note: some explicit nguage

  “Ronnie and An got awfully serious, awfully quick, didn’t they?”

  Joey was in agreement. “Those two have hooked up with a vengeance.”

  And where might they be headed? “I’m pretty sure Ronnie is a virgin.”

  “For that matter, An may be too.” said Joey. She seemed reluctant to say more but then let it out. “You know, um, strictly speaking, so am I.”

  Kris wasn’t all that surprised, but the way her friend had put it was odd and maybe a little funny. She rolled over so she could see Joey’s face. It was time she got some sun on her back anyway. “Strictly? Isn’t that an either-or thing?”

  “I guess it is. Let’s say I’ve left guys standing on third base, looking toward home.”

  Leave it to Joey to use a metaphor like that. “You mean oral sex.”

  “Yeah. And some hands where they shouldn’t be.” Her friend looked like she might giggle but stifled it. “Theirs and mine.”

  Kris knew all about this, or thought she did. Her own sexual experiences, aside from Grubby, had been in the same vein. “I’m not sure why guys are so big on blowjobs,” she said. “I would think hands do a better job.”

  “It’s, uh, usually some of both anyway, isn’t it? Not that I have that much—” Joey did start to giggle this time. “Hands-on experience.”

  If Joey didn’t have such a deep tan, she was sure she would able to see her blushing. But it was true. Neither of them had much experience, really. A little experimentation, that’s all it was. “Ronnie doesn’t have any experience at all. We should give her the ‘talk.’”

  “Oh, yeah, I can see us doing that.” There was the sarcastic Joey she knew and loved.

  “I can see you doing it. You’ve always shared more with her than I have.”

  Joey didn’t reply at once. “I’m not so sure of that. But—you know, we have both always shared more with Ronnie than with each other.”

  “Ronnie is our glue, isn’t she?”

  “Maybe so.”

  Yeah, maybe so. It wasn’t like they all hadn’t talked about sex before but Joey had never been so forthcoming about it. She and Ronnie knew about Grubby Rhein. That wasn’t something Kris would have kept from her closest friends. Her confidantes.

  Maybe she should undo the back of her bikini top. No, not this close to the pier, where school friends still hung out. Boys, that was. No point in tempting them to make rude remarks, even if they meant nothing by them. She would if she sunbathed in the Summerlins’ yard. She could probably find enough seclusion there to sunbathe topless, if she wanted.

  What would Will think of that? “I guess Will and I will happen one of these days.”

  “I didn’t think you had yet. Is it a good idea?”

  “I’ll find out when it happens! Do you want to swim?”

  Joey raised her head just an inch or two to gaze at the Gulf. “Nah. I feel too zy to move. Oh, I’m going to bring our surfboard over and leave it at the Summerlin house. Jam thinks it’s a good idea.”

  For a brief moment, Kris wondered if Joey and Jam were likely to ‘happen.’ That retionship was way too complicated for her to figure out. “We’re not likely to see any waves soon.”

  “But we could paddle it around.”

  “When you don’t feel too zy to move.”

  “Right. Hey, what’s that?” Joey got onto her elbows and turned up the volume on Kris’s little radio. “I like it, I think.”

  “Never heard it before.” And might never again. One could never tell.

  “Suzie Q, baby I love you? Hmm.” She waited till the end of the song. “Damn, the deejay didn’t tell us what it was. Or who.” Joey lowered the volume and reclined again.

  “Maybe you should get a job on radio and do things right.” Kris snickered. “Like Russel’s mom.”

  “Don’t think I couldn’t,” sniffed Joey. “The Penns live somewhere near the junior high, don’t they? Or middle school, I mean. They call it middle school now.” The name had changed a year or two after they had left, and what grades attended where was switched around, with ninth graders suddenly appearing at Naples High.

  “Yeah, a bit closer to the Gulf and a bit further north. Not so far from Ronnie’s house.” She tried to keep a straight face as she asked, “Pnning to dump Jam for Russel?”

  “What idiot would do that? Not that I’m with Jam. He’s like the brother I never had!”

  “That sounds convincing.”

  “Doesn’t it? And I’m the sister he wishes he had.”

  “Now that may be more accurate than he’d admit.”

  “Yeah. That’s not what we were talking about, is it? The Penns. Jam has extended the freedom of the Summerlin realm to Sandy. Or maybe Jelly did. I couldn’t quite figure that out.”

  “With Jam and Jelly, that’s not unusual,” commented Kris.

  Both y there a couple minutes without talking.

  “Have you thought about what csses you’ll take in the fall?” Joey mumbled. She sounded half-asleep.

  “I’m likely to just let my counselor tell me where I should be.”

  “Yeah. But you know what you want to do with your life. Famous artist!”

  Kris smiled to herself. “I’m more interested in design,” she said. Kris had no delusions about being a great artist nor did she even have ambitions in that direction. Not really, though one did dream. She could see herself at the head of a design firm

  “I’ve looked over what I can take. I’m going to try to get the required stuff out of the way as soon as I can. Stuff that’s like a continuation of high school.”

  “I’ll have that too. If I went for a BFA I could dodge some of the academics but the parents insist I get the BA.” She could see Joey attempt a zy but sympathetic nod. “And they’re paying for it, so I guess they should get their money’s worth.” She was going to stop with that but then thought to add, “That doesn’t mean I won’t follow it up with an MFA.”

  “Oh, that’s way too far to look ahead.”

  “I don’t want to look any farther than tomorrow right now.”

  “I’d settle for this afternoon.”