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One month, three weeks, two days, five hours and twenty three minutes.
That’s how long Shauna and Melissa had been dating, according to Melissa. She noted it down to the second, but Gen didn’t need to know that. Gen didn’t want to know that. She hardly wanted to know they were dating at all.
Gen had spent the better part of her life hopelessly in love with the golden retriever that made a wish to be human she called her best friend. When she was a kid, she thought it was just a very passionate friendship. When she was a preteen, she went into a deep depression about what that could mean about her, maybe, hopefully she was actually just into one of Melissa’s brothers. But now, junior year of high school, she had accepted it.
She had never made a move because she didn’t want to ruin the friendship. Now, had Melissa ever made a move, made a move to make a move, Gen would’ve jumped in with both feet. And at times Gen was certain Melissa did feel the same way. But Gen always convinced herself that Melissa thought Gen was straight, and that’s why she never tried anything.
So Gen had, at multiple points, tried to show Melissa that actually she wasn’t straight and very much wanted to learn every inch of Melissa’s body with every inch of her own.
Gen and Melissa had gone to the movies to see Copycat. They shared a bucket of popcorn and a Sprite, one straw. When both reached into the popcorn tub at the same time, Gen purposefully reached for Melissa’s hand. Melissa laughed and smacked her hand.
“Fingers definitely feel different than kernels, dumbass,” Melissa whispered, trying to follow the plot on screen (while distracted by how hot Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter were).
Gen suggested they go to putt putt golf, which Melissa immediately agreed to, her competitive spirit kicking into overdrive. Gen purposely fucked up the first two holes before turning to Melissa on the third. “Do you think you could help me with my form? I can’t do anything right?” Gen had visions of the scene from Ghost, Melissa as Patrick Swayze wrapping her arms around Gen’s Demi Moore to show her how to make pottery/putt through a windmill.
Melissa’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not helping the opposition.” Melissa smirked as she sunk her third hole in one, and Gen immediately became good again.
Gen even took Melissa on what was essentially a picnic date. Basket full of Melissa’s favorite food, on a gorgeous spring day, and setting up a beautiful bouquet of daffodils in the center of their blanket. And as Gen shifted ever so slightly to try and lean in, disaster struck.
Melissa began sneezing uncontrollably.
Gen had forgotten that Melissa was incredibly allergic to daffodils. Date ruined before Melissa even knew it was a date.
Gen took that as a sign from god that she needed to stop trying, to let it come to her. She had faith it would, because who would love Melissa as much as Gen did?
Turns out the answer to that question was the brown eyed, brunette, slightly sociopathic senior that had taken a shine to Melissa since they met at the start of the school year. When Melissa got bumped up to varsity and met her fellow midfielder Shauna Shipman, the game changed for Gen. A door closed that she had never even seen opened. Locked, deadbolted, and boarded up to keep anyone else from entering. Heart occupied, Shauna Shipman held the deed.
When the two finally got over themselves and stopped their bizarre dancing around the fact that they were infatuated with each other, they immediately became the kind of couple that made it everyone else’s problem. Hanging all over each other, finishing each other’s sentences, constantly acting like the horniest teenagers on the face of the planet. They probably were, for Gen’s money.
And Gen sat here, losing a game that she wasn’t sure she even got to play. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. And all she could do was smile at Melissa every time she talked to Gen about how great Shauna was, how much Shauna liked her, how lucky she was to have Shauna.
It wasn’t Shauna’s fault, she was just a teenage girl in a relationship with another teenage girl and both acted exactly how you would expect. But Gen hated Shauna for it. It should’ve been her. But instead, it was Shauna fucking Shipman.
That bitch.
One month, three weeks, two days, five hours and twenty three minutes.
That’s how long it had been since Jackie Taylor had been unceremoniously dumped by her best friend.
Now, maybe that was a little overdramatic, but Jackie was nothing if not a showman. She and Shauna had never been dating, were never anything other than best friends with a lot of blurred lines, but still. One minute she’s walking around Wiskayok with Shauna at her heels, the next, she’s been abandoned in favor of the dog from Full House.
Actually, that wasn’t fair to the dog from Full House. The dog had a profession, and a skill.
