Ave dropped onto the couch between Becca and J, her hair still damp from the shower.  Both girls looked at her sidewise.

“You get laid?” Becca said, her attention back on the movie.

“Nah, he can’t hold his breath as long as I can, he would have drown,” Ave replied.

“How’d it go?  Any melodramatic confessions?” Becca continued.

“Just mentions of stuff you’ve already heard.”

“How’d he do?” J asked.

Ave shrugged, “About what I would expect from a snowboarder, he got up first try and kept his stick under him.”

“Got it up first try, huh?” Becca grinned.

“You’re terrible, Bec,” J said.

“I think she wants him herself,” Ave said.

Becca shrugged.  “He is pretty skinny.  I might break him.”

“Looks okay in a wet suit,” Ave observed.  “Not like Nat or Slater but not Q either.”

“Nobody’s Q.”

“He’s still growing,” J said.  “He’ll fill out.”

“Mikey’s got something goin’ on,” Becca said.

“Well, he’s pretty much a jock,” Ave replied.  “Not saying that bad, or anything.”

“So, you got him surfing … and?”

“We’re gonna hit the park tomorrow,” Ave said.  “Can you believe he’s never ridden a roller coaster?”

“What rock did they live under?” Becca laughed.

“Piney woods,” Ave replied.  “I knew a couple of people that lived up in the mountains back home.  Just a tent and sleeping bag.  Only came down to panhandle and do odd jobs for quarters.”

J shook her head.  “Don’t think it was THAT bad.  I mean weren’t their parents like scientists or something?”

Ave nodded.  “Yeah, Snowy’s dad, Jack’s dad was a teacher or something.”

“He go through the whole life story again?” Becca asked.

“Nah, little give and take is all.”

“What’d you ‘give’ and what’d you ‘take’?”

“Come on, Bec, it’s not like that.  We just went surfing and ate a bit and talked a bit.”

“Becca’s just horny,” J commented.  “I can see it.”

“You can see that?” Ave gaped.

Becca hit J with a pillow.  “Am not, just holding up my end of the conversation.”

“The horny end,” J teased.

“I am not banging Jack,” Ave protested.

“Yet.”

“Come on, I am just getting to know him!”

“Yes, but you are attracted to him,” J said.  “That I really CAN see.”

“What you going mind reader on me or something?”

“Physical response cannot be hidden from me,” J told her.

“That is NOT fair!  Don’t you dare spread something like that around!”

“Hey, it’s just the three of us and I am sure we all have one of these guys we’re hot for.  It’s called being a teenage girl subject to her uncontrollable physical urges,” Becca said.

“Yeah?  Then fair’s fair, who’s yours?”  Ave demanded.

“Ern, Dusk, Mikey and Nat, of course,” J announced.

Becca gave her a dirty look.  “What about you, J?  In the interest of fairness?”

J considered.  “Actually, I find Dusk fascinating but I am not sure if that is because of his ... condition or in spite of it.”

Becca raised an eyebrow. “That it?  Just Dusk?”

“Can I think of Nat as my Onii-chan?”

Her two friends looked at each other.  J sighed.

“Anime trope where the younger sister has an attraction to her older brother.”

“Does everyone have a thing for Nat?” Ave groused.

“Pretty much,” J said.  “Just like every guy has a thing for Mal.  Jack’s crushing on her big time.”

“I’d crush on her if I went that way,” Becca admitted.  “She’s … impossibly beautiful.”

“Doesn’t hurt she’s a sweetie,” J added.  “Red say she’s never had a harsh word to say about anyone.”

“Wonder who she’s hot for?” Ave said.

“Look,” J began.  “Let’s forget I said everything and I’ll keep this little power to myself from now on.”

“Hard to forget,” Becca told her.

“So, what did you learn about Jack,” J changed the subject.

“Well, he’s not as tightly wound as I thought, once you get him out of Snowy range,” Ave told them.  “He’s a bit manic but calms down once he’s got something physical to do.”

“Like …?”

“Shut up Becca,” Ave growled.  “We got more in common than I expected but there are some major differences, like he can’t stand the heat.  I mean 70s heat.  Water OR air temp.”

“That sucks,” Becca said.  “But we had some idea about that.  What else?”

“We all know about the seafood thing and what he can eat,” Ave went on.

“He offer to give you a list of things he can’t eat?” Becca interrupted.

“No,” Ave rolled her eyes.

“You’re going to the park tomorrow?” J said.

“Yeah, I’m gonna see if I can scare him with the coaster,” Ave said.

“Expecting him to jump into your arms?” Becca asked.

“No, I don’t think he’ll even flinch, honestly.”

“So, bottom line?” asked Becca.

“He’s a lot different from when he’s with Ben and especially Snowy.  Without her right there, he seems to be able to relax.”

“But don’t they have the mind link thing she’s always talking about?” J said.

Ave flushed.  “I didn’t think of that,” she admitted.

“Might make it awkward making out with him,” Becca observed.  “Can you imagine doing ‘it’ with him with her in his head?  I wonder if she’d tell him what to do?”

J shook her head.  “They don’t share senses, Bec, she can’t feel what he’s doing or feeling.”

“Says who?  They could have some kinky thing going on there.”

“Come on, Bec, mind out of the gutter,” J said.

“Says the girl with the onii-chan complex …”

J hit her with a pillow.