And that was it. No furious Dogtown girls descended upon her with fists flying, no jealous girlfriend jumped out of the bushes to confront her, the sky did not flash lightning and despite it being California, the earth failed to rumble prophetically. All in all, it was the perfect first meeting, Jess ruminated as she walked. And I hope there will be a lot more to come…

Chapter 14

It seemed like her hope was in vain. It had been over two weeks since she first spoke to Stacy but nothing had really progressed from there. Either he would arrive to class too late or Jess too early and she didn't want to look like a total goon standing in the hallway waiting for him to show up. So she had to settle for a quick smile and wave from him as he took his seat, usually fumbling with his notebook in an attempt to catch up with the lecture at hand.

The weather had picked up somewhat as March made its entry. Back East they would have been in for one more good snow and a lot of hard icy wind, but Southern California ushered in the early Spring of 1976 with a string of partly-cloudy skies, fresh strong breezes and temperatures in the lower 60s. People were saying that the area could be in for a drought, since the monsoon season of the previous Fall was almost a non-event. As far as Jess was concerned, that was fine. She'd seen enough precipitation – especially the cold, depressing kind – to last her a lifetime. An early Summer would go a long way toward picking up her mood, which had been somewhat low of late. Her promising start with Stacy had fizzled, business was slow at the boutique, making her boss lot less bubbly than normal, and although Jess had made several acquaintances, she really couldn't say she had any true friends in Venice yet. On top of that, the occasional phone calls and letters she got from her old friends back in South Jersey were giving her a massive case of homesickness for a place she would probably never live in again. She didn't even know when she'd be able to visit the area. Her mom was already talking about flying Grandmother Ester out for Passover instead of them going back East. Well, considering what (she refused to think of the individual in question as a "who") they had gotten away from, Jess didn't blame her mom at all. As she stood in the shower ruminating about all this, she forcibly put that last thought from her mind. Dwelling on their shabby treatment at the hands of her mother's soon-to-be-ex husband wouldn't help at all. She poured a little more Clairol Herbal Essence into her palm and gave her hair a second lathering, willing the negative thoughts to pour out of her head and swirl down the drain along with the bubbles.

As she rinsed and applied conditioner, she tried to send her train of thought down a happier track. Yesterday on her way to work she had run into Deb and Kathy shooting the breeze outside of the salon where Deb worked. The Dogtown local girls had impulsively invited Jess to a "session at a permission pool" near Beverly Hills, which even Jess knew lay well outside the eastern Dogtown border. Apparently Kathy's brother Tony had worked his way into the good books of a young lady whose wealthy parents happened to be in Hawaii for an unspecified period of time, leaving their skaterboy-loving daughter alone at their house, which included an empty swimming pool that was ripe for marauding by Tony and his friends. Jess had never seen or even heard of people skateboarding in a swimming pool and was understandably eager to check this phenomenon out. Especially if there was a chance that Stacy might show up. He and Tony did skate together sometimes, didn't they? That was the impression Jess had gotten from some of the other Dogtown girls like Angel and Karen, but she also got the feeling that Stacy didn't hang out at the Zephyr shop or the old pier very often. The regulars there certainly knew of him, but didn't speak of him as a fixture. Maybe he was at one point, but was moving on to a different scene, who knew?

At any rate, I'm going to make an effort to look extra-nice today just in case, Jess plotted as she got out of the shower and dried herself off. Although the weather held a promise of going into the upper 60s by afternoon, she decided against wearing shorts since her legs were way too pale. Instead she picked out a long flowing skirt made of brown suede-like material, a wide black leather belt worn low on her hips, and a slightly sheer striped brown and tan peasant top with elbow-length sleeves. She applied just a little makeup to match, threw her cosmetics and comb into a shoulder bag, and headed out on foot for the corner of North Venice and Pacific, where Deb was going to pick her up at 11:30. The older girl ended up being only 10 minutes late, but she made up for her tardiness by being behind the wheel of a beautiful dark blue1971 Mach 1 Mustang. Thanks to Jess' father's love of muscle cars, she knew immediately that this was a fine machine and said so as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Thanks. This is my baby. Saved two years to get it, and still had to buy it used, but it's all mine now," Deb bragged as she pulled away from the curb and headed north on Pacific at a breathtaking clip.

"Where's Karen?" Jess queried as she made sure her lap belt was secure.

"She's riding up with Tony."

"Right on."

