Not My Type

AN - This is my entry to the Odd Couples writing contest on MCBC...written in Paul's POV. It's not as long as my other stuff but whatever :).

I hope you like it, so please review and tell me what you think :).

I first saw her on a family vacation to Carmel. It was a vacation that I was reluctant to go on in the first place. Ok, so things weren't going too well at school, but it was the summer holidays! I had at least a month away from those vicious preppy kids and their constant glares of disapproval. I honestly didn't need a vacation, contrary to what my parents thought but they still forced me to pack a suitcase and jump on the plane. To make matters even worse, Jack tagged along. Had my parents never even heard of Pebble Beach? It is not a place for Nintendo-playing, agoraphobic geeks. And I swear, if I have to listen to him ramble on about ghosts one more time, my head will explode.

No amount of golf-playing or Nietzsche could soothe my frazzlednerves so I chose to lie out by the pool one day. I simply lay back, sunglasses and boardshorts on, enjoying the heat and topping up my tan. Yeah, I'm vain, get over it.

I lay there for at least an hour before the sun began to burn my skin and I was forced to push myself upright. It was as I removed my Ray-Bans, wiping the sweat from my brow, that I saw her for the first time. She looked so hot...hotter even than Jack's babysitter, which I did not think possible. Her pale skin seemed so out of place here in California. It looked so soft and I longed to reach out and touch it. But she had a tough aura around her, so I would probably find myself sprawled on my back with cartilage lodged in my temporal lobe if I attempted any such thing. Her black hair only made her skin look paler. Her eyebrows were carefully plucked and were as dark as her hair.

She wasn't really my type. She was, you know...single. And she looked as though she could pack quite a punch. I never did like the tough girls. I always went for the dainty, fragile ones. They were usually the easiest, not to mention the best to hold. There was just something about being with someone who seemed so helpless and relied on you for support and protection. I was attracted to the green-eyed babysitter because she looked quite like these girls. She looked like an Abercrombie and Fitch model, all girly on the outside but hard as nails when it comes down to fighting. Yeah, I had talked to her step-brother, so sue me. It's not like I was stalking her or anything. Though I guess her tough-girl attitude was all down to the fact that she was a mediator or whatever they are calling them now.

But the black-haired girl...she was something else. She was completely average in every way, though there was just something about her that I found...intoxicating.

The first time we spoke was the third day of my vacation.

"Oh, crap," she exclaimed when she walked straight into me. Her voice was gravelly, just as I had imagined it to be. "I am so sorry, Mr. Slater."

I chuckled lightly and assured her that it was nothing.

"No, seriously...I was in a complete daze," she said. "I'm such a freaking clutz."

She then looked up into my eyes and smiled apologetically. That was when I had an idea. You could practically see the lightbulb above my head.

"Well..." I began, smiling back down at her. "If you really are that sorry, you could come out to lunch with me. It's the least you can do after attacking me in broad daylight."

She laughed weakly as if she was unsure whether to laugh or run away screaming. Fortunately, she didn't do the latter. That would have just been embarassing. Her eyes met mine once more and her expression softened. I could practically hear her thinking "oh well...what could be the harm?".

That was the start of an amazing holiday romance. Our meetings became almost routine...I would leave with my parents, the mediator girl would look babysit Jack (after I leered at her, of course...she was way too hot to ignore) and then I would meet my girl in the pool maintenance room. It wasn't the most romantic of settings, but it was all we had. Needless to say, we made the most of our limited time together.

I had only intended this to be a summer fling, but it became so much more than that. So much, in fact, that I did not want to leave.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked, her fingers dancing up and down my tricep. It was very distracting and I found it hard to organise my words.

"Probably not," I answered truthfully. "But I won't forget you."

I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her for what I knew would be the last time. I savoured it, commiting her taste to memory so that I would never forget her amazing kisses.

"It was fun," she admitted. "I will miss looking forward to working."

I leaned down and nuzzled her neck. She smelled so sweet...like YSL Cinéma.

"You made this vacation worthwhile," I replied.

"I love you, Paul," she muttered.

"I love you too, Kim," I replied. Because I guess I did. What I felt could not be solely lust...there had to be something else in there. Kim was my first love...

We made plans and she told me that she would see if her parents would take her to Seattle next summer. I didn't know if I would still be in love with her then...feelings change over time..but I agreed.

She waved to me as I walked into the departure lounge and then she was gone.

When I lowered myself into one of the comfortable chairs, I pulled out two photographs from my bag. I had unclipped them from the employee records back at the hotel because I'm sneaky like that. I gazed down at Kim's face for a few seconds, taking in her beatiful features one more before turning my attention to the other photo. This girl was beautiful, too, but not as appealing to me as Kim. Suze Simon.

Oh well...I'm finished with one conquest, now on to the other.

I guess I'll be returning to Carmel sooner than I thought...Kim will be happy.

Hey...who said I was a one-woman man?

After all...I am Paul Slater