“Yeah, thanks!” Rhiannon actually licked her finger, and then she pointed out toward the walkway. “Look at that!”
They all turned to see.
“Is that Eliza and Casey?” DJ removed her sunglasses and squinted in the sunlight. “I mean, it looks like them, except that they’re…like…orange?”
Taylor broke into laughter. “I bet they went to a spray-on-tan booth.”
“A really bad spray-on-tan booth,” said DJ.
“What about the photo shoot?” Rhiannon sounded worried.
“Maybe it’ll wear off by then,” said DJ.
Taylor stood and waved at the two girls, calling them over to their sidewalk table. “Hey, did you guys have lunch yet?” Taylor looked like she was about to lose it.
“It looks like they had oranges for lunch,” said DJ.
“Very funny.” Eliza glared at them.
“No, we haven’t had lunch.” Casey looked like she wanted to hit somebody. “We went shopping and…well, other things.”
“Obviously,” said DJ. “Anyway, we can recommend the rock shrimp here.” She held out one last one in case they were interested. “In fact, it kind of matches your skin.”
“I was thinking more along the line of Cheetos,” teased Taylor. “Seriously, have you guys looked in the mirror lately?”
Eliza narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but thanks for reminding us. I’ve already put my lawyer onto it. A certain day spa is going to be served shortly.”
“What happened?” asked Rhiannon.
“It was her idea.” Casey jerked her thumb toward Eliza.
“I’ve had lots of spray-on tans.” Eliza shrugged. “It’s never been a big deal.”
“Until now.” DJ just shook her head.
“But HOW did it happen?” persisted Rhiannon. “How did you both end up looking like tangerines?”
“This idiot girl claimed she knew what she was doing.” Casey rolled her eyes. “She looked like she was about twelve and she was running the tanning section. She happily agreed to let us both get sprayed at the same time—too bad I didn’t wait to see how Eliza looked first.”
“So we picked the color we wanted—Malibu Gold,” Eliza continued. “And this devil child punched the supposed formula into the computer. Then we went into the booths and got sprayed.”
“What will you do about the photo shoot?” asked the ever practical Rhiannon.
“We’re working on it.” Eliza grimaced as she held up a glitzy pink bag. “These products are supposed to help.”
“Are you still planning on having the guys for dinner tonight?”
“I already ordered the food and called Lane,” Eliza said quickly. “But I’m thinking of canceling.”
To her surprise, DJ actually felt sorry for the two orange girls. “Maybe we can help put things together for you tonight,” she said suddenly.
“While you two are exfoliating,” added Taylor.
“Do you think it would help to soak in the pool?” offered Rhiannon. “I mean, before you exfoliate or whatever it is you’re going to do?”
“What about the ocean?” suggested DJ. She wanted to add “so you don’t leave an orange ring around the pool,” but thought better or if. “Maybe the wave action and salt water can help remove the dye—kind of like a washing machine.”
“Maybe.” Eliza nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“Anyway, we’ll do whatever we can to help,” Rhiannon assured them.
“Thanks.” Now Eliza almost smiled.
“Yeah, thanks.” Casey actually seemed grateful.
“I’m sure it’ll come off,” DJ called out as the two walked away.
“I hope you’re right,” said Taylor. “That could really mess up the photo shoot.”
“What if Josie makes us pay her back for the airfare and everything?” Rhiannon looked seriously worried now. “I mean, I’ve saved up some money for school, but that would wipe it out.”
“We’ll figure out something,” Taylor said with confidence. “One way or another, we’ll get those girls looking photo-worthy by Tuesday. If nothing else, we could get some bronzer and their skin could be as dark as mine.”
“And Rhiannon and I will look like albinos next to you guys,” said DJ.
“And now that we offered to help with dinner, I insist we get some down time before it’s time for KP,” said Taylor. “I’m heading back to the house.”
No one argued. But once they were back, DJ felt restless, and since it was daylight and the pool was open, she decided to swim laps. After that, she fell asleep in the sun and when she woke up, she realized she’d forgotten the sunscreen. Still, it wasn’t like she was seriously burnt. Just a little pink.
