"Tough," Jacqui said.
"Yeah, but it's okay. We'll have three months together." Then she told Jacqui all about her new job and her crazy boss.
"That's fantastic, Mar. You're, like, a real reporter," Jacqui marveled. "I'm so proud of you, chica."
Mara beamed. Jacqui always knew the right thing to say.
They compared their respective graduation ceremonies, and the subject soon landed on their college choices.
"I'm still on the wait list at Dartmouth; can you believe?" Mara groaned. "I'm sooo bummed. How about you--did you hear from NYU yet?"
In an instant, her stomach sank. Jacqui couldn't think of a reply--she didn't want to own up to her rejection, especially after having given Mara the impression that she was a shoo-in. Plus, it hurt too much to admit it out loud. She had never felt so guarded in front of her friend before.
But Jacqui was saved the embarrassment of confessing by two loud, long beeps from the driveway.
"WHERE ARE MY HARAJUKU GIRLS?" Eliza bellowed from the front door of the house.
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reunited once again, the three musketeers
take a cigarette break
ELIZA CLIMBED OUT OF HER CAR. SHE WORE AWHITE strapless, empire-waist floor-length smocked jersey cotton dress that showed off her jutting collarbone and tanned shoulders. Perched on her button nose was a pair of oversized Dita sunglasses, the latest celebrity fashion obsession, the provenance of which she had tracked down to a boutique in West Hollywood. They were so big they obscured half of her face, but she had to have them. (Everyone else could wear run-of-the-mill Chanel and Gucci, but to be in the know, it was all about Dita!) Her hair was twisted into a long sexy French braid down her back. Her cheeks glowed and her teeth shone. She was the picture of summer, and the beat-up cowboy boots she wore added just the right edgy note. Mara and Jacqui admired Elizas dress and both immediately decided they wanted one too. That was the usual effect Eliza's clothes had on the female gender--you always wanted what she was wearing. Luckily, Eliza was one of those girls who happily shared her shopping secrets.
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"It's so cute, no? Planet Blue in the 'bu. I was in Cali with my dad the other week. I have the number, so no panicking!" Eliza enthused as she kissed the two girls effusively on each cheek--a habit she'd picked up after a day working in the fashion studio. "Jacqui, no one does more to a pair of Bermuda shorts than you. Where did you get them? Old Navy? Are you serious? They look designer! Mar, your haircut is so good! And did you do something to your eyebrows? But before we catch up, can someone please get me a bottled water? I'm parched!"
Mara laughed and fetched a frosty Glaceau Smartwater from the kitchen and handed it to her. When she'd first met Eliza, she had written her off as some kind of princessy brat, but Eliza had certainly proved her wrong. Although Eliza strove to live in a world where the Sub-Zero was always filled with champagne and caviar, she still knew what it was like to eat leftovers out of a ten-year-old Kenmore in Buffalo.
"Check it out!" Eliza said, motioning to the black LR3 parked in the driveway as she twisted off the top of the bottle and took a long chug.
Mara nodded, impressed. Eliza had told them that her family had regained their former affluence, and the car was proof of their ascension. "It's tight," she agreed.
"Where're the rug rats?" Eliza asked.
"At their granny's," Jacqui explained. "Agradeca o Deus." Thank the Lord.
"So no one's here? Good. We can smoke," Eliza said, pulling
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out a pack from a Chloe Silverado handbag. "You like? I know. I was bad," she admitted, referring to the bag's five-figure price tag.
The three of them made themselves comfortable on the front steps, catching up over cigarettes. It had occurred to all of them that this might be their last summer together--who knew where next year would bring them?--and the thought made them huddle closer together. Without it being said, all three of them were glad they had one more chance to have another sun-kissed season in the Hamptons to shop, play, and party their hearts out before college came calling.
The girly chitchat was momentarily suspended when a clattering taxicab pulled up to the driveway. A tiny girl stepped out of the back. She was a petite thing, an extremely pretty Korean girl with short brown hair in a pixie cut and cat's-eye tortoise-shell glasses. The driver helped her with her luggage--matching olive green Fendi logo suitcases--and she paid him with several crumpled dollar bills from her Gucci bag.
