She Sells Seashells

The minute bell rang and the underclassmen fairly flew through the halls, plowing through anything and everything in their way.

And the seniors – despite their bravado about not caring anymore about anything related to school – were no different as they raced down the corridors as they returned from lunch off campus, the girls splat-splat-ing by with their flip-flops, the boys holding their books in one hand and their pants up with the other. Even with only two months of school left, the jailbirds, as they were referred to by faculty, still cared about not racking up tardies.

Sonny sauntered easily over to the library for study hall. He had been unable to leave today for lunch and had grabbed some pasta in the cafeteria before running up to the computer lab to type memos for the next Student Union meeting. The meeting was the first Monday as they got back from Spring Break, meaning the memos had to be out by today at the latest.

He opened the library door and was about to enter when he heard familiar voices behind him. Turning around, he saw Elizabeth and Jason both running down the halls at top-speed and getting ready to take off in opposite directions. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched Jason glance at Elizabeth before they parted ways.

"I'll see you after school, Little One," he called out, switching his thick Physics text from one hand to the other.

"All right," she answered, looking over her shoulder at him and almost letting her lemonade from Noodles&Company slip out of her fingers. "I think that we should seriously try calling ahead for our orders next time-"

"Talk to me later," Jason yelled from a bit down the hallway, earning a glare from the spectacled Hallway Monitor. He winced slightly as he ran and decided to slow down to a trot. "You're going to be late!"

She nodded and waved before running off. While his teacher didn't get to class himself until ten minutes after it started, he knew that hers was a stickler for punctuality.

Sonny smiled at the scene, shaking his head as he entered the quiet sanctuary of the PC High library. Those two were...insane, he concluded.

From not even knowing each other for the last few years to snuggling up together on a dark and crowded dance floor in New York, he couldn't help but wonder if Jason's little infatuation with his own other almost-best-friend was going to turn into something serious. The two had been spending a lot of time together, usually in a large group of people. He knew Jason well enough to see that the young man wanted some time alone with the object of his affections, but he could also see how concerned he was about not scaring Elizabeth away.

And Sonny respected that - more so than he would ever tell Jason. He had several choice words to describe his old-time friend, but gentleman had only recently been added to that list.

And it pleased him. It was no secret that Jason was heavily in demand with the young ladies. The nice ones were too insecure to make any overtures and preferred to admire him from afar, convinced he would never even notice them. The skankier ones were less discreet with their overtures, a trait that Jason heartily disliked. That left him in an awkward position as far as his love life was concerned - the loose girls wouldn't leave him alone and he had to make a conscious effort to escape their heavy eye shadow and short skirts, and if he wanted a nice girl, he was the one that would have to actively chase after her.

And chasing was not Jason Morgan's strong suit.

That was why he generally limited himself to girls outside of PC High - girls that didn't know he was an honor student in the top five percent of his class with impressive extracurriculars along with being an accomplished and celebrated runner. All they saw was a totally approachable, drop-dead gorgeous boy that knew how to handle himself with the girls.

These were the girls that were Jason's bread and butter - he had his pick among them and he loved it.

But he was completely different with Elizabeth, which took a tremendous load off of Sonny's shoulders. Because as much as he loved his best friend, he knew that he was a guy. And Elizabeth was too sweet and too special to be hurt by any man, and Sonny knew that if push came to shove, he'd rather give Jason a shiner than see Elizabeth in tears because of him.

But his fears had been allayed by Jason's lamb-like demeanor with the Little One. Sonny had seen how he behaved around her in the hallways - he toned down the offensive jokes, reduced all rough horseplay, rarely teased her like he mercilessly did the other girls, and never did anything crazy like jumping on her back and insisting she carry him down the stairs.

Instead, he was charming, considerate, and not the least overbearing - he carried her books sometimes, always asked where she'd prefer to go to lunch, and glared at anyone that so much as looked at her cross-eyed. He listened intently to her slightly neurotic rambling and never seemed to mind when she had to run off in a million directions to take care of her responsibilities rather than hang out with their friends.

Sonny couldn't have hoped for anything better.

But on the same token, it had him slightly impatient and frustrated.

Jason and Elizabeth had been thrust into each others' sphere - thanks to Johnny and his after school shenanigans that had resulted in a nasty blood blister on Elizabeth's pinkie - back in February, before the dreaded Valentine's Day Balloon Sale. It was now late March, and yet the relationship hadn't moved anywhere. They weren't dating. They weren't hanging out as a couple. Heck, Jason hadn't even kissed her yet - something that was highly unusual for the Golden Boy.

