So he wouldn’t kiss her.
At least not tonight.
He didn’t think Ava was testing him, but he could sense that she hadn’t lowered her guard all the way.
And he wanted her to.
Because if she did, she might want to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her.
Danielle knew it was wrong having two guys fighting over her, but when was the last time this had ever happened?
Never!
Could she be blamed for enjoying it?
There was an unspoken competition going on between Ethan and Rory. Each was trying to outdo the other. If one of them offered to buy her something, say a pretzel or a bag of peanuts, the other instantly did the same. If she said she was cold, they both took off their jackets. If she needed change for an arcade game, they both gave her a handful of quarters.
They had both bought her some fudge, when Ethan checked his watch. “It’s getting late. Can I give you a ride back home?”
Danielle knew Rory was staying with his friends at a beach house in the opposite direction. It didn’t make sense for him to go out of his way when she and Ethan were staying right next door to each other.
“Okay,” she said. She gave Rory a quick hug good night. “I had a fun time.”
“Guess I’ll see you at the Miss Spring Break contest,” he said.
It was on the tip of Danielle’s tongue to tell Rory he could see her before the contest if he wanted, but she felt guilty saying the words in front of Ethan. It was exciting having two guys battling over her, but she didn’t want to encourage their behavior. They both seemed like nice guys and she wasn’t the kind of girl who played games. Besides, if Rory was really interested in her and wanted to see her again, well, he knew where she lived!
“Come on, Danielle,” Ethan said, taking her by the hand and leading her away.
“Hey, Danielle!” Rory called out.
She turned around.
“I’ll bring some cotton candy to the contest,” he promised, giving her a wink.
Hearing those words, a chill shot up Danielle’s spine.
He still wanted to kiss her!
Ethan was silent during the drive back home. Danielle tried making conversation, but she was doing all the talking. Finally, she gave up.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” she asked.
“What do you want me to say?”
“If you’re angry, say it.”
“I’m not angry.”
“You’re acting like you’re angry.”
“How am I doing that?”
“By giving me the silent treatment.”
“What would I have to be angry about?”
“My going out with Rory. I could see it hurt you. I’m not blind.”
Ethan shrugged. “We’re not a couple. You can go out with anybody you want.”
“It wasn’t like it was a date,” Danielle clarified. “I told you what happened.”
“It looked like a date to me,” Ethan said. “In fact, it looked like he was getting ready to kiss you!”
Danielle didn’t want to hurt Ethan any more than he already was. Which meant a little white lie. “He wasn’t going to kiss me!” Okay, maybe he was, but there had been no lip action. And unless there was lip action, she was innocent! “You’re imagining things.”
Ethan pulled the Mercedes into the driveway of his beach house and put it into park. “Well, I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to kiss you,” he admitted. “You’re very kissable.”
“That’s so sweet!” Danielle exclaimed. “Look, you and I spent one day together, Ethan. And we had a really nice time. If I hurt your feelings, I’m sorry. I think you’re a great guy and I enjoyed spending time with you. Both at the beach and on the boardwalk.”
“I’ve never been good with sharing,” Ethan confessed as they got out of the car and he walked with Danielle to her front door. “It goes all the way back to my days in kindergarten, when Billy Barton ate his cookie before snack time and then wanted half of mine. Mrs. Winehauser said I should share, but that meant Billy would have eaten a whole cookie and half of mine! I didn’t think that was very fair. I guess I wanted to have you all to myself tonight.”
“If you want me all to yourself, we could go out tomorrow. We discussed the beach, remember?”
“What about Rory?”
“I don’t have any plans with him,” she said, as she reached into her shoulder bag for her house keys. “So do you still want to go out?”
Ethan’s face lit up. “Absolutely!”
Danielle then waited for Ethan to take her into his arms.
She waited for his face to descend toward hers.
For his lips to touch her lips.
But none of that happened.
