Author's Note: The story will start to earn its M rating with this chapter.

Chapter 4

Three days later Jess got a break on the job front: the manager of one of the stores she'd left an application with called her and requested an interview the next day at 2pm. Jess showed up at the store five minutes early, dressed in her best slacks (which were indeed at the bottom of the last box she unpacked), and a gray blouse with ruffled sleeves. She felt a little nervous since she was completely lacking in retail experience but during the 10-minute long bike ride from her house to the store, she tried to reassure herself that working in stores was a lot like waitressing. She'd still be working with the public and dealing with money, after all.

The manager was an attractive light-skinned Black woman named Evie. After talking with Jess for 20 minutes about past work experience and the store's expectations for its employees, Evie smiled at her brightly and said, "I think you'd do fine here, Jess. Helping customers isn't rocket science, after all. Just radiate warmth and positivity, make them feel welcome and cool, and the rest falls into place, trust me."

"Sure, gotcha." Jess responded with a practice burst of warmth and positivity in her voice.

Evie grinned. "See? You're catching on already. So if we offered you the position, would you accept it? Four weekday afternoons and all day Saturday."

Jess only needed a moment to think. It wasn't like she had regular plans on Saturdays and at least the job didn't involve nights. It wouldn't pay as well as waitressing, but something was better than nothing. She decided to accept.

"Great. You can start next Monday. Just one thing though…" Evie broke off as she studied Jess's outfit. "No offense, but do you have anything to wear that's a little more…hip?"

"Hip?" Jess asked as she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the boutique's many full-length mirrors. Hey, her outfit was pretty new! It's not like it was some granny gown from 1972, for goodness' sake.

"Yeah, I mean, those clothes are probably fine for Philadelphia, but baby I'm sorry – they're just too conservative for Southern California. You definitely need an update. Tell ya what, I'll give you an advance loan on your first paycheck AND an employee discount on anything you want in here. If you have the look our customers are after, they're much more likely to want that for themselves and buy something. Think of yourself as a model, ya know?"

Jess had to privately admit that Evie was right. What went for Philly definitely didn't go for LA. She let her new boss lead her around the shop, picking out just the right items for Jess's coloring and figure. Three skirts, two jeans, two pairs of sandals and four tops later, Evie declared Jess fit for employment, totaled her up with an incredibly generous discount, and saw her off with advice about "a really happening hair salon over on Venice Boulevard. Tell 'em you're working for me now and they'll take care of ya!"

With a big shopping bag over each arm, a somewhat dazed Jess left the store and clambered back on her bike. It wasn't easy to pedal with her purchases so she took it slow. The sun had finally put in an appearance and she tilted her face upward, hoping to get a little color despite the mild temperature. She went a block out of her way to stop at the salon Evie recommended and make an appointment for the next day. It looked like a rather happening place indeed, all white and chrome with loud music blasting thru speakers in all four corners and the stylists done to the nines in the latest fashions. As she left Jess just hoped they wouldn't butcher her near-waist length hair too badly.

Back home, she decided to put on one of her new outfits and wear it for the rest of the day to get herself more into a Southern California frame of mind. She chose the knee-length A-line wraparound denim skirt and a dark brown pukka-shell-adorned tank top paired with brown lace-up sandals and left her hair down to fall in gentle waves down her back. Since she had the afternoon free and her mom wouldn't come home until after six, she decided to take a walk around the area, maybe go back and check out that falling-down amusement pier while it was still daylight.

It took over thirty minutes to walk up far enough north for the pier to be in sight. At that point Jess was standing at the intersection of Neilson and Strand Street. The neighborhood was still halfway safe looking so she decided to continue a little farther. She headed down Strand towards the looming ocean, then took a right when the little street dead-ended at Barnard Way, always keeping the hulking pier in her vision.

A few minutes later she reached a cross-street called Bicknell Avenue, a short but steeply sloped lane that led directly to the sandy beach. The top of the street was blocked off with concrete pylons linked by chains, but it was still full of traffic of the four-wheeled kind. About a dozen kids were weaving their way down the street on skateboards, some making big S-turns around traffic cones set up as a slalom course, some rolling straight down the hill as fast as possible and running off their boards onto the sand at the bottom, and some doing a surf-type maneuver where they crouched low, planted one hand on the ground, then turned their boards in a hard arc that made their wheels screech on the asphalt. The skaters looked to range in age from 13 to 20, mostly males, but two girls were also out on their boards while a half-dozen more watched from the sidelines. Most of the boys and one of the girls were dressed in dark-blue tees and raggedy jeans. Jess noted that many of them were wearing the same kind of tennis shoes, too. All of them were slender and longhaired and quite attractive in his or her own way, some with dark hair and foreign features, some with straight blonde or reddish hair and classic Celtic or all-American faces. Jess sought out Stacy's lanky frame and white-blonde mane among their number, but he didn't seem to be there.

She edged her way down the hill, trying to stay out of everyone's peripheral vision and just watch for a little while. One of the younger looking boys with streaked blonde hair just above his skinny shoulders and an especially vigorous skating style tried a one-footed slide and lost control of his board, which rocketed into the knot of girls sitting and watching by the road. This led to an amusing exchange that was more than audible to Jess across the street:

"Why don't you put that thing on a leash like your surfboard, Jayboy?" one of the girls shouted in a distinct Mexican accent.

"Why don't you sit your ass somewhere else, Angel!" the boy retorted as he strode toward them to retrieve his skateboard.

A taller, older girl stood up and kicked it towards him. "We're not in anyone's way – just watch what you do with that thing, ok?"

