The Next Day
Jennifer was at home, waiting on Jonathan to get home, and had just showered and gotten dressed for the day.
Her favorite part about working from home was that she could do it in her pajamas.
She was coming into the kitchen when the phone rang.
Max picked it up.
"Hello?"
He talked for a few moments while Jennifer made herself a salad, and then hung up.
"That was Mr. H. He wants me to bring you to the dealership where he is in a half-hour".
"Alright".
As soon as she finished, they climbed in the car and headed out.
He dropped her off right in front.
"Thanks Max".
Jonathan came walking over.
"Hi darling".
"Hi".
She grabbed his arms and kissed him.
"Darling, right this way".
He grabbed her hand and led her down an aisle.
"Blue…silver…green…pick your color".
"Jonathan…these aren't trucks".
"I know that. I want you to have something safe and dependable to drive. And my legal team spoke with the owner of the moving company and convinced him it would be cheaper for him to buy you a new car, so that's what we are doing. We are buying, and they are reimbursing us. Pick your color".
"Blue, with the camel top. Fully loaded, and I want the extended warranty".
"It's yours".
They went and found the salesman and within an hour, Jennifer was driving home in a regal blue BMW convertible, with a camel colored top. It was fully loaded and had everything Jennifer wanted, plus all of the accessories. Jonathan made sure to get a bill that broke down the amounts so he could send it to the owner of the moving company.
Jonathan pulled up at the house right behind her.
"How do you like it?"
"I love it!"
She kissed him several times.
"You surprised me again, Mr. Hart".
"I'm getting better at it."
"Did you get a truck?"
"Yes, and it's being delivered".
"Wonderful!"
His truck was dropped off an hour later, and they started getting things ready for their trip.
The other couples showed up soon after, and the men headed to get the boat.
Jennifer and the ladies sat down with cocktails on the couch.
"Ok, so did you get groceries?"
"Yes. We got steaks, baked potatoes, and salad stuff for one night; chicken breasts, couscous, and vegetables for roasting for another night; ham, cheddar, turkey and swiss cheese for sandwiches for lunch on Saturday and Sunday, white and wheat bread; several bags of chips, a bunch of condiments, pancake and waffle mix for breakfast, orange juice, milk, coffee, a couple of cases of bottled water, and several types of snacks."
"Was there anything left at the store?"
"Yes, but not much".
"Jennifer, what happened to the vehicle parked out in front of your house?"
"I had it shipped here from New York and somewhere along the way, the truck broke down, and there was a miscommunication with a construction company or something and they dropped a beam on it. But it's ok, Jonathan got me a new car today, and it's in the garage".
"What did you get?"
"A dark blue BMW convertible".
"Awesome! I've been wanting one of those".
The women packed the coolers and got them loaded down with ice, and ready to be put into Jonathan's truck.
They sat around with a cocktail till the guys came back talking about girl stuff.
"Jennifer, since you're the only one with an extra person in the house, what's it like trying to be romantic with Max in the house?"
"I was self-conscious about it at first, but it's really not a big deal. If he's heard us, he's never said anything, at least not to me. And I try to be really considerate of him because I don't want him to be uncomfortable, so I don't sit around in my nightgowns or anything. So, I guess the hard part is that Jonathan never closed the bedroom door before I moved in. But, now he does, so Max has to remember to knock."
"Well, James mentioned letting his father move in, and all I could think was what about our sex life?"
"It also helps that our bedrooms are on separate sides of the house".
"Yeah, that would be a big plus for me too".
They kept chatting till the guys got back.
"Hello ladies".
"Hello fellas".
Everyone headed out, and agreed to meet at Jonathan and Jennifer's the next day.
As they headed to bed that night, Jennifer climbed on top of Jonathan.
"What's all this?"
"Darling, this is the part where I show you my appreciation and than you properly for my new car".
The Next Morning
Jennifer and Jonathan got up early, and got the car packed. Everyone arrived at their house by 9, and they all said goodbye to Max and took off.
The lake house was about 6 hours away. Jennifer had packed her and Jonathan some snack foods for the car.
She read him directions while they drove along, and they had a nice, enjoyable ride.
They all stopped for lunch about halfway through and stretched their legs some.
After they were finished, they all got back in the car and continued on. Traffic was lighter, so they were able to go a little faster.
They arrived at the lake house and got checked in and began to unload everything.
"Ok ladies, who is in what room?"
"So, we talked about that. Based on how the beds are set up, we think it would be best if the girls stayed in one room, and the men stayed in the other".
"What?!"
"Go look at the set up."
