The Mermaid's Chest Page 2

  Teasing Taylor some more, the curly blond poked at the brunette until she squirmed away towards Phoebe. “I don’t know if we’re all so hot, but Phoebe you are tall and gorgeous. Are all Australian girls like you? If so, I think I’ll have to try and stay here where I might have a chance to be noticed.”

  With her legs crossed and one arm folded across her stomach, Phoebe touched her chin as if in thought a moment before proclaiming with a nod, “You know, now that I think about it, there are a fair amount of tall pretty girls there. That must be why I see all the short petite girls getting so much attention. You might have to come visit Australia after all. You would be exotic.” The girl only managed to hold a straight face a moment longer, before all the girls realized that she was making a joke.

  Katie wagged a finger towards the tall brunette and glanced to Emily as she said, “You didn’t tell us that she was funny, Emily. I was beginning to think she was just a quiet pretty girl. We may just have someone that I can be friends with after all.”

  Emily and Phoebe exchanged glances at the wording, while Taylor nudged Katie with her elbow.

  “What?”

  “You just basically said that you weren’t going to be friends with her before this,” the brunette said half in whisper though loud enough for all to hear. “That’s not very nice to say.”

  Looking slightly perplexed at the comment, the curly haired blond turned her blue eyes to Taylor innocently and explained with her hands gesturing palms up in defense, “I said I thought I would have to be her friend now. It’s not like I said I wouldn’t have tried anyway. You don’t have to be so literal all the time. Sheesh.”

  Shrugging at her cousin, Emily admitted, “Katie tends to put her foot in it a lot. Try and not take it personally.”

  “Hey!” the target of the comment complained.

  Taylor nodded and moving slightly closer to Phoebe concurred in her loud whisper once more, “She does.”

  “You know we can all hear you!” Katie complained.

  The other girls began to laugh at the girl’s discomfort until she joined in as well.

  “Well, I’ll try to be fun enough for you to be a friend then,” Phoebe said with a smile to her new friend.

  “Good enough,” Katie said gesturing to the other two girls. “See we’re getting along just famously here. Now stop picking on me and let’s go down and see what those boys are up to. Adam didn’t bring along anymore boys, did he?”

  “Nope.”

  “Pity,” Phoebe said quickly and quietly before anyone could say anything.

  The others all burst out laughing nearly bringing themselves to tears.

  Phoebe yawned. Sunlight came through the partially drawn curtains into the room letting the girl know that it was officially morning in South Carolina. If she were still in Queensland, she was pretty sure that it was midnight though not which day. The international dateline day flipping thing was beyond her, especially as jetlag was threatening to put her back to sleep.

  Emily had snuck downstairs along with the other girls, though perhaps sneaking wasn’t the exact word for it. Phoebe was pretty sure that she had been nudged and even talked to, but exhaustion made her unable to recall for sure. Grabbing one of her swimsuits for the day’s planned activity, Phoebe picked up her travel bag as well hoping to make her face at least look like she was still alive.

  Unable to remember the last time she was so tired, the girl found the bathroom down the hall and did what she could to wake up. By the time she was dressed in the blue string bikini, Phoebe was feeling a bit better. With a long white t-shirt to throw on if the lower floor felt cooler than the slightly warm upstairs, the brunette tossed her hair back over her shoulders before walking down the stairs to see who all was waiting on her.

  The boys sat at the counter on a pair of stools. David caught the sight of her first with his spoon stopping short of his mouth. Slack jawed; he elbowed Adam who looked similarly surprised by her appearance. Both of them wore their swim trunks as well and appeared ready for fun in the river or on the boat. Phoebe noted the redness of the day before was already settling towards brown on both of their bare chests and shoulders.

  Realizing that she was staring almost as much as they, the girl looked into the kitchen to see Aunt Nancy dressed in shorts and short-sleeved shirt. Apparently, the older woman wasn’t planning on joining her kids in getting wet for awhile at least.

  It was Nancy who first greeted Phoebe with a warm smile. “Morning, sleepy head, that jetlag must be playing havoc with you right now though you sure look beautiful this morning.”

