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not beta'd

storyline - Heart/ Crystal Beachin'

prompt - spray

The girls were determined to make the most of their last few free days.

Not like life was gonna be oh-so-hard for the rest of the summer, but they were expected to work pretty solid hours at the restaurant. That was cool though – it meant money in their pockets and food in their bellies. And yeah, they'd still have time to play during off-hours.

But for now, waitressing was still floating off in the near distance and all they had to worry about was sun block. And the pesky sand-flies that seemed to be hovering near the shore really early and really late in the day. Nothing got your butt off the beach faster than having it bitten to death.

After breakfast and a litany of fantastically vulgar songs courtesy of the man-boys across the street, the girls trekked over to the beach. They were better prepared this time: Rose carried the umbrella and towels, Bella had the food and drinks, and Alice brought up the rear with sun block, bug spray and a little radio.

As to be expected, the boys whistled as the girls passed. Bella glanced subtly up to see if Edward was with the other two and sure enough, he was there, leaning over a railing.

Totally staring back.

Even across the distance shimmering with tropical heat, Bella could see the electric amazingness of his super-green eyes. It made her sparkle inside every time he looked at her like that. Her heart – and other areas – quivered.

And then she tripped.

Thankfully Rose was right in front of her, so she didn't completely fall on to her face, but still.

"Dammit, Bella," hissed Rose, elbowing her friend back to standing. "At least pretend to be cool."

"Oh shove it, Window Woman," snarled Bella, her face hot and red. She didn't even look back to see if Edward had seen her embarrassing moment; he probably had and well, that just sucked.

Thankfully the trio made it to their spot without any more incidents.

"Oh, hell no," Alice sighed.

Bella squinted at her, sliding a pair of sunglasses on. "What?"

"Those tools from last night are already here," she said, nodding toward the water.

Sure enough, Arthur/Mike and Co. had set up camp on the tiny sand bar about fifteen feet offshore. They had umbrellas and a cooler, and by the smell of things, an abundance of ganja.

"Wow," Rose said, staring in thinly veiled disgust. "They're even more loser-y in the day. How old do you think they are?"

"Don't know, don't care," Bella said, helping Alice spread the blanket and towels. "Hopefully they'll leave us alone."

By mid-day, Bella was reconsidering their decision to stay on the beach for so long. They had already taken long strolls up and down the shore, gone swimming, and tanned.

The Arthurs had brought their gear in from the sandbar and set up a little ways down the beach. But it seemed as though they were inching closer. Bella couldn't be sure, but the whiffs of weed were growing stronger, as were the leers.

"They're totally creeping up on us," she told Alice and Rose.

Alice glanced over, shading her eyes. "Yeah, they are. What should we do?"

"Nothing," said Rose. "But if they get too close, I'll go off. I swear."

No sooner had she said it, Mike sauntered over, playing with his happy trail. "Hey, girls," he said, grinning salaciously.

"Hi." The reply was less than enthused.

"Just wondering if you wanted to do some sharing; a little trade off. Noticed you had some treats…we have some beer and weed. Huh? Huh?"

But before the girls could respond, a football came sailing through the air and hit Mike straight in his soft, doughy gut. He caught it with an oomph, his bright red face contorted in surprise.

"Holy… OW!"

"Aw, yeah, sorry dude!" Diesel Construction Guy jogged over, clapping Mike on the back. "Didn't even see you. Thanks." He retrieved his ball and right stood in front of Mike, facing the girls. His ridiculously tanned abs were decidedly nicer than the doughy delight of Mike's almost-beer belly. "Sorry we took so long." He winked at Rose, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands.

Mike piped up, barely visible. "Hey man, back off. I was totally asking – "

Diesel made a face, and glanced over his shoulder. "Say it, don't spray it, man." He wiped at his back.

Mike huffed for a couple of minutes before walking off. Meanwhile, Edward and the Blond joined Diesel.

"Hi, I'm Jasper. This is Emmett and this is Edward," the Blond said, waving politely.

"Hi." The response this time was a lot more inviting. How convenient; three guys and three girls! How serendipitous, thought Bella.

Edward smiled at her. She secretly began plotting ways in which she could seduce him. Exhibitionist shaving and pole dancing were out of the question; Rose and Alice were better suited for such things. Perhaps Edward was a simple guy who liked simple girl next door types. He'd certainly been sending signals the day before. She could keep it subtle: a flash of panties, going bra-less. Maybe…

"Well, don't just stand there; sit," Rose purred, patting the spot next to her.

There wasn't that much room on the blanket, but they managed to make room for the boys. Even sweaty and smelly and in need of showers, these were the types of man-boys the girls needed in their summer-lives.

Edward turned to Bella, pushing his hand through his hair. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing… what's up with you?"

"Nothing…"

They smiled coyly at one another.

"So… do you live here all year?" Bella asked, subtly positioning her arms to create cleavage.

"No, but we come down every year. We live in LA."

"Louisiana?"

"No, Los Angeles." His eyes zeroed in on Bella's boobs like twin honing devices.

"Oh, right. That's so cool!" Now that Edward was actually noticing, Bella felt a little self conscious. She straightened up, biting her lip. "We're from Washington."

He finally looked back at her face. "D.C.?"

"No, state."

"West coast," he said, smiling. Bella wondered if he used Crest White Strips. "Like us. Awesome. So what brings you to Destin?"

"We're working at Rose's aunt's restaurant," Bella said. "The Seashack?"

"Got crabs?" Edward winked.

Bella blinked, appalled. "What?"

"Got crabs. It's on the Seashack's sign," explained Edward.

"Oh! Yeah." She blushed, tucking her legs up under her as she reached for a wine cooler. "D'you want one?"

Edward preferred manlier drinks, but he didn't want to be rude. He was thirsty, anyway. "Sure, thanks."

Rose let out a delighted squeal from her side of the blanket. Emmett was such a hottie, and apparently he could grill like nobody's business. He did most of the cooking at the house, and now he was offering to prepare grilled fish and kabobs for the girls later on.

"We'd love it, right?" she simpered, elbowing Alice.

Alice was a little too lost in Jasper's baby blues to notice much else, so she just nodded in agreement.

"What special talents do you have?" she asked sweetly, imagining her hands in his sunshiny blond hair.

Jasper grinned, dazzling Tiny Dancer with his dimples. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Frankly, he didn't think he had any talents besides wrestling in the bed, but he'd let Alice know that a more appropriate time.

Well, there was one thing.

"I can tie cherry stems in to knots," he said, remembering. "With my tongue."

"Lucky for you," Alice said, rooting through the cooler. "We have cherries."

"What are the chances?" Jasper asked, popping the stem in to his mouth.

"Indeed."

Seconds later, he procured the knotted stem from his mouth.

Alice clapped her hands in glee. "That was bloody brilliant!" she exclaimed.

Jasper smiled modestly. If she thought that was cool, wait'll she saw what other things his tongue could do.