Jackie didn’t hate Melissa, far from it. From their few interactions Melissa seemed perfectly nice, if not a little dopey. But anyone would hate their usurper, and Melissa took Jackie’s seat before Jackie had even realized she had stood up. She went from Shauna’s sun to a black hole, sucking up any light and matter and happiness from the world.
God, Shauna had made her a nerd and then abandoned her to get with a backwards hat wearing doofus. What irony.
She wasn’t certain if it really was irony, but it definitely would fit into “Ironic,” one of Jackie’s favorite songs.
It’s like raiiiiiiiiiin on your wedding day–
Focus, Jackie!
So now, Jackie had to figure out what to do with herself. She was going to Rutgers on a soccer scholarship, she had a varsity team to lead to a national championship, and she had a school to preside over as the queen bee of the hive.
But she was so bored of it all.
When Shauna got with Melissa, Jackie had the breakdown of her life. She immediately broke up with Jeff, for two reasons. One, it provided a great cover for why she was losing her mind. And two, she realized how stupid it was to be with him in the first place. She was just wasting her time, and now she wasted enough time that Shauna moved on with a junior. A junior!
She didn’t even like Jeff. He was convenient. Bland, corn fed, boy next door. It helped her image. But spending time with him was like getting a root canal every day. In fact, a root canal was more pleasurable. After months and months he still couldn’t locate the clit, but boy was he giving it the ol’ college try! Jackie was worried she was becoming too quick with her pretend climaxes but she couldn’t bring herself to care anymore.
Jackie was now in a position she had never been in before. She was behind the eight ball with Shauna. Melissa had her, and Jackie wanted her. And Shauna seemingly wanted Melissa, god knows why. So she had to figure out how to wriggle her way back and take over. She could do it, she just needed an in.
This was tough. Shauna was famously closed off. She used to tell Jackie everything, but that tap had almost completely shut now that Shauna had Melissa to talk to. God, imagine telling all your problems to Melissa. She’d probably just wag her tail and ask for a treat. Over Jackie? Ridiculous!
So she needed another way in, somehow. She needed them to break up so Shauna could come running back to Jackie. Did it make her a bad person? No! This was all because she cared for Shauna. She didn’t want Shauna to lock herself into a life of “dude” and “man” and “sick” or whatever it was Melissa said all the time. Jackie didn’t really know, and she didn’t really want to.
Wait a minute. What if Jackie could figure out a way to make them jealous? Both of them. Now, if Shauna saw Jackie with someone else, surely she’d come running back, infuriated. Jackie just needed to figure out a way to make Melissa jealous.
There is that other Junior Jacket, the little brown haired one, that Melissa was constantly with until she became the puppy at Shauna’s heels. What was her name? Ginny? June? Gwen?
“Gen?”
Gen was at her locker, getting things and looking wistfully over to where Shauna and Melissa stood, wrapped up in each other like they were the only people in the world.The call of her name jerked her out of her pity party. She turned and saw Jackie marching over to her, arms crossed.
“Jackie?” Gen was deeply confused. Jackie had never spoken more than a few words at a time to her in the handful of non-group interactions they’d had. Gen genuinely thought Jackie might not have known her name.
“Can we talk?” There was an impatience to Jackie’s voice that concerned Gen. Was Jackie going to kick her off the team? Was this some weird hazing ritual? She’d been on the team for months at this point, it felt a little late.
“Uh, sure.” Gen could barely finish speaking before Jackie grabbed her wrist and yanked her away. Gen was pretty sure the words were still hanging in the speech bubble above her head. She stretched to make sure her locker closed before scurrying behind Jackie, trying to catch up and relieve the strain on her shoulder and elbow.
Right before they passed Melissa and Shauna, Jackie turned to face Gen. Gen wasn’t prepared for the sudden stop and nearly slammed into Jackie, instead stopping an inch from Jackie’s face, Jackie’s breath hot on her skin. Ironically, this was the closest Gen had ever come to being kissed by someone.
“Smile! And look like you like me!” Jackie hissed before changing her grip from Gen’s wrist to her hand. Gen felt herself blush involuntarily before being yanked to move again. As they passed Melissa and Shauna they both smiled, Jackie looking pleased with herself and Gen looking like she was in the middle of an active hostage situation.
Melissa and Shauna watched the whole thing in stunned confusion. Melissa turned to Shauna once they had passed. “Do you have any idea what that’s about?”