It was high time they kicked it into a faster gear, but knowing Jason and his fears of scaring Elizabeth away, Sonny knew it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Because Jason was just stupid that way.

If only there were some way to get those two to wake up...

He set his books down on the small table in the library, dumping his backpack on one of the four chairs, sitting in one and slouching down so he could rest his feet on the one directly in front of him. He really liked the layout in the library - a bunch of four-person square tables like the one he was occupying were scattered throughout the center, while shelves and rows of computers filled the rest of the space, leaving room for slightly larger tables along the side wall. The library had a solid formation and he found it very soothing and relaxing.

"Sonny!"

Slightly irritated by having his daily study hall nap interrupted, he looked up into the dazzling eyes of Brenda Barrett.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not especially." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, and he made no move to remove his feet from the chair, letting Brenda stroll over to the one on his left.

"Do you have study hall right now?"

He nodded, not feeling particularly interested in talking and alleviating the awkwardness of her small talk.

She tossed her hair over her shoulders and propped her chin in her hand, quirking a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. He hated it when she did that - it always made him feel like she was searching inside him, looking at all the things he kept hidden away. And he didn't like that feeling one bit.

He had to distract her.

"What class do you have now?"

She didn't blink, even at the surprisingly gruff tone of his voice. "Independent Study for Yearbook."

"Oh."

She didn't make any move to fill in the silence, still regarding him contemplatively.

Sonny's fingers tapped a nervous beat on the desk - she was still looking at him. "Uh - what do you do in that class?"

She gave him a one-shouldered shrug, her chin still propped up in her hand. "Not much." Her voice was bland. Indifferent. "I just sit around in the yearbook office and listen to music. Sometimes I take a late lunch - Ms. Ward never cares," she added, referring to Ms. Keisha Ward, the Yearbook advisor. "If she has some errands for me to run, I do those."

Sonny nodded, picking up his pencil and tapping out a different beat on the desk. He licked his lips, trying to think of something else to say. This felt all wrong - since when did he feel so awkward around Brenda?

When he looked up, she was still watching him quietly. He saw her eyes narrow and was suddenly unable to take it.

"What?" His voice was laced with exasperation and some of the frustration he had been feeling when it came to her ever since that weekend in New York.

She pursed her lips into a tight line before she spoke. "You've been in a really pissy mood, Corinthos," she said evenly, looking directly into his coal orbs. "And I can't figure out why."

The pencil ceased its tapping, as it was now trapped in Sonny's suddenly tight grip.

"Excuse me?" The words were tight and drawn.

"You heard me," Brenda insisted, scooting closer. Her bangs fell into her face, in front of her eyes, lending her a much more serious appearance. "You've been ignoring me ever since two weeks ago, and I want to know why."

Sonny chuckled humorlessly, cocking his head at her. "You really are a piece of work, Barrett," he tossed back. "You're telling me that you have absolutely no idea what you did?"

"What did I do, pray tell?" she exclaimed, lifting her hands in the air. A librarian hissed at them to be quiet, so the brunette lowered her hands and her voice as she scooted closer still. "What did I do?"

Sonny refused to look at her, suddenly feeling very awkward for starting this conversation. He should have just pretended it was nothing - now they were going to get into a long discussion about his feelings and all that other mushy girl stuff. Just his luck.

Brenda was watching him. "Is this about New York?"

Sonny glanced at her. "No," he replied witheringly, so witheringly that she instantly knew he was lying.

"It is about New York," she mused, lowering her head towards his. "What about New York?"

"Look, nothing - just forget it," Sonny waved it off. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid," she insisted. "Especially if it's big enough to get your panties in a twist."

He looked sharply at her, but she was too busy thinking of what could have gone wrong in New York. She turned her attention back to him, this time looking into his eyes in the same way that he hated, and he saw hers suddenly light up with realization.

"Did you think I was ignoring you? Spending too much time with your friends?"

It was a simple question, and yet Sonny couldn't find the words to answer it.

She took his silence as affirmation and mused on quietly. "Look, I didn't mean to give you that impression - really, I didn't. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that you felt this way. I'm kinda like that, I guess - I'm not exactly the most insightfully sensitive person you'll ever meet -"

"Look, it's nothing-"

Brenda wasn't buying it. "First, stop saying that. It was something, because I didn't mean to make you feel slighted and I did. And I'm sorry about that." She looked earnestly at him and he was unable to doubt her sincerity.