  Stifling a yawn with her free hand at the mere mention of the jetlag, Phoebe nodded before answering, “I am a bit tired, but I tried to wake up in the restroom. I hope I don’t look too awful this morning.”

  Aunt Nancy grinned and pointed at David still ogling her bikinied form. “I don’t think you did too bad of a job. Now, David, please stop staring and eat your breakfast.”

  Starting at her voice, the young man shook his head to clear his mind as he replied, “Yes, Mrs. Cantrell, sorry.”

  “You look ready for the water, Phoebe,” Adam said averting his eyes to spoon in a mouthful of cereal himself. “You must be a beach lover. After all of Uncle Henry’s pictures and descriptions of the beaches there, I guess that your family must like to visit them quite a bit.”

  Walking into the kitchen after laying her shirt on the stool beside David, Phoebe took a bowl and glass from Aunt Nancy’s hands. Grabbing a banana from the table and pouring the cereal into the bowl, the girl answered as she moved, “We go to the beaches quite a bit. My friends and I like to go at least a few times each month. I still even kept some of my tan,” she added running her hands along her stomach.

  A clank as David dropped his spoon brought Phoebe’s attention back abruptly, but he was already off his stool and bending over to pick up the fallen utensil. Adam glanced to his friend and back to Phoebe trying to put on an innocent smile even as his eyes tried to remain centered on her face.

  Sighing, Aunt Nancy pulled a clean spoon from the drawer and slid it towards David’s bowl by the time he was back up with his freshly dropped one. Returning her attention back to Phoebe with a knowing smile, she nodded, “You’re right, though I think you’re a bit darker naturally than the girls and I anyway. You’ll probably be safer than me out there. With work, taking care of the house and such, I don’t get to lay out like you girls do anymore.” She looked a little wistful at the thought, but continued, “I think you boys talked about heading out to one of the beaches on the ocean didn’t you?”

  Adam nodded as he answered, “There are several nice ones we went to last year like Folly Beach and Kiawah, or we could just sail around checking out the other islands. It’s not like there aren’t enough beaches around here,” he finished with a brief laugh.

  Thinking about that statement for only a moment, Aunt Nancy nodded while she replied, “True and there are also islands to the north or south that get fewer tourists than those two. Well, I guess we’ll leave it up to you kids to find the kind of fun that you want. Just try to not use up a fortune in fuel on your trips.”

  “But that’s half the fun,” David said with a grin.

  Leveling a mean look at the boy and wagging her finger admonishingly, the older woman threatened, “Guest privileges can be revoked, young man.”

  “Eep, oh my, the room is spinning. What did I say? I think I blacked out there for a moment, Mrs. Cantrell. Ok, I’m back now. We were talking about how we’re going to be extra careful saving fuel weren’t we?”

  “Nice try,” Adam said punching his friend in the arm.

  Rolling her eyes, Aunt Nancy went back to rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

  Phoebe took the silliness in quietly as she ate her cereal. Peeling her banana and taking a big bite, she was caught off guard when Adam asked her, “So what would you like to do, Phoebe? You’re the guest who traveled furthest. Maybe you should be the
one to pick.”

  Wiping at her lower lip she finished clearing her mouth and swallowed, Phoebe’s eyes widened slightly as she questioned, “Me? I don’t really know what there is to do around here at all. Maybe someone else should decide since I thought we were going to be at your house, I hadn’t really given it any thought.”

  “Well, Miss Australia is no help,” David said trying to mimic her accent, “time to find a new country’s representative and get her input.”

  With a slight smirk, Phoebe said to Adam, “I am beginning to think we were lucky that you didn’t bring more of your friends along.”

  Reaching for his chest like an arrow had pierced his heart; the young man pretended her words were killing him.

  “Drama queen,” Adam added with a shake of his head. “Come on. Let’s go get the boat ready and give Phoebe and my mom a David break.”

  Both women smiled as David weakly protested his friend dragging him outside.

