Marnie practically loses her panties on the spot. I turn away in disgust, sipping my drink, praying the strong alcohol beneath the fruity sweetness will help me forget the train wreck I'm seeing.
Who the hell invited him anyway? I wonder. He's too old to be a student, unless he's like a grad student in fitness or something.
Marnie's a way bigger social butterfly than I am. Every time I get dad to open up the beach and fire up the bar for our private fun, my friend tells me it'll just be a few people, no more than a couple dozen. My eyes scan the crowd. I estimate there are way more than a hundred here, sorority boys and bleached out bimbos I've never even sat in a lecture with.
“Hey, Delia! Seriously, thanks again for letting us play on papa's property again. If anybody leaves their shit behind, come to me. I'll kick their ass.” Marnie reaches for my hand and gives it a firm squeeze.
“Yeah, me too,” Tangerine Man says lazily, not even pulling his eyes off her ass.
“Go have some fun! We'll link up again later,” she says, giving me a gentle push.
I'm too upset to turn around until I'm sure they're gone. It's not just my friend's too loud to live attitude, or her taste in the dumbest man candy around.
Everything here reminds me I'm stuck being the good girl again, and I don't want to be.
I'm tired of playing third wheel. Just once, I wish I could be somebody's number one, just for one night. I wish a tall, dark, and mysteriously kinky man would swoop in from nowhere and blow my hair back.
But the boys out here tonight don't fit the bill. Not one of them, not even close.
College is hell when your standards are too high, and luck won't even shake your hand, much less push a girl into the strong, sexy arms of a man with a brain and an attitude.
A couple hours after sunset, and it's just like every other party I've hosted for Marnie. I watch the sun sink below the roaring waves, and every building lining the Bay Area's coast comes alive.
I'm several hundred feet from the nearest party couple, sitting on a big, smooth rock, my fifth drink of the night halfway drained, an extra tall Long Island Iced Tea.
The liquor drowns my feelings, keeping me out later than I intended. I should go soon, but I don't.
I'm running behind on my senior project for Professor Thosser, the most arrogant, picky slave driver in the entire journalism department. He's also the teacher with the hottest connections for landing an internship or maybe a full blown career after school, and I'm determined to impress him.#p#分页标题#e#
Unfortunately, that means turning in a rough draft before summer's over, hopefully something interesting enough for him to cite in his Op-Eds to the big papers and endless seminars. A few simple citations for other students over the years landed them gigs with some serious money and mobility. One guy even wound up working in the White House.
I'm also supposed to meet my brand new stepbrother tomorrow. When dad tied the knot for the second time in his life last month, it turned my whole world upside down.
Well, technically it was still upending itself right now. I'd only spent two days in bizarro land back home since moving out of my dorm for summer.
Weird is an understatement. His new wife, Evie, looks exactly like the hot, prestigious trophy girl a high powered airline executive ought to have.
She's also a washed up Hollywood bombshell with three ex-husbands and at least two bankruptcies behind her. If the tabloids are to be believed, she's been struggling to get her career back on track, and hasn't had a major role since she played lead on a romantic comedy about ten years ago.
I'd barely been around her for a day total, and I still don't understand it. Maybe I don't want to.
It's not like dad to elope with a stranger. Much less an aggressive, high demand Hollywood babe with a lot of baggage. The looks are all she's got. It's hard to believe he's fallen so fast, so hard.
I don't want to believe dad is just another shallow, overworked rich guy with a hard-on for a beautiful younger woman, but...
My thoughts stop the instant I see the man standing on the rocks overlooking the ocean. He's only there for a second before he leaps, plunging into the dark Pacific.
Is he crazy? I'm ready to rush over and find out if he's been cut to pieces by rocks when I see him emerge, apparently in one piece.
His big arms rise above the waves, like black flames in the darkness, huge and powerful, pushing the water aside like Moses.
No, he can't be hurt. He wouldn't be swimming like a total pro if he were. Then I get a better look, and I realize he's not just some kid out for a swim.
This dude's serious.
He's wearing a full body wet suit, complete with a snorkel mask and oxygen tank. At first, I'm fascinated, wondering if he's just a diehard swim fanatic, or maybe a hobby diver who's gotten off course. His feet kick up sand as he comes ashore, heading for a rock further down the beach, where I notice there's more gear carefully stored, like a little campsite.