Writing on Wednesday....Margarita Party

Last week, I told you about the book that I am working on for NaNoWriMo. 

The book is called Operation: Endgame. 

You can see last week's post for the story overview. 

I don't plan on actually doing anymore writing on it until November besides plotting and character work, but I did give in and write the very first scene of the book a few weeks ago.

 This is it, although it is still pretty rough and will probably go through a few more revisions before I am real happy with it...

Prologue

May 10^th, Present Day

Cassie switched off the blender, stuck in a straw through the top, and moaned in appreciation, “Yum. I am the Queen of Making Margaritas.” She yelled out into the backyard at her best friends, Julie and Penelope, “Refills coming right up! Those glasses better be empty and up in the air ready for more of my fabulously perfect margaritas.”

Cassie was smiling and laughing as she sauntered through the back door, carrying the pitcher of margaritas and her own glass, already topped off. Classes had ended the day before at Texas Tech University, where all three of them worked in one capacity or other, and they were spending the day, lounging by the pool, and celebrating the end to another academic year.

As a military history professor, Cassie would be headed to England in two weeks to spend the summer as a guest lecturer. The year before, Cassie had acted as a military strategy consultant on a video wargame. It became a bestseller within three weeks of release and had remained there ever since. The fact that Cassie had an interview on the video extras had made her a celebrity and in high-demand as a guest lecturer.  It promised to be a crazy summer, but for now, she was celebrating the freedom from responsibility and drinking accordingly. This was their third pitcher of margaritas, and all three of them were pleasantly buzzed.

 They were at Cassie’s cozy little bungalow just a couple of blocks from the campus. She loved this house and had lovingly restored it when she had inherited it from her grandparents, while she was still in college. That restoration had included the addition of this oasis that she now called her backyard. Chris, Jake, and she had spent two whole summers transforming it, but the work had been worth it. There were terraces filled with mood lighting, easy-to-care-for plants, outdoor speakers, and the piece de resistance….the pool that beckoned all of them in the West Texas heat.

Today, it was Julie and Penelope that were beckoning her to come refill their empty glasses from where they sat in the shade of the outdoor umbrella over the café-style bistro tables. They were her best friends, next to Chris and Jake, but the three girls could not have appeared to be more different.

Julie was the tiniest of the three. She was a physical therapist at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and also filled in as a physical trainer at the Fitness Center on campus. Her dark black hair was cut into a cute little pixie cut that fit her small frame and many times, she was mistaken for someone in junior high. At least, that was the case until she turned around and said person got a glimpse of her rack which would make any Playboy bunny envious.

Penelope owned the local bookstore, which was located in one of the old Victorian houses adjacent to the campus, and taught yoga at the University Fitness Center. She had wavy honey colored long hair, startling jade green eyes, and a free-spirit attitude that made everyone love her from the very first. She was vivacious and outgoing and didn’t meet anyone that wasn’t an immediate friend. She was also flighty and a bit scatter-brained, but most people just learned that was part of her charm and overlooked the fact.

Cassie was the last of the three. She was tall, with a thick cascade of auburn hair. She had grown up in Lubbock with her twin brother Chris, and had the Texas drawl to match. Having spent her early days running around with Chris and their best friend, Jake, she had always been a tomboy and very athletic. Now she channeled that athleticism through her running, which was almost like a religion to her. It was how she kept the margaritas from going to her hips, how she sorted through her lesson plans, and worked out the stresses which came from working at a high-stress University system. Also, it kept her fears about all the boys at bay so that she could sleep at night.

They were her best girlfriends. Put the three of them all together and they were every man’s wet-dream fantasy come true.

Cassie re-filled their glasses and then flopped down into one of the empty chairs. Julie looked at her. “Have you heard from any of the boys lately?”

“Colton called Sunday. He’s doing okay, although I still don’t think that he’s dealing well with Dianna’s desertion.” Cassie’s forehead scrunched up as she considered her older brother’s pending divorce and his current situation. “Right now, he is safely ensconced behind a desk playing commander in England. I am looking forward to getting to spend a little bit of time with him over the summer, so I am hoping that the desk duty continues.” She gave a mischievous grin, “No matter how much he hates it.” That grin quickly turned into a scowl though as she continued. “He said that he didn’t know where Jake and Chris are stationed, but he was lying to me.” Chris was her twin brother and Jake was her best friends. They were both part of the special forces, Chris a fighter pilot and Jake a PJ, and constantly in too much danger for her liking.

Penelope looked at her questioningly. “Why do you think that he was lying?”

Cassie shook her head. “I know my brothers too well. I could tell it from his voice. Besides,” she said, her voice cracking, “I am having nightmares about Chris. Something is wrong. I know it.”

Both of her friends suddenly looked worried. As twins, Chris and Cassie had always had a connection that most other people didn’t have. They simply knew when something was wrong with the other one. Cassie continued, “I am sure that I will hear something soon that Chris broke his toe or something and then I will feel stupid for getting all worked up, but until I hear that, I just don’t have a good feeling.”

Suddenly, a doorbell rang from inside the house. “Oops, no more maudlin anymore. Come on girls, it’s the start of summer. Drink up and I will go see if whoever is at the front door wants to join us.” Cassie bounded into the house, while Julie and Penelope shared a look of concern.

These are my words so you are not allowed to copy, alter, or re-print them anywhere else without my permission. ;o)