The skater they called Jay reached down and grabbed the crotch area of his faded jeans. "I bet you'd like to watch what I do with this thing, wouldn't ya, Karen?"

Another slightly older guy with a thick, curly mop of brownish-blonde hair and handsome Hispanic features walked past him on his way back up the hill. He clapped the blonde kid on the shoulder and said, "You tell 'em, Jayboy!" Jess saw that both his and Jay's tee shirts read "ZEPHYR SKATE TEAM" on the back.

"You know it, Tony," Jay assured him.

"Yeah, like any of us want to touch your pencil dick," Karen shot back smugly as the other girls laughed hysterically.

Jay snorted in derision. "You won't be saying that after I put a great big welt on your face with it, bitch!"

"I'd like to see you try, asshole! I'd bite it off," Karen snarled.

"Like eating a cocktail weenie, huh?" Angel giggled.

"Fuck you trash girls anyways." Jay flipped the bird and skated off down the hill as the girls all fell over laughing on the sidewalk. Jess was amused but slightly taken aback by the whole scenario. A few boys back home had been known for their snide attitudes, but this kid took the prize for King Brat! She had to admit that his skating was amazing though. Of all the skaters out there his moves were the fastest and smoothest, occasional board loss mishaps notwithstanding.

A few minutes later an older guy with straggly, wavy blonde hair and a Marlboro pasted to his lower lip came to the top of the hill and observed the action for a short time, then began an impromptu commentary: "Nathan! Watch what you're doing with your hands. Don't make fists, that's bad style man!" "P.C.! Use your right foot to push the board a little farther away from you when you do a bert. Yeah, that's good." "Peggy, nice tuck knee carves there. Real nice." The last comment was directed to sweet-faced Asian girl, the only female wearing a Zephyr tee like the other boys. The skaters would acknowledge his advice with a respectful nod and sometimes an "Ok, Skip!", and Jess realized that he was no random heckler but a sort of mentor to them, maybe even the leader of this Zephyr team.

"Hey, where the hell's Peralta?" the older guy called out to no one in particular. Jess's heart did a little hop at the name – could that be the same Peralta as Stacy?

"Uhhh, I think he went skiing today," Peggy called out.

"Skiing. Yeah, that's our Boy Scout," Skip muttered derisively as he tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out with his toe. Then he loudly announced: "Ok kiddies, I'm going back to the shop. Anyone who wants to help me and Jeff spray rails gets to ride the newest prototype tomorrow – at the Cove!" And with that proclamation he was off, trudging back up the hill toward Main Street. Jess was baffled –spraying rails as in stair rails? And where the hell was this Cove? There were certainly no cove-like features on this stretch of beach, just smooth swathes of sand, a couple of jetties and the gigantic amusement pier she'd been going to check out when she got distracted by the skaters.

The guy they called Tony executed a perfect spin with his board, then said loudly: "I'm going up to help Skip. Got a feeling the Cove's gonna be going off tomorrow and that new shape Jeff's working on looks bitchin'!"

"Bye, Tony!" one of the girls cooed and was rewarded with a half-hearted wave from the curly-haired teen.

"Hang on, I'm going up with ya," Jay said as he scooped his board up with the toe of his hole-filled shoe and tucked it under his arm. As the two passed Jess they seemed to notice her for the first time. Tony only gave her a warm smile and a glance that hinted of interest, but Jay broke away and came to stand right in front of her, his clear blue eyes gleaming with mischief and open desire.

"Heeey, foxy! You new around here? What's your name?" he demanded hotly.

"Jess," she said a little more primly than she intended to.

Jay smirked at her. "So Jess, you wanna be like boyfriend and girlfriend for the next 24 hours?"

As Jess blushed, everyone within earshot cracked up. "Fuckin' hilarious, Jayboy! Can I use that sometime?" Tony guffawed.

The girls on the other side of the street started to elbow each other and whisper amongst themselves. Between her new clothes and suddenly being the center of attention, Jess was feeling decidedly self-conscious and speechless. She knew she should hit Jay with some smart comeback, but up close he was almost too cute to be mean to. His big cat-like aqua eyes, slightly snubbed nose, and pointed chin gave him an impish charm. She also noticed that when he wasn't grinning manically his mouth was rather sensual, almost pouty, and yet it made him seem more masculine somehow. He was tan even though it was winter, and sweating from the skating session. Jess could smell surf and sand and sun emanating from his golden skin, blended together to make pure Essence of California Guy.

They stood there unspeaking for a moment, gazes locked, his chest heaving from exertion and her fingers burying themselves in the extra fabric on the sides of her peasant skirt. Then Jay broke the silence by scrunching his nose up and baring his eyeteeth to snarl "Rraaarrghhh!" into Jess's face.

Jess involuntarily stepped back but gave an amused laugh at the same time. Yeah, this guy was a riot all right. Suddenly she came up with a suitable comeback – "Make it the next 48 hours and maybe you got yourself a deal!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. Where in the hell did that come from, she thought to herself. I mean he's a cocky little rat, and he has to be at least a year younger than I am, but there's something about him, don't know what it is…

Tony hooted with laughter again as Jay gave her another impish grin and began to walk away without another word, leaving Jess standing alone with her thoughts. Halfway up the hill Jay spun in his tracks and fired off a last command: "Hey, Jess! Zephyr Surf Shop. Bay Street and Main. Your 48 hours starts when you get there!" And with that he and Tony broke into a jog and were soon lost to sight, their cackling laughter fading into the distance.