Heart Waves (24 page)

“You didn’t.” Wanting to change the subject, his eyes fell from my face, down to my attire. The eyebrows rose, “You’re right.
Very sexy.”

I felt my face heat up. At least it was the same temperature as the rest of me. “Okay, I embellished my old tank top and shorts. You sounded too happy. I wanted you to feel like you missed out on something.”

“I do, every minute I’m not with you.”

The passing of time became twisted and blurred. The weekend blew by. Reece and I spent Saturday shopping for school. He picked me up early in the afternoon and off we went. We returned with all the necessary office-type supplies: pens, folders and notebooks.  

The rest of the day we spent with my parents. They treated us to lunch and a then a movie. Their way of thanking Reece for the free work he did on the computers. I knew they still weren’t thrilled about the idea of me being in a serious relationship, but at least they approved of whom it was with.   

Sunday was slated to be spent at his house. Against my better judgment, I allowed him to convince me to go. From the moment his parents walked in on Reece and Aaron’s playful roughhousing, I felt like I couldn’t do anything right in their eyes.

While I knew intellectually the argument between Reece and his mother had nothing to do with me, in my heart I felt like it did. Something about me bothered her. I could see it in the way she looked at me. I had no idea what though. Nor did I want to find out. I knew if I voiced my concerns, Reece would bombard me with the rational I’m creating a situation that doesn’t exist. Like he did anytime I referred to my intuition.

We did have a nice time together just as Reece promised. Diane was not only welcoming, but very appreciative too. Reece explained to his parents how I helped talk him into working for his dad.

With us all together sitting around the table Reece announced, “I wanted you all to know, I’m giving Stan notice so I can continue working at the law firm.”

Reece’s parents beamed with pride.

“Great news, son.”
Howie gave him a pat on the back. “And thank you, Jenna, for talking some sense into him.”

The news filled the Walton house with joy.

The next couple of days were filled mostly by Grace. She kept me busy preparing for our senior year. Anxious to start our last year of high school on the right foot, she convinced me we needed to shop, shop, and shop some more. We spent all of Monday at the mall, each buying up a closet full of new clothes.

Tuesday we went for haircuts and
mani-pedis
. As we sat with our nails under the low voltage, low pressure dryers that don’t really dry your nails before automatically turning off, I realized something had changed with Grace.

“How are things with you and Mike?” I asked.

She pursed her lips.
“Fine.
Why?” she asked, sounding suspicious. “Did he say something about me?”

“No.” I shook my head, “I just realized, we’ve been together two whole days and you haven’t said much about him.”

She sighed, “Things are fine. He’s just busy getting laundry done or something before he goes back to school.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh.” She didn’t fool me. I knew Grace better then she knew herself. There was trouble in paradise.

Tuesday night, Reece came over for an hour.
An hour that passed in fifteen minutes.
But at least I got to feel him in my arms. Tuesday night, already I could see the excitement of returning to school building in Reece.

“Four days, Jenna,” he whispered into my ear, his arms holding me close, “then I get you to myself.”

“Yep, you, me and the five guys you’ll be living with.” I reminded him.

He smiled.
“Yeah, but no parents.
I could get rid of my suite-mates. We just have to find a way to get your parents to let you spend the night.”

“It’s not going to happen,” I shook my head. “Not if I tell them the truth. And even if I lie, I don’t see them letting me stay out all night.”

On Wednesday, Grace picked me up and took me to a little boutique a few towns over. She convinced me we were there for her, but only minutes after walking into the lingerie store, Grace picked up a scanty little bustier, with ribbons, lace, and garter hooks. She held it against me.  

“Well?” she asked. “What do you think?”

I snatched it out of her hands and placed it back on the rack it came from.

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Oh come on Jenna, don’t you want something special for your first time?”

I wondered why, if things were fine with Mike, was Grace interested in my sex
life?

“You’re so certain we haven’t already?” I asked, annoyed at her presumptuousness.

She smirked. “Believe me, when you do, I’ll know.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve got it all under control. Besides, it’s not like I’ll have time to prance around dressed in something you deem appropriate. Not with all the other guys around.”

She smiled an all knowing, evil smile. Like she had a great big secret and was debating whether or not she wanted to let me in on it.

“I can give you time.”

She had my interest.
“How?”

“My grandmother fell and needs a hip replacement. The surgery is next Saturday. My parents are leaving Friday night. I convinced them to let Connor and me stay home.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. About the surgery I mean.” I didn’t see her grand scheme. “But I don’t think it would be appropriate . . .”

“Don’t you
see,
dumbhead
? You’ll tell your parents you’re spending the weekend with me, helping me,
keeping
me company. Of course they’ll want to verify it with my
parents, who won’t have a clue that you’ll be spending the weekend in Reece’s bedroom.”

“That’s brilliant.” I stared at her motionless, letting the underlying meaning of her words sink in.

“Let’s pick something out.”

She picked up another bustier. This one had holes where parts should be covered. “Like I said, I’ve got it under control.”

I left the store empty handed. Grace, on the other hand, bought something resembling a French maid’s uniform. She had plans for that weekend too. She planned on bribing Connor to sleep over a friend’s house for the night, so she could have some girl time, with Mike.

