The Girl in the Striped Bikini

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Cale Morrison

In my family, the first full day at the beach together was a big deal.

Seriously.

My mom, being the wedding and party planner she was, didn't believe in half doing anything. My mom had always been an eccentric person, always overdoing everything she came in contact with. Before becoming a wedding planner, she put all of her energy and ideas into decorating our house, much to my fathers disapproval. He hated it when she decorated, but did little to put a stop to it. Always saying, "Maybe she'll get it out of her system this time."

Despite my fathers hopes of my mother losing interest in decorating the house, it never happened. In reality, it grew relatively grew worse. It spread like wildfire, if I'm being honest.

Along with decorating the house, she gained a new interest.

Decorating people.

Carmen and I became her Barbie and Ken dolls. Always buying us new clothes, new hairstyles, and buying Carmen new makeup. Carmen didn't complain once when this interest arose, and neither did I for the most part.

That is until she tried putting makeup on me. That was were I drew the line.

All in all, I think she redecorated our house ten times, and redecorated me and my sister countless time.

Then one day when my mothers friend, Adrianna, approached her with a new business proposal, the dust finally settled, and my father couldn't have been happier.

Time of Your Life Planning skyrocketed, in what seemed like, over night. They even had their own slogan:

Time of Your Life Planning- Have the time of your life, guaranteed!

My mother was a hit with brides-to-be all over the state of Alabama. She could now do what she does best and get paid for it, decorate people and places.

The business brought relief to our home, the decorating of the house had finally died down. That didn't save us from vacations though.

So, that's what brings me to the situation I'm in now.

Sitting on the beach. Fully dressed. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that my mom forced me to wear khaki pants. Pants. On a beach, where the temperature was in the high ninties. I could feel beads of sweat sliding down my back as I forced a smile for the overly perky photographer.

My mom had woke Carmen and I up this morning announcing that today we would be taking pictures on the beach. So, either my mom overlooked the fact that she was risking giving her husband and kids a heat stroke, or simply didn't care. Nothing could deter her from her plans for the day, not even my fathers complaints of how he wanted to relax on his vacation. Mom ignored is pouting by primping and making sure that she, and everyone else, looked perfect.

"Mom!", Carmen whined from next to me. "Are we done yet? I want to get out of these clothes and into my bikini."

From the other side of me, I hear my mom let out a sigh. "Just a few more shots then you can go."

Carmen groans miserably as her shoulders sagged, "Fine."

"Honey, you'll thank me in ten years. You'll have pictures to go along with the memories."

I could practically hear Carmen roll her eyes, as I rolled my own.

"You know, we could be like a normal family and just use a our own camera... And people are staring..." she says, and then adds in a whisper shout, "This is embarrassing!"

"Carmen, be quiet and smile." Mom orders.

Defeated, Carmen forced a smile.

Snap!

* * *

Finally, an hour later, the torture subsided. Carmen and I were set free. As soon as the photographer announced she was done, Carmen sprinted to the back deck as fast as the sand allowed her with me following in tow.

Now, as I sit under the umbrella admiring the view in front of me, I am almost thankful for the timing of our arrival.

Almost.

My heart rate spiked when I saw her, smiling and laughing with a girl that looked her age with long black hair. Walking beside her was a guy, and the way he looked at her made my heart drop. That must be her boyfriend, I thought glumly to myself as they approached closer and closer to where I was seated.

I began to relax a bit when she didn't notice me as she began setting up her spot on the beach a couple yards away from me.

When she was done, she grabbed a body board and dashed toward the water still not looking my way.

"What are you staring at?" Carmen asks, making me jump.

"What?" I reply blankly.

"What were you staring at?" she asks again, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, nothing."

Carmen stares at me quizzically for a moment then shrugs. "I'm going into the water," she states. "You coming?"

My eyes immediately flick to the girl in the striped bikini, riding smoothly on top of a wave, her eyes dancing.

"Uh," I say hesitantly. "Maybe in a minute."

"Suit yourself." she says and walks off.

Stop being such a baby, I mentally scold myself.

She's just a girl, what's the problem? I ask myself.

That's just it, I think, that is the problem.

I can't go down to the water now, she's there. What if she sees me and recognizes me? And worse, what if she tries to talk to me again? I would love to actually talk to her, but I know I would just end up making a fool of myself again. The best thing to do is just to keep a safe distance.

Becoming bored with just sitting under the umbrella, I decided trying to get a little color wouldn't hurt. Laying my towel parallel to the ocean, I lay down on my back. Sheilding my eyes away from the scorching sun, I look away towards the water.

When my vision returned to normal, I saw Carmen standing knee deep in the water talking with someone.

It was that girl's friend. I held my breath looking for any sign of her, and yes, there she was. Standing directly in front of my sister, talking.

Then all three of the girls turn in my direction, and start walking out of the water, towards me.

When we make eye contact, my stomach clenches tightly.

Recognition flashes in her eyes as she gets closer and closer to me. She smiles.

Oh, God.

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Uh, oh! Cliffhanger!! :) You all just love those, don't you?

Evil, I know! But its what keeps you coming back for more! :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you all for reading! Be sure to let me know what you think!

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--Kelly