DIRTY DANCING
A One Tree Hill Fanfiction
Chapter 1:
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh baby, I hate to go
"Is there anything else on the radio?"
Peyton Sawyer looked up from her sketchbook to glance across the car at her best friend, Brooke Davis, an expression of either pain or boredom written across her pretty features; Peyton wasn't quite sure which. Brooke caught her eye and pulled a face. Peyton had to grin.
From the front seat, Larry Sawyer laughed. He looked at the two girls in the backseat through his rear-view mirror. "You don't appreciate the oldies, Brooke?" Larry asked, clearly amused.
"Of course I do!" Brooke replied quickly. "Just not the old oldies. Anyway," she continued, changing the subject as she looked out the window at the "Seabrook Resort Welcomes You!" sign that just whizzed past, "we're almost there, aren't we?"
Karen Roe consulted the GPS that was mounted on the windshield. "We should be pulling in any minute now, actually," she replied.
She was met with a squeal from Brooke, who immediately began fishing around in her purse for a compact and her signature red lipstick. Peyton watched as Brooke applied a fresh coat of the lipstick, then fluffed out her dark brown hair, which fell just past her shoulders in perfect curls. Peyton rolled her eyes as she began to close her sketchbook in anticipation of arriving at the resort.
As Karen had said, they pulled into the guest parking lot of Seabrook within five minutes. Brooke was the first one out of the car, jumping out almost before the wheels stopped rolling. She stretched her long, tanned legs as she looked around, taking in her surroundings.
A large, dark-haired man and a petite blonde woman were approaching, and as soon as they got close enough, the woman launched herself into Karen's arms. "Karen Roe! Or should I say Karen Sawyer!" she exclaimed as the man reached out to shake Larry's hand.
"It's so good to see you, Deb," Karen said earnestly with a smile. "You too, Dan," she added, shaking the man's hand. "This is my husband, Larry, my stepdaughter, Peyton, and Peyton's best friend, Brooke. You guys, this is Dan and Deb Scott."
"Welcome everyone!" Dan said enthusiastically. "We're very excited to have you all here."
"And we're thrilled to be here," Karen returned. She reached for Larry's hand and squeezed it as she beamed up at him. "This is our first vacation as a family, and I can't think of a better place to spend it."
"We hope Seabrook will live up to your expectations," Deb said with a smile.
"Let me get someone to show you to your cabin," Dan said, looking around, before finally setting his gaze on someone. "McFadden! Over here!" he called out, whistling. In just a moment, a young man appeared at his side. "Go get their suitcases and take them to Cabin Three," he instructed quietly. Looking back to his guests, he smiled and continued, "Cabin Three is our biggest and best cabin."
Peyton rolled her eyes as she quietly walked away from where her dad, Karen, and Brooke stood, talking to Dan, and followed the man Dan had referred to as McFadden. First impressions meant a lot to Peyton and her first impression of Dan Scott wasn't exactly favorable. She could see straight through his pleasant facade; it was obvious to her that Dan was not a very nice person.
"Here, let me help you," Peyton said, reaching into the trunk of the SUV and pulling out several suitcases.
"Hey, thanks," he said with a genuine smile. "I'm Marvin, Marvin McFadden...but everybody calls me Mouth."
Peyton raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, simply taking his outstretched hand and shaking it. "Peyton."
"So, you looking for a job?" Mouth asked jokingly.
"I think I'll let you handle it," Peyton replied with a light laugh.
Dan's booming voice caught Peyton's attention once again. "McFadden here will show you to your cabin. As far as activities, Karen, Larry...I expect to see you all out there with our dancers!"
- - -
"Did you see all the beautiful men out there?" Brooke gushed from her spot on one of the two twin beds in the bedroom she and Peyton would be sharing. She rolled over onto her back, staring dreamily up at the ceiling. "This is going to be a great summer!"
