1st 50 pages of BITE!

CHAPTER ONE

They had finally made it!

After 6 hours in the air, two layovers - some bitchy flight attendant – vomiting up bad food; they had arrived in Killimee, Florida – Sea Treasures Resort. Wow!!!! Sean, Katty and Jayden could hardly wait to get their Spring Break adventure started.

Spring Break couldn't come fast enough! They had worked hard at their part-time jobs, saving enough money to get here. Katty had slaved away at a burger joint, scraping off sloppy grease from the back splash of greasy hamburgers. Sean had carted around old ladies in an even older, beat up taxi he drove for his uncle's taxi cab business. Jace had worked at Home Depot by moving around heavy bags of fertilizer that smelled of manure. And Jayden – well...he slept most of his way as a part-time security guard at a PawnUrCrap Pawn Store.

“Party time!” Shouted Sean as he and his friends left the airport lobby. Once outside, he put on his super dark aviator sunglasses. The sunglasses instantly changed his personality into something even more arrogant. He suddenly thought he was very cool, and let everyone around him know it with an overconfident strut.

Sean looked around from side to side. From the jogger with the cute little fluffy dog to the big tough guy on the Harley Davidson motorcycle, Sean knew that everybody was looking at him. Why wouldn't they? He looked like an effin' rock star!

Jace whistled loudly, calling a hail for a taxi. A bright yellow-checkered taxi cab pulled up front. The old friends climbed in, not wanting to waste a single minute to get the party started. As the taxi cab driver picked up their luggage and put them in the trunk, Jace, Sean, Jayden and Katty all squeezed into the back. They all jumbled into the small back seat, cramming in like sardines. Jace stepped on Katty's toe, and Jayden's elbow punched the side of Sean's face.

Jace looked all around him, seeing nothing but a big city full activity, lights and traffic. Jace, excited to be here, hooped, “Oh yeahhh!”

Katty looked outside of the taxi cab's back window with excitement. She had never been to Florida before. The sun was shining brightly now, and tall, steel ribbed skyscrapers pierced through the electrifying blue sky. Katty wondered what it was like to be in a tropical heat. She was curious if it was anything like the sauna she occasionally visited at the YMCA. That place was hot and sticky, but in a good way. She wondered if Florida was just the same.

The taxi cab driver began to drive deeper into the heart of the city. Even during the day, the lights shined as brilliantly as night, however they appeared more muted because of the drowning sun.

As the taxi cab driver drove, the friends began to chit-chat.

“Did you see that one flight attendant?” Asked Sean to his friends, reminiscing about the flight. “She had the ass of a rap star Queen!” Sean made a smacking notion with his hand. “Sha-zaaaam!”

Katty was instantly disgusted. Sean had a big mouth, and a bigger disrespect for woman. He needed a filter. “Will you guys knock it off?” She snarled. Katty took her light brown hair out of her scrunchie, gave it a little movement, then tucked it back in again until it made a messy ponytail. “We are here for some fun in the sun. Not some whack in the sack.”

Jace instantly laughed. He found Katty entertaining. The things that sometimes would fly out of Katty's mouth! “Who says 'whack in the sack'?”

Jayden spoke up. It wasn't like Jayden to speak up very often, but every once in awhile Jayden would interrupt with his simple, yet - direct conversation. “Katty.”

“Yeah.” Jace agreed.

Jace reached down, and grabbed a water bottle from out of his backpack. He opened it up, and took a sip. “Only Katty would come up with something so weird.” Jace was clearly referring to the fact that Katty was, some would say - “different”.

“To each their own.” Interjected Jayden.

Jayden looked at himself briefly in the rear view mirror. He had wished he hadn't gotten that military-style brush cut. He knew Florida was going to be hot, so on an impulse, he had shaved off all of his hair. He was very spontaneous like that. He got his hair cut last week, and so his hair had begun to grow back – imitating that of a short prickly porcupine. He had dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes. His ancestry was that of a mixed race. He was Indian and African-American. He wore a Nike sport t-shirt with basketball shorts. A pair of expensive pumps fashioned his size 14 feet. Big shoes, for big feet for a big guy. He towered at over 6 foot 3 inches tall. He was the tallest guy on the Football team, but the shortest on the basketball team. He was lanky and lean, but also quiet and reserved. He was what many called “A gentle giant”.

“Yeah, sorry if we aren't looking for some Prince Charming like you Princess.” Teased Sean. The upper corners of Sean's lips curled exclusively. Sean always had a smart thing to say. The show-off of the bunch, Sean could say things that made him out to be such a jerk. He now looked at himself in the mirror, thinking he was pretty special. He was a good-looking guy, and both he and the girls around him knew that. From Italian descent, he had jet black hair, and brooding dark chocolate eyes. His skin was tanned evenly without the help of the sun – only genetics. He dressed to the nines, making sure that his wardrobe consisted nothing of a metro-sexual style. Today he wore a light blue polo shirt with a Ralph Lauren emblem stitched on the chest, the collar prepped up and snotty. He also wore a pair of perfect fitting khaki shorts without a crease or a wrinkle, as well as a pair of ankle socks and Adidas slip on sandals. His hair had been slicked back by a jar of hair gel, and his right ear was pierced with a diamond. A gold necklace with a gold claw hung from his neck.

“Shut up.” Katty angrily quipped.

Katty desperately needed to ignore Sean. She wasn't going to put up with his crap for the rest of her trip. Sure, Sean was like a brother – close to her and one of her best friends. But also like a brother, he was constantly teasing and annoying her as well. She hated that!

“I won't shut up.” Sean lashed out. Instead of teasing her now, he completely changed his attitude to just plain mean. “When will you wake up and realize that love only happens in those stupid, historical romance novels you read? Those books are not the real world. Wake up!”

Katty instantly looked away from the window she was daydreaming out of, to take a good look at Sean. She flashed him a dirty look. She couldn't believe that Sean 'just went there'. How could he be so mean? How could he say something like that? How rude! He knew how much those historical novels meant to her. They were her life. They were the reason she would wake up every morning. If it wasn't for her mushy novels, she would just throw the sheet up over her head and call it a day.

Jace instantly went to her defense. He may be friends with both Sean and Katty, but when he thought there was something of merit to defend against, he didn't mind becoming a temporary enemy. “Leave her alone Sean.” He raged. His blue eyes fiercely went into attack mode. “Everyone needs to dream.”

Although Jace had defended Katty, it didn't encourage Sean to feel any sympathy whatsoever. He gave full attitude. “I'm just trying to help, that's all.”

Katty turned to Jayden. Jayden was now listening to his I-pod, his hands banging against his knee as if he were playing the drums to go along with the loud bass beat. Katty took one of the ear buds out Jayden's ears so that he may hear her ask a question. “What about you Jayden? Do you think I need to stop reading those novels?”

Jayden, who was the quiet one in the group, didn't have much to say in return. “Nah.” He replied, putting his ear buds back into his eardrum in place.

Then, being that all four of them had just arrived at the hotel, Jayden added, “We're here!”

All four friends looked out of the taxi's window. They were absolutely stunned with what they saw. Sea Treasures Resort. Wow! The hotel was beautiful! Much more luxurious than all of them had ever dreamed of. The hotel was made of stucco and fancy concrete. Bright, colorful stained glass windows peeked out over across the ocean. Palm trees lined the front in a beautiful army of lush greenery. A large welcoming lobby with cathedral high ceilings waited for their arrival. Glass doors with gold etching that read “Sea Treasures Resort” greeted the welcoming of its new guests.

“Wowwwww!!!” Katty excitedly exclaimed as she looked around. The taxi cab driver opened up the back door, and Katty got out. By this time, she had put on an oversized straw hat on her head. A little breeze had flustered through the day, and the hat instantly was lifted off. Katty quickly grabbed it, before it could blow away.

Katty couldn't believe what she saw. Was this a mirage? A hallucination? Katty felt like she needed to pinch herself. Was this real?

The other boys now got out of the taxi. They also drooled over the sights. Never, in their wildest dreams, did they ever envision such a luxurious hotel to accommodate their Spring Break needs.

Katty turned to the boys. She had her suspicions. “Are you sure we have the right hotel?” Katty stood there quietly, quite confused that this just may be the place. This resort seemed nice. Too nice for a bunch of young Spring Breakers like them. It was a place that seemed outrageously beyond their budget. “It seems way too nice for the money we paid for.”

Jace looked down at the receipt he had downloaded off the internet. “This is the place.” He confirmed. The name and price on the receipt said it all. It matched. “Sea Treasures Resort.”

“Strange.” Katty instantly grew curious. She needed to investigate into this matter further. She was the smart one in the group. They had only paid $39.99 for the room a night. Splitting the bill – that was only $10.00 a night. Compared to the other ones online, it was at least $100.00 cheaper! So what was wrong with this place? Why was Killimee, Florida – especially Sea Treasures Resort so much more cheaper than the other Spring Break hotels? What was the difference?

Sean scanned his eyes all around. The sun was shining it's brightest now, and the Palm trees appeared to be dancing in the sun's spotlight. “Wow, this is Paradise!”

“It is!” Jace agreed cheerily. He liked what he saw. He saw what postcards showed when you received those 'Wish you were here' greetings from a far-a-way land.

Jace noticed a large fountain out in front that was spitting up gallons of freshwater to swim among a sparkly basin. This wasn't just a luxurious hotel. This was Utopia! “I've never been to a place like this before.”

A couple of cute girls passed by the group of friends. They were wearing tiny little bikini's, strings holding the swimsuits by a thread. Their long and dark, wavy hair bounced as they skipped past. Dark, oversized sunglasses hid the sun from their eyes. And their skin glowed like melted chocolate underneath the Florida sunshine. The hot girls immediately caught Sean's attention. Sean pulled his dark glasses down to the tip of his nose, then looked over the dark lenses. “Yeah, this place is BANGIN'!”

Katty flashed Sean a dirty look. Yup, that was Sean. Loud mouth, always looking to get laid...

That's when Sean saw her. She was bleach blonde, legs up to her neck. She was 6 foot 2, with a tall and lanky build, thin as a board. Washboard abs worked her middle. The beautiful blonde flicked her head to the side, allowing her long silky hair to collectively gather behind her back. She wore a red hot bikini with gold chain, and a pair of red high heel wedged shoes. Noticing that Sean was staring at her, she pierced a look through her super dark shaded sunglasses.

“You watch me, yes?” The woman flicked back, feeling rather annoyed that Sean's eyes had super glued themselves onto her body and every move. Photographers were snapping pictures of her, and wild white lights went flashing.

“Yeah baby!” Sean didn't hold back. “You are smokin' girl! You want my number?”

The woman smiled faintly, showing off that she was not amused by Sean's over-the-top confidence. However, she had come across guys like Sean before. A million times over. She was to play his game. “Yes, yes, you give?” She answered in her Swedish accent. The woman was in her mid 20's. She was a popular Swedish model who had graced such magazines as Maxim and Cosmopolitan. She had even dated Justin Beiber a time or two. Her name was Katarina Niklas.

Sean fiddled around in his backpack. He found some paper, and a pen to write with. Quickly, he scribbled down his cell phone number. Then, he gave it to the tall, leggy Swedish model. She took it. He couldn't wait until she called! If he only knew that wasn't what she had planned. Rather, it was something more sinister and cold.

Upon having Sean's number in her hand, Katarina crumpled it up, allowing it to manifest into a ball of paper waste. Then, she tossed it – the crumpled up paper landing right in the fountain. The friends watched in horror as the paper floated to the top. Katarina followed her bad behavior by giving Sean a brief mean-like smile. She then gathered up her entourage, and walked off snottily.

Jace pulled Sean away from his fantasy. “Come on Sean. Let's go.” Jace wasn't too pleased with the model's attitude, but Sean had been infatuated with it. He liked woman like this. Sassy!

“I'm in love.” Sean continued to watch this leggy model walk away. Katarina disappeared into the crowd at the beach, walking into the bright light of the Florida sun. Even though she was now gone, Sean knew he would have her one day. And one day, that beautiful, sassy, and leggy Swedish model was going to become his girlfriend!

***

Jace, Jayden, Sean, and Katty got the key from the front lobby, then took the elevator to their hotel room. Unlucky 13 was the number. Katty just hoped it wasn't a sign of future bad luck.

The room was just as beautiful as the hotel was on the outside. Luxurious linens donned the King-sized Beds, and gold satin pillows completed the look. A large gold scalloped laced mirror hung over a mahogany wood dresser. Asian-inspired silk curtains hung to the floor on the outer window. Marble counter-tops with a gold sink decorated the bathroom with exquisite luxury.

However as luxurious as the room was, a worn, beat up cot was set up in the corner to respect the online reservations. Katty, not wanting to sleep with one of the boys, had called ahead of time to make sure that another sleeping arrangement had been made. She found it odd that such a fancy hotel had pushed in such a wreck of a cot. She swore she even saw yellow piss stains that could have been urine.

Katty instantly took to the King-sized bed closest to the door. She threw herself on it, and stretched herself out widely.

“Okay boys, I have my bed.” Katty claimed, defending her territory.

“Hey, not fair!” Shouted Sean, peeved that Katty had been such a greedy opportunist.

Katty threw a pillow towards Sean. It hit him hard. Sean instantly caught it. He was good at catching things that were thrown his way. He was a High School football player. He had mad skills.

“Go find your own mattress, Jock.” Katty playfully teased.

When Sean and Jace scrambled to get dibs on the other bed, Jayden had already made his way towards the cot. He was now sleeping on it, passed out cold turkey. He didn't care if the cot was older than him. Or if the cot smelled nasty, and looked even nastier. He was dead tired, and he was going to relax on anything that was going to make him perpendicular. He had already stolen about five pillows and was now passed out on them in a heaping pile of snores.

“Looks like you guys don't have to fight over it now.” Katty marked.

Katty began to roll around on her new and luxurious bed. She felt the softness of the comforter hug her like a lover, and the gentleness of the sheets embrace her inner happiness. She had never felt such luxury before. After feeling what she felt, she knew she could easily get used to this. Ahhhh....this was the life. Relaxing in the down of heaven, all the while having not a care in the world. The plane trip had been hell, but this moment made it well worth it.

Jace began to stretch out his arms high over his head and yawned. “Looks like Jayden has the right idea.” Jace laid back, placing his tired head on the feather pillow. He could feel the fluff of the pillow as if it were a heavenly cloud. And he could feel the down of the comforter feel like he was floating on air.

“Yeah.” Agreed Sean, who now began to lay down in the bed he was to share with Jace for the rest of Spring Break. He hated sleeping next to his best friend, but it was the card he was dealt. He couldn't understand why Katty and Jace couldn't shack up together. Where was he going to bring a chick if he decided to bring her home? Jace was a horrible bed mate. Jace tossed and turned in his sleep, as well as farted. He farted the stinkiest farts anyone has ever smelled. Jace always blamed it on his all protein diet. But Sean knew better. Sean knew it was those fried onion rings he would sneak in late at night, along with those Johnny's hot dogs with the sauce that looked like diarrhea. Jace may play the game that he was a healthy eater in public, but the truth of the matter was; that he was a closet fast food junkie.

Sean laid a few of the fluffy feather pillows in between Jace and himself as if to create a barrier. “I could use some sleep now myself.” Sean settled into bed, rolled over on his side, then fell asleep.

Jace farted.

Upon Sean instantly smelling the fart, he pushed him over on Jace's side of the bed further, almost pushing him off the bed. “Pig!” Sean instantly roared out of disgust. “God! I sure hope that he doesn't do that the whole time we are here!”

The fart smell lingered Katty's way. Once it made its putrid entrance up her nostrils, Katty nearly barfed. “What the smurfs?” Holding her nose and her breath at the same time, Katty tried hard not to inhale the pungency of a stinky fart. Unfortunately, it was too much for her to bear, and it sneakily made it's intrusion. “Onion rings?”

“Yeah.” Sean replied shortly. He rolled his eyes. “Saw him sneak them in on the plane.”

“Nice.” Katty retorted back. Jace and his fast food. A dirty secret that wasn't so dirty among his friends.

“Okay, okay, you caught me!” Jace screamed, feeling slightly embarrassed about his secret that had been exposed. “I snuck in some onion rings. I have a problem, okay?”

Sean and Katty broke into laughter. The laughter subsided early, and her two friends began to grow ever so sleepy.

“I'm out.” Jace exited.

“Me too.” Followed Sean.

Katty couldn't believe that her friends were merphing her like this. They had just got here, and they were already going to sleep? What party poopers.

