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S u n d a y, 31/3/19

Dear Diary,

"Soo, Camden, do you surf?"

Camden, Daisy and I had spent all morning at the beach, talking about random things and watching surfers through a pair of binoculars.

Now, Camden and I were sprawled across the yellow sand, revelling in the warmth that wrapped around our bodies, watching as Daisy tried to do some cartwheels through the water.

Camden, upon seeing his sister epically fail, chuckled under his breath as he turned to me. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

I hesitated before trying again, "Do you surf?"

Camden shrugged. "Eh. A little every now and then. Watching the shop and this lil 'un here take up a lot of my time so I don't do it often. Usually on the weekends."

"Cool," I sent him a grin. "Do you let people rent boards from your shop? If so, maybe I can come out with you or something."

Camden raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You - you know how to surf?"

I nodded. "Yes. I do it all the time back in Australia."

Camden inclined his head to one side as he scrunched up his nose in thought. "Nice. Well, we don't often rent boards but I'm sure I can make an exception for you if you'd like?"

I bit my lower lip as I gave him a cheeky side-glance. "Of course. Thank you."

"Camden! Daisy!"

Startled, the three of us looked up to see a man jogging across the sand towards us. His hair, which was a dirty-blonde colour, splayed about in the soft, noon breeze. He was shirtless so his abs were clearly visible beneath his tanned skin which was gleaming with sweat. In one hand he carried a bright red life-jacket and in the other, a transparent blue water bottle.

I raised my eyebrows.

Why were all the boys in Hawaii so flaming hot?

"Hey guys," the man addressed us as he came to a halt next to Camden. "How's it going?"

Camden stood up and gave him a fist-bump. "Rick. Great to see you here, mate. Back on the job already? How's your ankle?"

"Eh. It's okay," Rick lifted his foot up and examined it. "The swelling's nearly gone down. The boss reckons I'm well enough to come back to work now, which is good."

"Hey Rick!" Daisy squealed as she hurried up to him.

"Hey, sweetie," the good-looking blonde smiled down at her. His sky-blue eyes wandered over to me and he perked up with interest. Slapping Camden across the chest, he motioned to me and laughed, "Now, now, Foley, don't be rude. Who's this beautiful young lady?"

Camden visibly stiffened as he glanced over at me. "That's Jo. Jo, meet Rick. We went to school together. He's taken a summer job as a life guard and frankly enough, he thinks he's Thor Almighty."

"Whatever," Rick rolled his eyes as he extended his hand towards me. "Jo. It's a pleasure."

I smiled and nodded as I took his hand. "Hi."

"Well," Rick lifted an arm and ran his fingers through his blonde locks. "I'd better get going. Don't wanna be late for my shift. See ya around Cam, Daisy, Jo."

His gaze lingered on me a little longer than necessary before he turned and jogged away.

"Whew, he likes you," Daisy giggled as she sent me a sly look.

I frowned at her, trying to cover the flush heating up my face. "He does not! He doesn't even know me."

"Well, that's the thing, he doesn't have too," Camden cut in, irritated. "He's a playboy. He'll lay any girl he can get his hands on. Watch him, okay?"

I opened my mouth to rebuff him but, upon seeing how angry and upset he looked, decided to close it instead. "Sure, thanks for the heads-up," I shrugged.

Just then, I felt my phone vibrate from its position in my back pants' pocket. Quickly, I flipped it out and glanced down at the screen.

It was Spencer.

"Hey, Spence, what's up?" I questioned as I lifted the phone to my ear.

"Jo! Jo! You have to come home right now!" she gasped dramatically on the other end of the line.

"What? Why?"

"Andrea's a con-artist impersonating Barbie!" she practically yelled. "I did some snooping around and I found something really, really bad. Jo, I think she's dangerous..."

"Hold up. First, why are you going through her stuff? Seriously, Spence, she could've caught you!"

"Jo!"

"Fine. Where should I meet you?"

"Be at your house in five. I'll be waiting out the front."

"Okay. I gotcha. I'll be right there."

As I ended the call, Camden, his face an expression of concern, queried, "Jo, is everything alright?"

I nodded. "Yep. All good. I've gotta go though so - er - see you - um - sometime soon. Goodbye!"

And with that, I whirled around and raced across the beach as fast as my legs could carry me.

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