They crossed into South Santa Monica from Venice, although it was hard to tell just where the border lay. The whole area was run-down and outright derelict in places. Off to their left, the Pacific Ocean Pier still loomed, looking even more dilapidated than before, if such a thing were possible. The shoreline break was dotted with surfers, some in wetsuits, others braving the moderate water temperatures with shorts. Jess realized she was scanning the beach for Stacy and forced herself to look straight ahead, embarrassed to have caught herself looking for a guy who wouldn't have been looking for her if their places had been reversed. She knew she needed to let him go and move on, find a guy who would readily return her attentions. Maybe I'll meet someone at the pool today, she thought hopefully. And even if I don't, it should be an interesting time anyway.

After a few minutes Deb turned right onto Wilshire. The neighborhood improved with every block they passed as rundown buildings and dirty streets gave way to stately homes with manicured lawns and wide roads lined with several varieties of palm trees. After a while, Deb hung a left and then a right so quickly that Jess didn't get a chance to see the street names. They continued up the road for a minute, then Deb turned right onto a smaller residential street and parked in the first open spot they found.

As they got out of the car Deb gave her younger companion the rundown: "Just so you know, this place is a strictly invite-only but they know we're coming so we're cool. You'll know a few of the guys from the party at the Zephyr place, I'm sure."

Jess nodded, listening intently. It wouldn't do to put a foot wrong now. She noted a decent number of cars parked along the street, but no people were in evidence.

Deb continued her briefing. "This place shouldn't be a bust, but if the cops do show up for some reason, just run like hell. They'll be after the guys more than the girls, anyway."

Oh, wouldn't Mom just love to see me dropped off home by a police car, Jess thought sardonically. That would put an end to my Dogtown adventures in a hurry. But then again, there's some local girls who'd be thrilled about that. The realization that Angel, Karen and their little clique might also be at the pool gave Jess a sharp stab of trepidation in her core. So far she had been protected from their wrath by Deb and Kathy, but she would never feel at-ease among the other Dogtown girls until they began showing her some form of acceptance beyond mere toleration. All things in time, Jess thought hopefully as she followed Deb down the driveway of a large stucco two-story house with a beautiful Spanish-tiled roof and roomy garage.

As they rounded the corner Jess spotted the first of the Dogtown skaters- two boys who looked like they were mere minutes into their teens – standing watch at a tall wooden gate that shielded the backyard from view.

"Hey Baby Paul," Deb greeted the slightly shorter boy, who had chin-length blonde hair and an adorable face. Like his companion, he was wearing a tee shirt, cutoff jeans and Chuck Taylors. Neither boy seemed too happy to be on the wrong side of the gate and Jess instinctively guessed they were lookouts stationed to warn the skaters if an advent of the police did occur.

"S'up Deb," the kid replied with a shy smile. "Uhh, who's your friend? Red Dog said we had to ask everyone, ya know…" his voice trailed off uncertainly.

Deb smiled back. "This is Jess. She's cool, TA and Kathy know she's coming. Jess, this is Paul Cullen. Watch this kid, he's gonna be the hottest thing going by the end of the year." Paul's cute freckled face flushed as he basked in the older girl's praise while his as-yet unintroduced friend just rolled his eyes and unlatched the gate so the girls could go inside.

"Hi guys," was all Jess got out, and then they were in. She quickly scanned the enormous backyard, dominated by the pool which featured a narrow shallow end that sloped down and widened to the roundest, deepest deep end she'd ever seen. A group of seven or eight skaters, all-male and many shirtless, were gathered in the shallow end. Around the edge of the pool about 15 spectators of both sexes were sitting or standing at a safe distance.

"Huh, it's shaped sorta like a keyhole," Jess muttered, half to herself.

Deb grinned back at her as they wove their way past the other spectators. "And that's why they call this the Keyhole Pool," she confirmed as she chose a shady spot under a nearby cluster of olive trees where they could watch without being in the way. "Right on, we got a primo viewing spot," Deb crowed triumphantly.

Jess gave a little laugh, causing the nearest people to her to turn around and appraise her curiously for a moment, but the action in the pool was a lot more interesting so they turned their attention back to that. Jess focused her gaze along with theirs. Currently the pool was being skated by a tall, athletically built guy with long, light hair. For a second Jess thought it was Stacy and her heart lurched accordingly, but upon closer scrutiny she realized it was the Irish-looking Red Dog from the old pier. He finished his run, rolling up into the shallow end and one of the waiting skaters, dressed all in white, immediately pushed off for his run. Another blonde, Jess noted, but this one resembled Stacy even less, being shorter and more compact with a long chin, wide mouth, and a facial expression so intense it bordered on hostility. He immediately headed for the back of the bowl, reached the coping and did a sharp 180 turn, then repeated the move on either side of the bowl successfully before heading back to the shallow end to give the next guy a shot at the deep end.

