A/N: Thanks yet again for all the good reviews and encouragement. If it helps to know, I'm up to Chapter 30 and will keep updating once or twice a day. Thanks for sticking with the story!

Chapter 16

"I'm back!" Deb shouted to no-one in particular, a large paper grocery sack in her arms.

"Hey, everyone," Kathy called out, laden with a brown paper bag of her own.

"BEER!" came the reply in unison from most of the skaters. A few "S'up Kathy"s were mixed in, nearly lost in the clamor.

Jay and the other new skater threw casual waves to the guys in the shallow end, but it was obvious that the six-packs dangling from their fingers were not to be shared. Still, there appeared to be plenty more for the rest of them. Suddenly the pool was somewhat bereft of skaters as they clambered out and threw themselves at Deb and Kathy, who wisely set the paper bags on the ground and fled in the face of the onslaught.

Stacy retrieved his board from the grass and stood up, stretching his long, golden limbs for a couple of seconds in the process. "I'm gonna take another run while they're distracted," he told Camille as he took his leave with a smile for her and a vague wave for the rest of the girls. Jess was both relieved and disappointed that he didn't acknowledge her. She was fairly sure he remembered her from their one conversation at school; that was evident in the little smile he gave her while he was skating. But maybe he didn't want to speak to her in front of Camille and make the latter girl suspicious. Jess allowed herself a tiny shrug as she walked Stacy walk away and greet the new arrivals before stepping down into the shallow end. One guy was just finishing his run and Stacy was about to launch into his, when from across the yard Deb's voice rang out:

"Hey Philly girl! Got someone here who's been missing you!" Jess almost went cross-eyed with vexation. She forced herself to look away from the pool and focus on Deb, who was getting a playful shove from Jay. "Awww, man…missing her…whatever," he was muttering, but loud enough to hear. Reluctantly, Jess got up and went over to them, although she was unable to resist a brief glance toward the pool as she passed, letting her vision fill itself with flying blonde hair and red and blue stripes.

As she got within arm's reach of Jay, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to his side for a second, squeezing her so tightly she could feel every detail of his hard ribcage against her softer one. "Where ya been, stranger?" he growled in her left ear before he released her, smirking.

"Oh, around. Just not in the same places as you, obviously," she quipped, feeling proud of that comeback.

Jay rolled his eyes. "No, I guess not," he replied in a mocking tone. "You avoiding me or somethin'?" The teasing sparkle in his eyes belied his words, as did his gesture of giving Jess his beer to keep. As she took a sip and watched Jay open a new one, she noted that Deb had wandered off and was talking to Tony and Kathy, while Stacy was just wrapping up another run. Already several other guys were heading back to the shallow end to roll in, their whistles now wetted with Coors and Lowenbrau. Among them was the new Hot Guy #2, whose name she still didn't know. So many fine guys. Wish I could flirt with them all and not have any of them get jealous, Jess wished privately.

"Hey, ya missed my birthday," Jay informed her between swigs. "Had a killer party at my house, you shoulda been there."

"Oh, sorry I missed it. Happy birthday anyway." Privately she had to wonder how great the party could have been if it was at his house, but then she remembered the phone call he'd gotten while they were kissing at the Zephyr shop and what other people said about his mom, and concluded that it could have been a pretty good time after all.

Jay shrugged, then chugged the rest of his beer and gave an impressive belch for a 16 year old. "I'm gonna hit the pool," he stated as he smacked the empty can down on a nearby patio table. Just before he turned away, he reached up and caught Jess' chin between the thumb and index finger of one hand. "Don't go anywhere, ok?" he instructed her, looking intently into her eyes as though he was a human lie detector. When she assured him she wasn't going anywhere without Deb, he released his not-ungentle grip and scooped up his board. Jess was impressed to see how the other guys waiting in the shallow end parted like the proverbial Red Sea at his advent. Even TA deferred, letting Jay go next. As the firey blonde pushed off toward the deep end, the other skaters got a lot quieter, waiting to see how he would push the envelope this time. He didn't disappoint. Like most of the others he headed straight for the back of the pool, carving a hard arc over the light, but when he reached the lip he reached down with his right hand and pivoted around it, making himself almost vertical as his feet glid along the wall high above his head. The rest of the guys made their approval evident. "Nice layback" Jess heard someone mumble. "Yeah, a perfect revert," another voice said with admiration.

Jess risked a quick peek across the pool to the place where Camille was sitting, Stacy at her side again. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and a bored, somewhat unfocused expression but Stacy had a small smile on his face, his aqua eyes locked onto Jay's every move just like all the other skaters.