"I didn't really notice," Peyton said, shrugging. She continued to put her neatly folded clothes into the chest of drawers. "So are you planning on living out of your suitcases the entire summer?" She cocked an eyebrow at Brooke's luggage, which was scattered about the room.
"I just might," Brooke replied, but stood up from the bed and began unpacking anyway. She rifled through her suitcases, pulling out various items, including at least six pairs of shoes. She lined them up in the closet floor, then gasped. "Shit! I left my black sandals at home! I was planning on wearing them tonight." Her red lips formed into a pout as she stared at Peyton, who shook her head in response.
"You can wear mine if you want." Peyton had been about to slip her feet into her black sandals, but held them up instead.
Brooke wrinkled her nose, looking at the sandals doubtfully. "I don't know, they're practically flat, and I like to wear heels..."
"Suit yourself," Peyton said, putting the shoes back on the floor.
"Fine, they'll do," Brooke said finally, putting the sandals on as Peyton slid on a pair of white flip flops. "Do you want me to do your make up?" Her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
"I don't think so," Peyton said, walking into the connected bathroom and observing herself in the mirror. She reached into her make up case and freshened up her blush and eyeshadow, then applied a sheer lip gloss. She used a few bobby pins to pin the back and sides of her hair up, creating some volume in the crown.
"Are you girls ready for dinner?" The voice of Peyton's father floated into the bathroom.
"Yes, Daddy, be out in a second!" Peyton called, taking another look at herself in the mirror before going to join her dad and Karen in the living room. Ten minutes later, Brooke was ready, and the four of them headed across the resort to the dining room.
They had barely seated themselves at their table when Deb and Dan appeared, along with a dark haired young man who appeared to be Peyton and Brooke's age.
"Well hello again, Sawyers," Dan greeted them cheerily. "I just wanted to check on you and make sure you've found everything to your liking so far."
"Everything is perfect, Dan," Karen said politely. "You've got such a nice place here. When Deb told me you all had taken over a resort, I had no idea it would be this nice."
"It's all because of Deb," Dan said. "She's the mastermind behind the operation." He squeezed Deb's shoulder. "Let me introduce you all to my son, Nathan," he added, gesturing towards the young man accompanying him. "Nathan, I'm sure you remember Karen. This is her husband Larry, daughter Peyton, and Peyton's friend Brooke."
"It's nice to meet you," came several different voices at once. Peyton was already tired of saying those words, and they were only a few hours into their vacation. Hopefully there wouldn't be many more new people to meet. Peyton felt Nathan's eyes on her and squirmed under his gaze.
"Felix! Come over here and meet our new guests," Dan called suddenly, and Peyton almost groaned out loud. She stopped herself, smiling pleasantly instead as someone strode up to their table. Dan put an arm around that someone. "This is Felix Taggaro, one of the best waiters here at Seabrook. I'll be sure to have him serve you each meal. Nothing but the best for Karen and her new family. Deb and I will be back to check up on you all a bit later." With that, Dan and Deb made their way across the dining room, stopping to check on other guests along the way.
"It's wonderful to meet you. If I can get you anything, please be sure to let me know," Felix said, looking around the table. His eyes lingered on Brooke, who was batting her eyelashes at him furiously. "It's not so often that I get to wait on such a beautiful lady...ladies." He glanced briefly at Peyton, but flicked his eyes back to Brooke immediately.
Peyton rolled her eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time since they arrived at Seabrook. Felix was a charmer, all right, but something about him gave Peyton a bad feeling. She could just tell that he wasn't the polite, well-mannered gentleman he was trying to make himself out to be. Unfortunately, Brooke was a jerk magnet and never learned from her mistakes.
"Could I get a glass of water, please?" Peyton asked, interrupting the staring match happening between Felix and Brooke. Brooke shot her a look and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back into her chair.
"Of course, Miss Sawyer," Felix said smoothly, not missing a beat. "And what can I get for everybody else? Water, tea, lemonade, a soda?"
