Flintrock High School, Kansas – Thursday Afternoon, March 9, 1989
“Hey, wait up,” Jessie called out to Kendra and Irene heading out the exit to the school parking lot.
“Missed you at lunch, girl. What’s up?” Kendra said as Jessie caught up with them.
“Yeah, Bobbie and I skipped out for lunch,” Jessie said. “He’s avoiding Lauren.”
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Kendra said.
“I’ve got him hooked.”
“Already?” Irene looked at her with wide-eyes.
“Like I told you, show ‘em a little and they want more. Like feeding a baby applesauce, one spoon at a time. How are you girls doing with your picks?”
Kendra and Irene looked blankly at each other.
“You gotta make your move,” Jessie said. “If you wait for them to, you’ll never get what you want.”
Irene shied her face.
“Just waiting for an opportunity, Jessie,” Kendra said.
“What are you doing after school?” Jessie asked.
“I need new track shoes, and my coach is letting me off practice so I can get them before the meet tomorrow.”
“We’re going to the mall,” Irene added. “Want to come along?”
Jessie’s eyes wandered in thought, then she grinned. “Sure, yeah, for sure. Give me a moment. I’ll meet you at the corner.” Jessie nodded to the street, then took off in the opposite direction towards the parking lot of cars with students milling about chatting before heading to whatever they would be doing after school.
v v v
Jessie caught up with the girls and headed to Kendra’s house. As they approached, two cars and an RV were parked in the driveway.
“Wow, you have an RV?” Jessie asked.
“It’s Ken’s, my mom’s boyfriend. He uses it to travel to construction sites. He’s a mechanical engineer and a construction superintendent for a company that builds big stuff like stadiums, hospitals, and shopping malls. He travels all over the country and is gone for long periods of time. His next big job starts in a couple of weeks.”
“Nice car,” Jessie swooned.
“Yeah, it’s a 1989 Firebird. It was built to be a street legal NASCAR clone. He drove it down to the Daytona 500 last month.”
“Burned some rubber in Bobbie’s car yesterday,” Jessie announced.
“What? He let you drive his car?” Irene looked amazed.
“He gave me the keys, so I took him for a ride.”
“Today, at lunch?” Kendra asked.
“Yesterday. I took him to the old bridge.”
Kendra and Irene looked at each other shaking their heads.
“I don’t get it. Bobby and Lauren were a tight couple. How’d you break into their relationship?” Kendra asked.
“Damsel in distress. Works every time.”
“How’d you do that?” Irene asked.
“As I was getting in his car after school Tuesday, I spilled my books on the parking lot. ‘Oh, Bobby, can you give me a hand?’ ” Jessie added in a meek voice. “He pounced on the opportunity. I was wearing a short jean skirt, one leg in, the other out, leaning over to reach for the books. He got an eyeful.”
“Zing! You sure know how to ring ‘em in,” Kendra said.
“Guys can’t resist the temptation. Show ‘em a little and they want more.”
Irene held her arms close to her chest. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Do what you’re comfortable with. It doesn’t take much. Show a little cleavage.” Jessie looked at Irene’s top that ringed her neck.
“Mine are too small.” Irene looked away; a bit embarrassed that Jessie was eyeing her chest.
“Every hear of a push-up bra?” Jessie said cocking a smile.
v v v
The three girls strolled through the mall, Jessie in the center appeared in the lead although the purpose was to find Kendra new track shoes. They entered the sporting goods store, and Jessie backed off to let Kendra pass to the wall of athletic shoes. Jessie scanned the store as Irene followed Kendra. She tried on several to find the right fit. Satisfied with her selection, she boxed them up.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Kendra said to Irene. She looked around. “Where’s Jessie?” Irene just noticed that she was missing having helped Kendra pick out some styles.
“Dunno. Probably trying on some sports bras to see what they look like without a top,” Irene offered.
They walked in the general direction of sportswear and then heard Jessie squeal from the area of sports equipment.
