"Everything's in the car," Spencer smiled putting her last bag in the trunk.
"Wait," I said. "Lucas isn't here."
"Lucas?" Aria asked. "That's who you're bringing?"
"Yeah," I said pulling out my phone to dial him. It was busy.
"Isn't he living with Caleb?" Emily asked.
"Not anymore," I replied. "He's probably halfway to Arizona by now."
"We can't wait forever," Spencer said. "It's going to take two days to get there as it is."
"It's Lucas," I said checking my phone. I answered, "Hello?"
"Hey," he said. "I'm running late. Do you think I could meet up with you later. I'll take my own car."
"It will take you forever," I sighed. "You won't be able to use the carpool lane."
"About that," he laughed. "Can I bring Danielle?"
"Are you with her right now?" I asked him.
"Maybe," he said.
"You dirty hound," I giggled. I thought for a second. Was I ready to be a ninth wheel...but I couldn't stand in the way of Lucas finally losing his virginity...unless he already did. "Sure."
"Thanks Hanna!" he laughed. "You're the best!"
"You owe me," I said before hanging up. I turned back to the girls. "He's coming later with with Danielle."
"Oooooh, Danielle," Samara laughed. "You sound jealous."
"It's not like that," I told her. Suddenly Samara was already on my shit list.
"This is not good," Spencer said looking at her clipboard, yes she brought a clipboard. "Now I need to change the schedules since we only have seven drivers now..."
"I'll take an extra shift," I cut her off. I didn't need this right now.
I climbed into the car and the girls followed behind me. Spencer was behind the wheel driving five miles below the speed limit. This was going to be a long drive.
I was finishing my leg of the drive around ten at night. Everyone was asleep in the back but we'd planned on stopping at a motel before starting again in the morning. I really wasn't in the mood to sleep, I could do plenty of that in the sun when we got to the beach. I decided to skip the motel and continue driving.
"Hanna," Spencer said suddenly waking up around midnight.
"What?" I asked.
"We were supposed to stop like two hours ago," she whisper yelled.
"I didn't want to wake you guys," I explained.
"Come on," she said. "Let's pull over."
"Fine," I said. It was another two hours before we finally found a good place to stop and check in. Everyone piled out while Spencer took care of getting keys. I ended up sharing a room with Emily and Spencer. It was way better than sharing with Aria and Ezra. He's my teacher after all. The worst thing would be staying with Spencer and Toby. She looks cold and strong from the outside but I can tell you, they like to spend night inside having tickle fights. I am not about to deal with that all night.
"So," Samara asked when we'd gotten into our pajamas. "Who is Danielle?"
"She's Lucas' new girl...thing," I replied.
"You're not into him?" she asked.
"I was," I replied, "but we've long surpassed that. I was just hoping I could have a single friend tag along, you know."
"Oh I'm sorry," she breathed. "Emily said it was okay for me to come. I didn't mean to crash a girls' weekend or anything."
"No, it's okay," I told her. "I like having people around. I just might have to steal Emily for a night."
"That's fine with me," she smiled.
"What are you guys talking about?" Emily asked exiting the bathroom.
"We were thinking of maybe having," Samara told her grabbing a pillow, "a pillow fight!"
"Stop!" Emily said when she got smacked in the face.
"Watch out!" I squealed grabbing a pillow myself. We jumped all over the room until we were too exhausted to stand.
"I haven't laughed that hard in years," Samara said collapsing onto the bed.
"I think that's a sign we should get some sleep," I said slipping under the covers.
"Good night!" Emily said shutting off the lights.
"We're almost there," Ezra said as we hopped on the I-10 right around noon.
"This is so exciting!" Spencer squealed.
"Hold your horses," Toby said rubbing Spencer's shoulder to keep her calm.