Of course, that pink got brighter as evening came. And when Grandmother saw DJ arranging things on the patio table, she let out a little cry.
DJ nearly dropped the stack of plates. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Desiree, I thought I told you to use sunscreen!”
“And I thought you’d agreed to call me DJ, Grandmother. Remember?”
Grandmother pressed her forefinger onto DJ’s arm, releasing it to expose a white spot. “You are burnt to a crisp, child!”
“It’ll turn into a tan in a day or two,” DJ assured her. “It always does.”
“And I already lathered her up in a special Aloe Vera after-sun product,” Taylor said as she set some glasses on the table. “I promise you, she’ll look great by Tuesday.”
“I certainly hope so. It’s bad enough that we’ve come here one girl short. But if we show up with DJ looking like a cooked crab, we could be in trouble.”
“Speaking of seafood, Mrs. Carter…” Taylor glanced at DJ. “You haven’t seen Eliza and Casey, have you?”
Grandmother frowned. “I was just about to ask why you girls were getting things ready for dinner. I thought Eliza was seeing to it.”
“We’re helping,” DJ said quickly.
“And what time is dinner?” Grandmother asked.
“Eliza said the guys should be here by seven thirty.”
“Seems she should be here then.” Grandmother pointed to the oversized clock. “It’s past seven now. Where is that girl?”
“Actually, I think Eliza and Casey are here,” Rhiannon said cautiously.
“Really?” Grandmother looked perplexed. “Then where are they?”
“I just heard them going into their room. I, uh, I think they’re getting ready.”
“Well, I have the utmost respect for primping and looking one’s best, but those girls should be in here helping too.” Grandmother strode off toward the direction of their room on the other side of the house.
“Oh no,” said Rhiannon. “I guess I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”
“She’s going to see them anyway,” DJ pointed out.
“And maybe they’re—” Taylor’s voice was drowned out by the sound of Grandmother’s high-pitched scream.
“Do you think I should call 911?” asked DJ. She was only partly kidding.
“Let’s go make sure she hasn’t had a stroke.”
All three of them raced toward Eliza and Casey’s room. And there, supporting herself with both hands in the open doorway with her jaw hanging down, stood Grandmother. And in front of her were the two orange girls in their bikinis. In fact, they seemed even oranger now than they’d been previously.
Eliza was talking fast, explaining the day spa, the spray paint, the wrong formula, and how they were going to be sued by the Wiltons’ attorney.
“They should be sued,” agreed Grandmother, “but that doesn’t help us now.”
“We have some product here.” Eliza held up a bottle. “But we thought it would help to swim in the ocean first, so that’s where we’ve been.”
“Yes,” Casey said quickly. “DJ suggested it and it seemed to make sense.”
“Salt water?” Grandmother rubbed her chin. “Yes, as I recall salt water was good for…good for setting dye!”
“Sett
ing dye?”
Grandmother turned to DJ now. “Did you tell them that on purpose?”
“So the dye would be set?” DJ shook her head. “No, of course not! I just thought tumbling around in the ocean would help to wear it off. My swimsuits always seem to fade after being in the ocean—or maybe it’s the pool.”
“Well, I remember when I was a little girl and if my mother dyed something, like cloth or Easter eggs, she seemed to add salt to set it.”
“Fantastic.” Eliza drew in a sharp breath and made a fist.
Both Eliza and Casey were glaring at DJ now. “Honestly,” she told them. “I had no idea. I mean, I don’t even take chemistry. And it just seemed like—”
“Get out of here!” screamed Eliza.
“Well!” Grandmother stepped back.
“I don’t mean you, Mrs. Carter.” Eliza spoke between her teeth. “But your granddaughter is not welcome!”
DJ backed away just as Eliza slammed the door. Grandmother remained in the room and seemed to be trying to console the girls, not that it was helping.
“Suddenly this is my fault?” DJ peered at Taylor and Rhiannon. “Now I’m the bad guy just because I suggested a dip in the ocean might help?”
