“You wanna play?”
“Yeah, okay.” I didn’t really but these girls were pretty cute, especially the blonde one.
“Throw the rings over the Eiffel tower.” The blonde girl pointed to the miniature Eiffel behind her. “You get a French treat for each one you get over.”
Her hand brushed mine as she handed me the rings and I glanced up into stunning blue eyes. She turned away and I traced the shape of her slender body, my eyes lingering on the gentle curves of her hips and butt. I blinked and concentrated on the model Eiffel. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of these girls.
I threw the first ring and got it over. Both girls cheered and I almost laughed at their enthusiasm. I tried to focus again but was too hurried this time and missed.
“Ohhh that was close.”
“Come on, you can do it.”
I threw the last ring and the girls cheered again. I couldn’t help but grin at them. I wondered what my French treat would be. A French kiss?
The dark-haired girl held up a tray with some kind of tart on it and a bread stick with a French flag toothpick stuck through it.
“You made these?”
“Yeah.” She smiled.
“Mmm ... it’s good.” I stood there eating, not wanting to move away. “So ... how come you’re doing this beach festival?”
“It’s a camp activity. It was Lizzie’s idea to do a taste of Paris.” The blonde girl glanced at her friend then smiled at me with such natural ease, her pretty face blooming into beautiful.
“That’s cool. So you’re camping here?”
“Yeah.” She smiled with such unguarded friendliness it took my breath away. “We come here every year.” Her lips were a soft, natural pink. “It’s a family camp.” Her long, golden hair shimmered as she combed her fingertips around one ear.
“What about you?” The dark-haired girl I presumed was Lizzie asked, distracting me from my stare.
“Uh, I live here. My parents own the store up the road.”
“You’re lucky...”
I looked at the pretty girl again as Lizzie continued to talk. When she fell silent I realized I hadn’t heard a word she’d said and now she was looking at me expectantly.
“Um, yeah,” I said, non-committal-like.
Lizzie smiled. “Me too.”
“I’d love to live near the sea.” The pretty girl looked into my eyes then glanced away, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. The skin above her neckline and exposed shoulders was so smooth it shone with reflected sunlight. “It’s really nice here.” She looked again into my eyes and this time she held my gaze. I was shocked at how beautiful she was. We were just staring at each other and I knew I had to say something but the conversational part of my brain had stopped working. I swallowed.
“You wanna play?” Lizzie called, looking past me. I turned to see a young boy approaching the booth and I stepped back to give him some room. The blonde girl gave me a wistful smile. I flashed her a grin, turned and walked away.
I was on an adrenaline high. It was such a rush talking to a pretty girl like that. I replayed our conversation in my head, inwardly groaning that I hadn’t even said one intelligent or witty thing the whole time.
“Hey!”
I turned and my heart jumped. She was right behind me.
“What’s your name?” She asked.
“Uh ... Zach.”
“I’m Joanna.” She stood there for a moment just smiling at me. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Zach. Hope I see you around some time.”
“Yeah … me too.”
She whirled and danced away before I could say anything else.
Wow. I stood watching after her. She really was something beautiful.