As soon as Izzy's feet brushed the rough sand beneath her, she sprang up on weak legs, wrestling herself out of the man's choke-hold. She spun around to face him—quickly realizing how tight the wet dress was against her body. Gasping, she turned around again, pulling it away from her chest and stomach. With an embarrassed groan, she forced herself to face him again.
He stood waist deep, chest heaving, trying to catch his breath. His dark eyes glared at her, as he tried to wring the lake water out of his shirt. "What were you doing way out there? Trying to kill yourself?"
"Certainly not!" Izzy scowled, sloshing past him towards the shore. She shot him an equally dark look. "I was actually trying to save someone else."
The man turned and followed, his hand coming down on her arm. "Someone else was with you? Are they still out there—in the water?"
Izzy turned. His face was painted with concern. Now that he wasn't glaring, she found he was quite handsome—in a rugged sort of way. He wasn't clean cut and dreamy-eyed like Donny. More like one of those guys from the other side of the tracks that most girl's parents steered them clear from.
"She's safe now," she said, feeling sheepish under his stare.
His eyes glided over her, making Izzy wrap her arms self consciously across her chest.
"What were you two women doing out there?" He questioned, his dark brows dropping as he surveyed the shore.
Izzy had traveled quite a ways with the current from where they'd gone in. She must have rounded the edge of the peninsula. There was no sign of Gloria or Rita.
"Three. Three women, and we were swimming," she quipped, anxious to get back to the other girls. It had to have been an hour already.
"In that?" His eyebrows raised at her current attire.
Izzy's mouth opened to reply, but there wasn't any decent explanation to give. Her cheeks reddened as she turned away, her feet fumbling over the loose rocks on the beach. She prayed that he wasn't staring at her wet behind. The dress was sticking to her. She pulled it away, only to have it glued to her again.
"Not even a thank you?" the man called behind her. "After all, I saved your life!"
Please don't follow me, Izzy pleaded under her breath. The last thing she needed was for the man to see where she was headed. Glancing back, she breathed a sigh of relief as he headed back the other way.
It was slow going as she navigated over the stones along the shore. Her bare feet were throbbing when she rounded the bend and spotted Gloria and Rita on the shore, both looking distraught.
"Over here!" she yelled, waving her hands.
The two turned and looked at her, frozen for a second, their faces pale like they'd seen a ghost. With sudden elation, they raced towards her. "Oh my god, Izzy!" Rita burst out, her eyes red with tears. "I thought you were dead!"
She threw her arms around Izzy, sobbing uncontrollably on her shoulder.
Gloria came up behind them, her eyes swollen—nose red. "I'm so sorry." Her eyes shifted to her feet. "I was joking. I never meant for this to happen—I swear."
Izzy patted Gloria's shoulder once Rita had pulled away. "It's alright," she said simply. "Just please don't ever do that again."
"Oh, she won't," said Rita, shooting Gloria a threatening look. "I think she's learned her lesson. We were about to go back and report you missing. Think how terrible that would have been! Sneaking out here was a horrible thing to do."
"How did you make it?" Gloria questioned, her eyes wide. "You were so far out there, I thought for sure you'd drowned."
Purposely buying her time, Izzy shifted herself on one foot and examined the bottom of the other. It was cracked and bleeding. She winced. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell them about the man. Knowing the two of them, it would be the topic of their conversations for the rest of their time together.
"Shouldn't we be getting back? I'm sure it's been over an hour by now," Izzy said. The thought of being caught suddenly took precedence over everything else.
The stone building loomed in the front of them, promising punishment. The consequences were sure to be horrible if anyone found out they had come to the lake. Much worse, if they knew Izzy had met a man. Her teeth chattering uncontrollably, Izzy tried to slow her racing heart as they tiptoed across the lawn. All of her resolve from before had evaporated. She didn't dare look at the windows, for fear the face of Sister Mary Helen, or worse yet, Sister Mary Thomas would be staring out. Rita slowly pulled the door open, her hand visibly shaking.
"I must have been out of my mind when I agreed to do this," she whispered. " It will take a miracle to make it back to our dorm without being seen. And with you two soaking wet—how will we explain that?"