“Who knows?” said Taylor. “They might’ve turned green if they’d gone into the pool.”
“Don’t take it personally, DJ.” Rhiannon patted her gently on the back. “They’re the ones who got sprayed orange.”
“I know.” But even as she said this, she did feel a little responsible. For a brief moment it had seemed like all five of them were starting to get along, like maybe this was actually going to be a fun week. Oh, why hadn’t she just kept her big mouth shut?
12
Eliza and Casey came to dinner wearing long sleeves and long pants and heavy foundation. The guys had already arrived and everyone was out on the patio, with some already eating while others were filling their plates at the buffet table that Taylor, DJ, and Rhiannon had arranged.
“About time the hostess arrived,” teased Lane as Eliza stepped onto the patio. “I thought you were the one who invited me to dinner and you don’t even show up.”
“Sorry, Casey and I had some—uh—”
“This Greek food is killer, Eliza,” said Taylor quickly. “What a great restaurant find.”
“Yeah,” agreed DJ. “You and Casey better get some of that grape leaf salad stuff before it disappears.” She shoved plates at the two girls. “We purposely kept the lights dim out here,” she whispered to them. “You both look almost natural.”
“Thanks a lot,” Eliza hissed quietly.
“By the way,” DJ said, “I did some quick research on the general’s computer and salt does NOT set dye.”
“Set dye?” Lane had obviously been trying to eavesdrop.
“We were talking about tie-dye,” Taylor said quickly.
“And salt doesn’t help it much,” added DJ.
“Oh, I’m so relieved,” said Eliza sarcastically.
Lane laughed. “You girls are so funny.”
“Speaking of funny, there’s that nasty security guard,” Taylor said quietly as she nodded toward the pool. “I thought maybe he’d be fired by now.”
“Ho-ho…a nasty security guard?” Harry’s brows lifted with interest as he glanced over to the pool area. “What does he do that’s so nasty?”
So, to distract the others from Eliza and Casey’s situation, DJ launched into the story of how she and Taylor got caught using the pool after hours.
“And then the perv tries to pull DJ out of the pool,” Taylor added.
“What’s so perverted about that?” asked Lane.
Taylor laughed and looked around as if trying to see who was listening then she lowered her voice. “Just the fact that we were skinny dipping.”
DJ looked to see if Grandmother was within earshot. Thankfully, she’d gone back into the house.
“Skinny dipping?” cried Eliza. “You never told us that part of the story.”
“And don’t go and tell Mrs. Carter either,” Taylor warned her. “Because when it comes to telling secrets, we’ve got plenty of dirt on you, girlfriend.”
Eliza laughed. “Why would I tell Mrs. Carter?” She turned to DJ now. “I cannot believe Miss Goody-Two-Shoes went skinny dipping.”
Lane nudged Harry and grinned. “Looks like we guys came a day late.”
DJ knew her face was red, but hoped it just blended with her sunburn. Still, she wanted to change to a more comfortable subject. “Hey, are any of you guys into surfing?” she said loudly. “Because I can’t get any of these girlie girls to hang ten with me.”
“You’re a surfer?” Lane’s eyes lit up. “No way!”
“Hey, I grew up in Southern California,” she tossed back. “It’s been awhile, but I think I can remember how to do it.”
“Is there a rental shop around?”
“Less than a mile from here.”
“I’m in,” he said. “How about tomorrow?”
“Works for me.” She turned to the other guys now. “Any other surfer dudes wanna come?”
“I’d give it a try,” said Seth. “It’s probably kind of like snow-boarding, right?”
“Absolutely,” said DJ. “Only wetter.” She looked at Casey now. “You used to surf, Case. How about—”
“I don’t think so,” Casey said in an icy tone.
Then DJ remembered the dye job. Still, was Casey going to let that ruin her fun?
“I’d like to try surfing,” said Bradford. He glanced at Rhiannon. “How about you?”
She gave him a half smile. “Remember, I can’t even swim very well.”
