AN/ Two chapters in one night. Yeah me!
Carmen was bored. She was the third wheel.
She had thought that having Lena join her during the summer would be a blast. How wrong she was. Well, to be exact, Lena was having a blast, although 'Lena' and the phrase 'Havin' a Blast' didn't really gel. Carmen knew her friend was happy, genuinely, for the first time for a long period. Since Lena had returned from Greece the last time, she had been different, depressed. They had all been worried about her, but the harder they tried to cheer her up the more she had withdrawn from them. The only way Carmen had known to bring Lena out of the dark was Paul, she would constantly talk about Paul to Lena. Lena loved to hear about him, how he was, what he was doing, and most specifically, what he had said about her. Of course these conversations usually included a lot of 'beefing up' since Carmen's conversations with Paul were never long enough to even fill five minutes of gossip with Lena. But just seeing her friend brighten up at the mention of his name, gave Carmen hope that Lena's heart was on the mend.
So, she had invited Lena to come with her. Carmen knew she should have anticipated Lena and Paul's constant attachment from the moment they had arrived, and was furious at her self for resenting it. But she was disappointed, she was bitter that Paul was taking away her best friend, and also bitter that Lena was stealing her time with Paul. She tried to join in with them, ignore their tender stares and meaningful expressions. She always laughed the loudest in a half-hearted attempt to feel like she was welcome to be there with them. Of course Lena and Paul constantly told her how she was welcome to come with them, they asked her if she wanted to come for walks, go to the movies or have dinner out - it was Carmen who was telling herself she was unwanted, she was sure she was an annoyance, an annoying taint on their time together. So after awhile she gave up trying to fit in with them, and turned down every one of their offers, despite Lena's insistence that she join them.
Today the 'lovebirds' had driven to the beach, and Carmen was sitting on the couch in her boxers and tank top, watching infomercials. Her Dad had gone out with Lydia, but not before promising that they would go out for a few games of tennis in the afternoon. Carmen felt like the biggest loser in the world, even her one-time mini-me, Krista, had gone out with friends. To be fair, she had invited Carmen, who politely declined despite Krista's extremely grating persistence.
Halfway through an enthralling 'Thigh Miracle Wand-Celebrity Segment' the door bell rang. In her excitement of the chance to escape the boredom and soul destroying pain which was 'Thigh Miracle Wand', Carmen ran to the door, forgetting her clothes, or, lack of. She threw open the door, there standing in front of her, was the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen. He was beautiful, almost too beautiful. He looked about Paul's age, tall, gorgeously bright blue eyes, shaggy brown hair and a dazzling smile-everything Carmen would have normally classified a 'Pretty Boy', but damn this boy was too pretty for her to care.
'Ah, Hi' Said the mystery man
Carmen began to wonder if god had sent this guy to her doorstep because he felt so sorry for her pathetic existence, that would prove her mother wrong all those times she had told Carmen 'Mr Perfect isn't just going to turn up at your doorstep you know'
'Hi' Carmen said, beaming at him.
The guy looked her up and down 'You must be Lena.' He said, almost enviously.
Carmen was confused, 'No, I'm Carmen'
Mystery man looked surprised, 'Oh, it's just that Paul told me how beautiful Lena was so I just assumed…I'm Seth' he finished awkwardly with little red spots of embarrassment forming on his cheeks.
The significance of what Seth had just said-that she was beautiful-feel on deaf ears, as she had, a millisecond before he spoke, realised that she was conversing with this dream boat-
In her Boxers!