Chapter Ten

Jemima's POV

As I strummed my ukulele in my room, I tried to think of lyrics. Random rhyming words were popping up in my head and I sang them to myself.

"Dog, bog, log, fog," I hummed. "Cat, fat, mat…" One of my strings broke. "…Drat."

I opened my bedside-table drawer and fumbled around inside, trying to find extra strings. But, I was out. That was weird. I could've sworn that I had brand-new strings. I sighed and put my ukulele down on my bed, getting up and fluffing my hair. As I walked out of my room, I saw Emily putting the kettle on for her and Davy's afternoon tea. Davy hadn't been drinking tea for a while, but his sister put him back in the habit.

"Hey, Jemima," Emily chirped. "Do you want any tea?"

"I'm good, thanks," I grinned. "I'm just lookin' for Mike. I appear to be out of strings."

"I think he's outside," she shrugged. The kettle began to sing. "Oops! I'll get that."

I scooted out of the pad and onto the beach. The sea wind blew my hair back, sweeping it to one side. I looked out at the waves, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mike…But I didn't. I found something else instead.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Micky jerked awake, jumping up and dusting sand off himself. Kaylee woke up a little more gently and swooped up. She rubbed her eyes, looked at me, and took on a shocked expression.

"Uh…H-Hi, Jemima," she stammered.

"You guys slept together?"

"Well…Yes," Micky explained through a nervous laugh. "We didn't…"

I cut him off, lowering my voice to a low whisper.

"Do you guys realize exactly how much Jamie'll spaz if she finds out about this?" Micky rolled his eyes. "And don't even get me started on poor ol' Pete." Kaylee's face fell from shock to panic.

"Oh no!" she squealed, latching onto my arm. "Please don't tell Peter, I'm begging you."

"Kaylee, there's nothing to be ashamed of here," Micky said puffing out his chest. "We didn't do anything. We just spent the night on the beach together. Big deal. This isn't the eighteen hundreds."

Kaylee's face was already drained of all color. She didn't seem to be listening as she took off back towards the pad.

Micky groaned and followed after her, kicking sand up behind him as he scrambled up a dune to cut her off.

Emily's POV

I poured the hot water into the tea mug as the door swung open with a bang. Kaylee stood in the doorway, her blonde hair windswept and wild. The jacket on her arms looked disheveled and she had sand all over her. Her brown eyes were filled with tears.

"Kaylee," I gasped, leaving the tea and rushing over to her. "What in the world happened to you?"

"W-Where is he?" she stammered. "Emily, where is he?"

"Come and sit down," I ordered, leading her to the couch. I plopped her on the cushions and sat next to her, leaning her head into my lap as she proceeded to hyperventilate. "Take a deep breath." I stroked her hair as I continued these instructions, trying to dust out any sand onto the ratty old rug. "Now, tell me what's the matter."

"I…I can't," Kaylee said breaking into tears. She buried her face in the jacket and wailed.

"Yes, you can," I whispered soothingly. "It's okay. Would you like me to get Peter for you?"

"NO!" she screamed, sitting bold upright. This startled me and I held a hand over my heart, feeling it pulsing at amazing speeds. Then, I remembered that Mike and Peter had gone out job-hunting, which was probably a good thing.

"Okay, okay," I cooed, settling Kaylee back into my lap. "Calm down. Just breathe for a while, dear."

We sat on the couch for a while as she breathed. In that time, Micky and Jemima had come back in. Upon seeing them, Kaylee went into another fit of hysterics, but came out of it when they both went out into the side yard.

"Oh, Emily," she sniffed. "I've done an awful thing. If Peter finds out…he'll never respect me again."

"What on Earth have you done, dear?" I said softly as I continued to stroke her hair.

"I slept on the beach with Micky last night," she whispered as if the secret weighed heavy on her heart and could hardly pass between her lips. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Oh?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, that doesn't seem that bad. You didn't…?"

"No!" she exclaimed, sitting up from my lap again. "I'd never! Not with someone I hardly know!"

"Alright," I shrugged. "I was only wondering. So what's there to be so embarrassed about?"

Kaylee looked at me like it was obvious.

"I spent the night with one of his friends," she said clearly so I didn't miss any of it.

"But you didn't…"

"No! We didn't!" I could tell that I was getting on her nerves, which were already more frazzled and fluffed than usual.

"You just…?"

"We…" Kaylee paused for a moment and bit her lip as if she was debating about whether she should tell me or not. "We cuddled on the beach and…I fell asleep in his arms." She blushed fiercely and hid her face with her hands.

Kaylee's POV

For a moment, I didn't hear anything. The darkness of my palms was all I could see that I knew was real besides my burning shame. Then, I heard a snigger.

"Is that all?" Emily chuckled.

I was amazed.

"Is that all?" I repeated. "Don't you understand? This will destroy Peter! I'm his older sister. He needs to look up to me. What kind of a role model am I? Sleeping with men on the beach!"

"Kaylee, dear, you could've done so much worse."

"How?" I asked.

"Well," Emily smirked. I noticed that she and Davy had the same wry smile when he was amused at some else's expense. "You could've slept with my brother."

I gasped and held my hand to my mouth.

"Emily!" I exclaimed through my hand. "How could you even say such a thing?"

"You wanted to know how it could be worse," she shrugged, still with that laughing smile on her face. "And that's how. Davy is such a ladies' man even if he doesn't admit it. I'd hate to think of the reputation you would have earned with Peter if you had spent the night with my brother. It would be even worse if you actually…"

"STOP!" I interrupted, covering my ears. "Don't say it!"

Emily smiled and stood up.

"How about some tea, then?" she giggled, walking back to the kitchen.

Jamie's POV

Carefully, I lowered my wrench and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, tracing the lovely black oil smear. Micky had told me the night before that as long as I kept my casts safe and dry, I could change the oil in the Monkeemobile. I was flattered because I knew that it was his job and that he had a lot of Man-Pride in it.

Just as I was about to stumble to my feet, Micky and Jemima came running out.

"Hey, Mick," I grinned. "I finished the car. Gosharoony! She's a beauty! It's a big difference from Dad's old hunk of junk back home."

"Squirt, I have a question for you."

"Oh really?" I said, wiping my hands on a rag as Jemima helped me stand and sit on the hood of the car. "And what would that be?"

"Would you be mad if I spent the night with a girl?"

I was shocked, but I knew this question would come eventually.

"I dunno," I shrugged teasingly. "Would you be mad if I spent the night with a boy?"

"Of course I would!" Micky responded without even thinking. He paused for a moment. "I mean…no?"

"George Michael Dolenz, you are twenty-one years old. Be a man. I think it would be awkward if I met the girl you slept with. But I'd get over it…unless she didn't like me. Then I would have to kill her." I shot him a mischievous smile. When I saw his panicked look, I rolled my eyes. "Mick, I'm kidding." His face relaxed. "So," I said, "did my brother finally…"

"No," he grimaced. "I am really tired of people asking this. We just fell asleep on the beach together. No big deal. Nothing to worry about. But Jemima here found us and flipped out."

"Oh," I smirked. "So who's the girl?"

"Kaylee," Jemima said pointedly.

My jaw fell past my scabbed knees.