She consulted a piece of paper in her hand before glancing up at the girls. "Excuse me. This is Creek Head Manor, right?"
"Uh-huh." Mara nodded.
"Can I help you?" Jacqui asked.
The girl looked at the three of them intently, as if noticing them for the first time. "Oh my God!" she said. "You're them!"
"Them who?" Mara asked, turning to her friends with a confused expression.
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"You're famous!" the girl shrieked. "You guys are the coolest girls in the Hamptons--I read all about you in Teen Vogue!"
Last summer, as a favor to Mitzi Goober, the three of them had been featured in a "Summer Girls" roundup in the magazine. Mara had been pictured on Garrett Reynolds's arm, stepping out of a Bentley. Eliza had been photographed in her sequined Sass & Bide minidress holding a clipboard in front of a nightclub. There'd even been a double-page centerfold of Jacqui in the outfit she'd worn for the finale at the fashion show.
"You're Mara, right?" the girl said, thrusting a hand toward Mara. "I saw you on Sugar Perry's reality show!"
"Oh. Thanks, I guess," Mara said, still a bit confused.
The girl nodded eagerly. "And you must be Eliza--the trendy one," she said, turning to Eliza.
"So that makes you Jacqui--my favorite!" she squealed, throwing her arms around the stunned bombshell.
Mara and Eliza nudged each other while Jacqui politely escaped the hug. "Favorite"? What were they, like characters in a television show?
The new girl looked like she was about to faint. "How cool is it that I'm going to be working with you this summer!"
"Working with us?" Eliza asked, her eyes narrowing, grinding her cigarette butt on the bottom of her shoe.
"I'm Shannon Shin. The new au pair! And I'm ready for the best summer of my life!"
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misunderstandings go
hand in hand with too
many margaritas
OVER BLUE HYPNOTIQ MARGARITAS ON THE PATIO AT THE
Sunset Hotel, the girls discussed the latest development in the Perry establishment. Eliza had driven the three of them to Shelter Island for a quick happy hour drink before she had to pick up Jeremy from work. He had started a landscape company that summer and had soon rounded up all his former employers as clients. They were going to rendezvous at his apartment in a few hours, and she wanted to fortify before the big event. Even though she'd decided she was finally going to lose her virginity, she didn't want to lose her nerve.
"Did you know you were getting help?" Eliza asked, lighting a cigarette and propping her feet on the ledge. They were sitting on the bar's wicker chairs that lined up against the low wall that faced toward the ocean.
Jacqui shook her head. "I guess Anna forgot to mention it. Big surprise."
Mara nodded. "The new girl seems very . . . enthusiastic." She
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was still struck by how Shannon had treated them--like they were celebrities.
"I think it's great," Eliza agreed. "At least you have someone to order around."
The three of them felt a little older--had it really been almost three years ago that they had first met? Seeing Shannon's fresh fifteen-year-old face reminded them of how young and naive they had been when they had accepted the au pair gig. Shannon had been happy enough to stay at the house by herself to wait for the children to get back while Jacqui snuck out for a quick drink with her friends. They found out Anna had hired the new girl the same way she had originally found the three of them--by posting a
n ad online. Shannon told them she had sent Anna a professional-looking portfolio, including a ten-page dossier of her skills, complete with moving testimonials from the children she had previously babysat. She had been hired immediately.
Jacqui still felt a little guilty about leaving her there alone on her first day, but then again, Eliza was right. She was in charge, and it would be good to have an extra pair of hands for the summer.
"So we need to have an awesome summer before we start college in the fall," Eliza said. "We need to be at the polo every Saturday afternoon. No exceptions. I hear it's going to blow up this year. Major, major people hosting the VIP tent."
"I've got a press pass," Mara said. "I'm covering it." She still couldn't believe she had merited one--but Sam Davis had handed it to her that afternoon. It was a laminated ID card that
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read Press in red capital letters above her name. Just looking at it gave Mara a thrill.
