Page 22 of Second Time Around

During their first slow dance, he whispered in her ear how beautiful she looked and how he couldn’t wait to be alone with her later.

After prom, they’d planned to attend a party at his friend’s house on a nearby lake. There’d be chaperones, of course, but it was a sprawling property, and they’d talked about slipping off to be alone for a while. It was a heady thought, and she could hardly wait. Little did she know it would never come to pass.

During a break between songs, he excused himself to go to the restroom. She thought about going with him, not because she had to pee but because she didn’t want to be apart from him for even a moment. Instead, she simply said, “Hurry back.”

“I will,” he said and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. That would be the last kiss she’d ever receive from him.

Ten minutes later, when he didn’t return, she’d went looking for him. She figured he’d been waylaid by a friend, but when she turned down the hallway leading to the restrooms, she stopped short.

He was with a friend, alright, but it was one of hers. All she could do was stare in horror at the scene—his hands clutching Kat’s waist, her arms twined around his neck, and their lips pressed together in what looked like a desperate kiss.

Suddenly he looked up and saw her, and his eyes went wide. It was obvious he hadn’t expected to get caught. He’d probably assumed she’d been distracted by the music and her friends and wouldn’t notice how long he’d been gone. He tried to push Kat away, but she clung to him like her dress clung to her generous curves.

Jenna felt like she was going to heave, but before that could happen, she turned and fled, heels be damned! She ran out the front door and saw some of their classmates milling around outside, but she pushed past them without registering who they were. Someone called her name, but she kept running and didn’t stop until she’d reached the furthermost corner of the parking lot.

Her hands shook, and her heart pounded as she took out her phone from the small clutch she was holding. She’d taken it with her when she’d gone to find him because she’d planned on touching up her lipstick. Now she just wanted to get the hell out of there before Beck or their friends came after her. She crouched behind a car, unconcerned that her dress would get dirty, and called her mom. When she asked to be picked up, her mom didn’t even ask for an explanation. She simply said, “I’ll be right there.”

She didn’t break down until after she hung up, and even then, she muffled her sobs in the skirt of her dress. The dress would be filthy and streaked with mascara, but none of that mattered. All she cared about was getting as far away from Beck as possible.

For the next several days, she vacillated between feeling hurt and angry. Then she woke up one morning and vowed not to shed another tear over him and her so-called friend, Kat. During her last week of high school, she mastered the fine art of avoidance. She drifted through the halls like a ghost, slipping in and out of her classrooms virtually undetected.

Of course, she had some help from her true friends, who banned together and formed a protective barrier around her. Kat didn’t even try to approach her, for which she was glad. Beck, on the other hand, was relentless in his pursuit. He called, texted, emailed, showed up at her house, and tried cornering her in the school parking lot. He attempted everything short of kidnapping her, until, one day, he stopped trying.

It came as a jolt to her system when, at the end of the summer, it all came to a halt. Her friends informed her that he’d left for Chicago to start college, which had been his plan all along. Only, his plan had originally included her. She was staying in Michigan and going to cosmetology school, but they’d discussed taking turns visiting each other on the weekends. Since that never happened, she saved a lot of money in gas and wear and tear on her vehicle, not that that made her feel any better.

Now, as she pulled into the parking lot of the Rochester Municipal Park, she realized this was the first time in twelve years that she’d driven somewhere to meet him.

She’d just stepped out of her car when he pulled up beside her in a sporty black sedan. He took one look at her lime green Kia and grinned before unfolding himself from his car.

“Nice ride,” he said.

“You don’t really mean that.”

“It suits you.”

She couldn’t say the same for his sedan. The last car she’d seen him drive was an old Chevy Impala his grandparents had given him.

“How so?”

“It’s small and perky.”

“I am NOT perky.”

He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. How about feisty? Is that better?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t ask you here to talk about cars.”

“Shall we walk?” he said, motioning toward one of the many paths that led into the park.

After work, she’d traded her heels for a pair of Converses that she always kept in her car. In contrast, he was wearing dress clothes and dress shoes like he wore at the restaurant.

“Are those shoes okay to walk in?” she asked.

“Well, I would have changed if I’d had more notice.”

He didn’t seem upset by the impromptu meeting, though she expected that would soon change.

“This won’t take long.”