That was the summer I went to Malibu, California.
**
�Are we there yet?�
Summer Quinn rolled her eyes and looked at the petulant blonde who sat with her head back against the car seat, a scarf draped dramatically over her eyes.
�We are,� Talisa Burrows called from the front seat.
The blonde, Dian Waters, pulled the scarf off her face ands at up, eyes roaming the views outside the car.
�This is amazing,� Talisa said softly, as their rental car climbed the driveway leading to their oasis for the next three weeks.
Dian nodded enthusiastically. �It�s beautiful. There must be a million good looking guys around.�
Summer rolled her eyes again and turned her attention out the window. She had to admit, the grounds of La Casa More, in Malibu, California, was certainly gorgeous. There seemed to be endless green grass, dotted with people lapping up the sun�s ray, or playing badminton. For as far as the eye could see, there was blue sky and wisps of cloud.
�I�ll run into reception,� Summer�s twin sister, Kylin offered, as they stopped in the car park.
�Good,� Delle Spicer groaned, putting the car in park. �All that driving has made me tired.�
Kylin grinned. �You drove from the airport that was like, 20 minutes away.� She threw Delle a look before getting out of the backseat and strode towards the building.
Summer fidgeted nervously in the backseat. She hated to be left alone with her sister�s friends. It wasn�t bad enough that they didn�t hide their distaste for her, they had to openly complain when Summer�s mother insisted Kylin bring her sister or she didn�t get to go.
It was no secret that Kylin and her friends weren�t exactly completely thrilled by the idea.
But like Kylin had said, �bring the geek or I don�t get to go.�
Summer sighed and made herself look back out the window, where bellhops ran between cars, carrying suitcases and directing guests.
When Summer had first heard of the idea of spending a month at a spa in California, it had immediately appealed to her. But the last thing she was going to do was admit that to her sister.
Her sister, who was 4 minutes older (but acted four years younger) than Summer, and was her complete polar opposite. From their favourite type of music down to their favourite places to shop, the two girls had separate opinions. Which always appealed to Summer. And to Kylin, too. She always used to say how thankful she was that she and Summer didn�t look alike.
That way, she could move out and pretend she didn�t have a sister at all, let alone a twin.
So when Kylin had been threatened into taking her sister along to California, for a post-Graduation holiday, Summer had grudgingly agreed to go, even though the whole time, the idea of spending time with her twin was actually appealing.
Summer didn�t have much more time to ponder how she�d spend her time at the spa before Kylin returned, brandishing a shiny brass key.
�They said take this road and it�s the first left,� Kylin instructed Delle, who started the car up and followed the directions.
The car bumped up the road, and Delle turned left.
�Stop at number 3,� Kylin offered, and Delle did as she was told, pulling into the cobble driveway to a huge cabin.
�Wow,� Talisa said, obviously impressed.
�Wow indeed,� Dian agreed from beside Summer.
They slid out of the car and stretched their legs before grabbing their bags out of the trunk.
�Don�t they have, like, a bellhop to do that?� Delle asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust as Summer reached in and grabbed her duffel.
�Surely carrying your own bags won�t kill you, Delle,� Talisa teased, sliding her Louis Vuttion satchel up onto her shoulder.
�Whatever,� Delle grumbled before pushing Summer out of the way to get her own things.
Summer watched as Delle stomped into the house, much how a child would. She wasn�t paying attention as she lifted her suitcase, and hit someone with it.
�Summer!� Kylin cried as the suitcase nearly knocked her over. �God, do you think you could watch what you�re doing?�
�Sorry,� Summer mumbled, a blush creeping into her cheeks.
�So you should be!� Dian apprehended, pushing her Gucci sunglasses up her nose in disgust.
Summer quickly grabbed the rest of her stuff and moved into the cabin.
She dropped her luggage in the living room. No point in picking a room just yet, she would be undoubtedly kicked out by one of Kylin�s friends or Kylin herself.
�Just so you know, I refuse to room with your sister,� Talisa muttered as she, Kylin and Dian entered the cabin.
