Chapter Six
JENNA BANGED ON Amy’s bedroom window. She had two bottles of Middle Sister wine in one arm and a roll of premade chocolate chip cookie dough in the front pocket of her hoodie. It was pitch-black in the development, as there were no streetlights, and Amy’s bedroom was on the side of her cottage. Jenna wasn’t tall enough to see in her window. She hung on Amy’s windowsill and called to her in a loud whisper.
“Ames! I need you!”
She heard Amy groan.
“Amy! Ames! Hurry! It’s cold out here.”
Amy’s face appeared in the window. Her blond hair was a tangled mess. They’d come back from the Beachcomber an hour and a half ago, and Jenna had tried to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she heard Pete’s promise.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t sleep.” Jenna bounced on her toes and held up a roll of cookie dough. “I brought goodies!”
Amy’s eyes widened. “Cookie dough? I’ll be right out, but I’m bringing my blanket.”
“Bring me one, too!”
Amy came outside in her flannel pajama pants and a hoodie with two blankets in her arms.
“Wanna get the girls?” Amy yawned.
“Yeah. Do you think it’s okay with Kurt and Caden?”
Amy shrugged. “When have they ever stopped us?” She grabbed Jenna’s arm and dragged her to Leanna’s window. “Give me a hand,” Amy whispered.
Jenna put the bottles and cookie dough on the ground and clasped her hands together so Amy could step in them and peek in the window. Amy tottered to the side.
“Whoa!”
“Shh,” Jenna chided. “Hang on to the windowsill.”
Pepper, Leanna’s dog, barked.
“Oh, no!” Jenna jumped back, sending Amy flat on her butt.
“Ow!” Amy rolled on top of Jenna and laughed.
“Pepper.” Kurt silenced the pup with one word. “Leanna, I think the girls need you.”
“Shoot, shoot, shoot.” Jenna covered her mouth. “We woke Kurt up!”
Kurt looked out the screen. “It’s okay. She’ll be out in a minute.”
Bella’s front door opened, and she came out in her nightie. “Jenna? Amy?” she whispered over her deck.
“Over here.” Amy waved.
“You’re going to wake Theresa!” Bella ran over in her bare feet, her arms crossed over her chest. She helped them up. Leanna joined them a minute later, wearing one of Kurt’s sweatshirts—and it looked like nothing else.
“What are you doing? It’s two in the morning,” Leanna said.
“Jenna couldn’t sleep,” Amy explained.
Jenna held up the cookie dough in one hand and the wine in the other. “I have goodies. Please, please, please don’t be mad.”
Leanna rolled her eyes. “Mad? Never. Where to?”
Jenna bit her lower lip, opened her eyes wide, and bobbed her head in the direction of the pool.
“Chunky-dunking? No, I’m too tired,” Bella said. Chunky-dunking was what they called skinny-dipping.
“Piggies only?” Jenna stuck out her toes and wiggled them.
Bella reached for a bottle of wine and cranked it open. “Okay, piggies only.”
At the pool, Jenna unlocked the gate as quietly as she was able, with Bella shushing her every three seconds.
“If Theresa hears you, we’re all in trouble,” Amy reminded her. The pool closed at eight o’clock, and swimming after dark was prohibited. They weren’t sure what would happen if Theresa really caught them, but they didn’t want to find out.
They tiptoed onto the pool deck and sat around the edge of the pool.
“It’s cold!” Amy said, pulling a blanket around her shoulders.
“Oh, it is not.” Bella’s legs dangled in the water. “Pass the cookie dough.”
Jenna tore open the cookie dough, ripped off a chunk, then passed the tube to Bella.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Bella asked. “Maybe because the sexual tension between you and Pete was so thick I was afraid it would swallow you whole, and poor Charlie didn’t seem to have a clue.” Bella stuffed cookie dough in her mouth and handed the tube to Leanna. “Besides, you haven’t given us one shred of detail about what’s going on, and if you don’t give it up soon, I’m going to let Leanna loose in your kitchen.”
Leanna batted her lashes. When Leanna cooked, she left no counter, floor, or table untouched. Sometimes even the ceiling was peppered with jam or flour or other ingredients that had no business being on a ceiling.
