Paul stood in shock. How did Helen know???
"Ummm...". He didn't know what to say. He liked all three girls, how could he chose?
Helen shook her head then turned and walked away. She and Paul were through. "Loser!" she yelled as she made her way to the exit, followed by Linda who was going to make sure Helen was OK.
"Wait!" Paul called out, but Helen had already gone.
The next morning, Heather was sitting in her back garden in the sunshine when her mobile rang, to the tune of 'Take On Me'.
She smiled when she saw the words 'BEN MOB' appear on the screen. "Hi Benjamin!" she said as she answered.
"Don't call me that!" Ben protested. "Anyway, how are you sweetie?".
"Fine, you?".
"I'm OK. Listen up, what are you doing today?".
Heather told him she had no plans. "I was going to make the most of the weather and sunbathe," she told him.
"How about sunbathing... on the beach?" Ben suggested.
"But we don't live near any beaches," Heather replied.
"I thought we could drive down to the coast," Ben informed her. "It'll only take a couple of hours to get down there. We could even stay for the night at a hotel,".
"I'd love to!" Heather exclaimed, grinning. "But I have to be at college tomorrow at eleven for an exam. It's my last A Level exam, I've finished college for good after that,".
"We can be back in time for it, don't worry," Ben promised. "I can even help you revise while we're on the beach. What subject is it for?".
"Law," Heather groaned. "I can't wait to get it over and done with,".
"OK. So where do you want to go? Brighton? Bournemouth? Torquay? You chose?".
"I'd love to go to Swanage," Heather said, she had been there loads of times and loved the place.
"Cool," Ben said. "I'll book a hotel in Swanage for tonight. Will you be ready in an hour?".
"Yep!".
"See you later then,".
"Bye!".
At the same time, Christian, Naomi, Mark and Sarah were on yet another double date. The four of them got on really well together.
Like Heather, they were making the most of the good weather and were in Mark's outdoor swimming pool, splashing around.
"Aghhh!" Christian screamed as Mark tipped a bucket of water over his head. He got his own back by dunking Mark under the water.
Naomi and Sarah sat on the edge of the pool dangling their feet in the water, giggling at the boys.
"Jump in, the water's nice and cool!" Mark invited as he resurfaced.
The girls couldn't resist, since Mark and Christian looked so hot wearing nothing but their trunks.
"I bet I can beat all of you in a race," Sarah challenged. "I'm a really fast swimmer,".
"I doubt it!" Christian laughed. "I bet I'm way faster,".
"We'll have a bet," Sarah said with a sly smile. "The loser has to streak down the street!".
"I hope you lose," Mark said, grinning mischievously.
"Shut it!" Sarah warned him, laughing.
"You're on," Christian agreed. they positioned themselves at one end of the pool ready to start the race.
"Right, first to do four laps," Naomi said, sitting on a sun lounger so she had a good view. "Three, two, one... go!".
It was very close, both of them were fast swimmers. It wasn't until the end of the fourth and final lap when one of them gained a lead. It was... Sarah!
Christian was blushing bright red as Sarah was named the winner by Naomi. "Awwww no!".
Mark was in fits of laughter. "I can't believe you were beat by a girl! Come on, let's go out in the street,".
They had a hard time getting Christian to take his trunks off, but he finally gave in. "You have to run to that tree and back," Mark told him.
"But that's a long way! Can't I just go to the lamp post and back, it'll only take about ten seconds?".
"No, the tree!" Mark demanded.
Still bright red, Christian quickly slipped off his trunks and started sprinting.
The girls couldn't remember the last time they laughed so much. They laughed even more when a tiny little dog ran out of a garden and started chasing Christian, yapping excitedly.
Christian quickly pulled his trunks back on and rushed into the house, he had never been so embarrassed.
"He's a big boy!" Naomi whispered to Sarah, still cracking up.
"Hey Chris, I saw a photographer for The Star lurking in the bushes!" Mark said as they followed him inside.