“You should learn,” DJ told her. “Maybe I can give you lessons in the pool while we’re here.”
Rhiannon actually looked interested. “Yeah, maybe…”
“Why wait for lessons?” said Bradford as he grabbed Rhiannon and picked her up, carrying her over to the pool like he was going to dump her.
Rhiannon started to squeal and DJ ran over to help. “You’re not really going to drop her, are you?” she asked Bradford. The next thing she knew, someone had his arms around her. She turned to see it was Lane. And suddenly all the guys were grabbing girls and within minutes everyone was in the pool. DJ didn’t really mind since she had her swimsuit on beneath her shorts anyway. But Eliza and Casey were furious.
“Thanks a lot!” Eliza snarled at Lane as she pulled her soggy self out of the pool. But her velour warm-up pants were so soaked that they’d slipped down to expose a big patch of orange skin.
“Hey,” said Lane. “You’re turning orange, Eliza.”
“So is Casey,” called out Bradford. “What’s up with you two?”
“They got into some bad tanning dye,” DJ explained quickly.
“Thanks for telling the world,” snapped Eliza. She turned and glared at DJ. But what she didn’t know was that her makeup was now dripping down in stripes and looked hilarious.
“Hey, Tiger Woman,” called out Lane. “You’re looking mighty fierce.”
“Their faces are striped,” hooted Seth. “Is it Halloween?”
Both Casey and Eliza turned their backs and slosh-marched back toward the house while everyone else laughed loudly.
“Don’t give them too bad of a time,” DJ said between giggles. “They’ve had a hard day.”
But as the rest of them sat around in damp clothes, continuing to eat and talk and laugh, Casey and Eliza didn’t return. DJ suspected they were in their room pouting—or perhaps exfoliating. She never would’ve guessed they were drinking.
DJ had been so relieved to see the guys arriving at the party without alcohol, either on them or on their breath. It had almost given her hope. That is, until she went in to tell Eliza and Casey good night as well as to apologize and perhaps convince Casey to come surfing with them tomorrow.
“Don’tcha believe in knocking?” Eliza said to her in a slurred voice as she hid something in the bathroom.
“
I did knock,” DJ told her.
“We didn’t hear you,” Casey shot back at her.
“Then turn down the TV,” DJ told her. She went closer to see what was in Casey’s glass, but the smell was her tip off. “You guys are drinking!” she exclaimed.
Casey just shrugged.
“Do you not remember what my grandmother said?”
“Who cares?” Eliza shot back. “It’s not like we’re going to have any fun anyway. Just look at us.” She stood in front of the closet mirror and looked like she was about to start crying again.
“I read online that spray-on tans should start to fade within a few days,” DJ told her.
“In the meantime, I can be found right here,” Eliza said sadly.
“Maybe this is your chance to see that life isn’t just about how you look,” DJ told her.
Eliza actually laughed. “Yeah, right!”
“Seriously,” persisted DJ. “What if you got in an accident and suddenly lost your looks?”
“I have been in an accident,” she protested. “A spraying accident.”
“Do you know how many girls would happily trade their looks for yours, Eliza?” DJ stepped over and looked her square in the eyes. “Orange skin and all?”
Eliza just shrugged.
“You take it all for granted too,” DJ continued. “But maybe this is your opportunity to think about the inner Eliza—look beyond your appearance for a change.” Now DJ turned to Casey. “And what about you?”
“What about me?” Casey held up her glass to the light and studied it.
“You were never like this.”
“Like what?”
“So into your looks.”
“People change.” She narrowed her eyes at DJ now. “Take you for instance, DJ. You’ve changed.”
“How?”
“You used to be a loyal friend.”
“Used to?”
“Yeah…then it’s like you’re only loyal to Taylor.”
DJ didn’t know what to say.
“And I know why,” Casey continued. “It’s because you’re just as shallow as the rest of them. Taylor is beautiful and you like being with the beautiful people. Well, maybe that’s what I’m doing too.”
Eliza held up her hands hopelessly. “The beautiful ORANGE people.”
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