"Cool. I'm on the list. I'll get you on too, Jac," Eliza promised. Now that her family was back on their high perch, Eliza was confident in her ability to navigate the social stream. "Then there's the Art for Life benefit and the AIDS Luau. Maybe one weekend we should drive out to the North Fork to the vineyards for some wine-tasting?"
"Perfeito. "Jacqui nodded.
"How about a party on the boat, Mar?" Eliza asked.
"Sure. Maybe for the Fourth of July?" Mara said, thinking how pretty the sparklers would look off the deck. They could get a cooler full of beer and a few bottle rockets and Roman candles for the boys. Jeremy could probably hook them up if Ryan didn't know where to get them in town.
"I'll do the barbecue," Jacqui offered. "You guys have a grill on the boat, yes?"
"I'll ask Ryan, but I think I saw one," Mara said.
"How is Ryan?" Eliza asked, exhaling a smoke ring and keeping her voice light. She fiddled with the Claddagh ring Jeremy had given her for her birthday. It was an Irish wedding ring, and Eliza wore it with the heart facing inward to show that her heart was already spoken for.
"The boy surfs twenty-four seven. It's like there's salt water in his brain," Mara joked.
"So I've already been asked to join this eating club at Princeton," Eliza said.
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"Are you going to do it? I heard they're so snobby," Mara chided.
"You have to--it's the only way to eat," Eliza replied. "Nobody eats in the cafeteria. Please!" Eliza didn't think it was being snobby, merely being practical. The eating clubs had better chefs, organic food; one even offered a vegan/macrobiotic diet. She didn't plan on gaining the freshman fifteen. She told them how she'd mapped out the next four years with the help of an insider's guide to the easiest classes and professors who were the most generous with grades. Cruise through the requirements the first two years, take a junior year abroad in Paris, then graduate. Nothing too taxing, since she was certain to take over her dad's company one day. It was what everyone expected her to do, especially her parents.
"Wow, you have it all worked out," Jacqui said admiringly. She felt a little sadness at that, since, for once in her life, she'd made plans as well, except hers hadn't quite panned out.
"I do like to plan, yes," Eliza said modestly. "How 'bout you, Mar? Any word?"
"Not yet." Mara frowned. "It's agonizing. They shouldn't be able to do this to a person! It's not fair."
"I know, that sucks, but Columbia could be awesome. It's in the city."
Mara nodded. "But Ryan won't be there," she said in a tiny, tiny voice. She ground her cigarette out in the plastic ashtray and watched as a group of kids folded up their volleyball net on the beach.
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Eliza shrugged. "New Hampshire's not far."
"I suppose." Mara sighed.
"How 'bout you, Jac, what happened with NYU?" Eliza asked.
"Yeah, tell us. At least if I end up at Columbia, I'll know you'll be in the city," Mara prodded.
Jacqui put down her glass and cleared her throat. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she formed the words. "Yeah ..."
"Yeah?" Mara echoed, interrupting.
"You got in?" Eliza squealed.
"Congratulations!" the two of them cheered.
Mara and Eliza gave Jacqui sloppy kisses and bear hugs. They knew how much she'd wanted NYU and how hard she'd worked for it.
Jacqui kept smiling. The smile remained frozen on her face long after the subject had switched to what time they would meet up at Sydney Minx's store-opening party the next evening. It was all a misunderstanding--but she hadn't bothered to clear it up. Well, what was the harm? She just didn't want to make it real just yet. Right then, she just wanted another drink with her friends.
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temptation wears a bright blue bikini
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS FLEW IN A TRIANGULAR FORMATION over the sky as Mara drove back to the harbor. Eliza dropped her off with a friendly wave. The three of them had spent the better part of the evening at Sunset Beach and, after waiting an hour for Eliza to sober up, had driven back to the mainland singing along to Gwen Stefani's album with the windows rolled all the way down so that the ocean breeze could blow through their hair.
"Be good!" Eliza called.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jacqui teased from the shotgun seat.
"That leaves . . . everything!" Mara replied, laughing and waving back.