Shauna shook her head. “I’ve learned with Jackie, if it’s something that makes you feel concerned, it’s probably best not to ask any questions.” Melissa nodded and they went back to business as usual.
Inside the bathroom, Jackie lightly shoved Gen further in before locking the door. Gen made her peace with God for whatever was about to happen. Jackie leaned against a sink and took a good, hard look at Gen. “You’re in love with Melissa.”
Gen choked on her own spit. “W-what?” She sputtered out, breathless.
“It’s obvious. Don’t worry, I don’t care. In fact, I think it can work in our favor.” Jackie smiled conspiratorially. Gen regretted ever being born.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Gen was just clocked by her captain and now felt like she was about to be blackmailed. Very few days have been worse for her.
“Relax! I have a plan and I need your help.” Jackie was using a tone that made Gen feel like she was being called dumb, not in so many words. “I want to break up Shauna and Melissa.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Gen felt like she was blind in a dark room and Jackie expected her to find her way out.
“Because I’m in love with Shauna!” Jackie was getting annoyed at having to spell everything out. “I want to jump her bones!”
Gen made a face involuntarily. Jackie had a way of saying the corniest thing that was also somehow gross. “And you expect me to help?”
“Think about it,” Jackie began to pace the bathroom, rushing her way through the half-baked plan. “We break them up, you can have Melissa, I can have Shauna, all is right with the world. The hole in the ozone closes up, the ice caps refreeze, there’s peace in the middle east!”
“You’re putting a lot of faith into four high school lesbians.” Gen sounded dismissive. “Anyway, what’s the actual plan here?”
Jackie paused. She hadn’t gotten this far. She figured Gen would just agree and then they would work out the little details like what the details were and how the plan would work. The minutia.
“Bait and switch,” Jackie said finally.
“I’m sorry?” Gen was lost.
“We bait and switch them.” Jackie was back to pacing. “You and I pretend we’re dating to make them jealous. They both realize they can’t stand to see us with anyone else, and Bob's your uncle!”
Gen looked at Jackie like she had three heads. In fact, Jackie having three heads would make more sense than this plan did. “So you think if we pretend to date those two will notice? The two lesbos who haven’t looked away from each other in nearly two months will see that?”
“And your plan is better? Which, far as I can tell, is sitting in the corner pining silently and hoping something will happen?” Jackie was getting ruthless. She wanted what she wanted when she wanted where she wanted. And those were, in order: Shauna, pronto, her bedroom.
Gen thought long and hard before sighing and throwing her hands up in the air. “Fuck it. Let’s bait and switch.”
Jackie invited Gen over to her house after school. Her mother had given Gen a slightly odd look, but Jackie could tell her mother approved of Gen. Unlike Shauna, Gen dressed quite similarly to Jackie, feminine and slightly preppy. Mrs. Taylor definitely preferred it to an endless stream of flannels and Chuck Taylors.
Jackie dragged Gen into her room and shut the door. “Okay, we need to plan the bait and switch.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Gen flopped down on Jackie’s bed, which took Jackie by surprise. Most people came in and didn’t immediately make themselves at home. But Gen acted like she owned the place. It was charming. It reminded Jackie of herself.
“The way I see it, we’re going to need multiple plans. It took a while for the two of them to realize they liked each other and get together, so it might take them a bit to realize they’d rather have us.” Jackie threw herself down on the bed too. They both laid in silence for a minute, bodies flush against each other, each feeling the other's warmth radiating onto their own skin.
Finally, Gen sighed. “So are you going to come up with a plan, or what?” “I thought you were doing that.” Jackie sparred back.
“You’re the captain.” Gen volleyed.
“Yeah, but I’m like, giving pep talks and scoring. I need someone to set me up.” Jackie volleyed back.
“This was all your idea.” Gen spiked.
Jackie sighed. “Fine, give me a minute,” Jackie grumbled. Point: Gen.
“Well, we know they’re constantly hanging around Shauna’s locker at school, which is conveniently a few feet away from yours. I show up one morning, go to your locker, we flirt like crazy, make them go wild.” Jackie smiled, satisfied with herself. Gen felt her body go on fire and she stayed silent. “Well?”
“It sounds good, it’s just…” Gen sighed, saying goodbye to her last shred of dignity. “I’ve never flirted with anyone before. Not really.”
