Awakened

Three

"The boys are out sailing this morning, lets do dinner tonight darling! They would love to meet your lovely niece." My stomach drops. I think of the naked man under the moonlight from the previous night and wonder if he was one of her boys.

"That sounds fabulous, how about eight?" Shelly asks.

Cynthia responds, "Perfect! Let's meet on the deck then."

"So I guess she's your neighbor?" I ask Shelly.

She explains that The Daltons live next door, and that their two sons come for the summers. Thomas is eighteen and a freshman at University. He is studying business and plans to take over his father's company one day. The other son is Beau, and he is the loose cannon of the family. Apparently, he dropped out of college to sail around the world. He's got a temper on him, and has quite the reputation for trouble. Basically, him and his brother are opposites.

"Does he have tattoos?" Word vomit. I blush, and Shelly looks confused.

"Well, yes. How did you know?" Her eyebrow is slightly raised as she awaits my response.

"Oh," I laugh nervously. "I was just guessing. Seems like he's the stereotypical bad boy." Her face relaxes into a giggle.

"You are right about that! I bet you will like Thomas though. He is a lot like you. He always has his nose stuck in a book, and he is very smart." She gives me a mischievous look, "I have an idea, let's go shopping this afternoon. We can find you something cute to wear tonight." Is she really trying to set me up with her neighbor? She laughs and I can't help but join her.

Once back inside I change into my bikini. Its new, and I'm unsure of how I feel in it. My two best friends helped me pick it out before they left. Jessica and Lillian said the red fabric looked good on my skin, and that the small amount of padding in the top made my boobs look incredible. I don't know about incredible, but they had grown since the last time I was in a bikini in public. I turned to check out my butt, and was pleased to see that it actually looked really good. My body really had transformed in the last year. My hips had gotten wider which made me appear to have more of an hourglass shape. I rubbed some tanning oil on my body and some SPF on my face. I felt vain when I realized id essentially been checking myself out for fifteen minutes. I have never really looked in the mirror and thought that I looked especially attractive. I knew I wasn't ugly, but I guess I viewed myself as being very average. Right now, covered in oil in this red bikini, I felt kind of sexy. I slid on a little romper style coverup id bought with the bikini and left the bathroom. I found my sunglasses on the dresser and headed downstairs towards the door.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with me niece?" Shelly jokes as she takes in my appearance.

"Is it bad?" I ask. I am many things, but confident is not one of them.

"I'm only teasing, you look great! Hey, Don't hide behind that coverup down there. You'll never get a tan if you do." She must have been reading my mind.

"Oh, I uh..." I stammer. She shakes her head at me.

"You are a very beautiful girl Katherine, don't forget that." I blush and push open the door, grateful to be through with that conversation.

I grab two towels from the pool room and head towards the long wooden walkway that leads to the beach. The sun is shining, and the breeze is ever so lightly there which makes this the ideal day to spend on the beach. The beaches here are private, and only available to those who live within the gated community. This means there are not many people around, which makes me a lot more comfortable with removing my coverup. It slides off and I drop it to the sand. I lay out the first towel, and then fold the second one up like a pillow. I realize I forgot my book back at the condo, and groan loudly.

"Problem?" I hear someone ask, and I spin around quickly. There are two guys staring back at me. They look similar, both with dark hair and tanned skin.

"I uh, forgot my book." I answer quietly. The taller of the two glances around as if trying to figure out where I came from.

Answering before the question is even asked I say, "I'm Shelly's, I mean Michelle's niece Katherine." The tall one raises an eyebrow and says nothing. Rude much?

"Oh hey! I'm Thomas. We live next door." I smile, thankful that at least one of them Is being friendly.

"I think I met your mom earlier, Cynthia?" He nods. The other one is still just staring at me with a strange look on his face. It almost looks like disgust? I'm not sure, but he is making me uncomfortable.

"So are you here for the summer?" Thomas asks.

"Um, yes. Three months." I keep glancing back and forth between the two. Its shocking how they can look so similar yet behave so differently. Thomas has kind eyes, they are blue just like his mothers.

"Sorry for my dickhead brother, he doesn't know how to communicate apparently." He gestures towards the taller one. "This is Beau, my older brother." I can't see Beau's eyes, they are hidden behind dark sunglasses. I just know his eyes aren't kind like his brothers though.

"Hi Beau, nice to meet you." I say. He tilts his head down and back up. I guess that was his way of saying hello. I stand there awkwardly before adding, "I think we are eating dinner together tonight... on the deck. Your mom and my aunt discussed it earlier."

Beau scoffs. "I have plans." Thomas looks at me and gives me a reassuring smile.

"That sounds great, I guess I will see you later then. Enjoy your day." Beau looks me up and down before turning on his heel and walking back towards the condos. What a strange boy.

As I lie on my stomach, I can feel the tightening sensation on my skin signifying I may be a little burnt. I stand up and slide on the coverup and sling the towels over my arm. As I make my way back up to the condo I see Beau sitting in a rocking chair on the porch. The sun is getting lower but he still has the sunglasses on. I can't be sure, but I feel like he is staring at me. I wave awkwardly, and he lifts his eyebrow again looking at me quizzically. Man, why did I do that. I keep walking towards my Aunt's condo and try not to look over at him again. The entire time I can feel his eyes burning holes into my back. When I am finally inside, I let out a breath that I didn't even realize I was holding.

"What is his problem!" I say out loud.

"What is whose problem?" Shelly asks coming into view. She looks at me with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing. Sorry. I met Thomas and Beau on the beach earlier. Beau is... well he is very frustrating."

Shelly laughs, "That's one word for it! Don't pay him any mind, he's a bad egg." I nod an walk up to my room.

"Still want to run by the boutiques?" Shelly inquires. I really don't feel like it, but then again I have a very limited wardrobe. My typical style included jeans and cardigans, both of which were not conducive to Florida weather at all.

"Sure, I don't really have many outfits for the climate here." I throw on the shorts from earlier and a t-shirt. "Where to?" I ask her.