“You're going to sleep?” Asked Katty, right as Jace was closing his eyes.

“Yeah.” Jace replied back, his eyelids feeling heavier with each second that passed. “That flight really kicked my butt.” Jace could feel a wave of drowsiness wash over his body. He was dead tired. Why did he have to go out and party the night before? He was only asking for it. Spring Break – the dream that kept him from not losing his sanity was here, and here he was – sleeping. Or at least trying to.

With eyes half-shut, Jace faintly looked over to Katty. Katty was now sitting on the edge of her bed, terribly disgusted that her friends were falling asleep on her so soon. “You're not tired?”

“Nope!” Katty piped. “Been drinking fruit smoothies to prepare for this. Plus, I got my night's worth of sleep...unlike you boys. Perhaps if you weren't out all night partying, then you wouldn't feel so sleepy right now.” Katty. Always the mom of the bunch. The biggest killjoy.

Jace now closed his eyes shut. “You're weird.” Jace turned on his right side, then he turned to his left. Then he turned again. All the tossing and turning ticked Sean right off. He took one of the pillows that had made a soft wall between him, and smacked him across the head. Jace shook off the abuse, then gave Sean a little push.

“I may be weird,” Quipped Katty, as she began to get up from off the bed. “But who is the one up now to enjoy this Paradise?” Now completely off the bed, Katty began to leave. She was ready to start her Spring Break adventure!

Jace, noticing Katty's departure, suddenly opened up his eyes back up. “Hey, where are you going?”

“Shopping!” Katty chirped. She grabbed her purse from off the chair, and swung it up over her shoulder. Her purse was a woven quilted fabric, with bright blue flowers and hot pink paisley swirls. Her initials “KA” were stitched on it in turquoise thread. Her floral purse was stuffed full of stuff, and it looked like it could pop open at any moment.

“Shopping?” Jace was perplexed. “You brought five suitcases. What do you need to buy?”

It was true. Katty had brought five suitcases with her. It had cost her a lot of extra money for all of her extra stuff. Only one of the suitcases had clothes in it. The others were full of other things, such as her crocheting project she was working on (a blanket for the old folks home down the street), as well as photo albums full of pictures of her kitty cats, crossword puzzles, and just one suitcase full of books. Not just any books, but all her Historical Romance Novels. She couldn't leave the house without a whole library of Harlequin Romance!

Katty briefly opened up her purse, then searched through it until she found her wallet. It was a difficult search through all the stuff. Katty was what would many called a Hoarder. Being a Hoarder didn't just stop at home, rather it followed her outside of the house. Her purse was an extension of her hoarding addiction. Many things she could have thrown away, like the one-eyed furry cat made out of rabbit fur that she had bought at the fair, but Katty liked her stuff wherever she went. It gave her a sense of security. Once the wallet was found, she looked into it. She counted her money. Barely a lot of money to go on vacation, but enough to buy her a few drinks, a few meals, and something else that she needed for Spring Break. “A bathing suit.” Katty closed her wallet shut, then shut her purse completely. She struggled with the zipper because of all the stuff jammed inside, but with great effort, she had managed to zip it.

Jace closed his eyes once more, and began to drift away. “Nice. Bathing suit.” He grumbled to himself. “She fly's down to Florida, and she doesn't even bring a bathing suit.” Jace couldn't believe Katty sometimes. As much as he loved her as a friend, Katty was quirky. She was the only girl that he knew that would go on vacation and not bring that one necessary item that everybody on vacation would bring. With that thought, Jace closed his eyes for good, and fell asleep.

Jet lagged and plain exhausted, Jace, Sean and Jayden settled in for their killer afternoon naps at their new hotel room. They dreamed of hot girls, flowing beer, and warm sand in between their toes. Yes, this was their Paradise.

Katty, however, had other plans. She would try her best at shopping for a bathing suit to wear at the beach. Unlike Sean, Jayden and Jace who were here in Florida to party, Katty was here to find Spring Break love. However, she wasn't going to find love being covered from head to toe. She was going to find it by looking smokin' hot, and beautiful. And that meant by buying a bathing suit. But not just ANY bathing suit … a bikini! Katty wasn't the pretty girl in the world. Regrettably for Katty, she wasn't smokin' hot – or beautiful. She was quite geeky with mousy brown hair, bad acne skin, thick coke bottle glasses, and tiny boobs. And so, Katty thought by buying a pretty bikini, she had a slight chance of finding the Spring Break love she was looking for. Appearances were everything right? She hated that. She didn't believe this herself. She just wished that she could find a boy who liked her for who she was. A smart girl with thick glasses who liked to read historical romance novels. Unfortunately, she was smart enough to know that wasn't how it worked. As well as knowing there was no other man in the world who equaled her love of novels historically set in the early 1800's.

Katty swung her purse, and made her way down the hallway. She then meandered through the labyrinth of random hallways until she reached the big, beautiful lobby of this luxurious resort. She waved goodbye to the desk clerk, then walked out into the beautiful sunny day.

Katty happily headed down Conch Shell Avenue. Conch Shell Avenue offered lots of shopping. Small little touristy shops planked the boardwalk with their quirky merchandise and charm. Katty just hoped that one of these shops offered what she was looking for – a bikini that she could wear to attract a boy to her like honey.

It was an absolutely perfect April day. The blue sky was heavenly, and the air was warm and fresh. It was great to be so close by the ocean. There was something about being near the ocean that made Katty feel so refreshed and clean. It was 89 degrees out. Hot by Katty's standards. But to the local Floridians, it was just another normal, typical day in Paradise. Katty couldn't help but to feel thrilled that she had begun her first day of Spring Break! This was going to be the greatest time of her life!

Katty's flip flops flopped noisily over the boardwalk as she made her way speedily towards a marketed collage of the multiple tourist shops. She sped fast, whizzing past a busy, overcrowded restaurant that served pints of dark ale beer and fresh from the sea battered fish with soupy tartar sauce. The restaurant was called “King of the Sea”. She briefly looked inside the restaurant, wanting a piece of larger than your plate fried fish. She knew she would just have to resist. How ever would she look good in a bikini if she treated herself to a fish fry right now? She would surely gain a pound and bloat. She knew that if she was going to continue to look good in her less than there swimsuit, that she was going to have to starve herself. The high caloric fish was just going to have to wait.

But the fish fry – it smelled so good! If she lived back in Rochester now, she surely would be diving into the flaky crust right at this very minute. She never really cared much about her weight until now. She was a little chunky and had a few extra pounds on her. She had been depressed lately, and because of it, anything sweet or salty went straight into her mouth. Currently, she was addicted to Baby Back Rib potato chips dipped in the sweet chocolate nectar of Nutella. Sometimes she wondered if she wasn't just depressed, but rather pregnant. She even took a pregnancy test. Negative. She wondered if she should go back to Health class and learn about the Birds and the Bees. Duh, Katty, you need to have sex to get pregnant! Katty never had sex before. She was one of those old-fashioned girls who believed to wait to have sex until you got married. Even though she was so smart, sometimes she felt so dumb. She actually liked to have a few pounds extra on her body. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she thought she looked voluptuous. But she was going to be in competition with hot girls now. Girls who wore teeny tiny bikini's with small, skinny frames. Ugh! She instantly felt self-conscious just thinking about it.

Katty soon found herself in front of “Stellar Boutique”. It was beachwear shop that specialized in nothing but swimwear to keep the Spring Breaker girls looking awesome, fun and flirty.

Katty instantly noticed an eeny teeny bikini worn by a mannequin out front that instantly struck her fancy. It was hot pink with ruffles. She surely would get boys wearing that! But the more she thought about it, the more naked it made her feel. Her goal was to buy a small bikini, but when it was time to buy it, she instantly chickened out.

Moving her eyes ever so casually across the showcasing glass window, she suddenly saw it – the bathing suit that made her feel more like who she was. A mannequin was wearing the bathing suit, posed to play a game of volleyball on a fake beach. It was a navy blue swimsuit with absolutely no frills or fancy embellishments. It was a one-piece, plain and boring, except for a little tuck to the side that slightly showed off the upper thigh of the right leg. Oh my goodness – showing off an inch of her upper thigh would be scandalous! The swimsuit was perfect for what she wanted. She never liked to show off too much skin. She was much too modest for that. She was quiet and shy, and her clothes mimicked that. However, she was surprised that she even made it here to Sea Treasures Resort, as it was a place not for girls like her. But her three best friends in the world, Sean, Jace and Jayden had talked her into flying down here, and hanging out with them to have the party of their life. But for Katty, it wasn't a party, rather it was a place where she would find true love. She just had to have this swimsuit. Perhaps wearing this bathing suit would attract the boy of her dreams. I mean, it did show about an inch of her leg. That would be enough to attract a boy like a bee to honey - wouldn't it?

Katty fought with herself to walk into the shop. Could she spend so much money on one bathing suit? She hadn't brought down a lot of money with her. Her Mom did give her her credit card, just in case she needed it for an emergency. And this was an emergency, wasn't it? I mean, her love life was on the line!

Katty allowed her eyes to roam over the matronly bathing suit that teased her in the window. The more she looked at it, the more she thought that maybe it wasn't for her after all. It was a little low-cut in the front (just a little). And the color, even though it was blue and dull, had a small embellished print. This print may be a bit too much. She was used to even duller colors than this kind of printed blue - like grays and earthy tones of brown and neutral colors.

Katty would be the first one to admit that she was dowdy. She dressed more like a forty-year old mom, than a 18-year-old teenager. Even today, she was dressed pretty dull and boring. She wore a pair of dark Capri pants, a brown long-sleeved plain jersey t-shirt, and a pair of tube socks with a pair of white canvas boat shoes. She wore no jewelry, no accessories whatsoever. Just plain, boring Katty.

As the day progressed forward, the sun shined even lighter; angling a shadow to highlight the bathing suits in a fashionable showcase of awe. The ocean wind carried a warm breeze that rode in from the ocean from the west, and the happy laughter of young tourists rang out loudly in the air. They carried about happily, all dressed in their barely nothing outfits of booty shorts and barely tied bikini tops. Their loud voices of their gossip chit-chatted echoed throughout the boardwalk. This teenage chaos reminded Katty even more of why she had to buy this cute bathing suit. It was a matter of life and death. There was just too much competition in this town in order to gain a boy's attention. This bathing suit may be the only lifeline that she had between getting a boyfriend, and being single for the rest of her life. She was soon to go away to college. Once there, she already promised that she would spend all her time studying. She was the first person in her family to ever go to college, and she wanted to make her Mom proud. She was going to go to Stanford University on a full scholarship. She was going to become a geriatric podiatrist doctor. If you don't know what that is, that's a foot doctor for old people. No man wants to date a girl who is going to school so that she may get a job that works with stinky old feet all day long. So her chance to snag a man was now. Time was of the essence.

Katty thought how exciting it was to come here. Wow. Florida! A whole other state. It was a new season, where nobody knew her except for Jace, Sean and Jayden. There were new people to meet. New places to see, and do. She had always recognized as the geek in school. Unlike Jace, Sean and Jayden who were the jocks. But Katty had been friends with the boys ever since they were in elementary school. Jace, was also her next door neighbor. They shared a deep history together. When they were little, they used to ride bikes everywhere and go to the park to play. And even though High School changed their lives, it had not changed their friendship. Their friendship was stronger than ever before.

Katty unleashed her ponytail, then gathered it back into her scrunchie. The brisk walk had loosened up her ponytail, making a mess out of her hair. Her hair was long, all the way down to her butt, but nobody would have known that as she always kept it held tightly back. She never liked to wear her hair down. Even at Homecoming Dance, she wore her hair back tightly into a rigid bun.

Katty noticed her reflection in the window. Her dorky glasses were tipped and sat crooked on her nose. Her freakishly nerdy black glasses had square lenses that supported her thick blind-as-a-bat eyeglass prescription. She thought they were cool, until she saw some 90-year old woman wear them when she went grocery shopping one day. Katty wore no makeup, and a new zit had surfaced right below her lip and on her chin. She looked closely in the reflection, then pinching her finger up over the rogue zit, she popped the zit. Oceans of puss messed up the freshly washed window with its white sticky goop. Katty made a desperate attempt to clean the zit puss from off the window, but it was a total fail. She only made more of a mess, smearing it all over the glass.

Katty looked around to see if anybody had noticed her popping the zit against the shop's window. Luckily, nobody had noticed. It was as if she was invisible all the time. 24 hours/7 days a week. The only people who did slightly notice her, was her mom, as well as her best friends. Her mom was a violin teacher at the local college. Her dad was dead. Her mom was the only family that she had. Well, she did have a grandmother. But she didn't count. She rarely saw her. After her dad died, her grandmother had nothing more to do with her. Her grandmother couldn't bear to see Katty. Every time she saw Katty, she saw her dead son. As family was concerned, her mom was the only person that she really had. If it wasn't for Sean, Jace and Jayden, she wouldn't have any friends. They weren't just friends. But they were family, too. Sean, Jace and Jayden hung out with Katty constantly. They were inseparable. She often wondered if it hadn't been for them, if she would ever had any friends at all. But even now, between girlfriends, and football and baseball, they weren't even as attentive as they used to be. It was as if she hardly even existed. Katty hated that. She wanted to be noticed. She wanted to be loved. But most importantly, she wanted to be a someone. A somebody. A girl that everyone would remember. She wanted everyone to remember her name. Katty Angeles. The girl that everyone wanted to be.

With confidence, Katty pushed open the door of the boutique. A loud buzzing ring rang in the air as she stepped inside. The loud sound nearly scared the bee-jesus out of her. She jumped. A few touristy girls were at the jewelry counter, giggling and carrying on about some wild feather earrings that tickled their necks as they tried them on. To the right, a few other tourist girls were trying to squeeze on skimpy little bikinis that were two sizes too small on their already small bodies. Katty couldn't help but to think that the bikinis looked like they would fit her Barbie dolls at home. Yes. Even at 18 years old, Katty had Barbie dolls still at home. Yes. Katty still occasionally played with them too. Poor Katty.

The shop smelled nice. It smelled of fresh lavender and vanilla. Fresh incense burned from every corner. The fragrance lingered through the air pleasantly, intoxicating Katty to become drunk on its high-like perfume. She always liked nice smells and it made her feel closer to home. She often burned incense herself. She had lots of cats, and she was always needing to cover up that “kitty smell”.

Katty headed past bright, neon-colored bathing suits and teeny weeny bikinis and wild tropical print beach cover ups and tacky tourist t-shirts and colorful summer skirts that rain bowed among the long raffia fabrics. Katty wasn't interested in any of these. The only thing she was interested in was that plain, boring swimsuit that was displayed in the front window on an even more plain and boring mannequin. She quickly wondered why such a wildly colorful shop had displayed such a boring piece of swimwear. That thought, however,would have to randomly sit on a memory shelf because she was on a mission now. To find out how much that bathing suit was - to see if it came in her size – and to see if it fit.

Noticing the store clerk ringing out a customer, Katty decided to take a chance and go through the swimwear rack to see if any other bathing suit would catch her eye. She pulled out, but immediately rejected - a bright orange bikini with padded cups on top, and a padded tush in the back. She instantly thought this bikini would be perfect for someone wanting to look exactly like Kim Kardashian. Just to get a round-about idea as to how expensive this shop was, she looked at the tag. The price tag on the bathing suit was $146.99. $146.99!?!? Were these people crazy? There wasn't even a half yard of fabric on this bathing suit! Katty had bought at whole yard at her local fabric shop on sale for only $5.99. And it was enough to make a pillow for her bed, some curtains, and a fashionable scarf for her oldest cat, Cooter Monkey!

'That's insane.' Thought Katty. She immediately dismissed this store. Katty knew she couldn't afford the bathing suit out front. She put her head down in disappointment. Perhaps there was a cheaper place around here. Or perhaps, she could find a popular department store like Kmart. She loved Kmart. You can always get good deals there! They always had great prices that her budget could afford. This store Stellar Boutique? So far; not so much.