Izzy followed behind the two of them, her ears honed in to the stairway, prepared to pick up the slightest movement from above. Her heart froze as she watched drips of water fall from Gloria's dress to the stone steps in front of her. They'd brought nothing to dry off with. As a result they were leaving a trail of water behind them.
Something above them creaked.
"Wait," Izzy hissed, reaching out to grab the hem of Gloria's wet dress.
The girls froze. Nothing but silence followed. After what seemed like forever, Izzy blew out her breath. They continued up the stairs, stepping softly like they were walking on glass. No one uttered a word. The door was closed as they'd left it when they reached the top. Izzy found herself dizzy with dread as she wondered what was waiting behind the door.
Rita put her ear to the it, her chest rising in time with her rapid breaths. She sunk a little, resting on the door, before she reached for the handle. "If we make it through this, I'm never leaving again," she whispered breathlessly.
She turned the knob slowly, opening the door just far enough to see through. Gloria and Izzy crowded next to her, both peering through the crack into the empty hallway.
"Now," gasped Rita.
They hurried out into the hall and headed to the right, scurried through a narrow corridor, then to their dormitory door. Through some act of God, the hallway was empty and no one spotted them. With hysterical giggling, born from sheer terror, they tore open their dormitory door and piled in with simultaneous sighs of relief.
"Welcome back." A voice shot from the corner of the room. Sister Mary Thomas stepped towards them, a dark look of triumph spread on her face.
***
"A girl you say?" Judd Jones, owner of SunRay studios, shoved a green olive into his mouth. He set the toothpick down on a napkin, surveying the lake out of the huge picture window next to his kitchen table.
"She said there were three of them, swimming out there on the lake all alone." Wes went on, taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. His taste buds surged in response to the perfectly crafted delicacy in his mouth. He'd been living off beans and rice for the last year or so.
"There isn't much on this island." Judd chewed thoughtfully, his peppered brows coming together. "A couple of families around here. No teenage girls that I've ever seen." He paused. "There is that home over there for unwed girls. Run by the nuns for the most part. But it's more like a prison than anything else. They never go far from that place."
"First day on the island and you're already the town hero," Hank chuckled, slapping his friend on the back. "Why does the good stuff always happen to you?"
"Cause he's the lead singer," Gene mocked. "They always get the fame, the glory—the girls."
"So what's her name?" Hank asked, his mouth stuffed with turkey.
"That's just it." Wes laughed, throwing his arm over an empty chair. "I save her life and she runs off—without so much as a thank you."
"How dare she run from the one and only Wes Rizzo!" Gene exclaimed dramatically, his hands to his face.
Judd chuckled, setting his glass down, his blue eyes on the boys in front of them. He slide forward in his chair, signaling a change in the conversation. "Do you know why I asked you to join me here, at my cabin in the woods?"
The laughing stopped abruptly, and the three young men sat up straight, their attention undivided. Wes cleared his throat, " I was hoping it was because you thought we were good." He paused, fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair. "And that you were planning on signing us to the label."
Judd smiled. " You are good—great in fact. But, that's not why I brought you here."
The men stiffened in their chairs. Gene rubbed his forehead, his skin paling a little. Beside him, Hank choked down the rest of his turkey.
"I brought you here in the hopes that I could instill something in you. Something I didn't have for a long time." Judd continued, taking a gulp of his soda. "As you know, I was in a band years ago. I lived the life. I fell for it. I paid a high price for my so called fame back in those days."
He leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. "Were you wondering why I have this cabin out in the middle of nowhere? With nothing but lakes and trees on both sides?"
He eyed them. The men exchanged puzzled looks. "It's because, when I come here, it reminds me that show business is a facade. Yeah, you work it, and you do your best. But, this." He pointed to the window. "This is real. And she." He pointed to his plump wife across the kitchen who stood washing dishes at the sink. "She is my anchor."
It was silent for several seconds as the three stared at him.
"But, you're going to sign us up—right?" Wes blurted.
Judd let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. His wife chuckled from across the room. "Yeah kid, I'm gonna sign you up. Welcome to SunRay Records."
Hi again! Thanks so much for reading. Please vote if you are enjoy this story. Just a little click is all it takes. Hope everyone's weekend is going well. How do you like Wes so far? The girls are in trouble now, what do you think will happen?