When Jay ended his relatively short first run to a high volume of hoots and cheers, he stayed in the shallow end, leaning his shirtless back up against the wall. The unknown Hot Guy went next. Jess was watching him so closely that she didn't notice Jay had turned around and was trying to make eye contact with her. Annoyed, he waved one arm in the air and shouted, "Hey, East Coast!" at the top of his lungs.

Startled, Jess refocused her attention from Hot Guy #2 to Jay. "What?"

"Bring me a beer," Jay commanded with a little sidewise grin.

Jess resisted the urge to flip him off at his imperious tone. Who does he think he is? Jay Adams, I guess. What the hell, don't pitch a fit, just humor the guy, she reasoned, then pulled another can out of Jay's six pack and sat it on the deck where he was resting his elbows. Hot Guy #2 was just finishing up, a triumphant smile on his face. Whatever he'd done, Jess had missed it. As she was starting to retreat, Jay turned around and shouted "Hey!" again.

"What now?" Jess asked, peeved.

Jay crooked his index finger at her. "C'mere and gimme a kiss, hot thing."

She was about to tell him to kiss off instead when Biniak's voice rang out: "Hey Jayboy, check out Red Dog! Shit's rad, man!"

Saved by the Bullet. Jess gratefully retreated back into the shadows of the portico as Jay whipped his head around to check out the action in the pool. Near the gate Deb was talking to Hot Guy #2 enthusiastically about something. Jess decided to meander on over to them and see if she'd get a proper introduction. That seemed to count for a lot with Dogtowners, she mused as she approached. Sure enough, Deb didn't let her down.

"Hey Jess, this is Wentzle. Wentzle, this is one of my newest friends Jess. She's from the East Coast, so be nice."
Wentzle gave Jess a wide grin, showing off his slightly gapped teeth. Instead of detracting from his looks, they made him even hotter. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with the East Coast. I've always wanted to check it out," he assured Jess. She returned his smile with a warm one of her own, trying not to be too obvious as she checked out his perfect six-pack, and not the one that was dangling from his fingers. Following the line of her gaze – or so he thought – Wentzle held up the beers in a wordless offer for Jess to take one. That she did gratefully.

"So, Wentzle?" she confirmed after taking a sip.

"Yeah, Wentzle Ruml the Fourth actually, but most people call me either Wentz or Rum. Take your pick, I don't care," he informed her offhandedly. Jess wondered how old he was. His boyishly handsome face told her he was still in his teens, but at the higher end. She wanted to ask him if he was still in high school, but didn't want to accidentally insult him in case he turned out to be 21 and just amazingly young looking for his age. She tried another tack instead.

"So Wentz, you skate or surf with the Zephyr people?"

Wentz nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah. Those guys – he pointed out Jay and TA – are my closest friends. We're on both teams together. Well uh, for the time being, anyway."

His voice broke off and Jess put her head to one side questioningly, but he refrained from elucidating.

"Ok, just curious. I've been to the Zephyr shop and that hill where everyone goes to practice but I haven't seen you around before," Jess explained.

"Yeah, I'm buds with most of those guys, but I like to surf as many different places as possible. Lately it's been going off up north of Malibu, so I've been up there a lot.

Jess nodded, although she wasn't quite sure what 'going off' meant. Perhaps something to do with good waves. "Do you guys do a lot of contests?"

"Oh yeah. Not to brag but we usually place pretty high in every competition we go to." After seeing the quality of skating today, Jess could believe it. She was amazed at the Dogtowners' collective drive and the way they encouraged each other to keep improving. As she mused she realized that Deb was no longer standing with them. Nice of her to let us talk and not hover, Jess thought happily. She's good people, I'm so glad I met her. While she was looking around she surreptuitously scanned the pool area for Jay's whereabouts, almost terrified that he would intrude on her conversation with her interesting new Z-Boy. Fortunately he was caught up in all the skating action. She turned back to Wentzle and smiled sweetly again. "Hey, don't let me keep you from skating or anything."

"Ah, it's cool. My shoulder's kinda tweaked from bailing at another pool last week. I think two runs will be all I'm good for." To emphasize his words Wentz reached up and began halfheartedly rubbing his left shoulderblade and the back of his neck. Jess resisted the urge to offer up a massage, thinking it might be a little too obvious. Maybe after another beer or two, she thought mischeviously.

But to her disappointment Wentz said "But I should go back over and watch. Talk to ya later, maybe?" And with one last smile walked away and sat on the pool stairs with some of the other skaters who were taking a break.

