Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
L auren slathered on sunscreen and headed to the beach a few minutes before noon to meet Eloise and the others. When she reached the share house, she saw Eloise coming down the steps along with Billy, carrying a huge cooler of food. Eloise set her chair down next to Lauren’s. Billy waved hello, then ran back up to the house. He returned a few minutes later along with the others, carrying a chair and towel. He made a beeline for Lauren and plunked down next to her.
“So, how’ve you been? This place is great, huh?”
Lauren smiled. Billy’s enthusiasm was contagious. “Is this your first time to Nantucket?”
He nodded. “I suppose it’s nothing special to you, if you come here all the time?”
“I don’t get here as often as I’d like. I still think it’s pretty special. I’m looking forward to being here for the summer.”
“Billy, do you think you might want to join the others? We can’t film you if you’re sitting next to Lauren?” Hudson stood behind them, getting his camera set up.
Billy laughed. “Yeah, right? Are we going to do a volleyball shot? I could get the net set up.” Lauren knew Billy was eager to do something. He wasn’t the type to sit around.
“Actually, that would be a huge help, if you could do that,” Lauren said.
He winked at her. “You got it.”
Lauren settled into her chair and pulled a copy of People magazine out of her tote bag.
“Oh, I should have remembered to bring a magazine. Can I borrow that when you’re done?” Eloise asked.
Lauren grinned and pulled another gossip magazine from her tote and handed it to Eloise. “I stocked up.”
Eloise flipped the magazine open. “Besides volleyball, do we have anything else planned for the afternoon?”
“No. We’ve got the clambake later, so just volleyball. They still need to get to know each other more. The girls aren’t even down yet.” So far, just the guys and the production crew were on the beach. The rest of them staggered down over the next half hour. Honey and Brett came first and helped themselves to tuna sandwiches before settling near Billy’s chair. Billy and Jason were just about done setting up the volleyball net, while Noah supervised.
Katy and Anna were the next to arrive. Both had their sunglasses on and cute coverups over their bikinis. They went straight for the food and grabbed iced teas and sandwiches.
Eloise stood. “I’m going to get a sandwich. Do you want one? I think there’s turkey and tuna?”
“I’ll take a turkey, thanks. And a bag of chips.”
When Eloise returned a few minutes later with the sandwiches, Sami and Suzanne finally made their arrival. Sami was sleek and fit, toned from yoga, and looked flawless in an elegant white tank top bikini. Suzanne was tanned and in good shape too—her arms and calves were well defined and she showed off her newly acquired implants in a hot pink bikini.
“Who’s ready for a margarita shot?” Suzanne asked. She held a bottle high and looked around the group, but everyone groaned.
“Maybe tonight,” Katy said.
“If then. I’m still hungover,” Anna added.
“Oh come on. If you’re hungover, it’s the best cure,” Suzanne said.
But still, she had no takers. Not even Billy.
“It is a little early to be starting with the alcohol,” Eloise said softly.
Lauren laughed. “Way too early. I don’t know how she does it.”
They ate their sandwiches and people-watched as the beach filled up. It was a perfect day for it, warm and sunny, and the air was dry with a slight breeze. Anna put a big umbrella in the sand, so she and Katy and Smith could have shade. Smith curled up by Anna’s feet. His fur ruffled in the breeze and he looked happy to be with everyone.
Everyone was hungover and hungry and unusually quiet, other than the occasional bit of idle chit chat—nothing terribly film worthy.
“Maybe they will wake up when volleyball starts,” Eloise said.
For the next hour or so, everyone just relaxed in the sun, even Billy. Lauren and Eloise swapped magazines and walked to the water’s edge and dipped their toes in.
“This is so much colder than the West Coast. I thought with so many people swimming that it would be warmer,” Eloise said. There were lots of people in the water, kids on floats, people of all ages.
“It will warm up by the end of the summer,” Lauren said as they walked back to their seats. Billy was up by then and ready to play volleyball. It took him about twenty minutes to get the rest of them to join him, but once everyone got up and into position, the energy shifted on the beach.
“Here we go,” Hudson said as he swung his camera toward the volleyball net.
And he got some great coverage. Only a few of the influencers, Billy, Jason and Sami, were actually good at the game, but the rest had fun with it and laughed at themselves. They all seemed to have a good time and there were some funny shots. Katy tried to spike the ball and ended up tripping and going facedown in the sand. And then could not stop laughing.
The volleyball woke them all up and when they came back to their seats, and Billy asked if anyone wanted a beer or hard seltzer from the cooler, half of the group said yes.
“So, we talked about everyone’s relationship status last night,” Katy said after she’d finished her first hard seltzer. She looked at Billy. “I heard a rumor that you’re dating someone. Is that true?”
Billy immediately glanced at Lauren for a split-second. Then smiled at Katy, the slow easy smile that spread across his face—the smile that had once had such an effect on Lauren.
“I’m not dating anyone now.” A seagull flew by and he laughed. “I’m as free as that bird. What about you, Katy? What’s your story?”
Katy giggled. “Oh, I’m free too. Totally.”
They went around the group and everyone, except for Honey and Brett, was completely single. Lauren wondered who among the group was likely to pair off. It was inevitable that there would be at least one romance in the house.
