So, I first want to say thank you so much for Chapter 6 reviews!
I was so disappointed on my last update for chap7 that I changed some of it. If there are any mistakes, sorry. I didn't recheck it well and I tend to have pointless mistakes.
Oh yeah and the book this is based off of is called 'Tropical Kiss'.
Anyways, Reviews please?
-----------------
Kate Leicester's assets were pretty obvious.
She had a body type of a Barbie doll. She was a natural blonde with bronze skin and deep-blue eyes. She was nineteen and going into her sophomore year at Georgetown- exactly one year behind Ashley.
Unfortunately, she also seemed smart, polite, funny and even pleasant around Spencer- despite the fact that she caught her girlfriend bringing another woman to their favorite spot. But of course, being perfect, Kate was also forgiving.
Spencer learned more about Kate than she cared to know in the span of twenty minutes. There was no avoiding it. She was stuck in her Mercedes with Kate's constant companions- Liz, Beth, and Ellie. She'd listened politely for what felt like an eternity as they drove to wherever it was they were having lunch. Kate had generously offered to switch places with Spencer. . . To give her a break from the sin.
She must had gotten some sand in her cast because the itching was worse than before. Spencer tried to stick a finger down in there. She tried the arm of her sunglasses. She even banged on the side of the cast, but nothing worked.
She didn't know why it was that anytime she was feeling a little down in the dumps, her leg would start to act up. To stop herself from going insane, Spencer clenched her hands in her lap and pressed her back against the seat.
The Mercedes was comfortable and Spencer instantly recognized it as the car that Ash sped from yesterday on their way back from the airport. But she was quickly growing tired of the not-so-subtle hints about the long-standing relationship between Kate and Ash. It didn't matter, the three friends just chatted away, coming back to the point they were trying to get across.
It was a done deal. Cased closed. The coffin securely nailed shut. Ashley Davies was off limits. Spencer got the point that she was also ready to go home. She couldn't wait until they got back to a town or anywhere she could catch a taxi back to the house.
Aruba was such a small island that her wish came true within moments. They stopped at an open-air café at a quiet intersection of a sunny little town the girls called Santa Cruz. As they piled out of the car, four other people that they knew were just getting up to leave.
Spencer tried to look interested during quick introductions in the parking lot. Two of the young's men names she didn't get. Another one was an athletic-looking guy named Aiden Dennison. There was also another woman with very short, brown, curly hair. She was introduced as Mackenzie Morgan. She had tomboyish looks and beautiful, dark olive skin. She also made a point of coming over and actually shaking Spencer's hand.
Ash disappeared to use the bathroom. A quick look around, and Spencer realized that, unlike the streets of Oranjestad, there was no steady stream of cabs going by. Seeing Mackenzie getting into a car by herself sealed her fate. She hobbled over and asked if the young woman was going anywhere near Bakval or Oranjestad. . . Or wherever she could find a cab.
"I don't have to be at work until two. I'll take you wherever you want to go," she offered.
Spencer told Ellie to pass on a message to Ash about something coming up, then got into the short, haired woman's car.
"Mac," the young woman told Spencer as soon as they were on the road. "My friends call me Mac."
"Mac. Great name," Spencer commented, relieved to be leaving the lovers and their bodyguards behind.
"Thanks for the ride."
"No problem," she said, looking at her carefully. "I take it your not a great fan of the Lizards?"
Spencer looked at the other girl. 'Lizards?"
"The Lizzies."
She smiled and shook her head. "I don't get it."
"Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth." Mac nodded back toward the restaurant. "They're all Lizzies. Liz, Beth, Ellie. All of them are named Elizabeth. So is Kate. She is Elizabeth Katherine Leicester."
"You've got to be kidding." Spencer laughed as Mac shook her head. "Do you think it's a requirement of being their friend? You have to be named Elizabeth?"
Mackenzie nodded. "That and being blonde and doing a pinkie swear that you'll always look, dress, and talk the same."