Jess decided to rejoin Tiffany, Jane and Camille, who were still sitting on the same patch of grass. By now several guys had gravitated toward the blonde hostess and her friend, both of whom appeared to be a tad intoxicated already. Jess privately wondered if they were hitting up daddy's liquor stash on the sly. Tiffany was literally rolling in Red Dog's lap, laughing hysterically at something he may or may not have said. Red Dog was making no move to stop her. Jess could see his Celtic features working as he struggled to think of more funny things to say. Camille had physically distanced herself a bit from the blondes, not that Jess could blame her. She lowered herself to an empty patch of grass on Camille's far side, although she really had no idea what to say to her.

When she was settled, she turned to Camille. "Hey, having fun still?" Jess quipped.

The other girl just shrugged at first. Over in the pool Stacy, Wentz and Jay were conversing while Biniak took yet another run. Without taking her eyes off her boyfriend, Camille replied, "I know Stacy sure is."

"Mm. Guess he's in his element, huh?"

"Oh yeah. That he is," Camille sighed. Jess felt a renewed sense of sympathy for her. She was obviously bored out of her skull and wishing for her boyfriend to quit skating for the day – or forever? – and remember she existed, and yet she was far too polite to complain openly about it to a relative stranger. Jess was willing to bet Camille didn't say anything to Stacy, either, just suffered in silence and looked pretty while doing it. Oh well, guess that's the price you pay for dating a guy like that, Jess mused.

While she tried to formulate a decent reply, her train of thought was interrupted by one of the boys loudly demanding that Tiffany "put on some smokin' tunes, man!"

"Yeah, we got the beer, now we need some music. C'mon Tiff," Red Dog urged her. Jess cynically thought that part of his impetus came from the fact that Tiffany practically had her head buried in someone else's lap at that point.

"Aww, awrite. What the hell, just not too loud 'cause I don't want the neighbors to freak," the hostess slurred as she got to her feet. After a short fruitless search for her shoes (one of which was on the grass behind Red Dog and the other floating in the ether for all anyone knew), she swanned over to the house, leaving the patio door open behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, several skaters wasted no time slinking over to the wooden yard fence and pissing all over her mother's bougainvilleas. After a moment's hesistation, Jane extracted herself from Biniak's embrace and followed her friend inside, perhaps to give her some much-needed moral support as she chose the music. Or maybe to report the illicit urination, who knew?

After a couple of minutes the stereo speakers had been moved close to the patio doors and the music was ready to rip. Jess wondered what would be on deck first – some Ted Nugent or Aerosmith maybe? Or perhaps the tried and true Led Zep. That was a safe bet.

It was a good thing that Jess wasn't a betting person, or she'd have been a big loser that day. Instead of the ripping sound of distorted guitar and wailing vocals, the first notes that emanated from the house were the pumping, staccato disco beats of KC and the Sunshine Band. The reaction from the guys was nearly unanimous:

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

"DUDE, NO FUCKIN' WAY!"

"NOT THAT SHIT!"

"PLAY SOME SKYNYRD!" Jess wasn't sure, but it sounded like that last one came from Stacy.

Jay took things in hand by throwing down his beer and jumping out of the shallow end. Pushing past the giggling girls in the doorway, he disappeared into the house. Five seconds later the abrupt sound of the needle getting violently yanked off the record echoed through the backyard, followed by the album itself getting winged like a frisbee out the door, to the rapturous applause of all watching. After a minute of silence, "Sweet Maxine" by the Doobie Brothers came belting out of the speakers. Jay stepped back outside, still looking mildly annoyed. "It was the best I could find. Next time pick a place where the owners don't have shitty taste in music," he barked at TA, who was closest to him.

Shaking his head, Stacy came back over to where Camille and Jess were sitting, picking a spot a bit behind and between them. He began to rub his knee distractedly. "Startin' to get a little weird here, huh?" he sheepishly said to his girlfriend, who just cocked her head to the side and gave him a wistful smile. Jess decided she could take lessons from this girl in how to hold one's tounge in times of need.

