“Yeah, in a way,” Dave said, nodding. “You’re giving them extra attention.”
“So how did it all get started?” asked Cinderella.
Dave shrugged. “I’m not sure. Just one of those things that we’ve done for so long now, no one really knows why.”
“And this is the way everyone does it?” Snow White asked skeptically.
“Everyone in Utah,” Dave said.
“I think it sounds like a lot of fun!” Aurora exclaimed.
“It is!” said Dave. “You guys will just have to wait and see,” he said looking at the other four girls who seemed less enthused. “Now, Aurora here is my kind of girl,” Dave added, putting his arm around her. “At least she can see the fun in being a little creative.”
Aurora beamed up at Dave and then looked back over at her cousins and stuck out her tongue. “Guess I’m the favorite now,” she said. Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White all laughed, knowing Aurora well enough to tell she was joking. But Belle didn’t find it so funny. She casually slipped off the bed and began scooping up articles of clothing that were flung about the floor.
Dave seemed to pick up on the chilly air that had entered the room and said he better take off. “I’ll meet you guys outside in an hour for the fireworks, okay?”
The Princess sisters all nodded, and Dave quickly left the room, clicking the door shut behind him.
“What was that about?” Aurora stared at Belle as soon as Dave left.
“Dave just bugs me sometimes. Why does he have to be so cocky?”
“I think he was just kidding,” Cinderella said softly.
Completely ignoring her, Belle went on. “Does he really think we care which one of us he likes the best? We’ve got better things to do than sit around all day pining over him and hoping upon hope that we’ll be his favorite for the day.”
Belle continued to rant for awhile, while the other four very quietly wandered about the room, helping her pick up. None of them dared go against her and stand up for Dave, not when she was in this kind of mood. So they worked silently, only briefly exchanging glances, while Belle vented.
“So, do you still want to go tonight?” Ariel asked quietly, when it seemed Belle had calmed down a little.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Belle snapped.
Ariel flinched. “Gee, maybe it’s because of your sunny disposition,” she countered, getting annoyed with her cousin’s attitude. “I don’t know if you remember this,” she went on, “But we aren’t the ones who made you mad.”
“I’m sorry,” Belle said more quietly. “Are we going to need blankets?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah,” Cinderella jumped in. “Dave said to bring a couple.” She froze, afraid the mention of his name would send Belle off again. But Ariel’s words had taken affect.
“Let’s go grab some out of the basement,” Belle said, walking out the door. The other four pushed the remaining items into her closet, and then followed Belle down the stairs.
Chapter Fifteen
“I just love Pioneer Day,” Ariel said, as she and Aurora returned to their group with food in each hand. Ariel placed some nachos in the center of the blanket, where Dave, Belle, and Cinderella all swarmed the plate and began eating.
Aurora passed around the large drink she had been carrying and plopped onto the blanket beside Dave. “I just wish it wasn’t so close to the 4th,” she said. “Why couldn’t Utah’s birthday be in like six months or something?”
“Because then it would be January, and we wouldn’t be able to have fireworks, genius,” Belle remarked.
“Oh. Yeah,” Aurora said, stroking her long blonde hair. “Well, at least I have an excuse.”
They all laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Snow White asked, returning from the bathrooms.
“We’re just making fun of how blonde Aurora can be,” Cinderella said.
“Oh fun! Can I play?” she asked.
Everyone laughed again.
“Ouch, Snow,” Aurora said, putting a hand over her heart.
Snow White grinned at her and took a seat next to Cinderella, filling in the rest of the circle. She broke off a piece of the pretzel Ariel handed her, and then continued to pass it on.
The six of them sat in a circle on several blankets they had laid next to each other on the grass. They got to the park plenty early, to be sure and save good seats for the fireworks show that evening after dark. And it was a good thing they did! With the steady stream of people coming in and claiming space, they now had groups of people closing in around them.
