The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series)

by Stacy Lynn Carroll

  The Princess sisters used to come to the Surf N’ Swim with their moms when they were little, but they hadn’t been there for many years. As they stepped through the women’s locker room into the bright sun, their eyes met quite a sight. The path led down a slight cement slope toward the huge wave pool in the center. The large crowd of assorted ages were currently enjoying the up and down of a new wave cycle. The colorful tubes that dotted the water looked like a giant bowl of Fruit Loops against the foamy, white waves. Tiny children with weighted swim diapers bounced up and down in the shallowest part of the water that barely reached their belly buttons. And from there, the bodies got bigger with the deepening water. Directly against the back wall, where the huge waves were beginning, floated several teenagers on enormous intertubes; their hands grasped each other’s black handles to form a giant ring. Occasionally one would lose their grip and spin from the group, screaming and laughing as the water carried them away. They would then spend the next several minutes splashing and fighting the current to return to their friends.

  There was a scuba diving class going on in the smaller and much deeper pool off toward their right. Adults and older kids stood, in full costume, by the edge of the water peering in. On the left of the wave pool was a large, green lawn dotted with trees. Many mothers and small babies sat sprawled on their towels as the older children enjoyed the water. Tucked in the shade of a few trees was a small playground for the children who didn’t like playing in the water. This had been Ariel’s favorite spot when she was younger.

  More women emerged from the locker room, forcing the Princess sisters to move forward. Cinderella was the first one to spot Dave, who stood knee deep in the water and then dove headfirst into an oncoming wave. The girls laughed as they hurried to the grass so they could drop their stuff on the ground in a massive pile. With the exception of Ariel, they all ran toward the water after Dave.

  Ariel carefully laid out her towel on the ground and peeled off her T-shirt before settling on the grass for a nap in the sun. Two minutes later, her face was covered by a shadow and someone was dripping cold water all over her. Ariel sat up quickly, throwing her sunglasses aside, and looked up into Dave’s smiling face.

  “Why aren’t you swimming?” he asked, helping himself to a seat on her towel.

  “I don’t do water.”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun! I’ll stay by your side the whole time.”

  “I don’t do water,” Ariel repeated. Without looking at Dave again, she slipped her sunglasses back into place on her nose and lay back down on her towel. Dave just sat there, watching her for a moment, unmoving. “Have you ever seen Jaws?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Dave replied.

  “I don’t do water,” Ariel said again.

  “Hold on! I’ll be right back!”

  As Dave left, taking his shadow with him, Ariel felt the sting of the bright sun on her eyes once again. Ariel had almost just fallen asleep when the shadow and the dripping returned. She glared up at Dave and growled ever so softly.

  “Did you just growl at me?!”

  “Yes. It’s what animals do when they are giving a warning to be left alone.”

  But Dave just laughed. A very loud, single-note laugh.

  “Here,” he said, hanging the tube over her head. “I want you to sit in this.”

  “You’re funny,” Ariel said unmoving.

  “Not in the water! Just sit in the tube on the grass.” Dave set the tube in the soft grass at her feet.

  “And what good is that gonna do?” she asked. Ariel still looked up at him, but showed no sign of moving.

  “Just try it!” Dave said. “Baby steps. Before you know it I’ll have you swimming like a fish.”

  “You know, I never liked fish much.”

  “Oh come on, you can do it!”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “Please?”

  “No thanks.”

  “Just take one step towards the tube,” Dave reached out and tried to pull her closer.

  Ariel jerked away. “If you touch me, I’ll scream.”

  “What? Why?”

  “My favorite kind of water is the kind you drink. Or better yet, the kind I can watch on a movie screen. Safe. Dry.”

  “You like movies, yes?”

  “Heck yeah! They’re like my lifeline.”

  “I’ll tell you what. If you do this for me, then I’ll back you up tonight on the movie choice. We can watch any movie you want.”

  “My pick?” Ariel raised her eyebrows. She was intrigued.”

  “Whaddya say?”

  “It’s too hard to decide! I don’t know if I can handle that much power. Ariel began listing possible movies, counting them off on her fingers.

  “I’ve never even heard of any of those, are they new?”

  “Oh gosh, no!” Ariel said.

  “How do you know so many old movies?” Dave asked.

  “It’s what our moms raised us on. Most of my favorite movies and shows were out before I was even born!” she exclaimed. Dave looked at her, his eyebrows raised together. “We have some serious educating to do!” Ariel went on. She put a hand up to stop Dave’s criticism from coming out. “Okay, we have a deal. I’ll sit in this tube and play your little game if you watch my movie choice later.”

  “Deal!” Dave nodded.

  “This tube is cold.”

  “That’s because I got it good and wet before bringing it to you.”

  “How sweet.”

  Dave smiled at her and then pulled out a small cup of water and poured it right over her head.

  “What was that for?” Ariel sputtered, jumping to her feet.

  “It’s all part of your training.”

  Ariel gave Dave a dirty look before allowing him to pull her down into the tube again. Dave kneeled next to her and bounced the tube up and down by pushing on one side, using his upper arms to do all the work.

  This must look ridiculous! Ariel thought.

  “How’s this?” Dave asked.