“Never? Not, like some guy at a party to make Melissa jealous?” Jackie was astounded.
“Usually at parties Melissa is glued to my side. At least until the last two months.” Gen sounded wistful.
“You’ve never flirted with Melissa?” Jackie had constantly flirted with Shauna. It clearly frustrated her every time. Jackie loved it.
“Melissa’s not the flirting type. She’s the heart on her sleeve kind of person, flirting is too subtle.” Gen had tried but never once succeeded in flirting with Melissa. Melissa would just look at her kinda funny and take everything at face value. Gen assumed she sucked at it so she stopped trying.
“Okay, well,” Jackie sighed, “it’s not hard. Just follow my lead and you’ll be fine. All you really have to do is say something a little suggestive in a way that’s kind of sexy. You’ll be fine. What about a Plan B?”
“Melissa works at Penney’s,” Gen started before Jackie cut her off with a scoff.
“Yeah, don’t I know it.” Jackie was already agitated. “Shauna’s been blowing me off all the time to go hang around Penney’s waiting for Melissa. They’re so gross.”
“Well, we go in there shopping for clothes together. We can probably turn that into something.” Gen was really trying here. Luckily, Jackie picked up right where she left off.
“Yes! There’s something kind of romantic about shopping for clothes together.” Jackie got on a roll. “Looking for clothes for each other, having to really understand what the other person looks good in. And if worse comes to worse, we can go into the changing room together and pretend to make out.”
They both blushed at that idea, but neither one noticed the other’s flushed skin and they both moved on.
“And I think I have a break glass in case of emergency plan. Lottie’s throwing a party, the week before nationals. If worst comes to worst,” Jackie swallowed for dramatic effect before finishing her statement, “we attend as a couple. Holding hands, lovey dovey, maybe a kiss or two. We’ll need to commit to it, but it could be the final checkmate. If we need to.”
A WHAT???
Gen’s brain short circuits for a second. She’s never been kissed before, and now Jackie wants Gen to kiss her for the bit. The way she gets Melissa is to kiss Jackie? Gen wasn’t very good at math, but this didn’t add up to her. The look on her face must’ve betrayed her confusion, because Jackie rolled her eyes.
“It’s not going to be real, idiot.” Okay, ouch. Gen didn’t think they were close enough to call each other dumb affectionately, but clearly Jackie did. “We’re doing it for our own agendas. It’ll be like acting.”
“Yeah, no, I get that,” Gen sounded a little peeved, and now felt compelled to explain her predicament to her steamrolling captain. “I’ve also never kissed anyone before.”
“Are you one of those weird Christians or something? Do you believe Jesus was from Missouri?” Jackie was a little concerned she chose the wrong girl for sex-based manipulation.
“No!” Gen’s protest sounded a little too forceful, and she made herself calm down before speaking again. “I just…haven’t.”
“Waiting for Melissa?” Jackie was half-mocking, half-endeared. It was very romantic. Very stupid, but very romantic. Gen began to frown.
“I just…ugh! You’re so frustrating.” Gen smacked her hand onto the bed. Very mature. If she was standing she probably would’ve stomped her foot like a four year old.
“Listen, there’s nothing to it. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” Jackie explained, feeling like a biology teacher. Boy, did she wish she paid more attention in that class. Curse Shauna and her cute little neck sitting in front of her. “You, me, lips, together. Move ‘em around for a few moments and they’ll have to rip us apart because they’ll be so upset they won’t know what to do other than kiss us themselves.” A beat. “Maybe we’ll need tongue, but that’s an absolute last resort.”
“Jackie, if you try to put your tongue in my mouth I will slap you.” Jackie backed down. For now.
The next week at school, Jackie strutted down the hallway bright and early. A few yards from Gen’s locker, Shauna and Melissa were wrapped up in each other at Shauna’s locker, making intense eye contact and whispering sweet nothings to each other. It was disgusting.
Jackie stayed on track and sauntered right over to where Gen stood. Gen, who said a silent prayer the whole time, hoping to god Plan A worked. Partially because she wanted to get with Melissa as soon as possible. And partially because she didn’t know how much she could commit to the bit.
“Hey, Genny.” Jackie used her most sultry voice and Gen stifled a deep groan. No one had called her Genny other than her grandmother. Who died when Gen was six. “You look so hot.”
