Chapter 3: Swimmin' in the Deep Blue Sea
This chapter is rated PG-13
Fifteen minutes later found the girls out at the beach, soaking up the midday sun. They lay stretched out on their towels, taking some time to let the sun do what work it would on their fair forms before heading into the water. Though all were pale to some extent, Jacelyn and Erin had the most sensitive skin of the four. They would not be able to endure the heat of the beach sun for long. So everyone was taking what sun they could, while they could get it.
From her place between Shea and Erin, Jacelyn breathed a soft sigh, effectively breaking the long stretch of silence they had lapsed into. She lifted herself into a reclining position and looked down at her copper-haired friend.
"Too bad he didn't ask if you wanted to watch the volleyball game or something," she commented. She and the others had made Erin give them a play-by-play of the conversation their friend had had with Mike. Happily, they hadn't been left wanting, as the redhead had been only too happy to oblige them.
Erin laughed, not bothering to open her eyes. "For someone who wasn't even there, you sure are putting a lot of thought into this," she observed. "Why the interest, Jace?"
The dark blonde shrugged carelessly. "Just sayin'. It would have been a particularly nice gesture on his part."
Erin opened her eyes and looked up at her friend, one copper eyebrow raised knowingly. "Naturally, your hang-up doesn't have anything to do with a certain curly-haired stud who can take a hit with a volleyball like a champ?"
This brought Jacelyn up short, as Erin knew it would, and the redhead's smile broadened victoriously. She had been well informed on the guys her friends had seen playing volleyball before coming up to meet her. And she had been well informed about the one in particular who'd captured Jacelyn's interest.
To Erin's delight, her tall friend had no response. "I...well..." Jacelyn stuttered, struggling to find some way to brush Erin's comment aside.
The redhead propped herself up on her elbows, her soft blue eyes dancing. "So the mighty Jace is left speechless!" she gloated playfully. "This is too great--I really want to see this boy now."
Jacelyn couldn't help the blush that heated her cheeks. "It's not that big of a deal," she hedged.
"Oh but it is!" Shea interjected, her platinum hair gleaming nearly white in the bright sunlight as she moved to sit up. "A boy's got your eye, Jace. You can't expect us to let that go!"
Jacelyn laughed at that. "It's not like my being interested in someone is any big spectacle, you guys."
"Can't argue with that!" Taryn agreed with a laugh from Shea's other side. She then grinned at the leggy blonde in a way that was particularly maddening for its recipient. "But clearly you want to see him again."
Jacelyn chuckled softly and shook her head. "Ok, so why are my interests suddenly so damn fascinating to you all?"
"Hey you bought it up, Jace," Shea replied with a smirk. "We're just calling you out on it."
"You're very kind," Jacelyn commented wryly. They were all looking at her expectantly now, waiting for her to admit aloud what they already knew. Jacelyn grew a little unnerved by their combined scrutiny, and lowered her eyes to her towel. "All right, fine," she conceded shyly, looking at her towel as if she found it to be the most fascinating thing in the world, "so I wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea of seeing him."
A chorus of giggles and victorious exclamations greeted her admission. Jacelyn smiled at their excitement, feeling her own giddy happiness rise within her, which she quickly struggled to quell. It would be pathetically immature for her to get all slap-happy over some boy who didn't even know she existed.
"Don't blame you in the least," Shea enthused, her green-blue eyes dancing. "He's cute!"
"Hey, maybe he's one of those roommates Mike mentioned," Taryn speculated, glancing at Erin and giving her a wink. "Then the four of you could double date. How adorable would that be?"
Erin laughed and sat up. "Oh, will you stop? I just met Mike today, remember?" she replied. "And anyway, why do I get the wink? Jace is the one so ga-ga over a dude it's sad!"
"Shut up!" the tall blonde exclaimed with a laugh, flicking some sand at Erin's middle and then taking victorious delight as she watched her friend's struggles to brush the little grains off.
"Ah!" the redhead exclaimed, squirming uncomfortably at the feel of the sand on her soft middle. "Jace! Was that really necessary?"
"I was provoked," Jacelyn insisted, and then looked at the others. "You all saw it!"
Erin was all set to reply, when the sound of a masculine voice distracted her. "And so we meet again," came the familiar Texas drawl.