"It's okay."

Her mouth twisted sourly to the side. "Don't give me that, Corinthos," she responded dryly.

This time Sonny couldn't help but smile as he looked away, his dimples peeking out at her. "Give you what?"

"That," she sneered. "That whole macho I-don't-have-any-feelings-for-you-to-hurt bit. God," she huffed, glaring at the wall. "I hate that."

That stopped him instantly, because if there was anything he didn't want, it was for Brenda to hate something about him. "Okay."

"Okay," she repeated back, looking at him again. "So you'll let me say that I apologize and that I honestly didn't know that you felt that way." He nodded. "But why didn't you say anything to me right then?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, looking at his fingers. "I don't know..."

She sighed before reaching out to pat his arm consolingly. "Part of the macho bit?"

He looked down at her hand on his biceps before smirking up at her. "Possibly."

She clucked her tongue pityingly even as a spark of humor at his expense shined in her dark eyes. "Don't worry, dear - you'll outgrow that eventually."

"Gee, thanks," he tossed back sarcastically, still grinning.

She nodded and returned his smirk before turning serious. "If I had known what you thought, I would have stopped," she stated honestly. "I just...I don't know. I knew how much you love your friends - the track boys, I mean. And it's just that I didn't know any of them, so I figured I should at least make an effort so that I could easily hang out with the same kids you do-"

He surprised her by covering her hand with hers. "I understand," he replied honestly. "I get where you're coming from. To be honest, it's the same reason I've stuck around when you're with Beth and Alexis and all them."

She quirked a smile at him, realizing that he had been doing exactly what she had. "OK," she nodded. "I get it." He smiled back at her, and she felt much better than she had in a while. But another thought occurred to her. "One more thing," she added seriously. Sonny nodded, all ears. "Just to avoid future misunderstandings, could you actually try to clue me in on what you're thinking and how you're feeling? Because, trust me, I won't have a clue."

He dipped his head and grinned, his dimples out in full force. "I will make it a point to do just that," he assured her. He was rewarded with one of her brilliant smiles.

"Excellent." She surprised him by half getting up from her chair and scooting it closer to his until their legs bumped. "Now, on to more pressing matters."

Though thoroughly confused, he found himself smirking at her completely serious tone. "Okay..."

"What, pray tell, are we going to do about Jason and Beth?"

The question elicited a loud laugh from Sonny, one he quickly toned down before the librarian could reprimand him.

"To tell you the truth, I was just thinking about that before you got here," he admitted with a grin.

"Excellent," she repeated, scooting closer and snaking an arm through his. She picked at her nails like she always did when she thought, not noticing how Sonny smiled down at their linked arms and then up at her. "I'm glad that we're on the same wavelength - we save time because now I don't have to convince you that they're adorable together and make the cutest couple ever."

He liked the way the words just tumbled out of her mouth when she was excited. And even though he would never admit it to her, he agreed that they did look rather nice together. Something about them just clicked - they just seemed to fit together.

"So?"

Her question surprised him. "So, what?"

"So," she repeated. "Tell me about how Jason feels - has he said anything to you?"

Sonny scoffed. "Yeah, Bren, he spilled everything during our last heart-to-heart last night over a carton of Ben & Jerry's."

Brenda smacked his arm, not tolerant of his sarcastic humor. "Don't be an ass," she scolded, "and answer the question."

Sonny rolled his eyes. "Honestly? He hasn't said anything to me about Beth - probably because he knows how we're such good friends and he knows that if he says anything much it'll weird me out."

Brenda nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"But I do kinda know what he's thinking. He really wants to spend some time alone with her," Sonny explained as Brenda nodded silently. "The only time they get is during lunch when they're in his car, but even then, they usually meet some other kids in the restaurant or whatever."

Brenda sighed, blowing at her bangs.

"But at the same time," Sonny continued, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his head in his hand. "He doesn't want to move too fast because he knows it'll scare her."

"Or he thinks it'll scare her," Brenda added.

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. Bottom line, he doesn't want to move too fast and do anything that might make her uncomfortable. And that's a good thing, I guess - I think it means that he really likes her."

"She likes him, too," Brenda admitted. "But I guess he's kinda right - she likes how they're taking it slow and there's no real pressure yet." She quirked a brow at Sonny. "Just how slow are they taking it?"

"Well, I take it you know that he hasn't even kissed her yet?"

Brenda nodded.

"That slow."

The brunette huffed in frustration. "They may as well be moving backwards."

