Chapter 40

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"Ready to go?" Stormie smiled brightly at me. I nodded and lugged my suitcase into the back of my Jeep. Rydel and Stormie went to get in the car. But first, Rydel said, "Take your time." I turned to Riker who had his hands in his jean's front pockets. I wrapped my arms around him.

"I love you, present tense." I said and kissed his cheek. Walking away, I shed a single tear but swiped it away. I pasted a smile on and got in my car. Stormie was giving Ross the final rundown of rules and he smiled at me.

"And no porn." Stormie put extra emphasis on that rule.

"Yes Mom, Now go, have a great time. Love you guys."

"Love you too Ross!" We all said. Stormie pulled out and turned onto the street.

"I'm so excited. Beaches, spas, relaxation, and best of all, we'll be 130% boy free!"

"It sounds so wonderful!"

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~Riker's POV~

"How long has it been?" I asked. My leg nervously jiggled up and down.

Ryland answered, "It's been three minuets." The pain seemed unbearable.

"This will all be okay. We'll rock out, eat a ton of pizza, strut in our underwear, and just relax." Rocky assured me. "No women."

I laughed. "Alright then, what's first?" At this, Ross pulled out a slip of paper and a pen.

"Sign this." He shoved the paper and pen into my hands. "This paper states that you will not mention Marilyn during this weekend. And if you do, you'll face major punishment." I signed the paper and Ross's smile grew. "Great. Now, it's time for some fun. Rocky, start the music. Ryland, set up Call of Duty. Everyone, take off your pants!"

We all stripped of our jeans and got set up for some Call of Duty. "How many enemy bots?"

I answered, "Why not nine?"

"Okay and friendly bots?"

"Four. Plus us five makes nine." Ratliff said.

"Let's do this!" Ryland yelled and we began the gory war. Ross and I ran to the same hiding spot and we took turns guarding and shooting. Ratliff died what seemed like every three seconds and Ryland always had close calls. Rocky, on the contrary, never died and had killed about five bots.

"Shit!" I yelled when an enemy broke the glass on my hiding spot.

"Riker follow me!" Rocky said and I sprinted behind Rocky and hid behind some tube thing. "Watch your back!" I turned around and fired, killing an attacker that was within a few feet of me. I sniped a few more bots and the game was over. We won, the score 39 to 47.

"Yeah! That's how you kick some Call of Duty ass!"

"Nicely done boys." I said.

"Another round?" Rocky suggested.

"Yep!"

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~Marilyn's POV~

"Welcome to Malibu!" Rydel exclaimed with giddiness. I was in awe at the beauty of it all. It was much more serene than crazy Los Angeles.

Stormie pulled into a driveway of big house. It had a big Palm tree in front and a blue, luscious beach with roaring waves. She killed the engine and turned toward us with a dazzling smile. "Alrighty girls. We're here! After we get settled you can pull out your bikinis and go for a swim while I make a light snack."

"Sounds great!" I beamed and grabbed my duffle bag from the back. Rydel and I chatted while Stormie grabbed her bag. She unlocked the door and I was marveled. The inside was so much bigger that it looked.

"This is beautiful." I gawked.

"Your room is upstairs. Rydel, show her."

Rydel grabbed my free hand and pulled me up the winding staircase. Pictures of her and the boys lined the walls. She opened the door to a room and it was gargantuan! I had a king sized bed and a Juliet balcony.

"Delly," I squealed. "It's beautiful! Will you stay in here with me?"

"Of course!"

"Great!" I flung my bag down.

"Now let's put on our bikinis have some fun!" Rydel said. I laughed and dug out my bright white bikini. Rydel and I changed and headed out to the beach. The air was crisp and warm and tasted salty.

"Oh how I've missed Malibu." Rydel sighed with relief.

"Was it your first true love?" I asked, tease dripping from my voice.

"Yes." We both laughed and stepped into the water. It was cool but warm. We walked out to where I could still stand which was where I was waist deep and Rydel was about hips or so.

"Go under on three."

"One, two, three." We went under and I opened my eyes. It didn't burn like I thought it would. Rydel had hers open too and she waved to me. I waved back and laughed. I swam up for breath and Rydel soon followed.

An idea stuck me. "Want to swim out a little more then go under and look at all of the stuff underwater?"

"That sounds amazing!" Rydel and I swam out and I took a big breath before going under. I opened my eyes and was mesmerized. Little colorful fish swam in schools. Starfish shined in the sunlight. Crabs battled for dominance. Then, I felt something brush my ankle. I look and see a sting ray. I tapped Rydel and she joined me, observing the sting ray who did a little flip for us. Eventually we had to go up for air.

"That was so beautiful!" We squealed at the same time. "Let's swim back and chill on the beach." So we did. We laid on the sand and built a really bad sand castle. I stood up and stretched my muscles.

"Hey Delly," I called. She looked up from perfecting outer sand castle.

"Yeah?"

"Grab your phone. I'm gonna see how many back handsprings I can do down the beach."

"I've got it." Stormie said as she came out of the back door with a small fruit and veggie tray. Rydel grabbed her phone and popped a strawberry into her mouth.

"Ready?" She muffled. I gave her a thumbs up. "Go!"

Stormie counted, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ele-" When Stormie began to say eleven, my hand landed on something prickly so my arms gave out. I tucked my legs in and rolled so I wouldn't break my neck.

"Marilyn!" Rydel yelled and ran toward me. She slid to her knees in a stop. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine but I think I cut my hand on something." I looked at it, there was a pretty gnarly gash on my palm, but I could just cover it with a band aid. "What did I cut it on?"

Rydel looked around, spotted something, and started laughing. "I think it was on these little guys." She pointed to something pink and I crawled over.

"Baby starfish!" I started laughing too. They were dried up, but still very beautiful. "Look, this one is a little bigger than this one. It's like you and me."

"I have an idea. I'll grab these starfish and you go get that hand cleaned up then meet me in the family room in five." Rydel plucked up the starfish and I got my hand cleaned.

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