Author Note: …man, this is one long weekend!
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Chapter 07– Let's Continue This Discussion
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Jackie pushed her hair from her face and sighed, "God Forman, I think Donna understated your prowess all those years ago. What did she say…you had a couple of key moves? She lied." Jackie rolled on her back, Eric's shirt flayed open on the mattress. Eric rolled on his side. "That was the old Eric. I can't explain it but you've brought out a side of me I didn't know existed."
"Oh, don't start bragging." She scoffed.
Eric laughed heartily. "I'm serious! This wasn't just doing it to be doing it. This was….this was different and I don't have anything to compare it to. I looked in your drawer; we still have three more chances to get it right."
Jackie giggled, "You might get lucky but I need to shower and make a phone call. You lost your first shower rights." She rolled off the bed and took her time removing his shirt. Eric groaned – she teased and she did it so good! His eyes followed her naked form as she sauntered to the small bathroom. When he heard the shower come on, he closed his eyes and imagined what a shower with Jackie might be like. Pure torture!
Breakfast was hot oatmeal and toast. While Eric showered, Jackie had dressed, made the bed and got the food going. He relished the hot water and felt relaxed. If this was camping…Eric was a camping groupie!
He slid into the dinette and drank coffee. Jackie looked at him with dark eyes. "This isn't going to make it weird between us…is it?"
Eric frowned, "What?"
"Sex. I mean I'm a woman and you're a guy and it's been years since we've seen each other. To paraphrase Fez….girls have needs too."
Eric laughed, "Not like the ones you gave me!"
Jackie giggled. "So we're good."
He nodded. "We're good. We're single and we practiced safe sex. I think that last bit was safe…."
Jackie chuckled, "I'm sure it was. Although I'm pretty sure you almost dislocated your shoulder."
Eric flexed his arm, "Nope, I'm good. We just won't do that again." Jackie laughed and it felt good to feel so carefree for a change. "I have to call my agent and let her know I'm holed up here in Indiana until Monday. The weatherman predicts rain all weekend and I hate driving this rig on a wet freeway."
Eric strummed his fingers on the top of the dinette. "Gee….I wonder what we're going to do…. all weekend."
Jackie swatted his arm. "Don't be a goof. We're going to watch my movies! Play some Gin…strip poker…." She laughed when his head popped up. "Really?"
"Really! We're going to watch movies and play Gin. Now go amuse yourself while I make a phone call."
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Eric watched out the window as Jackie ran for the small campground grocery store. He was amazed that yesterday morning he was trying to find a ride, any ride to get here and Jackie would have been the very last person he would have asked. It turns out Jackie was the person he had the most in common with – a friend he had forgotten about. Well, now a friend with benefits…he hoped as he crossed his fingers!
He walked the length of the motor home and loved that he could still smell her perfume. It was light and refreshing and a far cry from her mothers brand. How Jackie could be related to Pam Burkhart was remarkable. Eric was still laughing at how his dad was mesmerized by the tall blond woman.
The RV door opened up and slammed shut with a bit of help from the wind. "Did I ever tell you I hate answering machines?" Jackie put her umbrella back in its stand and slid out of her wet shoes. "So did you find something to watch?"
Eric smiled at her pink cheeked face. "Nope. Let's keep catching up okay? I made a fresh pot of coffee."
Jackie smiled sweetly. "What a nice guy. Let me change out of this wet blouse."
"Can I watch?" he asked as she walked down the hall and was rewarded with a laugh. When did Eric turn into such a horn dog? Damn!
Jackie came back wearing a soft long sleeved sweater. "Let's hope it doesn't snow. She slid into the dinette and accepted the hot cup of coffee. "Okay, where were we?"
Eric grinned, "1983 and you were dancing with Prince."
She smirked, "No, I was dancing with Apollonia. Okay, what did I do next? Okay, it was me and my camper and late fall in Minnesota….Oh! I was a dead body in Friday the 13th – The Final Chapter and let me tell you, they made me look gross. I get freaked just watching that movie. "
"Were you a zombie?" Eric asked amused. She gave him a funny face, "No, I was a dead body. I think I had an ax in my leg. But carrying on, I moved on to Michigan and played a waitress in Beverly Hills Cop. I actually had my picture taken with Eddie Murphy." Jackie slid out of the dinette and pulled a huge photo album out from under a cabinet. She pointed to a picture of a group of actresses wearing pink waitress uniforms and white rubber soled shoes. "My line was, I don't recommend the soup. But I think it ended up on the editing room floor. Still, I got paid for the speaking part."
Eric turned the album page to see a very young looking Jackie Burkhart with her hair in a high ponytail and wearing a backpack. "Oh, I was in Sixteen Candles. There were filming in Chicago and I was a student. Mostly background work but I looked young enough to pass so I got the part."
"You've aged well." Eric smiled. Jackie blushed at the compliment. "I take care of myself, thank you very much. So that takes me to 1984. What were you doing in 1984?"
