Families Ch. 02: Brother and Sister
It was a clean, crisp evening when eighteen year old Jenny Loggins stepped out on to her front porch. She took a deep breath through her nose, liking the way the slightly cool night air cleared her nasal passage. She debated a moment on whether or not to go back inside and grab a sweater, then decided to forego the decision and headed down the steps to the sidewalk. She wasn’t going very far, after all. Jenny was still dressed in her “going out” clothes; a very tight white turtleneck, a very short plaid skirt, white knee-high socks and black shoes. She had been waiting for her date, Dave, to pick her up when the phone rang. It was Dave calling to say that he was sick and would have to cancel their date. So, it was Saturday night and Jenny found herself dateless. She had been ready to change into her sweats and settle in on the couch for the evening when she had decided to walk the distance to her best friend Lisa’s house. Jenny could not figure Lisa out. Lisa was gorgeous, was one of the most popular girls in their class, yet she hardly ever dated, so Jenny figured Lisa would be home on this Saturday night like she always was.
Lisa and Jenny had become best friends back in junior high. Well, that is to say, Jenny knew Lisa was her best friend, but she was probably Lisa’s second best friend, or best girlfriend anyways, because there was Chris, Lisa’s “brother” who was really her cousin. Lisa’s mom had died in a car accident a few years ago, and since her father was in the military he let Lisa move in with Chris and his family, rather than cart her around all over the place. Jenny knew Chris and liked him, even had a crush on him once, and she knew he and Lisa were very close.
One thing about being best friends with the most popular girl in class was what Jenny had jokingly referred to as “contact dates”. Jenny could hold her own with Lisa, as far as the face went, but Jenny’s body was slower to develop than Lisa’s had been. While Lisa had already developed a luscious body with curves in all the right places, Jenny’s body was still growing. Her hips had started to fill out and her breasts, which were little more than nipples just a few weeks ago, it seemed, had begun to sprout and were now about “apple” sized. All the boys in school wanted Lisa, and as a result of their friendship, Jenny got to meet lots of boys, many of which had lead to dates for her. It was a good thing Jenny was a positive person, otherwise this might have had some serious psychological effects on her. But Jenny didn’t look at the situation as her being “second choice”; rather, she just looked on it as there being more opportunities for her.
As Jenny walked down the sidewalk to her best friend’s house in the cool night air, the traffic on the streets had started to pick up. Several people she knew from school were out and on their way to a party or the movies or the local make-out spot atop Pine Mountain. Many of these people had rolled down their windows and hollered at her. Jenny would just smile and wave or shout back at them. A small breeze had picked up, and Jenny imagined she must look quite the sight, walking down the sidewalk looking somewhat like a Catholic schoolgirl in her short, plaid skirt and white knee socks, her long, straight, blonde hair now waving in the slight breeze as she walked. She heard a car honk it’s horn, and when she turned to look, Jenny saw a car pulling up to the curb from behind her. She recognized the four boys in the car. Robbie, Brad, Stevie and Jason were all from her class at school. They were alright guys, probably just out cruising Jenny thought.
“Hey, Jenny, what’s up?” Brad, riding “shotgun” asked.
“Just out for a walk,” she told them without stopping. The car continued to inch along the curb beside her.
“Damn, you sure look hot tonight,” Stevie said from the back seat. “Need a ride?”
“Get in the same car with the four of you?” Jenny jokingly asked. “That’ll be the day!”
“Aw, come on Jen,” Jason spoke from the other side of the back seat. “We’ll be good, won’t we guys? We promise.”
“Yeah, right, and if a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his ass when he hopped,” Jenny retorted.
“Alright, but you had your chance,” Robbie spoke from behind the wheel.
They all knew their banter was not to be taken seriously. The guys loved to joke around, Jenny knew, and she loved goofing back with them.