Oh god. Jackie sounded just like every straight girl hyping up her best friend. Gen rolled her eyes. “Too hetero,” Gen hissed.
“I can’t help it that I’m femme,” Jackie hissed back. Behind Jackie, Gen could see Melissa and Shauna stop and glance over at them. They still were too close for Gen’s liking, but it seemed to be working at least a little.
“It’s not that you’re femme, it’s that you’re talking to me like we’re besties in a bar bathroom.” Gen tried not to raise her voice, and Jackie sighed.
“You try something then!” Jackie gestured to Gen, and Gen panicked. Think, stupid!
“Jackie, you look good enough to eat.” Jackie looked slightly nauseated, and Gen wiggled her eyebrows. “They’re watching,” she whispered.
Jackie decided to move in for the kill. She took a big step into Gen’s personal space, surprising them both. Both turned a light shade of pink. “I’ll see you later,” she said directly into Gen’s ear, before turning and walking away.
She stopped in front of Melissa and Shauna, who were both looking at her like she had fully lost it. “Hello, you two.” She winked at them before leaving. Once she was gone, Melissa turned to Shauna.
“You know her better than I do,” Melissa started. “On a scale of one to ten, how concerning was…all of that?”
“I’d say six. Outwardly gay, but not overwhelmingly so. Kind of feels like an act. We’ll monitor the situation and see where it goes from here.” Shauna spoke with military precision before leaning in to kiss Melissa, who hummed and kissed right back. They didn’t notice Gen’s forlorn sigh behind them as she closed her locker and slinked away in the other direction.
Jackie found her wandering the halls a few periods later and yanked her into a supply closet, to Gen’s surprise and terror.
“What the hell–” Gen was ready to scrap, but when Jackie turned on the light and Gen saw who it was she relaxed.
“I could say the same thing,” Jackie sounded annoyed, and Gen was getting annoyed right back. She wasn’t seriously acting like Gen was the problem, was she?
“Tremendous work out there, truly,” Gen began, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I don’t know what was sexier, using my dead grandma’s nickname for me or telling me I looked hot in the same voice a camp counselor uses to compliment a child’s friendship bracelet making skills.”
“You were giving me nothing to work with,” Jackie whined.
“I said the sexiest thing out of either of our mouths!” Gen was indignant.
“Yeah, you sexually harassed me, great work.”Jackie sniped.
“Six of one, half dozen of another.” Gen shrugged. “So, did you bring me in here to kill me, or write your name in hickeys on my neck?”
Jackie sputtered at the suggestion. “D-do you really think I’d be so obvious? No, I'm here to discuss Plan B: Penney’s.”
“We’re really trying again? After the smashing success of the first go round?” Gen smirked at Jackie.
“Do you want to play tonsil hockey with Melissa or not?” Jackie crossed her arms.
“Can you ever speak like a normal human being instead of a puppet that was turned into a human girl?” Gen crossed her arms right back.
“Shut up and tell me when Melissa’s working at Penney’s next so we can get this over with.” Jackie was absolute and resolute.
That Wednesday at Penney’s, Jackie and Gen were outside, about to work their magic. Well, as much magic as they could muster, which looked pretty puny at the current moment.
“Should we hold hands?” Gen asked. Jackie blushed and rolled her eyes to distract from the creeping red around her cheeks.
“Are we dating or just boinking?” Gen groaned at Jackie’s…unique handle of the English language.
“Gee, I can’t understand why English Major, future New York Times bestselling author Shauna Shipman wouldn’t pick you.” Gen narrowed her eyes. “You speak like that weird uncle you avoid at family reunions.”
“Sorry I don’t speak as cool as you do.” Jackie dragged out the word cool for emphasis.
“It’s not about sounding cool, it’s about not sounding like a Mormon who escaped containment.” Before they could keep arguing, Jackie grabbed Gen’s hand and dragged her into J.C. Penney’s.
“Maybe we should get a leash. It would probably be less stress on my rotator cuff,” Gen suggested from behind Jackie. Jackie stopped and looked at Gen.
“Now that was almost sexy. You’re learning how to flirt,” she smirked at Gen before leading her once again. They got to the department where Melissa was working, women’s intimates, and stopped. Jackie ducked behind a mannequin wearing lacy lengerie and yanked Gen down with her. Gen yelped in pain and surprise and Jackie admonished her.