Nevertheless, upon second thought - Katty decided she would march ahead. Perhaps there was a slim chance that the bathing suit in the front window was affordable. People win the lottery every day, don't they? Maybe the bathing suit was within her slim price range? Would it fit into her tight budget? Thoughts raced wildly in her head. She now thought that perhaps she should have bought a bathing suit back in Rochester. How could she go on vacation on the ocean and not have a bathing suit? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

However, to her credit - she wasn't much of a shopper and didn't want to spend days looking for a bathing suit. She figured she would save her money, and just buy a bathing suit here while she was out and about searching for souvenirs. She didn't think buying a bathing suit was going to be that hard. Or that expensive! But what was she thinking? She had never bought a bathing suit for herself. In fact, she had only owned one bathing suit her whole entire life. It was the bathing suit her Mom had bought her for her 6^th birthday. It was a purple bathing suit with a racer back. Her Mom had just bought her a small plastic kiddie pool and arm floaties. Katty still often thought about why her Mom had bought her arm floaties for a pool that had water only 8 inches high. Sometimes her Mom could be overprotective.

Even though Katty knew she probably couldn't afford it, Katty decided that she would still ask how much the bathing suit was. Why not? What did she have to lose?

Katty walked up to the front counter. A sales clerk was checking out one of the Spring Breakers, and was just putting all the swimsuits that had been purchased, into a bag. The Spring Breaker left, and Katty seized the opportunity to ask the sales clerk as to the price of the boring, blue swimsuit. “How much is that bathing suit in the window?” Katty asked. The sales clerk was in her early 20's with bleach blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She had a super glowing tan, and wore a crisp white sun dress. She looked like she could be Miss Florida, instead of “Gabrielle M.” which was the name on her name tag.

The swimsuit instantly struck up a chord with the sales clerk. “It's new sweetie!” The sales clerk answered back in a snobby voice. She had even a snobbier attitude to go with it. “From the fashion line of Milano. It's $1,560.00. Pretty swag, isn't it? Comes from the runway. It's made with the luxury of silk. Supposed to be water resistant.” She jeered a vexing look at Katty. She needed to sell it. Now! Her commission was 17%. Sell it, and she could pay off her cable bill. “It's so hot right now. Would you like to try it on?”

Katty hadn't been all too impressed with the sales clerk's answer. $1,560.00? For a boring, plain, blue bathing suit??!? She lay her head down in sadness. She couldn't afford $1,560.00. Hell. She couldn't afford $15.60. “No.” Responded Katty, feeling a bit down that she couldn't afford the one and only bathing suit that she had instantly liked. “It's a little out of my budget.”

'Crap!' Thought Katty to herself. 'Why was this stupid bathing suit so dang expensive?' That bathing suit, as plain and boring and lovely as it was, was way too much out of her price range. It had even been 10 times more costly than the bikini she had earlier pulled off the rack! Katty would have to look further. She was here now, so she might as well make the best of it. She would stay here until something caught her eye. Perhaps, by some miracle, there were cheaper bathing suits that they sold. Or perhaps...perhaps...perhaps...perhaps....they would have..a sales rack. Yes! A sales rack! Every store has a sales rack, right? Perhaps she could find a bathing suit that was on sale. Something a bit more affordable. Something a bit more in her price rage. Something that wouldn't drain her wallet dry, yet cover her up in style on the beach.

Katty scanned the boutique. In the way back, over by the dressing room, she found what she was looking for. A sales rack! The sign that red “Sale” in bright, bold red letters seemed to pulsate and glow at her as if it were in neon lights.

Immediately, and without giving it a second thought, Katty ran to the back. She quickly leeched on the sales rack as if she had suckers. The sales rack was bustling of marked down swimsuits and bikinis, all ready to be scarfed up by a bargain shopper like her. Like a maniac with a purpose, Katty swished over metal hangers, and swooshed over plastic hangers. She continued to look frantically, as to find that one bathing suit that was plain, boring, and completely unfashionable. It would be a pursuit well worth it as long as it didn't break the bank. Could she ever find one?

Before she could look any further into the rack, she heard footsteps on the wood floor creek. A most familiar voice called out from behind her. Katty turned around. To her surprise, the voice belonged to an old friend from Junior High School – Britney Estrella. Britney Estrella was a girl she had known when she was young. Britney and Katty had grown to become the best of friends and hung out a lot. But Britney had moved to Florida in the 9^th grade when her dad's job transferred him. Britney and Katty had not seen each other since.

“Katty?” Britney called out, not knowing if she was really seeing what she was seeing or if the girl she saw scavenging the sales rack had been a hallucination. She had not seen her old friend in over 9 years. Could that possibly be the girl she thought it was? Katty Angeles? The geeky girl she used to giggle about boys with? The girl she would make S'mores with by an open fire. The girl who used to read more books than watch cartoon shows? “Is that you? Is that really – really...you?”

Katty turned around. She was absolutely shell-shocked of who she saw. “Britney?”

Britney instantly ran to Katty and gave her a great big hug. “Oh my god, Katty, it really IS you!” Katty hugged Britney back. It had been a long time. Much too long. They had kept in touch by writing each other for a little while, but the letters came less and less and finally - no letters at all.

Britney pulled away, as to give Katty a look. She held both Katty's hands as she did it. “Wow!” Britney exclaimed happily. She was very excited to have made such a connection with her long lost friend. “You, you..haven't changed a bit!” Britney forced a smile, her lips thinning into a straight line. Katty hadn't changed at all. It was true. She still kept her hair held back in a messy ponytail, she still wore those god awful thick glasses, and she still dressed like the cafeteria lunch lady at her old Junior High School - dull and dowdy. And just plan..blah..!

Katty, however, couldn't say the same. Even though Britney pretty much dressed equally like her when they were young, Britney looked nothing like her old self. Rather, she was dressed to the nines. She was foxy. She had long streaming jet black hair. Her eyebrows were trim and arched - tidy. She wore full makeup on her face. Her lips glistened underneath the low lighting – shining a super glossy look. She wore a pair of black knee high socks with a pair of hot pink high heeled shoes. She also had boobs. Big boobs. Boobs that looked like two over stuffed water balloons! Had she had a boob job? What size cup was she? Katty instantly thought she must at least be a DD.

“I can't say the same of you.” Katty looked at her friend in disbelief. She noticed many differences between herself and Britney. After counting 10, she stopped counting. There were just too many things to count.

“Oh yeah.” Agreed Britney. She smiled widely. “I guess you could say..I've had quite a bit of a makeover.” Britney winked. Katty wondered what that was all about. But it wasn't something she would think about too much too. Her main focus now was catching up with her old friend, and seeing how she was.

“Have you ever!” Exclaimed Katty. She just couldn't get over her old friends transformation. Perhaps there was hope for her after all!

“Well, that's what growing up does to you.” She smiled, her voice sounding all happy and bubbly.

Katty noticed Britney's name tag. “Britney F.”

“Do you work here?” Katty asked curiously. Of course she probably did. Katty worked at a greasy burger joint. Britney was able to snatch up a job at a trendy boutique. Once very much alike, Katty and Britney were clearly now worlds apart.

“Yeah, just occasionally.” Britney replied brightly. “Gets really busy here during Spring Break, as you see. I work here, and I also work over at King of the Sea - that fish restaurant right down the street.” Katty remembered that fish place. Smelled so good! She wanted to eat all the fish they had at the restaurant. Katty's stomach instantly growled upon hearing the name. Britney continued. “Thank god for tips, because this place sure doesn't pay very much. Even with selling Gucci and Prada, the pay is hardly enough to pay the bills.” She casually gave a dirty look to the blonde salesclerk who received double the commission than she did. The blonde woman flashed her a dirty look back. Britney threw her arm up over Katty's shoulder. “I have, let's just say, expensive taste.”

Katty looked around. She had been too focused on finding a bathing suit that she hadn't notice how dark it was in here. Stellar Boutique was like a cave, except with a few dim spotlights that muted the shopping atmosphere.

“How do you work here?” Katty asked curiously as she scanned around through the bleakness. “This place is really dark..like there is hardly any lighting. It it as if Hollister and a haunted house came together and created a store.”

Britney responded quickly. “Well, it's one of those fashionable type of places.” She indicated. Britney flipped her braid to the side, exposing a long dangling skull earrings. Katty noticed that Britney had many piercings in her ear, at least 8 that trailed up the length of her ear. The trail of piercing ended up at the very top of her cartilage where she wore a chain linked silver cuff. `“You know from a big city?” Katty plucked a bathing suit from out of the sales rack, and moved it over to another rack. Some Spring Breaker had mistakenly put the bathing suit back on the wrong rack after trying it on. “TOTAL dramatic marketing.” Quipped Britney, waving her right hand over in theatrical snobby-like flare as she continued to sift through swimsuits. “The tourists LOVE it.”

“I see.” Responded Katty. Katty watched as Britney quickly went through the swimsuits quickly, organizing them. Britney was so hot. She had grown into a sexy young woman. Katty couldn't help but grow jealous of her old friend.

A few moments of awkward silence passed.

Katty finally broke the silence. “Wow...well...it's so nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you too Katty.” Britney easily responded. She smirked back. There was something else lingering behind the smirk, but Katty was too blind at the time to notice it.

It was then that Britney knew that she needed to move her agenda into motion. She hadn't planned to see Katty here in Killimee, Florida – not in a hundred million years, but she was glad she did. If any other girl needed help that she was ready to give, it was Katty. And Katty didn't just seem deserving of it, she appeared rather desperate.

“So...” Britney began softly. Britney's voice was light and airy. “How is everyone doing back in Rochester? Are you still friends with those boys? Sean, Jace and Jayden?” Before Katty could answer, Britney followed her curiosity with a sharing of a memory. “I remember those boys. Especially that Sean guy.” Britney hesitated for a moment, then pushed a beach cover up all the way back on the silver rod with force, making the rest of the swimsuits compact. She was clearly angry about something that Sean had done. Her anger had manifested through the pushing through the rack.

Katty immediately apologized for Sean's past behavior. “Sorry about that Britney. I can't believe that he did that.”

Britney rolled her eyes. “Yeahhh....neither could I.” Britney immediately swirled around. She now faced Katty face to face, as if Katty had been responsible for what Sean had done. “I can't believe he put a worm in the back of my underwear, then smacked my bottom. Not only killing the worm, but allowing worm guts to ooze all over my butt. Like..ewww.”

“We were young.” Katty tried to make excuses, however she failed – miserably. Britney still lingered on a look that was dirty and nasty. “He was just joking around. I really am sorry about that.”

Britney went back to organizing. But instead of pushing through the racks, she now transferred her service to rearranging some bikini tops on a shelf. “I haven't been able to get close to a worm ever since. Even when I go fishing. My friends make fun of me.” She quickly turned around. She batted her eyelashes. She looked like she was wearing fake eyelashes, but wasn't. Her eyelashes were dark, thick and full. “Do you know what it's like living in a city by the ocean and not being able to fish?”

Britney clearly had developed emotional damage from that old childhood worm prank. Katty instantly felt bad. She even felt partly responsible for it.

Britney finished with the bikini tops. She then stopped momentarily so she may catch up more with her old friend. “And Jace? Jayden?” She asked inquisitively. “Jace still good looking? Even at 12 he had those amazing blue eyes.” Jace did have amazing blue eyes. He had those kind of eyes that was the color if the sky and the ocean ever combusted. They were an electric blue that were neon and shimmering but mysterious and illusive at the same time.

Not only did Jace have fantastic eyes, but Jace was good-looking to match. He worked out religiously, and was bulked up with lots of muscles. He tanned regularly at the local tanning bed, and kept his skin healthy by applying cocoa butter daily. He ate healthy most the time, (except for that occasion junk food purge), feeding his body with lots of fruits, vegetables and protein shakes. His face was a model's dream. He had a perfectly squared jawline, with high angled cheekbones and a cleft driven chin. His hair was medium brown, kept short with tiny dancing spikes, accentuated with natural golden highlights. However, as good looking as Jace was, Katty had not felt attracted to him. To her, Jace was Jace. Even though the rest of the world saw a handsome young man, Katty saw the stringy bean pole who used to wear silver braces and hand me downs from his older brother, Kent.

“Jace's well, thank you.” Katty responded with a smile. “And Jayden – well, you know Jayden.”

Britney couldn't help but to laugh. Jayden was the quirky one of the bunch. Even quirkier than Katty. He was athletic, sure, but very awkward and goofy at the same time. “Yeah, he was the quiet one.”

Katty laughed with her old friend. “Yeah. Totally.”

“Is the gang still together? Still up to their old tricks?” Asked Britney, curious as to where time had taken them.

“Yeah, the doofus's.”

“I remember a trick that they did. Covered up my toilet seat with saran wrap.” Britney remembered. Flashes of memories came flooding back. “This of course happened shortly after with the worm incident. Pee'd all over myself, between my thighs. Had to take a shower after that.”

Katty laughed loud and hard. “They liked to pick on you, didn't they?” Smile.

Even though Katty found all the tricks that the boys as entertaining, Britney, however, viewed them as anything but. “Scars.” Britney quipped, her eyes piercing tightly. “Emotional scars. When I see them, they better remember that.” Katty stopped laughing, and took a step backward. She couldn't believe that Britney had not only forgotten about all the pranks that the boys pulled, but had not forgiven either.

Britney obviously wasn't too happy with the boys, however, she had been happy with Katty. She took the opportunity to share one of the good memories that they had made together.

“Remember that cute guy who was our camp leader? What was his name?” Asked Britney wanting to move to much better things.

“Austin.” Replied Katty, memories instantly flooding back. “Austin Greenhouse.”

“Yeah. What a looker.”

“Oh my god! Remember we used to follow him everywhere? Stalk him in the woods?We would follow him then giggle for hours. We both had such a crush on him.”

“Yeah.” Katty smiled wider than ever before. Her green eyes lit up. She hadn't smiled like that in a long time. Remembering that memory made her feel full of joy. Oh, the good old days. Camp Onayassa near Chippewa Lake. So many good memories. “That was funny. I wonder whatever happened to him?”

Britney pulled out a t-shirt from off of the racks, then held it against herself to see if it would fit. After working, she would often do her own private shopping. She had a shopping addiction, and couldn't seem to be able to curb it. “Oh I know, and it isn't pretty.” Britney conceded. “He got fat. Like large fat. 600 lbs. And he owns a pet turtle sanctuary in the Adirondacks. He has no hair, well a comb over, an his teeth – yuck. It's a brown shit grill that no dentist would want to touch.”

“Wow!” Katty was shocked. She wanted to know more. Gossip away Britney! “How do you know?” Asked Katty, curiously. Katty no longer thought about buying a bathing suit. Rather her ears, and eyes, were at full attention to hear more about this old camp leader she used to dream about. She even had a Ken doll in which she named Austin and would pretend to make out with him.

“Vacation.” Britney put the t-shirt back on the rack, knowing she would buy it after her shift was over at work. She could never own enough clothes. Clothes were her obsession. “My parents and I went up there. I could hardly believe it. Still nice guy though. Guess he chucked his all vegetarian diet of nuts and berries a long time ago.” Said Britney. “Traded it in for Taco Bell.”

Ouch! Britney could be so mean! Katty elated in it.

“And just think, I was going to grow up and marry him!” Katty squeaked. The mere thought of ever getting together with an old, fat, balding Austin Greenhouse made Katty instantly shutter.

“Me too!” Agreed Britney.

Britney and Katty immediately fell into a roar of laughter. They laughed until they had tears in their eyes. It was good to laugh with her old friend. It felt so comfortable, like an old shoe.

Britney immediately went to Katty and wrapped her arms around her. “God, I have missed you Katty!” She smiled brightly. Her heart was full of joy. “I really hope that we have time to catch up on things.”

“Me too.” Katty smiled back. Wow. Britney Estrella. Who would ever think she would bump into her ever again? Katty instantly thought it was destiny. Perhaps she could rekindle their friendship and they could become friends again.

Britney scoured through the swimsuits again, but this time, she didn't search for work purposes, rather, she began to search for her friend. She instantly saw a bathing suit that she liked. It didn't matter what Katty liked. Katty had terrible taste in clothing. She couldn't let Katty make a fool of herself on the beach. The bathing suit was a Monokini. It was white with a fish scale type of material print. It had a gold ring in the center to show off a flat belly, and highlighted a metallic silver trim. Britney held the Monokini against Katty's body. “Do you like this one?”

Katty looked down at the suit. She immediately disliked it. Was Britney serious? Did she not know her at all? The old Britney would have picked something so much less flashy, and something with a lot more material to cover up skin. Oh how Britney had changed.

Katty flashed Britney a look. “It's alright. But I don't think it's for me.”

Britney put the Monokini back away. “Okay.” Britney sighed heavily. Her friend was going to be one of those picky customers. And she hated that. “But it's a Good deal! Only $120.00, marked down from $300.00.” Britney may have changed, but her old friend from camp, had not. “You want to wear something cute for the beach, right?”

