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the rush,” they would say. At which Peter and Cynthia Hall would smile politely, and respond that they could all get to the beach whenever their guests would like, even if that meant getting up at the crack of dawn. “There’s quite a bit of room,” Peter would say gently.
    “But it is beautiful in the morning,” Cynthia Hall would finish, in her southern-born, diplomatic way.
    For her part, Devon never grew tired of the beach at Southampton, no matter the time. She had been to Hawaii and to St. Thomas and to Costa Rica, and even to places like Necker Island, where only the daughter of a man who owns a fleet of airline jets would ever go, but this place remained her favorite.
    It is possible that the two girls standing beside her now were part of the reason.
    “I need water,” Devon said, and they diverted to the snack bar, where they each picked up a small bottle of Evian. The man at the little desk smiled at each of them and made three quick marks with his pencil. “Hall, Westcott, Bean, thank you,” he said quietly.

The Lifeguard
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    They walked to the edge of the wide brick patio and down the miniature set of stairs to the beach. Then they were on the hot sand, grimacing with delight and pain as they tiptoed frantically closer to the water, until the heat under their feet became bearable. They moved even closer to the ocean, until the spray brought the air temperature down to a more reasonable level, and then they turned right, heading west toward New York, and began their walk along the cool sand.
    Nina wasted no time. She demanded to know when Florin planned to finally start dating James. Or at least hooking up with him on some level. With the clear implication that the one did not necessarily precede the other.
    Florin blushed and looked down. “Maybe when he’s not talking care of two children,” she said finally.
    Nina huffed. “That’s going to be never,” she said. “Get moving. You’re cute, he’s cute, and there it is. Plus, he’s so into you.”
    Florin kicked at the sand, clearly enjoying the conversation. “You should talk,” she said to Nina. “You haven’t said a single word to the new boy.”
    “Don’t question the master,” Nina said, narrowing her eyes. “You’ll see.”
    Devon gave Florin a concerned look. “Is James okay, do you think?”
    Florin glanced up at her. This question was dangerously close to the edge of their self-imposed ban on discussions about Pauline; but it was really about James, so that was okay. “He’s fine,” Florin said. She considered for a moment. “He’s tired, and she doesn’t help. He gets grumpy a lot. I think Frankie wakes him up at night, and she doesn’t pitch in.”
    Devon and Nina both nodded. True and true. And nothing to be done.
    “I don’t think he’d mind messing around with you,” Nina said, getting back to the heart of the matter as she saw it. “You’re a sex-pot, as anyone can see. I’d take a taste of you myself, but I’m too busy wooing the new kid. You understand.”
    Florin nodded slowly at this, as if Nina had observed that James enjoyed eating French Fries. She did her best to shrug off the faux-lesbian remark, which was simply the way Nina liked to give compliments “Right, thanks for that,” Florin said. “But he’s got a lot going on. I don’t want to – ”
    “Bullshit,” Devon said suddenly. They looked at her with surprise. Devon never cursed. “That boy needs a break. He’s been our friend since forever. Barnes’s, too, but Barnes can only do so much. He can punch James in the arm and take him out to parties and tell him he’s the man, but let’s not put it all on him. James could use your help, and this is something you could do. He’d like to be with you.”
    They were all silent for a minute. This was a new dynamic between them: discussing physical intimacy as though it were currency, or a simple favor. Maybe it was because they were all about