Free The Resort by Bentley Little Page A

held out hope that she lived somewhere near him, that they’d hit it off here at the resort and go back home as boyfriend and girlfriend. Curtis would laugh outrageously if he knew his brother had such sappy thoughts, and David most certainly would too, but Owen couldn’t help it.
    â€œTucson,” David said, tugging at his earring. “I’m a local boy.”
    â€œWe’re from California,” Curtis offered.
    â€œMe too! Where?”
    Owen’s heart speeded up. “Brea.”
    â€œFountain Valley! We’re practically neighbors!”
    He had a chance. Fountain Valley was at the opposite end of Orange County and still seemed pretty far to him, but he’d be getting his learner’s permit in five months, be able to drive in a year and a half, and then the distance wouldn’t matter. He felt absurdly elated, and he vowed to do everything he could to get to know this girl. It might lead nowhere—she was definitely out of his league and would probably discover that in about a minute—but his vacation suddenly seemed about a thousand times better.
    â€œHow long are you staying?” he asked her.
    â€œFive nights.”
    Five nights. The same as them. The same as David. Something about that made him feel vaguely curious about the coincidence, but overriding that was the exciting realization that they’d all be here together for several more days. It seemed too good to be true.
    â€œYou hear about the dive-in movie?” David asked.
    Brenda shook her head.
    â€œSaturday night. They’re going to drop a screen over the area where the waterfall is and let people watch the movie while they swim or float on rafts or just sit on the edge with their feet in the water. Sounds pretty cool.”
    â€œWe’ll be there,” Owen offered.
    â€œWhat’s the movie?” she asked.
    â€œI don’t know. Some old family flick. Toy Story or something. I don’t know. But it’ll be kind of fun just to hang out in the pool, watch the movie.” He grinned. “Snorkle between people and scare them. Pull down their bathing suits.”
    Brenda laughed. “ I’ll be there.” Under the cover of bubbles, she put her hand on Owen’s thigh, gave his leg a small squeeze.
    Shit like this didn’t happen to him.
    The pool area was really crowded now. There were long lines at the snack bar and the raft booth, and all of the chairs and tables seemed to be taken. Several parents had put down blankets on the cement for their kids to lay out on. So many people were clustered in the shallow end of the water that a young girl, apparently lost and confused, paddled around in a circle crying. From somewhere within the cacophonous din of the crowd, they all heard a faint voice call out, “Brenda!”
    Brenda stood. “I have to go. My dad’s calling me.”
    â€œUh, nice to meet you,” Owen said awkwardly.
    â€œI’m busy this afternoon, but why don’t we meet out here tonight,” she said. “About nine?”
    â€œWhere?” Curtis asked.
    â€œRight here. At the Jacuzzi.”
    It would be tough to get out, and they’d have to come up with something pretty damn good to convince their mom that they should be allowed to roam around the resort by themselves after dark, but one look at Brenda’s warm inviting smile made Owen realize that, whatever it took, he would do it. He thought of her hand squeezing his leg and imagined what might happen under the cover of darkness. “We’ll be here,” he said.
    Involuntarily, he glanced over at the big pool. A father waited in front of the slide for his little boy to come down. His heart skipped in his chest. What would that shape on the pool floor look like at night? Would it appear as benign as it did now? Or would the heft return, the sense of three-dimensionality?
    He pushed the thought from his mind, focused on Brenda.
    She smiled at him. “See