barefoot in the soft sand. She lifted her
face to the late afternoon sun, whose
bright sunshine made the sand sparkle
and shine, and the ocean reveal its varied
shades of blue and green. She sat in the
sand to watch her friends play volleyball
on the beach.
Shana Logan was running to hit the
ball over the net, her long red hair flying
in the wind. She was tall and graceful.
Her long-lashed, pretty bright green eyes
were intensely focused on the game.
Linda felt small in comparison…with her
own petite frame and less flamboyant
brown hair.
Linda shook her head at Shana’s
need to be in control at all times. Shana
was too competitive and serious about
everything;including sports, which she
didn’t even care about.
Shana hit the ball to Todd Morrison,
who returned the ball over the net—right
into Louise Cannon’s stomach. Louise
squealed in pain while Todd rewarded her
with one of his devilish grins.
Linda dreamily admired Todd’s
ruggedly handsome face…with his thick
black wavy hair and dark brown, almost
black eyes. He ran smoothly like an
athlete, despite being tall and muscular.
His muscles beneath his white t-shirt
rippled suggestively as he dove to hit a
ball. His muscular thighs beneath his
denim cut-off shorts tightened and flexed
as his legs pounded the hot sand. To her
he looked perfect in every way.
Not being talkative, she often found
Todd observing everyone from a discreet
distance, causing her to wonder what
was behind those dark, enigmatic eyes.
Those two black pools to his soul allowed
her only very brief glimpses to his true
feelings. What she wanted was a deeper
access to his thoughts, to understand
how his mind worked—and to find out if
he liked her.
On the other hand, Louise didn’t
appear to be too happy with Todd right
now. She clutched her stomach as if
she were in extreme agony from the
ball hitting her. Her stomach was flat
and she looked stunning in her tiny
blue bikini. Louise looked great in
everything she wore, with her doll-like
features and her toned body. Her hair
was long, straight, and blonde and her
eyes were light cornflower blue. She
looked like a small doll, Linda decided
—but one with an angry and
mischievous expression on its face.
Todd rushed over to soothe her,
causing the game to break up. Mike
Aaronson and David Deer walked
over to greet Linda. Shana stood back
from the others with an annoyed
expression on her pouty face.
David asked Linda, “Did you
receive that strange invitation in the
mail today?”
She kept a careful eye on the
ongoing interaction between Todd and
Louise, which seemed much too flirty
in her opinion. Even though she
wasn’t giving David her undivided
attention, she tried her best to act
interested. “I didn’t get a chance to go
through the mail yet. What is it an
invitation to?”
“It’s for a private party at one of
those huge mansions.” His voice rose
in W