Read Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic (Summer) for Free Online Page A

quite smug and superior. Then the smugness dropped away. “But I’m not gay,” he said. “Not that I would care. I’m just saying I’m not. If I were, then women wouldn’t disturb my wa the way they do.”
    “Whatever. Just get out, okay?”
    Diver stood up. “It’s a beautiful night. I’ll sleep outside with Frank.”
    “Fine. Whatever you say. Just leave.”
    He turned away and headed for the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob. “Frank isn’t a dude, by the way, so forget it if that’s what you’re thinking.” He nodded as if he’d reached some profound decision. “Tomorrow I’ll talk to Frank. Then he can decide which of us stays and which goes.”
    Summer rushed over as soon as he was gone and locked the door behind him. Then she ran back and, huffing and grunting, slid the desk over the hatchway.
    “There,” she muttered. “Now you and your wa will have a real hard time getting back in.”

7
Raisin Toast, Imaginary Figments, and the Amazing Marquez
    Diana took a while looking through the contents of her walk-in closet, searching for the right thing to wear. The right thing turned out to be white shorts and a white bikini top. White reflected sunlight and hence was cooler than other colors.
    Also, white looked innocent. And, she decided as she descended the stairs, she needed all the help she could get in looking innocent. She didn’t feel innocent. She felt like a selfish, rotten human being who had tricked her cousin into spending the night in a mildewy dump. Once, in the dark hours of the early morning, she’d almost gotten up and gone down to the stilt house to get Summer and bring her back.
    But really, she was doing Summer a favor. Summer might think she wanted to be here, but that was only because Summer didn’t understand anything.
    The set of stairs led directly from just outside her room to the breakfast room. And there, sitting at the long pine table, was Summer. At least her cousin hadn’t been murdered in the night. That was a relief. Diana didn’t need any new reasons to hate herself.
    Summer looked up from her plate and smiled. Smiled that big, happy-yet-shy smile that made you think you’d never seen anyone whose name so matched her looks.
    “Hi,” Summer said, chewing. “I hope it’s all right. I don’t have any food down at my house yet.”
    “Of course it’s all right,” Diana said quickly. She tried out her most innocent look. “You have to eat.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Did you find everything you want?” Diana asked. “I mean, here in the kitchen.”
    “Yeah, all I eat is raisin toast for breakfast, mostly.”
    “Raisin toast?” Diana narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “That’s what I have in the morning too.”
    “No way.” Summer laughed a little and looked amused.
    “What?” Diana demanded.
    “Nothing. It’s just, I figured you had something different. Like eggs Benedict or something.”
    Diana went to the toaster. The bread was still out on the gray marble counter. “Why would I eat eggs Benedict?”
    Summer shrugged. “I don’t know. That was just the most fancy breakfast thing I could think of. You always hear about movie stars having eggs Benedict and champagne.”
    “No champagne,” Diana said dryly. “Coffee. You drink coffee?”
    Summer nodded. “Only, I couldn’t figure out how to work your machine.”
    “I’ll do it. It’s kind of complicated.” Diana dumped whole beans into the grinder, sent them spinning, and then measured the grounds into the coffee machine. “Coffee and raisin toast,” she muttered, watching the back of Summer’s head.
    “Every morning almost. I’ll have to buy a toaster and a coffee machine for my house.”
    A little stab of guilt made Diana wince. “How…um, how was…did you sleep okay?”
    Summer turned around in her chair, but her blue eyes were evasive. “I slept okay, I guess. I was going to ask you, though…”
    “Ask me what?” Diana almost snapped.
    “Just that I was wondering if