Erin turned her head so fast the others were surprised it didn't snap right off her neck.
"Mike, hi!" she gasped, hoping she didn't sound as pathetically eager to everyone else as she did to herself.
"Hey!" he replied, and the grin he gave her caused her heart to do a little flip-flop. Erin mentally sighed at herself. So much for Jace being the ga-ga one...
At Mike's side were three other guys, all dark-haired except for one, who was more of a sandy blond. Erin could only assume these were Mike's roommates. Her eyes shifted to the one at Mike's right, the one who was almost as tall as the Texan. And very nearly as skinny. A head of thickly curling hair set him apart from the others, and she noted absently how its dark chocolate color was mirrored almost perfectly by his eyes. But most importantly, she noticed how his eyes lingered upon Jacelyn. Erin's smile broadened very slightly at the sight.
"We noticed you guys heading down towards the water earlier," Mike said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Figured if you were still around when our game was over, we'd all come over and acquaint ourselves."
"I'm so glad you did," Erin replied, and then proceeded to introduce herself and her friends to the four of them.
"So," Mike said after the introductions had been made. His dark eyes shifted to the blonde who was of impressive height--just like Erin. He grinned. "You must be the one Erin was telling me about."
Jacelyn laughed. "Probably," she admitted, then cast a speculative glance the redhead's way. "I can only imagine what was said."
"Only good things," Mike said, winking discretely at Erin, and something just behind the redhead's heart might have shifted. Just a little.
Jacelyn laughed. "Of course," she said sarcastically. She tried to keep her eyes from straying too often to the curly-haired man at Mike's side--Micky, the one who'd captured her interest during the volleyball game. She couldn't believe her luck!
"You guys played some great volleyball, from what I saw," she continued, her eyes flicking back to Micky despite her best efforts. His dark gaze met hers, and with a start she smiled shyly then hurriedly looked back at Mike. "So how long have you guys lived here?"
"About a year now," the Texan replied, and inwardly Jacelyn had to admit she agreed with Erin--the guy had one smooth accent.
"What is it that you do?" Erin asked him. They hadn't gotten around to that earlier.
"We're musicians," the small one, Davy, replied.
"Oh that's great--I love music!" Jacelyn said excitedly. She looked over at Micky, unable to resist the pull. "What do you play?"
He smiled, pleased at her enthusiasm. "Drums," he replied. "And I provide vocals for a lot of our songs--we all do."
"Wow," she breathed, truly impressed. Music was a passion of hers. Ever since she could remember, she had been impressed, inspired, and moved by it.
Micky found he could not respond. Her eyes were alight in a manner that was breathtaking. He caught a flash of green within their earthy dark depths and found himself wondering if he'd ever seen eyes more beautiful.
"And what about the rest of you?" Jacelyn asked, pulling her gaze away from his with surprising effort.
She learned from the guys' responses that Mike was a guitarist, Peter was skilled with several stringed and keyboard instruments, and Davy provided the percussion accompaniment with such instruments as the tambourine and maracas.
"That's fabulous!" Shea said. "What do you call yourselves?"
"We're The Monkees," Davy replied, and as he did so, each of them posed as if introducing themselves to an audience. The girls giggled.
"Maybe you could come and hear us play a gig sometime," Peter offered.
"Oh we'd love that!" Jacelyn exclaimed. "Just say the word and we're there--or I am, at least." She chuckled apologetically to her friends. She hadn't meant to speak for them.
"Most definitely," Erin agreed. She wouldn't miss the chance to see Mike perform for anything short of a national emergency.
"Great, we'll be sure to let you know when our next one is gonna be," Micky said, looking again at Jacelyn.
"Excellent!" the tall blonde enthused. She then cocked her head to the side and looked at him, considering. "By the way, you're the one who got hit with the volleyball, aren't you?"
Micky blanched at her question, and gave a little wince. She'd seen that? Terrific. Just peachy.
"Uh...no?" was his brilliant response. The guys cracked up at that, and he mentally face-palmed. That was stupid...
She gave him an amused look. "Oh really?" she questioned. "Because it sure looked like you."
"Yeah, well, you know..." he fumbled as he searched desperately for something, anything to say that would let him save face. "I've got one of those faces that…you see all the time!"
