Free Island Girls (and Boys) by Rachel Hawthorne

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    ï¿½Camping, though. Don�t you get kinda yucky?� Chelsea asked.
    ï¿½Only when it doesn�t rain,� Zach said.
    Chelsea�s eyes got huge. �What?�
    Zach grinned. �When it rains, we just strip down and use nature�s shower. When it doesn�t rain, well, then we have to pay to use the man�s shower.�
    ï¿½You don�t really strip down, do you?� Chelsea asked.
    ï¿½Not where anyone can see.�
    Chelsea gave me a funny look. I couldn�t decide if she approved or not. Wasn�t certain if I did either.
    ï¿½What if you get all lathered up and it stops raining?� she asked.
    ï¿½He�s teasing you,� Dylan said. �Don�t believe anything Zach says.�
    ï¿½So what do you do?� Chelsea asked.
    ï¿½Chels, does it really matter?� I asked. �You�re never going camping.�
    ï¿½I might.�
    ï¿½Where would you plug in your curling iron?�
    ï¿½Good point.� She shrugged and returned her attention to Noah.
    I looked at Dylan. �Sorry about the third degree on your bathing habits.�
    ï¿½No big deal. You like to camp?�
    ï¿½I�ve never been camping. I�m sorta like Chelsea. I prefer modern civilization.� I held up a ketchup covered French fry to make my point.
    ï¿½We have ketchup.�
    I grinned. �And fries?�
    With his mouth, he snatched the fry frommy fingers. I just sat there, staring, watching him chew.
    ï¿½No fries,� he finally said.
    I wasn�t at all certain what had just happened, but I found myself suddenly wondering if I was getting in over my head.
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    It was late when we finally left the Surf �n Turf. We all started walking along the side of the road back to the house. We�d paired off again. Chelsea and Noah, naturally. Amy and Zach. Dylan and me.
    We�d only gone a few yards when Dylan took my hand. �Let�s walk along the beach.�
    I thought about letting Amy and Chelsea know, but they were already far ahead and busy with someone else anyway.
    Dylan didn�t wait for me to answer. He simply pulled me along between some houses. It was shadowy and dark, the houses blocking the moonlight. We walked cautiously until we reached the invisible line where houses stopped and the true beach began.
    We slipped off our shoes, rolled up our cuffs, picked up our shoes, and strolled to thewater�s edge. It was close to midnight, but I wasn�t thinking about how tired I�d be in the morning when I woke up for work. I was just thinking that I wished tonight wouldn�t have to end.
    Dylan let go of my hand, reached down, picked up a shell, and threw it into the surf. It was like he suddenly needed something to do.
    ï¿½Your friends are nice,� he said.
    ï¿½Thanks. So is Zach.�
    ï¿½So are you.�
    He looked over at me, and even though it was night, there were enough lights from the buildings, the moon, and the stars for me to see that he was studying me intently.
    ï¿½You�re nice, too.� I felt like such a dweeb. I couldn�t think of anything clever to say. And that description seemed so inadequate when applied to him.
    ï¿½Glad we agree that everyone�s nice,� he said.
    Only he was more than nice. He was sexy, and he made my heart pound every time he looked at me.
    ï¿½Why camping?� I asked.
    ï¿½Why not?�
    ï¿½Because of the whole showering in the rain thing?�
    ï¿½Hey, don�t knock it unless you�ve tried it.�
    ï¿½Have you?� I asked incredulously. �I mean really showered in the rain? You said Zach was teasing.�
    ï¿½Don�t you know that there�s some truth behind all teasing?�
    ï¿½So you have showered in the rain?�
    ï¿½Maybe.�
    Mr. Mysterious started walking along the shore. I fell into step beside him. The warm water washed over our feet. There was a light