by Ann Herrick
"Good night," I called after them.
"I'm going to bed right now and rest up for tomorrow." Jason raced upstairs.
Just as I was about to go upstairs myself, Mom motioned me over to the kitchen. "Katie, did I hear you and Alex planning a picnic out on the island tomorrow?"
"Yes. It's okay. We'll be careful."
"Keep a close eye on Jason and Hailey."
"Don't worry. Alex and I will watch them carefully—and we'll all wear life preservers in the boat." I kissed Mom. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."
"I know, but I'll still worry." Mom brushed an imaginary piece of lint off my sleeve. "What's going on between you and Alex, anyway?"
"Oh, Mom," I spoke quickly. "Alex's really nice, and I like him. But we're just friends."
"That's fine," said Mom. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. After all, Alex's older than you are and he might expect—"
"He's only a year ahead of me in school."
"Yes. But he's seventeen and you're only fifteen. I think he's a lot more ... experienced than you are."
Experienced! That word again. "Don't worry, Mom." I tried to sound calm. "We're just friends, and I'll be fine."
"Okay." Mom kissed my cheek. "Well, I'm going to bed now. Good night."
That night I lay awake thinking about my conversation with Mom. Of course Mom would notice that I spent a lot of time with Alex. Who else could I spend my time with, except my own family and the Stedmans? There wasn't anyone else my age around. Well, Jake was a mile down the road, but that mile seemed to take me into a whole other world. My little section of the beach was like home, and anything outside it was like another town I wasn't part of.
But, undoubtedly, Mom had seen Alex kiss me, and there were times when I was sure Mom could read my mind. But I hadn't lied. At that precise moment, Alex and I really were just friends.
The next morning I could feel the heat and humidity the moment I woke up. I checked my clock. It was only seven. It was going to be one of those hot, muggy days where the best place to be was the beach. I rolled over and stretched. How nice that I could look forward to a picnic lunch on an island!
Fortunately, there happened to be enough of my potato salad left over from the previous night's supper that I didn't have to make more. All I had to do was prepare the lemonade. Once I had done that, I cleaned the two-gallon beverage cooler and the ice chest. By the time I was done, Jason was nipping at my heels.
"When are we going to go?" He jumped circles around me. "When are we going to go?"
"Half an hour." I caught Jason by the shoulders and brought him to a halt. "Now I've got to get out of this robe and into my bathing suit."
In my room I quickly changed into my bathing suit, combed my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. I smoothed on suntan lotion, then dropped the bottle into my beach bag. I didn't want to worry about getting a sunburn on such a glorious morning. Just then I heard Jason calling up the stairs, announcing that Alex and Hailey had arrived.
"Let's go," Jason said as soon as I'd joined them.
"All right," I said. "Jason, you take the lemonade. Hailey, you take that bag with the paper plates and napkins. Alex, I think it'll take both of us to carry the ice chest."
"Okay," Alex said. "I'm not proud. I can accept help from a woman."
"Good." My spirits rose even higher by Alex's reference to me as a woman.
By the time we reached the dock where we rented the rowboat, I was happy to put down the ice chest. My arm ached. "Oh," I moaned. "My arm."
Alex kneaded my biceps.
"Thanks," I said. "That feels good."
"Don't thank me," Alex said. "You'll need that arm for rowing."
After we'd piled everything in the rowboat and finalized the seating arrangements, with Jason and Hailey together on the front seat, Alex in back and me in the middle with the oars, we were ready to go. I adjusted my life jacket. I was comfortable enough with him not to worry if I looked a little silly. Not that Alex would think a life jacket was silly, and even if he did I have a feeling his mother had probably lectured him on the subject as much as mine had.
Within five minutes I wondered how I would ever make it to the island. The oars rubbed the palms of my hands raw, my arms turned to rubber, and bolts of pain shot through my chest. It didn't help any that Alex sat comfortably with his arms folded, watching every moment of my agony with a broad smile plastered across his face.
"I love to watch you work." Alex grinned.
I smacked an oar on the water and splashed him. "Just wait until it's time for you to row us back!"