"I'll have sweet tea," Larry said, and Karen and Brooke echoed Peyton's request for water. When Felix disappeared to get their drinks, Brooke kicked Peyton under the table and gave her a sharp look.
"You don't have to be so rude to him!" Brooke hissed.
Peyton shrugged. "He's a jerk," she commented nonchalantly.
"You don't even know him!" Brooke exclaimed incredulously.
"And I don't want to know him. I've seen enough of Felix Taggaro to last me the whole summer."
- - -
After dinner, Peyton, Larry, and Karen walked across the grounds of the resort to the main auditorium where the majority of the evening activities were held. Tonight's activity, Dan had informed them during dinner, was dancing. The resort had some of the best entertainment staff around, Dan had assured them, and they would not be disappointed. Brooke stayed behind in the dining room, saying she would catch up with them later.
"Brooke has lost her mind," Peyton lamented, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes. "I don't like him at all. Brooke has the worst taste in guys."
Larry laughed, wrapping an arm around Peyton. "That may be true, but she can make her own decisions, Peyton," he said, well aware of Brooke's track record in dating.
"She'll be fine," Karen added. "Dan seems to think highly of Felix."
Peyton gave her a look. "Well, I can't say I think Dan is the most virtuous man, either."
"That's enough, Peyton," Larry said warningly, then pushed open the door to the auditorium.
Almost as soon as Peyton stepped through the door, Nathan Scott approached her, grinning widely. "Hello, Peyton, my father said you all would be coming. Would you like to dance?" He gestured to the dance floor.
Peyton was about to turn him down when, to her horror, her father pushed her gently towards Nathan. "I think that's a great idea," Larry said. "Peyton would love that, wouldn't you, Peyton?"
Peyton scowled at her father. "Sure," she said halfheartedly as she reluctantly allowed Nathan to lead her out to the dance floor. One dance seemed to last for an eternity as Nathan rambled on and on about various things, but mostly his full-ride basketball scholarship that he'd received because he was the "star" of his high school team. The music couldn't have come to an end soon enough for Peyton, who wriggled from his grasp as soon as she could. She started to walk off the dance floor but was stopped by Mouth, the staff member who had helped her family with their luggage earlier.
"You having fun out there with Mr. Ego?" Mouth asked as he put another CD into the CD player.
Peyton reached over and slapped Mouth on the arm. "My dad made me do it! I swear, the things fathers do to their daughters."
"Don't worry," Mouth said, "I'll keep you occupied the rest of the night."
A new song started, and the energy immediately began to pick up as the Latin-like beat filled the auditorium. A cheer erupted from the center of the room as two figures began dancing in time to the music. Peyton stopped and watched as the girl's long brown hair flew around her head and gasped when she caught a glimpse of her dancing partner. He had sandy blonde hair that seemed to stick out in a million places, a lean, muscled body that was apparent beneath his black dress shirt, and hypnotizing blue eyes. Peyton couldn't pull her eyes away from the couple as they danced. They moved so well together.
"They shouldn't be showing off like this," came a voice that startled Peyton. She looked to her side to see Nathan standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, as he stared at the pair on the dance floor. He shook his head. "My dad hates it when they do that. They're supposed to be selling dance lessons, not scaring everybody away."
"I would pay for dance lessons from him," Peyton said shortly. "I don't think they're showing off so much as they are showcasing their abilities to the guests. It makes me think that even I could dance like that."
"Yeah, whatever." Nathan rolled his eyes. "That guy is nothing but trouble, Peyton. You don't want anything to do with him, okay? My dad only keeps him on here because he dances so well. He's a guest favorite."
"Well, it's none of your business who I associate with, now is it?" Peyton said coolly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to our cabin. I've had enough for one evening." With that, she turned on her heel and made her way to the exit, stopping only long enough to turn back to get one last look at the mystery guy.
- - -
Author's Note: So here's a bit longer of a chapter. I'm so glad to have gotten the response I did to the prologue, and I hope this first chapter lives up to your expectations as well! Please review!