“Yeah.” Replied Katty. She soon realized that Britney wasn't really helping, but complicating things. “But nothing too revealing.”

Britney through more swimsuits, searching for the perfect swimsuit for her long lost friend and new client. “I'll try my best.”

Britney found another swimsuit. But this time, it was one piece. But it wasn't just an everyday one piece. Rather, it had a key hole cut on the top, and the sides tied together.

“What about this one?” Asked Britney, thinking she had found the perfect swimsuit for her friend to wear.

Katty immediately dismissed it. “Nah.” She criticized. “I just don't like that – that hole on top. It shows too much.”

Britney flashed her a dirty look, then shoved the bathing suit back into the sales rack. She was growing more and more frustrated with her old friend. Britney immediately came to correct conclusions. “You still don't have a boyfriend, do you?”

Katty immediately grew sad. “No.”

Katty almost felt embarrassed admitting that she didn't have a boyfriend, but she wasn't going to lie either.

Britney, being a bitch sometimes, lashed out in fury. “Yeah, I knew that.” Britney then added, “You know, perhaps if you didn't dress so..wellll...”

Katty immediately grew defensive. She immediately grew angry. “Well what?” She shot back. She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it come out of Britney's mouth. “That I dress plain and dowdy? Like an old maid?”

“Yeah.” Britney agreed, holding judgment. Katty knew Britney was right, she didn't want to admit it to Britney – or herself. “You said it, not me.”

Britney gave up looking. “Well, I don't think any of these are for you. Too fashionable, too revealing.”

“You're not helping.” Katty lashed back.

Britney was growing just as angry. “Well, what exactly are you looking for then?” Britney inquired, wondering if Katty was ever going to be happy with anything she picked out. “I am trying to help. I didn't mean to offend you.”

“A bathing suit.” Katty replied quite simply. “Something in one color. No prints or stripes. Something that covers me up as much as the clothes that I wear.”

Britney instantly rolled her eyes into her head. “So you want to go to the beach looking like an old maid.” Britney quipped harshly. She then added sarcastically, “That's a way to meet boys.”

Katty flashed her a dirty look. “I'm not going to change who I am to meet a guy.” Even though Katty had almost bought into the concept that she had to change her outside appearances to attract the attention of a guy, she would not compromise all of herself. She was too frightened – too scared too.

Britney gave her an equally dirty look back, wondering what kind of drug her old friend was on. “Katty, boys like how a girl looks. They don't care who you are on the inside. They just care who you are on the outside.”

Britney almost felt bad about having to be so honest with her old friend, but she wasn't going to sugar coat this subject matter either. She was going to be a true friend, and give Katty the truth straight up. That's what friends do, right? “So the better you dress, the better you look. The better your chances in finding a guy.”

Katty couldn't believe that her friend was being so harsh. Noticing that she had hurt her friends feelings, she immediately felt guilty about what she did. In order to make up for it, she tried her best to retract some of the hurt that Katty had felt when she shared her honesty.

“I'm sorry, Katty.” Britney sincerely apologized. She gave her friend a sad puppy dog look. “Come here. Give me a hug.” Katty and Britney hugged. Katty smelled the scent of vanilla linger from Britney's skin, and Britney smelled bubblegum. Katty instantly felt better.

“I'm not trying to be mean, Katty.” Said Britney. She released her hug. “I'm just trying to help you.”

“I'm a nice girl.” Katty entreated. “There are boys who like nice girls, right?”

Britney felt sad about her friend. “Okay, maybe..just maybe... there are guys out there who are attracted to nice, chunky girls. However, you need to change your outside so that they are attracted to the inside.” She looked Katty in her eyes. “Does that make sense?”

After thinking about it for a brief moment, Britney did seem to make some sense. “Yeah, I guess you are right.” Agreed Katty. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but looks were everything when you were a teenager girl. Teenage boys liked the way a girl looks. It didn't matter too much how they were on the inside, right? She only wished she could find that one rare guy that looked beyond all the hair, makeup and bling. A boy that could look straight into her heart. Would she ever be able to find a guy like that?

Katty looked at Britney's hair. It was braided into a cute tidy fishtail braid. A little pink ribbon held it all together at the end. She made a comment that was genuine and sincere. “I love your hair.”

“Thank you.” Smiled Britney. Britney loved compliments.

“Do you think you could do that for me?” Katty asked, secretly wanting to become a look-alike to Britney. “Braid my hair like that, I mean?”

Katty did want to look pretty. She just wanted to look pretty in her own way. But there was some truth to what Britney had shared with her. If she wanted a guy to be attracted to her on the inside, she was going to have to change a few things on the outside to make that happen. That meant making some alternative sacrifices. Even if she didn't like it.

“Sure!” Sang Britney. She was happy to see that her old friend was finally coming to her senses. “But you need to take that god awful scrunchie out of your hair first.”

Katty did as she was told, and took the scrunchie from out of her hair. Britney instantly took the scrunchie, pulled it back like it was a slingshot, then let it go. The scrunchie flew clear across the boutique, hitting one of the other Spring Breakers who was shopping clear across the side of her head.

Katty, embarrassed that Britney had hit a girl with her Scrunchie sling-shot circus act, gave a little wave. “Sorry!” She said meekly. All she wanted to do now is go into a corner and hide. The Spring Breaker rolled up her eyes in disgust, then went back to her shopping.

Britney now wanted to see Katty's hair. How long was it now? It was always long back in camp. Had she cut it shorter – or had Katty allowed it to grow even longer? “Okay, whip it. Show me what you got girl.” Britney lightly ordered.

Katty did just what she was told. Now with the scrunchie out, she had no constraints. She whipped her long hair all around her, allowing her strands of hair fly every which way. Upon the release, Britney instantly notice the mess of Katty's hair. It was all different colors. It was a mousy brown, but yet at the same time, it was harshly highlighted with a bunch of other colors like oranges, reds, and even some dark rooted strands. Katty's hair was a kaleidoscope of colors. It looked funky.

Britney was immediately disgusted by Katty's odd colored hair. “What color is your hair?” She asked, exchanging a weird look with her.

“It's supposed to be a beachy color.” Replied Katty, proud of being her own personal hairstylist. “You know, like the sun had highlighted it naturally.”

“Well, sweetie,” Britney said, as she began to run her fingers through the weird rainbow of colors, “It looks more like you highlighted it with toxic waste.”

“Nice.” Katty responded. She couldn't believe it. Britney may have thought it – but did she really have to say it? Did she have to sputter out that she thought her hair was one hot mess?

Britney immediately took it upon herself to start stroking her fingers through Katty's hair. Britney's nicely manicured nails snagged within the tangles. Katty's hair was one big rat's nest. “When's the last time you took a brush to it?”

Katty had to think about it. She slightly pondered, moving her eyes to the right as to think about it. “I don't know...maybe last week?”

“You mean last year!” Britney shot back. She continued to dissect through Katty's hair, pulling it into random sections. “You need to find a better hairstylist.”

“I colored it myself.”

“Figures.”

“I like to experiment a lot.” Explained Katty. “I colored it with some stuff from the dollar store, then I put some sun in in it. Then I highlighted it. Then I dyed it again. Then I put some bleach into it.”

“Wow.” Britney exclaimed in a snobby voice. She could hardly believe Katty's hair. It was excruciatingly awful. “Is that a bald spot that I see?” There was indeed a small bald spot on the top of Katty's head. The bald spot was contributed due to all the chemicals that she kept using on her hair. Katty had often hid it with pushing the hair line back. But now, it had been exposed for her ex-best friend to see.

“Your hair is an eyesore!” She raked her fingers through Katty's hair more. Dandruff came flaking out. Large, United state-shaped flakes. “When is the last time that you even washed it?”

“I don't know.” Answered Katty honestly. “A week, maybe two?”

Britney was immediately disgusted. “Ew.” She repulsed. “That is REALLY gross.”

Katty grew embarrassed. “I just got fed up with it.” Said Katty. “So I just kept putting it back in a pony tail.”

“Old maids wear messy pony tails like this.” Remarked Britney. “And you no longer are going to be an old maid.”

As Britney began to brush through Katty's hair, she got up close to her. That is when she noticed her skin. Katty's skin had lots of tiny little red pimples. She had severe acne. “Your skin. It's pretty bad.” Britney couldn't believe the look that Katty had. It was as if her face came directly out of a pizza box. Cheese pizza with lots of pepperoni. “Do you use any kind of astringent or anything?”

“Not really.” Answered Katty. She tried on some pretty white flip flops as she talked. They were much too big, and her toes swam in the size. “Just your basic soap and water.”

“And your diet? Do you still eat lots of chips and fast food?”

Katty could hardly believe that after all of these years, Britney remembered her awful diet. Katty used to wolf down potato chips as if they were her very last, and could stuff her face of every hot dog roasting on the campfire. If Britney only knew that Katty had retained all of those bad habits. Not only retain, but that her bad habits had multiplied. Perhaps she was perfect for Austin Greenhouse and should hook up with him. That is, if she could get over the fact that Austin was 20 years her senior.

Katty looked up. “You used to eat that stuff too. So why is your skin so perfect and crystal clear?”

“I stopped eating that garbage years ago.” Britney explained. She followed her explanation by smiling heavily. There was something evil that she was hiding behind her smile. Something cold, and sinister. “Let's just say, that my diet has changed a lot.”

Katty inquired more. “What is your diet? How do you get your skin to look so perfect? Pimple free?” Katty was noticeably jealous of her old friend. Britney was always a pretty girl, however she wasn't really quite a pageant queen. But here she was, now, with perfect skin, perfect teeth, perfect hair – absolutely beautiful. She could win Miss America in a heartbeat. What was her secretly kept beauty secret? Katty not only wanted to find out. But she wanted to have it for herself. Maybe then, she could finally get the boyfriend of her dreams.

Britney's skin was perfect. It was porcelain-like very similar to that of an expensive China doll. Pale white, her skin appeared almost translucent. However, even being as snow white as her skin was, it was so smooth and silky - flawless. Katty was surprised that she wasn't tanned. Most other people that she saw around here were beaming of golden glows. However, Britney did work a lot in the summer and spent most of the time indoors. But she must have spent some time on the beach, shouldn't she? Why didn't she have any color at all? Her skin contrasted with her dark eyes, and her red lips looked dramatic, almost theatrical. Her jet black hair was healthy and thick, and it shined underneath the low dimming of the soft-dimming spotlights. Maybe she had some kind of skin disease or something. Or perhaps she was anemic. Or even maybe she stayed out of the sun intentionally knowing all the harm that too much sun could do. Whatever it was, Katty decided it was something she shouldn't think about much right now. What she did think about now though, was improving herself and making herself a little prettier so that she may attract the boy of her dreams.

Britney began to work her hairstyling magic. She brushed out Katty's hair, all the while flicking off Katty's dandruff to the floor. Britney couldn't believe how much dandruff Katty had. Did Katty ever rinse out her hair completely? Big flakes fell like a heavy snow. Her stomach immediately got sick with thinking about cleaning that up later with a broom. It wouldn't just need a sweep of the broom, but the sweeping would have to be followed up by the heavy suction action of a Shop Vac.

With a couple of swift twists, Britney imitated the same fishtail braid that Britney wore. Britney immediately gave Katty a mirror to look at. “Here, take a look.” Britney said, proud of her hair braiding skills.

Katty looked into the mirror. Wow. She looked so pretty. Just a braiding of her hair made her look totally different. But as she was admiring herself, she noticed something most unusual. Even though Britney was standing right behind her, she didn't see her looking over her shoulder. Katty lay down the mirror and confronted Britney about it right away. “Weird.” Chastised Katty to her friend. “Why didn't I see you in the mirror?”

Britney immediately had an excuse. “I moved silly.” She explained, her cheeks flushed with worry. “See, I'm standing right here.” Katty looked and yes, there she was standing a few feet away. Wow, she can move quick, thought Katty. Even though Katty was curious about her friends odd behavior, she couldn't waste her time on this trivial stuff. She had a goal. A plan. Something more important to deal with. To become the belle of the beach ball and to find herself a cute boy! Britney had to get back to work. She was exhausted. Another half hour of her shift, and she could finally go home to bed. She hadn't wanted to work in the afternoon, but her boss had called her in after her co-worker had called in dead...errrr...sick. She had never worked an afternoon shift before, and it was killing her. She always worked at night. Working in the afternoon was a rare occasion.

Britney yawned a great big yawn. Her arms outstretched over her head. Her eyes began to close, and she began to grow very sleepy.

“Tired?” Asked Katty, immediately thinking it was odd that Britney was expressing signs of sleep deprivation so early on in the afternoon.

“Yeah, been up all night.” Explained Katty. “I haven't slept in 18 hours.”

“Wow, I don't know how you do it.”

“Yeah neither do.” Britney agreed. “I can't wait to go back home, cuddle in my satin sheets, and put the top down.”

“Top down?” Asked Katty. This was a red flag. Katty was instantly put on alert. What did she mean by 'Put the top down'?!?!

Not wanting to blow her cover, Britney immediately came up with an excuse. “Yeah, top. You know,... my top sheets.” She lied, feeling rather self-conscious if Katty would believe her. “I usually work here at night, but the sales clerk that works here doing the day, well.” Britney's pouty lips thinned out into a mysterious smirk. “She won't be coming back for awhile.”

“Oh, I see.” Katty replied. Katty accepted the excuse as the truth, and moved on. If Katty wasn't on her swimsuit mission, Katty would have grown suspicious of Britney and her continuing eccentric behavior. But Katty's mind was too busy on other things. And so, Katty went back to searching for a bathing suit, not giving another thought to Britney and her weirdness.

“It's nice to bump into you after all these years.” Katty dug in the rack further. “I thought you had just disappeared off the face of the earth. You never ever text me back, and you didn't add me on Facebook.”

“Yeah, well, you know my parents they came down here for the summer for my dad's job, and I guess we never left.” She explained. Britney began to clear through the racks behind Katty. “I love it here. Lots of great people. I guess you would have to say, some of them are even very special.” There was a spark in her eyes that glimmered with a secret. “And the night life here, is amazing!” She added. She neared Katty, and searched through the swimsuits with her again. “If you ever get the chance, check out X Nightclub. Lots of loud music. Lots of dancing. There is this one band that is especially good. 9 Feet Under. INCREDIBLE drummer. ” She looked at Katty as she pushed over a few last season swimsuits. “You still like dancing, don't you?”

“Never stopped liking it!” Katty exclaimed. And with that she stopped looking for a bathing suit on the racks and began to dance this funky looking dance. She flapped her arms wildly, and twisted her legs as if she were melted better. Her head jerked sideways like an Egyptian, then popped randomly like a robot. Katty looked more like a crazy person, than a dancing Queen. Everyone else in the shop looked at her momentarily. It was an awkward moment. Katty was NOT a good dancer! Feeling all eyes on her, Katty stopped. She knew everyone was staring at her – and not in a good way.

“I see you haven't lost your moves.” Britney teased playfully.

Pause.

“So you're here for Spring Break.” Britney drawled. “We locals LOVE it here when the out of towners come. A lot of excitement. Beach parties. Dancing.” She hesitated for a moment, then added with an evil smile - “Lots of ddriinnkinnggg...”

“Yeah, well, I'm not going to do any of that.” Katty explained. “I'll visit the beach sometime. But mostly, I'm going to just hang out by the pool. Wait for my true love to come and sweep me off my feet.”

“By the pool, huh?” Asked Britney. Her voice was full of curiosity mixed with something not good. Her light caramel eyes sparkled.

Britney stopped looking through the rack. She thought – once more, she had found a bathing suit that she thought would look great on Katty. She lifted it up out of the rack, then held it up high in the air. “Do you like this?” Katty asked. The bikini was barely an inch of material. It was a hot neon pink color with flirty ruffles. Tiny little ties scrunched up on the bottom, and the top was a triangular sexy shape.

“Are you kidding me?” Katty exclaimed, not believing after everything that she had told Britney, that Britney had picked out such a ridiculously small bikini. Was Britney not listening to her at all?

“That thing would show off my belly button!” Exclaimed Katty, appalled that Britney had showed her such a sinful look. “And more!”

Britney instantly lifted up her tight baby doll t-shirt. Her belly button was pierced. Her piercing was a cute diamond bar. “Nothing wrong with showing off your belly button around here.” She said. She began to lift up her shirt, but stopped midway. “And more.” Britney winked – an indication that she was playfully teasing Katty so often like good friends do.

