The next day, I woke up fairly early. Hoping to catch Jesse, alone, for his morning workout. I tried to sneak out of my room without Becca noticing. I threw on a tank top and shorts quickly and walked out. I started walking downstairs, realizing no one else was awake yet. "This is a mista-" I started, feeling a cold hand across my mouth. I tried to scream, but then the person whispered in my ear "C'mon J, I want to show you something" said what sounded like Jesse. I whipped my head around, saw Jesse and punched him in the stomach. "What the hell Jesse!" I shouted. "Shh! You're gonna wake everyone up" said Jesse. "C'mon, follow me".
Jesse walked me out the door, and we started walking down the beach. "Jesse, it's six o'clock in the morning, the sun isn't even up yet" I said. "And it's kind of cold out". Jesse took his shirt off, revealing his perfectly sculpted abs. He put his shirt over me and kept walking. We walked further down the beach, not as far as the pier, but close. "Look over there" whispered Jesse, pointing. I turned my head and saw a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water.
"That's beautiful," I said. "Look at all of them!". "C'mon J," said Jesse, grabbing my arm. "Jesse, what are you-" I started to say. Jesse started sprinting towards the water. Next thing I knew, my legs were soaked, and we were standing in the shallow part of the water. "Jesse it's freezing!" I said, shivering. We went out waist deep in the water, when I felt a slimy object caress my leg. Instantly, I jumped on Jesse's back. "Something touched me!!" I shouted, grabbing his head. "Jenny, calm down" said Jesse, laughing at me.
"Jenny, look" said Jesse, pointing at the water. Just then, I saw an incredibly small dolphin. Still latching on to Jesse, I reached my hand down to touch it. The dolphin jumped out of the water, splashing my hand. Slowly, I put my feet back in the water. "See? It's not that bad" said Jesse, still laughing at me. After petting it for a while, the dolphin swam off.
We got out of the water and started walking back to the house. "Jesse, I think it would be fun if we went to the party," I said. "Did one of the girls want you to ask me?" said Jesse, staring at the ground. "No Jesse, I think it would be fun if we went. We've been under so much stress lately, and I think it would be good for us to get out" I said, turning to him. "I'll think about it, but I really don't want to go," said Jesse, stopping.
Once we got back to the house, we were met by Lacy, Becca, Elena, and Andi in the kitchen. "Where have you two been?" said Elena, winking at me. "We just went for a walk," I said, rolling my eyes at her. "Have any of you seen Luka this morning? I was meaning to talk to him" said Jesse. "He's in the garage, like always," said Andi. "Thanks, I'll see you later J" said Jesse, walking out.
I turned to watch him walk out the door. As I turned back around to get something to eat, I was cornered by all of the girls. "What is going on between you two?" said Becca. "Nothing, I-" I started. "Did you ask him about the party?" said Lacy. "Well I-" I said. "Where did you go?" said Andi. "Listen to me!" I shouted. "We went to the beach this morning, and I told him it was a good idea if we went to the party. He said he would think about it".
"There is no way he will say yes," said Andi. "He hates Shane". "Don't get me wrong, Shane is definitely a looker, but he is a total ass," said Elena. Just then, Luka stormed in. "Jenny, what did you say to Jesse?" he shouted, angerly. "What?" I said, concerned. "I'm just kidding, I just wanted to join the conversation" said Luka. "Damnit Luka!" yelled Andi. "Jesse's coming inside in a few, he wanted to make sure his car was fixed" said Luka.
We suddenly heard the door open. Jesse walked in, not breaking eye contact with me. "Hey J," said Jesse. "Hi" I said, smiling. "Hello Jesse" said Andi, mocking me. "Oh hi Jesse" said Elena, in a sing-song voice. I smirked at them, knowing that they could see right through me. "Jenny, can we talk?" said Jesse. "Yeah, of course" I said, smiling at him. He started walking towards the door when I could see the girls winking at me. I turned around and winked back and blew them a kiss.
We walked out and sat on the porch stairs. "Is everything okay? I'm sorry if I stepped over the line earlier. I shouldn't hav-" I started. "Do you want to get dinner later?" interrupted Jesse, turning to me. Not knowing what to say, I shot out the word "sure". "Great, we'll leave at six" said Jesse, standing back up. "I'll see you around, I have to get some stuff done". Jesse walked towards the barn, leaving me speechless. I stood up and opened the door. "What was that about?" said Becca. The girls started asking me millions of questions as soon as I walked in. I stared at them and said, "apparently we're having dinner… together…".
"It's noon, you barely have any time to get ready!" said Elena. The girls rushed me into Andi's bedroom. "Guys it's fine. I'll just take a shower and get dressed, no big deal" I said. "Oh no J, you're going to make an impression" said Lacy. Elena sat me down in a chair and started touching my face. "Elena what are you-" I started. "Don't ask questions" said Elena, rummaging through Andis' drawer. "Andi where is all of your makeup?" she shouted. Lacy and Andi were rummaging through Andis' closet.
