For Always (book one)

Chapter 7: Rejections

Malyn

I called Beth on Friday to get my schedule and she invited me to go swimming. She thought this would be good, so that we could talk and get to know each other before I started work Monday, so I had Grandmama drop me off Sunday afternoon at her house. When we turned onto her street, I felt a little out of my element. All the houses were huge and conveniently located right on the lake, with her house being all the way at the back of a cul-de-sac. It was obvious that her family was doing well in the marina and restaurant business.

When we turned into her driveway, which circled around a large fountain, I looked at Grandmama and raised my eyebrows. "Dang."

"Well, that's a big waste of hard earned money," she said, inspecting the fancy lawn decor.

"Ya think?" She always made me laugh. "Maybe that's where we're gonna be swimming."

"It's big enough, that's for sure." We pulled up the section of driveway that ran beside the house, where she let me out. "Just call when you're ready to come home and I'll come get ya."

"Beth told me she'd bring me back home."

She looked at me surprised. "She's drivin' already? That's scary. She seems too young." I thought she was gonna tell me no until she said, "Well, okay. Call before ya leave to head home, wear your seatbelt, and make sure she drives slow with no distractions."

I laughed. "Okay. And I'm sure they have a suit of armor in their main hall, so I'll put that on, too."

"Ha ha. I love ya. Have fun," she said through the window as she backed up.

"I love you, too!"

Beth met me at the door, already in her bathing suit. "Hey! I'm glad you came."

"Thanks for inviting me." I followed her into the grand foyer, which was flanked by stairs on both sides. Two sets of stairs? She went up the set on the right and I followed her, not wanting to get lost.

"You can change in my room," she said as we made our way up the stairs. Her bedroom was the size of our entire living area. "Right in there's the bathroom."

"Dang! Your bathroom is as big as my bedroom," I admitted.

"It is big, ain't it! I love the fact that my parents went overboard when they built this place."

I changed and came out of the bathroom. When Beth turned around, she did a double take, which I was used to when I sported a bathing suit.

"I know... stripper material, right?" I laughed, stating the obvious. "I've yet to find a bathing suit that's baggy and stylish."

"Girl, if I was built like that, I'd be showin' it off, shakin' what my mama gave me," she said as she shimmied down the hall, taking me down a different set of stairs this time.

"How many stairs do you have?"

"Just the two in the front, these, and the ones to the den, I think."

These stairs brought us out into the kitchen. We then went through the family room, which was luxurious. The main wall consisted of a rock fireplace with a humongous flat screen over it. It was flanked by nothing but windows and French doors, showing off the view, which was breath taking. We walked out onto the patio that wrapped around the pool, fully furnished with a slide and diving board.

"This is awesome, Beth!" I couldn't contain my excitement. "I get to swim in a pool this nice and don't have to worry about google-eyed boys following me around. Yay!"