“Wow, you even have a belly button piercing now.” Katty could hardly believe her eyes. The old Britney would never have thought about such things! How time and age can change a person. “My mom would KILL me if I ever got one of those!” She blurted. “Any kind of piercings, or tattoos.”

“Well, your mom was always a killjoy.” Britney uttered. She remembered Mrs. Angeles. She remembered Mrs. Angeles too well. One time she went over to Katty's house with some blush and lip gloss, and Mrs. Angeles grounded Katty from seeing Britney for the rest of the summer. She thought that Britney was a bad influence on her. She thought that Katty didn't need a girl like Britney around her. Britney was nothing but a bad influence wearing all of that makeup at the age of 12. Heaven forbid! Britney continued her hatred of Katty's mom by asking a probing question. “Does she still wear those two piece outfits bought in those rag mags that senior citizens wear?”

“Yeah.” Laughed Katty, thinking about her mom's choice of wardrobe. “She does.” Even though Britney never liked Katty's mom's style, Katty – on the other hand – did. In fact she couldn't wait for her mom to hand down her old clothes to her every summer. She loved wearing the two-piece outfits meant to be worn in Bingo Halls or Golf Courses.

“I prove my point.” Quipped Britney confidently.

Katty and Britney laughed again. It was so nice to have her friend back. Katty couldn't remember a time that she had laughed so much. Even the boys with all of their pranks, couldn't even compare to the girly friendship she shared with Britney.

Katty began to search through the bathing suit rack again. “I know, and I listened to you about changing my style. And I'm willing to do that a little. But that is a little extreme.”

“Oh Katty.” Muttered Britney. “When will you learn? You need to look good to get a guy.” Britney was become exhaustively frustrated with her friend. She had good intentions. She was trying to help. Why couldn't her friend get it through that thick skull of hers that in order to get a guy, she would have to change her look?

“Yeah.” Grumbled Katty. “ I heard you – like a thousand times.”

“Just trying to help.” Britney knew she had to change the subject. The subject was getting to be much too sensitive for Katty. “So how do you like your guys?”

It didn't take long for Katy to think about it. “Tall, dark and handsome.”

“Tall, dark and handsome.” Repeated Britney with a smirk. “You know. I just may have the guy for you.”

Katty immediately stopped searching through the rack as Britney immediately caught her attention. “Really?!?!?

“Really.” Britney switched her fishtail braid over from the left side of her shoulder, over to her right. She couldn't wait to tell Katty all about the mystery man. “You're here to meet a guy who is going to steal your heart away, right?”

“Right!” Answered Katty without a breath.

“Well, he definitely steals hearts.” Britney smiled brutishly.

Katty excitement grew bigger. “What's his name?” Katty suddenly had butterflies in her stomach. Her palms sweat. Her heart raced. The curiosity was killing her!

“Just a guy.” Played Britney. Britney knew she had to allow this issue to linger. She had to let it fester, to inflame. She added something that she knew Katty would love to hear. She knew that Katty loved to read historical romance novels. Even at the age of 12, she was reading them before going to sleep at night in their cabin. “Who will be able to give you all that you ever ever wished and dreamed for.”

Britney was pulling Katty even more. Katty was intrigued, mystified. Who was this man of mystery and when could she meet him?

Just as Katty wanted to hear the answer, she began to seriously think about it. What would she have to offer a guy? Would he be interested in someone like her? A girl who liked to crochet while watching Jeopardy on TV? She didn't want to meet him and then for him to dump her on sight. With thousands of negative thoughts whirling around her head, she immediately lost all hope.

“Ehhhh, I don't know.” Replied Katty. “I'm not one for blind dates. You know me, shy. Last time I was set up on a blind date, it was by my mom. His name was Dustin. He was our butcher's son. I puked in the bathroom the whole time we were out on our date.”

“Okayyyy.” Wavered Britney. She really didn't need to know all that. Especially the puking part. “But I'm telling you, he's super cute!” Britney tried to encourage Katty more, but Katty wanted nothing to do with the blind date that Britney was so desperately trying to set up.

“Nah, it's okay.” Sighed Katty. Katty was sad. Sad that she didn't have the confidence to meet someone new. She couldn't go on a blind date. She just couldn't! She would totally humiliate herself. Sure, she wanted to meet a guy, but it wasn't going to be through a blind date. “I think I'll just stick with a plain and boring bathing suit and hope that my personality wins over the boy of my dreams by the pool.”

“Personality, huh?” Britney sarcastically quirked. She skimmed Katty up and down, examining her even more closely then ever now. “Well, you better work your personality into a firecracker.” Britney then put an invisible knife into Katty's back. “Because your body, your hair...it's just not going to cut it.”

Katty wanted to so desperately rip Britney up into shreds for saying such a thing, but she opted that it was best just to sit this out out. Sometimes you have got to choose your own battles.

Britney, who had noticed Katty's sullen look of coldness, caved in. “You know. I'm not trying to be mean, Katty.” Britney explained. “It's just that boys see what they see. Personality comes dead last. I'm just sayin'.”

Britney's eyes electrifying lit up. “Is there any way I can talk you into it?” Britney then resorted to begging. “Please, please, plllleeeasssee???”

“Nope!” Katty stood her ground. “I'm going to be waiting by the pool for my dream man to come and rescue me.”

She now regretted sharing with Britney about her bad blind date. It was an experience that she wanted to forget.

Britney lingered impatiently. “So, you are going to be waiting by the pool, the WHOLE time you are here on Spring Break?”

“Yup.” Answered Katty confidently. “Not budging an inch either. It's going to be boring old swimsuit, sunscreen, me, and a good historical romance.”

“Sounds..um....so incredibly exciting.” Britney sarcastically mocked. She blew up a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes. She couldn't believe Katty. She just couldn't believe her at all.

Rummaging through the bathing suit rack again, Katty stopped dead. Could it be? Possibly? The bathing suit that she has been wanting? There it was. A bathing suit hanging from a silver wired hanger. The bathing suit was plain. Black. Bleak. It looked like it wouldn't show any skin. None. It had no print, no fancy design, and no holes cut in it.

“Oh, you don't want that one.” Quipped Britney. She immediately whipped the bathing suit from out of Katty's hands. “I was supposed to get rid of it last season. It must have slipped me by. Besides,” She lunged forward, and took a tiny stitch. “It has a tiny tear. I discounted it, but I am just going to chuck it in the garbage. That hideous thing will never sell. Especially with that little tear.”

“Discounted you said?” Katty instantly perked up. Britney had just said that one magic word. “How much discounted?” Katty was always game for a great deal, and this bathing suit, was of no exception.

“I marked it down to $9.99.” Said Britney. “But it doesn't matter. I'm just going to throw it away.”

“Oh no you're not!” Katty grabbed the bathing suit away from Britney. “Give me that.” Katty looked at the bathing suit. “It's just a little tear on the side at the seams. You can't really see it. Besides, I have a sewing kit with me.”

“You have a sewing kit on you.” Britney could hardly believe it. “On a vacation. Spring Break.”

“Yeah.”

“So I take it you brought your crocheting too.”

“How did you know?”

Britney rolled up her eyes. “I should have guessed it.”

“Okay, I'm going to go try this one on.” Katty replied. In pure excitement, she hurried to the dressing room. Scrambling out of her clothes in a rush, she tried on the black and boring bathing suit. The bathing suit fit her perfectly!

As Katty tried on her bathing suit, Britney decided to try on a bathing suit too. It was the barely there hot pink neon colored ruffled swimsuit she had previously showed Katty.

At the same time, both Katty and Britney came out of their dressing rooms. Katty looked at Britney up and down. The bikini fit Britney to a T. She was so tall, lean, and looked absolutely fabulous. She had great long legs, a finely toned torso, and big bouncy boobs. Her belly button piercing sparkled feverishly within the dancing of one of the theatrical spotlights, and her pale skin reflected a strange, but beautiful glow beneath the low highlighting of the hazy room.

“Looks great!” Katty complimented. She was genuinely amazed how good Britney looked.

“I get a 25 % discount.” Chided Britney. “Makes me look even better!” She gave Katty a little wink. Britney twirled around. “I do look great, don't I?”

Britney then looked at Katty. Unfortunately, she couldn't equally give her the same compliment. “You look like a model for Old Maid magazine.” She sassed. “See for yourself. I told you that one is for the trash, and not for the beach.”

Katty went to a mirror. She looked at herself, examining every inch of her body. She didn't look like an old maid. She looked like herself. The bathing suit couldn't be any more perfect! She had come here for a bikini, but in the end, she just couldn't come around to buying a swimsuit that showed more skin, than material. It just didn't feel right.

“It's definitely you.” Chirped Britney, holding back her true cynicism.

Britney and Katty soon got dressed back into their street clothes.

Katty went to the counter where she bought her “perfect” swimsuit. Britney rang her out, and put the suit in a cute little paper bag with the name “Stellar Boutique” on it. She threw it in the bag with disgust, as if she was throwing away garbage.

“Hey, it was great to see you too.” Britney sung, giving Katty a hug after she had rung her out. “I'm sure we will see each other again very, very soon.”

“Definitely!” Piped Katty. It had been nice to have bumped into Britney. Perhaps over Spring Break, she and Britney could catch up on old times, and become friends again. She could only hope. She missed Britney's company. It had been awhile since she was friends with a girl. Katty's only friends where Sean, Jace and Jayden. Boys. And these boys were growing up liking girls, and were seeing Katty less and less. Soon, she would have no friends and Katty would be all alone. It was a thought that Katty didn't like to think about.

“Tell Jace and Jayden that I said hello, will you?” Britney asked cynically, a certain sense of displeasure resonating in her voice.

“Not Sean?” Teased Katty.

“Sean too I suppose.” Said Britney. “Just tell him, that I can't wait to go grab a BITE with him sometime.” She emphasized the word “bite” as if it meant something. If only Katty knew then, that it did. And in the worst way ever.

With the bathing suit in the bag, and a happy smile on her face - Katty headed out of Stellar Boutique. The street was full of just as happy Spring Breakers, the Florida shining down on them with a bright overpowering warmth.

Britney watched from out the front window as Katty walked down Conch Shell Avenue. As she watched, she grabbed her cell phone from out of her purse. She had a very important phone call to make.

“Hey, it's me Britney.” Britney greeted pompously. “I've got her for you. She won't even see it coming.” With that, Britney hung up the phone. She smiled devilishly. She wasn't the old Britney anymore. The Britney that liked to camp, roast marshmallows on a campfire, and drool over Austin Greenhouse – camp leader. Rather, she was the new Britney. The Britney that no longer liked to play by the rules, talk smack about other girls, who always had a sinister agenda. Britney was now – evil. Britney hung up the cell phone. She was up to no good. If only Katty knew then, that Britney had just played her like a fiddle.

From across the street, some teenagers were piling into a small VW Beetle bug. The street was crowded with shoppers. The honking of car horns blasted the air as they whizzed through traffic. Katty was so happy. “Spring Break, here I am!” She thought to herself. Nothing but happy thoughts ran through her head. She was even happier now that her mission was complete. She had a nice bathing suit to wear by the pool as she waited for her Prince Charming. Could life get any sweeter?

Quickly, and without hesitation, Katty headed back to the hotel where she was staying with the boys. They had rented one big room together. She didn't care if she was a girl, and they were boys. They grew up together. There wasn't anything that she had never seen before. They just had made one promise to each other. That if they brought somebody back to the hotel room, they would place the door knob a sign of warning. “Do Not Disturb” If the sign was up, that meant nobody could come in. It was something that they agreed to do, even before even flying down here to Killimee.

As Katty headed back towards the hotel room, she had to first past the sandy white dunes of the local beach. She trekked through the sand with great effort, her flip flops digging up more sand, then tread. To her surprise, she came across Sean and Jace who were already at the beach. White-skinned tourists laid in the surf and sand all around them, trying to hide from the rays underneath colorful beach umbrellas. Sean and Jace were right at ease, relaxing comfortably as if the world was moving in slow motion. Katty found them soaking up the killer rays in masochism, dark sunglasses on their happy faces. They had been checking out the hot looking woman who ran on the beach – boobs bouncing wildly. Sean and Jayden were drooling excessively, enjoying these sights.

“I thought you guys were going to take a nap.” Asked Katty, finding it odd that her friends weren't back at the hotel sleeping.

“Yeah, well we tried, for like two seconds.” Replied Sean. He lowered his sunglasses so he may check out a scantily dressed girl wearing a bright neon green bikini. “But then we decided to and check out the sights.”

Katty looked over at the girl. The girl was skinny. Scary skinny. The girl probably never ate in her life. “You guys are so gross.”

Katty looked around the beach. She noticed that Jayden had not joined the boys. “Is Jayden,”

Before she could answer, Sean and Jace nodded their heads. “Yeah, he's at the hotel room. Napping away. Snoring like a wild beast.”

Katty had to laugh. Jayden loved to sleep. She wouldn't be surprised if Jayden slept his whole, entire Spring Break away. “Figures.” She laughed.

Jace sat up on his beach towel. He took a bottle of water from out of the cooler, and took a sip. “Did you get your bathing suit?”

“Yeah.”

Jayden leaned back, his elbows digging deep into the sand. “Is it sexy?”

Katty flashed Sean a look. “Depends what you mean by sexy.”

Katty grabbed her bag. She took out the bathing suit that she had bought.

It only took Sean one look, for him to shudder. “Is that a bathing suit or a gymnastics outfit?” He gasped. Was Katty serious? She was going to wear that thing to the beach?

Jace slapped Sean on his arm. He couldn't believe what a jerk that Sean could sometimes be.

“Knock it off!” Jace shouted to Sean, instantly standing up for his other friend.

“Ow!” Sean exclaimed, feeling an instant burn sting from the hard punch Sean had laid against him. Sometimes Jace didn't know his own strength.

Jace looked over at Katty. “It's nice Katty.” Jace affirmed. He gave her a smile. The smile instantly melted all the tension away.

Katty put the bathing suit back in the bag. She didn't care what the boys thought. It was what her Prince Charming thought that only mattered. “Okay, I'll see you guys later.” Katty dismissed. “I'll let you guys get back to slutty – errr..girl watching.”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” Sean reprimanded. He had never heard Katty swore before! And not only swear, but use the “s” word that was one of the dirtiest words in English language history.

Katty flashed Sean a dirty look. She didn't like these girls on the beach. They were too beautiful. Too perfect. How could she ever compete against them?

“Bye Katty.” Jace let Katty go. He wasn't going to be around her when she was acting all pissy. “We'll see you later.”

Jace and Sean went back to girl watching, now checking out a good-looking woman wearing a tribal print bikini with a gold body chain. She had big boobs due to three breast augmentation surgeries. As she ran through the hot sand and surf, her boobs bounced up and down like gallons of water.

“Chamunga's!” Sean commented happily. Jace thought that Sean could be such a chauvinist pig, but he laughed in the spite of it. That's just how Sean was. Although Sean always made remarks about woman, he was perfectly harmless. It was just how Sean was.

Katty quickly went back to her hotel room. Once there, she quickly got dressed into her new “boring” bathing suit. She changed in front of Jayden. She didn't care that Jayden was in the room. Jayden was fast asleep. He didn't see a thing. Katty listened to Jayden snore loudly as she viewed herself in the mirror. She looked at herself up and down – left and right. She still felt self conscious about her body. Even though the bathing suit was a one piece and covered up all of her torso, she still really uncomfortable about wearing it. There was just something so “revealing” about wearing a bathing suit that made her feel uncomfortable. Even if it was a one-piece bathing suit that Mother Theresa would wear. Because of her discomfort, Katty covered herself up more. She grabbed a beaded tie-dye caftan dress she had bought three summers ago. It was lightweight, with a scooped neckline; fluttering butterfly sleeves and a shark bite hem. It was a perfect look for reading a historical romance by the pool.

Katy then got busy and filled her bag with all of the pool necessities. Romance historical book. Check. Sunscreen. Check. Change for the vending machine. Check. Towel. Check. Summer hat. Check. Sunglasses. Double Check.

With caftan and swimsuit on and her beach bag slung over her right shoulder, Katty quickly escaped out of the hotel room and down to the lobby. She then went outside and to the pool. To her surprise, nobody was there. Not a single soul. This really surprised her. Where was everyone? Oh yeah. They were all at the beach. She guessed everyone rather be by saltwater, than chlorinated water. Oh well. None of the less, she would make the most out of it. Perhaps today wasn't the day she would meet her Prince Charming.