A few minutes later we drove off the highway and Ezra parked right in front of a huge mansion with palm trees in the front. We all got out and walked inside. It was amazing! There was an oval staircase and a foyer. Then we went upstairs and everyone spent the next few minutes calling dibs on the different rooms. I took the smallest room with the attached patio that opened out onto the boardwalk. I figured the others could use the extra space since I was alone. I saved Lucas and Danielle the guest house which had it's own entrance apart from the house. Then we all reconvened in the living room and took a look at the backyard. There was an amazing courtyard with a heated pool and this cute little grilling bar, not that any of us know how to grill.
"I'm exhausted," I said finally. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap."
"I'm with you," Aria replied. The rest of them followed and soon we were all dozing off into wonderland.
I woke up a few hours later and there was no sign of activity but I just couldn't sleep any longer. I got up and put on a sweater. It was surprisingly cool for California, not that I really knew that for sure. I'd just watched a lot of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place as a kid. My mom was a big fan. I grabbed my purse and walked outside down to the pier. When I reached the beach, I took off my shoes to feel the sand between my toes.
I sat down on the sand and watched the waves splash up on the shore. I could feel the salty air and the roaring waves drowned out the sounds of real life. I lied down staring up at the clouds float by and before I knew it my eyes were closed.
"Hey," a voice whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and realized the sun had set. It would have been dark if there wasn't a crapton of lights coming from the pier. I looked up and realized a tall handsome stranger was standing over me.
"Can I help you?" I asked sitting up.
"I was just checking," he replied. "You were alone."
"Thanks," I smiled. "I'll be okay."
"I'm Riley," he said extending a hand.
"Hanna," I replied.
"Can I take you home?" he offered.
"Um..." I didn't know how to answer. He was cute and obviously interested. "I'm just right down the street."
"I'll walk you," he said grabbing my hand.
"Um...okay," I said as we strolled down the boardwalk.
"So," he began, "what brings you to Santa Monica?"
"I'm staying in a house with some friends," I told him. "For spring break. You?"
"I live in West Hollywood," he told me. I had a confused face. West Hollywood? I thought there was just one Hollywood. He continued. "Don't look at me like that. I'm into girls."
"Excuse me?" I was definitely confused now.
"I'm straight," he replied. "West Hollywood is where all the gay clubs are...I guess you weren't really thinking that."
"No," I smiled. "I'm not from around here."
"Oh," he laughed.
"That's me," I said pointing to the house on the corner.
"Well, Hanna," he smiled. He grabbed my other hand and pulled me toward him. Then he leaned down so our faces were even. I could feel his hot breath on my face. Then he came closer until his lips were finally on top of mine. I felt butterflies in my stomach and then all of a sudden a flash of light blinded me. I pulled away.
What the...?" I looked up to see Lucas pulling into the driveway. I let go of Riley's hands and ran toward the car. "Lucas!"
"Hey," he said hopping out of the front seat to give me a hug. I turned and saw Riley coming over.
"So," Riley smiled, "can I see you again?"
"Uh yeah," I replied before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for walking me home."
"Hey!" Danielle squealed popping out of the passenger seat. She gave me a huge hug. "Thanks for inviting us...and...who's that guy?"
"I don't know," I breathed as I watched him walk away. Then I turned back to my friends. "So, come in, I want to show you guys the place."
I took them inside and showed them their room. Then I walked into the kitchen to find everyone awake and bustling around like busy bees.
"Where have you been all day?" Spencer asked.
"I was on the beach," I replied. "I fell asleep."
"Are you hungry?" Aria asked. "Ezra's about to grill some burgers."
"No thanks," I smiled. I wasn't hungry and I definitely wasn't ready for Fitz' burgers. I still hadn't even figured out how I was going to address him. I mean, Mr. Fitz is weird considering he's on vacation with me and Ezra's also weird because that name it just weird. I stopped thinking about how weird it was to bring my teacher on a road trip and turned to the crowd. "I think I'm just going to get some sleep. Good night."
They all waived good night and then I slipped into my bedroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I took one last look at the California sky before closing the patio windows and locking the double doors. Then I hit the lights and crawled into bed. It felt like I had barely dozed off when I suddenly heard a rattling at the door. I looked at the clock. It was nearly dawn. I could see the handles moving just barely and I let out a loud scream.