A shrill feminine shriek came from the portico, causing all heads to turn in that direction. Red Dog was trying to hoist Tiffany over his head and failing because she was squirming too much. "Put me down!" she screeched. "I'm gonna puke!" Red Dog hastily obliged her wish. As soon as she was on the ground, she lurched over to Jane and the two began a combination slowdance/stripper routine with each other. Jane kicked off her heels, then slowly pulled Tiffany's shoulder straps down, both of them sticking their butts out and grinding their hips to the beat. Tiffany reciprocated by stripping off Jane's tight red tee shirt, although it was a struggle getting it over Jane's ample chest without taking her bra with it. In the end Jane ended up without any clothing on her upper body at all, supportive garment included. She pressed her chest up against Tiffany's while Biniak put her white silk bra on top of his head, grinning like a madman. The effect was made especially comedic by his ultra-wide mouth, which made him literally look like he was smiling from ear to ear.

Back on the other side of the pool, Camille didn't need to say anything to Stacy. She just looked at him, her sandy brows knitted and her pretty lips compressed in a narrow line. He got the hint, jumping to his feet and grabbing his skateboard quickly like a good boy.

"We're outta here!" he yelled, but unsurprisingly no one really took any heed. Hand in hand he and Camille strode quickly out the side gate, he giving a funny little burbling chuckle and she in put-upon silence.

A moment later Deb came over to Jess, who immediately stood up. "Seen enough?" the older girl asked with a grin.

"Yes, definitely. I think it's getting a little wild for my tastes."

Deb smiled wryly. "Mine too. Kids these days, huh?" she quipped. "Ok, just lemme tell some of these guys goodbye if I can get them to tear themselves away from this lovely sight for two seconds."

Jess looked back across the pool and was relieved to see that an orgy wasn't breaking out. Jane had her shirt back on sans bra, and Tiffany was sprawled across TA's and Muir's laps on the portico's wicker couch. Probably making her choice for the night, unless they share, Jess thought sardonically. She looked around for Jay and Wentz, but neither was in sight. That was good about Jay, but not so good about Wentz. She really wanted to talk to him one last time before she left, but perhaps it was not to be. At the gate, Deb turned from Baby Paul and Arthur (who was looking a tad overwhelmed at that point) and motioned for Jess to follow her out.

Once they were in front of the house, Jess spotted Wentz talking to a couple of other people and let her shoulders sag in relief. He caught sight of them and waved. "You guys takin' off?" he called across the yard.

"Yeah, we're heading back to Venice," Deb informed him. He broke away from the others and crossed the grass to meet them. "Lemme walk you guys to your car," he offered to Jess' delight.

Deb rolled her eyes. "Oh, because this is such a dangerous neighborhood."

"Hey, it's what a gentleman should do," Wentzle countered with a playful grin.

"And since when have you been a gentleman, Wentz?" Deb teased.

"I am a gentleman. Really. You believe me, don't you?" he asked Jess mock-plantatively.

"Of course," she replied with a giggle. He really was fine and his ability to joke around made him even hotter. If he didn't ask for her number within the next few minutes she'd be really let down. Of course he might be taken, but she didn't really get that vibe. She decided to stay positive and hope it paid off.

It did. When they reached Deb's Mustang, Wentz turned to face Jess at the curbside. "Nice to meet you, Jess."

"Yeah, you too, Wentzle." He seemed to appreciate her use of his full name, although she couldn't have said exactly how he knew that. Something about his eyes helped give it away, though. They were almost as light as Stacy's and just as expressive. He was almost like a blend of Stacy and Jay, in fact. The best parts of both. At least as far as she could see.

Wentzle took a quick glance at Deb, who chose that moment to rummage in her trunk for some reason. He turned back to Jess. "So um, we should hang out sometime. You live in Venice?"

"Yeah, on the corner of Altadena and Wayne," she started to explain, when the unwelcome sound of Jay's strident voice rang out from Tiffany's front yard: "Hey! Ruml! Where the fuck are ya, dude? You gotta get back here and check this shit out!"

Dammit, Jay! Jess thought in consternation. Immediately in her mind he got busted down to rank number 4 after Muir.

"Quick, gimme your number," Wentzle requested. But to Jess' further annoyance nobody had a pen. "Just tell me it," Wentz commanded. "I'll remember."

Jess did so, but was sure that between his beer buzz and whatever debauched sights that laid in wait for him back at the house, his memory would be faulty, to say the least. Oh well, she would just have to live in hope like always. She bade Hot Guy #2 a farewell and climbed into Deb's car, which was already fired up. They pulled off from the sparkling Beverly Hills curb and headed into the growing late afternoon shadows.

Note : I'm making a retroactive amendment to an earlier chapter where she met some of the Z-boys surfing at POP. Instead of meeting Wentzle, she met PC instead. I was going to make PC Hot Guy #2 but realized he was too young for Jess. Curse this whole realism thing!