Christian's eyes widened. "No way!".
Now it was Mark's turn to laugh. "No, not really. I had you there!".
Ben and Heather walked out of the cozy little seafood restaurant hold hands. "That was tasty," Ben told her. "So, where now?". they had arrived in Swanage a couple of hours ago and had just eaten lunch in Heather's favourite restaurant which was on the sea front.
"Let's look around the shops," Heather suggested, as Ben put his hat and shades back on. He didn't want their day interrupted by fans bugging them.
"There's some pretty jewellery in this shop," Ben pointed out as they passed an old fashioned looking jewellery store.
"I like that silver chain with a heart on it," Heather pointed out. "I need to go to the toilet, can you wait out here for me?".
While Heather was gone, Ben went into the shop and bought her the necklace. It cost two hundred quid but he didn't care.
As the sun set and the shops were closing, Ben asked Heather where she wanted to go. "I don't mind," she said.
"Let's drive to the hotel," Ben suggested. "It's in Bournemouth, which is a about half an hours drive,".
On the way, they had to cross the water on a ferry-link. "Those sandbanks are lovely," Ben noticed as they drove off the ferry. "Let's park here and sit on the sand,".
The sandbanks were deserted; not a person was in sight. It looked so pretty as the sun went down, reflecting on the water. Ben and Heather lay next to each other, gazing into each others eyes.
"I have a surprise for you," Ben told her, getting the necklace out of his pocket.
"Oh Ben!" Heather cried, before giving him a kiss. "I love it, thank you!".
"Are you hungry?" Ben asked. "I have a picnic in the car,".
He went and got his picnic hamper out of the boot. They sat eating and chatting until it was dark.
"you know, I really enjoyed Friday night," Heather told Ben.
"You did?" Ben said, wrapping his arms around her. "What, you mean what we did in the hotel room?".
"Yep!" Heather winked. "But we don't have to be in a bed to do it!".
Ben got the hint and they were soon rolling around in the sand.
"We'd better get to the hotel," Ben finally said, wiping his sweaty face with his hand. The last hour had been pretty hot and steamy!
"OK," Heather agreed, picking up her clothes and putting them back on.
"Come on then!" Ben laughed, picking Heather up and carrying her to the car.
Helen was sitting around feeling miserable. She had been moping all day, wishing she was with Paul.
She was disturbed by a knock on the window. She pulled the curtain aside to see... Paul.
Gasping, she went and let him in. "What do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I want to say sorry," Paul said. He had been feeling bad about what he had done and wanted to make it up to Helen.
Helen just looked at him.
"Can we get back together?" Paul pleaded. "I won't do it again?".
Paul's pleading eyes made Helen give in. OK then!".
They hugged, then Helen smiled at him. "My parents are out for the night," she informed him. "Why don't you stay over?'.
Paul grinned. "I'd love to! Let's go upstairs!".
"Not so fast," Helen warned. "Do you have any... you know. Protection...".
"No," Paul admitted. "But we can take a chance, we'll be OK this once,".
Helen took his hand and they went upstairs...
Late that night, Christian, Naomi, Mark and Sarah were still out in the pool. They were playing silly games in the water, nobody wanting to go indoors yet.
Christian jumped up and pushed Mark underwater. "That's for what you did earlier!" he yelled, still annoyed over the whole streaking business.
Sarah and Naomi laughed too, and soon they were having a huge play fight in the water.
"Where's Sarah?" Mark asked after a while.
"She's hiding under water I think," Naomi suggested, although it was too dark to see her.
A few seconds later she was still out of sight. Mark was worried. "Sarah? Sarah! Come out!". He put his goggles on and dived underwater.
A sick taste came to his mouth when he saw Sarah... lying at the bottom of the pool, motionless. He scooped her up and lifted her to the surface.
Christian and Naomi watched in horror as Mark lay her by the side of the pool. "Call 999!" he shouted, as he started giving her mouth to mouth. But was he too late?
.