Sonny nodded his head in agreement. "At this right, who knows if they'll even have gotten anywhere by graduation? I mean, it's already Spring Break. Not much left after that except AP exams."

A spark lit in Brenda's chocolate eyes. "Wait a minute - what's Jason doing for Spring Break? Are you doing anything together?"

Sonny nodded. "We don't have any definite plans yet, but-"

Brenda's eyes glittered. "Trust me - now you do."


"SPRING BREAK!" Jason could hardly contain himself as he slammed his locker shut at the end of the day. The senior hallway was packed with kids, all of them a little wistful over the fact that this would be their last spring break - their first real one, though - but still extremely happy to not have to set eyes on the school for full week.

"Hell, yeah!" Brendan yelled before almost falling flat on his face when Jason finally managed to trip him. He made a move to chase his friend down the hall but stopped and turned around when his girlfriend Jenny approached.

Elizabeth, Brenda, Lauren, and Sydney all stood at Sydney's locker, laughing at some of the other students as they chose rather silly ways to express their joy over the beginning of the spring recess. Nearby, Sonny hurriedly pulled his books from his locker, almost bumping Sydney on the head as he did almost every day.

Jason could be seen down the hallway, horsing around with some of his other friends, and Elizabeth watched him, for the first time not embarrassed to be caught doing so. She couldn't help but burst out laughing when Ed Baer, in a fit of excitement, raced to bull rush Jason from behind. Jason, ever the agile one, just bent his knees and hunched over, causing Ed to literally catapult himself over him and end up sprawled on his stomach.

Jason laughed at his friend as he picked himself up and spotted Elizabeth standing with Sonny and the rest of her friends. He shouted a goodbye to his friends and sauntered over, his blue eyes twinkling when he met Elizabeth's gaze.

"Hey," was all she said when he approached. Her smile was immediate and his face instantly softened.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, winking at her. He tipped his head at Sonny and Brenda, not noticing the sly looks that passed between them. "So, ready to head on out?"

"Definitely," Brenda interceded, balancing her books on her hip and beaming at Jason. "I'm more than ready for some fun - but it'll sure take a lot of work to forget everything we've learned this year over one week."

"I'm sure you'll manage, Brenda," Elizabeth assured her, rolling her eyes.

Brenda smirked at her best friend before turning to Jason. "So, what are you doing for Spring Break?" she asked innocently, knowing that Elizabeth would be interested in his answer as well.

And that she was - but only to a certain extent. As long as he wasn't going to be getting morbidly drunk on a beach somewhere in Mexico and banging two girls at a time, she was good.

Jason shrugged, glancing at Sonny. "It's up to the Don," he smiled.

"Oh?" Elizabeth's questioning emerald eyes found Sonny.

Sonny shrugged also. "We're probably going someplace," he answered.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Sonny laughed. "Well, I haven't actually decided yet, but it'll be somewhere warm."

Elizabeth's brows furrowed. "Don't you have to buy tickets and stuff, though?" Airplanes were such a hassle. There was a reason that she and Brenda were driving all the way to North Carolina instead of taking a plane.

Sonny shook his head. "You remember my uncle? The airline exec? Yeah, well, he said he could get me tickets to wherever, and I asked for two, for me and Jason. I just have to figure out where to go."

Jason nodded. "I personally said Cancun."

Sonny shook his head again. "Everyone will be there. I'm not even kidding - I know at least forty kids that are going there. It won't be any fun. I'm personally hoping my uncle knows of some small beach somewhere, maybe near a small town, where we can just do what we want and own everyone at the same time."

Jason shrugged. "Sure, wherever. Sounds good to me." He winked at Elizabeth. "I guess I'll find out two minutes before we board the plane."

Brenda laughed, leaning a shoulder against her locker. Sonny licked his lips, swallowing a smirk that no one noticed.

"So," Jason began, looking first at Brenda and then at Elizabeth. "What are you guys doing?"

Elizabeth was the first to speak. "I know this really nice little area in North Carolina, and so Bren and I are just going to drive down there and play the ukulele and get fat."

"That's what we do every day," Brenda clarified. "Make no mistake."

Jason laughed. "Sounds like fun." The girls nodded, already smiling at the thought of fresh seafood and white beaches. Jason took the opportunity to point toward the stairwell. "Shall we?"

"We must," Brenda replied grandly, spinning around and linking fingers with Sonny. She chattered away excitedly about how much fun the next week was going to be as Sonny just grinned and Elizabeth and Jason trailed behind.


