Free The Resort by Bentley Little

day.”
    â€œSon of a bitch,” David said.
    Curtis laughed, swimming up. “Works every time.”
    â€œYou win,” David admitted. “You have mad skills, man.” He looked at Owen. “What were you going to do?”
    Owen shrugged. “Wave my weenie at the crowd.”
    â€œBrought a pair of tweezers along, did you?”
    â€œYou’re thinking of my brother.”
    Curtis splashed him. “Loser.”
    â€œTen o’clock,” David said under his breath.
    Owen and Curtis casually turned their heads; Owen to the left, Curtis to the right. A good-looking girl of approximately their own age was walking lazily toward them through the shallow water, using her arms to help propel her forward.
    â€œBreast stroke,” David muttered.
    The girl reached them and stopped, looking from one to the other before letting her gaze settle on Owen. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Brenda.”
    â€œOwen,” he managed to get out.
    â€œThese your friends?”
    â€œBrother,” Curtis said, introducing himself. “My name’s Curtis. No one calls me Curt.”
    â€œDavid,” David said suavely. “No one calls me Dave.”
    â€œYou can call me Owe if you want,” Owen said lamely.
    Brenda laughed. She had one of those inviting, infectious laughs that you usually only heard in movies or read about in books, an inclusive full-throated expression of mirth that was at once hearty and supremely feminine. “I saw you guys on the slide. What in the world were you thinking? Was that some sort of dare?”
    â€œA bet,” Curtis corrected.
    â€œA bet? What for? Money?”
    â€œNothing. It was more like a contest,” Owen explained.
    â€œWell you must’ve won. You’re the only one who didn’t completely humiliate himself.”
    â€œHe was up next,” Curtis said. “He was going to stand up there and flash the pool.”
    Brenda raised an eyebrow. “The full monty?”
    Owen reddened, splashed his brother in retaliation.
    â€œI’m sorry it didn’t get that far.”
    They let that one hang there.
    She was definitely a hottie, Owen thought. And for some ungodly reason, she seemed to have taken an interest in him. He had no idea why. Back in the real world, back at his school, none of the girls were interested in him at all. He wasn’t some freak like Kyle Hendersen, wasn’t completely ostracized and rejected by society, but he wasn’t in the winner’s circle, either. He was just part of the nameless rabble whom no one noticed and whom girls chose to ignore. Curtis, too, although at least Lisa Bowen seemed to be interested in him.
    â€œSo what are you guys doing?” Brenda asked. “Want to check out the Jacuzzi?”
    They looked at each other.
    â€œSure,” Owen said, and though he was starting to sweat just thinking about that hot water, he forced himself to smile.
    â€œAll right,” “Okay,” David and Curtis acquiesced.
    She waited for them to get out of the pool first, probably not wanting them to check out her ass as she pulled herself out of the water—or maybe wanting to check out their asses as they got out. Owen suddenly felt self-conscious, and he quickly hoisted himself onto the cement and hurried over to the Jacuzzi. David cranked up the timer and the jets kicked in just as Owen was sitting down.
    Brenda padded across the hot concrete toward them, and Owen was acutely conscious of the fact that her crotch was just about eye level. He immediately looked away, not wanting to be caught staring, and she sat down in the Jacuzzi next to him. She sat slightly closer than was polite, their thighs practically touching even though there was plenty of room for everyone.
    â€œSo where are you all from?” she asked.
    You all, Owen thought. She was probably from the South. His heart sank a little. Although he knew it was stupid and childish, he’d