NOW, THIS WAS WHAT SUMMER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE
With Anna's decree of full summer freedom ringing in their heads, Jacqui had decided that she and Shannon would just hang out by the pool the whole day. William was absorbed in a book, Madison was tanning on a raft floating lazily in the middle of the pool, and Zoe and Cody were hanging out in the shallows, practicing headstands in the water.
Shannon was zoned out underneath the umbrella, wearing a skimpy black maillot one-piece, and Jacqui sat beside her in her new red French-cut bikini. That morning, she had purchased her new swimwear at one of the mobile J. Crew trucks that roamed the Hamptons for just this kind of emergency. Jacqui liked how the trunks on her suit could switch from boy shorts to a sexy high cut with just a few twists to the sides of the fabric.
Jacqui closed her eyes and felt the sun warm her face and relax her tense muscles. After a few minutes, she sat up on the chair and flipped through the latest issue of W. This was the life--the kids entertained, her coworker now a friend, a pitcher of icy
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lemonade by her side. She settled in for a good juicy read on the latest socialite scandals.
Then from the other side of the pool, behind the tall hedges, she heard a thump, thump, thump. Silence. Then thump, thump, thump. The noise was distracting, and she couldn't concentrate on her magazine. Finally, she got up to investigate.
She walked past the thick greenery that separated the house from the Reynolds eyesore, the hundred-thousand-square-foot monstrosity erected by the Perrys' bombastic neighbors. Rising above the hedges was a huge inflatable plastic jumping castle, a puffed-out balloon like structure that contained three tumbling, jumping, and laughing guys inside it. Guys who looked really familiar . . .
"Excuse me!" Jacqui yelled.
The tumbling abruptly stopped as all three boys looked her way, each wearing a goofy smile. She couldn't help but grin back. In the light of day, these boys were seriously handsome. This time, NYU completely faded to the back of her mind. Who needed to worry about college when there were hotties around?
"Greetings and salutations," Grant Kotack said, making an impressive leap from the air mattress to the ground in front of her. "If I'm not mistaken, I do believe we've met before," he said in his silky southern accent.
"It was a very short meeting--unfortunately," Duffy pointed out, taking huge steps on the billowing plastic and ending with a cartwheel onto the grass.
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"Almost broke our hearts," Ben agreed, following his friends out of the tumbling castle.
Jacqui wasn't embarrassed about what had happened during her midnight swim-- she was proud of her body and didn't think there was anything to be ashamed about.
"I'm Jacqui Velasco. I work for the Perrys," she said, offering a hand to the nearest boy, the shaggy-haired one with the sideburns.
"Grant Kotack," Grant smiled, pleased that she'd come up to him first. He kissed the back of her hand with courtly, old-fashioned grace, which was pleasing to see in a boy who wore painter's pants and an oversized T-shirt with a Reese's peanut butter cup logo emblazoned on it. "A pleasure."
"John Duffy," said the tall, lanky, towheaded one, interrupting their greeting. He was WB-star cute, with a square jaw, ashy-white blond hair falling in his eyes, and the kind of grin that grew slowly from his lips and lit up his whole face. "You can call me Duffy or Duff. Everyone does."
"Ben Defever." The third guy nodded. He'd put on a pair of thick black glasses and looked not unlike Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, one of Jacqui's favorite bands. "Can we help you?"
"Do you guys work for the Reynoldes?" she asked.
"The who?" Duffy asked with a wide smile.
"The uptight bastards who own this joint," Grant said, winking at Jacqui.
"We rented it this summer. It's insane. Do you know there's a saltwater pool stocked with tropical fish in the back? With a
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grotto?" Ben asked, adding shyly, "You'll have to check it out with us sometime."
"How about now?" Duffy suggested. "Now's a good time, right? I'll get the scuba masks!"
"Only if you want to," Ben assured in a sincere tone.
"Maybe later," Jacqui said, still smiling. Mara had told her all about it last summer. She blushed--Duffy was so cute and boyish, Grant the image of an indie rock guitar god, and Ben just adorable with those glasses. And there it was--a definite tingle up her spine, the feeling she'd been missing all year.
"What about a jump?" Grant asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the inflatable castle.
"Sure, but I've got a couple of kids here too--can they come?" Jacqui asked.