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June sat up sharply, spluttering, swiping at her tongue. “No wonder our

moms stayed inside,” she groused. “They were the smart ones.”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that hot.”

“If I hadn’t put on lotion, I know I’d be lobster red by now. It’s so hot it’s

hard to breathe out here.”

Summer rolled her eyes, stood up, and flicked her towel hard, on

purpose, dusting both June and Arabella with a sandstorm. Both of them

coughed and gagged and looked murderously at her. She just laughed in her

easy way. For someone who was a natural redhead, Summer hardly ever

burned. It was miraculous. She had a beautiful tan going on. She stretched,

arching up catlike in her yellow one-piece bathing suit.

June had gone for the usual, a black tank top and jean shorts. She had her

bathing suit on underneath, a sporty looking two piece, but she doubted it

would see the light of day. She didn’t mind tan lines. Even though she

tanned well and had enough lotion on to drown a small village, she wasn’t

comfortable stripping down. It wasn’t just because of Arabella. She hardly

ever did, unless she was swimming, and even then, sometimes she went in

with her clothes still on.

“Well, I vote for the boat, then.”

June nearly choked. She stood, snapping up her towel and throwing it

over her arm. “Are you serious? It would be a thousand degrees hotter on

the water.”

“That’s not true,” Summer protested. “We would be driving, so the wind

would be in our hair.” She swept her hand through her long hair, fluttering it

in imitation of the wind and batting her lashes.

“I’m up for a boat ride.” Arabella was just trying to be agreeable. If they

told her they wanted her to get on a floating dock so they could drag her to

the middle of the lake and leave her there, she’d probably agree.

June did doubt that Arabella had any nefarious plans. She seemed too

genuine. She seemed contrite, and when she’d apologized at the barbeque