"Hmmm. That's better," said Alex. "A little faster and I could water-ski. Don't look now, but we're only a couple hundred yards away."
"Thank good—"
The boat rocked wildly. Jason screamed. A red speedboat roared by only a few feet away. Its wake tossed the rowboat. My heart pounded. I was afraid we'd capsize.
"Watch it!" Alex shook his fist at the speedboat.
It was obvious from the laughter of the two boys in the boat that they had no intention of heeding Alex's warning.
"Jason, Hailey, are you okay?" I pulled in the oars and waited for the rowboat to stop rocking.
"I have some saltwater in my eyes." Hailey blinked. "But I'm fine."
"I'm okay," Jason said. "In fact, that was kind of fun."
"It wouldn't have been fun if you'd been thrown overboard," I said. Mom's worried face flashed across my mind.
Jason considered this. "I guess not," he replied.
"Well, everyone's all right," I said, "and the island's within easy reach. Time to get going again."
Once we were on the island the time rolled by like the tide. After we had explored every grain of sand, we settled ourselves on an inlet sheltered by thick wild rosebushes and had our picnic lunch. We quickly wiped out the sandwiches, potato salad, most of the lemonade and all but two of the brownies.
Alex stretched out on the warm sand. "No tropical paradise could top this." He sighed.
"This is the life, all right," I said. I was warm and full and happy. Lying there in the sand, I couldn't imagine a more perfect day.
"Let's go swimming!" Jason suggested.
"Later," I said. I didn't feel like doing anything more strenuous than digesting my lunch. "Why don't you and Hailey play in the sand? You could make a sand castle."
"Good idea,” Jason exclaimed. "Want to, Hailey?"
Hailey nodded, and they went to work at the edge of the water.
"You know, I could spend the rest of the summer right here." Alex propped himself up on one elbow.
I sat up. "You might get hungry."
"Oh, I'd send you back to shore each day for fresh supplies." Alex rolled back down on the sand.
"That's what you think!" I circled my hands on Alex's neck and pretended to choke him.
"All right. All right! Bad idea."
Just as I started to draw my hands away from Alex's neck, he caught me by my wrists, pulled me down on top of him and kissed me.
I was caught off guard. I wanted to say something funny to make light of the moment, but I was too surprised to speak. I turned around to see if Jason and Hailey had been watching.
"Don't worry," said Alex. "They're too engrossed in making that sand castle to pay any attention to us."
"I, uh, I—I..." I stammered. Part of me wanted to hop in the rowboat and row back to shore, and part of me wanted to throw my arms around Alex again. I knew then for sure that I wanted Alex to be more than a friend, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do anything about it. What if it spoiled our relationship for good?
Chapter Eight
Alex sat up and took my hands in his. "Katie, the past few weeks with you has been the most fun I've ever had." He spoke quietly, so Jason and Hailey couldn't hear. "I like you—a lot. I like to kiss you. Is that so terrible?"
"Oh, I—" I licked my lips. I wanted to tell Alex that I had liked him for a long time, but I'd been afraid to try to change our relations
hip. I'd been really happy the past few weeks, too. Just being friends with Alex had freed me from comparing myself to Nicole. I hadn't worried about measuring up. But if we declared ourselves to be more than "just friends" I could still turn into a shivering mass of insecurities. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I couldn't live in limbo forever and I certainly couldn't expect Alex to, either.
I took a deep breath. "Alex, I—"
"Ahem." Hailey cleared her throat. She'd appeared suddenly, as if beamed down from another planet. "Excuse me, but I think it's going to rain."
Alex looked up. Big black clouds filled the sky. "It looks like a storm coming. Hailey, you and Jason start loading things into the boat."
"We will." Hailey skipped off, shouting orders to Jason.
Alex turned to me. "We'll talk later." He took me in his arms and pressed a kiss onto my lips. I didn't pull away. My heart fluttered. The touch of his body pressed against mine sent warm shivers through me. When Alex stopped kissing me, he gazed into my eyes and smiled. "We'll talk tonight."
"Tonight," I repeated in a whisper. Then a fat drop of rain landed on my head. "We'd better hurry. We don't want to get caught in a downpour."