The North Carolina sun was hot and bright as it slowly burned Brenda's shoulders and bounced off the playful blue waves.

Stretched out on an expanse of white sand on their own thin towels, Elizabeth and Brenda had been enjoying their first day in the state. Upon arrival at around eleven in the morning, they had dumped their stuff at their neat little hotel room - The Dancing Crab, of course - and headed over to the beach to sleep away their fatigue after the grueling drive.

Now, they were basking in the sun and trying to work up the energy to apply sunscreen. Clothed only in her black bikini, Brenda poked her shoulder and jumped slightly when she found it beginning to burn. That was all the incentive she needed to grab the Neutrogena SPF 30 from Elizabeth's beach bag and slather some on.

Elizabeth lifted her head with great effort and glanced down at her body. She was wearing red swimming shorts that clung to her petite frame and outlined her curves gracefully. A scrap of a black bikini top with red straps covered her pale skin - skin that apparently refused to tan. Even after an hour in direct sunlight, the color change was so subtle that Brenda swore it didn't exist. Was there really a need for sunscreen?

A million statistics about skin cancer and UV damage bombarded her brain and Elizabeth reached for the bottle when Brenda was done.

A seagull squawked indignantly somewhere up above them. The waves crashed against the shore, shattering into white foam that disappeared under the bright sunlight. The sand burned gently against her heel where it poked off the towel, but Elizabeth liked the feeling.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette was about to settle into a long overdue cat nap when Brenda's voice broke through the serene almost-silence.

"I'm so glad we did this."

Elizabeth smiled. "Me, too."

Brenda sat up, leaning back on her elbows and looking over at her best friend from under large black glasses. "I mean, I'm so glad I'm here with you, Beth. I'm so glad that we made it. I mean, can you believe that this time two years ago, we didn't even know each other?"

Elizabeth thought back to that time. It was during the spring of her first year at PC High, and her circle of friends was limited. She'd only heard of the infamous Brenda Barrett, and had never thought that she'd become such good friends with her.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm just so happy we did."

Brenda smiled, gazing out at the water. "Me, too. We have to stay in touch, Beth, when we go away to college. Seriously. I mean, I know everyone says that, but they just don't. I don't want that to happen to us."

"I agree," Elizabeth nodded adamantly. "Totally. I just found you, man - I'm not going to let something stupid like college end this friendship. I mean, think of all the illegal things you still have to get me to do!"

Brenda glared playfully at her, knowing Elizabeth didn't see her. "Whatever, Webber - I'm a good girl, I am!" she added in her best Eliza Doolittle impression.

Elizabeth giggled. "I believe that. This is the same girl that came over and pulled me out of the bed at two in the morning, forced me to sneak out of the house, and engaged me in a game of imaginary baseball in the empty lot on Pine Grove? Ha."

Brenda laughed. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Definitely," Elizabeth agreed. "I can't tell you how great it felt to sneak out like that. Even though I was totally freaking out - it still felt amazing."

"You were a wreck," Brenda recalled. "You were convinced your parents would pull up and demand you go back home with them."

Elizabeth sighed as the memories came back. "We always have to do things like that, Bren," she said seriously, her voice soft. "It keeps us from going crazy, you know?"

"Mm-hmm," Brenda nodded. "Totally. Which is why we're not going to lose touch after graduation." She turned sideways, her shadow shielding Elizabeth's eyes from the sun. "Speaking of which, have you gotten a reply from Stanford yet?"

Elizabeth growled, flinging an arm over her face. "No."

Brenda let out a sound of exasperation. "When, then? They need to stop jerking you around, girl."

"Tell me about it," Elizabeth bitterly agreed. "I should know for sure by April. But I figure it this way - hopefully it wouldn't take them this long if they were just going to reject me, you know?"

Brenda nodded. "I know you'll get in, Beth," she reassured supportively. "I can feel it."

"I certainly hope so." There was a brief pause in the conversation. "So have you decided for sure yet?"

Brenda nodded. "Yup - NYU all the way."

"Oh, Bren, that's great!" Elizabeth jumped up from her towel and threw her arms around Brenda's neck. New York University had been Brenda's dream school, and it was such a relief to know that everything had worked out. "You're going to be so happy there!"

"I know," Brenda grinned, her eyes dancing with excitement. "I'm going to be right in New York - can you imagine that? And Sonny's going there, too." Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, but Brenda plowed on. "Plus, my dad's happy that I'm not going to be too far from home."

