Her voice rose slightly and she saw her father hesitate. “I mean, that was a really rotten trick you pulled, Travis.
How could you just destroy my family’s property like that?” she said loudly. Her father started walking again.
Travis looked confused for a second and then draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side as they walked. “Look, I just have to get used to the idea, babe,” he soothed her. “That’s all.” They had reached the glass doors to the outside. Celeste could see her parents getting into their old Volvo.
Celeste felt exhausted all of a sudden. She leaned her head against Travis’s shoulder and looked up at his face.
“You’re feeling bad about this summer, aren’t you?”
she said. She tried not to sound like she was accusing him of something.
“Nooo …” Travis said. He gazed at an auto body shop across the street. “I’m just figuring out how I’m going to tell Steve at the surf school that I’m basically under house arrest all summer.”
“It’s all right. Just tell him you got arrested for stealing a golf cart and doing a conga dance in a little purple thong. He’ll totally understand,” Celeste teased, lifting her head.
Travis snorted. “Thanks, babe. See, this is why I love you. You’re so sweet.”
He leaned in and pulled her toward him, his hand on the back of her neck. His stubble rasped against her face when he kissed her.
She and Travis together at the resort all summer … That prank might have been stupid, but it might also turn out to be just about the best thing to happen to their relationship.
Chapter Three
After spending graduation day party-hopping, Travis drove his purring BMW up to the darkened
entrance of Pinyon to drop off Celeste and Devon.
Two spotlights illuminated the low sandstone sign as Devon hopped out of the backseat.
“I’ll give you kids a minute to say good night. See you up at the house, Celeste.” Devon pranced up the drive barefoot, dangling her shoes in her hand.
The scent of the azalea bushes wafted into the car like thick perfume. Beyond the entrance, Celeste could see the bulk of the main building and the smaller shadows of the guesthouses as Devon skipped away from the car.
Warm yellow lights glowed from the main building windows, which were open to catch the night air. A burst of jazz music floated down to them on the breeze. A trio always played in the lounge until two, for the guests who liked to relax with their drinks.
Celeste could just make out Travis’s face. His dark eyes seemed huge. The lights from the dashboard illuminated his high, flat cheekbones. She leaned over the gearshift and pressed herself against him. A wave of warmth spread over her body as he pushed his hand under the hair at the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and felt his lips press against hers.
“I’m so glad you’re working here this summer,” she murmured.
“If the whole summer’s going to be like this, I am too.” His voice rasped in the darkness.
“Call me tomorrow?”
“Of course,” he said, pulling her toward him for one last kiss.
Celeste waved to him from the entrance. The sleek metal gate slid shut behind her as she turned up the path toward the main building. She felt limp with exhaustion but content. For a day that had started off so completely terrible, it had turned out perfectly. Now she and Travis and Devon would be hanging out all summer long.
Considering how not fun she’d expected the next three months to be, it kind of felt like she’d been handed an unexpected gift.
Celeste pressed the heels of her hands to her face as she walked toward her parents’ bungalow. Her cheeks were hot and she wondered if she was sunburned or still recovering from that nice little goodbye in Travis’s car.
She pushed through the fence that surrounded the pool area. The surface of the water shimmered like a long sheet of turquoise silk, glowing with the yellow lights that lit it from underneath. All around the smooth teak patio, lounge chairs with white terry-cloth cushions stood ready, waiting for the next day’s round of sun-bathers and swimmers. At dawn, the pool attendants would place a fresh folded towel on each chair.
She followed the stone path around a clump of tall cypresses to the staff quarters, which included her parents’ house. Celeste had lived in the little gray-painted bungalow since she was four years old, when her parents bought the resort. She had occasionally asked her dad why they couldn’t move to a bigger place, but he always said that it was essential they live on the premises—he had to be available at all times in case there was a problem. Besides, he said, they worked for the resort just like everyone else. There was no need for them to live differently than the rest of the staff. Celeste still didn’t see why she had to sleep in a room approximately the size of a shoe box until she went to college.
Her parents’ bedroom window was dark, but they
had left the porch light on. Celeste spotted Devon by the front door and held her finger to her lips. She eased the door open and the girls crossed the front hall, both careful to avoid the board in front of the coat closet that always creaked. The line under her parents’ door remained black. With a sigh of relief, Celeste quietly shut the door to her room and fell on the bed. It wasn’t like she had a curfew or anything, but if Dad woke up, he would come in and start going on about all the stuff she had to do tomorrow, and that was really the last thing she wanted to think about now. She just wanted to lie there and think about Travis’s lips and his arms around her in the car. Celeste closed her eyes. Travis floated in front
