Pretty Little Liars (Book One)

Twenty-Three: Icelandic Aria Gets What She Wants.

"Finland! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

It was an hour later, and Aria was just stepping out of the photo booth. Noel Kahn stood in front of her, naked except for his Calvin Klein boxers, which were wet and clingy. He was holding a yellow plastic cup of beer and her just-developed strip of pictures. Noel shook his hair around a little, and water from his hair sprayed onto her APC miniskirt.

"Why are you all wet?" Aria asked.

"We were playing water polo."

Aria glanced at the pond. The boys were batting one another in the heads with pink fun-noodles. On the banks, girls in nearly identical Alberta Ferrari minidresses huddled together, gossiping. Over by the hedges, not that far from them, she spied her brother, Mike. He was with a petite girl in a plaid micromini and platform heels.

Noel followed her gaze. "That's one of those Quaker school girls," he murmured. "Those chicks are nuts.

Mike glanced up and saw Aria and Noel together. He gave Aria an approving nod.

Noel tapped Aria's photo strip with his thumb. "These are gorgeous."

Aria looked at them. Bored out of her skull, she'd been taking pictures of herself in the booth for twenty minutes. This round, she'd made sultry, sex-kitten expressions.

Tres sigh. She'd come here thinking that Ezra, jealous and lustful, would come and whisk her away. But, duh, he was a teacher, and a teacher wouldn't go to a students' party.

"Noel!" James Freed called from across the lawn. "Keg's tapped!"

"Shit," Noel said. He gave Aria a wet kiss on the cheek. "This beer's for you. Don't leave."

"Uh-huh," Aria said drolly, watching him scamper away, his boxers slowly sliding down to reveal his pal, defined-from-running butt.

"He really likes you, you know."

Aria turned. Mona Vanderwaal sat on the ground a few feet away. Her blond hair was in coils around her face and her gold-rimmed bug-eye sunglasses had slid down her nose. Noel's older brother, Eric, had his head in her lap.

Mona blinked slowly. "Noel's awesome. He'd make such a good friendboy."

Eric burst out laughing. "What?" Mona bent down to him. "What's so funny?"

"She's so stoned," Eric said to Aria.

As Aria scoured her brain for something to say, her Treo beeped. She wrenched it out of her purse and looked at the number. Ezra. Oh my God, oh my God!

"Um, hello?" she answered quietly.

"Hey. Um, Aria?"

"Oh. Hey! What's up?" She tried to sound as controlled and cool as possible.

"I'm at home, having a Scotch, thinking about you."

Aria paused, closed her eyes, and a glow passed through her. "Really?"

"Yep. You at that big party?"

"Uh-huh."

"You bored?"

She laughed. "A little."

"Wanna come by?"

"Okay." Ezra started to give her directions, but Aria already knew where it was. She'd looked up his address on MapQuest and Google Earth, but she couldn't exactly tell him that.

"Cool," she said. "See you soon."

Aria shoved the phone back into her purse as calmly as she could, and then banged the rubbery soles of her boots together. Yessssss!!!