Skinny Dipping (The Au Pairs 2)

Jacqui held her breath. She'd put Eliza and Ryan's hookup out of her mind for a second, but looking back and forth between her two friends, she knew that what was about to happen would be totally unforgettable.

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the girls meet the perrys'

latest trench import

" HOLD UP!" MARA SAID, INTERRUPTING ELIZA. AN OLD

Madonna song came on the radio, and Mara leaned through the front seats to turn it up.

" 'Papa don't preach!'" they all sang. " 'I'm in trouble deep!'" Mara thought she couldn't be happier. It was great to be back with Eliza and Jacqui in the Hamptons again. She'd really missed them. There was no one as fun as Eliza or as mischievous as Jacqui back home.

The song ended, but before Eliza could speak, Mara suddenly blurted, "God, I just can't wait to see Ryan!"

"Really?" Jacqui asked. "Even after you broke up with him?" "I know, I know." Mara sighed. Her champagne buzz was still strong. "You guys, I really think I made a mistake. I mean, he said he still loved me, you know, even after I said we couldn't go on, and I just hope ... I don't know. . . . Do you know if he's seeing anyone?" Mara asked hopefully.

Eliza cleared her throat. If she was going to tell, she would

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have to do it now, before this got even worse. It was obvious Mara was still in love with Ryan, and the knowledge that he had hooked up with one of her friends was bound to be crushing. Best to get it over with quickly. Mara would be upset, but she would understand and hopefully forgive Eliza.

"Mar, listen, this is important. Please don't be mad at me, okay? Because it meant nothing, I swear. This winter in Palm Beach I--"

"That's the thing," Mara said, interrupting again, obviously oblivious to the rising notes of anxiety in Eliza's voice. "I wish I'd gone to Palm Beach. God, I don't know why I stayed away. I just... I really regret it. I should have listened to you, Jac."

Jacqui stayed silent.

"Anyway, what did you want to tell me, 'Liza? Why shouldn't I be mad?" Mara asked, starting to braid Eliza's hair, which was hanging over the back of her seat. "What happened in Palm Beach?"

Eliza sucked her teeth. "Over winter break I . . . I . . ." Eliza felt her throat dry up. She exhaled. "I decided not to work for the Perrys this summer. I'm not going to be an au pair."

"What?!" Mara and Jacqui both said, shocked for very different reasons.

Eliza gnawed on her bottom lip. She'd meant to tell Mara-- really she had. She'd been going to confess everything and get it over with. Mara was different from Lindsay and Taylor, those two-faced former best friends who'd turned on Eliza last year.

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Eliza always felt like she could tell Mara anything. Okay, so maybe they hadn't kept in touch all that much over the school year, but that was irrelevant, Eliza almost felt like the year apart hadn't even happened.

Eliza shrugged her shoulders helplessly at Jacqui. She knew Jacqui would think she was a coward and a liar. She could live with that, but she couldn't live with Mara's disappointment. She was just too scared to hurt her friend. Besides, she reasoned, maybe keeping her mouth shut was the best option. That way, Mara and Ryan could get back together without having any bad feelings between them. If Eliza ignored the problem, then it would surely just go away, right?

"What are you doing, then?" Mara asked, interrupting Eliza's internal debate.

"I'm working at Seventh Circle, this new nightclub," Eliza said proudly. "It's really cool--I'll be learning all about public relations and stuff. I don't really need the money from the Perrys this summer. My dad's doing better, and we might even move back to the city next year."

Mara slumped in the backseat. "Jac, you knew about this?"

Jacqui nodded.

"And you didn't tell me?" Mara whined.

"I'm sorry--I thought Eliza e-mailed you." Jacqui shot Eliza another dagger like look. Then again, if Mara was this upset about not knowing about Eliza's summer plans, Jacqui was kind of glad she hadn't told her about Palm Beach.

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"That's great and all," Mara said. "I mean, I'm really happy for you 'Lize. But what are we going to do without you? Who's going to scare William into submission? Are we ever going to see you?"