  “I h-hate to br-eak it to-o you, b-but I’m not-t scar-red of th-the tu-ube,” Ariel answered, as Dave continued to bounce her up and down.

  “I know, but I have to get you used to what it’s going to feel like in the water.”

  “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I said nothing about getting in the water!”

  “Come on, trust me.”

  Ariel folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes, refusing to look Dave in the face. She then let out a scream as Dave scooped her up, still inside the tube, and held her in his arms.

  “What are you doing?! Put me down!”

  Dave ignored her and began swaying back and forth like the rocking of gentle waves. His muscular arms were flexed around either side of the bright rubber.

  “Close your eyes,” he whispered.

  Ariel did as she was told, mainly because she had noticed how close his muscular arms were to her bare skin and her mind had gone blank from any smart come-backs.

  “Where are the girls?” Ariel finally asked, realizing Dave had been with her for quite some time now.

  “Shhhhh. They’re in the deep end enjoying the biggest waves,” he whispered.

  Ariel’s eyes flew open when she felt Dave begin to walk, but he reassured her that he was only moving back and forth across the grass. She peeked a few times to make sure he wasn’t going near the water, and finally shut them tight and relaxed after she felt secure. Ariel was almost asleep with relaxation from her “wave ride” when she felt her butt touch something cold and wet. Ariel opened her eyes wide with panic and was about to scream when she felt Dave’s lips cover her own. She was so surprised; all thoughts of water trickled from her mind. Dave finally pulled away and Ariel realized she was floating on real, wet waves instead of her safe, pretend ones. Her heart began to quicken and her breathing grew frantic, but Dave was there again just in time. His warm lips against hers seemed to clear her mind. He pulled away slowly and Ariel looked at him for a long time, not sure wha
t to say.

  “Ari?!”

  “You’re in the water!”

  Ariel glanced over to see her four excited cousins, splashing and screaming as they approached.

  “How did you do it?!” Belle asked, looking admiringly at Dave.

  Dave quietly moved behind the other girls so they could all congratulate Ariel on her moment of triumph.

  “Don’t tell them,” he mouthed, shaking his head.

  Ariel looked at him quizzically, but Dave just continued to shake his head. Then he brushed his index finger across his lips and disappeared into the oncoming waves. Ariel sat floating on her tube, still unsure of what had happened. But she didn’t say anything to her cousins. She kinda liked having a secret with Dave!

  Soon the waves died down, and her underside collided with the hard ground. The waves had pushed her to the very shallow end. Legs shaking, Ariel stood up and walked through the ankle deep water back to her safe towel on the grass.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I left it right here, I know I did.”

  “You’re sure you didn’t take it off at home?”

  “Positive. I remember taking it off and setting it on my towel because I didn’t want a weird tan line.”

  Ariel was on her hands and knees searching frantically in the grass for the bracelet her mom had given her. The other four girls and Dave had found her this way when the Surf N’ Swim announced that they were closing and they had come to gather their stuff. Cinderella dropped to her knees and began moving blades of grass aside with her hands. Soon they were all crawling around like dogs, with their noses to the ground, hoping for a glimpse of silver. After ten minutes of this, a lifeguard approached their group and told them they needed to leave. Dave quickly got to his feet and explained the situation.

  “I’m sorry,” the lifeguard said, “but I really need to ask you to leave. If we find anything, it will be in the lost and found.”

  Dave put his arm around a sniffling Ariel and guided her towards the car.

  “They’ll find it,” Aurora said, putting an arm around her sister’s waist from the other side.

  The car was silent on the ride home except for the sound of Ariel’s attempts not to cry. As they were pulling into the small parking lot, Cinderella spoke up.

  “Hey Dave,” she asked, tilting her chin up and looking at the back of his head through squinted eyes. “Did your brother ever find my bracelet?”

  “Oh man, I forgot to check to see if he ever found it! I’m sorry!”

  “Can I get his number?”

  Dave shifted in his seat slightly. “Um…sure. Here,” he said, tossing his phone back to Cinderella. She caught it between her hands and found ‘Scott’ at the top of the S’s. Cinderella copied the number into her own phone and then handed it back to Dave as she stepped out of the car.

  “You don’t want to call him now?” Dave asked, holding his phone out to her.

  “No, I’d rather call him in private,” she said.

  “Oooooh!” Aurora and Belle said in unison. But Cinderella ignored their teasing and walked toward her house.

  “See ya guys later,” she waved.

  “Say hi to Scott for us!” Belle yelled back in a sing-song voice.

  Cinderella ran up to her room and carefully set her phone on the dresser before hopping in the shower to rinse off all the chlorine she brought home. From the time she stepped out of the shower and began getting ready, Cinderella kept glancing at the phone. She wondered what she would say to him as she pulled a green polo over her head. Then she wondered if Scott would even answer or if he was on a date or something, as she applied mascara to her eyelashes. Then Cinderella became concerned over how Scott would feel about her having his number while she blow-dried her hair.

  When Cinderella was finally all ready, and had stared at the phone for about ten minutes, she looked up Scott’s number and punched send.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Sc-Scott?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Hi it’s Cinderella. I don’t know if…”

  “Hey! How’s my favorite Princess?”