�It�s Dian and I in one room, Talisa and Delle in the other, and Summer,� Kylin turned to her sister. �You�re on your own.�
Like usual, Summer wanted to retort, but instead just ferried her stuff into the bedroom towards the back of the cabin, the one with a little deck with stairs that reached down to the green lawn.
Across the yard, Summer could see the restaurants and swimming pools. She couldn�t wait to explore and get away from her sister and her evil friends.
She unpacked quickly, shoving her clothes into the dresser drawers, before changing from her jeans and t-shirt into a more comfortable outfit of tennis shorts and a sweater.
The sun had begun to dip beneath the clouds and a crisp breeze floated in through Summer�s door.
She pulled on her tennis shoes and pushed her medium length dark hair behind her ears.
Summer shoved some money in her pocket and left her room.
�Where are you going?� Kylin demanded from the couch, where she sat next to Delle.
�For a walk,� Summer responded, shifting from foot to foot as the four girls scrutinised her.
�Where?� Talisa asked, crossing her long tan legs beneath her.
�Around.�
Summer didn�t wait for any more questions to be thrown her way, before she escaped through the front door, making her way to the back of the house and across the sprawling green lawns, where just a few people still were, soaking up the last few rays the sun provided.
She made her way up the hill on the other side and had a look around the buildings. Most of them were massage rooms, not restaurants like she�d previously thought. Summer took time to look around.
This must be the main part, she thought to herself as she looked around. Four big buildings stood like a fortress on top of a little hill that led down to a placid looking lake. Lush forests on either side surrounded the lake, and Summer could see little log cabins tucked into pockets of greenery on the banks of the lake.
The centre of the resort was a hub of activity. Couples dressed in evening wear made their way to dinner, and mothers tried to coax their children off the sand beside the water. A group of teenagers occupied some lounge chairs by a bar, and they were laughing amongst each other.
Summer found a seat in the courtyard and watched as the sun finally dipped beneath the mountains in the distance, plunging La Casa More into twilight. Summer shivered in delight as the dark surrounded her.
She was tempted to just sit there until the cold got to her, but she realised that wouldn�t be an option, because she heard Dian�s laugh float across the courtyard.
Sure enough, the four of them appeared between the buildings, headed for dinner.
�You eaten?� Kylin asked Summer as they passed her.
�No.�
�Well�come on, then.�
Summer was taken aback by Kylin�s offer, but stood and brushed off her shorts and followed the girls as they headed to a chic caf� at the end of the semi-boardwalk.
She followed behind them, as not to get in the way, and as they reached the entry, and Kylin talked to the maitre d, Summer noticed a boy, well, a man, really, striding purposely across the courtyard, headed for her.
He didn�t stop, just continued past Summer. She watched him walk away, and noticed how his black t-shirt clung to his arms tightly, sculpting the muscle there. His jeans fit snugly on his long legs, and Summer briefly wondered if he was a football player.
She watched him until she could just make out his shape. Her heat beat fast, and her palms were sweaty, and she realised she couldn�t wait until she saw the mystery man again.
**
Later that evening, as Summer was lying on her bed, reading one of the many novels she�d bought, her thoughts drifted back to the stranger she�d seen that night.
What was it about him that drew her to him?
Was it the effortless way he strode across the wooden walkway, intent on getting to where he was headed? Or was it the mystery that surrounded him?
Summer had no idea, all she knew was that she wanted to see him again.
She rolled over to look out the door, over the yard shrouded in darkness. It was getting late, nearly 11, but still, she couldn�t bring herself to try and sleep. Maybe because it was a new bed, different surroundings, and the fact that the air didn�t smell as natural as it did in Buffalo.
Summer could faintly hear music coming from a building that was separate from the main area of the resort.
Curiosity got the better of her, and Summer got off her bed, and went out onto the staircase behind the cabin. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness before she looked around, finally locating the double story building tucked up in the green forests about 500 meters from the main lodging.
Lights shone from its windows, and Summer could only faintly see people moving around inside.
Her eyes flicked back to the partially read novel on her bed, and then back to the brightly lit building. Normally, she would�ve shut the door and settled back down to read the rest of her book, but for some reason, Summer shoved her feet into her shoes and let herself out the back door, and descended her private staircase.
