California Dreaming Read online

  California Dreaming

  Stacey Johnston

  Stacey Johnston - Copyright 2016

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.

  The storyline, characters, and fictitious government agencies are nothing more than a fragment of my weird and wonderful imagination, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Edited by Toni Michelle

  Cover Designer: Clarisse Tan – CT Cover Creations

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Ben

  Kyle

  Ben

  Kyle

  Chapter Two

  Ben

  Kyle

  Ben

  Chapter Three

  Kyle

  Ben

  Chapter Four

  Stephen

  Luke

  Chapter Five

  Kyle

  Ben

  Luke

  Epilogue

  Two years ago…

  Chapter One

  Ben

  Welcome to Laguna Beach, one of those boring tourist towns where the only thing going for it is the beautiful landscape. Picture this – A classy seaside resort city well known for its beaches, coastal canyons, natural lakes, and wilderness trails. A home-away-from-home of sorts for those looking for a little rest and relaxation. Okay, so I admit, this sounds like an ideal dream location, but for me and my friends, this is all we have ever known. A place Luke, Kyle, Stephen, and I have called home all our lives in a born-and-bred way.

  What really makes our town stand out, though, are those ridiculous TV shows Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and the equally annoying The Hills. The fact that they are both filmed here has people flocking to our little slice of heaven all year round. What I don’t understand, is how people can watch that crap. Every one of those actors oozes flakiness, but what does a sixteen-year-old boy know, right?

  For those who are new to these parts, or just visiting and are an adventurous sort of person, then there is nothing the boys and I don’t know about Laguna Beach. We could even point out a few less popular attractions as well if you want to stray from the map.

  Well, that’s what we tell the tourists, anyway.

  It’s our con, a way to earn a few extra bucks to compensate for the lack of funding from our parents. The best part of the gig, though, is the eye candy that presents itself during our dealings. That alone is an added bonus. We may only be sixteen, but what can I say, puberty came early. We are but mere males whose brains aren’t always located in the heads atop our shoulders.

  Speaking of eye candy - Luke, Kyle, Stephen and I have spent the better part of the day sitting on the sand watching as the girls walk by. Kyle’s elbow nudging into my side snaps me out of my thoughts. Turning slightly, I see him rising.

  “Dude, we need to go. I told mom I’d be home by six today. She will skin me alive if I’m home late again.”

  Nodding, I attempt to follow suit until four extremely hot babes come into view.

  “On second thought, waiting a little longer won’t hurt,” Kyle murmurs. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

  No surprise there. And they reckon I have a one-track mind.

  Dropping back down onto his towel, I watch as Kyle leans on his elbows, directing his attention toward the four girls conveniently positioning themselves in front of us. Always the ladies’ man, Luke strikes up a conversation with them, inviting them to move closer.

  “Where are you lovely ladies from,” Luke drawls. He is laying the charm on thick, giving them his side grin that highlights his dimples. Those goddamn dimples attract all the girls, and he knows it. He positions himself so that his knees are drawn up to his chest, draping his arms around them casually.

  “We are down for the weekend,” a pretty little blonde replies. “We are doing our own spring break. We live about forty-five minutes north of here.”

  Propped up in front of Luke, her wavy, long hair flows over her shoulder onto her chest, which she conveniently thrusts forward, highlighting her best assets. Resting on one arm with her legs curled behind her, she gives him her complete attention. I have to stifle the laugh threatening to escape as I watch her twirling her hair around two fingers. Her actions aren’t obvious at all.

  There is no way we will be leaving anytime soon - especially since these babes have shown up to keep us company.

  “So, just out of curiosity, how old are you boys?” Blondie asks. She has inched herself close enough to Luke to allow her to run her perfectly manicured fingernails up his thigh. That dirty bastard is lapping up the attention.

  We don’t normally admit our real ages, because frankly, who would take an interest in someone so young. Every one of us looks older than we actually are which has always served us well. There are limits, though - we only target the girls we think are close enough to us in age. I for one don’t want to get caught up in a Mrs. Robinson scenario.

  The thought of that is wrong on so many levels.

  For the last six months, though, my hormones have been out of control. While I haven’t been the only one, Luke and I are the only ones who have acted upon it. Kyle and Stephen are pickier than we are, most likely waiting for the perfect girl to jump into their laps. I don’t believe there is such a thing as a perfect girl. In my opinion, they are all selfish, manipulative creatures who just want to sink their nails into you, sucking you dry.

  That’s never going to happen to me. I’m in it for a good time, not a long time. So, we target the tourists - we get to have some fun and then they’re gone. Who could ask for anything more?

  “You first cutie” Luke taunts, in the hope of getting blondie to admit her own age first before answering her question.

  Rolling her eyes in fake frustration, she admits, “Eighteen, we are all eighteen. My birthday was last week. That’s why we are here.”

  Grabbing her hand, he lifts it off his thigh and pulls her into his lap. “Lucky us,” he tells her in a low, rough voice. He is getting off on the banter. He always does. It’s what turns him on.

