Summer Lovin'

"I am bored now," Fez announces, and it's the first thing anyone has said in over an hour. "This sucks."

Eric reaches across Donna's lap for the remote and shuts the t.v. off, capturing the room's attention. "For once in my life, I'm in agreement with Fez. I mean, summertime in Wisconsin is about as bad as –"

"Every other season in Wisconsin?" Hyde suggests.

"Exactly," Eric says.

"I have a fantastic idea!" Jackie cries out suddenly, clapping her hands with the excitement of it.

Kelso and Fez exchange looks, but only Hyde is brave enough to say, "No, you don't, sit down."

"Shut up, Steven," she instructs, dragging at least three extra syllables out of his name. It's a talent he almost admires, and one he doesn't mind nearly as much as he pretends to. "Why don't we sneak into a hotel pool to swim?"

"Jackie, you have a pool," Donna points out.

"Yeah, but I don't want to let him in it," she argues, gesturing to Fez.

"Listen, lady," he starts, looking offended, then gives it a moment's thought and changes his mind. "No, I see her point."

"Besides," Kelso laughs, "Some dirty things have gone on in that pool – very dirty things, am I right, Jackie?"

Her stony glare is answer enough for all of them. "Are you referring to the time I caught you making out with my cousin in that pool, Michael?"

"Uh – no, no, that's not –"

"Or maybe you're thinking of the time you got your pride and joy stuck in the jet stream," she continues.

The room bursts into laughter and Kelso has to raise his voice to defend himself, "She's talking about my nose! The nose makes the whole face! It's the center!"

"Okay, enough of this," Donna interrupts, though she's still cracking up. "I like Jackie's idea, so we're going to my house to grab our suits. If any of you losers wanna tag along, be outside in ten minutes."

The girls leave together and the boys sit in silence for a long moment. At the same time, Fez and Kelso snap, wrestling each other to be first out the door.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Eric asks when a few minutes have passed and neither of them have made it to the exit.

"Girls – in – swimsuits!" Fez gasps out, caught in Kelso's headlock.

"It'll be almost like they're naked!" Kelso exclaims, and goes down as Fez hooks an arm around his leg and pulls.

Eric seems to consider it for a second, then leaps over the struggling boys and hurries to the driveway. Hyde pretends disinterest for another minute, mostly for appearance's sake, then follows suit.

"Okay, guys, now we have to be cool," Jackie coaches as they approach the hotel's revolving door. "Just act like you totally belong and are heading up to your room after a long day of shopping – or something," she adds off the bland looks the boys give her.

"I never thought Jackie would be lecturing me on being cool," Hyde mutters to Eric before stepping through the entrance.

Eric waits to reach the lobby before whispering back to Hyde, "I never thought you'd be taking orders from Jackie, much less going along with her ideas. Ever since prom, Hyde, you guys have been pretty cool with each other."

"Hey, man," Hyde says in warning, "I was promised almost naked chicks. You're here, too, remember."

They turn to wait the rest of their friends and Hyde, despite himself, finds his eyes latch onto Jackie. She and Donna had squeezed into one of the door's openings together and were laughing hysterically as they were forced to take tiny, mincing steps to break through. "Okay," she says breathlessly when they've made it, "Let's do this."

"Uh, Jackie." Hyde tries to hold back his laughter, he really does, but seeing Kelso and Fez stuck in the revolving door gives the phrase 'laugh out loud' a whole new meaning. He gives in to his amusement, doubling over along with Eric and Donna, the three of them gasping for breath until even Jackie is forced to crack a smile.

Unfortunately, the two boys are unable to free themselves and catch the attention of the hotel's concierge. The whole group is escorted back to the Vista Cruiser, despite Jackie's adamant claims that she's 'never seen this group of badly-dressed, obviously insane losers' before in her life.

"Well, that was a good idea, she-devil," Eric says dryly. Jackie sticks her tongue out at the back of his head, a move he catches in the rearview mirror. "What's next? Knocking over a liquor store? 'Cause, I gotta tell ya, getting frisked by a cop twice in one day would pretty much make my life."

"We know, Forman," Hyde puts in and the burn, while only implied, shuts Eric right up. Jackie, pressed close to Hyde due to the close quarters of the car and wanting to be as far from 'Kelso's cheating ass' as possible, touches his knee in silent thanks.

"I guess we could just go to my pool," she suggests. "It won't be as fun, but since some of us aren't mature enough to handle anything riskier, we might as well."

Fez raises his hand. "Does this mean there will still be swimsuits?"

"No, we should all skinny dip instead," Jackie responds irritably and, seeing his eyes light up, quickly adds, "Just kidding. Sarcasm. Ew."

Jackie goes to the kitchen to rummage up snacks while the rest of the group makes a beeline for the water. When she arrives poolside with a tray of drinks in hand, Hyde is sitting in a lawn chair, hands clasped behind his head. "Nice of you to let us plebeians into your humble abode," he says sardonically, and she ignores the combative tone.

"Are you kidding?" she says, fluffing her hair and stripping down. "I was showing this bikini off no matter what. I just bought it the other day, do you like?"

With that, she enters the water in one graceful dive, leaving Hyde speechless. When she resurfaces, her eyes find him immediately and she winks before busying herself organizing a game of Marco Polo. And he smirks, because he's starting to think she's a lot smarter than she lets on … and he might just like it more than he's willing to admit.