South beach (11 page)

112

waggled her fingers back at Holly. "If you come out and find me kissing a boy in the pool, don't bother me!" she added, then flounced off.

Perfect,
Holly thought. She glanced around furtively as she made her way back to the phone booth. There were guests strolling in and out of the lobby, and waiting to speak to the concierge. Holly tried to act natural as she slipped inside the booth and reached for the white pages. What was it Alexa had said?
Act as if you belong.

Holly opened the directory and turned to the "M" section. She tried to tune out the loud, obnoxious woman at the concierge desk. Wearing a silken head wrap and a flashy diamond choker, the woman was berating the poor concierge about delivering her package to the wrong room. "Don't you know who I am?" she shrilled.

Who cares?
Holly fumed silently struggling to focus on the task at hand. She scanned the page in front of her. Unfortunately, there were several Mendietas in South Beach. Ana Mendieta, Carlos Mendieta, Juan Mendieta ... no Diego. But if he were living with his parents, Holly realized, he wouldn't be listed under his own name. Holly tried to remember the name of Diego's father or mother, but came up blank. For some reason she could only think of her own parents' names, Lynn and Stanley. At the thought

113

of her parents, Holly felt newly determined. She certainly wasn't going to be hooking up back in Oakridge. She'd better act now, while she had some modicum of freedom.

Holly pulled her cell phone out of her tote and started punching in the number of Ana Mendieta. She'd just go down the list and call everyone, asking to speak to Diego. Holly's heart was in her throat as she pressed the last digit.
Am I being brave or crazy?
she wondered. But it didn't matter either way. In a few seconds, she might be hearing Diego's smooth, mellow voice. Her spring break romance was just a phone call away.

Out at the pool, Alexa casually set her straw tote on one of the lounge chairs and patted her thick blonde bun to make sure it was still in place. She removed her sunglasses, slid off her flip-flops, and strode toward the pool, wiggling her hips as she walked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw boys watching her with interest, and she felt her spirits lift. She was sure she didn't look tired anymore.

Alexa glided down the tiled steps into the water, which was just the right temperature: cold enough to wake up her skin, but warm enough to feel relaxing. She submerged herself completely, sinking into the water's cool embrace. Then she drifted back up,

114

happily drenched, and swam a few paces into the deep end. Alexa, unlike Holly, was not a great swimmer, but she adored pools -- the gentle caress of the water, the other half-naked bodies so nearby. An empty inflatable lounge floated toward her, practically begging her to climb on. How could she resist? Alexa put her hands on the float and hoisted herself out of the water. She slid onto the lounge slowly and, she hoped, seductively.

She'd just gotten settled when a mustachioed waiter near the pool's edge caught her eye and smiled.

"Can I get you anything, miss?" he asked, nodding toward the pad and pen in his hand.

It's working!
Alexa thought. Nobody doubted that she belonged here. This really had been a brilliant plan.

"I'd love a Bellini," Alexa replied without missing a beat. She'd never had that drink before, but had always liked the sound of it: white peach nectar with sparkling white wine.

"Anything else?" the waiter asked, scribbling down her order. "Black olive tapenade on toast points? Hummus dip with whole-wheat pita? Blue corn chips with homemade guacamole?"

I should probably get some food in my stomach,
Alexa mused.
To help my hangover and all.

115

"I'll have the tapenade," she said, trailing her foot through the water.

"Very good." The waiter walked away, and returned shortly with her Bellini and a miniature platter of toast points with black olive spread.

Alexa nibbled on a few toast points, then left the platter by the side of the pool as she drifted away on her float. She wondered, fleetingly, how she was going to pay for the food and drink once the waiter returned with the bill. She was sure that most guests at the pool simply charged the food to their rooms. Using her credit card would be way suspicious, and she didn't have any cash on her -- she'd spent it all on coffee that morning, and needed to hit an ATM. Alexa shrugged, and her concerns flitted away. She'd come up with something. She always did. She lifted the champagne glass and took a long sip, savoring the chilled, peachy flavor and the undercurrent of white wine. Just what the doctor ordered.

"Good choice." The man floating on an inflatable lounge beside her spoke up. "Bellinis are my favorite daytime drink."

