The Art of Appreciation by Markus Autumn

Author:Markus, Autumn [Markus, Autumn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-08-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

JUGGLING A GLASS OF ICED TEA, a book, her iPod, and a blanket, Abby hooked the French door with her toes and pulled, closing it behind her. After a late night and a morning of fishing Play-Doh out of little mouths, she was ready for some solar therapy. Picking her way down the beach, she dropped her armload on a chair before shaking out the blanket and lying down in the shade of the umbrella. A smile crept across her face when she stretched and all the delicious aches from the night before settled into her limbs.

“Don’t do that! Don’t you do that!”

Abby tipped her head back and watched Sarah tiptoe across the hot sand with her own armload of goodies. “Do what?”

Dropping her things, Sarah plopped down onto the sunny side of the blanket and shook her finger in Abby’s face. “That! That! You’ve been grinning and giggling all morning, and it’s driving me crazy. Where’s your stupid phone, Abby? Did Matt have to surgically remove it from your hand last night?”

Abby shot her the finger but realized that she hadn’t thought of the museum in days. Sarah shoved a Styrofoam container forward. “Here—eat your lunch.”

Balancing the container on her stomach, Abby propped herself up on one elbow and opened the box. She lifted out a piece of sushi, and after taking a bite, she closed her eyes and hummed in pleasure. “Good stuff.”

“Yeah, well, it better be,” Sarah said around a mouthful of rice and ahi. She chewed quickly and swallowed, grabbing Abby’s iced tea to wash it all down. “I had to hide from Tyler and his band of flying freaks twice before I got back to the car. That guy in the surf shop thought I was insane when I ducked behind the sailboards. That’s the second time this week. At least I didn’t knock them over this time.”

Abby laughed at the image, drawing another glare.

“Don’t laugh! That kid’s persistent as hell. Too bad I don’t date tadpoles.”

“Well, maybe not date…”

“I hate you. I really hate you,” Sarah whined. “I didn’t do that, either—thank you very much, by the way—unlike some people I could mention.”

“Jealous?” Abby popped another piece of sushi into her mouth.

“Hell, yeah!” Sarah picked a piece of rice off her stomach. “Oh yeah…and I ran into Surfer Dude II—you know, the blond? He was picking up sushi too. He wanted me to pass a message.”

Abby closed her empty container and reached for her glass of tea. “Chris? What did he have to say?”

Sarah nabbed the glass first and took a swig before passing it to Abby. “He said to tell you he’s really sorry about this morning, and he should learn to keep his mouth shut, and he wasn’t hinting at all, and…” She thought for a minute. “That’s about all.” She settled her sunglasses over her eyes and stretched out in the sun, adjusting her bikini. “He turned bright red—did he see your boobies?”

“Not even. I was fully dressed when I ran into his drunk butt outside the bathroom at about three o’clock this morning.

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