Instead, he gave her a quick hug and then pulled away, almost as if he had been scalded by touching her! What was up with that?!
“So we’ll head to the beach tomorrow?” he asked.
“Okay,” Danielle slowly answered, still feeling a bit confused.
“Same time as today?”
“Sure.”
“Great!” Ethan headed back in the direction of the house next door. “See you in the morning.”
A puzzled Danielle watched as he walked away. Okay, something weird was going on.
Why hadn’t he kissed her?
She thought he liked her.
So why no kiss?
Why hadn’t he kissed her?
Why?
Why?
Why?
He knew why.
Rory.
His instincts about that snake had been so right.
Rory was interested in Danielle and he had come thisclose to kissing her tonight.
Luckily, Ethan had prevented it from happening.
If anyone was going to kiss Danielle, it was going to be him! And when he kissed Danielle for the first time, he wanted the kiss to be perfect. He didn’t want it to be because he was competing with another guy to get the first kiss. That was why he’d had to stop himself from kissing Danielle only seconds ago.
And speaking of competing…
There was still the bet with Cooper.
If he’d kissed Danielle, he would have won the bet.
But he wanted no strings attached to his first kiss with Danielle.
He wanted to kiss her because he liked her.
Not because of the bet.
And not because he was jealous of Rory and competing with him.
Ethan took a deep breath. Okay, tomorrow was another day. He was going to have Danielle all to himself and everything was going to be perfect. It already was, since there was no Rory.
But first he was going to find Cooper and tell him the bet was off.
Chapter Fourteen
“I need to buy lip gloss,” Wanda announced the following morning as she walked into the dining room for breakfast.
“I thought you bought one right before we left,” Lacey said as she filled a plate from the buffet on a sideboard and returned to her seat.
“I did.”
“So why do you need another one?” Vivienne asked as she sprinkled some blueberries over her cornflakes.
Mindy watched as Wanda sat at the head of the table. The chair had been purposely left empty for her by Vivienne and Lacey. After all, where else would a queen sit but at the head of the table?
“I had to keep using it last night,” Wanda said.
Mindy waited for Lacey or Vivienne to ask why Wanda had to keep using her lip gloss, but neither one did. Lacey was too busy spreading strawberry jam on a piece of toast, and Vivienne was eating her cereal. Mindy knew it was killing them that Damian had taken Wanda out on a date. Both had gone to bed early so they wouldn’t be awake when Wanda returned. Mindy had hidden herself in her bedroom, too, but heard Wanda come in at midnight. Now it looked like there was no escaping the details of last night.
Mindy asked the question that Lacey and Vivienne didn’t want to hear the answer to. “Why did you h
ave to keep reapplying your lip gloss?”
“Damian couldn’t keep his lips to himself!” Wanda exclaimed. “He was kissing me nonstop. Every time I’d apply a fresh coat, he’d start kissing me again. It became like a game. Kiss. Reapply. Kiss. Reapply. I used up the whole tube!”
“That’s not unusual for you, Wanda,” Lacey said before taking a bite of her toast and loudly chewing.
Meow! Mindy couldn’t believe what she’d just heard! Was Lacey dissing Wanda?! She whipped her head in Wanda’s direction to see her reaction. There was no mistaking the anger on her face.
“Rick can’t stop kissing you either,” Lacey added. “Guys find you irresistible.”
Phew! Mindy thought as she watched Wanda’s anger quickly disappear. Crisis averted!
“Rick is a pretty good kisser,” Wanda said.
Mindy wondered how Wanda could kiss another guy when she had Rick waiting for her at home. It just wasn’t right! Didn’t Wanda have feelings for Rick? How could she cheat on him? When you were with someone, you were supposed to be true to that person. If you weren’t, then why stay in the relationship? Wanda hardly knew Damian, yet she’d had a kiss fest with him last night! Mindy couldn’t even remember the last time she’d gotten a kiss. A real kiss. Moose Novak had kissed her under the mistletoe at the Secret Santa dance in December, but that didn’t count. The kiss had been a freebie. And she also wasn’t into Moose.
