South beach by Aimee Friedman Page B

boy had obviously just gone for a swim; his wet shorts clung to his thighs, and he was toweling off his hair.
    "You must be Alexa and Holly, our new neighbors," white-trunks boy said, flashing a grin that made the backs of Holly's knees tingle. "Daisy just told us about you. I'm Thomas Kalas and this is my brother, Aaron." He gestured to the wet boy, who gave Holly a quick, shy smile. "We thought we'd escort you girls down to the pool, if that's okay with you."
    Twins! Alexa thought, sauntering over. Could life get any better? Both boys were equally smoking; Alexa didn't know which one to set her sights on first. She looked them up and down, and anticipation shimmied down her spine. She was going to kiss one of these boys tonight. She already knew it.
    Holly, meanwhile, was feeling extremely self-conscious in her swimsuit. She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She wished she didn't find the twins both so cute. Aaron, in particular, was catching her eye -- he seemed a little timid, and Holly was a sucker for quiet types.
    "Come on, Holly," Alexa said, grabbing her sunscreen, shades, and towel. She followed the boys out into the hall. Holly scooped up her own pool gear and
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    hurried after them, taking care to grab their only key from the dresser and lock the door.
    The four of them headed downstairs and cut through the lobby to the back exit. As Thomas walked beside Alexa, his hand kept brushing against her thigh. Accidentally on purpose, Alexa thought delightedly. She noticed that Holly and Aaron had fallen into step behind them, and that Aaron was scoping Holly out. Perfect, Alexa thought. One for each of us. Still, there was a tiny part of her that wanted both brothers all to herself. She'd never hooked up with two boys at the same time, never mind twins. How much fun would that be?
    The back exit led straight out to the pool area, which was fenced in, and faced the back end of Ocean Drive hardly the glamorous view the motel's front entrance offered. The pool was a small square filled with murky-looking, greenish-blue water. Holly changed her mind about wanting to swim any laps. A boom box resting on a small round table blasted Dave Matthews. Kaitlin was sunning herself on a chair and sipping a Corona; there was a cooler packed full of them nearby. Daisy stood at the edge of the pool, playfully wrestling with a pale, brown-haired boy. The boy lifted Daisy in his arms and threw her in the water, yelling "Woo-hoo!" Daisy swam to the surface, splashing him, until he dove in after her.
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    "That's our buddy Jonathan. He's in our room, too," Thomas told Alexa and Holly, pointing to the brown-haired boy. "He's kinda hyper."
    "I'd say so," Alexa said, watching as Jonathan dunked Daisy underwater. He was decent-looking, but too scrawny for her.
    Holly stretched out on a beach chair next to Kaitlin, letting the sun wash over her. It was late afternoon by now, but still warm out. She tried not to think about how naked she was in front of all these boys. She wished she could look as carefree as Alexa seemed in her little bikini, chatting up a storm with Thomas.
    Holly watched as Aaron dove headfirst into the pool, barely making a splash. He glided underwater for a minute, looking as graceful as an Olympic swimmer. Holly squeezed Neutrogena suntan lotion into her palm and slathered it all over her freckled legs. She was rubbing some into her arms when she noticed Aaron had swum up to the surface of the pool and was watching her. He slicked back his streaming dark hair and started floating on his back.
    Blushing furiously, Holly slid her sunglasses on. There was no way this guy could be checking her out. He and his brother were probably both drooling over Alexa.
    "Here," Alexa said, walking over and handing Holly
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    an ice-cold Corona. She sat down beside her. "Can you do my back?" Alexa asked, swiveling around so that her smooth shoulder blades were facing Holly.
    Holly took a cautious