Chapter 1: The Young Generation

It was the perfect afternoon for the beach. The skies were clear, the sun bright and hot overhead, the waters wonderfully cool. A good distance up from the surf, a volleyball court had been set up in the sand, and seven guys were engaged in a game. Originally, there had been eight of them, their teams evenly divided. But one of the teammates, the tallest of the group who had been wearing a green wool hat despite the fact that it was a hot July day, had left them momentarily.

The three guys remaining were holding their own quite nicely despite being short a man. The tallest of the three at a solid six feet was Micky. To say that he had energy was an understatement. He was burning up the court. His remaining two teammates, Davy and Peter, were somewhat grateful for Micky's exuberance. Now that they had lost Mike, however briefly, they could use every advantage they could get. Especially since Davy was lucky to be pushing 5'3". And besides, it would mollify some of Micky's general hyperness...

"Comin' at ya, Davy!" Peter called, spiking the ball up into the air in his friend's direction.

Little though he was, Davy was a talented sportsman. Leaping an impressive few feet into the air, he slammed the ball over the net and right into the sand at the other teams' feet. The three exclaimed joyfully amidst the other team's grumblings.

"Way to go, man, we're up by four points now!" Micky enthused. He announced the score and then served the ball back into play.

Suddenly, Micky's dark eyes widened as he caught sight of three girls, two blondes and a brunette. Each of them was lovely, but it was one of the blondes, the taller of the two, who captured his attention. She was easily the tallest of the three, her dark blonde hair stirring gently about her shoulders and gleaming in the sunlight. The jean shorts she wore did a fabulous job of showing off her beautifully long, toned legs. Like her companions, her skin was fair. The three of them stood out easily amidst the sun-bronzed bodies of the beach inhabitants. But oh! Was her skin lovely, and enhanced brilliantly by her crimson bikini top.

The world around him seemed to fade away entirely, and Micky could do nothing but stare at the beauty as she laughed and talked with her friends, the burnished gold waves of her hair flashing enticingly in the sunlight. Who was she?--

Wham!

His thoughts were abruptly and painfully shattered, the air forced from his lungs in an audible rush as the volleyball slammed solidly into his chest.

An eruption of laughter could be heard as Micky doubled over and struggled to regain his breath. Even winded as he was, he was still blushing furiously. God, he couldn't believe he'd done that!

He was too concerned with getting his wind back to check, but he hoped fervently that the girl wasn't watching…

Peter trotted over to him then, trying valiantly to control his laughter. "Hey, man, you all right?" he asked, his dark eyes showing concern despite his amusement.

Micky took in one last lungful of air, and then he was good. "Yeah, Pete, I'm fine," he assured, standing to his full height.

Peter nodded, then returned to his spot on the court. Standing on Peter's other side, Davy craned his neck to look over at Micky. "What was that about?" he asked, trying to look as if he hadn't found Mick's blunder to be absolutely hilarious.

Micky gave a disgruntled huff and shook his head. "Forget about it," he replied, his dark eyes becoming fierce in his determination to salvage what little remained of his pride. "Let's do this!"

With one last laugh, the other team's server sent the ball sailing over the net. The game commenced, and Micky focused his full attention on it. All thoughts of the beautiful girl were buried completely, but not forgotten.

The ball was catapulted and hurled through the air at vicious speed. Micky and his team had managed to make two more points two their opponents' one. But the game was hardly over.

"Thought Mike said he was gonna be right back," Micky said, making a desperate dive for the ball and digging it back into the air just in the nick of time. "He was just going to the pad for some water, how long can it take?"

"Maybe he had to go to the little boy's room while he was there," Peter speculated as he hit the ball back over the net.

"Well lovely," Davy said, moving to intercept as the ball came hurtling back towards them. "Still wish he'd be a little quicker getting his Texas tush back here!"

Meanwhile, a good few yards away from the volleyball court, the three girls stood together, leaning casually against a wooden fence at their backs and enjoying the sun as they watched the people around them. They had each ordered an ice cold drink from the little oceanfront drink bar, and were taking some time to enjoy their beverages before heading up the wooden steps to the beachside apartment complex.

None of the girls had been paying any particular attention to the volleyball game that had been going on…That is until an explosion of laughter had bombarded their senses. The girls looked over to see one of the guys was doubled over. Judging from the volleyball that was lying in the sand only a few feet from him, it wasn't hard to figure out what had just happened.

The girls couldn't help but giggle themselves. The tall blonde felt a swelling of sympathy as she watched the guy straighten back up...And inwardly, she was a little impressed. He was a six-footer, easy.

"Poor guy," she murmured.

The others nodded in agreement, and Taryn, the brunette, turned to look at her friends. "At least he's all right, though."

They watched with interest now as the game started up again. It was quite the sight. The guys were pretty good, and seeing them exert such energy clad in nothing but their swimsuits was an especially nice treat.

"Thank God for volleyball," the tall blonde said, her deeply appreciative expression broadcasting her feelings much better than her words had.

The other blonde, Shea, smirked knowingly as she glanced up at her considerably taller friend. "Oh I know. They are so skilled. I can never tire of watching that."

The tall blonde, Jacelyn, laughed. The special emphasis her friend had placed on the word "skilled" had not escaped her notice. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with admiring the wonders God puts before you," she replied coyly.

As she spoke, her eyes shifted again to the gorgeously long and lean young man who had been hit by the ball. She noticed now that he had a head of thick, dark curls. He was…remarkably skinny, but toned it a way that made it obvious he had strength. Every now and again she caught a flash of muscle in his torso and shoulders as he moved…

"Ah-ha," Shea intoned. "Someone's got your attention, I see."

Jacelyn couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "Guilty as charged!"

At her other side, Taryn chuckled and rolled her eyes fondly. "Jace, thank you for being so single!" she enthused.

The tall girl laughed. "You're very welcome!"

Shea shot the brunette a mock glare. She was the only one of the group to be in a relationship. "Way to single me out, Taryn," she teased.

Jacelyn laughed again while Taryn gave a little mock bow. "My pleasure."

The girls then lapsed into a companionable silence as they finished off their drinks, their eyes returning to the various activities on the beach. Jacelyn's attention was equally divided between the glistening blue waters of the surf and the volleyball match. She loved to swim, and she was one of those who was always captured by the spectacular beauty of nature. But, oh! Shirtless boys--that one in particular…

She supposed she should have been embarrassed by her boy crazy behavior, but she couldn't bring herself to care. As a woman new in her twenties, one might forgive her the slight obsession. And while, yes she was certainly quick to appreciate a cute guy, she was hardly shallow. She knew the difference between "eye candy" and a person of true character. And she knew she wanted the latter when it came to sharing her heart. The "pretty boys" had nothing to offer her. But that didn't make them any less fun to look at.

And speaking of fun…

"Let's go get Erin," she said, pushing off the fence and walking over to the trash can to throw away her empty cup. "I don't know about you, but I'm sick of treating fun like it was a spectator's sport!"

The other two wasted no time in joining her, and together they headed up the wooden steps to the beach-side apartment complex that was their friend Erin's new home.