  “Well, it looks like you’re a popular one with the boys,” Aunt Nancy stated as she collected the plates sitting on the counter.

  With a slightly raised eyebrow of skepticism, the brunette brushed her hair back over her shoulder as it had escaped as she ate breakfast. “I’m the only girl here. It’s hardly a surprise that he would pick on me. Boys tend to tease me a lot at home too. I don’t think they really take me seriously.”

  “Humph, boys just don’t always know what to do in front of a pretty girl. Most figure that you’re too pretty for them to have a chance so they simply make fun, even if they are interested. Sometimes a girl needs to show them the way. You are too pretty to not have a boyfriend. You must have had a few back home.”

  “I’ve had a couple, but nothing serious,” the girl said hesitantly as she wondered where this conversation was going. If Aunt Nancy were trying to tell her to show David that she was interested him, Phoebe was pretty sure that she wasn’t. He was good looking, but that was about all she noticed about him.

  “Maybe you’ll find a summer romance. Those can be a lot of fun. When I was about your age I met the sweetest young man, we had a great summer,” the elder woman said as her eyes glazed a bit thinking back in time. “It was a few years before I met your uncle. That was an entirely different type of romance, but it is nice being young and in love, isn’t it?”

  Phoebe shrugged without committing to anything. Her eyes wandered towards the windows and door revealing the sun shining down on the river in sparkling wrinkles of light in the rippling current. Aunt Nancy must have noted her niece’s attention wandering as she quickly added, “The other girls went out to the water a little while ago. You might want to brush your teeth before heading out though. It will probably be a long day of fun for you, kids.”

  Nodding, the young woman followed her aunt’s advice before she went outside to find the other girls already swimming or sitting on the dock sunning themselves. The boys were fiddling with the boat by that point, though Phoebe had a feeling it was more to get away from her aunt than to really do anything necessary. Some of her friends had boats and there didn’t seem to be that much to worry about them.

  Emily smiled and waved from the dock where she and Katie in their own bikinis sat kicking at the water lazily as they talked. Taylor was close by but in the water playing catch with a Frisbee that the younger girls were tossing back and forth as well as to the older girl.

  As Phoebe walked onto the dock, Emily got up to greet her while Katie followed more slowly. “I was wondering if you would be awake anytime soon. You were really out of it this morning,” her cousin stated. The girl wore a blue string bikini top similar to Phoebe’s while a gauzy wrap covered her bikini bottom. Katie in her white two-piece seemed a little annoyed.

  “Yeah, that jetlag is murder. I just hope I don’t look like too much of a mess.”

  Rolling her head in mock disgust, Katie finished the look by saying, “Ok, I may have to hate her. If this is a bad day for your cousin’s looks, I am seriously going to hate her. You look gorgeous. I don’t know how you do it, because you looked exhausted when we tried to get you up.”

  Blushing slightly, Phoebe wasn’t quite sure whether to be insulted or flattered by her words. She gave Katie a more thorough glance wondering why the girl would say such a thing about her. The curly blonde was shorter than the Australian, but her curves made Phoebe a bit jealous as well. Being tall and lean was good for some tastes, but the brunette often wished she had more hips and chest. “That’s kind of nice of you to say. I think,” Phoebe said questioning the girl’s words. “I’m glad I’m not a mess, but I actually wish I had your curves. You’re very pretty, Katie. I hear that you have a lot of boyfriends. I can understand why.”

  It was the blonde’s turn to blush and Emily started giggling at her expense. “God, she is super sweet too,” Katie complained to her friend who was still giggling. “I can’t hate her. It would be like trying to hate a cute little puppy. It’s just impossible.”

  “Anyway,” Emily began by ignoring her friend’s attempt to escape embarrassment, “if everyone’s ready for a day trip on the boat. I’ve already put some snacks and sandwiches in a cooler on board. There’s a bunch of drinks in there since it will be pretty warm today too.” Speaking a little louder and turning to the girls in the water. “Are you guys coming along?”