  “Or should I say, lucky me,” he continues. “My eighteenth birthday was just last week as well.” I nearly spit out the cola I am drinking.

  That lying prick.

  Always the smooth one, Luke perfected his game over the last couple of months, choosing just the right words to have the ladies eating out of his hand. I may not be as smooth, but my own pick-up lines seem to be just as effective. For instance, I know the brunette in front of me will be a pushover, for sure.

  “What about you gorgeous, what’s your name?” I ask.

  Looking up, she glances at me with wide eyes. She likely wasn’t expecting anyone to take any notice of her. I don’t know why - she’s gorgeous. Those long lashes of hers set her blue eyes off in such a way, that my cock takes an interest.

  “Do you mean me?” she asks.

  “Uh yeah,” I say, glancing around us. To my right, Kyle and Stephen are now engrossed in conversations with the two other girls sitting next to Luke’s new friend.

  “Who else is there? If you haven’t noticed, your friends are a little tied up with mine, leaving just you and me.”

  This grabs her attention, and she straightens up, moving closer to me. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to anyone talking to me. Usually, all the guys hover around Susie and the others. I’m really only here because I own the car we drove down here in.”

  Her admission shocks me. I can’t imagine why she would think so poorly of herself. Although, her friends do a
ppear to be high maintenance.

  “My name is Katie” she whispers, her voice barely audible. But to be fair, she would have to be nearly shouting to be heard over the noise her friends are making anyway. Looking over at Luke, Kyle, and Stephen, I can see the novelty is wearing off. It won’t be much longer before they are making excuses to get away.

  “Well Katie, I am Ben. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I offer in response. I hadn’t noticed how quiet and nervous she was before. “You really are a beautiful girl,” I say, hoping to ease her awkwardness. “Don’t let your friends tell you any differently.”

  Her smile lights up her face, which in turn makes me smile. “Thank you, Ben, you’ve just made my day.”

  Before I can say anymore, Kyle is on his feet. “We need to go guys. We were supposed to be somewhere an hour ago.” Looking up, I see him glancing down at his phone with a pained look on his face. His mom must be blowing up his phone.

  “Looks like we are out of here,” I tell Katie. “Pass me your cell so I can put in my number. We’ll get together tomorrow.” I am surprised she hands it over so quickly. Typing in my number, I save it under Hot Boy and return it to her. The smile on her face is one of pure excitement, making me doubt if anyone has ever given her their number before.

  “That sounds great. Thank you,” she finally manages to say.

  Leaning forward, I kiss her cheek and whisper, “Till then gorgeous,” and then rise to my feet to follow the others. Blondie no longer looks impressed now that Luke has dumped her ass.

  “What’s more important than us?” she yells after him.

  “My girlfriend,” he shouts back over his shoulder. The string of curse words coming out of her mouth is priceless, leaving me trying to stifle my laughter when I notice Katie watching me with wide eyes. Waving goodbye, I head toward Kyle, who by now is walking at warp speed. As I catch up, I can still hear blondie yelling at Luke, but he’s paying no attention to her at all. The funny thing is, he doesn’t even have a girlfriend. He just wanted to ditch her.

  “How much trouble are we in?” I ask as we make our way off the beach.

  “Well, put it this way,” Kyle begins. “I have been told to bring all of you to my house, which, as you know, usually means all of our parents are there.”

  Cringing, I nod in acknowledgment. “We are screwed,” I offer.

  “Yep, I’d say so,” he replies. “My phone has been going off for the last forty-five minutes. Ignoring my mom only managed to make it worse. I texted her back to let her know we are on our way.”

  This isn’t going to end well.

  Kyle

  After everyone left, I excused myself, heading to my room before my mom and dad could yell at me for something else. With my earbuds in, I have been camped out on my bed playing Call of Duty. My parents were pissed. I don’t think I have ever seen them that angry before.

  Our parents knew they couldn’t ground me, Ben, Luke, and Stephen, so they put a stop to us using our basement for band practice. That hurt, especially since we had finally started to sync as a group. We’d found our niche, our rhythm - but now we are out of the game for a month. I can’t blame the boys for how my parents acted. It was me who made the choice to stick around, after all. When those four hot chicks sat down in front of us, there was no way I could leave. I’ve taken more notice of girls lately, I just haven’t found anyone who really captures my interest.

  The blondie with purple tips was hot - there was no doubt about that. At least she was before she opened her mouth. Oh my fucking god, could that girl talk! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk as much as she did. I don’t even remember half the crap that came out of her mouth because I tuned her out when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Knowing it was my mom, I finally pulled it out and told the others we had to leave. In all honesty, I couldn’t wait to get away at that point.

  All of us knew we would be screwed when we finally got home, but none of us were prepared for how badly. When we walked through the door, we found all our parents waiting in the living room. From behind me, I could hear Luke curse under his breath.

  Well, maybe it wasn’t that quiet, but only the three of us standing around him heard it.

