try to be a little open-minded when it comes to Cooper. He seems like a nice guy. A lot of couples started out as friends first. Look at Noelle Kramer and Ryan Grant.”

Ava shook a bottle of plum nail polish. “Cooper knows the deal and he‟s fine with it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Lindsey sighed again as she started giving herself a French manicure.

“I almost forgot!” Danielle exclaimed. “I didn‟t tell you the best part of my day.

When Ethan and I were leaving the beach, we met this guy who was looking to sign up girls for the Miss Spring Break contest.” Danielle paused, then shrieked, “I entered!” Ava‟s mouth dropped open. “You did? Really?”

“Really! It‟s so not like me, but I‟m
not
the old me, am I? I‟m a new and improved Danielle! I do have to confess, though, that the guy handing out the flyers was kind of cute.

And he made me feel
so
hot! I wanted to keep talking to him. I think he liked me.”

“You can‟t be interested in another guy,” Lindsey said. “You‟re going out with Ethan!”

“All we did was spend a day at the beach,” Danielle said. “I wouldn‟t say we‟re going out with each other.”

“You like him, don‟t you?” Lindsey asked.

“Yes,” Danielle answered. “But I also liked Rory!”

From downstairs came the sound of the doorbell. Seconds later, Jade‟s voice called up to them. “Danielle! There‟s someone here to see you.”

“I wonder who that could be,” Danielle said.

“I bet it‟s Ethan!” Lindsey squealed excitedly. “He‟s probably come to ask you to take a moonlit walk on the beach.”

When Danielle headed downstairs, she expected to find Ethan. Instead she was shocked to see Rory!

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He held up her sunglasses. “These dropped out of your bag when you pulled out a pen to fill out the entry form. I figured you might need them tomorrow.” Danielle took the sunglasses out of his hand. “Why didn‟t you give them back to me then?”

Rory gave her a smug smile. “If I‟d done that, I wouldn‟t be standing in front of you right now. So do I get a reward for bringing back your sunglasses?”

“What kind of reward?”

Rory shrugged. “I don‟t know. Surprise me.”

Danielle remembered Lindsey‟s words. “How about a walk on the beach?”

“Perfect.”

“Let me go get a jacket,” Danielle said. “I‟ll be right back.” When Danielle headed back upstairs, she found Lindsey and Ava hovering over the banister.