1961

It had been an incredible week. Jennifer had never had so much fun. The whole of Spring Break spent with all her friends and the boy she loved. What could be better than that?

The days had been spent with long walks on the beach, with Jennifer and Jonathan hand in hand and sometimes chatting with their friends and sometimes just being by themselves. They also spent time in the pool and playing games all together. The girls shared the task of cooking, though Jennifer was woefully deficient but tried her best. Jonathan had even gotten up early to make breakfast with her on a few days. For lunch and dinner, the boys manned the barbecue. Buckets burned an entire batch of burgers, but it turned out Ollie was the real grillmaster. The beer and soda pop flowed as freely as the laughter.

But today was Saturday, the last full day of their vacation. Tomorrow, they'd all have to clean the house and pack the cars and head back to campus for the rest of spring semester. Jennifer tried not to think about the fact that Jonathan would be graduating in about two months and leaving for the Navy. Still, they had plenty of time before that. And today was going to be a lot of fun.

For the final hurrah, the gang decided to throw a huge party that would last all day for everyone in Cape Cod. Or at least, all their friends from school who were in the neighborhood. People were in and out of the Hodges house and partying by the pool and dancing to the records that Ray played on the amazing speaker system he rigged up on the upstairs balcony to pipe out to the pool deck. Everyone was having a great time.

Jennifer in particular was having fun. She'd brought two bathing suits on this trip and only wore her orange bikini the two times she got in the pool. It was windy and a little too cold to just lay out and sunbathe, so she mostly just wore her shorts and a light jacket when she was out and about. But today, she decided to wear her white bikini for the party. Jonathan had looked at her very admiringly in the orange one, but she had a feeling about this white one. She had a feeling that she was going to succeed in driving Jonathan wild. And really, it served him right. He had worn red trunks and nothing else while swimming in the pool all week and seeing the water dripping over his body had nearly made her pass out a time or two. Turn about's fair play and all that.

And sure enough, Jonathan had seemed to lose the power of speech when Jennifer pulled her coverup off to reveal the very revealing white swimsuit. There had been a time—about six months ago, in fact—that she'd been embarrassed of all her freckles and wished she could have pale creamy skin like Eva or golden tanned skin like Lillian. But Jonathan changed all that. He changed most things, in fact. Jonathan loved her freckles and told her more than once this week that he liked seeing them on display. And if his stuttering today was any indication, he particularly liked the way the white emphasized all those little freckles all over her.

She left her things near where Midge and Buckets were having yet another of their arguments and ignored them as much as she could. Jennifer planned to torture Jonathan a little more by ignoring him and going to talk to Eva, but she was busy with Richard. And then Jennifer noticed Muffy coming towards her, so in an effort to avoid the most annoying girl Jennifer had ever met, she turned and made a beeline to the pool. She almost tripped over Ford Beebe, and muttered her apologies as she dove into the pool.

Under the water, everything was cool and serene. The bustle up above was muted down here. There were legs kicking as other swam around lazily, but Jennifer avoided them easily as she had a moment of calm to herself.

The water had a great disturbance as someone else jumped in. But to Jennifer's delight, it wasn't just anyone, it was Jonathan. He swam toward her underwater and kissed her. She nearly drowned when she started laughing, but he pulled them both up to the surface. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Hi there," he said, smiling that gorgeous smile of his.

"Hi," she answered. Jennifer pushed his wet hair out of his face before draping her arms around his neck. She also tried not to think about having his hands touch her bare skin. It was still something she wasn't quite used to. Before this week, there had always been a layer of clothing between them. She liked it better this way.

Jonathan stood in the pool like that and kissed her. Jennifer vaguely knew they shouldn't do this when they were in the middle of a party like this, but she didn't care. The way he held her, the way she felt with her legs wrapped around him, the way it always felt when he kissed her, she just couldn't resist. She didn't want to resist.

Thankfully Jonathan ended the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. She sighed happily and gave him a tiny peck on the tip of his nose.

"I love you, you know that?" he murmured softly.

It was as though the music and talking and laughing and splashing around them all fell silent in that moment. Jennifer felt overwhelmed with emotion all of a sudden and couldn't really find the words. She just hummed in agreement.

"And I'd love you even if you didn't look so good in that bikini," he added.

Jennifer snorted laughing in response. That seemed to always be the way with Jonathan. He was sweet and sincere and silly all in the same breath sometimes. God, she loved him! And his playfulness had inspired her own. She gripped him a little tighter with her thighs and asked, "What's your favorite thing about it?"