“Shut up, do you want her to notice us?” Jackie hissed at Gen who looked like a puppy who peed on the rug. It was almost cute. “Where’s Shauna? Where’s Melissa?”
“Shauna’s over there in the aisle 3,” Gen said before glancing around. “I don’t see Melissa anywhere.”
“Fuck!” Jackie stared daggers at Gen. “I thought you said she was working today!”
“She was supposed to!” Gen was defending herself with as much fight as she could muster. Before they could continue their bickering, someone cleared their throat behind them. They turned to see Melissa standing there, looking down at them, a bemused smile on her face.
“Can I help you guys with anything?” Somewhere behind them they could hear Shauna snicker. God, they were making fools of themselves. Shauna wandered over and stood next to Melissa.
“What are you two doing here? Together?” Shauna asked, a little confused, trying to read Jackie’s face in particular. Years and years spent by Jackie’s side meant Shauna was pretty fluent in Jackie’s facial expressions and microexpressions. Well, more expressions, Jackie was never one to underreact to anything. Much like now.
Jackie sprung up and yanked Gen with her, who made a little strained grunt at yet another yank on her shoulder. “I was just taking Gen here to shop for some clothes.” Jackie laced her fingers together with Gen’s, and almost shocked herself with the intimacy she was launching into with a girl she frankly knew very little about. “I need to make sure my girl looks good when we go out tonight.”
Gen had to resist the urge to shake her head. Jackie was laying it on thick. But it was, in its own way, maybe working? Melissa tilted her head, trying to understand what was happening, and Shauna almost immediately did the same. God, the lesbian urge to merge was strong with these two. Gen even noticed that Melissa was in one of Shauna’s flannel shirts and Shauna appeared to be wearing Melissa’s favorite pair of jeans. God, I hope they did that on purpose and not after some post-hook-up haze. Gen shook her head to clear the image from her brain.
Gen realized it was her turn to play up the bait and switch. “I’m so excited. Jackie’s taking me out for dinner, and then we’re going for a walk on the boardwalk.” Gen batted her eyes at Jackie, who took her hand from Gen’s and moved it to Gen’s back. She slid her hand down, down, down to Gen’s ass, before giving it a light squeeze. Gen jumped, shocked, and felt her body become warm.
Shauna and Melissa watched the display with a strange mixture of happiness, confusion and disgust.
“Well, let me know if you need any help.” Melissa said before wandering back to what she was doing before, Shauna following close behind. Gen turned and glared at Jackie.
“Why did you grab my ass?” Gen whispered, trying not to be overheard. “Now who’s harassing who?”
“It’s called realism, babe.” Jackie winked, then turned to look around. “Quick, let’s find some stuff to try on in the dressing room so we can debrief.”
Gen and Jackie grabbed basic variants of the same items: the same jean jacket (Gen black, Jackie light wash blue), the same floral dress (Gen purple, Jackie pink), and the same sweater (Gen red, Jackie green). They headed towards the dressing rooms as Melissa and Shauna watched.
“Please don’t do anything in there that my manager would yell at me about,” Melissa called out as they sauntered past.
“We’re gonna totally make out all over each other in there,” Jackie said as Gen cringed. Melissa just stared blankly at her.
“Yeah, don’t do that.” Melissa said. Jackie and Gen went into the last stall and shut the door. Melissa turned to Shauna. “Current judgement?”
“Eight out of ten. Are they becoming a thing?” Shauna was growing a little confused. Jackie and Gen had seemingly never spoken more than two words before and now they were going on a date.
“I kinda think they’re fucking with us,” Melissa shrugged. “Do you think they realize they’re accidentally becoming attracted to each other?”
“Eh, let them figure it out,” Shauna said, wrapping her arm around Melissa. “We did.”
“Do you think they bought it?” Gen asked in the secure dressing room.
“Oh, totally.” Jackie nodded smugly. “Shauna looked like she was going to go nuts. And I think Melissa looked pretty damn upset, too.”
“So hopefully, this will work!” Gen looked very excited, then began looking anywhere but at Jackie as Jackie began to strip.
“What?” Jackie was standing with her hands on her hips in nothing but her underwear. Gen was turning redder by the second, and Jackie huffed. “If we’re going to fake date, babe, we’ve got to be okay with each other’s bodies. Take it in.”
