Page 51 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Surprisingly, the girls were ready when I made it back downstairs. Heading down to the beach, they picked a spot about halfway between Aunt Jenny’s house and Josh’s.

Ashley’s gaze roamed the elegant lines of Josh’s house as she spread her towel out on the sand. “Do you know whose house that is? I’ve heard there are a few celebrities near here.”

I’d been prepared to tell them about Josh and our little summer romance, but that was mostly because I thought he’d be down here with us and it would’ve been obvious anyway. “I’m not sure exactly who owns it, but there are bunch of guys vacationing there at the moment.”

Sarah’s interest sparked. “Guys? How old? Are they hot?”

I felt less inclined to say too much about the guys as each moment passed. I wasn’t sure why that was, but the feeling was hard for me to ignore. I tried to laugh it off, hoping they’d just drop it. “I think so, but what would I know? I’ve been living in Africa for the last six years. I think they’re out for the day anyway.”

Ashley nodded. “Good point. They’re probably a bunch of college dropouts.”

Sarah shuddered like there wasn’t anything worse.

Stripping off my dress, I tossed it down on my towel and grabbed my water bottle. When I looked up, Ashley and Sarah were staring at me. “What?”

“Oh, nothing, honey,” Ashley said, giving me a fake smile. “You know, you could be a model if wanted to. You have the height and colors for it. You’d just need to lose a few pounds. I could help you with that if you wanted me to.”

My brain struggled to work out if she’d just insulted me or given me a compliment. I decided to just go with a response that would feed her ego. “Aww, thank you, Ashley. You’re so kind. But I don’t think I’ll ever have what it takes to do what you do.”

They both nodded, clearly agreeing with me. “It does take a lot of natural talent,” Sarah said, lying back, her perfect model body showing off a pink designer bikini that left little to the imagination.

Ashley sighed, back on her cell phone again. “I think we came a few days too late, Sarah. Apparently, Lucas Cantrell was in LA on Friday. What I wouldn’t do for five minutes with that fine specimen of a male.”

My intrigue sparked at the mention of Lucas’s name.

Sarah made a sound of horror. “Oh my God, are you kidding? I’ve been following his movements online, and there wasn’t one mention of him coming to California at all!”

I almost laughed. I knew Josh had said Lucas was pretty well known, and we’d watched one of his movies the other day, but it was kind of strange hearing Ashley and Sarah talking about him like he was this elusive superstar they’d die to spend five minutes with. I couldn’t wait to tell Josh. I was sure he’d get a kick out of it.

Sarah pulled out her cell and started searching for God knew what on it with an intensity that almost scared me.

“Oh my God,” she said, twisting around and holding her phone higher. “I’m not getting any service. How are you getting service?”

Ashley’s brow creased. “Mine just disappeared too. What the hell?”

I tried not to laugh. It

was comical to watch, really.

“Do you have service?” Sarah asked me, a slightly panicked look in her eyes.

“Uh, I left my cell in my room.”

Both girls looked at me like I’d just committed some cardinal sin. “But, how do you update your story?” Sarah asked, confused.

“Story?”

“Your Snapchat story. How do you update it if you don’t carry your cell with you?”

Her questioning confused me. Of course, I knew what Snapchat was, but I didn’t understand why she assumed I had it. “Oh, I don’t use social media.”

Ashley recoiled. “You don’t—”

“Oh my God,” Sarah said, eyes wide. “Girl, you seriously need our help. You’re no one without social media. Everyone knows that.”

This was going from bad to worse. At this rate I wasn’t sure I was going to last the day. Deciding it would be best to distract them from wanting to ‘help’ me in any way, I racked my brain for a change in topic. “So, you like Lucas Cantrell? I saw one of his movies the other day. Descended. Are his other movies any good?”

An alarm sounded from Ashley’s cell, and both girls flipped over onto their stomachs. Obviously, there was some sort of art to tanning I’d missed out on learning while I’d been in Uganda.

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