"Well, you look incredible in white. You practically glow when you wear white. And I certainly like that there isn't too much left to the imagination. Though I will say there's enough left to the imagination because I still have to use my imagination," he said.

"What do you say we go see how accurate that imagination of yours is?" she whispered.

Jonathan leaned his head back to look at her, his eyes wide, silently asking if she was sure. Jennifer bit her lip and grinned, nodding at him.

They tried to be as subtle as possible, extricating themselves from each other and swimming to the ladder to get out of the pool. Jonathan grabbed a couple towels for them, passing one to Jennifer. She squeezed the water out of her hair and dried herself off so she wasn't dripping. As she did so, Jonathan went over to say something to Richard. They both nodded, and Jonathan returned.

"What was that about?" she asked curiously.

"Oh you know, just…roommate stuff," he answered.

"He's going to make sure we don't get interrupted?" Jennifer translated shrewdly.

Jonathan looked a little bashful. "Yeah."

A smile curled over Jennifer's lips. "Good."

She quickly scanned the pool deck to ensure that no one was paying too much attention. She didn't notice anyone, so she took Jonathan's hand and they walked into the house.

Inside, there were people milling about, getting food and drinks and going to and from the bathroom to return to the party. No one paid any attention to Jonathan and Jennifer as they snuck upstairs to the bedroom that Jonathan shared with Richard for the week. He closed the door behind them, and all the noise of the party fainted to a muffled din.

Jennifer's heart was pounding as she waited for Jonathan to make the first move. She could be bold, she knew, and at New Year's, she had been. She'd taken her dress off and stood there before him in just her slip. Now, however, she was wearing much less than that. And she wasn't sure she could really be bold enough to take off anything else. Not just yet.

Jonathan just looked at her. His eyes moved up and down, darkening as he surveyed her body. But Jennifer wasn't made uncomfortable by his gaze. Not in the least. She felt desired.

His eyes moved up to her face and met her own. "Would you lie down on the bed?" he requested.

"Oh, but it'll get wet…" she protested.

"I don't care. I just…I just want to look at you. Like that." He swallowed hard.

A smile twitched on her lips. "I hope you won't just look."

"Well, let's start with that," Jonathan suggested.

Jennifer did as he asked. She went to lie down on top of the bed. Jonathan came and lay beside her, propped up on one elbow as he just looked at her body. Jennifer turned her head to watch him and wait for something more. But he didn't move a muscle. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. Her body was aching for him. "Jonathan, please touch me," she whispered.

His eyes snapped up to hers, but he didn't ask for further instruction. He leaned in and kissed her. And his left hand rested on her bare belly. They were both a little cold from still wearing their wet swimsuits, but Jennifer didn't mind. She got warm tingles where he touched her. His hand slid up her torso to her breast, encased in the bikini top. He squeezed gently, and Jennifer moaned into his mouth. His tongue slid over hers and his hand slid down her body. She could feel his fingers tracing the line of her bikini bottom. Jennifer could already hardly catch her breath, but she was ready. Ready and wanting. She spread her legs to invite him between them.

She was grateful that Jonathan continued to kiss her. She wasn't sure she could handle it if she didn't have him to cling to or something to distract her while he touched her. His hand went beneath the swimsuit, peeling the damp fabric from her body. And then his fingers were tracing her folds and making her feel things she'd never dreamed. Jennifer had experienced very little of sex—practically none of it—but she had explored her own body on occasion. And she knew what it had felt like when Jonathan had touched her before this when she had rocked herself on top of him in the past.

This was so much more than that. There was a dexterity and a sureness of his fingers that she'd never managed on her own. And it was heavenly. It built a tension deep in her belly, and oh when he touched her just there—! Jennifer gasped away from his kiss. But that was nothing compared to what she felt when one of his fingers dipped inside her.

"Oh Jonathan!" she moaned. Her legs were at once board straight and trembling but felt like jelly. She had no control over the way her hips canted and her body started to writhe beneath him. Jonathan's lips had moved to her neck, and it was all so very overwhelming when he started sucking on her there while his fingers moved faster and faster and harder and deeper and…

Jennifer's back arched off the bed as she felt the rubber band of her body snap, and the pulsating waves of release crashed through her until she fell back limp and twitching slightly. Jonathan stilled his hand and removed it from inside her bikini bottoms. He rested it on her hip and lifted his head back up to kiss her lips even as she panted for breath.

She blinked her eyes open to look at him. He was smiling.

And then someone screamed.