Katty put down a towel, and relaxed on a lounge chair. She placed her straw large brimmed hat on her head, and gave it a little twist. Katty then put on her sunglasses, and opened up her historical romance novel. “Lover Be Mine” was the name of the novel. Katty couldn't wait to read it. This author was her favorite. Samantha K. Harris. A true gem in the historical romance world. Katty opened up to page number one. Before she was to read, however - she would apply sunscreen on her nose. When other girls were here slapping on baby oil to get deep, dark, damaging tans, Katty on the other hand opted to protect her face from the harmful UV rays.

Katty read half the book in little time. She fell in love with the heroine right away. Devin Summermasters. He was a civil war soldier with the charm of genuine hospitality. Ahhh..only if she could meet a guy like Devin! A good-looking guy who opened up doors to carriages, and who laid down his jacket so that his lady could walk over mud!

The sun began to really shine now, glowing it's brightest apex. Not used to such a hot sun, Katty began to dose off and fell asleep. Perhaps the boys were onto something earlier. Sleep did sound like something she could easily drift into right now. Maybe a nap could carry with it dreams. Dreams full of rogue men from her historical romance novels. She was almost fast asleep when – suddenly; she felt a splash of water on her face. Where did that splash of water come from? Right before she started to doze off, there wasn't anyone else there by the pool. Katty looked around. Nobody.

Right then, a magical moment happened. From out of the distance, a young man emerged from out of nowhere - and he was coming straight in her direction! To get a closer look, Katty looked up and over her sunglasses. What she saw from a distance, had been very nice. She just had to get a better view.

As the young man came nearer, he came more into focus. Damn! He was good-looking. Hot!!! The stranger was tall – very tall; at least six feet in height. He was thin, but in a healthy way; lean, with well toned muscles and rounded biceps. He had a pale face with wide angled cheekbones. Jet black hair that was wispy and metro sexually styled, razor cut and abrasive, swept back from his forehead. Intense blue eyes electrified the air. And then, he did the most unbelievable. He smiled. His smile was memorizing. The smile curled the outer corners of his mouth. Two dimples appeared within the pinching of his cheeks. The young man appeared cool – collective. He walked upright, shoulders confidently back. He had a bare chest, a gold medallion hanging partly down his chest. He wore black parachute cut off pants, a pair of tall combat boots, half laced. A tattoo of a bat inked the upper bicep of his left arm.

Katty instantly grew hot. She could feel her temperature rise in her body, and her cheeks flush wildly.

'Wow, such a hottie.' Katty instantly thought to herself. 'So good looking. Fierce.'

The hot guy finally approached the pool. He dove into the warm water, making a big splash. Katty continued to watch as the stranger took a short swim, running laps around the pool as he did.

'He must be here with someone.' Katty thought to herself as she looked around. She searched everywhere, but she didn't see anyone. No girl. No friends. Nobody.

The hot guy climbed out of the pool. He shook the water off of him lightly, then began to dry himself off with a towel. Katty's eyes adjusted slowly as she caught herself eying him up. Beads of wet perspiration rolled off his body. His washboard abs. His awesome pectoral muscles. His jet black hair full of beaded water. As she watched, Katty and the hot guy met eye to eye. He looked at her, and she looked at him back. The stranger in the pool smiled seductively.

Katty could hardly believe it. He smiled at her – he actually smiled at her! Feeling anxious about what was going on, Katty hid behind her book. She pretended to read it, all the while, looking up occasionally to watch as the hot guy continued to dry himself off. There was just something so hot about how he was drying himself off that was making her feel rather warm, and broiling. Was this hot guy the knight in shining armor that she had been dreaming off? Whoever he was, he was making her body react with a sizzling heat!

Katty nervously propped herself up, then straightened out on the lounge chair. She had to flirt – even if just a little. She lifted up her caftan dress, exposing a minimum of skin. She had to look her best - just in case. She looked at her cell phone casually. She couldn't believe that it was getting close to five o'clock already. Where did the day go? Even though it was starting to close in on evening, the sun was still shining brightly. Katty pushed her sunglasses even closer on to her face. Katty could hardly believe it. She hadn't been here at Sea Treasures Resort for even a day, and a hunk of a man was already entering her life. Wowza!!!

After the pale-skinned stranger at the pool had dried himself off, he stepped underneath a wide-brimmed canopy and laid down on a lounge chair. Now fully relaxed, the stranger took a book from out of a beach bag he had brought, and began to read. Katty couldn't hardly believe it. The book was called “I Kissed An Earl” - a historical romance novel! She blinked twice just to make sure that was what she had seen. Yep. He was reading a historical romance novel alright! The stranger began to read the book. As he read, he looked over the pages, and looked over at Katty. The stranger flashed occasional warm, and friendly smiles. Katty would just nervously smiled back, and flip a page on her book. Her hands would shake. Her heart would flutter.

The stranger was smiling at her. He was smiling at her! Katty could hardly believe it.

The stranger flipped yet another page of the book. As he did, he looked over at Katty. Katty looked down as he looked up. It was as if he was waiting for her to make the first move. She had to get her mind off of him. She was much too nervous. She would surely make a clown out of herself. She felt her stomach turn. She felt like she was going to throw up. 'Please don't throw up.' She said to herself. 'Please don't throw up'. She said to herself yet again. She didn't want to relive history. She didn't want to throw up like she did on the date with the butcher's son Dustin. 'Please don't throw up'!!!!

Katty needed to distract herself. From out of her beach bag, she grabbed the bottle of sunscreen. She would apply sunscreen on her body. Yes. She would lotion herself up, protecting her not only from this stranger, but from the sun. Putting sunscreen on her skin would get her mind off this stranger temporarily. Right? The sunscreen was a SPF of 70. Pretty good stuff. It carried the happy scent of Coconut. She loved this smell. Made her feel like she was on some tropical island. Katty squeezed the bottle. As she did, she squeezed too hard – too fast. The sunscreen squirted all over her in big, goopy pile of a mess.

'Way to go...way to make a first good impression'! Katty thought to herself. She instantly felt like a big fat loser. What a dweeb! She couldn't believe that she had been so clumsy! 'I hope he didn't see that'.

But he did. She found the hunky stranger hovering over her. Shit! The stranger rubbed the sunscreen away with the help of his towel. She found herself glancing over his way every few seconds as he rubbed the sunscreen off her skin. God, he was such a hunk! Even though his skin was pale and as white as snow, he had a ripped body from intense workouts. Packed, tiny muscles climbed everywhere on his tall frame. His brilliant blue eyes sparkled in the heaviness of the sun. He kind of reminded her of a movie screen celebrity. A little bit of Liam Hemsworth combined with a little bit of Zac Efron. With the last of the sunscreen cleaned up, he leaned in close to her and whispered, “Hey do you like that book?” He asked, referring to the historical romance novel that she had put down temporarily in order to apply sunscreen all over her body.

“Yeah, it's alright.” Katty answered honestly. Her stomach filled up with butterflies. “But I wish she didn't have to die at the end. She finally finds love and then she dies? Pitiful.”

“I agree.” Concurred the stranger.

“You like to read historical romances?” Katty asked in a condescending way. She questioned his taste in books. What guy like historical romance novels? No guys from Rochester, New York that was for sure!

“Actually, I do.” Replied the good-looking stranger. “I like to read. I have read thousands of books in my lifetime.” He continued. It was true. The stranger wasn't lying to her. If only he could tell her he had read so many books in his lifetime that it could fill up the New York City library. “And I love historical books. I love history. Let's just say, that sometimes I feel like I was born at another time.” The stranger flashed a flirty smile, followed by a wink of his eye.

“Nice.” Katty replied back in return restlessly. Her nervousness was growing stronger. Her hands trembled violently, and her voice shook with fear. Her anxiety was out of control now. She just hoped that this stranger didn't notice her physical meltdown.

A temporary silence unfolded between them. Katty leaned forward a little more, and the stranger looked around, as if he tried to look for words to say. Soon enough, however, the silence dissipated, and Katty returned back to conversation.

“So, thousands? ” Mirrored Katty. “You do like to read.” Katty liked that. If a guy read, that must be that he was intelligent. And she liked smart boys. You can carry on conversations with smart boys. Katty looked up at the stranger and smiled.

The stranger took off his glasses as to get a better look at Katty. “Are you by yourself?”

“Yeah.” Answered Katty. “Just me and my historical romance books!”

The sun continued to shine brilliantly. The stranger put his sunglasses back on. He didn't like the sun. He was more of a night owl, than an early bird.

“Hey do you think you could put some of that sunscreen on me?” He nicely asked. “As you can tell, I'm a little white.” He smiled a devilish grin. His smile made him even cuter. “I don't think the sun is going to be very nice to me if I don’t slap on a little protection.”

Katty didn’t have much sunscreen left because of her previous accident with it, but luckily, she had managed to save just enough as to be able to give a little squirt. Katty leaned over to the stranger, and squirted some lotion on him. Then, she began to massage it into his pale white skin.

“What's your name?” Asked the stranger, enjoying his massage. The lotion eased the pain of his skin and he could begin to feel instant relief.

“Katty.” She answered happily as she began to rub circles. “Katty Angeles” Katty almost seemed shocked that this cute guy was even asking her name. Her fingertips trembled lightly as she continued to apply the sunscreen.

“Katty.” The stranger repeated back to her. When he said her name, it seemed to naturally trill of his tongue. He lightly smiled. Two fresh dimples appeared. “I like it.” Grin. “But does it mean anything? You like cats or something?” Katty chuckled a little, thinking that the stranger had received the subliminal message that she liked cats because of her name. It wasn't her real name true, and yes, it was a nickname. But it had absolutely nothing to do with cats.

“Yeah, I do, but it has nothing to do with my name.” Katty answered, holding back a laugh that was bubbling strongly inside of her. “Katherine is my real name. After my grandmother on my dad's side. My mom just called me Katty when I was little.”

“Nice.” The stranger liked her name. It was cute. Different.

Katty continued to rub the sunscreen all over the stranger's back. She could feel his muscles respond beneath her massaging touch. They twitched, then they began to grow bigger.

“I'm Nico.” The stranger introduced. His blue eyes pierced the day with their magic. “Nico Rocket.”

Katty immediately had to laugh. Nico. Nico Rocket? What kind of name was that? She stopped giving him a back rub, so she may confront him about his unusual name. “Are you some kind of band or something?” Katty asked. Her eyebrow furrowed. “Sounds like some kind of rock-n-roll name to me.”

“Yeah, actually I am.” Nico quipped.

This news surprised Katty. Katty's once happy face, suddenly turned to sadness. No band members ever liked her! They were much too cool - much too awesome. Only the hot, cutting edge chicks got the boys in bands. Katty immediately lost hope that there was a Spring Break love future with this guy. And so, Katty's once happy voice lingered into one of hopelessness. But it wasn't without continued interest in who exactly this guy was. “What kind of instrument do you play?”

“Drums.” He replied. “Bands called Nine Feet Under.”

News of the stranger's rock band name instantly perked her up. “Heyyy, my friend Britney told me about you!” Katty exclaimed, remembering what Britney had told her about the most awesome rock band in Killimee, Florida. “She raved about you guys.”

“Oh, she did, did she?” Asked Nico, now showing signs of anxiousness himself.

'And how much did Britney tell?' Nico silently thought to himself.

To ease his anxiousness, Nico picked up her two crochet needles that he saw Katty had in her beach bag. He began to pretend to play the drums, hitting an invisible cymbal as a grand finale.

“Ever since I saw the Beatles play, I have wanted to become a drummer. Started drumming right after.”

“Beatles?” Asked Katty, questioning what this stranger had just said. “They haven't played for years, especially since John Lennon is dead.”

“I meant, I listened to them. On records.” The stranger caught himself and corrected himself just in time. Katty believed him.

“I want to become famous one day. But I won't get my break working here.” Nico shared. “But my life depends on it.”

Katty instantly asked. “Here? At Sea Treasures?”

Nico got up. Katty settled back into her lounge chair. She put back the sunscreen, what very little was left of it, back into her beach bag next to the scarf she was crocheting.

“Yeah, I'm the manager here.”

Katty couldn't believe that Nico was a manager at Sea Treasures Resort. He seemed too young to be a manager at such a luxurious resort.

“How old are you?”

There was a slight hesitation. “18. But you can say, I'm much more mature than my age.” He flashed Katty a smile. She instantly melted.

“Hey thanks for putting the sunscreen on.” Nico thanked graciously. “With this sun, I bake.”

Katty could already see his skin become red.

“I've got this skin condition.” Nico explained. “Can't be in the sun for very long.”

“And you work at a resort. In Florida.” Katty pondered. She immediately grew suspicious. What guy works at a tropical resort with a sensitive skin condition? This was weird. And Katty definitely wasn't born yesterday...

“Yeah, but I work the night shift.” Explained Nico. “I very rarely come out during the day.” He turned to her and flashed her those baby blue eyes. “Unless I have a chance to meet a pretty girl like you.” He smiled attentively.

Katty instantly blushed.

“This sun is KILLING me today!” Nico raged. He could feel his skin burn as if he was being roasted alive. “I better get back inside.”

“Oh my god, look at your skin!” Katty observed. Dramatic changes were beginning to surface on Nico's pale white skin. Blisters began to grow. The blisters pulsated small and large, and back to small again. It was as if his blisters were alive. “Yeah, you better get back inside.”

Right before Nico was to leave, he asked, “Hey listen, this is out of character for me, but I'm kinda bored today. And you look a little bored. Would you like to check out the hotel with me? I'll give you a tour. Let's hang out.”

Katty was hesitant. She couldn't go off with a complete stranger – could she? Could she trust him?

Katty instantly decided that it was a bad idea. “No, that's okay.” She answered respectively. “I think I'll just stay here and read.” What was she thinking? Here was this good looking guy, who was obviously interested in her, and she was saying no? Katty didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Scared of leaving with a boy who just may be able to love her.

“Do I make you feel uncomfortable?” Nico inquired. He had a puppy dog look in his eyes that made Katy feel instantly guilty.

“It's just that, well, I was in the lobby earlier, and it's so noisy in there. Lots of girls. You know, all dressed up in their small little bikinis and shorty shorts, well, it's just not me.”

“Well, if it's any consolation, I think your beautiful.” Nico complimented. His voice sounded genuine. “And I love your bathing suit. Black. My favorite color.”

“You like it?” Asked Britney, feeling herself become excited that a guy not only noticed her, but liked her sense of fashion style as well.

“Hell yeah.” He raved. “Love it! You look like a Gothic Queen.”

Katty instantly blushed. She never received a compliment before, and so she didn't know how to quite respond to it.

Nico extended out his hand in kindness. His super blue eyes captured hers instantly. Her heart skipped a beat. Her palms sweat, and her blood pressure raced. She looked into him, and he looked into hers. There was an immediate and receptive connection. And as she stared back at him, she felt absolutely hypnotized.

Against her better judgment, Katty decided to go with Nico. “Okay.” She replied back, agreeing to him taking her away. And although she slightly needed to force herself from away the pool, she did feel strangely comfortable with leaving with a guy she barely knew.

Katty swooned in the simple fact that Nico thought she was beautiful. Wow. Beautiful. No other guy had ever said she was beautiful before. It made her feel good. Really, really good. It gave her an instant high. Perhaps this was her dream guy. The man of her dreams. The man she had been dreaming of ever since she was a little girl.

Nico took Katty on tour of Sea Treasures Resort. Sea Treasures Resort was much bigger than she had anticipated! It had everything from large conference rooms, to a state-of-the-art exercise facility. Nico began his tour at the lobby, trailed through the hallways and rooms for an hour, then ended up at another pool. Katty was amazed that Nico could manage such a large and spacious hotel. The hotel wasn't just luxurious – it was extraordinary.

The pool was an indoor pool. The surrounding air smelled of strong chlorine. The pool was the bluest color blue she had ever seen. It was kidney shaped, and had a steel ladder to climb down on. Big, tropical plants flashed their giant leaves from oversized, ceramic pots.

To her surprise, the pool room was dimly lit. It glowed a soft, sexy ambience. For illumination, hundred of candles had been prematurely lit up. The candles made for a very romantic atmosphere. What was going on? Why were so many candles lit? Was there something going on that she didn't know? Was this supposed to be someone's honeymoon and they had stumbled upon it?

“How pretty.” Katty fawned, admiring the heavenly glow that the candles exhausted.

“Not as pretty as you, my dear.” Nico replied. He bowed down to her, then kissed the top of her hand lightly.