Eric sat back against the cushioned seat. "Wow, I haven't thought about that in a while! Let's see….Donna and I had been divorced for a year, I should say annulled because it wasn't really a marriage – more of a roommate situation. She and Chris got married at Christmas and Bob flew up. I met this other student who had a box of old comics his grandfather left him and just gave me the entire collection. I had them appraised and it was a gold mine!"
"So were they old or just collectible?" Jackie asked.
Eric leaned forward like he was sharing a secret. "Both. Some were Marvel comics in complete sets, some were rare and who knows Spiderman better than me? I knew that my future was buying and selling comic books. I found a store in Kenosha that had an apartment in the back and I was in business."
"That's great you found your passion and succeeded. I'm still looking. Actually, I'm slowing down. All this travelling gets weary sometimes. I've been thinking about getting my own show and just working out of Kenosha."
"Well, according to my dad, your trust fund should let you do that."
Jackie snorted, "Yeah, if I can keep my mother away long enough. She's tried everything she can think of to cash in on it. She even tried to tell the benefactor I was in a coma."
"What a horrible parent!" Eric declared. Jackie shrugged. "She's broke and desperate but my dad left this for me. I can't help it if she spent all of hers."
"You're doing the right thing. Back to the story, Donna and Chris got married and right after that they had little Bobby. Donna's a great mom. I thought that one day she and I would have kids with green eyes and red hair but…" he sighed, "we just weren't meant to be. I mean I adore Bobby and you know Bob Pinciotti spoils the boy rotten but they're a great family. I'm happy she's finally happy."
"That's how I feel about Steven! If I couldn't be the one that made him happy then however he found his bliss was fine with me. Actually, I heard from Fez that he's been a little fond of a certain backup singer from Kool & the Gang. She's a friend of Angie's and well…..as long as he's happy."
The two newly formed friends just sat back and reminisced about some of the craziness of their youth. Jackie told Eric about Kevin Kelso's trips to the emergency room and Eric was reminded of all the times his friend glued himself to items. "Were we just a bunch of insane teenagers?"
Jackie laughed. "Yeah…but you know what? I wouldn't trade it for the world. All that pain and misery and heartache made us who we are today. If you and Donna had stayed married, you would probably have been some numbers man in a faceless corporation."
"If you and Hyde had married, you'd be rolling doobies and calling him puddin' pop all day." Eric joked. Jackie scoffed, "Oh you're wicked! I would have been working, I was meant for great things."
Eric pointed to her wall of videos. "Look at you; you're the most famous person that I've never heard of! From now on, I'm going to pay more attention to the background actors."
"Thank you Eric. I say that on behalf of all of us little people."
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After lunch, Jackie made popcorn and together they watched Back to School where Jackie was a swim student/background actress for the comedy. Eric hadn't seen the movie in a long time and really enjoyed watching the video. He had a good eye and recognized a couple of people who were dressed differently but used in the same scenes as Jackie. "This was filmed in Wisconsin. Rodney is just as funny in person as he is on film."
Eric made some microwave popcorn and they watched the Indiana made film Hoosiers where Jackie played another student. Dinner was capped off with RoboCop where Jackie was one of several dead bodies. "By the way, this is your dad's favorite movie."
Eric helped her make hamburgers for dinner and they cleaned up right after. Eric requested watching Purple Rain but Jackie laughed, "I'm going to take a walk. I can't be cooped up in here all day. I'm going to get a magazine from the little store."
"Hey, let me come with you. I feel like I'm mooching." Eric smiled.
Jackie grabbed her umbrella. "You are….so don't worry about it. I'm going to try and call my agent again. There's a windbreaker in that closet right by your shoulder."
Another message was left on the answering machine and she sighed. Was the shoot cancelled? Jackie hated not having a telephone but knew that if she did, her mom would be calling her night and day. She sat down on a bench and waited while Eric shopped for snacks in the little general store.
The rain had eased up to a sprinkle and she enjoyed seeing other campers turning on their lights and settle in for the evening. The campground was quiet and the squirrels were huddled at the base of trees collecting their prizes to carry up to their nests.
Jackie felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see Eric smiling at her. "Fancy a walk in the rain?" She thought that was a cheesy come-on line but it delighted her nonetheless. "Only if we share my umbrella."
Eric looked at her saucily, "Well, that was part of the deal. My dad's windbreaker just doesn't work."
Jackie laughed, "How did you know it was Mr. Forman's?" Eric pulled out a book of matches from Philly's, his dad's favorite club. He threaded his elbow through Jackie's and they walked the stone path down towards the creek. When the mood hit, they chatted and then just enjoyed companionable silence while nature played her music in the background.
"Jackie, this is probably going to sound corny as hell but I haven't spent much time with any one person in a long time and I just wanted to thank you for more than you know."
Jackie looked up at his dark eyes and touched his cheek. "Same goes here. I meet a lot of people but this has been the nicest day I've had in a long time."
Eric smiled and slanted his head leaning in to capture her lips with his. His hand brushed her cheek as he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, coaxing a response until she moaned. "You play wicked." She whispered.
Eric smiled at the twinkle in her multicolored eyes, "Hey, I only have one weekend with you. I figured I'd go for broke."
She bit her lip. "Well in that case, I'll race you back!
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