Chapter 7

An hour later, Jess rolled her bike to a stop at the intersection of Bay and Main and contemplated the store across the street. One story and flat-roofed like most of the businesses in the area, the façade was bright yellow with a white corrugated metal awning and the name 'ZEPHYR SURF SHOP' painted in neat black lettering above. A variety of surfboards painted in wild colors were propped in the big plate-glass windows and a couple of guys she hadn't seen before were lounging outside the front door. They didn't look threatening though, just like older hippieish types. There was no sign of Jay, Tony or any of the other Zephyr team members, nor – much to her relief – any of the girls she'd encountered yesterday. She was going to have to go inside the shop if she wanted to see who was hanging around. Anxiously she pushed her bike across the street and chained it extra securely to the nearest lamp post, then cautiously walked into the shop.

At first her eyes had trouble adjusting from the bright sunshine to the shop's dim interior. The first thing she noticed was a strange chemical-like smell that she would later learn to recognize as a mix of resin and heated fiberglass. Nobody seemed to be there and she almost called out hello when she heard voices coming from the room beyond:

"Dude, I think someone just walked in." A young-sounding male.

"Well shit, I had to go out last time. It's your turn. Go on." An older-sounding male.

"Aww, for fuck's sake, Skip. Ok, fine. Lemme get rid of 'em and don't smoke that whole thing before I get back, man!" The speaker walked into the room and Jess recognized him as one of the skaters from yesterday – the one Skip had called Nathan. He was a bit taller than average and sported a thick mustache which made Jess think he was around 19 or 20, a bit older than the rest of the kids. He seemed a bit taken aback at the sight of a girl in the shop alone, as if that didn't happen a whole lot, but instantly regained a snide attitude. "Whadda ya want?" he barked.

Jess was more prepared for the anti-newbie mindset now and wasn't going to be easily flustered this time. "Hey. You probably didn't see me but I was watching everyone skate on the hill yesterday and Jay invited me to the store. Thought I'd come and check it out," she said as casually as possible as though she waltzed into unfamiliar scenes every day.

Nathan grunted. "Yeah, I saw that. We were wondering why didn't you come up here yesterday when he invited you? Missed a helluva party."

"Oh, too bad. I had ah, other plans already that I couldn't break though." Sort of a truth, although he didn't need to know the real reason.

"Hey, your loss." Nathan shrugged dismissively. "Anyway, he's down surfing at the Cove today and I don't know if it's a good idea for you to go down-" He broke off speaking as Skip's voice cut in from the other room.

"What's taking you so long, man? Who ya talking to?" the older man demanded.

"I think it's that chick Jay was hittin' on at Bicknell yesterday," Nathan shouted back with total impropriety. He turned back to Jess and looked at her quizzically. "You were at Bicknell yesterday right? Did you change your hair since then or something?"

Jess started to answer but got cut off by the other man's voice: "What chick? She hot? Ah, screw it." Skip walked into the room and saw Jess. "Yeah, not bad," he half-muttered, not caring if she heard. "Sorry honey, Jay's not here right now. He might get back before too long though, so if ya wanna hang out…" He let the ending hang in the air as he cocked one eyebrow at her and gestured towards the other room.

"Uhh…" Jess hesitated for the barest moment, reluctant to go into a more secluded place with two older guys she didn't know, but she didn't want to seem uptight and make a bad impression. She decided to hang out but would make sure that nobody got between her and an exit. "Sure."

"After you, my lady," Skip drawled in a mock-chivalrous manner and motioned for her to walk on as he and Nathan followed.

The next room turned out to be an extension of the first showroom with still more surfboards and big windows looking out onto Bay Street. Jess relaxed a little and sat down on a carpeted bench built into the wall beside the door. "Wow, nice boards," she said as she took in her surroundings.

"Yeah, thanks," Skip replied languorously. "You surf?"

"Nope, the Delaware River's not exactly known for big waves," Jess joked.

"Ohh, East Coast girl huh?" the older man quipped. He turned to a small fridge behind him, took out two beers, popped them open and proffered one to Jess, who took it with a thankful smile. "And let me guess, you just moved here and somehow found our happy little place. Congratulations." And with that he saluted her with his bottle and took a deep swig. Jess took a small sip from hers and tried not to make a funny face at the bitter taste. Skip still noticed. "Not a big drinker huh?" he teased her.

"Well, don't you think it's a bit early in the day?" she coyly responded.

"Maybe for the hard stuff. But any time's Miller time, far as I'm concerned."

"But dude, this is Old Milwaukee!" Nathan said with a laugh.

"Yeah yeah, Miller, Milwaukee, American beer's all the same. Like a couple makin' love in a canoe – fuckin' close to water!" Everyone broke out laughing at the old joke. Skip lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair, exhaling his smoke toward the ceiling. "So whadda ya think of our Jayboy?" he asked Jess.

"He's nuts. Cute, but nuts," she responded honestly.

"Ahh, he's a good kid at heart though. Just needs a nice girl to help keep him in line."

"That and a straitjacket," Nathan muttered under his breath.

Ok, that's two people in two days who have suggested I get together with Jay, Jess thought to herself. Sounds like he really does need a girlfriend. But does he want a girlfriend? And would I be up to the task?

"Hey, what did Karen and those other chicks say to you yesterday? I saw 'em go up to you," Nathan queried. Jess just shook her head at first, reluctant to say anything that might find its way back to the unwelcoming group of local girls she'd encountered at Bicknell Hill.