Gen took a breath and looked at Jackie and wow, she was hot. She had a million and one abs, fantastic arms, legs that stretched for a mile. Once Gen started looking, she almost couldn’t stop. It was a compulsion.
Jackie reached over and began pulling off Gen’s clothes. “My turn! Besides, I wanna see how you look in that dress.” Jackie didn’t realize until now how cute Gen was. She was smaller than Jackie, but she had a fit body from years of soccer. She was gorgeous, Jackie couldn’t believe she had never noticed her eyes, her smile, her everything. It was probably because she was constantly next to Air Bud: World Pup.
This fake dating thing was a breeze.
A week later, Gen was in her bedroom when the door burst open. Gen screamed in fright as Jackie walked in and exaggeratedly flopped down on Gen’s bed next to her.
“How the hell did you get into my house?” Gen asked.
“Your mom let me in,” Jackie sighed.
“How the hell did you find my room?” Gen was still confused and frankly, pissed off.
“Your mom told me.” Jackie turned onto her side to face Gen. “They didn’t buy it. Still dating, still swapping spit.”
“You’re so gross,” Gen laughed, lightly slapping Jackie. Jackie beamed. “So now…?”
“Plan C. Lottie’s party.” Jackie sat up. “We go to the party, act really coupley, and drive them nuts to the point they publicly break up to be with us.”
“Are you sure this will work?” Gen asked.
“It’s our last resort, it’s this or nothing.” Jackie flopped back down. “God I don’t know what I’ll do if Shauna has actually decided Melissa is the one for her…”
Jackie glanced over at Gen, who was staring off into space, considering the same with regards to Melissa. Jackie looked away before she could see Gen glance back at her.
Friday night, Lottie’s house. They had a week before they left for Nationals, it was now or never. Jackie and Gen agreed to meet at the party and walk in together. Gen, punctual as always, is standing out by the curb, waiting, fussing with her dress. It’s the one she tried on in front of Jackie. There was something about the way Jackie looked at her when she tried on the dress that caused a tingle to run up and down her body. Jackie had bought the same dress, and Gen thought she looked stunning in it.
That same dress…that Jackie was walking up wearing right now. Jackie paused when she noticed. “You wore the same thing as me?”
“You told me I looked good in it!” Gen whined.
“You told me I looked good in it!” Jackie whined more. Well, there was nothing that could be done now. They looked like a cheery lesbian version of the Shining Twins, sure. But maybe it could work. “We’re not even dating and we’re already merging.” Jackie laughed and Gen flushed. Gen was too worried about her own color to notice Jackie’s own blush blooming across her cheeks.
Jackie held her hand out for Gen to take. Gen weaved her fingers between Jackies, and clasped Jackie’s arm with her other hand. Nice biceps, Gen thought, before shaking it from her mind. Focus, Melissa, win her back.
They walked into the party, garnering a few odd looks, but Jackie powered through the crowd. “We’ve got to find them, or else we’re flirting for no reason.” Well, not for no reason…
They spotted them getting drinks and Jackie steered them towards the kitchen. When they got there, Melissa was teasing Shauna about her drink of choice.
“I have to find a way to hide the Malibu from you,” Melissa said, laughing. Shauna stepped into Melissa’s personal space with a grin.
“I always have some with me. I tape the little travel bottles to my body like I’m smuggling drugs.” Shauna stepped even closer. “You’ll have to strip search me to find them.”
Jackie cleared her throat, and Shauna and Melissa simply turned their heads, remaining in their current position. “Hey guys, sorry. Just need to get to the fridge. What do you want, babe?” Jackie said the term of endearment so sweetly Gen was worried she might get a cavity.
“A beer is fine,” Gen answered with a smile.
“Bud good?” Jackie said with her head in the fridge.
“Bud’s great.” Gen answered and Jackie walked back with two Budweisers. Jackie opened both with a bottle opener that was on the counter and they walked out of the room. Melissa turned to Shauna.
“Gen hates Budweiser.” She shook her head.
“So does Jackie.” Shauna could barely muster up any confusion for whatever those two were doing anymore. She could, however, find it in her to be a little chaotic. “Wanna go see what they’re gonna get up to next?”
“Absolutely,” Melissa took Shauna’s hand and they walked out the same way Jackie and Gen did.
