Page 14 of Firecracker

Tiffany appeared to be about sixteen years old. She had to be of legal drinking age though.

“That’s so cute,” Mila said to Tiffany. “Your bathing suit is Tiffany blue.”

“I know!” Tiffany giggled and flipped her hair. “I love Tiffany!”

Mila glanced at Arden and they shared a look of…well, Arden wasn’t sure what it was, other than the feeling she was going to get along with Mila. They smiled at each other.

“Let’s go play volleyball,” Jamie said, and they all headed to the beach.

Out on the sand, Arden followed the others. Mila dropped her cover-up to the sand and Arden slowly pulled her loose tank-style dress over her head. Even though she’d always wanted to lose ten pounds, she’d never been motivated enough to starve herself, accepting her body the way it was. Michael had liked it. She’d been healthy and strong, and that was what mattered, right? But Jamie’d teased her about losing weight, and although the last thing she’d been worried about lately was how much she weighed or how she looked, suddenly she was self-conscious.

It didn’t help that she felt Tyler’s gaze on her and wanted him to like what he saw.

That was stupid. Stupid thinking. Who cared what he thought? Who cared what anyone thought? She just wanted to have fun. So she threw herself into the volleyball game.

Even though she’d been a cheerleader, she’d enjoyed sports as a kid. Not that cheerleading wasn’t athletic. She’d totally defend it to anyone who criticized it. Her dance and gymnastics lessons had been so valuable when it came to cheerleading. But it was also fun to compete—spiking the ball, diving for it, slapping hands with her teammates (Jamie and Tiffany), and groaning when the other team made a great serve.

None of them were especially great players, although she couldn’t help but watch Tyler as he moved. He was in great shape. When he took off his shirt, she was so distracted she let the ball land in the sand at her feet. Oops.

“Sorry!” she called to her teammates, grabbing the ball to throw it back to Tyler to serve.

Luckily it was all in fun, and after an hour they were hot and sweaty and panting.

“Who’s coming in the water?” Jamie called, heading toward the lake.

“Me!” Mila followed, along with Tyler and Arden too. A dip in cool water sounded like heaven.

Tiffany and Norton elected to go back to the bar.

“Order us another round, Norton,” Tyler called to him.

They waded in. Cold water swirled around Arden’s calves. Children played and splashed nearby. Jamie and Tyler both ran in and dove into the water, making Mila and Arden laugh.

“Come on in, girls!” Jamie called to them, his dark hair streaming water. He disappeared into the water again.

“I’ll just take my time,” Arden said to Mila.

“Me too.” Mila swirled her hands in the water. “What a great day.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you for including me.”

“Of course! Now you’re here, you’re one of us.”

Oh hell. Arden’s eyes prickled. She and Michael had had a circle of friends in Phoenix, but she’d always been aware they were Michael’s friends—teammates, business associates, and their wives and girlfriends. And they’d faded away after Michael’s death. Only now was she realizing how lonely she’d been.

She wasn’t going to cry. So she too dove into the water, immersing herself in the coolness, letting it wash away the lone tear that escaped. She popped above the surface, laughing. “Oh wow, that’s cold!”

“You’ll get used to it, you baby,” Jamie said. He started wading toward Mila with an intent look on his face. “Mila needs to get wet.”

“No!” Mila tried to back away, but Jamie was faster, grabbing her, picking her up, and tossing her. She landed with a huge splash and a scream. When she emerged, she yelled, “You asshole!” But she was grinning.

“Watch your language. There are children nearby,” Jamie said with an unrepentant grin.

They swam around for a while, then Tyler said to Jamie, “You better get back. Norton’s probably putting the moves on Tiffany. You could lose out.”

“Ha.”

“Well,I’mready for a drink,” Mila said. “Let’s go.”

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