“We better spread out a little more,” Dave said, as another woman approached and set her blanket so close to theirs, it was almost overlapping. “We still have to save room for Scott and his friends,” Dave added. He got to his feet, and began pulling at the corners of each blanket, extending them as far as they could go.
Cinderella froze. “Scott’s coming?”
“Yeah,” Dave said, continuing to work with his back to Cinderella. He remained completely unaware that he had almost given her a heart attack. “I thought I mentioned it,” he added.
“No, you definitely didn’t,” Belle said. She smiled as she watched Cinderella’s face flash between pure elation and panic.
Dave turned around and looked at them. “Is that okay?” he asked. “You guys don’t mind him coming, do you?”
“Not at all,” Belle and Ariel answered.
“No, I’m excited to meet him,” Aurora said.
Cinderella and Snow White were the only two who remained completely quiet, but for different reasons.
“Does anyone else want more to eat?” Dave asked, eyeing their empty plates and containers. “I’m still hungry.”
“Didn’t you just say you wanted some more too, Snow?” Cinderella asked.
“No, that’s okay,” Snow White answered, shaking her head.
“You sure you don’t want to come?” Dave asked, turning around and offering her his hand.
Snow White glanced around at her cousins, hoping someone else would want to come too. But they all seemed comfortable and unwilling to move. “I...,” Snow White started.
“It’s okay,” Cinderella whispered. She nudged Snow White in the back. “Go on.”
Snow White finally looked at Dave and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll come with you,” she said, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. The two of them walked in silence toward the outer edge of the park, where several vendors had stands set up.
“What are you in the mood for?” Dave asked.
Snow White shrugged. She was okay with Dave hanging out with them, but she wasn’t sure how to talk to him one on one.
“Oh, I know just the place!” Dave said, spotting a cart that made his eyes light up.
As they got closer, and Snow White finally saw what they were headed for, her heart stopped.
“They have the best caramel apples in the world here!” Dave said, stepping up to the display case. Snow White slowly walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder. There were at least a dozen different varieties to choose from. Snow White quickly realized calling them caramel apples was a major understatement. She saw everything from apples dipped in caramel, white chocolate, or crushed up Oreo cookies, to apples dipped in different chocolates, nuts, and candies. Snow White would never have admitted it out loud, but they looked delicious!
“Ummm…I don’t eat apples,” she said.
“Oh, are you allergic?” Dave asked.
“No, I just…because of my name,” she whispered so no one else could hear. “I know it sounds dumb,” she added, looking down at her shoes.
“Well, I promise I won’t tell anyone you had an apple,” he smiled. Dave then pointed out two large, chocolaty apples to the cashier who sliced them up and bagged them before Snow White could protest any further. Dave then led her to a little spot of grass, just far enough away from the stands and all their noise. He pulled the apples out of the bag and offer
ed a slice to Snow White. “Come on,” he taunted. “You know you want to.” Dave waved a slice right under her nose, and then crunched into the sweet, juicy apple. Snow White picked up a piece covered in chocolate and topped with cinnamon and sugar. She held it between her thumb and pointer finger, examining it from all angles. She then looked at Dave who nodded and took another piece for himself. Snow White finally opened her mouth.
“You promise you won’t tell anyone?” she asked.
Dave held up his fingers. “Scouts honor,” he said.
Snow White nodded. “Alright,” she said, holding the temptation under her nose and breathing in the sweet, rich chocolaty perfume before finally taking a bite.
“So?” Dave asked.
Snow White looked up at him. “That’s delicious!” she said, reaching for another piece.
It didn’t take the two of them long to devour both apples, which was good since by this time the sun was just starting to go down.
“We better head back,” Snow White said, looking up at the sky.
“Just a sec, you have something right here,” Dave said, pointing out a small amount of chocolate just to the side of Snow White’s lip. “Here I got it,” Dave said, holding up a napkin.
Before Snow White knew what was happening, Dave lowered the napkin and removed the chocolate with his own mouth. His lips lingered on hers for a second, before Snow White jerked her head back and pulled away. She just sat there, staring at Dave, unsure of what to say or do next.