In the living room, Jackie and Gen were standing in a corner talking when Jackie noticed them walk in. “There they are! They’re so jealous they needed to follow us!”
“What should we do now?” Gen asked, looking Jackie up and down with a grin. Jackie grinned back, glancing over to the center of the room. All the furniture had been cleared to make a dance floor. As though by divine intervention, Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” came on, and Jackie wordlessly grabbed Gen’s hand and led her to the center of the dance floor.
They started dancing as the two had done so many times before at Yellowjackets parties: just vibing on their own. But as if a magnet was between them, they gravitated towards each other, making eye contact, and began dancing with each other. As the song progressed, it became less and less innocent, more and more sexual. They were essentially fully grinding on each other at one point.
Had they looked over, they would’ve seen Melissa and Shauna staring with eyes the size of dinner plates. Melissa turned to Shauna and leaned in so Shauna could hear over the music. “What the fuck is happening?” Shauna just shook her head wordlessly, in full disbelief.
But the two didn’t look over. Not once. They were fully wrapped up in each other as Mariah Carey’s voice riffed and ran over the Tom Tom Club sample, and by the time the song ended they almost had no clue where they were, let alone they were in a public place with a bit of an audience.
“Do you think it worked?” Gen was out of breath, and Jackie was panting. Jackie had this glazed over look as she stared at Gen. Gen snapped her fingers in front of Jackie’s face twice before she came to. Jackie tossed a look over to Melissa and Shauna who were laughing with each other.
“We need to break out the big guns,” Jackie said before marching over to the couple on the couch. “Beer pong?”
Melissa and Shauna looked a little taken aback by the direct question. Melissa and Shauna exchanged a look (of what, Jackie wasn’t really sure) before nodding. The group headed outside and found an empty table.
Once the table was set up, the game began. Melissa and Shauna were both pros in their own way. Melissa was a sniper, eying a cup and hitting it with ease. Shauna was a bit more of a psychological warfare genius, knowing exactly when and how to throw Jackie and Gen off their game. Coughing, exhaling forcefully, faking out with her own shots or doing quick shots.
But Jackie and Gen were holding their own, having both been their opposites game partners for so long. Jackie knew Shauna’s little tricks and could counteract them with ease. Gen knew that any movement behind the cup Melissa was aiming for would distract her and she would move at the exact perfect time to get Melissa to miss.
Each side came down to the wire, one left on each side. Shauna aimed and made it. She was always the closer. Melissa aimed, and right as she went to fire, Gen shifted her weight from her right leg to her left, standing directly behind the cup. Miss.
It was Jackie and Gen’s turn. Gen went first and she was perfectly buzzed to allow her to fully lock in. She called it her Pong Zen mode. She sank the shot with ease. Jackie was up, and when she glanced at Shauna she saw her working up a yawn. Jackie moved like she was about to shoot but stopped when Shauna began to yawn. Shauna finished her yawn and Jackie shot immediately after. Score.
Jackie and Gen began to hoot and holler. Shauna spiked a ball in disappointment and Melissa reached out and grabbed her shoulder, rubbing it reassuringly. On the other side of the table, Jackie picked up Gen and spun her around, Gen giggling the whole way, both a little drunk. Jackie put Gen down, looked at her for a minute, then planted one on her. They kissed for a moment before Gen pulled away.
“Is this…” She began the question but Jackie didn’t let her finish it before she answered.
“All real.” Jackie said simply before going back in. This kiss was rougher. Lips, teeth, tongue, feeling each other up. Generally kinda gross for a public display of affection. Shauna and Melissa looked at each other with relief.
“Fucking finally,” Melissa exhaled. “I was getting sick of all that fucking tension.”
“I can’t believe they literally faked it until they made it,” Shauna said, shaking her head.
“‘Til they made out, more like.” Melissa grinned.
Shauna got a mischievous look on her face. “You know what this means, right?”
Melissa wasn’t following but was very intrigued. “No…?”
“It’s going to be really easy to switch rooms in Seattle now…” Shauna trailed off and Melissa caught her drift. Melissa glanced between Shauna and the second story of Lottie’s house.
“You think Lottie has a spare bedroom that’s currently unoccupied?” Melissa raised her eyebrows suggestively. Shauna grabbed her hand and started dragging her to the back door.
“Well, if she doesn’t, she will soon.”