The Shore Read Free

was just a way to relax a little, cut through the tension and stress of trying to get the guys in STF to rehearse. Especially when they were so close to the beach, beautiful water, and lots of babes in bikinis. Avery would understand soon enough. In the meantime, he wanted to check out the house where she’d insisted they stay this summer instead of with the band. He had to admit that from the outside, at least, the place looked nice, nicer than the dump his bandmates were renting.
    “They’re a corrupting influence,” Avery said, referring to the other members of STF. She was only half teasing.
    “That’s what they say about you,” he replied, also only half teasing. He slid his fingers through her soft brown hair. He liked the way her eyes sparkled when she gazed up at him. Like I’m the only guy in the world.
    She let go of him and moved to the back of the pickup and began unhooking the tarp. He got on the other side to help her. “You bring the rest of my stuff?” he asked.
    “Of course.” She paused. “Where’s Lucille?”
    Lucille was not a person, it was a cherry red 1975 FenderStratocaster guitar and, Avery sometimes suspected, the closest “woman” to Curt’s heart.
    “I’m going to keep her at the other house,” Curt answered. “It’s easier than hauling her back and forth.”
    “Oh.” Avery averted her eyes and busied herself with the bags, but Curt knew she was disappointed. It was some dumb symbolic thing to her, like if he left his guitar with the band, then he wasn’t entirely there with her.
    A nerdy-looking guy with brown hair and black-framed glasses came out of the rental house. He was wearing plaid shorts with black socks and shoes. “You two moving in?”
    “Fred, this is my boyfriend, Curt,” Avery said. “Curt, this is Fred. He’s our landlord.”
    Curt was surprised. While nerds often had an ageless quality, this Fred guy didn’t look much older than he was. Kind of young to own properties.
    “How did you know my name?” Fred asked Avery.
    She looked stunned. “I’m Avery, remember? We just met. You know, inside, when that other girl stole our room?”
    “Someone else got our room?” Curt asked with a frown.
    “Oh, uh, I’m really sorry about that,” Fred said sheepishly. “Like I said, I’ll refund the difference in rent to you, and I’ll be glad to show you the other rooms right now.”
    Curt bristled. Half the reason he’d agreed to stay here instead of with the band was that Avery had told him she’d found a really nice room for them. “You mean someone elsesnagged our room and you didn’t do anything about it?”
    “I tried,” Avery mumbled.
    Curt knew Avery wasn’t real big about asserting herself, but given what a wimp this Fred nerd was, he thought he could take advantage of the situation. Curt narrowed his eyes menacingly at the landlord. “We paid for that room in advance. You had no right to give it away.”
    “Look, I said I’m sorry and I’ll refund the difference,” Fred answered uncomfortably. “I’ll let you have the next best room.”
    “I think you’ll have to do better than that,” Curt said with just a hint of a threat in his voice.
    “I . . . I don’t understand what you mean . . . ,” Fred stammered.
    “Think about it,” Curt said.
    “Oh, well, I guess I could give you a discount on the other room,” Fred said.
    Curt smiled. “There you go.”
    “Let me show you what I’ve got.” Fred turned and led them into the house. Curt grabbed a couple of bags from the back of the pickup, and he and Avery followed.
    “I still think we should bag this whole thing and stay with the band,” Curt muttered to Avery as they entered the house.
    “I want us to have more privacy,” Avery replied.
    “Privacy?” Curt scoffed. “In a house full of strangers, that’s a good one.”
    She turned scarlet but didn’t say anything. Curt sighed. The whole situation was lame.
    Inside they followed Fred up the staircase to the