“Bet you can knock the ball over the fence with that one.” They heard her voice behind the shelves of the next aisle.
“Big stick, big poke,” a male voice said.
“You wish,” Jessie said with a laugh.
“You starting next game, Donny?” the male voice said.
“Yeah, short stop. Did you get first base, Tommy?” Donny asked.
Kendra and Irene came to a halt just before entering the aisle and wide-eyed each other with a smile. Kendra took the lead. “Oh there you are,” she said as she acted like she was walking past the aisle and then turned. Jessie had her arms twisted through Bobby’s, flirting with a wrestle for the bat.
“Hey, we need to watch some baseball, girls. These guys have their season opener on Friday. Want to watch them play?”
Kendra glanced to Tommy as did Irene to Donny with Jessie watching their reaction.
“Sure,” Kendra chimed. “You look like a first baseman.” She looked at the tall and lean senior almost eye-to-eye.
“And I bet you play shortstop,” Irene said following suit with the conversation they overheard. Donny nodded. She and Donny were about the same size—short. Bobby was the buff one with wide and thick shoulders, muscles that bulged from his skintight T-shirt. He ranked in the middle with height and definitely had the look of a fullback.
“We have the infield sewn up with me on third,” Bobby added. Jessie squeezed his right shoulder filling both of her hands. “Third. I love third base,” she said in a low, sultry voice. Kendra couldn’t help from laughing.
“What are you girls up to?” Bobby asked nodding at the shoebox.
“Oh, needed some new track shoes. Big meet tomorrow.”
“Well, me and the boys are going to check out the new Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, you girls want to join us.”
“Sure.” Kendra and Irene said together without a pause for a beat. They looked to Jessie. She had that devilish look like the one in the cafeteria.
“Okay, then,” Bobby said looking at his watch. “Movie starts in twenty.”
v v v
The group milled through the mall, stopping and talking, then strolling a bit more, the four trying to get their bearings on this casual meet up arrangement. Jessie had Bobby’s attention and veered off a bit from the group apparently window-shopping as they passed the mannequins dressed in summer wear. They passed from one store to the next as Jessie looked across the mall walkway. Bobby’s eyes fell on the poster that bared the cleavage of a larger than life super model. His gait slowed as Jessie continued walking. She turned and placed her hands on her hips, one leg cantered in the manner that caught Bobby’s attention as he looked up at her on the rollaway at the garage. Bobby’s eyes followed the window then rested on Jessie.
“Find something you like?” Jessie said with the tip of her tongue swiping the tips of her front teeth.
“Uh, well . . . ” He shook his head to clear the image of the super model.
Without missing a beat, Jessie asked, “Wonder what that looks like on me?” as she slightly cocked her head. She was dressed as usual with a tight, low-scooped top, softball sized globes pressed together. The poor guy couldn’t help himself as his gaze naturally lowered. She sidled up to him and squeezed his hand as she whispered in his ear. A look of I can’t believe what I’m hearing crossed his face. He turned to look at her.
“Really?”
“Don’t you wish your girlfriend was fun like me?” she purred as she looked into his eyes.
“But what about the movie?”
Jessie called out to the foursome, “Hey, you guys go on ahead. I want to try something on.” She tossed her head towards the super model.
Irene glanced at Kendra who then looked at her. Irene’s face looked alarmed as if to say I’m not doing this, are you?
“Okay,” Kendra said.
Irene gulped. “We’ll save you seats . . . ”
v v v
Copyright 2017 © Jeff Cambridge
Excerpt from PURSUIT, a novel by Jeff Cambridge, a writer of transformational fiction with characters that tell life-changing stories.
This is a pre-published scene.
To read the scenes sequentially, begin with
“PURSUIT: A Novel – Prologue”
Your comments are welcomed and appreciated. Simply check one of the reaction boxes below, write a comment, or email me at bycambridge@gmail.com.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, businesses, organizations, and locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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