A Life Rescued

The Endings

It took Leslie the better part of a week to wind down from the excitement of the spring show; by the last Friday of April she was back to her old self and reveling in the early burst of summer weather which had descended on southwest Virginia. The forecast for the next few days spoke only of warm, sunny days and comfortable nights. Even the stench from the future farmland had abated to the point of mere annoyance. With this weekend came her first opportunity since the cruise for she and Jesse to enjoy an evening together – and alone. After school, the couple picked up a picnic dinner Ellie had packed for them and headed down the path towards the old Boone place. The limited daylight would prevent them from going far, but a mile stroll into the woods was enough for privacy. And Leslie had planned this outing since Jesse's birthday to reveal the full nature of her mysterious birthday note.

Hand-in-hand, the two went their way and reached a clearing off the path at about four-thirty. Jesse unfolded a plastic ground cloth and Leslie shook out a thinning pale green blanket that had seen better days. On a thick bed of pine needles, the two lay down and started unpacking the food and talking.

"Jess, about that note I gave you for your birthday," Leslie started. Her voice was shy and coy, not its usual confident tone.

"Oh, yeah, I figured you'd get around to it after the show was over. What's the big surprise?" He'd noted that there was no package in sight.

"Jess, I want to give you something that's personal and shows how much I love you," she started, then burst into laughter at the sight of Jesse's look of consternation. "Not that, Jess" Maybe next year. Batting her eyes seductively, Leslie rolled over next to her best friend and continued, "I want to rejoin the RCIC program at church."

Still a bit stunned by his misinterpretation of Leslie's initial statement, it took Jesse a moment to fully realize what he'd been told. But as the jolt wore off, so did his miasma of concern and he rolled atop his friend and wrapped her in his arms. "You mean it? Really?"

A muffled reply sounded affirming, but breathless, too.

"Sorry, Les," he laughed, rolling back off. Leslie gulped in air, smiling nonetheless, and traded places, pinning Jesse to the ground with the full length of her body. They gazed into each other's eyes and began kissing.

In the six weeks since his first tentative physical exploration of Leslie on the cruise, nothing as deep had happened – there had been virtually no opportunity. The fading memories of her form and absolute delight at the news, however, emboldened him and his hands worked their way from her face downward to find the t-shirt she was wearing firmly tucked into her jeans. In trying to find a way to her flesh, it was impossible for Jesse to hide what he was doing.

Leslie broke away from the kissing and smiled down at him. She could feel that her friend was excited by the situation and she couldn't resist saying, "Are you looking for something?"

"Um...sorry," he answered quickly and guiltily, hands darting back up to Leslie's arms and eyes looking away.

"I'm teasing you, Jess. Don't you dare stop!"

"What...? Really? It's okay?"

Sighing to herself, Leslie nodded and smiled. She sat up and pulled the hem of her shirt out. She also considered taking it off but didn't want to push her luck, so she lay back down and gave her boyfriend an encouraging smile before returning to his mouth. A short while later, nearing despair, she finally felt the flesh of Jesse's palms against the skin of her waist. He was amazingly gently and soft and patient, despite the obvious interest in feeling her up.

When his hands reached her bra, Leslie felt Jesse exhale. He apparently had forgotten about this particular barrier and she cursed silently for having worn one at all. Another long minute passed as he clumsily searched for the clasp, and two more while he fumbled to unhook it. Sweating, red in the face, he finally got the two-pronged hook undone; it took Leslie all her willpower to keep from laughing - and helping.