Free Spring Fling by Sabrina James

going to say. Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.

    “I want to go out with him.”

    She said it!

    “And you‟re going to make it happen!”

    Mindy knew there was no way she‟d be able to tell Wanda what she‟d told Vivienne and Lacey. No way. Wanda wanted a date with Damian, and she expected Mindy to deliver a date with Damian.

    No matter what.

    Mindy gave Wanda a huge smile. “Absolutely!”

    After Wanda left, Mindy tried not to panic. She had to think of the positives and not the negatives. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for. If she came through on what she had promised, she would be in with the Princess Posse.

    There was only one problem.

    Wanda, Lacey, and Vivienne all wanted a date with Damian.

    And Damian was only one guy!

    How was she going to pull this off?

    Unless…

    Unless she did a group date. Yes! A group date. That way, they all got to spend time with Damian, and Damian got to know them. Hopefully, he‟d click with one of the girls, and Mindy would be off the hook.

    Mindy jumped off her chaise lounge and searched for Damian. Where was he?

    “Looking for me?”

    Mindy stared into the pool and saw Damian floating on his back, wearing only a pair of neon blue swim trunks.

    He looked good without his T-shirt on.

    Very good.

    Mindy forced her eyes to move from his chest up to his face and found that equally distracting.

    Focus. Must focus! My social life is at stake!

    “Why don‟t you come out of the pool so we can talk?” she suggested.

    Damian swam over to the side of the pool and pulled himself out, shaking himself off and scattering droplets of water everywhere.

    “Ick!” Mindy screamed. “You‟re getting me all wet!”

    “Stop being such a girl!” Damian teased, flicking some more water at her.

    “I am a girl!”

    “And a very pretty one,” Damian said.

    It was nice to hear the words, but Mindy wasn‟t gullible. She had a feeling that Damian was always saying things like that to girls. He was definitely a flirt. He knew what to say and do to make a girl feel special.

    “Where‟ve you been hiding all these years?” he asked. “North Ridge isn‟t such a huge town.”

    “Maybe I haven‟t been hiding. Maybe you‟ve been too busy dating to think about some girl you went to junior high with.”

    Damian shrugged. “I do have a busy social life.”

    I’ll bet , Mindy thought. Damian was probably South Ridge High‟s biggest heartbreaker.

    “Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Mindy asked. “I thought if you didn‟t have plans, you might want to go to the beach.”

    “Just you and me?”

    “And my friends.”

    Damian shook his head. “Two‟s company and five‟s a crowd.”

    “Come on!” Mindy pleaded. “It‟ll be fun.” He had to say yes. If he didn‟t, she didn‟t know what she would do! “Please? I really would like to spend some time with you.”

    “I‟ll go to the beach with you and your friends tomorrow, but only if we can sneak off and spend some time alone,” Damian shot back. “So we can catch up with each other.” Mindy knew if the other girls found out, they‟d go ballistic. But that didn‟t mean they had to find out…

    And it wasn‟t like she and Damian would be going out on a date.

    They would be two old friends getting together and catching up.

    She didn‟t have anything to feel guilty about.

    The words slipped out before she could stop them. “It‟s a deal!” Danielle gazed longingly at the sparerib Ethan was gnawing on. It looked so yummy, slathered with barbecue sauce. Not to mention the corn on the cob oozing with melted butter on his plate.

    “These ribs are delicious,” Ethan said, licking his fingers. “Are you sure you don‟t want some?”

    “I‟m fine with my salad,” Danielle said, holding up a forkful of tomatoes and greens.

    She really did want some spareribs and corn on the cob, but she couldn‟t eat them tonight. They were too messy. She could wind up