Jenna took a swig of wine, then an even longer one at the thought of Leanna being set loose in her clean kitchen. She passed the bottle down the line, as the cookie dough made its way back toward her. “My life has turned into a really bad comedy of craziness.”
“Oh, Jen, I’m sorry you feel that way.” Amy leaned forward and looked at her around the others. “You have a great life.”
Bella smiled. “I take it your hot water got fixed. I saw that you used my shower. You lined up everything in my shower by height.”
“Sorry.” Jenna broke off another hunk of cookie dough. “Pete fixed it. You’re not going to believe what I’m about to say, and I can’t even believe I’ve waited this long to spill it, but with Charlie being sweet and sexy all night and Pete stalking me like prey…”
“See? Five bucks.” Bella held her hand out to Leanna.
“I thought Pete was just being sweet.” Leanna took a long drink of wine and handed it to Amy. “I hate that you guys all know and see things about men that I don’t pick up on, like when Jenna was talking about orgasms all last summer and thinking about Pete, and I was clueless.”
“If she’s thinking about orgasms, she’s thinking about Pete. That’s a given,” Bella said.
Jenna pushed to her feet. Goose bumps covered her legs. She hurried behind the girls and plopped down beside Amy, hoping to steal their warmth. “See? It’s all your fault this is even an issue. If you’d stop bringing up Pete and me in the same sentence like I can’t live without him, then maybe I could feel a zing when I’m with Charlie.”
The others shared an eye roll that felt like it shook the earth.
“Ugh!” Jenna clenched her eyes shut and spoke as fast as she could. “I ran into him in the living room and my towel fell off; then I clutched his chest for dear life while he stood there thinking who knows what. Then he promised me erotic sex and told me to tell him what I wanted.” Eyes still clenched shut, she fisted her hands and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Holy cow,” Amy said.
“Naked clutching? Erotic sex?” Bella said. Jenna heard movement in the water, then sensed Bella’s presence behind her.
“Tell him what you want?” Leanna sounded breathless.
“Open your stinkin’ eyes!” Bella shook Jenna by the shoulders.
Jenna’s eyes flew open and was met with Bella’s wide, toothy grin. Jenna couldn’t help but smile, but at the same time, she wanted to cry.
“Oh no. No, no, no.” Bella sat down behind her. “Jenna Jane, what on earth is wrong with you? Please don’t cry. You know I’m not good with tears.”
“She’s overwhelmed. She’s loved him forever.” Amy patted Jenna’s back.
Leanna handed Jenna the bottle of wine. “It’s a lot to take in.” She crinkled her nose. “Are you sure we’re talking about Pete? Our Pete? Quiet guy, tall? I can’t even imagine him saying the word erotic. Sexy maybe, but erotic?”
Jenna downed the wine, closing her eyes as the tangy liquid slid down her throat, quelling the panic inside her.
“Not only did he say it, but the man said it like he was good at it, and then…Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t tell you. When I went to the ladies’ room, he had this blond bimbo cornered, and she said she was out of his league, and that he was like a wild animal in the bedroom.” Jenna shook her head. “Blow your mind, that’s what she said. If she’s out of his league, what is he doing saying that stuff to me?”
“You’re a hundred times hotter than any woman at that bar,” Amy said.
“This is what you always wanted, Jenna. He’s what you’ve always wanted,” Bella reminded her.
Jenna covered her face and groaned. Then she peeked out over her fingertips. “I’m not sure I even know what erotic sex really means. Bondage? Threesome?”
“Jenna!” Amy covered her mouth.
“I think our sweet Pete has a dark side, and it scares me a little,” Jenna admitted.
Bella swatted the air. “Look at Caden. He’s Mr. Polite on the streets, but hotter than lava in the bedroom.”
“He’s freaking hot on the streets, too, Bella, and you know it.” Jenna looked away.
“Yes, but so is Kurt, and Pete, of course,” Leanna said. “Kurt’s an animal in the bedroom. My docile, quiet wordsmith turns my world upside down.” Kurt was about as even-tempered as they came, and as a writer, he often lived in his own head.