“I’m sorry,” Dave said. “I shouldn’t have...”
“It’s fine,” Snow White said. She quickly got to her feet and hurried back in the direction of her cousins.
“I’m really sorry,” Dave said, catching up to her. “Are you going to tell your cousins?” he asked.
Snow White wanted to! She wanted to run to Cinderella and Belle and the twins and scream, “Dave kissed me!” But she knew she never could. She couldn’t say those words to them, it was too embarrassing! Maybe she could tell Cinderella, but not tonight. Not here. Especially since she didn’t know why it had happened. “Does he like me? Was he just trying to get some action? Or was he really hungry?” she wondered. She wasn’t even sure if she liked it or not. Snow White made a decision right then. “I won’t tell anyone. Not yet, at least. I’ll wait and see what happens next.” She looked back at Dave and shook her head, then she ran the rest of the way to their blankets.
***
Cinderella sat waiting for Scott to arrive. She asked Belle, Aurora, and Ariel how she looked at least three different times. They finally just laughed the third time, and that’s when Cinderella recognized how anxious she was getting. She never felt this nervous about seeing Dave. “I guess that answers the question of who I like more,” she realized.
“Snow and Dave have been gone for awhile,” Belle observed. “Where do you think they are?” she asked, looking around.
Cinderella felt bad she hadn’t even noticed Snow White was still gone! She started to look around with Belle, trying to spot her red head or green shirt amid the crowds of people. Cinderella noticed a green shirt moving quickly in their direction, and scanned her eyes upward. Sure enough, the figure had flaming red hair.
“Here she comes.” Cinderella pointed, as Snow White got closer.
“This seat taken?” Cinderella’s face warmed and she turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Scott and two other guys were approaching their blankets from the other side.
Snow White had to slow to a jog as she weaved in and out of people. She turned sharply to avoid hitting a family of four, and collided with Scott as he reached Cinderella with his friends.
Scott put his hands out, catching Snow White by the shoulders, to prevent her from falling to the ground. “Whoa! You alright there?” he asked.
Snow White quickly nodded. “Sorry,” she mumbled, collapsing next to Cinderella.
“Why were you in such a hurry?” Cinderella asked.
Snow White looked at Cinderella, pleading her to remove the attention away from herself with her eyes.
Cinderella looked up at Scott and smiled. “Welcome,” she said. “Go ahead and find a seat. We’re these three blankets here.” She pointed them out as she spoke.
“You made it!” Dave said, arriving just in time to greet his brother. “You already know Cinderella,” he said, pointing. “This is Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, and Belle.”
“Whoa,” one of Scott’s friends spoke.
Scott nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Nice to meet you all,” he said.
The other girls waved and said hello.
“So tell me how ya been? How’s that brother of mine treating you?” Scott asked, sitting beside her.
“Really good,” Cinderella nodded. “How’re you?”
Scott had a way of making Cinderella feel more nervous and sick than any guy ever had before. But he also had a calming affect on her and she found the longer they talked, the more at ease she felt. Before she knew it, they had been talking for almost twenty minutes and the sky was now completely dark.
“Should be anytime now,” Scott said, looking around.
Cinderella hadn’t noticed how cold it had gotten, and she shivered slightly as a light breeze blew over them.
“Are you cold?” Scott asked. He pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Cinderella responded, pulling it over her head. It smelled amazing! The first firework went off and Cinderella jumped.
She could see Scott’s grin as the next one flashed. “Isn’t that why we’re here?” he asked.
“I just wasn’t ready,” Cinderella laughed.
The show continued for several more minutes, the fireworks getting louder and bigger as time went on. Cinderella glanced at Scott’s profile in the flashing light. His dark, wavy hair blowing slightly with the wind. She leaned closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Scott stiffened and glanced down at Cinderella, but he didn’t move. Then, as they sat together in the dark, he relaxed.
