said.
“Yes, that’s my motto, actually,” I joked.
He looked at me as though I’d crossed some invisible line of good taste. Still too soon to joke about the demise of the Hulk, I guessed.
Freedom! Sun! Outdoors!
I didn’t yell it out loud, but I could have as I ran back to the dorm to change into my swimsuit. Miss Crossley had told me I’d be free for a couple of hours, unless something she didn’t anticipate came up. Which it probably would, so I was rushing—she had to give me a half hour anyway, because I was pretty sure that was the law. I left my pager on my dresser and then Ipractically sprinted from the dorm down to the beach.
I saw Hayden sitting atop his lifeguard chair and I really wanted to go talk to him, but I kept running. I sprinted into the ocean and dove under an incoming wave. I felt the cold water engulf me, the wave roiling the sand beneath me.
When I finally surfaced, I noticed something strange.
I seemed to be the only one in the ocean. As far as I could see, anyway. But then, it was almost lunchtime, and the place tended to clear out right around then—people headed in to take a break from the midday sun, or else they ate lunch and napped under big umbrellas.
I heard a loud shrieking whistle and looked back toward shore. Hayden was standing on the beach, his arms on his hips, a whistle to his lips. He blew the whistle again and waved his arms in the air.
Boy. He really wanted my attention. Maybe I wasn’t wrong to think he was interested in me.
I swam back toward shore, catching oneof the smaller waves and riding the crest of it to move along faster, since he looked a bit desperate. You know, some guys are like that, I thought. All you have to do is reject them once, and they decide they have to have you. Typical.
I stood up, leaned back to dunk my hair underwater, then strode out of the surf toward him. “Hey, what’s—”
“Did you not see the caution flag?” he asked.
“What caution flag?”
“Right there.” He pointed to a red, diagonal flag flapping in the breeze directly above his lifeguard stand. “It means no swimming.”
“Oh. Whoops. I’m sorry.” I looked up and down the beach. The water was definitely clear of people. They were all sitting under umbrellas, or lying in the sun, or playing Frisbee or volleyball. Definitely no swimming going on.
“Do you always break the rules?” Hayden asked.
“Ha!” I laughed. “No. Not always .”
“Seriously,” he said, with a frown to let me know he meant it.
“Seriously? Do I have to?”
“Have to what?”
“Be so serious. I’ve been stuck inside all morning, being extremely serious about cleaning and picking up and organizing and—after a while I just wanted to throw all the files out the window and watch them blow away in the wind.”
Hayden looked at me as if I were going insane. And maybe I had gotten a little too much cabin fever. “What files?” he asked.
“Inn files. Since the year 1900. Miss Crossley couldn’t find anything else for me to do, so she roped me into this huge straightening and tidying project.” I groaned. “I started last night, actually.”
“Hm. Funny. About last night. Weren’t you taking that writer on a tour?”
“Oh, yeah. I was.” Whoops. “After that, I mean.”
“So, would that have been before or after I saw you and Claire shrieking and running into the dorm in the middle of that downpour around seven o’clock?” Hayden asked.
He was quite the detective, wasn’t he? Whywas I so stupid? “Why? Where were you?” I said.
“In my room. It’s on the floor below yours, remember?”
I coughed. “Well, good thing we didn’t go on that bike ride. I mean, really. We’d have gotten drenched.”
Hayden folded his arms across his chest and stared at me. “Why did you make up an excuse not to go? I mean, if you don’t want to hang with me, then don’t, and just say that. It’s not like I won’t be able to live with that.”
His tone was
“Yes, that’s my motto, actually,” I joked.
He looked at me as though I’d crossed some invisible line of good taste. Still too soon to joke about the demise of the Hulk, I guessed.
Freedom! Sun! Outdoors!
I didn’t yell it out loud, but I could have as I ran back to the dorm to change into my swimsuit. Miss Crossley had told me I’d be free for a couple of hours, unless something she didn’t anticipate came up. Which it probably would, so I was rushing—she had to give me a half hour anyway, because I was pretty sure that was the law. I left my pager on my dresser and then Ipractically sprinted from the dorm down to the beach.
I saw Hayden sitting atop his lifeguard chair and I really wanted to go talk to him, but I kept running. I sprinted into the ocean and dove under an incoming wave. I felt the cold water engulf me, the wave roiling the sand beneath me.
When I finally surfaced, I noticed something strange.
I seemed to be the only one in the ocean. As far as I could see, anyway. But then, it was almost lunchtime, and the place tended to clear out right around then—people headed in to take a break from the midday sun, or else they ate lunch and napped under big umbrellas.
I heard a loud shrieking whistle and looked back toward shore. Hayden was standing on the beach, his arms on his hips, a whistle to his lips. He blew the whistle again and waved his arms in the air.
Boy. He really wanted my attention. Maybe I wasn’t wrong to think he was interested in me.
I swam back toward shore, catching oneof the smaller waves and riding the crest of it to move along faster, since he looked a bit desperate. You know, some guys are like that, I thought. All you have to do is reject them once, and they decide they have to have you. Typical.
I stood up, leaned back to dunk my hair underwater, then strode out of the surf toward him. “Hey, what’s—”
“Did you not see the caution flag?” he asked.
“What caution flag?”
“Right there.” He pointed to a red, diagonal flag flapping in the breeze directly above his lifeguard stand. “It means no swimming.”
“Oh. Whoops. I’m sorry.” I looked up and down the beach. The water was definitely clear of people. They were all sitting under umbrellas, or lying in the sun, or playing Frisbee or volleyball. Definitely no swimming going on.
“Do you always break the rules?” Hayden asked.
“Ha!” I laughed. “No. Not always .”
“Seriously,” he said, with a frown to let me know he meant it.
“Seriously? Do I have to?”
“Have to what?”
“Be so serious. I’ve been stuck inside all morning, being extremely serious about cleaning and picking up and organizing and—after a while I just wanted to throw all the files out the window and watch them blow away in the wind.”
Hayden looked at me as if I were going insane. And maybe I had gotten a little too much cabin fever. “What files?” he asked.
“Inn files. Since the year 1900. Miss Crossley couldn’t find anything else for me to do, so she roped me into this huge straightening and tidying project.” I groaned. “I started last night, actually.”
“Hm. Funny. About last night. Weren’t you taking that writer on a tour?”
“Oh, yeah. I was.” Whoops. “After that, I mean.”
“So, would that have been before or after I saw you and Claire shrieking and running into the dorm in the middle of that downpour around seven o’clock?” Hayden asked.
He was quite the detective, wasn’t he? Whywas I so stupid? “Why? Where were you?” I said.
“In my room. It’s on the floor below yours, remember?”
I coughed. “Well, good thing we didn’t go on that bike ride. I mean, really. We’d have gotten drenched.”
Hayden folded his arms across his chest and stared at me. “Why did you make up an excuse not to go? I mean, if you don’t want to hang with me, then don’t, and just say that. It’s not like I won’t be able to live with that.”
His tone was
Similar Books
