The Shore by Todd Strasser Read Free Book Online Page A

know was dressed in black.
    “Where’s the fire?” he asked, waving his hand in front of him as if to disperse the cigarette smoke.
    “I think it just left,” the new girl said.
    Lucas was well aware that she was eyeing his bare chest. His own eyes fell on the ashtray on the counter. In it was a smoldering cigarette butt. A pack of cigarettes and a silver lighter lay nearby. Polly, the redhead, picked up the ashtray and doused it in the sink. Avery, the pretty girl with the light brown hair, was opening the kitchen window to let in some fresh air.
    “Nicely done,” Lucas said. He turned to the girl in black andoffered his free hand, the one that wasn’t holding a surfboard at the moment. “Sorry, I don’t think we met yesterday. I’m Lucas.”
    “April,” the girl in black said, tentatively shaking his hand.
    “Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Lucas said, a bit too formally, before he caught himself. He winced, but no one seemed to catch his slipup.
    “You didn’t meet last night?” Polly asked.
    “Are you serious?” April said. “I hid in my room.”
    “So, I guess this makes seven of us?” Lucas said.
    “Yes,” Avery answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Want some? It’s fresh,” she asked, holding up the pot.
    Lucas shook his head. “Not today, thanks.” He basically lived a substance-free life, including caffeine, but again, this wasn’t something he felt like broadcasting.
    Polly was staring at his bare feet. He glanced down and wiggled his toes. “Something wrong?”
    The red-headed girl jumped as though she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t. “Sorry, it’s just, well, you’re tracking in sand.”
    Lucas grinned. “So I am. Since you haven’t been to the beach yet, I brought some back for you.”
    Avery smiled at the clever remark. When Polly saw Avery smile, she tried to force a smile onto her lips as well, but it looked painful. Clearly the red-headed girl liked everything neat and orderly. The party the previous night must have been a nightmare for her.
    “How was the surf this morning?” Avery asked.
    “Really good,” Lucas said.
    “Why were you out so early?”
    Lucas propped his board against the wall. “That’s when you get the best waves,” he explained. “Before the onshore thermals start to blow and the water gets filled with gremmies.”
    “Gremmies?” April repeated, puzzled.
    “You know, beginners, dilettantes, poseurs. The usual riffraff.”
    The front door opened, and Curt trudged back in, looking sullen. He walked to the counter and picked up the pack of cigarettes and the lighter and stuffed them in his pockets.
    “I always wanted to learn how to surf,” Avery said, after glancing at Curt. “But it looks really hard.”
    “It’s not. I could teach you, if you want,” Lucas offered.
    Curt glared at him, and Lucas stiffened. Uh-oh. Male territorial behavior. Lucas had merely been acting friendly. He gave Curt an easy smile. “Offer goes for anyone.”
    A door on the second floor opened and closed, and they all glanced toward the second-floor landing. A very attractive blonde, wearing tight jeans and a black wraparound shirt, started down the stairs, eyes squinting and hand pressed to her left temple. Seriously hung over, Lucas thought, suppressing a smile. She is the one I ran into early this morning wrapped in a blanket in the hallway. Without a word to the others, she entered the kitchen and poured herself some coffee.
    She took several long sips before she acknowledged the rest of them. “Don’t let me interrupt.”
    Lucas could see that despite the hangover she carried herself with poise and self-assuredness. The airs of a good upbringing. She was from money, and she had no intention of letting any of the rest of them forget it. He’d been surrounded by girls like her all his life; had even dated a few at boarding school. He sighed to himself. If he followed the path his parents were insisting on, he’d be surrounded