The men walked in the first room and checked it out. One king-sized bed and two queen sized beds. They walked into the second room. Three full sized beds and a rollaway.
They came back to the living room.
"See, there's no way to do it fairly, and appropriately. It's just better if the women take the first bedroom and the men take the second one".
Jonathan looked at Jennifer.
"Well I'm glad that we are trying to be appropriate, because otherwise my parents wouldn't have approved of me coming up here without adult supervision".
She cracked up.
"That's not what we are saying".
James stood up and looked around.
"Where's the phone? I need to call my mommy and tell her we got here ok".
"I sure hope someone cuts my steak for me tonight. I'm not allowed to use knives without supervision".
"I can't sleep here! There are monsters under my bed and in my closet!"
The women all rolled their eyes.
The men argued and protested for what seemed like an hour.
"Ok, so let's say one couple takes the first room, and one couple takes the second room. There are still two more couples who have to sleep somewhere. Where do you suggest?"
"We could put a bed in the dining room".
"No thank you".
"Look, this isn't sleep away camp".
"Ok, fine. You come up with an arrangement where it's fair to everyone, and nobody will feel uncomfortable".
The men grumbled but couldn't come up with a better arrangement.
Jonathan sat down in an oversized chair and Jennifer came and sat in his lap. He was playing with her fingers and stroking her hair.
"Come on girls, let's be reasonable. You can't get any nookie from us if you are in the next room".
"Who said anything about nookie?"
"Just remember, this weekend was about having fun with our friends, not having fun in the bedroom".
"Yeah. And think about it. Would you really be comfortable seeing another couple in their pajamas or their underwear?"
"We are all adults here".
"Yes, we are."
"Answer the question. Would you be comfortable?"
"We wouldn't be uncomfortable".
"Well, we would!"
"Well, at least we know that all of us are in the same no sex boat".
"Except for Jennifer and Jonathan."
Jennifer looked at him incredulously.
"What about us?"
"Oh please! You can't put a piece of paper between the two of you. And don't even get me started on the puppy dog looks you two throw at each other! You're having sex even when you're not having sex".
"Drew! I can't believe you said that!"
"Well, it's true! Just look at them! You and I give each other puppy dog looks, and we sit together, and we like each other a little bit, but these two, it's like they are going for the Guinness book of world records for the couple most in love or something".
"Is there something wrong with showing affection?"
"No, there's not."
"And besides, we'll probably be too tired tomorrow night to do anything".
"That's what you think".
Jennifer got up and went and sat by the ladies and they all began whispering to each other.
Silently, they stood up and walked past the men and went and took their bags into the first bedroom.
Jonathan and Bill arm wrestled for who was going to get the rollaway bed.
Jennifer got out the steaks and massaged the marinade into the meat, and set them on the counter.
The men all grabbed a beer from the cooler and then went outside to start the grill.
"Well, they took that news about as well as I thought they would".
"Yeah, I didn't think they would jump for joy over it, but it just makes sense".
"Well, the reality is, we are talking about 3 nights. We can get through anything for three nights. If we decide to travel together again, we'll know to get 4 rooms".
After the steaks were grilled, they sat down and had a nice dinner.
The women did the dishes, and then everyone decided to play a game.
"How about Pictionary?"
"Great idea!"
They got all set up and began to play. The women beat the men, mercilessly.
"Good game, guys".
"Yeah, yeah".
"How about a movie?"
"Great idea".
They got the movie all set up and Jonathan moved to the floor, in front of the couch.
Jennifer went and snuggled with him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
Pretty soon, each couple was snuggled up together.
After the movie was over, they decided to head to bed.
Jennifer leaned up to kiss Jonathan.
"Goodnight darling, I love you".
"Goodnight, I love you too".
They shared a few kisses and then headed to bed.
"See you in 20 minutes for the panty raid".
The men all hi-fived each other, while the women started pointing at them.
"Don't you dare!"
"Hey, that's what you get when you separate the guys from the girls. We start to act like frat boys".
"Well, we can combat that! We can just lock our doors".
"No, you can't. These doors don't have locks".
"We have hairspray to spray you with. Sleep well, gentlemen".
The ladies retreated to their room, and the men headed to theirs.
Everyone headed to bed, excited about being on the boat tomorrow.
The Next Morning
Jennifer and Susan were up early, and started on pancakes and bacon for everyone. After a nice breakfast, they all got ready and headed out for a day on the boat.
Once the men got the boat in the water, the ladies boarded and set up their towels.
Jennifer stood with Jonathan a bit while he drove them out into the lake and rubbed some sunscreen on his shoulders for him.