When everything was loaded into the boat, everyone climbed in. I insisted that Jason and Hailey wrap their towels around themselves to keep warm. It'd grown cold once the clouds had covered the sun.
"I'll warm up enough rowing," Alex said, lifting the oars.
After only a short time I could see that he was straining. The water was getting rough—it was a fight to make it over each wave. White caps slapped against the boat. Before long the occasional raindrop turned into a steady rain. There was a crash of thunder. I tried to look calm for Jason's and Hailey's sakes, but my throat tightened with fear.
"Don't worry," Alex shouted. "The lightning's still pretty far away, and we'll be back at the dock soon."
I squinted and saw the outline of the man who'd rented the boat to us. It looked as though he was waiting to help us dock.
Lightning crashed, closer this time. I clenched the seat of the boat.
Alex grunted as he pulled on the oars. With a few swift strokes he narrowed the distance to the dock.
"You folks got back just in time!" the man on the dock yelled, as he helped pull in the rowboat. "That storm is going to be centered over us any minute now." He helped us unload. "You'd better hurry and get inside."
As we all ran to our cottage, Alex and I struggling with the ice chest, lightning flashed over the water. Finally, we burst into the cottage door and stood dripping on the kitchen floor. Our parents were sitting at the dining room table, drinking coffee.
Mom ran over to us. We must have been a bedraggled group. "Thank goodness you're back! Another few minutes and we would have sent the Coast Guard out looking for you!"
"Mom!" I said. "We’re soaked, but otherwise we’re fine."
"A-a-choo!" Jason shivered.
"I hope you're not getting sick," Mom said.
"I'm fine." Jason sniffled.
"We really must be going," said Mrs. Stedman.
"Let me get you our big golf umbrella," Dad said. "It's upstairs."
"Thanks, I think we'll need it in that rain," said Mrs. Stedman. She turned to Alex. "Oh, I've got some good news. The Kendalls are arriving tomorrow. They're going to spend the last week of August here in Chatfield. They'll be just down the beach from us." She turned to me. "Katie, do you know Nicole?"
I swallowed the lump solidifying in my throat. "I—I know who she is."
"Here's the umbrella." Dad handed it to Mr. Stedman.
"Thanks."
Alex looked at me with watery eyes. He was shivering and turning blue. "I'll see you tomorrow."
What about our talk? I wanted to ask, but I bit my tongue. Alex was obviously in no shape to hang around and chat. He needed to get home and take a hot bath. I fought back the alarm that had been building in me since Nicole's name was mentioned and smiled. "Sure. Tomorrow. Take care of yourself."
After everyone left, I pulled my towel around my shoulders. Now I was cold and tired and wanted nothing but to soak in a tub of hot water myself.
Tomorrow Nicole would be in Chatfield.
Chapter Nine
Eager to see Alex, I rushed Jason through breakfast so we could hurry to pick up Hailey.
Hailey opened the door. "Alex will be ready to go in a minute," she said.
The Stedmans had already left to play golf with my parents, and the only distraction was Jason and Hailey chattering. I wondered why Alex was taking so long. Was he avoiding me now that he knew Nicole was coming?
"Sorry I'm late." Alex came downstairs buttoning his shirt. "Hi, Katie. How do you feel?"
"Fine," I said. "How about you?" I tried to read his face. I wasn't just inquiring about his health.
"A lot better after a good night's sleep. We don't really have time to talk now. How about after I get off work?"
My heart beat as fast as a sparrow's. Alex still wanted to talk to me. Of course, Nicole wasn't in Chatfield yet. Well, I would worry about Nicole later. I nodded. "We can talk then."
"Good. Now we'll have to leave, or I'll be late for work."
Alex kissed me goodbye at the store, and it was more than just a friendly kiss for the benefit of the giggling girls. I still could feel the force of his lips on mine as I walked away.
Jason and Hailey wanted to go to our cottage to play. After lunch I took them swimming. I needed some exercise to push my worries about Nicole from my thoughts. When it was time to meet Alex at the store, I had managed to shove Nicole into a closet in the far corner of my mind and close the door on her. I would talk to Alex, we would explain our true feelings for each other, and Nicole wouldn't be able to interfere.