  Faith and Brook exchanged glances and began moving towards the dock as Taylor pulled herself out of the water onto the platform. Faith questioned her sister as she moved closer, “Is there going to be enough room for everyone? Since you have two friends, I think there might be a seating problem.”

  “Well, you two can stay behind if you want,” Emily replied in annoyance. The two girls seemed to have a never ending struggle at getting along lately. Being the older sister, Emily tried to be calm and cool with her little sister, but there were times where her patience ran thin. With all their guests and Phoebe being there in particular, the older girl just wanted everyone to have fun and get along. It was too early in the morning for Faith to start riding her already. Her face reddened a bit as she tried not to get angry.

  Meanwhile, the younger Cantrell snapped, “You’d probably like to ditch us. Then you’d have a better chance at getting David to yourself.” The younger girl was intentionally loud as she tried to embarrass her sister in front of the boys. A smirk, as she caught David’s surprised look in their direction that served to make her sister add a blush to her already reddening cheeks, crossed her face smugly.

  “Jerk,” Katie stated for her friend who refused to say anything for herself as Emily knew nothing good would come of a mean word. “Your sister’s trying to be nice. Now why don’t you knock it off before I decide to let you on the boat just so I can throw you back out and drown you?”

  “Yeah right,” Faith immediately quipped knowing that she was already under both of their skins.

  Katie turned to say quietly to Emily, “Oh, she’s decided to be a pain today hasn’t she? Maybe I should stay behind so I don’t wind up killing her?”

  Taking a deep breath, Emily took Phoebe and Katie each by an arm and turned them towards the boat and the boys. “She usually settles down after a couple of tries to make me mad. Come on. It’ll be fine, besides Faith wouldn’t want to be a jerk in front of Adam and David. She likes boys too much and she adores Adam too much to ruin everyone’s day.”

  After everyone had gathered their things for the trip, the eight of them boarded the twenty-five foot speed boat and found that there was still enough seating for everyone to be comfortable. Emily didn’t bother to point the fact out to her little sister, though Katie made a point of stretching her legs out before her and her hands moved behind her head in a pose of comfort.

  Faith made a little face from where she sat with Brook in the front seats catching the intentional jab.

  Phoebe glanced to Emily thinking sarcastically that the day was off to a great start.

  Chapter 3- A Day at the Beach

  Under a warm June sun, the
water sparkled and the green of the trees and brush around them seemed even more vibrant than they should be. Phoebe was surprised by the amount of different water fowl that ignored the boat as it passed. The rivers and islands were rich with a variety of birds that the girl couldn’t recognize, though some looked like the familiar varieties of the Gold Coast.

  Where her home was laced with an abundance of canals, both natural and a few man made, islands around Charleston formed a chaotic web of river channels and marsh lands. The rivers often were dangerous for travel, since waterways could quickly snarl with the marsh grasses and mud. For all the similarities between her home and Charleston, it was often the slightest of variations that seemed to leap out at her.

  Adam skillfully navigated the rivers without any issues arising, however. While Emily seemed to be watching for an error despite his skill, she managed to refrain from actually backseat driving though her brother could feel her critical eye on his movements. Instead the girl tried to simply enjoy the friends around her. Conversations between the girls and boys ran from casual talk to trying to figure out if they wanted a particular destination. When talk of running over to Folly Island came up again, they decided to check it out. The island could be a bit crowded as it was a popular tourist area, but they decided it was worth a shot.

  It took longer to get there than Phoebe had thought it would from the way the others had talked, but the sun and pretty scenery made for a nice morning’s travel on the river. The girl wasn’t a big fan of sailing or even swimming, but she did enjoy a nice sunny day to get some color to her skin. Wearing just her comfortable bikini and reclining in the surprisingly comfortable boat seat was very relaxing, so Phoebe’s biggest worry was letting her jetlag put her back to sleep.

  “Your home’s pretty close to the ocean, isn’t it?” Katie asked trying to keep up a conversation that had been bouncing back and forth for nearly an hour among the six in the back half of the boat. The younger girls seemed content to hang out together in the front and pretty much ignored the others as they sunned themselves.