Around three people started leaving the beach to go shower and rest up a bit before the clambake at six.
“Let’s meet back at the house at five thirty,” Lauren said to the production team. Everyone began to pack up. Hudson and the guys brought their camera equipment into the share house. They’d be eating on the massive deck.
“I wonder if this group knows their way around cracking open a lobster. That might be fun to watch,” Hudson said.
Lauren smiled at the thought. She’d had to show a friend on the West Coast how to split a lobster tail and it was pretty funny, as she was totally intimidated.
“Maybe I’ll suggest that one of them give a demonstration of how to do it,” Lauren said.
“I’ve actually never had Maine lobster,” Eloise said. “I can’t wait—and I will need a lesson.”
Lauren laughed. “It’s easy, I’ll show you.”
It felt good to shower off the beach. Even though she’d worn plenty of sunscreen, they’d been out there for hours and Lauren’s nose and cheeks were pink from the sun. She blew her hair dry and then curled up on her bed with a book for an hour or so. She felt her eyes grow heavy, and it was tempting to take a nap, but she didn’t have that much time. She made herself a cup of tea instead, to wake up a bit.
She dressed in her oldest, most comfy jeans, a white t-shirt and the roomy sweatshirt she’d bought at Izzy’s shop. At twenty past five, she headed back to the beach and walked over to the share house.
Eloise was already there and Hudson walked in a few minutes later. He and the other two camera guys brought their equipment out to the deck and set up in the corners, out of the way. Melissa, their catering services manager, was putting the finishing touches on the oval table on the deck. It was set for nine and had several tall citronella pillar candles to keep the bugs away. Although Lauren didn’t remember that it ever seemed to get very buggy on Nantucket.
The clambake caterers were busy in the kitchen, where there were several huge pots busy steaming the lobsters and clams. They’d brought a few of their own burners too, and one of them had a vat of clam chowder simmering that smelled so good that Lauren’s stomach immediately rumbled. She wouldn’t be eating for a while, though. They needed to film the cast eating dinner first. Once they were done and they’d gotten all the dinner shots that they needed, the crew could enjoy a meal together.
Lauren and Eloise exchanged glances when the girls came downstairs. None of them were appropriately dressed for a clambake. They were all overdressed, as if they were going out to a nightclub. Except for Suzanne, who was the most casual with jeans and a snug white t-shirt. The guys were fine. They were all in t-shirts and jeans, too.
Lauren noticed that Melissa had put a plastic bib at each table setting. Once everyone had poured themselves a drink and settled at the table, Jason, Noah and Brett tied their bibs around their neck. Honey and Suzanne followed a minute later. The rest of them turned their noses up at the idea of wearing a bib.
“I’m not wearing that thing,” Billy said. “You all look ridiculous.”
“You might regret that,” Suzanne said.
But Billy shook his head. “I’m good.”
Katy chimed in, “I’m with Billy, no interest in a bib. What am I, five?” She and Anna laughed at the thought.
Lauren glanced at Hudson, who grinned and shook his head.
“Okay, do you all know how to crack open a lobster?” Suzanne asked the table.
A few of the guys nodded and proceeded to pick up their claws and crack them open with the iron crackers. Everyone else watched closely as Suzanne picked up her lobster and quickly snapped the tail off of the body. She set the body down and then held the tail up so they could all see.
“So there’s two ways you can do this. You can grab your knife and run it down the middle of the shell and then pull the meat out. Or you can just squeeze it on both ends and give it a good twist.” She demonstrated, and there was a crack when the tail split. “Now, just stick your finger in there and push the tail right out. See, easy-peasy.”
Katy picked up her lobster and did a pretty good job following Suzanne’s instructions and was quite pleased with herself. “I did it! And I didn’t even need a bib!” She then cut a bite of lobster, dunked it in her bowl of melted butter and, on the way to her mouth, the hot butter dripped down the front of her silk shirt. She didn’t realize it at first. She was too excited about the delicious lobster. But a moment later, she saw the trail of butter and made a face. “I guess I should have worn the bib.”
And a few minutes later, Billy picked up a huge lobster claw, cracked it and a spray of white lobster fat splattered across his black t-shirt. He laughed it off, though. “He got me! It’s all good though.” He grabbed a napkin, wiped off as much of the splatter as he could, then resumed attacking his lobster.
“Suzanne, how do you know so much about lobsters?” Billy asked.
“I grew up in Maine. Home of the best lobsters in the country.”
“No kidding? Do you still live there?”
Suzanne laughed. “No. I moved away years ago. I live in Brooklyn now and love it. I go home to Maine a few times a year, though. It’s a beautiful place, but not much going on, if you know what I mean.”
Billy nodded. “That’s how I feel about LA. NYC is pretty cool, though. I haven’t been there in a couple of years, but it was a good time.”
Suzanne smiled flirtatiously. “Always. If you ever come to the city, let me know and I’ll show you such a good time, it will make your head spin.”
That got everyone’s attention, and Suzanne laughed. “Get your minds out of the gutter—I just meant I’ll show him all my favorite places. I love playing tourist when people come to town.”