Jenny and I have been friends since we were little. We spent a lot of time together doing all the normal girl things. We liked the same music, movies, food, and fashion. I considered myself pretty, with black hair and decent boobs. I ran on a regular basis, so I was in good shape. Jenny was also pretty, pale with blond hair, although she was somewhat lacking in the chest. The only thing we didn't see eye to eye on were boys. I had never even had a date. She was screwing her boyfriend every weekend.
After her parents split up, she spent the weekends a few towns over with her dad. She'd been seeing this boy Matt out there for awhile. Every week I got the blow-by-blow of how she and Matt had hooked up. The stories she told would be right at home in a naughty sex book. Since she had a serious boyfriend, she was completely disinterested in the boys at our high school. She missed all the parties because she was away on Friday and Saturday nights. I was too shy to go alone - not that anyone ever asked me.
Jenny was a force of nature. Confident, beautiful, funny, and wickedly sarcastic when she turned it on. Sometimes she tried to build me up, teaching me how to wear makeup, how to show cleavage, how to twirl my hair. Other times she would needle me about being a virgin, being so shy, being a wallflower. I'm sure that if she'd been around on weekends I could have made progress on the social scene.
Once, while staying over at her house, I overheard her mother thanking my mother for letting me hang out with her because I was such a good influence. That was me in a nutshell, the consummate good girl.
Jenny and I even went to the prom together. Matt couldn't make it because he was doing college visits. Afterwards we went to my church's post-prom party.
The summer after graduation we pooled our money and went all the way to Ocean City for two weeks. Just us girls, no Matt to mess up our vacation. Apparently he had a summer job. I was starting to think he just didn't want to meet his girlfriend's best friend. But who needed him anyway?
We arrived and checked into our hotel, feeling so adult that we could get a hotel room - even a small one where we had to share a single king-sized bed.
On our first day at the beach, she started in on me about boys again. That night, we sat in the lounge looking around. An absolutely gorgeous guy came in. He clearly wasn't a boy. He was a tall and handsome man who looked confident and dressed well. Jenny egged me on to flirt with him. I was supposed to look at him until he looked at me, then twirl my hair and stare back. I couldn't. I would glance at him but then look away before I got caught.
Jenny started getting mean, telling me I was always going to be a loser if I didn't work at it. She pointed out that no one knew me here, that I could make a fool of myself and no one would care. But I just couldn't. By the time we left, I was quite irritated, with myself as much as with her. I stewed about it all night.
The next day was a rainy mess, so we went shopping. Again she started with the boys, pointing out the guys walking around the mall. She even went so far as to flirt with a few guys to show me how it was done. I knew she wanted what was best for me, and I really wanted to make out with a boy, but I just couldn't bring myself to do what it takes.
"You really are a wallflower," she said.
This wallflower thing was really starting to grate on me.
Back at the hotel, we had a late lunch and then went to the gift shop. I was looking at a plastic beer mug.
"Are you enjoying your vacation?"
I was so startled I jumped, knocking the mug off the shelf. It was that absolutely gorgeous guy from the previous night. My mind froze and I did the only thing I could do, which was bend down to pick up the mug.
"Sorry," he laughed.
Jenny, who was right there, hurried over to stick up for me.
"Hey, meanie, what's the idea? Can't you see she's a delicate wallflower?" She pushed him in the chest.
That was it, I was done, I 'd had it with being a wallflower.
"No, it's fine," I said as I rose with a smile. I put the mug back with one hand while I tugged my shirt down tight against my boobs like Jenny had taught me. "I was just startled. Hi, I'm Lynn."
Wow, up close this guy is even better looking than I thought!
He was tall with chiseled features. I only came up to his shoulder. He was at least a few years older, probably in college. He looked like he worked out. He was wearing a dark striped buttoned shirt and black slacks. Not jeans, not khakis, not shorts, but slacks.
His eyes flicked from Jenny back to me. "I'm Rand," he said, extending his hand, "I'm pleased to meet you. So you're here on vacation?"
"You okay?" Jenny asked me.
"Yeah, just taking in some sun at the beach." I shook his hand.
Dork, it's raining outside!
"Shame about the weather. At least the sea looks really cool in the rain."
"Yeah, I guess."
"You know, a lot of artists used the stormy sea as inspiration for their work. Turner's work was the harbinger of the abstraction movement."
Did he just talk art to me?
My heart flipped.
That's like the hottest thing ever.
"We went to the mall," Jenny said.
"It would seem hard to paint in a rain storm," I pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess it would." He paused for a moment.
Jenny jumped in to save the conversation. "We can't even see the beach from our room."
"Oh, you didn't get an ocean view?"
"No, we're looking at the next hotel."
"Well, you ladies want to come up to my room and take a look? I'm up on the eleventh floor with a nice view."
"Yes!" we both said in unison.