Elizabeth nodded. "That's good," she replied sincerely. "I always wondered what he'd do if his youngest daughter moved really far away."

Brenda nodded. "Yeah, he wouldn't deal too well. Anway, are your parents still gung-ho about Johns Hopkins? Will they consider anything else?"

Elizabeth considered it for a moment. "Well, they're not as bad as they used to be. I think they realized that this is my decision. And at least they've stopped trying to convince me that Stanford is, like, a shithole school in comparison to Johns."

"Good!" Brenda burst out. "That drove me crazy - especially since it's not true at all."

"Yeah." Elizabeth slowly lowered herself back onto the towel as the conversation sagged. As usual, the sun was putting her to sleep. "I'm sure it'll all work out. At least, that's what I keep telling myself."

Brenda laughed, smacking her arm gently. "It will, Beth. You'll be great at whatever you choose to do, so try not to worry prematurely."

"Mmm." The low murmur told Brenda that her best friend was almost asleep, something she couldn't allow. She needed something to wake her up short of splashing her with cold water and quick.

"I wonder what Sonny and Jason are doing."

Elizabeth peeked at her with one eye. "Mm."

"I wonder if they went to Cancun after all."

Elizabeth crinkled her nose. "I doubt it," she replied after a minute. "Sonny's pretty stubborn - but I'm sure I didn't have to tell you that."

"No joke," Brenda muttered, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, maybe they went somewhere completely different. Hawaii? Spain, maybe? Sonny's always wanted to go to Spain."

Her friend replied with a firm shake of her head. "He's always wanted to go, but only with his mother."

"Oh." Brenda glanced at her watch, which was lying on her towel. She took one look at Elizabeth, whose blue eyes were still peeking out, but barely, and forced a scowl to darken her features. "They'd better not be doing it with any other spring break whores."

Elizabeth's scowl mirrored hers before the brunette composed herself. "Whatever."

Brenda quirked a brow at the flip tone of her voice and wondered how to prolong this conversation without actually making Elizabeth angry.

But thankfully, the spunky brunette didn't have to resort to any of her games to keep Elizabeth from falling asleep.

"Beth! Bren! Hey!" Sonny's warm voice floated through the warm air and Elizabeth instantly catapulted herself from her position and whipped around, staring.

"Hey, Sonny!" Brenda exclaimed with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"I'll give you one guess as to which town my uncle recommended!" Sonny yelled back, flipping his white towel over his shoulder. He waved to Elizabeth, but his friend was too busy staring beyond him as another, taller, blonder, boy came into view, wearing nothing but his swimming trunks and Jesus sandals, and holding nothing but a towel and a surfboard.

"Jason?"

His face lit up immediately at the sound of her surprised voice. "Hey, Little One!" He spread his arms, gesturing to the location. "What're the odds, huh?"

"Pretty damn good, I'd say," Sonny muttered under his breath as he spread his towel next to Brenda's. He was rewarded with her laughter and as he raked a gaze over her, he found himself hoping she hadn't rubbed on any sunscreen yet.

Jason threw his surfboard on the sand and dropped his towel next to Elizabeth's. Sitting down, he kicked off his sandals and wiggled his eyebrows at her. She just shook her head at him, and her smile was brighter than the sun.

Lowering herself slowly back, she was soon lying back on the towel, the opened but unused bottle of sunblock lying between them.

"It's hot," Jason stated, squinting out at the water.

Elizabeth only nodded, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. It felt so amazing to know that he was here with her, especially when it was the last thing she expected. Words weren't necessary right now.

He glanced at her, his eyes trailing over her flat stomach and the cleavage her top allowed. "You put on any sunscreen yet?"

She looked up in surprise, then shook her head no. "I was about to, but then I got distracted."

He nodded and picked up the tube. "My mom freaks out if I lay around in the sun without slathering this stuff on," he explained, squeezing out a white blob on his hand. He tipped his chin toward her. "Want me to?"

She knew what he was talking about and tried to keep her shrug as indifferent as possible. "Sure."

He fought not to grin wickedly down at her. "Turn over."

She obliged, lying flat on her stomach with her head on her arms and her legs kicking lazily in the air. She soon felt his warm hands rub the lukewarm sunblock on her back in large circular motions, and decided she must be in heaven.

His gentle and soothing ministrations were so relaxing and tender that she soon found her eyelids drooping under the pleasantly hot sun. The last thing she thought before a peaceful slumber claimed her was, this is going to be an amazing spring break.