Chapter 8 #2
“You’re pretty funny,” Jenna laughed. “I’ll play along.
Here, put these on and this.” She handed him the board shorts and a t-shirt.
“I guess you need shoes, too. Dylan will have to get those for you.
A pair of flip-flops should do. Go get dressed and then come back.
By then Dylan and his lady should be here.
***
Jenna was pretty proud of herself. She had managed to apologize to Cormac without kissing him again.
The sight of him in that towel this morning had put thoughts into her head that shouldn’t be there.
Thankfully she hadn’t embarrassed herself by accidentally causing the towel to drop to the floor.
A surge of warmth covered her from head to toe and she didn’t need a mirror to know she was quite red from blushing.
She hurried down the hallway to her room where she found her sexiest bathing suit.
She put it on and looked at herself in the full-length mirror that was her closet doors.
Not bad, Jenna. This one will work nicely.
She checked herself out from all angles and when she was satisfied, opened the closet to remove a pretty flowered sundress.
She finished her look with a pair of sandals, a floppy hat and sunglasses.
She wasn’t sure who she was trying to impress, but the one thing she knew for sure was it was not Cormac MacBayne.
Arriving back in the kitchen, as predicted, Dylan was sitting there with a pretty brunette.
“This is Samantha. Samantha, my cousin Jenna.” Dylan made the introductions and Samantha looked a bit embarrassed.
“Nice to meet you, Samantha,” Jenna offered.
“You, too.” Samantha said. “Dylan, I really need to go. Would you mind walking me to my car?”
“Sure.” He said as he put an arm around her shoulders.
As they got up to leave, Cormac returned. He looked amazing in Dylan’s shorts and t-shirt. Jenna gulped and quickly turned to open the refrigerator and stick her head inside. She needed to cool off. Spontaneous combustion came to mind.
“Good morn to ye, Dylan,” Cormac said as he smiled at Samantha.
Jenna pulled some things out of the fridge and watched as Samantha gawked at Cormac. Put your eyes back in your head, is what she wanted to say, but instead she just stood there and watched the show.
Dylan reluctantly introduced Samantha to Cormac, who bowed in her direction.
Who does that? Jenna thought as she slammed her refrigerator finds down on the counter.
Everyone turned and looked her way. “Sorry. They slipped out of my hands,” she lied.
Jenna stood there like a zombie as Dylan and Samantha left the room.
What am I getting so worked up over? I already decided I wasn’t interested in Cormac, right? Wrong. She was more than interested.
“What are ye thinking up here in yer head?” Cormac was right beside her touching her forehead with his finger and burning a hole in it.
“Nothing. I just,” she stammered. “I was going over the list of things we need to bring with us.” She pressed an unopened package of cold cuts to her face. “Whew! It’s warm today. I guess it’s a good thing we’re going to the beach.”
“’Tis nae so warm,” Cormac said. “Are ye well?” He reached out to lay a hand on her forehead.
“I’m fine.” Jenna dodged his hand before he made contact. “Would you mind coming with me into the garage to get the cooler?”
“Aye. I’d be happy to help ye.”
“Follow me,” Jenna ordered as she made her way from the kitchen to the garage. Cormac was right in step behind her. She pointed out the cooler, which he picked up. “Bring it over here to the freezer so we can fill it with ice.”
Jenna opened the freezer and Cormac’s eyes went wide. “This is just a bigger version of the one in the kitchen. You look like you’ve never seen one before.”
“I havenae. We have none of these things at Breaghacraig.”
“Sounds like you live in the stone age,” she teased. “Can you grab those two bags of ice and we’ll put it in the cooler.”
Cormac hesitated for only a second and then did as she asked. Jenna signaled him to follow her again and he brought the cooler into the kitchen.
“Set it here by the sink, please,” she said.
“I’m going to make some sandwiches. Do you like tuna, egg salad or cold cuts?” From the expression on his face, she figured it might be all or none of those. “I’ll just make some of everything.”
Dylan entered the kitchen looking pretty happy. “Jenna, I’ll get the chairs into the truck. Anything else you want me to grab?”
“The beach bag, towels … the usual. Cormac why don’t you go help him with that?”
Cormac nodded and followed Dylan back into the garage.
Jenna got to work making the sandwiches and filling the cooler with water, sodas and beer.
She had some nice, late season peaches she had gotten at the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building when they had been in the city and she packed those as well.
Jenna looked in the refrigerator for anything else that might be good to bring along.
She knew Dylan was a big eater and she assumed that based on the size of him, Cormac was as well.
She didn’t want anyone to go hungry. As the final items were placed in the cooler, Dylan and Cormac reappeared to take it to the truck.
“What have you got in here, Jenna?” Dylan grunted as he picked the cooler up and Cormac grabbed an end to help him. Jenna just rolled her eyes at them. “You know how much food you eat, Dylan. I wasn’t sure that was even going to be enough.”
They finished loading up and Dylan secured his surfboard to the roof of the truck. Chester, who had been out in the backyard, was barking at the sliding door to be let in. As soon as Jenna opened it, he made a beeline for the truck, beating everyone as he dove into the backseat.
“Well, Chester, it looks like you and I will be sharing the backseat again,” Jenna said. Chester answered by licking her face and panting heavily in her ear. “Thanks for that,” Jenna answered.
“We’re outta here,” Dylan hooted. “Dude, I can’t wait to teach you how to surf.”
Cormac was looking apprehensive and Jenna teased, “Don’t worry, dude, you’ll probably be a natural.” She smiled to let him know she was joking.
“She’s right, Cormac. I’ll bet you pick it right up,” Dylan said as he backed the truck out of the garage.
He hit the button in the truck to close the garage door and Jenna watched the wonder on Cormac’s face as he pushed the button and sent the door back up.
He pushed it again, closing it and looked like he might give it one more try, when Dylan stopped him.
“It opens and closes the garage door, bro. Let’s leave it closed, okay? ”
“Dylan, did you set the alarm? We still need to get the locksmith out here, you know.”
“Don’t worry, my friends and I got the key away from Jonathan when we tossed his ass last night. He’ll have to break in, if he really wants to get in and I’ve got the alarm set. Besides the neighbors know that if they see him around they need to call the police.”
Jenna was relieved to hear that. She had worried he would come back while they were out.
Their neighbors were the best and she could always count on them to keep an eye on things when they weren’t around.
She let out a long sigh. Now she could relax and enjoy her day at the beach.
She just hoped she didn’t do anything stupid where Cormac was concerned.