Chapter 5

Tanner’s tux had a silver floral pattern embroidered into a white fabric that Jenna absolutely loved. He held his hand out to her. All she saw was her white-gloved fingers extend to him, letting his hand envelope hers. She was smitten as they ran away from their ceremony into a waiting limousine with their friends and family cheering them away into happiness.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jenna smiled to him.

“Neither can I. This is all we’ve ever wanted. I’m so happy we finally made it!” He pulled her in close to him. They shared a kiss. Jenna tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes, getting lost in the romance of it all.

When she opened them, they were no longer in the limo but in a suite overlooking a white sand beach. Palm trees swayed as sheer chiffon curtains danced over the breeze. Jenna inhaled that beautiful ocean air, wondering when the honeymoon would be over. Tanner walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling against her neck.

Jenna moaned as they began to move together, stepping side to side as if dancing to a song only they could hear. It wasn’t long before she felt the softness of his lips travelling up her neck, to her ear, and finally turning her around to kiss her deeply. Tanner’s appetite appeared insatiable as their bodies pressed against each other.

Scooping her up onto the marble ledge of the balcony, Tanner opened her robe, revealing a perfectly tanned and toned body.

“Oh, Mrs. Devlin, you are remarkable,” he whispered as his mouth began to travel down her silhouette. The slopes and curves of her torso arched with every erogenous zone his tongue grazed. When he finally dropped to his knees and spread her legs, a part of Jenna wondered if she’d fall off the balcony. But Tanner placed his hands firmly around her backside, holding her steady, before he buried his face in the most tender place on her body. The blissful ecstasy coursing through her forced her to arch her back, writhing her hips into his tongue, waiting for her first orgasm.

The waves crashing on the beach below mimicked her sweet nectar dripping onto her husband’s mouth and down his chin. He waited for her to come again before coming up for air, kissing her delicately on the mouth before helping her off the ledge and into the bedroom, leaving the doors wide open.

Jenna didn’t care if anyone saw, but no one would as they lay down in the plush bed. Wrapping themselves around each other, their lust overflowed onto the sheets as she felt every inch of Tanner inside of her. It was as spectacular as it had been when they first made love in their younger years. Every stroke, every thrust, every roll of his hips into her body brought on pleasure she never thought she could feel.

Tanner had her mind and body caught in the rapture of his essence. The touch of his hands, the flex of his muscles, every movement made her fall deeper and deeper in love with him. Just when Jenna thought they were finished, there was a light knock at the door.

“Come in,” Tanner called out while still moving in and out of her.

Jenna panicked as her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. “No, don’t come in! Are you crazy?!?”

“Stop it, babe, let the world see us,” Tanner said to her. “It’s alright. Join us.”

Jenna scurried under the blankets, away from Tanner’s naked body. He simply waved her off as if she was being silly and opened the door to welcome their unexpected guest. Just like that, her magical moment turned into a nightmare as Brandy stepped into the room.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?!? Get out!” Jenna screamed.

“Oh, Tanner, tell your wife to relax.” Brandy smiled, kissing him on the cheek and running her hand down his chest.

“Get your hands off of him,” Jenna yelled, leaping out of bed.

“Now it’s a party!” Tanner exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, Jen Jen,” Brandy giggled, “you can have him. After all, he did belong to you first. Here, take him.”

Jenna watched as a collar and handcuffs attached to a chain appeared around Tanner’s neck and wrists. She kept shaking her head, refusing to participate. She closed her eyes, willing it all to go away, waiting for the madness to stop, waiting for her husband to return to their glorious moment.

When Jenna opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom, at home in Doveport, drenched in sweat. The sun had risen in the sky and the morning found her confused and riled up from her dreams and the night before. It was too much to even think about before a morning cup of coffee.