“We know,” Amy and Jenna said in unison. Leanna and Kurt often forgot to close their windows when they were fooling around, and they weren’t exactly quiet lovers.
Jenna lay back and looked up at the stars. “But what does it mean when a guy says erotic and sensual?”
Amy folded her hands in her lap. “Don’t ask me. I’m vanilla or chocolate. You’re talking about funky flavors I’ve never tasted.”
Jenna bolted upright. “Ha! I love you, Ames.” Jenna set serious eyes on Bella. “Well?”
“Why do you look at me?” Bella laughed. “Who knows? But I don’t think it’s any of the stuff you’re worried about.”
“Oh.” Jenna heard the disappointment in her own voice and it surprised her. “I mean, oh, good.”
“Yeah, whatever. What’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re sexually repressed.” Bella tore off a chunk of cookie dough and handed it to Jenna. “I mean, threesome, that would be a deal breaker for me, but you know what I mean. He’s a guy. He probably meant really good, hot sex. Passion and power, a lethal combination.”
“Finish the wine. I’m getting cold.” Leanna reached for one of Amy’s blankets.
“That’s because all you’re wearing is Kurt’s sweatshirt,” Amy said.
Leanna arched a brow. “If you slept with my fiancé, would you wear clothes?”
Amy took a swig of wine. “If I slept with your fiancé, you’d beat my backside, so it wouldn’t matter what I wore. I’d be dead.”
Jenna sighed. “Can we focus? I have one more confession.”
All eyes locked on her.
“When I was clutching him for dear life, buck naked…” She drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t feel a zing.”
Bella was putting a chunk of cookie dough in her mouth, and she stopped with her hand in the air. “What?”
“It was more of a ZING, POW, BAM!”
Amy squealed and hugged Jenna. Bella wrapped her arms around Jenna from behind. Leanna jumped to her feet, and then all four of them were jumping in a circle, hugging and laughing in a celebratory dance.
Bella tripped and reached for Amy on her way down, pulling both of them into the pool. Jenna doubled over in laughter and fell forward, headfirst into the water. The three of them broke the surface in fits of laughter, clinging to one another as they swam for the side of the pool.
“Shh!” Leanna reached for their hands. “Shh. Theresa’s going to catch us!” As they climbed from the pool, Leanna wrapped blankets around them. “Theresa’s light is on. We’re so dead.”
“Hurry.” Jenna ran to the gate and held it open.
“The bottles!” Amy ran back, gathered the bottles, and joined Bella under her blanket. “So, why did you invite Charlie on the boat, anyway?”
Jenna’s teeth were chattering as she tried to lock the gate. She dropped the lock. “Darn it.” She fumbled in the darkness for it. “Shoot. Oh my gosh. Oh, here it is.” She lifted it with a smile and worked at hooking it to the chain again. “I did it to make Pete jealous.” Jenna felt silly saying it out loud, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. She locked the gate as the beam of a flashlight lit up the center of the road.
“Cripes!” Amy grabbed Bella’s hand. “Run!”
They ran in a huddle behind the cottages on the other side of the road, laughing and shushing one another, then peered around the corner at Theresa as she unlocked the pool gate and walked onto the deck.
“My vote is to show up at Pete’s house wearing nothing but a raincoat tied at the waist,” Bella whispered. “Throw the man on the floor and devour every inch of him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Leave him begging for more.”
“Bella!” Amy whispered. “She gets flustered around him. How is she gonna…you know?”
“Oh shoot. She found the cookie dough wrapper.” Jenna pointed to Theresa, who stood on the pool deck with one hand on her hip, the other holding the wrapper.
“Quick, into Amy’s!” Jenna took Amy’s hand and pulled her toward her cottage.
“I think Pete’s either trying to pull Jenna out of her stupor when she’s around him, or he’s, you know, laying it all on the table so Jenna can either decide to put down roots or go seed some other lawn.” Bella followed them into Amy’s cottage. They closed the curtains and kept the lights off, while Amy hustled into the bathroom and grabbed towels for all of them except Leanna.