"Wow . I didn't realize how privileged I was for them letting me ride with them."
Mac looked at her seriously. "That wasn't privilege. That was a preplanned misinformation session."
"Excuse me?"
"We all knew you were coming. Ash announced it last Saturday when we all got together for lunch after windsurfing."
"What did she say about me?"
"That you're her bosses daughter and that the two of you would be living at the villa for the summer."
"Oh, great!"
"Well, the Lizards wanted to make sure they nipped in the bud any ideas you might have. I presume that you know Ash is gay."
"Yeah. It kinda came up."
"Lizzies?"
"Yep, we were driving yesterday and we ran into them."
"Mhmm. So, you're cool with it?"
"Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?"
"Well, some people would be a little freaked out if they found out they were gong to be living with a lesbian for two months."
"Oh," the blonde said. For some reason, she felt an odd sense of comfort talking to Mac. "I guess it's cause I'm gay too."
Mac pushed on the break, making the car jerk a bit.
"You're what?"
"Gay."
"No way," Mac said. "Oh my god, do you know what that means?"
"I know where you're going with this. Ash doesn't even know I'm gay." The blonde figured that Mac would think she and Ash were hooking up.
"And why not? Wait, you didn't tell her?" Mac asked, speechless. They could make such a cute couple.
Spencer told her about Jake, her parents, and the whole reason why she was here in Aruba.
"Wow. It sounds like you've been through a lot so far. But you shouldn't write Ash off just because of that. If it's the Lizzies your worried about, Ash told me she and Kate had a brief fling last fall back at L.A, and that's it. Over and out."
It surprised them both at how well they'd hot it off. Mackenzie was a straight talker and seemed to have a wisdom that Spencer didn't see in too many people. Mac promised not to speak to Ashley about Spencer being gay, even though she was against it.
"Look," Mac said, giving her a friendly smile. "You don't have to make up your mind ahead of time about what will or won't happen this summer."
"This summer?" she stammered. "I. . . I. . ."
"Look, It's okay to have feelings for her. I saw the look you gave Ash at the restaurant and had my suspicions." Mac steered around a rotary. "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me. All I'm saying is just keep your options open and don't let the lizards intimidate you. Oh, and give Ash a chance." You two could make a cute couple! she thought.
Mac worked at a sandwich and pizza shop called the Brick Oven. The open air restaurant was on the same street were all the high rise hotels were located. It was definitely in walking distance from Bakval to there. But a little to far for someone in a cast. And Mac insisted on dropping Spencer off at the villa.
All was quiet at the house. Too quiet. Spencer put away the rest of her clothes and wrestled her suitcases into her closet. She wandered around looking at things. It wasn't long though, before she decided to take Mac's offer and stop back at the Brick Oven for a late lunch.
After calling for a cab, she threw a paperback novel and a towel and sunscreen into her backpack. If it was nice there, she decided, she'd just spend the afternoon there.
The pizza shop was charming, with tables set out on a veranda facing a green landscape of Palm trees, flowers, and swimming pools of the resort hotel across the road. Spencer set at a table under an overhead fan and felt the stress of her morning begin to melt away.
Mac introduced her to the owner of the restaurant, who turned out to be Mackenzie's mother, a native Aruban with a beautiful smile and Mac's dark eyes. The three of them sat and talked for awhile until Spencer took their suggestion and walked to the beach across the street. This was the Caribbean that Spencer had always imagined. Straw umbrellas provided complete shade for those who wanted t, and the white sand beach was soft underfoot. . Vacationing families and honeymooners and people of all ages and descriptions lounged on the comfortable chairs and splashed in the water. The boats and colorful parachutes of parasailors dotting the beautiful blue-green sea just completed the picture.
As she sat down, Spencer became a believer. Aruba was beautiful.