"Why are we in here?" I said. "Because Andi has the best-looking clothes," said Lacy from the closet. Becca came running in the room, "guys Jesse's coming!". "Andi where is your hair curler?" shouted Elena. "Guys!!" Becca shouted. Andi went to the door, walked out and shut it. "What do you want Marinos?" said Andi. "What are you doing?" I could hear Jesse say. "Have you seen Jenny?". "No, I haven't," said Andi. "I have a killer headache, I just need to chill out". "Okay," said Jesse, trying to walk in Andi's room. "Get lost, Marinos," said Andi, pushing him. "Fine, I'm gone," said Jesse, walking away, smirking.
Just then, Andi grabbed the chair I was sitting in, and spun it around. "Lace, I'm thinking red" said Andi, eyeing me. "Really? I was thinking black" said Lacy. "I think red would look kick-ass," said Andi. "Yeah, let's go red" said Elena. "Becca, grab anything that's red in there!" shouted Andi. Within minutes, Becca came out of the closet with armfuls of dresses.
Instantly, my eye caught onto a dress. A knee high, currant colored dress, with a black silk ribbon tied across the waist. "I think I want to try on that one," I said, standing up. Becca handed me the dress, and I went into the bathroom to try it on. It fit a bit snug, but it definitely accentuated my curves, which I liked. I walked out of the bathroom, expecting the girls to be swarmed around the door. To my surprise, they were all staying where I had left them.
"Damn J, that looks good," said Andi. "I think it's gorgeous!" said Elena. "Very pretty," said Lacy and Becca. "Now for hair and makeup" said Elena, hands full of makeup brushes. As I sat back on the chair, Elena started getting close to my face. "Elena, back up" I said, getting uncomfortable. "Chill J, I'm just looking at what I have to work with," said Elena, backing up. Lacy came out of the bathroom, holding a giant hair curler, hair brush in her other hand, and a mouth full of bobby pins.
Andi sat on top of her giant dresser supervising everyone. Becca continued to find jewelry and shoes for me, while also keeping an eye out for Jesse. Lacy had been curling my hair when I heard footsteps coming towards the door. "Becca, door!" shouted Lacy. Then, we all heard a knock on the door. "Lacy, are you in there?" said Luka, through the door. "Yeah, what do you want?" said Lacy. "I was just wondering… what's for dinner?" said Luka. "Boy!... Are you serious?" yelled Lacy.
As Lacy and Luka continued to bicker, I could smell a faint smell. Almost as if something were burning. Then all of a sudden, I felt a sharp, burning sensation on the back of my neck. "OW Lacy the iron!!" I shouted, jumping back. "Oh shit!!" said Lacy. "Luka get lost!" shouted Andi. "Lacy, what did you do?" shouted Becca from the closet. Andi grabbed a section of my hair and moved it away from my neck.
"Oh don't worry, it's just a little burn," said Andi. "Elena, go into my third drawer in my bathroom and grab my red bag" said Andi. Elena walked to the bathroom and returned with a small, clearly full, red bag. "This is going to be really cold J" said Andi, dipping a small wooden stick into a container of green gel. Suddenly, a cold sensation skimmed across my neck. The pain was almost gone instantly. Andi went into her bathroom and grabbed a small bottle of red nail polish. "Come here J. This will look gorgeous" said Andi. I sat next to her, and she started painting my nails.
It was almost six, and I was terrified. I knew I shouldn't be, but I was. This was just going for dinner with Jesse. Right? Nothing to be worked up about. Lacy curled my hair and made it look very nice. Elena and Becca took care of my makeup and jewelry. Lacy, Becca, and Elena left the room, leaving Andi and I. "You doing okay J?" asked Andi. I started to believe Andi and I were getting close, so I knew I could trust her. "Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," I said. "Trust me J, you'll be fine. It's Jesse we're talking about" said Andi. "Don't freak out, that dress shows sweat" she said, winking and walking out of the room. "Andi, hold up!" I shouted, chasing her through the doorway.
Andi ran towards the front door, opened it, then slammed it in my face. I chased after her, swinging the door open. I barely got out of the door when I collided into a body. I was knocked to the ground. I looked up, and saw Jesse laughing at me, and extending his arm. "Are you trying to ditch me, Jenny Avery?" said Jesse, helping me stand. "I was just-" I stuttered my words. "Whatever, let's go," I said, smirking. Jesse took my arm, and we walked towards the car. I noticed behind the patio, Andi was crouched down, watching us. Andi and I made eye contact, she winked at me, and gave me a thumbs up. I rolled my eyes, then stuck my tongue out. "Miss. Avery," said Jesse, opening the door. "Thank you, Mr. Marinos," I said, curtsying and trying not to laugh. We pulled out of the driveway, and then I realized: I was going on a date with the infamous Jesse Marinos.