Junior Year Box Set

Jill was just a tad shorter than her sister at five-eleven and weighed 150 pounds. She was spectacular. Imagine what Adrienne must have looked like as a freshman in high school. Jill might be the best-looking girl at Lincoln once she enrolled. That’s saying a lot when you have a lineup of older girls that includes Jan Duke; Pam Bell (runner-up in the Teen Miss California pageant), Tracy Dole; Brook Davis; and don’t let us forget Halle James, daughter of the legendary Rita James.

What the older girls had over Jill was the confidence and experience to wear appropriate swimwear. You could tell that Jill was trying way too hard to look sexy and had worn a bikini that revealed too much skin. If I can be so bold … leave a little mystery.

“I think you might sunburn,” I offered while looking for some suntan oil.

Cassidy tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see her shaking her head.

“Please!” I whined.

“Part of my job as your security is to protect you from yourself. Go swim until you’re presentable,” she ordered and pointed down.

My eyes traveled south and confirmed I had a problem. I took her advice.

When I came out of the water, I decided I hated Brook. She’d made the executive decision that Jill had to wear my t-shirt as a cover-up. Of course, that left me without a shirt, which seemed to make Cassidy happy.

“I want you to meet one more person,” Brook said, and I turned and froze for the second time today.

There, standing in front of me, was the girl from the park who I’d assumed was in college. Turns out, her name was Destiny Crown. Her family had moved here because her younger brother Don wanted to play both baseball and football at Lincoln High. I’d met Don at practice, and he seemed like a great guy. He was going to try to make the team as either a tight end or wide receiver.

“I thought that was you yesterday. Sorry I couldn’t be there this morning, but I had something come up. I hope you’ll give me another chance tomorrow.”

“Cassidy!” Brook called.

“Oh, shit,” was my witty response as I tried to track the little ninja.

In self-defense, I dove into the pool because I was a much better swimmer than Cassidy. She almost got me. I made this Matrix-like move to avoid her jumping on me, then was out of the pool and over the Andersons’ six-foot privacy fence in a flash. No way could Cassidy catch me if I ran.

When I got home, I told my mom she needed to go over the Andersons’ and get my clothes and car. My relief was short-lived when she brought back Zoe, Brook, and Cassidy. Cassidy wasn’t happy. I stepped out to the drive and gave her my left hand so she could grab my thumb and take me to my knees. I knew this was better than what the alternative would be.

“Talk,” Brook ordered.

“When I was running yesterday, I met Destiny in the park. I thought she was older. We didn’t really say anything to each other. We … just … uh …” I trailed off as I glanced at my mom.

“Please. Don’t stop on my account,” Mom said.

“We had oral sex, and I told her I expected her to show up this morning,” I blurted out.

Cassidy let go of me.

“I thought he’d done something bad,” she stated.

“He slept with one of my cheerleaders,” Brook complained.

“Actually, three,” I said without thinking.

Zoe slugged me. Cassidy just shrugged.

“You really didn’t have any idea who she was? You just hooked up with a random girl in the park?” Brook asked.

“When you say it like that, it sounds sort of bad. I did stop things before having actual sex,” I said.

“Because he didn’t have a condom,” Mom said under her breath.

Make it stop! Everyone realized that my mom was right.

“I love you all,” I tried.

“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Cassidy offered Brook.

Mom made me go back to Mrs. A’s to face the music. That, and since I’d paid for dinner, I might as well eat. Yuri, Roc, and Phil showed up with the food; Jan must have told them to deliver it from my restaurant. I was glad to have some backup. Mrs. A gave me back my money because they’d put it on my tab. Being an owner did have some benefits.

It didn’t take long for the freshman and JV cheerleaders to figure out that Phil was single. They separated him from his friends, and I watched as they worked their magic on him. Yuri and Roc grabbed recliners on either side of me as we watched my inept brother.

“Do you think we should go save him?” Yuri asked.

“Leave him alone. He has to learn sometime,” Roc said.

I just looked at the two of them and shook my head. I remembered when they both were just as bad around girls as Phil was. Yuri had had the whole female population at Lincoln High avoid him because of the remarks he’d made. Phil seemed to get agitated, and I thought he was about to bolt when Jill stepped forward.

“Uh oh,” Yuri said as he watched Jill talking sweetly to Phil.

“She’ll have him wrapped around her little finger. You should go save him,” Roc suggested.