She heard the sound of Ryan's voice from the deck. He was probably talking to one of his surfing buddies who had stopped by for a visit. Their first houseguests! Mara wondered if there was anything in the fridge she could put together as a snack for them. She felt a Martha Stewart moment coming on. It would be fun to show off their new domesticity.
Mara hurried across their pier and stepped onto the back
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deck. She put her bag down in the living area and walked over to the front of the stern, where she found him. Ryan was on his knees, dressed only in his cotton pinstripe boxers, waxing the finish. He was sweaty, and Mara thought he'd never looked sexier in his life. There was only one problem.
This was no surfer dude.
A chick in a turquoise bikini scrubbed down the boat next to theirs. She leaned over her railing and splashed Ryan with suds from her sponge, and Ryan retaliated by throwing his rag at her.
Suddenly, Mara didn't feel very hospitable. The fantasy of serving hors d'oeuvres and cocktails went straight out the porthole.
Throughout the year, Mara had wondered how she would be able to stand it knowing that Ryan was the kind of guy who'd had so many girlfriends, and girls who were friends, and girls who wanted to be more than friends. The problem was he simply adored female company. He was a natural around women, having so many sisters, and was completely oblivious to the fact that Mara felt uncomfortable with how comfortable he was around the opposite sex. Especially those who could fill out a tiny turquoise string bikini.
"I'm just being friendly," Ryan would assure her. "You know you're the only girl for me." But the guy was a natural flirt--it was part of his charm--and as much as Mara didn't want to make him change, seeing him banter so easily with another girl didn't do a lot for her feelings of insecurity and self-esteem. It had been hard enough to get over the Eliza factor.
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"Hey, you, have you been standing there for long?" he said.
"Not really," Mara said coolly.
"Tinker, this is my girlfriend, Mara," he said, taking Mara in his arms.
"Oh, hi!" Tinker said. "I've heard all about you," she said in a friendly manner.
"Tinker's in my frat," Ryan explained.
Mara nodded. She knew Ryan was in a coed fraternity at Dartmouth. Somehow, she'd assumed any girl who wanted to join a fraternity would be just one of the guys--but Tinker was one hundred percent babe.
"Anyway, like I told Ryan, my sisters and I are living on my parents' boat this summer," Tinker said.
Mara smiled and tried to look enthusiastic about the situation, then turned back to Ryan. "You stink," she
told him.
"I do, do I?" he threatened, and pretended to smother her with his armpits.
"Stop." Mara giggled.
"C'mon," Ryan said. "Why don't we take a shower? We can get all clean . . ."he whispered. "And you can, you know, make up for deserting me last night. ..."
As Mara's knees turned to jelly, she squeezed his hand tightly. She was going to let him know how sorry she was she'd left him all alone last night. How very, very, very sorry she really was. She shot him a wicked grin. "You are a really dirty boy," she said.
He replied by blowing softly in her ear.
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"Nice to meet you, um, Tinker!" she called, feeling a buzz of anticipation as Ryan led her by the hand down to the master suite, where they would make the most of the rainfall shower-head, the Jacuzzi, the king-size bed. . . .
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too close for comfort
WHEN JACQUI ARRIVED BACK IN THE AU PAIR COTTAGE, she was startled to find that most of her belongings had been carelessly shoved into two small drawers and that a strange pillow was lying on the only single bed.
Shannon walked out of the bathroom in a robe, a towel wrapped around her head. "Oh, hi, Jacqui! I had to move some of your stuff since you took the whole closet. You probably didn't know I was going to be here, right? Anna's a bit of a spaz, I can tell."
Jacqui was about to reply, but the girl kept talking. "And I hope you don't mind, but my doctor says I have a back problem and I really can't sleep on the bunk bed. Is that all right?" The tiny girl batted her eyes and left Jacqui momentarily flabbergasted. She was supposed to be the senior au pair here, yet with one breath, Shannon had taken the best benefits of the room.
Jacqui didn't trust herself to reply; she was still tipsy from the margaritas and sour from the misunderstanding she'd left uncorrected. Instead, she started to pull out the drawers so she could fold her clothes more neatly, thinking of a plan.
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