Pushing herself out of bed, Jenna took all the sheets with her, hating that she had sweated through her pajamas. A quick shower would refresh her. She threw on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts before making her way through the house. Walking past her father’s room was jarring; the bed was made. It was just as immaculate as the desk in the office. She stepped inside the room, inhaling what she wanted to be her mother’s scent. It was only that of the perfume she used to wear, but still, it brought a tear to her eye. Her father refused to let any of it go.

Simply standing in the room used to make her feel better, but now it made Jenna angry. She couldn’t help it. Then something caught her eye. It was like looking in a mirror, but the picture was of her mother. She was standing by herself with a smile as bright as the sun. They had the same eyes, the same color hair, and even the same nose. It made her wonder if the reason she and her father butted heads so much now was because of how much she looked like her mother. The sadness was becoming overwhelming, so she left the room, heading down to the kitchen.

Paul sat at the kitchen table with a smile on his face, but he was surrounded by mail, most of which looked like bills with angry red letters stamped across the pages. Glancing over his shoulder as she went to the counter to pour herself some coffee, she couldn’t help but notice some of the pages had her name on them.

“What’s that you’re reading?” she asked him.

“Good morning,” he responded to her.

Jenna sighed. “Good morning, Daddy. Now, what’s that you’re reading with my name all over it? I never knew you liked to commit felonies. It’s a crime opening up someone else’s mail!”

“Not when it’s coming to my house, and especially not when I’m going to be footing the bill,” he smiled, sliding her the envelopes he’d already read through.

Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her father that happy, and as she read through the letters, she realized why.

“I can’t believe I got in,” she laughed. “Even with the semester off and everything? I got in!”

“Look at the others,” he told her excitedly. “NYU, UCLA, Penn State, Temple, University of Miami. I didn’t realize you sent your application in to every school across the eastern seaboard.”

“Remember that grant I was telling you about? It left me with some cash for grad school applications, so I put in as many as I could,” Jenna chuckled. “I had no idea that so many would come back.”

“Well, we’re up to six! I’m so proud of you, Jenna. Your mother would be too.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Jenna smiled.

“So when are you leaving?”

Jenna sipped her coffee. “Leaving?”

“Yeah, to go to grad school. You’re going to grad school!” he stated firmly.

“Dad, relax, I just got home yesterday. I’m not thinking about school just yet. It’s only May. I have until July to make my decision. What’s the rush?”

“The rush is I don’t want you hanging around Doveport all summer. I don’t want you stuck here. You need to leave!”

“Wow, thanks, Dad. Way to make me feel welcome. I feel right at home. I want to relax. I think I’ve earned a few weeks without thinking about school. I don’t want to worry about any of that now. Not to mention the costs.”

“Stop worrying about the money. I’ll take care of it! Has there ever been a time during your educational career that I didn’t pay for something you needed?”

Jenna had to think about it. “I don’t think so.”

“Exactly! Just because you’re old enough to understand that bills need to be paid doesn’t mean you’re old enough to treat me like I’m the child. You don’t have to find excuses, just find the time to pack your stuff up and hit the road. You gotta visit at least three of these schools to make an informed decision. That’s a great road trip. Maybe take Hannah with you and have some fun.”

“I’m having fun right here, Daddy. I don’t know why you’re in such a rush to get me out of Doveport. It’s not like you’re dating anyone and don’t want me to know about it… or are you?”

“Never.” He shook his head furiously.

“Dad, it’s fine, I was just kidding. I’m okay with you dating. It still hurts, but eventually you have to find another—”

“I don’t want to fight with you right now. Especially after we just got this good news. Your mother and I agreed that you would go as far as you possibly could with your schooling. We, especially her, didn’t want you confined to Doveport for the rest of your life.”

“You know what’s wrong with that, Dad?”

“What?”

“I actually like it here. I get your not wanting me to be stuck in a small town. I also understand the importance of continuing and finishing my academic career. But I also believe in coming back home and helping out around here. I’d much rather open up a business here than work for someone else’s dream in a big city somewhere. How about we make a deal?”