'Wow, what a gentleman.' Thought Katty to herself. She couldn't help but to think that Nico was much more than any other boys than she ever met. He was just like the rogue men that she read about in her historical romance books. Could this possibly be? Perhaps she fell asleep by the pool, and she was lost in a dream. She had to pinch herself. Could she have met a boy so full of respect for her? Full of gentleman qualities?

As Katty drifted in and out of thought, Nico picked up on Katty's stranded moment. “Everything okay beautiful?”

Katty smiled. She wasn't dreaming. This was actually happening. “Yes.” She responded back in kindness. “Everything is perfect.”

“Good.” Nico responded with a smile.

Katty was really enjoying herself. Sharing precious moments with a boy she barely knew, but a boy she knew she wanted to get to know better.

Katty took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. When she opened them back up, she found Nico staring at her admiringly. “You're such a pretty girl.” Nico complimented passionately. “You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my existence. Green. I love the color green. The color of clovers and lucky gems.”

Katty blushed. Her eyes met his with obsession. This guy wasn't just giving her compliments. He was giving her compliments as if lines directly taken from dialogue out of her books!

“Come.” He persuaded, holding out his hand for hers.

Nico led her nearer to the candles. A jacuzzi tub waited for them by the pool. The jacuzzi was full of floating red rose petals and bursting bubbles. There was a fog from the humidity of the hot water. Everything looked hazy and heavenly. Katty felt even hazier.

Painfully, the tips of Nico's fingers grazed over Katty's neck, torturing her soul. She didn't move as his hand stroked the length of her nape, feeling the slight warmth of her aura make him lightly tingle with a frenzied anticipation. Her blood burned for him, feeling her veins bubble hot as he continued to linger his seductions along the rims of her body. He listened attentively as the beating of her heart increased tri-fold, the quickening pulse thump beneath his horny fingertips.

Nico took off Katty's caftan, then led her by the hand into the jacuzzi. He sat down close beside her, never keeping his eyes – or his hands, off of her. He led her into his spell, pulling her ever so close to him. Her heart beat wildly. Nico looked so devilishly handsome under the spilling glow of the candles. His skin was no longer just pale, rather it seemed to sparkle. His brilliant blue eyes wildly pulsated in bright neon colors. Was he going to kiss her? He was close enough, adjoin to her personal space, and she wanted him to, more than anything else in this world. Sure, she had been kissed before, but never by such a hottie like Nico. There was Trevor from the first grade who kissed her on her lips as if a slimy toad. And of course who would could forget Justin from the 8^th grade who had kissed her on a dare. She had felt humiliated, and cried all the way home.

But now here was Nico Rocket, the cutest boy she had ever seen. And not just cute, but he seemed like he wanted to kiss her. Nico didn't say a word, and neither did she. Those intense blue eyes that were darkening into a hardened sapphire color, so hypnotic, so trance-like; said it all. Before Katty knew it, his big arms were taking their placement around her, pulling her in ever tightly, drawing out all of her breath. This big, strong hold had her escaping in all of her fantasy dreams. His face drew close. Closer, and closer yet. Katty stared into his eyes and saw in them, the universe and all the answers to the mysteries everyone has always wanted to know. There was a complexity in them, a mysteriousness in them, that made her feel vulnerable, yet so very alive. Once again, she was coming underneath his spell, and there was no remedy to cure it. He began to kiss her. Slightly, nibbling on her lips as if they were a yummy snack. She had never kissed a boy before. The kiss was light, playful...fun. While kissing, however, she saw his mouth open, slightly, then wider still until, she saw something that horrified her. Two pointy fangs emerged sharply from his front row of teeth, angling a knife-like glistening to shimmer underneath the low dimming of the candles...that is when she knew. That Nico Rocket wasn't just a good-looking guy who worked at Sea Treasures Resort. That Nico,...was a Vampire.

CHAPTER TWO

“Are you freakin' kidding me?” Asked Katty despondently. She immediately got out of the jacuzzi, and dried herself off with a towel. “What are you,...like a Vampire or something?”

“Yeah, I am.” Nico answered honestly. His baby blue eyes faded into a softness not yet explored. He confirmed the conviction with a confident tone. “I'm a Vampire.”

Katty groaned loudly. She could hardly believe it. She had finally met the boy of her dreams, and he was a Vampire? No way!

'What a freakin' joke!' Katty thought to herself. This was just her luck. What did she expect anyways? Lady Luck wasn't ever on her side. And this was just another thing in her life to prove it. She would be sure to buy a Rabbit's Foot as well as a Four Leaf Clover the minute she got back to Rochester. She needed to start changing her luck, because luck certainly was never going to change for her.

Nico got out of the Jacuzzi now too, and neared Katty closely. Katty was angry. Furious! Downright mad. How could a boy she had a possibility of liking be a Vampire? Geesh. Angry at the new revelation; she gave Nico a hard push. “Get away from me!” She lashed out, a strong fire burning in her emerald green eyes. “Jerk!!!”

But Nico didn't want to go away. His new-found captivity with Katty was eternal loving imprisonment. The way his mouth, so warm, even though his skin was as cold as ice, had kissed her with the length of history's time made him feel ever so human again. The kiss for Katty had been short, quick, abbreviated, yet passionate and raw at the same time - so very new. She had settled into the kiss quickly, her lips loving every stroke of his blissful return. He had felt the same. He had kissed a thousand girls before her, but not one, had made her feel the way he had felt deep within his heart at the time. Before she could take another breath, his lips had met hers in rapture, and suddenly, both Katty and Nico were lost within the tragic abyss of falling beneath a love binding spell. The feel of his fangs that tried to press down into the valleys of her neck had found a sweet bliss in a vein that he had never met before with a fresh kill. After a few brief simple moments, he had found her neck absolutely stunning, kissing the nape as if it were a peach, grazing her skin barely, causing her to moan out a small little whimper before she had realized what Nico was trying to do.

Nico's fangs retreated back into human molar shape. He was confused. When his fangs had projected out before, most girls he came into contact with had run and hid wildly away. They had been scared to death of such a blood sucking beast. But not this girl. Nope. No sirree. Not only had she not been afraid of him, but she became absolutely angry with him as well. Because of this odd reaction, Nico didn't know how to quite react. He was absolutely shell-shocked, and at the same time – mortified.

Katty ran and ran and ran, until she found herself back on the beach. She couldn't believe that Nico was a Vampire. A Vampire! For real?!?! She had not run because she was scared of him, however – but because she wanted to get away. Get away from this stupid boy who had tricked her. Unfortunately, she couldn't outrun Nico. Nico was a Vampire. And Vampires have super human speed strength. He outran her quickly, and before she knew it, he was facing her in the other direction head on. He now blocked her from running any further. Katty immediately pushed Nico to the ground. She didn't care if he was a Vampire. He had ruined her day!

“Hey, now, that wasn't very nice!” Nico spat, as he got back up from the ground. He dusted the sand from off his body. As he wiped it away, he noticed that more blisters had developed on his skin. He knew he had to get back inside in the dark, far away from the sun. But his fight with this new girl in town wasn't over just yet. He had to resolve it. Soon.

“Leave me alone. I hate you.” Katty lashed out. She threw a child-like temper tantrum. “You're stupid. And I wish to never, ever see you again.....you..you...CREEP!”

Nico hesitated. He was perplexed. He looked at her with a look of puzzlement. Not ever, not once, in the many years he had walked this Earth in darkness, had a girl ever stood up to him before. This girl was different from the other girls he had ever met. She was stubborn. She was strong. She was bull-headed. More than anything, she was a bitch!

“You're not scared of me?” Asked Nico, absolutely flabbergasted that Katty wasn't in the slightest bit scared of him, or frightened in any way, shape or form.

“Nahhhh.” Katty answered, pushing the fact that Nico was a Vampire to the side as if it wasn't of any importance. “More disappointed than anything else actually.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Nico, still remaining a bit confused as to Katty's undisturbed reaction to him. This girl was weird.

“I came down here to hook up.” Katty answered honestly. She kicked a smell pebble in the sand over to the side. “I didn't come here to get bit, you know what I mean?”

This wasn't an answer that Nico was very happy with. He couldn't believe this girl. Not only had she NOT been frightened when he had exposed his fangs, but she was now even giving him a frightful attitude. In spiteful reciprocation, he dished attitude back out. “Yeah, well, you don't always get what you want in life, do you princess?”

Katty rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms angrily up over her chest. “I suppose not, but I wanted to meet a cute guy. Not meet a Vampire.” This was by far the worst day ever! Katty continued to allow her anger to fester. “A boy who wants to suck my blood. You know, a boy who wanted to give me a kiss because he likes me, not because he wants to drink me.” Katty's honesty struck a nerve with Nico. Even though he was ancient and old, at least 1,000 years old - he had never been belittled like this before. Nobody had ever resisted his charm in the past. Especially by a sassy girl who was just as geeky as Katty.

“You're a weird bird.” Nico laughed scornfully. He tilted his head back, and gave out a sharp laugh to ring out into the air. How could he be mad anymore? If anything, he had to laugh about it. There was something so comical about Katty. It was so funny that a girl wasn't afraid of him. And not only afraid of him, but to let him know that he wasn't the type of guy she was looking for!

Katty knew she was weird. It was a label that she had been called before - many times. More times than she could count. However, she took the insult with a grain of assault. “Yeah, I know.” She quipped. “I'm a little weird. So what?”

“Weirdo!” Nico playfully teased back. He picked some sand out of his belly button. He couldn't believe that Katty had pushed him down so hard that sand had cemented into his navel. She must really had been pissed off! He couldn't imagine the strength that she would have if she turned into a Vampire!

Katty wasn't going down without a fight. “Well, well..” She huffed, trying to find just the right comeback to make it emotionally sting. “..and you're a blood sucking demon of the night!”

Instead of feeling belittled by such a remark, Nico, instead, took it rather well. He embraced the comeback with great ease, almost finding a sense of humor in it. “Touche!” Retorted Nico. He flicked back his head, allowing his wispy hair to feather back naturally. He had a cute cut that allowed his hair to do just that, and Katty couldn't help but to feel even more attracted to him more now than ever. Even though Katty was pissed off at him, she still thought he was pretty cute. Even if he was a Vampire.

“One other thing.” Katty added. She turned into a bossy bitch. “You need to bleach those fangs.”

Although the first remark stung a little, this remark, however, seemed to hit a nerve. “Wow.” Nico flashed a hatred look at Katty. 'This was one big rag', he thought to himself. 'Maybe I shouldn't bite her. It would only taste like poison.' But Nico needed blood. And he needed it more than the attitude that Katty was dishing out to him.

Katty watched as Nico's once handsome features tightened into a dark and brooding scowl. Light faded from his blue eyes, and his pupils decreased from a full circle, to a little black dot.

“And to just think, I bought a new bathing suit and everything.” Katty muttered. She wasn't too very happy about Nico being a Vampire. Not happy at all. She had spent her hard-earned money on a bathing suit to wear in front of a Vampire? She had flipped a lot of burgers at that greasy spoon, and she had smelled a lot of farts from her pig of a manager. If she had known that, she wouldn't have bought her bathing suit at all and spent her money on something a bit more useful – like that cat food dish with seashells on it for her cat Admiral Snuggles. “I even showed off some skin.” Katty began to walk away from Nico. “Why didn't you say that you were a Vampire before even asking me here?”

“Duhhhhh...” Nico lashed back. Not only was this girl weird, but she was also pretty dumb. “Do you think you would have come with me if I did?” He began to walk towards her. “And I thought you were smart.”

Katty quickly turned around. Her fishtail pony whipped around to the side of her right shoulder. It cascaded along her shoulder blades like a fairy-like waterfall. Even though she knew she looked nothing like her, she couldn't help but feel like Kim Kardashian for the day with such pretty new hair. “I am smart. I had a brain fart.”

Nico was growing increasingly angry. “Yeah, right, what was I supposed to say? Hey, I'm Nico, I'm a Vampire, and I want to suck your blood?”

“Well, that would have been nice for starters.” Katty retorted sharply. Katty had enough. She really now wanted to share her anger, and she did it by hitting Nico below the belt. “I should have known better to go out with a guy who looks like he just woke up from the grave.” Katty was growing increasingly angry as well. “You wasted my whole entire day. I could be back at the pool, finding my future husband.”

“Oh, boo hoo hoo, .. cry me a river.” Nico snarled. Really? Who did Katty think she was? “You're really something else. Besides, your much too pitiful to try and find to get a guy. That's why your friend Britney told me about you. She set you up.”

Hearing this news about Britney, instantly struck a nerve with Katty. Katty now stood there paralyzed, and perfectly still. She was completely shocked. Her heart hurt at such a revelation. “Britney? What does she have to do with this?” Katty instantly grew upset that her old friend could have been so deceitful. “Does she know you are a Vampire?”

Nico evaded the question by answering Katty with a generalization. “Let's just say that she knows I'm hot.” Nico pursed his lips a little as if to give Katty a teasing kiss in the air, then followed it through with a little wink. There definitely was something going on between Britney and Nico, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Katty instantly grew angrier than ever before. Her last fuse blew. “Oh, you're such a jerk!” She raged. She threw the greatest hissy fit. “And I can't believe that Britney could do something like that to me! I thought she was my friend!”

Nico started to lean towards Katty. He leaned towards her closely, as if trying to give her a kiss. But it wasn't a kiss that Nico wanted from Katty – it was her blood! “Come here, beautiful.” He tried to seduce. “Give me what I so desperately need....”

Before Nico could sink his teeth into Katty, Katty slapped him across his face. “You're disgusting!” Katty snapped. She couldn't believe this. How could Britney set her up with a blood-sucking Vampire? Was she on drugs or something?!?!

“Come on, Katty! Can't you help a guy out?” Nico whined, now sounding more like a baby, than a Vampire. “I need blood. I need it. Without it, I'll die!” Nico made it sound like his Vampire life depended on it, but Katty knew otherwise. She knew it wasn't going to kill him if he didn't suck out her blood. Why? Because there were many other Spring Breakers who would fall for his line of crap. But not her. She was much too smart to fall for such a trick – or was she?

Katty pried into his mouth. “Are those teeth even real?” She tugged on Nico's fangs. Nico felt the pressure of the tugging and it hurt. Katty tugged so hard that he felt like she was going to rip them right out of his gums. “Yup. They feel real. Not coming out.” Katty stopped tugging on the teeth, but then decided to look at them in a different way. She felt them, feeling a thin layer of slime coating the enamel. “But of course they can be those dental veneers, you know, the kind where they send you a mold and they send you back teeth to glue on. Seems to me a pretty good glue. A superglue kind of glue. Your probably just a wannabe Vampire so that you can get the girls.”

Nico, growing upset with Katty prying all over his teeth, quickly pushed her hands away. He instantly threw a temper tantrum. “I can get any girl I want!” Ranted Nico. What Katty had said totally insulted him! He couldn't believe this girl. Not only had she not been scared of him, but she even doubted that he was a Vampire? Nico instantly threw his arms up over his chest in self-defense. This girl wasn't going to get the best of him. He would tell her. Tell her off. He had to shut her up. He couldn't believe that she would even think he would try to pretend to be a Vampire to get girls. Even if he wasn't a Vampire, he had something else going for him which gave him a leg up in the girl department. “I'm a drummer of a band. Girls like guys in bands. Remember that.”

Katty wasn't going to give up so easily either. So, Katty continued – and with full forced attitude. “Well, you can't be a Vampire. You are out in the sun.” Katty continued. She was going to outsmart and outwit this stupid Vampire wannabe. She had seen movies about Vampires, as well as read books about them too. She wasn't born yesterday and knew all about Vampires. If anything, she was a walking encyclopedia about Vampires. Whatever she read, stuck. She was a human sponge. It's one of her biggest qualities that made her so smart. “Don't Vampires try to stay out of the sun?”

Nico pointed to his skin. His skin was reddened the same color of a fire-red tomato, and it was lined with boiling blisters. “Well, as you can see, my skin isn't doing so well right now.” He continued harshly. Even though he had started to feel the pain of such a painful burn, he hadn't let on that he had. He had to stay strong. Especially in front of a girl that was really trying to get his goat. “I don't usually go out in the sun, I try to avoid it as much as possible.” Nico went back to trying to seduce Katty. Not only was he still thirsting for her blood, but he thought if he bit her, and bit her well – then..yes..finally. He could shut this girl up!

“But for you, it was worth taking that risk.” Nico enticed, trying to lead Katty astray to feel vulnerable underneath his seduction and Vampire spell.