Between the views and the book and the feeling of complete comfort, Spencer soon lost track of time. She only noticed the afternoon was slipping by when Mackenzie got off from work and came to the beach to join her some time later.
Just sitting there and talking, Spencer was amazed at how much the two had in common. They were both seventeen. Mac's father was American and, like Spencer's family, her parents were divorced. Mac rarely saw her father, especially in recent years. She'd graduated from high school on the islands at an international school already though, which gave Spencer some things to think about.
"Now that I'm looking to go to college, my dad has offered to have me come and live with him. I could
study in the United States."
"Where does he live?"
"California," she said. "In the same state as Ash."
"Are you going to do it?"
"Mac shrugged. "I don't know yet. We're kind of strangers. But it's either that or go to the university in Holland. A lot of the kids here go that route, but I'm not sure it would be right for me. I don't have family there."
"That's important to you?"
"Family is very important to Arubans. When kids grow up and get married, they almost live in houses very close to their parents. . .even if they work at the other end of the island."
Spencer told her about her friends in Cincinnati and the life she had there. Mac explained what it was like living on the island year-round, and told Spencer her feelings about having seasonal friends.
As the sun started to sink toward the horizon, the throng of people of people on the beach began to thin out, and Mac offered to go buy a couple of salads for them at a beachfront café some hundred yards away. There was a light breeze blowing now, and reggae music from a live band floated in the air from the pier just down the beach.
"Manana. . . Si. !Ti dye manana!"
The sound of the man's voce made Spencer sit up in her chair. She looked over her shoulder, and the hair on her head immediately stood up on end. The man form the airport, old porcupine butt, was talking on a pay phone that ran right in front of the hotels.
And he was looking dead at her.
Everything about the man gave her the creeps.. Spencer glanced hopefully in the direction that Mac had disappeared. There was no sign of her.
Spencer sank down in the chair as the man turned in her direction. He was still talking on the phone, and she desperately hoped he hadn't recognized her. At least the beach wasn't as deserted as the airport had been yesterday. Still, she thought she could do without listening to his hustle. He was so sketchy.
Spencer immediately pulled on her straw hat and pulled the rim down over her face. She tried to focus on the rhythm of the reggae band and not the sound of his voice.
A couple of minutes later, she felt a shadow over her and almost jumped out of her skin. Looking up, she was relieved to see Mac carrying a tray loaded with salads and drinks.
"Are you okay?"
Spencer glanced over her shoulder. Old porcupine butt was gone.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, helping Mac put the food down. "I got myself spooked over nothing."
They talked and listened to music, and Spencer watched the multi-colored lizards and the bright green iguanas sitting on the edges of the concrete paths enjoying the last of the sun's warmth.
An hour later, they were still sitting and enjoying the balmy air. Spencer was amazed that, despite the darkness, there were actually growing numbers of people going up and down a path that ran along the beach, the same path tht she'd seem porcupine butt on.
"Each of the resort hotels has a number of very nice restaurants," Mackenzie explained.
"And then, of course, there are the casinos."
"So there is a lot to do on the island?"
"Of course," Mac replied with a smile. "The national motto of Aruba is 'No worries, just parties!'"
It was 10:30pm before they decided to go. As Mackenzie drove her home, she explained that every Saturday morning, if it was breezy-which was most of the time-she windsurfed with friends. She also told Spencer that Ashley was fanatic about windsurfing too.
"You should come and watch.. It's a good time."
Spencer shook her head. "Arthur and I have some catching up to do over the weekend. Maybe next time."
As they pulled up to the villa, Spencer saw Ash's car and another one parked there. For a couple of seconds, she wondered if the car belonged to Kate, an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach.
After saying goodbye, she walked through the gate into the courtyard and spotted the to people waiting for her. Both appeared to be foaming at the mouth.
Arthur and Ashley looked ticked.
Spencer decided to resort to the usual family practice. No explanations and no confrontations. She smiled, waved like nothing was wrong, and made her way into the villa.