  “Boys” my father called from the living room.

  I knew he was angry from the tone of his voice. It was hard, and his face was tight. As we made our way toward them, we took our positions - arms crossed over our chests, leaning against the wall, waiting for whatever punishment they dished out.

  “How hard is it for you four to come home when you are told to?” he continued. “Do you have any idea how worried your mothers get when you won’t take their calls?

  Yep. As expected, he laid out the guilt trip. I’m sure it’s a personal favorite of his, using my mother to guilt me into doing stuff.

  We stood there, unmoved, for at least an hour listening to each and every one of them lecture us on causing them unnecessary worry, followed by my all-time favorite - you never know what is out there, and you are too young to be wandering the streets at night without an adult - blah, blah, blah. It was so boring, I think I lost track of what they were saying at one point.

  If only they knew the extent of what we get up to when they aren’t around. We’d never be allowed to leave the house again. When they caught onto the fact that we weren’t paying any attention, they tried using the threat of putting us into military school if we kept it up. Not one of us believed they would carry through with a threat like that, so we nodded, apologizing, so that we could move on.

  I have no doubt we will be in trouble up to our necks again by tomorrow.

  It’s what we do.

  But I am going to spend tonight here in my room. My mom will bring food up eventually, so it’s not like I’ll starve. She has always been the softer of the two of them. She never lets me go without. A bright light catches my eye, and I notice a message flashing on my phone.

  Ben: Dude, beach again tomorrow? ;)

  Laughing I reply….

  Me: Sure thing!

  Like I said, we will be in trouble again in no time.

  Ben: Cool, see you in the morning.

  Throwing my cell on the bed beside me, I don’t bother replying. It’s not like he is expecting me to, anyway. Turning my attention back to Call of Duty, I smile when I see his name pop up on the screen next to Luke’s, and Stephen’s.

  Now we will kick ass. Time to take my frustrations out on the kids we are playing against.

  Ben

  I felt for Kyle last night - his parents ripped him a new one right in front of us, and his blank expression only seemed to irritate them more. The look on his face wasn’t giving anything away, it was like he had tuned them out.

  It seemed as if mine, Luke’s and Stephen’s parents were looking for support, because once Kyle’s parents started berating him, ours choose that moment to join in. It was a trigger for them to take their frustrations out on us as well. They went fucking crazy. Some would have thought we had committed a criminal offense with the way they were yelling at us.

  Not that it makes a difference. They knew we would be back out today to do it all over again, our only punishment being that our band couldn’t jam in Kyle’s basement for the next month.

  Fuckers. They know those instruments are the only things we care about, and they knew taking them away would be the only way to hurt us.

  I sent Kyle a text last night asking if he was down to go to the beach today, but the question was moot because I already knew the answer. Standing by the garden fence, I’m waiting for him to come out. He has to wait till his parents go to work, like I did. My cell, vibrating against my ass, distracts me momentarily. Grabbing it out of my back pocket, I grin as I notice the name of the sender. As soon as I got to my room last night, I sent a text to the brunette I met on the beach. She said wasn’t expecting to hear from me, admitting that she thought I had given her a fake number.

  After her initial shock, she spent half the night texting me. I
have made plans to catch up with her today but not with her friends. It seems the girls she was with yesterday weren’t too impressed when they found out that she was talking to me. According to them, Kyle, Stephen, and Luke were dirty players, and she should stay away from me as well. If you ask me, I think those bitches are just jealous. They might not be wrong about Luke being dirty, but they are definitely wrong about Kyle and Stephen.

  We can’t get those two to part with their virtue, if you know what I mean. Way too fucking fussy.

  “Dude,” Kyle calls out as he slams the door behind him. “Let’s move before my mom gets back. I have avoided her all morning, and I don’t want her nagging at me.”

  Laughing, we fist pump. Putting my phone back in my pocket we head towards Luke’s.

  “Did your parents say much more after we left?” I ask him, making my way down the footpath.

  “Nah, I took off to my room after everyone was gone and didn’t come back out,” giving me a sideways glance, he smirks “I had some serious killing to do in COD, anyway.” I punch his shoulder, making him laugh.

  As we continue towards Luke’s, my phone starts vibrating again, giving Kyle more reason to dig at me. The endless banter between me and Kyle has always come easily. He throws the usual wisecracks at me about my choice in girls but is surprised I have taken an interest in Katie. I get the point he is trying to make, but I reassure him there is nothing more to it than me having a little fun. She is no different from any other tourist I have encountered over the past six months. In jest, he ribs me about fooling around with the wrong girl one day.

  Like that’s ever going to happen. I’m too free and easy - nothing will ever change my perspective.

  Arriving at Luke’s, we find him and Stephen already on the porch. As soon as they spot us, they make their move.

  “Ass-wipes” Luke calls out.

  “Needle dick,” Kyle responds before I even get the chance. A loud burst of laughter explodes out from Luke’s mouth as he approaches.