This is a prequel to the 'Psych' story I wrote in December. While this story shares some of the characters, it stands alone and you do not need to have read 'Psych' in order to follow this story. There's a fair bit of dialogue and character development etc. but stick it out and I hope you'll find it was worth it. Please note that everyone in this story is over 18. In my part of the world, the legal drinking age is 18, so I have stuck to that.
Remember this is copyright and all that. No posting anywhere else without my permission. Oh, and I've become an unabashed feedback hussy, so feel free to send me comments and suggestions -- just please make them constructive. Thanks!
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Chloe had had a rough day. The passionate surfer had tried to get some solo surfing in before her guests arrived, but the surf had been pathetic, the swells almost non-existent and despite the fact that she spent every single day in the sun and applied huge amounts of high factor sunblock throughout the day, she had somehow managed to get sunburned. She was tired, irritable and waiting. And if there was one thing Chloe could not abide, it was waiting on people when she was tired and irritable. Throw in the sunburn and she was doing a slow burn, too.
She was waiting for the next group of future surfers to arrive at the camp and they were over two hours late. Chloe and her family offered package deals over the summer months to people wanting to learn how to surf. The family ran a surf shop in their small town stocking all the necessary accoutrement and offering surfing lessons year-round. Chloe had become so proficient at the surfing clinics, that her parents pretty much left things in her hands, only coming to the campsite to take some of the sessions. Her parents were both freelance writers which helped to supplement their mostly seasonal income. The summer package deal included basic accommodation with a choice of decent tent or dormitory type rooms and food, usually complemented by whatever alcohol the campers brought with them. Naturally they attracted plenty of school-leavers and students on their summer breaks. The groups were usually fun-loving, relaxed people who could have fun with the minimum of supervision. There were a few crucial rules -- everyone who wanted to learn how to surf had to be a competent swimmer, and no alcohol was allowed to be consumed before all surfing and swimming was over for the day. Then they were free to let their hair down.
Chloe sighed. She considered calling the contact number she had been given, but figured if they hadn't answered the first five times, they were unlikely to now. "G!" she yelled stridently to her friend who had helped their family with the surf camps since they had started them in the small seaside town five years previously.
Gail looked up from the fire she had started. She also sighed. "Chlo, it doesn't help getting all uptight about it. Want some more aftersun stuff on your back?"
Chloe opened her mouth to retort then realized Gail was right and just shut her mouth with an audible clack. "I know. I'm just tired and sore. I want to have a beer and go to bed, not wait for this bunch of twits. And yes to the aftersun gloop, please."
Gail made her way over and started to smear the cold gel over Chloe's burning back. "Wow, little lobster... looking good!" She said, laughing. "How the hell did you manage to do this? You're usually so careful!"
"I don't bloody know! I obviously missed an application somewhere during the day. It does mean I won't be able to do any of the daytime shifts tomorrow without a wetsuit and pulling on my little number with this burn is going to hurt like hell." She mumbled, annoyed with herself.
"Bugger..." said Gail, reaching for an ice-cold beer from the cooler and handing one to Chloe before grabbing one for herself, "well at least we can have that beer while we wait. I know the bosses and they're kinda cool about drinking on duty." She smiled sympathetically at her best friend as she winced when her bikini straps rubbed along her burn.
As they popped the lids on the bottles and enjoyed their first few sips, they heard the faint sounds of music coming down the coastal road in the dusk, then saw lights and heard the approaching engine and realized it had to be their missing group of travelers.
"Oh my God," said Gail, "what on earth is that?"
An ancient olive-green VW van came lurching drunkenly up the hard dirt road to the campsite and came to a shuddering halt. Before the dust and stone chips had even settled, the side door slid open with a bang and a group of girls came spilling out of the interior, laughing so hard two of the group ended up on their knees. They made so much noise the birds around the campsite immediately took off with squawks of terror. Chloe wished she could follow them.
"Whoo girls? G, they're 'WHOO GIRLS'!!" Chloe hissed at her friend, springing to her feet. "They're two hours late, pissed and WHOO GIRLS!"
Gail looked at her best friend and spotted the fiery anger in her eyes. She held up a hand to her, stifling a smile at her friends' indignation and said "No. Stay here. Let me deal with them." Chloe realized, as usual, that her even-tempered friend was right -- she was not in the right frame of mind to deal with this idiotic bunch of morons.
She had just turned around to stomp off, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw the driver of the van open her door and slither out. Chloe felt her jaw move south. She took in the vision from her petite bare feet, long, smooth brown legs, the mid-thigh length soft cotton skirt, her tight sleeveless top with spaghetti straps, to her face. Without realizing it, Chloe actually sighed sweetly at the vision. This girl was absolutely perfect. Her dark hair, as long as her collarbone, swung over her face as she gracefully recovered from the jump to the ground. She smoothed down her skirt which had floated upwards and Chloe caught a tantalizing glimpse of her white panties before the soft cotton settled and Chloe could not stifle a little groan of disappointment. Then she looked up.
Chloe's heart seemed to leave her chest cavity completely. She found herself staring into eyes with an indefinable colour. They seemed blue and green at the same time and were huge, set wide in the girl's brown face, with a slight slant, giving her a smouldering feline look which made Chloe's breath whoosh out of her lungs. She suddenly realized she was holding her breath and coupled with the fact that she hadn't felt her heart beat in a good few seconds, Chloe knew she might just make an epic fool of herself before she even met this creature. As usual, Gail took charge. She nudged Chloe sharply in the ribs, forcing her to 'come to', close her mouth and take a deep breath before moving over to the new arrivals.
"Hi..." said Gail, arm extended, only to have her arm brushed aside by Chloe who smoothly insinuated her body ahead of Gail.
"I'm-Chloe-and-this-is-Gail!" Said Chloe in a rush so that it came out sounding like one word, grabbing the hand of the driver in hers.
"Paula, hi! God, I'm SO sorry! I've only just got my drivers' licence and I wasn't even supposed to be driving today, but these arseholes all got pissed and I was the only one left sober enough to drive...and all because I'M not a drunken slapper!" she turned and glared at her friends who were trying their desperate best to look penitent, but their unfocused eyes and giggling mouths gave them away.
"Well, you're here now," said Chloe soothingly, "why don't you come and sit by the fire for a bit, have something to eat and drink, then we can unload your car and get you settled. Sound good?"