  “Good, how’re you?”

  “I’m great! What’s up?”

  “Um…Remember that night I stayed up there?”

  “Of course! How could I forget?”

  Cinderella’s face grew very hot at the memory of kissing Scott in the moonlight, and it took her a couple seconds to continue. “Do you remember my bracelet?”

  “Oh yeah! Hey I’m really sorry ‘bout that.”

  “So you never found it then?”

  “No, I checked when I was on campus the next day and I checked the lost and found at the club, but no luck.”

  “Oh. Well thanks for checking anyway.”

  “Of course.”

  “Ummm, I still have your sweatshirt too,” Cinderella said.

  “Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” Scott said. “Just give it to my brother, and I’ll pick it up next time I’m home.”

  Cinderella didn’t know what she had been hoping for, that perhaps he would pick it up himself, or even ask her on a date or something, but she found she was disappointed by Scott’s response.

  “Well listen, I actually gotta go. But it was nice talking to you again,” he said.

  “Okay, see ya.”

  “Bye.”

  Cinderella fell back onto her pillows and sighed. All the feelings from that first night rushed back to her. Then she thought about the last time she had seen him. She grabbed his sweatshirt and pulled it over her head, a wave of his cologne washing over her. Before she had any more time to think about him, there was a knock on her door and then it was opening as Aurora, Ariel, Snow White, and Belle trooped inside.

  “So?” Belle asked, sitting beside Cinderella on the bed. She grabbed the sleeve of Scott’s sweatshirt and held it up, eyebrows raised.

  Cinderella blushed and quickly yanked the sweatshirt back over her head, tossing it on the floor. “How did you guys do that?” she asked, hoping to avoid any more ‘knowing glances’ from Belle.

  “Oh come on Cindy,” Aurora said. “We’ve been trying to call you for the last fifteen minutes. Don’t tell me you were too blinded by love to hear us beeping in.”

  “Actually I did notice my other line going crazing and I found it really annoying!” she said smacking Aurora in the head with her pillow.

  “Oh no you didn’t!” Aurora said jumping to her feet. She grabbed a pillow off the floor and threw it in Cinderella’s direction, but she ducked just in time. Belle grabbed another pillow from off the bed and hit Cinderella straight in the face. This, of course, turned into war. There were pillows flying across the room and lots of screaming as the five teenagers chased each other around the bed and into the closet.

  “This is every guy’s dream come true…except you’d all be in your underwear.”

  The Princess sisters froze in their various positions and turned toward the door, as if in slow motion. Dave stood in the open doorway, grinning ear to ear. His new tan from that afternoon was looking very dark against his white T-shirt.

  “Please continue. Don’t let me stop you.”

  Dave had to duck as five pillows flew at the door with exceptional speed. The girls scooped up their pillows and began attacking the intruder. The front door shut downstairs and Cinderella halted mid-swing, her face dropping.

  “Wait. How’d you get in here?” she asked, looking hard at Dave.

  “The front door was unlocked and I just followed the screams to see what was going on.”

  Cinderella grabbed the front of Dave’s shirt and pulled him further into the room.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “I’m not allowed to have boys in my room, especially when my mom isn’t home!” Cinderella said, poking her head out the door and peering down the stairs.

  “That’s lame. You’re almost sixteen,” he said.

  “Yeah, all the more reason my mom doesn’t trust you.”

&
nbsp; “Your mom doesn’t trust me?” Dave asked, pretending to look hurt. But he somehow appeared more proud than hurt.

  “Quick! She’s coming! Get in the closet!”

  The cousins moved like lightening to shove Dave into place. Then they situated themselves on the bed in a circle and all started talking at once. Dana pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped in.

  “How was swimming?”

  “It was lots of fun mom, you should come next time!”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you’d have just as much fun with me there.”

  “Ariel actually got in the water!” Snow White said.

  Dana’s eyes flew to Ariel. “Really?”

  “Just for a little while,” Ariel said.

  “Oh sweetie, that’s great!” Dana said, giving her a big hug. “I’m gonna go call your mom!”

  “Dana, please don’t make a big deal of it…” Ariel tried to say, but Dana was out the door and down the stairs before she got a chance. “Great. Now Mom will probably bake a cake or something to celebrate.”

  “I like cake.”

  All five girls jumped. They’d almost forgotten Dave was there.

  “How are we going to get him out?” Snow White asked.

  “If Mom is on the phone in the kitchen, she won’t really be paying attention. Why don’t you all leave in a big group and I’ll meet you at Belle’s house for the movie.”

  Belle and Ariel started down the stairs slowly, with Dave ducking down in the middle, and Snow White and Aurora bringing up the rear.

  “Don’t think you can get out of telling us about lover-boy,” Aurora whispered as she stepped out the door.

  Cinderella gave her a playful shove and waited quietly until the front door closed.

  “Cinderella?” Dana’s voice sounded aggravated as she came up the stairs. “Can you explain to me why you just had a boy in your room?”

  ***

  They were all gathered around Belle’s TV, popcorn popped and What About Bob loaded and ready to go when Snow White’s phone rang.