"Ok, we can drop anchor and hang out and fish for a bit, or we can keep driving and do some skiing".
Everyone voted for hanging out, so he dropped anchor. Jennifer slipped her cover-up off to reveal a leopard print string bikini.
She slipped off her black flip flops and spread her towel out on the deck.
The ladies all began to apply tanning oil while the men got their fishing rods ready.
"Does anyone have No-Ad oil?"
"I don't use that. I use Ocean Plus. It's made from coconut oil and it's healthier for your skin and more moisturizing. Here, you can borrow some if you'd like".
"Thanks!"
The ladies sunbathed and chatted while the men fished. Jonathan caught a few big fish, but was unable to reel them in.
After a few hours, they put the canopy up and had lunch, and then decided to do some skiing. Everyone was impressed with Jennifer's ski skills, and Jonathan's ability to wakeboard.
They arrived back at the lake house around 4, and headed inside to shower and change.
Jennifer had gotten really, really dark, but thankfully she hadn't burned. Jonathan was nice and tan as well.
Laura made everyone some appetizers, and they all crashed on the couch and hung out for a bit.
"Darling, you were really good on the skis today".
"Thank you. You weren't so bad yourself".
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"My dad used to have a boat. We used to go every weekend in the summers when I was growing up".
"Anyone mind if I turn on the tv? I want to see what the weather will be like tomorrow".
"No, go ahead".
After they watched the weather, they just sat around chatting for a few minutes.
Breaking News: the Commissioner of the Federal Department of Corrections has released video footage from last month's prison riot. In this video, the hostages are in the cell at the bottom left side of the screen while the prisoners brawl in what looks to be a common area used for tv watching and socializing. In the second clip, the SWAT team has moved in and is taking down Jared Watkins and a few other prisoners. None of the hostages were seriously injured as a result of this takedown. Since the riot, 3 prisoners have died from their injuries, one of them being the infamous David "Baby Boy Blue" Brighton. Late yesterday, the decision was made to permanently close the prison for at least a year, and relocate the other inmates.
Everyone looked at Jennifer.
"That's the prison riot you were in?"
She nodded.
"Where were you in that clip?"
"In that cell, with the other hostages".
"How long were you inside?"
"About 12-13 hours, I think".
"I don't know about you, but that would make me never want to step foot near a prison ever again".
"I'm kind of like that. On the other hand, I also kind of want to spend a full day in prison, as an inmate to really get a feel for the experience".
"You are much braver than I am, that's for sure".
Jonathan wrapped an arm around Jennifer.
"Did you meet the inmate they talked about?"
"Yes, I did. He told me they called him Baby Boy Blue because of how blue his eyes were. He had the greenest eyes I've ever seen in my life".
Susan and Laura and Rebecca got up to go start dinner, and Jennifer and Jonathan stayed on the couch.
He leaned over and kissed her temple.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
She nodded.
"I'm fine".
"If you can't sleep tonight, come get me. We can come sleep in here on the couch or something".
"I love you, I'm fine."
The guys went outside to grill the chicken and veggies, and then everyone sat down to eat.
After a nice dinner, the men insisted on doing the dishes, and the women set up another game for them to play.
The men came and joined them.
"Ok, this is a trivia game. Girls against the guys?"
"Sounds fine to me".
"Yeah, that's a great idea".
"Ok first question." Jennifer drew one out of the box.
"How do you measure wind velocity?"
"Oh, that's easy. With an anemometer".
"Ok, roll again".
Jennifer drew the next question.
"Why did they build the Great Wall of China?"
"As a trade route".
"Nope. It was to protect against Mongolians and invaders".
The women rolled the dice and the men chose the question.
"What is the term used to define the production of light by living beings?"
"It's bioluminescence".
"How did you know that?"
"Simple. Bio means biology. Luminescence means light".
They rolled again, and the men picked another question.
"What is the tallest waterfall in the US?"
"Yosemite Falls".
"Correct".
Jennifer rolled again, and this time Drew picked the question.
"Name the non-metal that can remain a liquid at room temperature".
"Bromine".
"How did you know that?"
"Simple. I made a mistake when I took chemistry the first time in college. I blew up the lab, so I had to retake it."
"I don't know how you are doing it, but you are cheating!"
"I am not! You asked me a question and I answered it".
"There's no way you just happened to know that".
"Drew, I've been sitting by her the whole time. She did not cheat".
"I would never cheat at a game like this, or at anything".
"Jennifer doesn't cheat, Drew. She's telling you the truth".
"Ok, fine. I'm going to ask you another question and we'll see if you are cheating then. And Jonathan will be the judge".
