Senior Year Box Set

My contemplations were interrupted when I heard someone come out of the third condo. The three units formed a U-shape with an open patio and a pool in the middle.

What were the odds? I actually recognized him. He was the Colombian playboy that Lexi had the hots for. Alex something. He’d gone to her high school but left his senior year to go home and play soccer for his junior national team.

He looked at me, and I saw a moment of uncertainty, but then he recognized me.

“You’re that movie star.”

I’m not sure when I became ‘that movie star,’ but if people didn’t remember my name, it was their go-to phrase when addressing me.

“David. And you must be Alex,” I said.

He blinked as he tried to figure out how I knew his name.

“Do you remember Lexi Andon from high school in California?” I asked.

Alex threw a face.

“She’s the daughter of one of my dad’s business partners,” he said.

“She works for one of my businesses.”

“You need to be careful with her. We nicknamed her ‘The Chameleon’ because she would change to be whatever she needed to get her way. She can be a venomous bitch when she wants to be,” Alex said.

I just chuckled because that had been my first impression of her, too. I realized I’d also noticed what Alex was talking about. My mom called it ‘mirroring.’ It was a sales technique where you tried to match another person’s mannerisms and attitudes to make the other person feel at ease with you. Uncle John would call it a ‘winning strategy,’ like being the class clown or teacher’s pet. We all had our go-to ways of making people like us.

In the back of my mind, I worried a little about his characterization of Lexi as a ‘venomous bitch.’ It made me wonder if she was just putting on an act to make me like her. Then I thought that couldn’t be true because we’d seemed to connect during my time in LA.

“What are you doing today?” Alex asked.

“I planned to play tourist and check out the island.”

“Do you SCUBA dive?”

“I do.”

“Want to go cave diving? My dad is here doing his archeological stuff, and he thinks he has a lead on where some ancient pirates may have hidden their treasure.”

“You had me at SCUBA diving. The pirate angle just makes it better,” I admitted.

What kid hasn’t dreamed of finding buried treasure? Of course I wanted to go.

“Go put your swimsuit on, and we’ll go rent you the gear you’ll need. Meet us out front in ten minutes,” Alex said.

◊◊◊

I walked to the parking area and found Alex and his family waiting for me. They were a good-looking bunch. It was uncanny how much Alex, his sister, and his father all looked alike. Alex was six feet tall and had the build of a soccer player, long and athletic. He was about my age, but he hadn’t hit the gym yet to develop his upper body. His sister was maybe an inch shorter than him, but also had a seriously athletic build. It made me wonder if she also played soccer. His father was the same height as Alex but had about forty pounds of muscle on his son.

They all had light-brown complexions that either came naturally or from being out in the sun. In Colombia, since they were near the equator, they got a lot of sunlight. All three had sandy-blond hair and large dark eyebrows that drew you to their deep, soulfully dark brown eyes.

Next to them stood a woman who could only be two to five years older than me. I’d heard that Alex liked to run through the beautiful women in Colombia. Other than her face, this woman looked a lot like Zoe; I would bet she lived on a horse. When you knew what to look for, women who rode typically had outstanding butts and excellent thighs. It was either that or volleyball. I picked horseback riding because she was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a t-shirt. I mentally congratulated Alex on his pick of women.

“David, this is my father, Umberto; my sister, Natalia; and my future stepmother, Camilla.”

I hid my surprise that Umberto was with Camilla rather than Alex. Thankfully, Natalia caught my attention.

“Nat,” Natalia said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Call me Nat, not Natalia.”

“Better yet, call her Squeak,” Alex said.

That would leave a mark. Alex bent over in pain. I gave Nat high marks for hitting her brother in the ’nads before he was able to dodge her. He played soccer at a high level and should be quicker than that.

“You two settle down,” Umberto said and then turned to me. “David, Alejandro tells me that you SCUBA dive. I just want to check before we go.”

Nat smirked when Alex grimaced at his dad using his full name.

“I learned last year and went diving on vacation in the Caribbean. I’m not super experienced, though,” I admitted.

“For what we have planned, you should be fine. Let’s get going.”

We first stopped at a storage facility where they kept a trailer with their gear. Umberto towed the trailer to a local dive shop where they got their tanks topped off, and I rented my equipment. Alex told me that the water would be cold, so I got a wetsuit.

“Tell David what we’re doing,” Nat said to her dad once we got back on the road.