I almost broke into a run as soon as Little's was within sight. As I approached the front door, I saw that the giggling girls were all atwitter, whispering behind their hands and glancing from the door to me and back to the store. I tried to ignore them as I shooed Jason and Hailey inside.
As soon as I saw Alex, my heart nearly stopped. Leaning over the counter, looking up at Alex with her big blue eyes, was Nicole Kendall. Jason and Hailey ran to the back of the store to get their customary ice cream sandwiches, but I hung back in the doorway. Alex seemed to be enjoying his conversation with Nicole. He must have caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye, because all of a sudden he turned in my direction.
"Katie! I don't think you've met Nicole. Nicole, this is Katie Price."
"Well, hello, Katie. Pleased to meet you." Nicole said quickly, turning immediately back to Alex, leaving me with my hand outstretched in midair, poised for a handshake.
I dropped my arm to my side. I decided to answer Nicole even if she was ignoring me. "Nice to meet you too, Nicole."
She gave me another quick glance.
I met her deceptively bored look, which didn't quite mask the scrutiny hidden behind her eyes, and flashed a big smile at her. Maybe I didn't have Nicole's dazzling beauty, but I was attractive enough in my own way and hadn't Alex just said that the past few weeks with me had been the most fun he'd ever had? I wasn't going to give up on him just because of Nicole. Not yet, certainly.
Jason and Hailey ran up to the counter with their ice cream sandwiches. I paid for them as I introduced Jason to Nicole. Nicole uttered a quick hello, then grabbed Hailey and hugged her.
"Hailey, sweetie," Nicole said. "Great to see you again."
"Hi, Nicole." Hailey squirmed free. "Would you like some of my ice cream sandwich?" She held it up to Nicole.
Nicole shook her head and wrinkled her nose. "No, thanks. I have to watch my figure."
You'd better watch it, I thought meanly. "Well, kids," I said to Jason and Hailey. "Time to go." I hoped Alex would take the hint.
Alex checked the time. "Ah, I'm off duty." He caught my eye. "Wait. I'll go with you."
"I'd love to see where you're staying, Alex." Nicole slipped her arm through his. "I'll go wi
th you."
I wished there was a button I could push that would open a trapdoor in the floor for Nicole to fall through. Instead, I took Alex's other arm. Two could play Nicole's game.
It looked like a caravan leaving Little's as we snaked our way through the bastion of giggling girls who were momentarily standing in shocked silence.
"What a cute cottage," Nicole said, when Alex put the key in the door. She didn't wait to be invited. She just stepped inside. She looked around the one-room downstairs and mumbled, "It's so … so cozy."
I could see it would be impossible to have a private conversation as long as Nicole was around, and it looked as if Nicole planned on being there for a while. I wasn't about to stand around twiddling my thumbs waiting for her to leave. "I've got to go," I said to Alex. "Talk to you later."
Alex leaned toward me, but Nicole grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"I'd like a tour of the cottage," she said.
"Uh, sure." Alex shrugged his shoulders as he said to me, "See you later, Katie."
"Yeah." I stormed out of the cottage and seethed all the way back to my room and for most of the rest of the afternoon. Here I was, all set to have this wonderful talk with Alex, where I was going to tell him how much he meant to me and what a good time I'd had the past few weeks with him and how I wanted to kiss him now that I felt he really cared about me—and was not just looking for a good time for the summer.
So what happens? Along comes Nicole, who was probably making all sorts of mad, passionate passes at Alex that would make him forget that he'd ever wanted to kiss me in the first place.
Well, if he didn't come over right after supper to see me, I was going over to see him. I couldn't let one afternoon with Nicole ruin my chances permanently.
By five o'clock I was standing in the kitchen, wondering if I should start supper, since my folks weren't back from playing golf. Just then they walked in the door.
"Katie," Mom said breathlessly. "Change into something nice. A dress. We just met the Kendalls on the golf course, and they've invited us all over to their place for a cookout."
"All of us?"
"Yes. The Stedmans, too. Now hurry. We're expected there in an hour."