“I’m not seeding anyone’s lawn,” Jenna hissed. “But I have to admit that I’m not over Pete. The man practically gave me the big O with nothing more than a whisper and a hand on my naked hip.”
“You are a naughty, naughty girl, Jenna. I’m kinda jealous.” Amy handed Bella and Jenna towels.
Bella peered out the front curtains. “Shh. She’s standing in front of Amy’s cottage.”
“What now?” Amy whispered.
Bella closed the curtains and waved them all into the room at the back of the cottage. “Now Jenna has to decide if she’s planting roots in Mount St. Peter or playing in the sand with Charlie.” Bella patted Jenna’s shoulder. “Just remember one thing. You’re a woman, and women can be just as fierce as men. You’ve never been afraid of a man in your life, so whatever’s running around in that cute little organized head of yours probably has nothing to do with being afraid of him. Maybe you act afraid of Pete because of what letting Pete see the real you means in your own head. What it means to you.”
“I don’t get it,” Leanna said. “Do you mean like how I was worried that I’d be out of sync with Kurt and how you kept your love of frilly things from Caden? Well, and the rest of the world, but you know what I mean.”
“Maybe,” Bella whispered. “I’m not sure. But Pete’s the only guy Jenna has ever really liked, and he’s the only guy she isn’t able to talk to. It has to mean something.”
Amy yawned. “Jenna, I think you shouldn’t worry about erotic anything, because in my experience, guys are all talk with not nearly enough follow-through. It’s like how they all think six inches is really eight.”
“Right,” Leanna agreed. “You know, guys are so dumb like that. We don’t walk around saying we’re double D’s when we’re C’s.”
“Um…” Jenna looked down at the two bowling balls strapped to her chest.
“You put us all to shame.” Bella glanced down at her own perfect C’s. “But Caden likes mine, so I’m happy.”
“Hey, can we not talk about things we don’t all have?” Amy pointed to her chest. “I think B cup is pushing it over here.”
“I’d give you some of mine if I could,” Jenna offered.
“I know you would. I think you should just follow your heart, Jenna.” Amy patted her own heart. “If it turns out Petey is a perv, you can stop seeing him.”
“We’re not even seeing each other, and he makes my heart go ten types of crazy.” Good crazy. Exciting crazy.
“That’s not a bad thing, hon.” Amy yawned again. “I have to go to sleep or I’ll be whipped tomorrow.”
Jenna scrunched her shoulders and clenched her eyes shut. “Don’t hate me, but I told Charlie I’d go out with him this weekend.”
“Why on earth are you leading him on?” Bella ran her fingers through her hair, which was a tangled mass of wet blond waves.
Jenna shrugged. “Guys lead girls on all the time, and he’s really nice and hot. Who knows? Maybe a zing will appear.”
“Miss Zing Pow Bam, I doubt you’re gonna zing for anyone but Pete. I’ve got to get home.” Bella tiptoed to the front window again and peered out. “Caden has an early shift tomorrow, and I always get up with him.”
“You’re so sweet, Bella. I lie in bed for twenty minutes after Kurt gets up and listen to him typing on his laptop. It’s comforting.”
“I want comforting,” Amy said with another sigh.
“Oh shoot.” Bella closed the curtains and covered her mouth.
“What?” Jenna pulled the curtains back. She spotted the cookie dough wrappers on the porch and slammed the curtains shut. “Shoot, shoot, shoot. She knows it was us.”
“Great.” Amy sank onto her couch. “Now she thinks I’m the bad one.”
“Oh, hush,” Bella said. “No one ever thinks you’re the bad one. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
“Well, girls, are we on for the beach tomorrow?” Leanna asked.
“Yeah,” they all agreed.
On the way back to her cottage, Jenna thought about what Bella said about being afraid of something other than Pete. She thought of her parents’ divorce and her mother floundering to navigate a future that she hadn’t planned for or wanted. She pulled the screen door open and pushed the uncomfortable thoughts away. Maybe Bella was right, and what she was afraid of was staring her in the face every time her mother called. Maybe there really was no happily ever after.