Oh dear God. That definitely wasn't the brilliant save he'd been looking for. He just needed to shut up, right now.
Everyone got a good laugh out of that one. "Well that's no good," Jacelyn replied after her laughter had died down. "And really, too bad it wasn't you, because if it was I was going to say that you have skills, my friend...And vigor. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take a hit with better poise."
He perked at that, unconsciously drawing himself up in a proud manner. "Really?"
Jacelyn nodded, smiling impishly. "Yes. But oh well, doesn't matter." A wicked gleam came into her lovely hazel eyes. "You must have been the one whose idea of "strategy" was to run around and fall."
Micky gaped at her while she burst into renewed laughter. "Alright," the drummer said, his lips curving into a dark smirk. "Now this is happening."
Without warning, he hoisted Jacelyn up over his shoulder. She squealed as her world was momentarily turned on its head. Next thing she knew, her torso was hanging like a sack of potatoes down the length of his back, and she was staring down at the sandy ground--a good few feet below. She gasped at the sudden change of perception and fumbled awkwardly to regain her bearings, instinctively keeping her movements slight to avoid throwing him off balance and sending them both crashing to the sand. She was pretty high up--she didn't relish the idea of him going down...
And then he was marching steadily for the water. It didn't take her two seconds to realize what he was going to do.
"Oh no!" she protested, giggling despite herself. "Micky, no!"
Grinning like a banshee, Micky walked until his was knee-deep in the water, and then he dropped her gracelessly--right into a coming wave. Her resulting shriek was cut short as the water rolled over her. Coughing and sputtering at his feet, she cleared the water from her eyes and then glared up at him. He was laughing heartily, quite pleased with himself.
"Ha-ha. Very funny," she intoned, and then extended a hand to him. "How about helping me up, hot-shot?"
Gaining control of his laughter, he reached down and took her hand in his. He just had time to register the sudden glint in her dark eyes before she gave a mighty heave and sent him crashing face-first into the water beside her. When Micky pushed himself up a second later, shaking the water from his ears and eyes, her laughter was there to greet him.
He smirked, pushing his wet curls from his forehead. "I can't believe I fell for that!"
"Me either!" she agreed between giggles. "First the volleyball and now this. You're on a roll today, fuzzy!"
Micky jerked his head back to her, an amusingly shocked expression on his handsome face. "Oh, you didn't!" he growled.
He lunged for her, but she was already on her feet and running for the shoreline, the peals of her laughter echoing back to him. He was quick to react, and in the next heartbeat was on his feet, chasing her down. A few jogs with his long strides and he was upon her. He scooped her into his arms and ran her back into deeper water, both of them laughing as Jacelyn kicked out uselessly to escape his grip. He trudged on until the water was to his waist, and then he sent them both plunging into the water.
Back on the sand, the others watched, highly amused, as Micky and Jacelyn surfaced. There was a brief exchange of more banter, which resulted quickly in a water fight. Davy chuckled, and Mike shook his head, grinning broadly.
"Well, guess it's safe to say those two hit it off!" Peter laughed, voicing what everyone was thinking.
Erin laughed. "Yeah, just a little!"
Out across the water, Jacelyn's triumphant shout could be heard as she'd apparently succeeded in dunking Micky. Her glory was short-lived, however, as suddenly she was pulled below the water, too. A few seconds later, both emerged, laughing and breathless. Everyone watched as Jacelyn flicked a small object at Micky's forehead, and then laughed when he flailed back in mild horror.
"Was that...Did you seriously just flick a hermit crab at me?" they heard his baffled demand, a priceless expression on his face.
She laughed and nodded. Micky gaped at her for a moment, and then he was cracking up. She took advantage of his amusement to try and get away, but he launched himself at her, catching her mid-flight.
"You are so gonna regret that!" he exclaimed, laughing with her as the water fight ensued full force.
That was all Davy cared to be a bystander for. "Well, no sense letting them have all the fun," he said, exchanging a smile with the others before heading into the surf.
They didn't need any further encouraging, being just as eager to join in their friends' fun as he was. In no time at all, eight young adults were engaged in play as if they were kids again. They splashed and dunked, laughed and played with full abandon as the sun sailed steadily across an azure sky.