Sure, she’d gone out on dates and been kissed good night. Sometimes there was a second and third date, but then things fizzled out. She still hadn’t found the guy that was right for her. Deep down, Mindy wanted a boyfriend. She wanted her own special someone. To spend time with. To laugh with. To kiss.
When she saw couples at school, like Noelle Kramer and Ryan Grant or Celia Armstrong and Froggy Keenan, she always found herself wishing she could have what they had.
Mindy sighed. Maybe someday she would.
Until then, she’d be watching Wanda juggle two guys.
At that moment, Carmela came out of the kitchen with a pitcher of orange juice and poured Wanda a glass.
“Is this OJ fresh-squeezed or from a container?” Wanda asked as Carmela handed her the glass.
“From a container.”
Wanda shook her head and gave the glass back. “I only drink fresh-squeezed, Carmen.”
“It’s Carmela.”
Wanda didn’t apologize for calling Carmela by the wrong name. “And no pulp!”
Mindy jumped up from her seat and took Carmela by the arm—the arm that looked like it was getting ready to toss a glass of orange juice into Wanda’s face. “Let me help you squeeze some oranges.”
When they were alone in the kitchen, Carmela exploded. “That girl is a brat! I’d like to smash her to a pulp!”
Mindy began slicing some oranges. “Remember, she’s a guest.”
“A rude guest!” Carmela exclaimed.
“I know. And I’m sorry. Wanda says and does whatever she wants.”
“That’s because no one stands up to her,” Carmela said.
Mindy started feeding oranges into the juicer. “Don’t look at me!”
Carmela shook her head and started loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes that Mindy’s parents had already used. They’d left early that morning for another business meeting before anyone was up.
When Mindy returned to the dining room with Wanda’s glass of juice, she found her sitting alone.
“Where are Lacey and Vivienne?”
Wanda took a sip of juice, not bothering to thank Mindy. “I sent them upstairs to change.”
“Why?”
“Did you see what they were wearing?”
Mindy had thought Vivienne and Lacey both looked nice. Vivienne had been wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit while Lacey had worn a pink two-piece bikini with a ruffled bottom.
“You should change, too,” Wanda said as she popped a fresh strawberry into her mouth.
Mindy was wearing a pair of cutoff jean shorts with a long-sleeve white cotton shirt tied above her belly button and her hair in two pigtails. She thought the look was very mod country girl.
“Uh, sure,” Mindy said as she collected the empty dishes on the table.
An eavesdropping Carmela was waiting for Mindy when she returned to the kitchen. “There’s nothing wrong with what any of you are wearing. That Wanda knows you girls are competition. Heck, she’s not even the prettiest. You are!”
A panicked Mindy dropped the dishes she was carrying onto the counter and clamped a hand over Carmela’s mouth, petrified of Wanda overhearing. “Shhh! Don’t say that!”
Carmela pushed away Mindy’s hand. “Why not? It’s the truth.”
“Not in Wanda’s world,” Mindy said before hurrying up the kitchen stairs that led to the second floor. “She’s the fairest one of all.”
“Hmmmph! If you ask me, she’s more like the wicked witch!”
When Danielle walked into the kitchen to get some breakfast, she found a plate of chicken bones on the table. There were also an empty bowl of potato salad, an empty bowl of baked beans, watermelon rinds, cherry pits, and the leftover crumbs of a chocolate cake.
Behind her, she could hear Lindsey and Ava approaching the kitchen.
“You really didn’t have to do all that cooking,” Ava said. “Cooper and I could have bought some sandwiches.”
“I wanted to!” Lindsey said. “You know how much I love to cook. What else was I going to do last night? And I figured a picnic lunch would be fun. You could tell Cooper you made it yourself.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Guys love girls who can cook!”
