In Hot Water Pt. 02

"Cool. Thanks for the invite."

I switch back to Jessica.

"I'm taking you on a date tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHAPTER 12

"Where are we going?" Jessica loops her arm through mine as soon as the house is out of sight. Night covers us, but we're still careful.

"Dinner."

"In the park?"

"Kind of," I say.

"No, seriously." Jessica stomps her heels on the pavement, and jerks me to a halt.

"Fish and chips, by the bridge."

"Oh, that place is great." My sister hugs my side, and we resume our march. "I went there a couple times the first week of school."

I lead us down the paved road to the main street, instead of going through the park, as it's less of a walk. My sister stands taller than usual, and I figure she might not want to go as far. People squeeze themselves into a clump on the sidewalk outside the shops. As we get close, two lines emerge, one to order, and the other to pick up food. The ordering line is short tonight, but a crowd of people spills into the street around the pickup window. Several people in the bunch sport yellow t-shirts, and one woman wearing overalls grips a gas mask against her hip. I have Jessica on my arm, and I'm in no hurry.

My sister orders halibut, and I go for the cod then pay with my new found wealth. I stow my wallet and look up to my date curling her lip at the mob in front of us.

I say, "Let's wait on the bridge, they'll shout the order," and I pull Jessica through a pile of loitering people. As we round the corner onto the wooden beams, I glance back across the street and notice a woman lounging on one of the park benches in front of the rose bushes. She leans back, slouching, with her ankles poking out from the hem of a long dark skirt. Her face glows dimly from the phone cradled in her lap.

We pass under a streetlight onto the dark wooden walkway. Small gaps between the wood segments afford a peek at the water below during the day, but only a gentle lapping gives away the waves now. Overhead streetlights bathe the bridge, each on a pole placed a stone's throw from the next. I lead us under the first light, and continue half way to the second, where the light struggles to reach.

When we reach the darkest stretch between the lights, my sister pushes me back into the railing. She holds me captive with her breasts, squeezing her yellow dress against my chest. I'm surprised she'd worn that particular dress, but I'm not about to complain. From back at the window, a man shouts that the order of cod with extra coleslaw is up.

Jessica's face hovers right in front of me. She runs her hand up my chest and over my shoulder. I lean in to kiss her, but she cranes her neck away and we don't meet.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Teasing you." Jessica grins.

I put my hands on her hips and hold her against me. I can at least do that.

"How long do you think the wait will be?" asks my sister.

"A few minutes. What do you want to do?"

"It's cold out. You have to keep me warm." Jessica tenderly bites the side of my ear.

I scan our surroundings. A few people loiter farther down the bridge, but they're faint and hard to see, except for one couple slowly walking hand in hand towards us. Back by the chips shop window, some of the crowd has spread around the corner. The woman with the gas mask sits on the curb next to a skinny, pale man with long brown dreadlocks dangling across his back. On the park bench across the street, the dark skirt woman is still staring at her phone.

"I heard you're coming to the beach with us." Jessica kisses my neck. She nuzzles her chin against the top of my shoulder, as she faces the water behind me.

"If you don't mind."

"I don't. Otherwise I'll miss you."

"How are we going to act... for a whole weekend."

"Not sure yet. We'll figure it out. We do need to be careful though." Jessica lets go of my shoulder, and scrapes her nails down my chest, then grabs my belt. She lifts my shirt and lightly rubs my skin in circles with the back of her fingers.

"What do you guys do on these trips?"

"Mostly get drunk and then Kevin and Garrett build a bon fire."

I slide my hands lower, and squeeze her ass from each side. "Do we know what kind of place we're staying at?"

"Some rental house, probably. Robyn always does it. I requested my own room, and I may feel like having a roommate." Jessica licks my earlobe and begins sucking on it.

The voice from the pick-up window shouts for six halibuts and 2 cods, plus a bunch of sides. A portion of the restless mob shuffles back to the counter. The dark skirt woman on the park bench tracks them as they move, then she looks right at me. I turn my head in the direction of her gaze, thinking maybe she was looking behind us on the bridge. The couple holding hands has stopped under the next light down from Jessica and me, closer than I'd prefer. The man leans into her and kisses her against the railing. I turn back to the dark skirt woman, and I'm pretty sure she's looking at us, not the kissing couple. In front of the shop, the gas mask woman is standing again. She grips her chemical warfare protection in one hand, and pulls the pale man with dreadlocks by his belt toward us, as he carries the remainder of their food.

"Is it a full moon tonight or something?" I ask my sister.

"No idea. Are there werewolves out?" Jessica reaches around me under my shirt, and five sharp talons scrape ever so gently down the center of my back. I'm shivers head to toe.

"People are wearing weird shit, and it feels like everyone is about to start fucking."

"We're not wearing weird shit. I like your shirt. What am I missing?"

"The next stop for those folks is a bedroom, if they make it that far." I point my head toward the tall couple down the bridge, keeping my fingers on my sister's ass. Jessica gives a fleeting glance out of the corner of her eye, but keeps working her nails on my back. She licks my neck, and breathes in, freezing my skin.

"There's a couple coming down the bridge. The girl is carrying a gas mask."

"Don't kink shame."

"And there's a woman across the street who I think is watching us."

"What's she doing?" My sister's nails scratch light patterns over my shoulder blades, and it's hard to keep from flexing against the tickling. Her face is still buried in my neck.

"Looking over the top of her phone, and watching you toy with me."

"I'm becoming a fan of lewd acts in public."

"That thing you do with your nails is torture."

The next scrape over my spine is distinctly sharper. I squirm in Jessica's embrace, and she giggles.

The woman with the gas mask tows her rope-haired companion by his belt past us on the bridge without acknowledging us. They're focused on their destiny. Jessica lifts her head off my shoulder, and I pull her tight and kiss her lips. Her tongue finds its usual home inside my mouth. There is no mistaking what we're up to.

My sister pulls back. "Where is the woman watching us?" She puckers her lips and smooches me twice, then turns her head.

"Park bench. Past the shop, over there."

Jessica looks at the dark skirt woman, then jerks back to face me. I'm suddenly attached to a rigid steel girder. My sister grips the front of my shirt with both fists, and pulls herself against me. "Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck."

"What's wrong?"

"That's Kirsten!"

A rock shoots through the bottom of my stomach. "Did she recognize you?"

"Maybe. We're kind of in the dark here... I don't know. Fuck. What do we do?"

"Just don't move. She doesn't know me, right? We'll leave if she starts to come over here."

"Okay, that sounds good."

The voice from the pickup counter announces that an order of salmon and halibut is ready. Kirsten stands and a man emerges from behind the shadowy rose bushes to her side. His face is hidden by his upturned collar and the phone he has pressed against his ear. But I know his walk. He pockets his phone, then reaches under Kirsten's shirt and kisses her. She pulls his collar down, and combs her fingers through his hair.

I tear free of my sister's grip, and pull my stumbling sister by the wrist down the wooden bridge away from the park.

"Ow, Alex. What's happening?"

I break into a jog, and Jessica matches me.

"It's not just her," I say. "It's Dad."