Alexa cocked an eyebrow as she turned to look at her neighbor. Was he hitting on her? He looked to be in his twenties, and was definitely hot, in a Ken-doll way: blond hair, blue eyes, sparkly white teeth. His

116

swim trunks, she noted with approval, were Calvin Klein. Alexa gave him her most radiant smile.
Here
was a classy guy. She wanted to cringe at the memory of last night's frat boys.

"It's yummy," she replied, delicately licking her bottom lip and lowering her lashes.

Ken-doll smiled. "So are you enjoying Miami? I come here at least once a year. It's a great city."

"Sort of," Alexa said with a roll of her eyes. "My friend and I went to this trashy place last night and I'm just so
over
that beer-guzzling scene." She gave him a long, meaningful look that said
you and I are different.

Ken-doll nodded sympathetically "There's a lot of that here," he said. "But there are also some fantastic night spots." His face lit up. "I don't know what you were planning for tonight, but I'm going to a Cuban place in Little Havana called Esta Noche. It's a restaurant, but at eleven the bottom level turns into a very sophisticated dance club."

Alexa's heart raced as she took a gulp of her Bellini. He was asking her out for
tonight?
This had to set a record for world's fastest pick-up, and he was totally smooth about it. This was exactly the kind of guy she'd been looking for!

"That sounds incredible," Alexa said softly She

117

remembered reading about Esta Noche in her guidebook -- it was supposedly Little Havana's best new spot for Latin dancing. Alexa had been to the real Havana once -- a couple years ago, with her dad, when he'd gone for architectural research. Their trip had been one of Alexa's most fascinating journeys yet, and had piqued her interest in Cuban culture. She imagined herself and Ken-doll, in a dark, chic club, salsa dancing.

"You should join us," Ken-doll said, waving toward someone poolside. "Luis and I will be getting there around ten."

Luis?
Alexa thought, following Ken-doll's gaze to an extremely handsome, brown-skinned man who was toweling himself off near the pool. The man lifted his hand and smiled at Ken-doll.

"Careful, honey," Luis called over. "You look like you're getting a little pink."

"Am I?" Ken-doll asked in response, looking down at his fair chest.

Oh no,
Alexa thought, comprehension dawning. Ken-doll wasn't hitting on her at all. He was gay. And, obviously, had a very hot boyfriend.

Alexa's face flamed. He'd just been making friendly conversation, and she'd practically thrown herself at him! How out of it could she be? Was she

118

turning into Holly?
Or maybe,
a nagging voice sounded in her head,
you re so self-centered that you always assume every guy is into you.

Just then, she saw Holly approach the pool, looking as wan and depressed as Alexa herself was feeling.

Holly padded over to where Alexa floated, and kneeled by the edge of the pool. She had called all the Mendietas in the phone book and gotten a bunch of busy signals, a few answering machines, someone who couldn't speak any English, and a grouchy man who said he knew no Diegos. Worse still, she had then called her parents, who kept asking specific questions about Grandma Ida. And
then
she'd had to call Grandma Ida, to make sure all their stories were straight. Holly felt depressed and drained. She noticed Alexa looked kind of limp, too.

"What's wrong?" Holly and Alexa asked each other at the same time. They smiled.

"You go first," Holly said.

"Well..."Alexa hedged. Ken-doll was still floating nearby. She couldn't exactly explain the whole humiliating incident to Holly now.

"Hi there," Ken-doll said to Holly with a little wave. Then he looked at Alexa. "Is this the friend who suffered through the trashy place with you?"

"Yup," Alexa replied, careful not to make eye contact.

119

"Well, you girls should most definitely investigate Little Havana tonight," he said. He paddled the water with his hand and his float drifted off in the direction of Luis. "Nice chatting with you," Ken-doll called to Alexa.

"Nice chatting," Alexa repeated dazedly.

"Little Havana?" Holly asked Alexa. Her eyes lit up at the mention of the Cuban neighborhood. She kicked off her flip-flops and swung her legs over the pool's edge, dangling her feet in the water. "What's there?"

"This dance club called Esta Noche," Alexa replied, sipping her Bellini.

