The rest of the day on the beach was more fun than they thougt it would be. Jed had finally relaxed. He felt better knowing he had Leo's support. It's always better when someone has your back. Leo, however, was more nervous than ever after their conversation. He was completely on edge, watching and waiting for Jed to do something. But nothing happened. While Jed hadn't filled Leo in on his plan, Leo figured he was going to do something drastic. But Jed's plan was more subtle than that, and if Leo had known that, he would have had a much more relaxed afternoon.
Leo watched Abbey as she laughed with Jenny and Amanda. She was so naïve, he thought. She had no idea what Jed was going to do…but then again, Leo himself had no idea either.
By 6pm, they decided that if they didn't eat soon they were all going to shrivel up and die. Thus, they headed back to the yaht to change, after deciding to dine at a place very similar to the bistro they'd dined at the evening before.
Amanda emerged from the bathroom, all refreshened up, and headed back into the room she shared with her cousin. He startled her by shutting the door quickly when she walked in.
"Hey! What gives!" She exclaimed.
"Shh!"
"Jed, what are you…?"
"Sit down"
He pushed her down onto the bed and stood in front of her.
"What?"
"Don't have a coronary when I tell you this," Jed said.
"Tell me WHAT?"
"You were right."
"Well, of COURSE I was right. Wait…what was I right about again?" Amanda asked.
"You were right about me. And Abbey."
Her eyes widened and a huge grin spread across her face.
"Really!"
He nodded.
"Oh, Jed! That's great! I'm so happy."
"But that's not the point."
"Ok. Spill," she said.
"I need you to help me out tonight."
"You got it. What do you want me to do?"
"Well, this restaurant…there'll be dancing," he said.
"Uh huh…"
"I need you to ask Ron to dance."
She giggled.
"Gladly."
"Well. That was easier than I thought," Jed admitted.
"Wait a second, oh cousin of mine. I'm gonna need an explanation. Exactly why am I doing this"
"So I can dance with Abbey!" He replied, matter of factly.
"You can't dance with her otherwise?"
"Ron needs to be safely out of the way."
"Did I miss something? Are you planning a kidnapping or something?" Amanda asked, sardonically.
"I just don't want him to interfere."
"With what!"
"With my plan!"
"Ok, you're starting to freak me out just a little bit," Amanda said.
"Just do it, Amanda. Please?"
"I told you I would, Jed. I just don't want you to go and do something stupid."
"When have you known me to do something stupid?" He questioned, knowingly.
Amanda just stared at him.
"Do you really have to ask?"
"All right, I've had just about enough of this conversation."
Amanda laughed.
"You do what you gotta do, cuz. I'll ask Ron to dance and you can take it from there. Just...promise me you won't kidnap her and tie her to a tree in the woods or something."
Jed grinned.
"I'm not promising anything."
While she was applying her makeup, Abbey heard a knock at her door.
"Come in!" She called.
Amanda opened the door and ran inside, shutting it behind her.
"What are you doing?" Amanda questioned, pointedly.
"What?"
"That color is entirely too bland," she replied, gesturing toward the eyeshadow in Abbey's hand.
"I like it, it goes with my…"
"No! Here."
Amanda took the eyeshadow from her hand and replaced it with a much darker color that stood out.
"Why would I wear that one? It doesn't go with my outfit at all," Abbey protested.
"Ugh! And you don't have nearly enough eyeliner on."
"I have plenty of eyeliner on!"
"And aren't you gonna wear mascara? You have to wear mascara," Amanda said.
"Amanda. What are you doing?"
"Giving you a mini-makeover, what does it look like?"
"Thank you, but that's really quite unneccesary. I do fine on my own."
"You have to look perfect tonight, Abbey," Amanda told her.
"What's so importtant about tonight?"
"Nothing."
"What, Amanda?" Abbey demanded.
"You'll see. Just take my advice."
As they walked along the boardwalk on their way to the restaurant, Jed pulled Amanda aside.
"What did you do!" He asked, fervently.
"Nothing. What's the matter?"
"Abbey."
"Oh. I just encouraged her to wear her makeup a little differently. And wear a little extra. Can you see the difference?"
"Well, yeah, but…why?"
"Because I wanted her to look her best tonight. You know. For your plan," Amanda replied.
"She doesn't need your help, Amanda. In fact, she doesn't need makeup to begin with," Jed said.
"Oy," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. "You really have fallen for this gal, haven't you?"
"What, are you Jewish now?"
"Hey, if you can give up being a priest, I can give up being Catholic." She grinned.
"You're funny."
"Aren't I?"
"Hilarious."
When they got to the restaurant, Jed pulled Leo over this time, while the rest of the gang went to sit down.
"I need you to help me out," Jed said.
"Oh, no. I knew this was coming."
"It's nothing major. But it's gonna set off my whole plan."
"Here you go with this plan again. You know it's probably going to backfire again. I don't know exactly what your plan IS, but it's gonna blow up in your face."
"Thanks, pal. That's encouraging. Now. Here's what I need you to do."
"Better not be anything that'll get me into trouble," Leo said.
"With who?"
"With anyone. It's been hard enough to get everyone to relax after what happened last night"
"I just need you to dance with Jenny," Jed told him.
"Well, I was gonna do that anyway."
"When I tell you to."
"What?"
"We can have a signal or something," he said.
"What are you, James Bond now?" Leo said, sarcastically.
"I'm serious. I need you to start the dance off."
"The what?"
"Well, not a dance off, per se. Just get people dancing. Amanda's going to dance with Ron after you and Jenny start us off," Jed explained.
"Wait. Amanda is gonna dance with Ron? Did I miss something?"
"Nope. You didn't miss a thing."
"Then I'm confused."
"Just do it, Leo."
"All right, whatever you say. What's the signal? You gonna say 'shaken, not stirred' or something?"
"Wow. You and Amanda are just so incredibly witty tonight." Jed rolled his eyes.
"We have a gift."
"I'll just drop my fork or something," Jed said.
"Why would anyone plan to drop their fork?"
"The signal!"
"Oh, right. The signal. Ok. You're on."
The trap was set. The wheels were officially moving. The plan was officially in motion.