Love Found in California (The Washington Triplets) by Melissa Rolka

me forward and as I climbed up the slide he said, “Well, I had a one-in-three shot of getting it right.” This is something we had heard for years from him.
    I slid down that slide as fast as I could, afraid he’d seen my embarrassment … Afraid he’d sensed my crush. When I got to the end of the slide, I hopped off and raced to the house. I ran past the front porch where everyone had congregated again and crept along the side of my house to the back door.
    Once inside, I raced up to my bedroom. The wooden stairs creaked with each step, the one at the top making the most noise. Luckily, my parents had made sure to give each of us our own room. They were small, but we were each allowed our own private space. I was probably the most thankful for this.
    My skin had cooled even more since the sun was completely down now. The first thing I did once in my bedroom was turn off my fan. I shivered as I reached for my towel hanging on the back of my bedroom door. Quickly, I dried myself off and then began the torturous process of taking off my wet swimsuit. My clothes stuck to my skin just like when I got dressed too fast after a shower.
    Just as I pulled my t-shirt down, I scolded myself internally for having a ridiculous crush on Eric. It’s not like he was nice to me, or my sisters for that matter. Then I pulled on my white cotton underwear, flattening them straight out over my belly. He was popular though, in that bad boy kind of way. He had no problem making fun of someone just so the others would laugh and flock to him. I left my shorts on my bed to let my legs dry a bit more.
    Then why did I feel like I craved his glance or enjoyed his wink when he looked down at my cleavage? The thing was that over this summer he had been nice to me a couple of times. No one else saw and it was nothing crazy, but just little niceties. I’m sure he didn’t want anyone to know he had this side.
    I grabbed my brush off my dresser and started to untangle my wet hair. The sound of that top stair creaking echoed in my room and I wondered if maybe one of my sisters had come in to change too. Once I was finished getting dressed I’d go back down to the party and stick with my sisters. My brush was halfway down my long dark chestnut hair when my door opened. My heart jumped and when I looked through my mirror to the doorway, I saw Eric walking into my room and then shutting my door.
    Standing there, shell shocked and stunned, I froze. I didn’t turn around at first and my arm stayed raised with the brush in my hair. I blinked a couple of times and watched Eric stand just beside the closed door and lean against my bare peach painted wall.
    “Did I embarrass you?” he asked in a shallow deep voice.
    I turned around and faced him with my eyes staring at my wooden floor. He crossed his legs, one over the other, as if he was getting comfortable for a long stay. My eyes veered to the right and focused on the small dolphin stuffed animal my dad had gotten me on a trip years ago.
    “Mikaela, I asked you something,” he pressed.
    My eyes flicked up and he looked like a shadow standing along my wall with only my low-lit desk lamp on. I begged my voice to sound strong, or at least stronger than I felt. “I, I don’t know.” I knew that I had failed. I was torn with mixed emotions, a bit of fear and wanting to leave my room and the excitement of him possibly liking me, kissing me.
    “Have you even kissed a boy yet? God, sometimes I don’t even notice you and then other times you seem to be the sexiest one.” The comment came like a slap to my face, but again I felt torn between mixed emotions. I questioned if he was paying me a compliment or being mean.
    Being in the small space of my room, I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t have Marisa or Mya to respond for me. “Yes, of course,” I replied sharply, hoping that I hinted that I had more experience than he gave me credit for.
    “Good,” he returned with equal bite. Then he moved his