"What am I doing here?" Jane thought to herself. She stared dumbfounded into the foggy bathroom mirror, scrunching her damp hair with her fingers. Everything was so sticky here. She could feel the humidity soaking into everything – into her skin, her hair. She just showered but was breaking into a sweat. Ben was waiting for her on the deck outside their motel room. There was really nothing she could do to help her looks at this point – so light eyeliner, mascara, and cherry Chapstick it would be. Her usual look – plain old Jane.
Dewey Beach, Delaware. Ben practically begged her to come. He wanted to show her the "magic" of Dewey, a small Delaware beach town, where Ben grew up and a good chunk of Washington DC thirty-somethings went to party on summer weekends. "Jane, it's like everyone is in college again there – even if you're forty-five. Beach all day, drink all night. What could be better?"
Jane thought it sounded quaint. She feigned resistance at first, but - let's face it – she was madly in love with Ben and down from the start.
Love may be too strong a word. At the very least, she was irresistibly infatuated. This was true of 99.9% of people (male or female) that knew Ben. He just had that easy confidence and a laid-back but spot-on wit (not to mention devastatingly handsome with a killer body). What she loved most was his uncanny ability to make you feel special. When you talked, he listened. Not only listened but engaged with you. You could be in a crowded room with dozens of people far more interesting than you, and yet, if you had his attention, you really had it. His eyes did not scan the room to look for another person he'd rather be talking to; he was not thinking of his "excuse me" line to get out of the conversation and move to the next. He made you feel important.
Ben and Jane were roommates, living in the same three-bedroom high-rise apartment in the outskirts of Washington D.C. Both just finished their final year of law school. In fact, graduated last week and now they were poised to start their respective legal careers that fall. Ben in a top-tier law firm in Wilmington, Delaware. Jane, staying in DC, to work for the Environmental Protection Agency.
It was pure luck as to how Ben and Jane became roommates. First year of law school, Jane knew no one and used the school's student directory to reach out to a few potential roommates (rent was very expensive in DC suburbs and, although she'd prefer it, it would be insane to live alone and shoulder that cost). That is how she met Becca, who in turn knew Ben from undergrad, and the three were able to snag a three-bedroom apartment.
Roommate status didn't mean she got to spend gobs of time with Ben. The rumors are true – law students (or nerdy ones like her) spend most of their time studying. Add to that the fact that she and Ben had different classes and different friend circles - nothing to force them together outside the apartment. They did cross paths in the kitchen or in the small living room, bonding over bashing the trashy reality television shows that Becca played on loop. They had an easy rapport, which was rare for the introverted, Jane. Every now and then she'd find herself pulled into a longer conversation with Ben and she would lose time. Her random thoughts poured out seamlessly as he parried her musings with his own effortless charm. She never forgot her place with him though – it was easy to remember, given the endless stream of women that flowed through his bedroom over their three years of cohabitation.
As stated – everyone loved Ben and Ben was certainly not afraid to share the love. Jane would stay awake nights listening to the gentle moaning and soft banging on the wall that separated her and Ben's bedrooms. Jane would at first squeeze her legs together and try to resist the burning building deep and low in her abdomen. She would eventually cave and let her hand wander between her legs and her mind wander to the happenings in the other room. She pictured him on top of the strange girl, his soft brown curls falling gently into his dark eyes as he glided back and forth inside of her. She pictured him firmly pressing the girl against their shared wall, pinning her hands above her head, and lifting her effortlessly in the air to firmly press himself deep inside of her. She held tight to the images, countless different positions and varying rigor. Ben could be gentle or aggressive. It really depended on her mood – or the pace of the banging coming from the other side of the wall This was the extent of her sex life during law school. There really was no time for anything beyond this. Imagined sex was so less messy, and far less time-consuming than going out to meet people.
When Ben got the call from his high school friend, Daniel, with the invite to meet in Dewey that night, Becca (and most of the other law-school graduates) had already fled the area on their own post-graduation trips. Becca, for example, was taking a week in Colorado to visit family. Jane, of course, was still around, only interested in saving money and getting a head start on studying for the bar exam.
Ben most likely asked Jane to join simply because she was sitting across from him in the living room, scrolling through CNN headlines on her iPhone, when Daniel called. Ben didn't want to make the three-hour drive alone and she was simply there and totally available. Oh well – sometimes in life you win simply by being available. Jane was not the spontaneous, last minute road trip kind of girl, but - as stated – there was no saying "no" to Ben. Jane was headed to Dewey.
***
Ben shouted from outside the motel room door. "Come on, Jane. I have a Corona Light waiting for you."
Jane gave her brown curly hair one last scrunch between her fingers and dropped her towel to the floor. She pulled a light green halter top from her duffel and a pair of fraying blue jean shorts. The halter was old, leftover from her college days. It gave her cleavage a lift, while still fitting loosely over her stomach. The shorts were just the right length, highlighting her muscular thighs yet still covering her ass cheeks. This was her summer sexy outfit – what she whipped out when needing to feel most confident. Although covered in a glisten of sweat, she felt ready to face the evening.
The door to their second-floor room opened to a wooden deck, packed with aging patio furniture. Stepping outside, a gentle breeze offered immediate relief from the hot, sticky room. She could smell the salt in the air and hear the methodical crashing of the waves in the distance. The motel was about a block away from the Atlantic Ocean. If you crossed the street, you would run into the Delaware Bay. Surrounded by water, this small town felt cut-off from the rest of the world.
"There she is! Lime or no-lime?" Ben asked excitedly.
"Lime please."
Ben used the edge of the patio table to pop the top of a Corona Light bottle. He then firmly inserted the lime and his thumb into the neck of the bottle and nimbly flipped it over and back. Who knew adding lime could be so damn sexy? Their hands grazed slightly as Ben handed Jane the icy Corona Light. Ben gave her a wink with one eye and twisted the brim of his white Nike baseball cap back and forth amidst his brown curls.
Ben looked to his friend standing near the far railing of the deck. "Jane, I would like you to meet Daniel." Daniel smiled and bowed. Daniel was blond, fair-skinned and blue-eyed. Almost a mirror opposite of Ben's olive complexion. Yet both Ben and Daniel had the "look" of the typical hot-blooded American male (i.e., tall, muscular build with defined jawlines). You could tell they were both athletes once upon a time, but neither kept regular hours in a gym anymore. They hid their slightly-aging athletic physiques behind mirroring outfits of tan shorts and pastel V-necks.
Daniel spoke with a sly smile. "Jane, you are even more lovely in person than Ben has described." He took Jane's hand and gave it a gentle kiss. By the slight slur to his words and the unbalanced way he walked toward Jane, she knew Daniel was already way ahead on the beer count. Daniel continued, "Welcome to our little beach club. Me and Ben try make the sojourn down here at least once every summer."
Jane gave a shy smile and an awkward curtsey. "Nice to meet you . . . so how do you guys know each other?"
Ben responded in his typical jocular tone. "Oh, me and Daniel go way back. My absolute, one and only. We have been joined at the hip since middle school."
"Yea, and same high school and undergrad. The whole law school thing has got me going through Ben withdrawal. Thank God he will be returning to me in Wilmington this fall." Daniel added.