"Ohh, did ya meet the Dogtown Welcome Wagon already?" Skip laughed.

Jess laughed along a bit nervously but still declined to elaborate. Skip took a last drag off his cigarette and crushed the butt into a car hubcap that was currently serving as an ashtray. "Lemme guess, they told ya to stay away from all their hangouts and most of the guys, yeah?"

"Uhh, yeah. Well, two guys in particular and that pier – P.O.P. Which is kind of too bad because that place fascinates me," Jess confessed.

"I gotta agree with them there, though. They had a good reason for warning you off of the place. It's not safe, kiddo. There's heavy gang activity in that area and crazy hobos who'd set you on fire just for kicks. So don't ever go there alone," Skip growled.

"O…okay," Jess agreed.

"Which two guys did they tell you to stay away from?" Nathan asked with a grin.

"Stacy and Tony," Jess half-whispered, not liking this turn of conversation at all.

Both guys hooted with laughter. "The pretty boy and the Mad Dog!" Skip guffawed.

"Man, all the girls have a thing for those two," Nathan grumbled.

"Hey now, you don't do so badly with the ladies yourself!" Skip teased the younger man, who shrugged and threw up his hands in resignation. Jess had to admit he was handsome, but not her type. She wasn't terribly big on guys with facial hair. Still, she was sure he had his share of female admirers. She decided to try and change the topic. "Umm, I met a girl named Deb this morning. She did my hair, said she was from this area?"

Skip and Nathan both nodded. "Yeah, we know Deb," Skip said with a slight smile. "What did she have to say about us?"

"Only good stuff. That you were cool," Jess assured him.

"She said I was cool, huh?" Skip grinned. "Yeah, well…she's cool too."

"She said something about a Jeff and a Cleo, too."

"Oh yeah, Jeff's way cooler than I am," Skip drawled as Nathan burst out laughing.

"Jeff's the man," Nathan chimed in when he'd caught his breath.

Skip drained the last of his beer, crumpled the can in one fist and tossed it vaguely in the direction of the nearest trash can. It missed by a good 10 inches, joining several of its similarly crushed comrades in a small pile on the floor. At least he misses consistently, Jess thought wryly.

A moment later Jess thought she heard the shop's front door open. Then a young woman's voice rang out: "Yoo-hooo! Anybody here? Skip? Jeff? Where you guys hidin' out?"

"Back here!" Skip yelled. An attractive girl who looked to be in her late teens with slightly wavy shoulder-length blonde hair walked into the back room. Her slender but curvy torso was barely covered by a tank top with spaghetti straps and her long legs were clad in short-shorts. "Hey, Skipper!" she cooed and came forward to give the older man a big hug.

"Hey Kathy baby," Skip replied. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Is my baby brother still down there surfing? Hey, Nathan."

Skip lit another cigarette. "Yeah, far's I know Tony's still there.

"Guess they got some good waves, huh?" Kathy asked as she found a place to sit near Skip. She noticed Jess for the first time. "Oh, hi."

"Hey," Jess replied a bit shyly. Skip did the honors: "Kathy, this is Jess. Jess…Kathy."

"Hi Kathy. Hey, are you friends with someone named Deb? Who works in a salon?" Jess queried carefully.

Kathy perked up. "Yeah, that's one of my best friends! Did she do your hair?"

Jess grinned. "Yeah, just this morning. She's amazing!"

"She is amazing. You look great," Kathy complimented. Jess began to relax a little. Looked like maybe she'd found another nice Dogtown girl.

"So your brother Tony, does he skate and have long curly hair?" she asked Kathy.

"Yeah. You met him already?"

"I just saw him skating. Didn't talk to him though," Jess added quickly just in case Kathy also had a thing against outside girls. She doubted it, but had gotten a lot more cautious since yesterday. Dogtown had a steep learning curve, that was for sure.

With a little laugh Nathan broke in: "Check it out Kath, she's not allowed to talk to Tony!"

Kathy turned to face Jess again, a baffled look on her pretty face. "Whaaat? Who told you that you couldn't talk to Tony?"

"The usual suspects," Skip chuckled. "The younger crowd is trying to keep the neighborhood pure, if ya catch my drift."

Kathy rolled her big dark eyes to the ceiling and shook her head in disbelief. "Don't pay them any mind," she told Jess. "They're like that with every new girl."

"That's exactly what Deb told me, too."

"Well, she's right. And if she thinks you're ok then you're cool in my book, too," Kathy assured her with a kind smile.

"Yeah, Jess is ok," Skip confirmed with a big wink. Jess began to blush a bit but felt vindicated at the same time. Take i that /i , bitchy girls!

Kathy stood up. "Look, I wanna go down to the Cove and watch the guys for a bit before the waves blow out. Any of you wanna come?"

"Sure," Nathan volunteered.

"Ah screw it. I'll come too," Skip added. "It's a slow day anyway and I'm sick of looking at this dump."

Jess looked from one person to the other, unsure of what to say. Skip put out his cig and looked over at her. "You wanna come with us, or do ya have something else to do?"

Jess was thrilled. Finally, a chance to see P.O.P. and with a local escort to watch her back! "Sure, I'll come down with you," she said in the most casual voice she could work up.

Skip stood up and stretched. "Ok then kiddies, lemme grab some shit and we'll bail."