“Where is it?” Snow White’s voice was frantic in the dark.
“What’s the matter, Snow?” Cinderella sat up.
“I can’t find my bracelet,” she said, searching around the blankets with her hands. Everyone felt around their own seats, but with no luck.
“I bet when we get home, we’ll find it wrapped in one of the blankets,” Belle said.
People around them were starting to get annoyed, and they were assaulted with several angry, “Shhhhhhh!”
Cinderella scooted closer to Snow White and put an arm around her. “Belle is probably right,” she whispered. “But if we don’t find it at home, I’ll come back tomorrow and look with you in the daylight.”
Snow White sniffed, but she nodded her agreement. Cinderella wanted desperately to go back to sitting beside Scott, but Snow White seemed pretty upset, so she stayed by her side.
As soon as the fireworks show ended, Scott and his friends got up and gathered their things together. Cinderella was disappointed. She was hoping for a chance to talk to Scott some more.
“Taking off already?” Dave asked.
“Yeah, we got a drive ahead of us,” Scott said. “It was nice meeting you all.” He held a hand up, waving to the girls.
As they walked away, into the crowds, Cinderella overheard one of Scott’s friends. “I think she likes you,” he said, nudging Scott. Scott turned and waved one last time, before disappearing into the dark.
Chapter Sixteen
Tuesday, July 27th
Ariel’s hands shook as she slowly pulled on her new bathing suit. The dark brown base balanced nicely with the bright pink flowers. The cut was perfect for showing off Ariel’s tall, slender figure. Ariel never thought she would use it; she hadn’t even tried it on in the store. But her mom insisted on buying her a new one when they were at the mall, purchasing a swimsuit for Aurora. Even though Ariel had said over and over that she didn’t need a swimsuit and had refused to try any on,
her mom had grabbed one anyway, going with the same size as Aurora’s. Now, here she was, nervously pulling it into place.
When Dave called and asked if they wanted to go to the Surf N’ Swim with him later that afternoon, her cousins all enthusiastically said yes. Ariel only agreed to join them after much coaxing and prodding, especially from Aurora. And with four promises that she could work on her tan, far away from the pool, without any pressure to get in.
Once Ariel had the bathing suit in place and all tags removed, she pulled a large T-shirt over her head and stepped into her well worn, pink flip-flops. At one point, there had been a small flower on each of them that was formed by tiny little jewels. But the jewels had fallen off one by one and her flip-flops no longer contained any signs of a flower once being there. She pulled her long, blonde hair into a ponytail without looking in the mirror, slipped her sunglasses into place, and sighed very loudly. Ariel then gave herself a once-over in the bathroom mirror on her way downstairs. She sealed a couple stray hairs into place with some hairspray and then proceeded slowly to meet the others. The trip down the 13 stairs was like a death march as she thumped heavily on each step. As soon as Ariel reached the front room, Aurora looked at her sister in exasperation, having watched the dramatics before. Aurora grabbed her wrist tightly, so she couldn’t change her mind and escape, and yanked Ariel out the door.
“What took you so long?” Belle asked as soon as they got outside.
“Scaredy-cat here was taking her sweet time,” Aurora replied, pointing her thumb in Ariel’s direction.
Ariel wanted to say something back, but she knew she’d never make them understand. The water terrified her! Every time she got near the stuff, her mind would flash back to those terrifying moments when she was trapped beneath it. The bright sunlight getting dimmer as it waved good-bye, a wall of water growing between her and the sun as she slowly sank to the bottom. Then she had watched the dancing light above and the dark figures move around, while her lungs burned for air. But somehow she could never tell them these things, so she kept silent. Ariel followed the others in climbing into the black SUV that sat waiting for them at the end of the complex. Dave said it was his dad’s, though none of them had ever seen it parked near their house before. Once all six seatbelts were securely in place, Dave tore out of the parking lot and they were on their way.
The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series) Page 9