Katty suddenly saw a hot guy pass her by. The guy was a natural blonde, with a medium build, rippled abs, and a spank-able tight butt. He wore a pair of California styled plaid board shorts. The hunk was super tan, but most importantly, super duper cute. Katty couldn't help herself but to feel instantly attracted to him. She instantly turned into a stalker. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Her breathing become hot and heavy. She continued to stare at him obsessively, feeling her heart race with each step that he took. Nico instantly noticed Katty's new sight of direction. He instantly grew jealous. However, he kept his jealousy in check. If Katty knew he was jealous, she would take advantage of that.

“You like him?” Nico asked, half disturbed that she had focused on a cute guy other than himself. However as much as he didn't like it, Nico grew half excited because the distraction presented a new opportunity for him to suck out her blood.

“Yeah, he's kinda cute.” Katty said with a slight smile. She instantly felt shy. “I have a thing for blondes.”

“Listen,” Nico started, softening his tone a bit. “I can make you an offer that you won't be able to refuse.”

This “offer” immediately caught Katty's attention. “What's that?”

Before Nico could answer, Katty had been distracted again. But this time, it was by a group of cute boys who carried a drink cooler between them. A straggler who carried a lone wolf surfboard lagged behind.

“Hi!” Katty chirped to the boys in a happy go-lucky voice. But to her dismay, none of the boys said “Hi” back. They continued to walk past, paying absolutely no attention to her at all. It was as if she was in High School all over again. Totally invisible. Katty heavily sighed. “I'm ugly.” She moaned in detest. She laid her head down low in shame.

“You're not ugly, Katty.” Supported Nico. “You just need,....let's just say,....a make over.”

Katty instantly had an “awwww” moment. Nico didn't think she was ugly. And not only that, he was trying to help her be the best that she could be. Why was he being so nice to her? Was it a ploy? A ploy to get her blood? Or was he being nice because even though he was a blood-sucking Vampire, deep down - he was really a nice guy?

Katty looked at Nico affectionately. Nico was sweet. Perhaps he wasn't such a creep after all. He may be a Vampire, but he did have a great sensibility of a proper gentleman in him.

Katty studied him adamantly. Compared to the cute boys, he was nothing special in comparison. However, there was just something about him that she found strangely attractive. While the cute boys on the beach were hunked out on tans and glowing skin, Nico had skin that was so pale and bleached that he looked like a ghost. His pale white skin stretched tightly over his bones, and his eyes were sunken deep into the skull of his face. Two dark circles shadowed underneath his piercing stare. His hair was razor cut styled to be a crossbreed between punk and goth and perhaps even somewhere between. He was muscular, sure, but there was a length about him that seemed brooding and unaware of standing up into a pivotal point. Rather, he stood stooped over, almost hunched, kinda creepy like, all the while shadowing his movements with long, and lengthy strides. And let's not forget his tattoo, which he had inked on his arm. It was a tattoo of large bat-like monster together that roared evil. All these features, however, had attracted him to her, especially his eyes that were dark blue and piercing. He also had a special charm that seemed to magnetically flow out of him with a spellbinding aura. Whatever it was that Nico had, it made her easily attracted to him.

But she was energetically young, with great big wide eyes. And even though Nico was a good-looking guy, he was a Vampire! And so she engaged in the wandering eye syndrome that is contagious of being a single girl. Her eyes followed one of the boys who had originally caught her eye. It was that of the muscular blonde wearing the plaid surfer-board shorts. He was now sitting on a log, cracking open a can of Iced Tea. Katty instantly sighed. “I really wish I could have a boyfriend like that.” She shared with Nico, her heart lonely, her soul empty for male companionship.

Nico neared her ever so more. He knew this was his time. His time to shine. “How bad do you want it?” He asked in a whispery, seductive voice. His fingers scrolled along the top of her bare shoulders. Katy instantly felt her skin tingle underneath his cold, icy touch.

“Bad.” She answered, never taking her eyes off the blonde surfer dude. She sighed. This surfer dude was so dreamy. However, she knew, deep down, that she would never have a chance with him. Heck, she never had chances with guys like that back in High School. What made her think she would have a chance with this guy on Spring Break? Guys like them just didn't like girls like her. They were much more into the girls who were cute and flirty, with bouncy silky hair and chirpy personalities. Katty was a girl who liked to crochet, read books, and collect bottle caps. Katty was totally out of this guy's league.

“Tell you what.” Emitting Nico, partly feeling bad for Katty's situation. He was about ready to make her a deal that he knew that she wouldn't be able to refuse. “You give me something, and I'll give you something in return.”

This deal instantly caught Katty's attention. Her head perked up, and her green eyes opened up wide. “What is it that you want?” Katty answered, now unlocking her gaze from the cute blonde, and turning it forwards to Nico. He had her full attention now. Every ounce of it.

Nico smiled mischievously. A devilish look formed on his face. “Blood.” He answered slyly. The outer corners of his mouth creased upward. “Fresh blood. Your blood.”

Had Katty heard him correctly? Did Nico still want her blood? She really thought that he had changed. That he was going to offer her some other kind of deal, like scare the guy into giving out her his number. Nope. Nico was still being an ass. And still wanting her to give up her blood. God. Why was this guy such a jerk?

“Katty. Give me your blood, and I will give you the world.” Nico mused, his seduction growing tri-fold.

Although Katty had been angry earlier about that suggestion of giving up her blood, she began to think that perhaps that she should do it. Katty now no longer directed her anger towards Nico, but herself. How could she even think about doing that? To give Nico her neck to suck out her blood? Would having that cute guy on the beach be worth the risk of dying for?

Katty hesitated. Her hands began to tremble. She really wanted to change. To gain a boy's attention. But could she give up her blood to do that? Just how bad did she want a boyfriend? Did she really want it that badly?

Nico pointed to the surfers. The surfers were having a wildly good time now, drinking heavily and laughing about old memories. They all looked so cute and happy in the sun. Katty couldn't help but to fall in love with each and every one of them. “Them. All of them. As many as you want.”

Nico continued to pressure her into considering his offer. “Katty..” He seductively lingered as he came close to her and stroked her hair. “You will be irresistible.”

Katty looked up at Nico with big eyes. “I'll no longer be invisible?” She asked in soft liberty.

Nico smiled a most evil, but charming smile. His blue eyes brightened in the sun. He had to close this deal – and soon. His back was starting to burn, and light smoke began to cinder against the surface of his skin. “Nope.” He replied back honestly, already knowing the consequences of a Vampire's bite. He had already bitten a few girls he had turned into Vampires – including Britney back in the summer of 2010. She had been a pretty, but naive 16-year-old girl who wanted to rebel against her parents. She got her wish. She turned into a Vampire, and got caught feasting on a victim. Her parents were immediately ashamed of their daughter, and kicked her out of the house. She had been living on her own, and feeding in solitary refreshment, ever since. So why were some able to become Vampire – while so many others perished with a Vampire's bite? When many faced death when bitten by a Vampire, others – were given another chance at Life. It was only the strong ones in Heart, who survived.

Katty appeared lost. What was this that Nico was offering? He was offering what she wanted. But as good as it sounded, it made her feel like she would be making a deal with the devil.

Nico waved his hand ever so softly in invitation. “Come here beautiful.” Nico led Katty to some tall beach grass to the far right. Once lost in this jungle of coastal landscaping, Nico stood still, waiting for Katty to follow her heart. Without thinking twice about it, Katty walked over to Nico. They now stood only inches apart. She could smell a spicy cologne linger off his skin, and she could feel the softness of his breath. She looked up at Nico until her neck arched straight. Then, she did something she should never had done. She looked deep into Nico's eyes. Eyes of the devil. Her eyes latched quickly into Nico's, and she was instantly put into a hypnotic spell. Her sea-green eyes widened, her heart raced. Her body felt closer than it ever had to this stranger she barely knew. Both fear and excitement haunted her. She then gave Nico what he wanted. Her blood. She tilted her head to the side, exposing the bare nape of her neck, and waited. Nico slowly approached the neck with delight. He saw a good, strong vein that pulsated for his thirst. His fangs came out. Then, sharply and with exact precision - he bit her.

CHAPTER THREE

A gauzy cloud faltered away from the bare naked moon, and the beach brightened into an aura of articulate illumination. Katty appeared out of the darkness. She had been transformed completely – a whole 180 degrees. She was no longer dressed in geeky clothes. Rather, she wore some cool threads that emphasized every inch of her body. She wore a clingy black galaxy mini skirt with red leather combat boots; graphic unicorn t-shirt and ripped up fishnet stockings. Skull cross earrings decorated her ears. A twinkling nose diamond pierced through her right nostril. Her hair was no longer pulled back in a ponytail. Rather it was long and black and wavy with hot pink highlights. She wore makeup. Red, bright lipstick painted her lips, and thick dark eyeliner highlighted her glittering emerald green eyes. She no longer wore eyeglasses. She had perfect 20/20 vision now. Every time she blinked, big thick eyelashes fluttered. A new small star tattoo inked near her right eye. Her skin was clear of any acne, and any remnants of puss-filled zits had all but disappeared. She glowed as illuminating as the moon that shined overhead. Every inch of her being was now bleached white like fresh virgin snow. She was no longer Katty Angeles the Geek. She was now Katty Angeles, the Vampire.

Katty immediately noticed two hot guys walking up the grassy dune on the beach. They jogged fast, as to join up with a group of other equally hot guys. The hot guys had started a roaring wildfire using a large, abandoned piece of driftwood. The sound of beer cans being cracked open, rang out in the night. And husky laughter erupted throughout the beach. A small party was just getting started.

“Fresh blood.” Katty thirsted. She licked her lips deliciously. With great thirst, she opened up her mouth. Two pearly white fangs came projecting out. Her stomach growled. Her throat parched. Her cold heart thumped wildly in her ribcage. Quickly, she slid deep within the depths of the shadows. The hunky guys were now busily exchanging sport stories, all the while tilting back a few bottles of beers. They weren't legal to drink, but it was Spring Break, and Spring Break never excluded minors from having a good time.

The ocean's waves crashed wildly against the beachy shore, pushing the saltwater into a grunting sound of aggression. The roar picked up, growling like animals as the timbered surfs plunged through the softness of the sand. The hunky guys continued to have a good time as Katty hid out – waiting for the right opportunity to attack. Her waiting grew increasingly impatient. As her thirst grew, Katty grew desperate. Her stomach growled, and her mouth grew dry. She couldn't wait much longer. The pulsating flow of their veins was getting to be too much for Katty. She felt the blood flow of their veins in her consciousness. She could hear the pulsating of their heartbeats as loud as rock-n-roll music. She could feel the warmth of their skin tingle up the length of her chilling spine. When could she pounce? When could she taste the warmth of that hot, sticky blood? Mmmm...she could almost taste it now just thinking about it. She knew what blood tasted like. Even before she was a Vampire. That taste came back to her, times a thousand. She once scraped her knee when she fell off her bicycle. The blood had run down her shin. She remembered she was far away from home, and no safety kit in sight. She picked up a leaf and wiped it off as much as she could, but blood still dripped from her wound. The blood wouldn't stop bleeding. She applied pressure, but some blood still trickled through. Wanting to get back home quickly, Katty wiped the blood from her knee, and then sucked it off her fingers to clean it off. She remembered how god awful the blood tasted. So bitter, and sticky. But now, being a Vampire, that memory of the blood made her feel differently. She no longer remembered the blood as tasting awful, but rather; she remembered of it tasting so much better, and delicious.

Clouds ambled back over the moon, creating a powerful overcast. Then, the ocean's roar picked up even more ferociously. The chilly air swirled in dilated curvy circles, and a tumultuous air spanked the sky until it was colored black and blue. Invisible to the hunky guys with her hiding place, she took advantage of her imperceptibility and filtered throughout the dune. Without a sound, she emerged strongly into the moon's carved light. Her green eyes now grew wide and huge. She hungered for her open prey with anticipated starvation. Her mouth wide, she revealed fangs that were as sharp and pointy as carpenter nails. She was ready to feed!

Katty jumped out from the shadows, and hissed. She flashed her fangs wildly, and her eyes turned from shamrock green, into a bright blazing red. Her attack immediately scared the boys, and they quickly began to try to retreat. Many of them stumbled in the soft beach sand, falling on the ground. Some of them tripped over large driftwood, also falling down to their hands and knees. Katty had the upper hand now. Hovering over them, she suspended devilishly above. This scared the boys even more. Katty was thirsty. So very thirsty. Since turning into a Vampire last night, she still had yet to drink blood, and the veins in her body needed to be filled. She hissed once more, this time spitting out venomously on the boys - slobbering them with her monstrous drool. They all began to quiver like little babies. They crawled against the sand as to get away. Their hands couldn't dig into the sand fast enough.

“Stop!” Katty demonically demanded. The boys instantly listened to her right away. How could they not? She was a frightening sight! They discontinued their escape and ceased to scramble away. Whatever their maker was, they would have to face it. Who they had to face, was the evil of a Vampire!

“Sit. Sit.” She commanded seductively. She was their mistress of the night. They were now to obey. And so the boys obeyed her demanding order – all the while, shaking nervously in fright. What was to come? What was this Vampire going to do to them? Had they drank their last beers?

The boys sat down. They nervously awaited their suffering. They twitched, their nerves electrified from being absolutely scared. This wasn't just a hot girl standing in front of them. This was a hot girl who was a Vampire. They certainly knew, without a doubt, that she wasn't a pretty face to mess around with. That she was going to give them something else than a flirty look. That she was capable of giving them Death.

“Good evening boys!” Katty teased in a flirty manner. The old Katty wouldn't have dared to confront a group of boys like this. But she was a Vampire now. A Vampire who exuded a whole new attitude; confidence and inflated self-esteem. She felt totally empowered!

Katty walked around the boys, hands on her hip. She kept her head held up high. She was in control. Full...total...and complete control. “Hmm....tsk..tsk..what do we have here?” She asked irrevocably, her legs striding long as to show off her fishnet stockings in a most sexy, but deviant way.

She looked over at the boy with whom she had seen earlier that day. The same boy that had turned her on when she had been introduced by the devil's deal with Nico. “Why hello there hot stuff.” She teased, her big, large puffy mouth making a puckering face. She picked up his chin with the tip of her slanted finger, forcing him to look up at her. “Aren't you a mighty fine piece of meat.” She picked up her leg and placed it up on the side of the boy, as to show off a bit material of her panty line. The cute boy instantly grew excited, but at the same time, showed fear.

“W-what do you want from me?” He nervously stammered, not knowing whether to look slightly up her skirt or up at her and into her eyes. Eyes that had not once dislodged away from him once she had confronted him. Those red fiery glowing eyes!

Katty put her foot back down on the ground. “What do you think I want from any of you?” She asked the whole group, all the while continuing to look at the cute boy privately. She suddenly disengaged from her stare, and now directed everyone with a privileged authority. “I want blood. Blood is what I want.”

Katty opened up her mouth widely. She really showed off her two large fangs now, allowing them to shimmer brightly within the glitter of the moonlight. “Your warm, thick pulsating blood.”

The cute guy grew even more frightened. Fear wore on his face unkindly. He began to back away. “What are you? Wh-who are you?” He stammered, as he desperately tried to get away.

Katty confronted him head on. Her red eyes beamed even brighter – redder – as if lasers of extreme heat was penetrating through a carcass of fresh meat. “I'm that girl you ignored.” She answered evenly, but with a hidden rage. “You ignored me before. But you are no longer going to ignore me now, are you?”

Suddenly, Katty looked deep into the depth of the cute guy's hazel-gray eyes. Instantly, he was put underneath a deep and hypnotic spell. No longer could he resist from looking away from her. He had noticed how good-looking she was when she had attacked the small bonfire camp, but now, she appeared even better looking than any other girl he had ever met. She was gorgeous! Straight long jet black hair with hot pink highlights, a cute outfit, sexy stockings, piercings, and a beautiful white glow. He became magnetically drawn, feeling himself being pulled into her in a most uninhibited way. No longer did he stumble along the tripping path of the driftwood log. Rather, he began to near her without being scared. He got up from the ground. He continued to do this until he was face to face with Katty, inches recklessly separating them.

“Do you think I'm pretty?” Asked Katty breathlessly, a whispery tone that was both seductive and exclusive in pitch.

“Yesss.” He hissed back, coming even closer to her now. Now nearer to her than ever, he smelled the lingering scent of lavender ache from her freshly showered skin. “You're very pretty. The prettiest girl here.” The cute guy was trapped. Trapped underneath the spell of a Vampire!

 

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