- Hawaii lust - Jenna Ortega

017

"So where is it we're going exactly?" Dahlia asks as they walk down the dock, trying to distract Jenna from staring over at her mom and aunt who are playing singles tennis. "Is there even a trail or are we just going to like...have to push our way through that jungle?"

"Jason told me about a trail that's down the beach that way," Jenna points to her right, but her eyes are still on the tennis court, watching her mom. "He said there's a huge, beautiful waterfall an hour or so in. It's what inspired me to take a hike in the first place."

"Oh," Dahlia nods, annoyed even by the name Jason now, and she still can't pinpoint why. But at least she's distracted enough to be not staring at her mom anymore.

"Jeez, Dahlia, not in public! My family is right there! " Jenna laughs loudly, wrapping her hand around her arm while they walk along the beach, right past the tennis courts where her mom is glaring at them in annoyance.

"What the hell was that?" Dahlia whispers, confused as they keep walking along the beach.

"Don't you remember my amendment to our deal from last night?" she nudges her, plastering on a huge, fake smile. Then, as soon as they get far enough down the beach that there are trees blocking the view of the tennis court, she pushes her off of her and the smile drops. "Your new job is to be disgusting with me, and vice versa. We're gonna show her just how happy two College students can be. And it's especially gonna kill her since she hasn't been sexually active in forever, and her underachieving daughter is getting banged multiple times daily."

Dahlia hesitates a moment, squinting her eyes, before replying, "Yeah, but you aren't."

"Shut up, Dahlia, that's not the point," she huffs, shaking her head. "The point is I don't need extravagance and money to be happy, but she can't see that. I'm perfectly happy living a mediocre and average life. So we're just rubbing that exact thing in her face."

"So...you're rubbing in her face that you're dating a mediocre and average girl, too?" Dahlia looks down at the sand, smiling a little so she doesn't think she's hurting her feelings. Even though she kind of is.

"You know I don't mean it like that," Jenna's voice softens slightly, her furious exterior transitioning to a regretful one. "God, I talk about my mom being a superiority-complex-ridden classist, but that's sort of what I'm acting like I guess. I just meant you go to college too, and you're dating me, so it's like..."

"No, I get it," Dahlia waves her off, shrugging. "I was just messing with you. Is this the trail you were talking about?"

"Uh...yeah, it is," she nods, taking in a breath. She can tell she feels bad, but she just wants this conversation to be over, really. She feels stupid for even starting it, but she thought she was going to fight her on it or at least deny it-not agree with her.

Dahlia leads the way, walking ahead of Jenna and holding back overgrown limbs and branches for her. They don't talk much; the awkwardness of the previous conversation still hanging in the air. And the silence, of course, makes her start overthinking and worrying.

She thinks about Jason, and then about the four times she and Jenna have kissed, and about the...situation from this morning.

First off, there's Jason. What is it about this guy she hates so much? She can't figure it out. He's good-looking, nice, down to earth. She shakes the thought away and moves onto the next, which is...

Kissing Jenna. She keeps going back to that in her mind, going over the one from last night most of all. She kissed her so hard and passionately, that it almost felt real. But then when they parted and she stormed off, she noticed her family there and everyone else staring at them, and she was rudely ripped back to reality. She hates her, yes, but damn she's a good kisser. Not that she's ever, ever going to tell her that, because she would die before giving her the satisfaction. But still, it's unfortunately true.