She began the slow walk towards the building, her hands stuff deeply into the pockets of her shorts, and humming to herself to keep fear from edging up on her.
�It�s not that dark, it�s not that dark,� she whispered to herself as she reached the bottom of the steep walkway that led to the building.
The music was louder now, and Summer could identify the textured salsa beat. It seemed to beckon to her, to lure her up to the rumbling drumbeat, and the flavoured feel of the music.
She began to climb the wooden staircase, letting the music pull her in.
The double doors to the rec hall stood open, displaying maybe fifteen couples, all dancing to the music that pounded from huge speakers set up against the opposite wall. The people were pressed close together, dancing, rubbing up against each other.
Summer paused, watching a couple as they grinded against one another in time to the music, which had turned from upbeat salsa to a low gravely soul song.
She moved tentatively into the room. Not one of the couples looked at her as she hedged her way around the dance floor. She perched on one of the old bar stools that sat beside a bar, and let her eyes travel over the writhing bodies.
There was something instantly hypnotic about the way the couples moved, almost as if they were one person instead of two.
Summer hooked her hair behind her ears and let her dark brown eyes travel over the room. It was old, and all the furniture (rather, what furniture there was) was pushed up against the far wall, chair stacked atop each other, to no doubt create more room for the couples to dance.
A bar was set up against the back wall beside the speakers, but no one tended to it. Rock memorabilia covered the walls, everything from block-mounted posters of Elvis, to an old acoustic guitar, minus its strings.
A disco ball hung from the ceiling, and coloured fairy lights were strung up around the room.
Summer smiled as the song changed again, launching into an old 80�s song. The crowd seemed to come alive as the loud pumping bass filled the room, and many of the couples parted, dancing as two or three small groups. A few people took their opportunity to sit on the floor, to take time out from the rigorous dancing.
Summer�s breath hitched in her throat as she spotted the mysterious stranger across the room, laughing with a tall red head. He was still wearing his jeans and black t-shirt, and his light-brown hair was matted to the back of his neck by sweat.
He swatted another guy on the shoulder, and they cracked up. One of the girls in their little group was suddenly pointing at her, and all of a sudden, the stranger and two other guys were walking towards her.
Summer made a move to get up, but was too slow. As she turned around, she was faced with the mysterious guy�s beautiful deep blue eyes.
�Who are you?� he demanded.
Summer faulted. �Uh�Summer Quinn.�
�Are you a guest?�
She nodded, hoping that her legs would hold her up.
�How did you get here?� he asked, wiping his face on the back of his arm.
�Walked.�
�It�s employees only.�
A blush crept up Summer�s cheeks, and she looked around, desperately hoping the floor would open her up and swallow her whole. �I�m so-sorry,� she stammered.
�It�s no problem,� said a guy to the stranger�s left. �We need to put up a sign.�
�I�ll just go,� Summer said.
�You might as well stay,� the guy said. �I�m Jamie, by the way. This is Noah,� Jamie introduced, pointing to the other guy. �And this is Alex.�
Finally, the stranger had a name.
�Hi,� Summer said softly.
�You dancing?� Alex asked suddenly, his blue eyes focused on her face intently.
�Uh, no,� she said softly.
�You should,� Jamie put in. �Alex here is the resort�s instructor.�
�I can�t dance,� Summer objected feebly. �I mean, I can barely walk sometimes.�
�You should sign up for lessons, then,� Jamie suggested.
Summer already wanted to tell Jamie to get lost.
�Maybe,� Summer considered.
�See you around,� Alex said suddenly, nodding to Noah and Jamie and then, they walked away.
Summer stood still for a moment, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
As the song changed again, she got her bearings and hurried out of the rec hall, half stumbling down the stairs, and broke into a run back towards her cabin.
She climbed the stairs to her room two at a time, sinking down onto the top step.
�Alex,� she mused softly.
Her head filled with thoughts of Alex, his light hair and piercing blue eyes. The way his arms looked in that black t-shirt.
�Dance lessons�� she whispered. �We�ll see��
