Summer and Dana sat in a wooden booth at a wooden table in a cozy little restaurant on a large hill overlooking the ocean. It was a charming beach shack. A pimple faced high school aged boy approached them, blushing, "What can I get you beautiful ladies today?"
Summer requested lemonade.
Dana lifted her eyes from the window. "I'll take a Coke. And we have another friend coming. He'll want a Sam Adams."
"I'll need to see his I.D."
Dana rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She and her friends were at least ten years older than this kid. She turned to Summer. "So..."
"I'm so glad we got at least two days before you have to leave."
Dana grinned. "Me too!" Summer yawned in response. "You doing okay?" Her eyes squinted in concern.
Summer nodded. "Sorry. Bit jet lagged."
"When we get back, you can take a nap."
Dana nodded at the waiter as he brought them their drinks.
"I couldn't do that! We don't have much time together," Summer exclaimed, and then laughed as another yawn came on.
"It's no problem. I have some last minute things to do. You can nap, I can take care of it, and when you wake up we can talk all night." Dana toasted her with her glass.
Jesse slid onto the bench next to Dana a little while later. "Ladies."
Dana grabbed him by the face and squeezed affectionately. "See! I told you he cleaned up nice," Dana said kissing his cheek with a loud smack. "Smells better too," she added and patted his face fondly.
"Ow," Jesse grumbled and rubbed his freshly shaved jaw, as Dana released him. He flashed Summer a smile. Summer couldn't help but stare. He definitely was the same person, but was incredibly sexy in a whole other way. Jesse had changed into a black tee shirt which only made his blonde hair, light eyes, and sun-tanned skin stand out more. He looked like he was out of a fashion magazine.
Jesse slid a red rose wrapped in plastic under Dana."And I was going to give you this."
"Aw, how sweet," Dana cooed, lifting it to her nose, and smelled it.
"A farewell gift," he said with a shrug. Jesse slid a yellow rose in front of Summer. "And welcome to you."
"Wow! Thank you, Jesse!" Summer exclaimed in surprise and took the flower from him.
"I told you. Boy Scout." Dana grinned at Summer and gave Jesse another kiss on the cheek.
"I guess you don't want this either," Jesse told her, bringing out what was under the table. He twirled a piece of gold around his index finger. Dana grabbed it, giggled, and set it on her head. It was a small princess crown.
"You. Are. Awesome!" Dana was jumping up in down in her seat like she'd had too much caffeine.
"I know." Jesse smiled in satisfaction. He leaned back against the booth and crossed his arms against his chest, pleased with himself.
An older waiter brought Jesse a bottle of beer. He picked it up and took a swig, "Thanks, man."
"Sorry, Summer. I should explain," Dana told her, setting her rose down and leaned forward towards her. "On birthdays, special occasions or basically when we're in a great mood, we give a crown to the other person, and that person gets three wishes. Anything they want."
Jesse pouted."Well... almost anything."
Dana rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I can't afford a yacht."
Jesse took another drink."Well, when you get that big promotion, don't forget your friends."
"I won't." Dana laughed and turned back to Summer. "Anyway, yeah, it has to be something that the other person can perform easily and without much expense."
Summer smiled fondly. "Sounds like fun."
Dana took a sip of her drink. "We'll do it for your birthday too."
Jesse slipped an arm around Dana's shoulders."So, what are your wishes?"
"You already know the first one."
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Again?"
"Hey! It's my wish."
He shook his head. "Fine, if that's what you want."
"My second wish is that you make your lasagna for my going away dinner tomorrow night."
Jesse laughed and took another drink of beer. "You're way too easy." He leaned across the table to Summer giving her an amused look. "She's going to Italy and she wants lasagna as her last U.S meal?"
"Okay. Third wish."
"Third wish," Jesse repeated, sitting back with a smile, waiting for the big wish.
Dana looked at Summer seriously. "Excuse us, Summer. This is a bit personal. To Jesse anyway."
Jesse raised an eyebrow. He didn't like the sound of that at all. When Dana got personal, she got downright personal. Dana then leaned over and whispered in his ear, covering her mouth with her hand. When she completed her request he looked at her thoughtfully.
"Well?"
"Wow, Dane. That is a big wish," he blew out a breath... "Absolutely to the first half of it. I was thinking about that anyway," he said with a nod. "But the second part, I don't know. I'll have to think about it," he told her uncomfortably and looked over at Summer.
Dana laughed, and then hugged him tightly. "You are so awesome! I love you." She put her head against his shoulder.
Jesse kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Dane." He looked at Summer hesitantly again before picking up his beer and taking several gulps.
Summer wondered what Dana's last wish had been. It had certainly thrown Jesse for a loop and she imagined that didn't happen to him often.
As they ate their lunch, Summer and Dana talked about old times and Jesse listened to their banter. He liked Summer. She was nice, sweet, thoughtful, and above all extremely gorgeous. Jesse wasn't sure how he was going to handle the last part of Dana's wish. Dana had talked him into letting her friend stay with him while she looked for a place to live. He had known what Summer had looked like since college. Dana had sent him a videotape and pictures of the two of them back then. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off Summer back then. And he wasn't able to now that she was sitting in front of him. And for her to look at him the way she did. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the thought of them being alone after Dana left and how he would handle not doing what he wanted to do with Summer.
Dana looked at him curiously as he squirmed in his seat. "You okay?"
"Seat's too damn hard. And there's no leg room," he grumbled. Jesse stood up to stretch the long legs that had been crammed under the table. "I need a stretch. I'll be back in a sec."
"It's a burden being tall," Dana explained as he walked casually away.
"He's not that tall," Summer replied, watching him walk away.
"He's six foot. These booths are not meant for six foot. Five-five like us, fine, six foot, forget it. Jesse always likes to sit at the end of the table, so he can stick his feet out. Just so you know for future reference. Otherwise, he gets cranky."
Summer looked down at the rose he'd thoughtfully given her. "He's nice."
"I'm so glad you think so. I feel much better knowing that you guys will get along while I'm gone."
Summer made eye contact with her friend. "I'm sure we'll be fine." She hoped Dana believed her because her heart was racing and it was all she could do to keep her hands from shaking. Summer always got jittery around guys. She just was not used to having them around. Especially, drop-dead gorgeous ones that looked at you like he was going to grab you and take you to bed. Both of which she had never experienced. The furthest she had ever gotten was second base and she had stammered her way out of that one.
Jesse came back and slid back on the bench next to Dana.
"Hey, Jess?"
"Hey, Dane," He said back hesitantly. "What?" She had that serious look on her face, where she wanted to ask a question, but didn't know if she should.
"Colt was nice to me today," She said frowning. Jesse laughed. "It's not funny! It's... weird!"
"Maybe he was drunk," Jesse suggested, taking a swig of his beer.
"He wasn't drunk. He never gets drunk."
"What'd he do?" Jesse asked curiously.
"He told me to have a nice trip," Dana said with a confused look on her face.
"Maybe he's hoping that you'll have such a good time that you won't come back," Jesse told her, grinning from ear to ear.
Dana laughed. "Yeah. Probably."
Summer frowned. Dana was such a nice person. She couldn't understand anyone not liking her. And Colt had to be a nice guy for a good guy like Jesse to be best friends with him. "Why don't you and Colt get along?"
Dana shrugged. "We never have. Colt is Jesse's cousin by the way. He moved here when he was... twelve, I think. We were about eight. We've hated each other from first sight."
Jesse stroked a hand over Dana's hair. "Hate's a strong word, Dane."
"What would you call it then?" Dana demanded.
Jesse shrugged. "Extreme..." he looked up at the ceiling as he thought it over, "...dislike."
Dana rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's weird for him to say anything remotely nice to me. So, it's freaking me out he's acting this way!"
Jesse sighed, "Maybe he's just tired all of the bickering, Dane."
"No. He loves it. It 'gets him raring to go in the morning'. Like a caffeine fix."
He placed a hand on her arm. "Look, Dana, he's thirty. When he was twelve and we were eight that was a big difference in age. We were worlds apart. He was hitting puberty then. We were still into 'Power Rangers'. Of course, you weren't going to get along. Now, what's the difference between thirty and twenty-six? Not hell of much."
Dana poked at her chicken considering it. She shrugged. "I guess."
Author note:
Isn't Jesse sweet? What do you think of his and Dana's wish system?