Free Beach Lane by Melissa de La Cruz

into the SUV and Poppy started poking at the GPS screen. “I can never figure this thing out,” she muttered to herself just as Justin came blaring through the speakers. Sugar had dated him for a minute, and she liked to say this song was for her, even if it wasn’t true. Sugar stuck her hands through the sunroof and whooped loudly as they made their big exit.
    “That was fun!” Eliza yelled over “Rock Your Body,” feeling drunk and giddy and happy to be back. After spending the spring locked in her room because she couldn’t bear another cold night in a wet field drinking Natty Light—the only thing that passed for a social life in Buffalo—Eliza finally felt like her old self again.
    “That place was great!” she said.
    “Are you serious? It was packed with nobodies.” Poppy sniffed.
    “Did you see that troll in last-season’s Gucci?” Sugar agreed. “Totally D-list.”
    Eliza surreptitiously tugged on her not-exactly-new mini. She vowed to hit the shops as soon as she got her fat cash-filled envelope in three weeks.
    “So, what are we going to wear to P. Diddy’s party?” Poppy asked, zooming past a stop sign. “Oberon said it’s strictly red, white, and blue attire only.”
    “That’s so corny.” Sugar yawned.
    “It’s at the PlayStation2 House, isn’t it?” Eliza added.
    “Isn’t that the place where J.Lo had her birthday party last week?” Sugar mused. “I don’t think it’s even open to the public.”
    “Apparently even Brad and Jen RSPV’d.”
    “Awesome!” Eliza leaned forward between the front seats. She was dying to see some real celebrities again. Back when she was still living on 63 rd and Park, she hardly ever noticed them. Spotting Julia Roberts hailing a taxicab or Sarah Jessica Parker pushing a stroller was just kind of the backdrop for her life. Good luck catching anyone US Weekly– worthy in Buffalo.
    “This is your street, right?” Poppy asked, pulling into a private driveway a few blocks from the club.
    “Uh . . . actually . . .”
    “You guys rented out your house?” Sugar asked, eyes wide.
    “Well . . . um . . .”
    “What’s the deal? Spit it out,” Poppy ordered.
    “I’m kind of staying with you guys,” Eliza said sheepishly.
    “What?” Poppy exclaimed as Sugar nudged her sister hard in the ribs. Sugar turned around with a sweet smile. “Excuse my sister, she doesn’t know how to mind her manners. Of course you can crash with us tonight. You can borrow something. You’re a size zero like me, right?”
    “No—it’s not that. I’m kind of . . . well . . . Kevin called my dad the other day. He asked me if I could help out Anna with the kids this summer,” Eliza finished lamely. “It’s no big deal.”
    Except that it was. The twins remembered their father telling them about the Thompsons’ troubles, not that they had paid much attention back then.
    “Oh,” Sugar said, putting two and two together.
    “Excuse me?” Poppy asked, turning around in shock. The SUV jumped over a speed bump and the three of them flew up from their seats.
    “Ow! Watch the road!” Sugar said, glaring at her sister.
    “Sorry!” Poppy said. “You’re one of the au pairs?” she asked disbelievingly, looking at Eliza in the rearview mirror.
    “Kind of,” Eliza admitted.
    There was an ominous silence.
    “Huh. Well, that’s gonna be fun, right? All three of us together again!” Sugar said cheerfully.
    The SUV pulled up to the Perry homestead. Poppy pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. “We’re home,” she said brightly
    “So, I’ll just run in and put on something patriotic and I’ll meet you guys back here?” Eliza asked, swinging her door open.
    Sugar and Poppy exchanged a quick glance.
    “You know what, I’m soooo pooped,” Sugar said, yawning.
    “Me too,” Poppy agreed. “God, it’s been a really long night.”
    “Yeah,” Eliza conceded.
    “I think we’re just going to go to bed. We have tennis really early tomorrow, right,