*                       *                       *

Even though deep, dark bags hung under Reece’s eyes, just looking at him made my heart leap. I couldn’t wait to tell him. Just the thought of spending the night in his arms, in his bed, sent my stomach tumbling, my heart racing in a marathon.

I took his hand and led him down the block to the docks. We sat on the bench and watched the boats gently bob up and down in the water. We were close enough to the house to be seen if my parents looked out the front door, yet far enough that I could be certain they wouldn’t hear us.

“What’s with you?” he asked, brushing the side of my face with his fingertips, “You look like you’re bursting at the seams.”

I kissed him. Feeling jubilant, I jumped up and swung his hand with my own. “How would you feel about me staying with you next weekend?”

He looked uncertain. The left side of his lips rose, “I spend every weekend with you.”

I shook my head, my smile growing. I had to get the words out before I exploded. “I mean the whole weekend.” I swallowed hard. “I mean spending the night with you, too.”

Quick as lightning, Reece jumped up and spun me around. “Sleep over?” he asked in disbelief.

I nodded my head up and down.

“I love you, Jenna.”

“Of course you do!”

On Saturday, Reece spent the morning and early part of the afternoon moving into the suite. He lived close enough he didn’t have to dorm there, neither did Mike, or any of the other guys I guessed. But campus living was part of the college experience, and it seemed the boys did their best to take full advantage of that.

Late in the afternoon, Grace picked me up and we drove there together. We didn’t say much on the ride over. Grace looked preoccupied, and cranked the music up, there wasn’t much room left for idle chatter.

The guard at the front gate didn’t bother to stop us. I attributed his lack of tenacity to the fact it was moving day. There were probably lots of people who didn’t belong on campus, parents, siblings, and friends.

Due to the heavy volume of cars on the campus, Grace had to park at the far end of the visitor’s parking lot. We were lucky to even get that spot. As one car pulled out, another waited to pull in.

“Are you going to apply here so you and Reece can be together?” Grace asked as we trudged up a steep hill to building number eight.

I shrugged. “I haven’t given it much thought. College still seems so far away. I’m taking it day by day while I still can.”

Grace gazed off into the distance and didn’t look her eyes in my direction at all. “You’ll do fine wherever you go.” She sighed. “That’s the way you are.”

“So will you,” I offered.

“No.” Grace shook her head. “I won’t. And you know it.” Just as we were on final approach, looking for the door to get into the building, she dropped a bomb. “I don’t think I want to go to college.” She said in a low voice, betraying the lack of confidence in her decision. “I think I want to go to beauty school.”  

“Where is this coming from?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I hate school. I’m not like you, I can’t just sit there and listen to someone go on and on. I get bored. I doodle. I text my friends when I’m sitting in the back. Why would I willingly sign up for more?”

After climbing the steps up to the third floor, just like the boys instructed, we walked around looking for suite D. The door to the common room was held open by a large garbage pail. I knocked, feeling apprehensive about entering unannounced. No response.

I stepped inside and called out, “Anyone here?”

“In the back!”
Reece answered.

I followed the voice down the hall on the left side of the common room, and into the middle bedroom. There was no sign of Reece, save a pair of legs sticking out from under a desk. A quick peek confirmed my suspicion. Reece lay on his back organizing wires under the desk. He peeked out and smiled.

“Give me a minute. I’m almost done,” he informed me. “Mike will be back soon. He’s on a beer run with Josh.”
             

“Mike’s not old enough to buy beer,” I said, eliciting a chuckle from Reece.

“Who cares?” Grace asked, “Just as long as he doesn’t come back with food. Have you seen him eat?
Eeck
.”

Reece scooted out from under the desk and took a seat next to me on the bed. All smiles, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me.

“So what do you think?” he asked, motioning to the small room.

I took in the beige painted cinderblock, the dark comforters on both of the twin beds, the black throw rug on the floor, and the uncomfortable looking plastic chairs pushed into the desks.

“Looks great,” I lied, hoping he didn’t pick up on it, and liking the idea of commuting to college more by the minute.

“We haven’t had time to decorate yet. The next time you come it’ll look completely different,” he promised.   

Grace went to sit at Mike’s desk, a curious look on her face. 

“Where are the rest of the guys?” I asked.

“Shopping for snacks, visiting friends,” Reece answered.

“
Omigod
!
  He didn’t!” Grace shrieked.

My head snapped in Grace’s direction to see what upset her. She had her head down, rummaging through Mike’s desk drawers.

“Grace,” Reece called out, his voice uncharacteristically uncertain. “Maybe you shouldn’t be looking through his stuff.”

“Do you know what’s in here?” she asked Reece accusingly.

He shook his head, “No. But whatever it is seems to have upset you.”

“Upset? I’m a lot more than upset. I’m pissed off!”

“Why? What’s wrong?” I asked, completely baffled.

Before Grace could answer, Mike walked in, an open bottle of beer in his hand. He looked at Grace sitting at his desk and his face lit with joy. It took only two long strides from the door
jam
for him to reach the desk where she sat. He bowed his head to kiss Grace, until he read the look on her face.

“Hey baby, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?!” she yelled back at him. “We need to talk.”