"Fine".
"Name the country where the kiwi bird lives".
"New Zealand".
Drew looked over at Jonathan.
"I have no idea what you want me to tell you".
"Whether or not she knew that before this game".
"I have no idea if she did or didn't".
"Ok, fine. Best of 5".
"You're on!"
Jennifer got all 5 questions correct and then sat back and crossed her arms.
"Ok, now it's our turn. We are going to ask you guys the 5 most difficult questions in the deck".
"Fine".
The guys got all 5 of their questions right, too.
"Ok, so what does that prove?"
"It proves that we are just as smart as you all are".
"No it doesn't".
"Yes it does! I got all 5 of my questions right, and so did you".
"Yeah, but you cheated. I don't have a clue as to how, but somehow you cheated".
"I did not cheat!"
"Then tell me how you knew what the tallest waterfall in the US was".
"I paid attention in the 3rd grade".
"Face it. You can put all the lipstick you want on a pig, but it's still a pig".
"I cannot believe you called me a pig!"
"Yeah, that was uncalled for!"
"She's not a pig, but you certainly are!"
The women were shouting at the men, and the men were shouting back at the women.
"This is ridiculous! You can't accept the fact that we didn't let you win and that we actually challenged you".
"And you can't accept the fact that men are the superior sex".
"Because they aren't!"
The men all listed ways in which women were not superior to men.
"If we took apart a truck engine, you four wouldn't be able to put it together at all".
"No, but there are things that we can do that you can't do. And it doesn't make us superior or you superior. It makes us even".
"Like what?"
"Like how to cook a meal without a cookbook. Or how to set the table. Or how to arrange a flower bouquet".
"I stand by my statement. No matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it's still a pig".
Jennifer got up and headed to the girls bedroom and closed the door.
"Look guys, we aren't going to settle this tonight. Let's just call it a draw and head to bed".
"Perfect idea".
Susan, Rebecca, and Laura all stood up, and simultaneously turned their noses up at the guys and filed past them into the bedroom.
The ladies all headed to bed without so much as a kiss goodnight for the men.
Jonathan knocked on the girls door, but they kept yelling for him to go away, so he did.
For the next few hours, the ladies were up talking in their room.
"I didn't mean to get so competitive, it's just…I hate being told that I'm cheating when I'm not."
"Don't apologize. I've only dated Drew about 7 months now, but I've come to realize that his go-to move when we play board games together is to accuse me of cheating if he thinks he's going to lose. He absolutely cannot stand to lose. And if the cheating move doesn't win, he starts throwing around these archaic notions about how women are only on Earth to serve the men".
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm torn. I want to play the games, but I don't want to play either".
"I refuse to play games with someone who refers to me as a pig".
"I understand that. It's not that we don't like playing with them, it's more that we don't like how it makes us feel, like we have to prove something".
"I feel horrible about how we acted".
"Yeah, I do too. I hate that we got all upset. We should have just played a different game or something".
"Maybe we should go apologize".
"Yeah, that's not a bad idea".
They went into the guys room, and found them all asleep.
Jennifer went over to Jonathan's bed and Susan went to Drew's bed. Rebecca was standing by Bill's bed, so Laura tiptoed over to where James was sleeping.
"How should we do this?", whispered Jennifer.
"I have an idea", whispered Rebecca.
She reached over and turned on the light.
The guys started screaming.
"We'll turn the light out if you'll all sit up and talk to us".
"Agreed".
"If you want another rematch, let's save it till morning".
Jennifer turned the closet light on and cracked the door.
"We don't want a rematch".
"Well, what do you want?"
"We just wanted to talk to you".
"Wait a minute. Drew, I think you have something to say to my girlfriend".
"Right. I apologize for calling you a pig. I didn't mean that and I worded it wrong, and I apologize".
"Thank you".
"And we ladies have something to say to you all as well".
"We were talking, and we feel like we should apologize. It's not that we don't like to play the trivia game with you guys, it's that we don't like how it makes us feel when you insinuate that we aren't as smart as you or as worldly as you".
"Is that what we were doing?"
"Yeah, it was".
"So, how about a compromise?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"If we play the game again, we won't play girls versus boys. We will play two couples against the other two couples".
"I like that".
"Yeah, that's a good idea".
"And we also agreed that next time we rent a place together, there will be a single room for each couple".
"Even better".
The men stretched out and the women stretched out beside them.
Pretty soon, they were all snuggled up and sleeping.
Jennifer rolled over in Jonathan's arms.
"Goodnight, I love you".
He gave her a sweet kiss.
"I love you too".