Red Dog high-fived the shorter blonde. "Workin' on those forevers, huh?" The redhead's voice was deep and carried nicely to Jess' ears.

"Oh yeah," the blonde confirmed. "Can't let Peralta be the undisputed master, ya know."

"Tell me about it," Red Dog shot back with a part-grin, part-sneer. "When he pulled those for the first time at Devonshire I was all like, 'you asshole!' when he got done."

"I know, I was there too, man."

Both guys laughed as Jess perked up although she had no idea what they were talking about. So was he here or not? Tearing her eyes away from the pool – this place was worse than a three-ring circus – she checked out the rest of the lineup in the shallow end but Stacy wasn't among them. Nor did his girlfriend seem to be part of the few knots of onlookers who dotted the manicured lawn and sun-warmed pool deck. She did recognize a couple of the skaters from Bicknell Hill and the Zephyr party. One of them was Tony, who detached himself from the group of waiting riders and sauntered over to the arbor. He gave Deb a warm hug and Jess a detached nod, as though he recognized her but wasn't going to make a deal about it. That was fine with Jess. From what she'd seen of the guy he was undoubtedly cool, but not really her type. Kind of a hardass and she preferred blondes with straight hair anyway, Jess silently mused.

"Seen Kathy yet?" he asked Deb, who shook her head no. "Huh, I thought she'd be riding with you," her brother mused aloud.

"She told me she was riding up here herself," Deb informed him. Hopefully with no obnoxious Dogtown girls in tow, Jess thought to herself.

"Ah well, she'll get here…or she won't," Tony quipped with a shrug as he walked away toward the side gate. "Baby Paul!" Jess heard him yell. "Get your butt in here and let Arthur be the lookout."

The gate flew open as the cute blonde kid barreled into the backyard, grinning widely. "For real, TA?" he gasped.

"Yeah. For real. Get your board and join the lineup. You earned a run or two today," Tony informed him magnanimously as Paul hastened to obey. Okay, maybe not that much of a hardass, Jess thought.

Deb shrugged too. "She better get her butt down here pronto 'cause she's missing a helluva show. You're lucky; a lot of the best locals are here."

"Who's the blonde guy in the white?"

"That's Bob Biniak, aka "The Bullet". Deb made just a hint of a sour face. "Great skater, but I don't think a whole lot of him as a person. He likes to start shit –and finish it."

Before she could respond Jess was distracted by the sound of new voices coming from the rear of the house. Four people – three females and a male, it looked like – were letting themselves out of the sliding glass door that exited to the portico, chatting and laughing easily amongst themselves. As the little group left the dim shaded portico and stepped into the sunlight, Jess instantly recognized two of them – Stacy and his seemingly ever-present girlfriend. Despite her disappointment at seeing him in the company of his beloved, Jess had to admit that he looked breathtakingly hot today, clad as he was in a tee shirt with wide red and blue horizontal stripes and matching red shorts that were very short indeed. Camille was slightly more modestly dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt and bluejeans. But as usual, she looked the very picture of health, all lightly tanned skin, dimples, and shiny, swingy hair. Jess instinctively put a hand to her own darker, coarser tresses, then realized what she was doing and let her arm drop. The other girls, both with immaculately styled platinum blonde manes and expensive clothes, were unfamiliar. Jess sensed that one of them was the girl who lived there. Stacy broke off from the group to retrieve his yellow skateboard where it was resting against one of the portico columns and took his place in the shallow end. The girls continued walking around the pool deck, heading right for Deb and Jess. Jess realized with a sinking heart that she and Deb had probably unwittingly chosen the very place where the girls had been sitting before they went into the house. No wonder the "primo spot" was open when they got there.

Fortunately Deb seemed to have come to the same realization. She rose to her feet just as the group reached the edge of the olive trees. Jess' trepidation eased a little when the tallest blonde addressed her older friend warmly. "Hey Deb, how's it going?"

"Hey Tiffany, it's going. This Jess, she's a friend of mine and Kathy's." Jess stood up as Deb introduced her. The blonde turned her gaze on Jess, giving her a quick appraisal and then a tentative smile. "Any friend of yours and Kathy's is always welcome here – until my parents get back," the blonde giggled, then turned to the two girls with her. "This is my friend Jane." She indicated the other well-dressed blonde with a wave of her hand, which was as nicely manicured as their surroundings. "And do you guys know Camille?"

As she uttered this last query Tiffany took a step back and ushered the last member of the little group forward in an almost deferential way.

Jess forced herself to smile as sincerely as possible as she came face-to-face for the first time with Stacy's girl.