“I’m listening,” he sighed.

“I promise that I will go look at these schools, I’ll even pick one to go to, if you let me make some changes around The Wheel. Nothing drastic. I just want to host some events to bring in some extra cash so that I won’t worry about you while I’m away at grad school. If I know you’re bringing in this extra money, I can study in peace,” she explained.

“Okay, but don’t touch the office, and you’re not painting any walls!”

Jenna put her hands up in surrender. “Agreed.”

After finishing up her coffee and hammering out some more details of their agreement, Jenna took off for the day. She wanted to clear her head of both her dreams of Tanner and the thought of grad school. The plan was always for her to go home for the summer, but she’d decided months ago that grad school would be the next step. However, her father’s problems with the bar were making her second guess her decision to leave home again. For one thing, she definitely didn’t want to leave until Hannity was out of the picture.

Jenna walked around different stores wondering when inspiration would find her. Luckily enough, she came across a store with a bright purple awning drawing her eyes up and then into the window display. There was a skeleton dressed like a 1920s flapper. A bean bag chair with an emoji painted onto it sat in the corner. There were balloons and streamers strung up like curtains opening to a stage, but instead a troupe of actors, there was the inside of the store.

A bell chimed as Jenna walked in. Her eyes lit up as she spotted huge tiki torches, and that’s when it hit her… A luau party!

“Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to Llana’s Lucky Leis,” a woman giggled uncontrollably. “I just love saying that. I’m Lucky Llana, and how lucky might you be?”

Jenna chuckled at the odd woman. While she was beautiful in name and face, her hair was all over the place like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket. She wore thick-rimmed, circular-lensed glasses and bright red lipstick that was smudged on her teeth when she smiled. With a royal blue velvet robe draped down to her feet, she swayed side to side, making sure her skinny hips were pronounced through the robe.

“My goodness, you’re quite the character,” Jenna smiled.

“Character indeed! It runs through my blood. Now who are you and what can I do for you, my dear?”

“I’m Jenna Ferris. My father, Paul, owns The Wheel,” she began.

“Oh, that’s rich,” the woman giggled. “Ferris wheel, how genius!”

“Yes, well, I was trying to think of ideas for how to bring more business in for the summer, and I came in here because it just looked like a fun store to come into, and I think I want to host a luau party. Tiki torches, fruity drinks, grass skirts… the whole thing.”

“Well, why don’t you come and try a few things on? As hostess, you should be in costume as well!” Llana told her, showing her to the back dressing room.

Jenna turned around, sniffing the air, “Is that smoke?”

Llana did the same. “Yeah, I think so… maybe someone’s barbecuing.”

So Jenna disregarded it, following the older woman to the back of the store. They made small talk as Jenna tried on costume after costume. It wasn’t until thick grey smoke began to plume through the space that Jenna’s attention returned to the odor. It wasn’t any barbecue she’d smelled, something was on fire!

“We have to get out of here!” Jenna cried out in a panic. As if agreeing with her, the fire alarm in the store went off just then, but there didn’t seem to be any sprinklers. Leaving the back room, Llana and Jenna halted in their tracks as heat and flames shattered the front window and blocked their way out. Llana grabbed Jenna by the wrist and rushed her back towards the back room, moving as fast as she could.

“Come on, there’s a back door to the alley!”

But the fire was spreading so fast that they saw the ceiling and part of the rear wall collapsing in front of them as they passed the dressing room. Orange and yellow flames danced around the store, igniting everything they touched. They were trapped.

As the flames raged closer, Jenna and Llana took hold of each other, crouching down as far away from the heat as possible. Jenna didn’t want to cry, but fear was taking hold of her. Everything was slipping away. Llana had fainted, and the only thing Jenna wanted to do was collapse beside her.

“Help!” she screamed. “Someone help us! We’re in here!”

She heard the sound of sirens in the distance—but would they get to her in time?