Holly let out a big breath, newly hopeful. Diego was Cuban American, and she had a vague memory of him offering to teach her Latin dancing. Of course, at thirteen, she'd been too timid, and had declined. But now, Holly was feeling bolder. Was there a chance that Diego might be at Esta Noche tonight? After her unsuccessful sleuthing, she was willing to try another tack.

"We should go!" Holly exclaimed. "Little Havana's kind of far. I mean, we can take a cab, but that might be expensive. Maybe Grandma Ida would let us borrow her car or something...." She was babbling, she realized, but this new opportunity seemed very promising.

Alexa observed Holly's glowing face. She didn't get it. Why was Holly getting so bubbly about Little Havana? She'd looked suicidal two seconds before.

120

"Would Ida really let us use her car?" Alexa asked. A set of wheels would certainly afford them a new kind of freedom. Alexa had just gotten her driver's license, and thought of her yellow VW Bug back home with a pang of longing.

"Definitely," Holly replied. "She said we should call her if we needed anything, right?"

"True," Alexa said, warming to the idea. "I've been Latin dancing a couple times before and it's a lot of fun."

"And we already know someone who'll be at the club!" Holly enthused. "That guy you were just talking to. He seemed nice." She smiled at Alexa and dropped her voice. "Too bad he's not into girls, right?"

"Wait, you
knew?"
Alexa asked, almost falling off her floating lounge.

Holly shrugged. "It was pretty obvious." She gave Alexa a look that clearly meant
I'm not as dense as you think.
Then she pointed to the Bellini in Alexa's hand.

"Did you order that here?" Holly asked.

"Uh, yeah," Alexa said. "And that." She gestured to the platter of toast points next to Holly. She didn't mention the tricky issue of payment.

"I'm kind of hungry," Holly said, looking around for a waiter. She needed sustenance after her phone ordeals.

"Holly?" Alexa began apprehensively, but then the

121

same mustachioed waiter who'd served Alexa appeared at Holly's side, pen and pad at the ready.

"Do you have a burger or something?" Holly asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked up at the waiter. She just wanted ordinary food -- nothing fancy.

The waiter blinked in shock, as if Holly had cursed at him. "We do not," he said snippily, then rattled off the same options he'd given Alexa.

"The chips, I guess," Holly said with a shrug. "And a Diet Coke."

The waiter cast his eyes up and down Holly, and his lip curled. "I assume you are staying at the Oceania, miss? The pool staff only caters to hotel guests, as I am certain you are aware."

"Uh me? Staying? Here?" Holly stumbled over her words, glancing frantically from the waiter to Alexa. She'd forgotten that she and Alexa were supposed to be posing as guests.

"Yes, we both are," Alexa leaped in hastily, wanting to murder Holly.

The waiter furrowed his brow and gave a curt nod. As he walked away, Alexa and Holly turned to each other, wide-eyed.

"Could you be any less subtle?" Alexa hissed. "He knows we're faking it. We are so screwed." She wanted to grab Holly and shake some sense into her.

122

"We shouldn't be lying in the first place!" Holly shot back. She was good and angry now, and she didn't care if it showed. Holly wasn't going to go along with one of Alexa's stupid schemes this time.

"Well, if you hadn't acted like a total hick, we'd be fine," Alexa snapped. She tipped off her float into the water, then bobbed over to the edge of the pool.

"Excuse me for not getting the whole
snob
act down ..." Holly trailed off, upset. She drew her feet out of the water and hugged her knees to her chest.

Alexa glared up at Holly from the pool. "Just don't say anything when the waiter comes back, okay? Let me handle it."
But what exactly am I going to say?
she wondered.

On cue, the waiter materialized next to Holly. He was holding the chips and soda on a tray, and what looked like an official hotel guest list in his other hand.

"Since you ladies appear to be together, shall I charge both of your orders to the same room?" he asked frostily, throwing a haughty glance at Alexa.

To Alexa's annoyance, Holly sat up straighter, as if she had some sort of idea. "Well," she began, looking right at the waiter, but Alexa coughed loudly, trying to shut her up.

"Please do," Alexa murmured quickly. "Thanks ever so much."

"And what room would that be?" the waiter asked,