Danielle rushed out of the kitchen, blocking the door. “I don’t think you’re going to want to go in there,” she said to Lindsey.
“Why not?”
“There’s a little bit of a mess.”
“What kind of mess?” Lindsey’s eyes widened. “Not like yesterday morning?”
“Not exactly…”
“Then exactly like what?”
Lindsey didn’t wait for Danielle to answer. Instead, she barged into the kitchen. And promptly shrieked.
“He ate everything I made for Ava’s picnic! Everything! All the chicken I fried! The potato salad! The cake I made from scratch!” She stared at the remains of the eaten fruit. “He ate a whole watermelon and a pound of cherries!”
The back door opened and Howie walked in. “Did I leave my sunglasses here?”
“You! You!” Lindsey was so furious, she couldn’t get the words out. She grabbed a pad of paper from the counter and scribbled on it. Then she ripped off a sheet and slammed it into Howie’s chest.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“What you owe us for the lunch you ate!” Lindsey ran over to the kitchen closet and pulled out a broom. She then lifted it over her head and charged toward Howie, who dropped the piece of paper and ran out the back door.
“Hey!” he yelped. “What’s the big deal? Sharla had a flat tire this morning and I changed it for her. She wanted to pay me, but I told her she didn’t have to. That I’d help myself to something in her refrigerator. She was cool with it.”
“Something! Not everything!” Lindsey shouted from the back porch, shaking the broom at him as he ran back to his beach house.
“Don’t worry about it, Linds,” Ava said when she walked back inside.
“I wanted your date with Cooper to be perfect.”
“It’s not a date.”
“Fine, it’s not a date,” Lindsey grumbled as she put the broom back in the closet. “How about you, Danielle? Any non-date dates today?”
“Ethan and I are going to the beach.”
“What happened to Rory?” Ava asked.
Danielle shrugged. “Rory didn’t ask me out.”
“It’s getting kind of overcast outside,” Lindsey remarked as she tossed the plate of chicken bones into the garbage can. “Lots of dark clouds.”
“If we don�
�t go to the beach, we’ll figure something out,” Danielle said. “I’m not worried.”
Ethan was worried. It looked like it was going to rain at any second and he didn’t have a backup plan for his day with Danielle.
And then there was the bet.
It was still on.
Last night he’d gotten home before Cooper. He’d tried staying awake so he could talk to him about calling off the bet, but he’d fallen asleep. And then when he’d woken up this morning, Cooper was already out of the house. So he’d have to wait until later in the day to talk with him.
Ethan hopped into the Mercedes and drove to Danielle’s house, honking the horn. Seconds later, she emerged from inside and raced to the curb.
“Hi!” she exclaimed.
Just the sound of her voice made him smile. “Hi!”
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a beach day,” she said as she buckled her seat belt.
“Hopefully, it’ll get sunny.”
As Ethan drove, Danielle fiddled with the radio. They were waiting at a red light when Danielle held up a hand.
“Uh-oh. I think I just felt a drop of rain.”
Ethan stared at the sky. Then he looked back down at the windshield, where three fat raindrops had splattered.
“We’d better put the top on,” Danielle suggested.
Ethan pushed the button for the top of the Mercedes, but it wouldn’t move.
“That’s strange,” he said, pressing the button again and waiting for the usual humming sound as it rose.
“Is it broken?” she asked.
“It worked fine yesterday.”
As they waited for the top to unfurl, it started to rain.
Lightly at first.
But then the rain started coming down harder.
And harder.
Ethan and Danielle were getting soaked.
“It’s not working,” he said in a panic.
“What are we going to do?” Danielle asked as sheets of rain kept falling.
It was raining so heavily that Ethan could hardly see. He pulled the car over to the side of the road, under a row of trees, and pointed to an abandoned fruit stand. “Why don’t we wait in there?”
Spring Fling Page 12
