Chapter One
Jess sat on the sofa between her two best friends, Zeck and Travis, in the family room of her house. They had popcorn, M&M’s, chips, and soda as they sat watching cable. Usually on a Saturday they watched a movie, but today their friend Sasha was in a dance competition that was being broadcast live. Sasha was a new friend of theirs from Australia. Zeck had a huge crush on her. Travis thought she was hot, too, but wasn’t as hung up on Sasha as Zeck, or so Jess thought.
Today was her eighteenth birthday, and her two closest friends had forgotten. She’d known and been best friends with Zeck and Travis most of her life, and neither of them had ever forgotten her birthday. Her mother had told her she could have a party, her brothers had called and said they would drive over and take her somewhere special, but after she’d had her birthday breakfast and unwrapped her presents with her parents Jess had wanted to spend the day with her two besties.
Since Sasha turned up, Jess’s world had started to change. Not only was she invited to parties, but to girls’ shopping trips and girls’ nights out. For as long as Jess could remember it had been her, Zeck, and Travis. Their parents had been friends, and she’d met them through them. They started hanging out and never stopped. Jess’s mother and father had told her many times that she needed to venture out of her circle, that Zeck and Travis would want their own friends when she hit puberty, or high school. That hadn’t happened. She’d hit both milestones years ago, and they were still going strong. The sleepovers stopped for a while, but picked up again, and other than that nothing changed. Lately, though, everything felt weird.
“Wow. Sasha looks amazing.” Zeck’s comment had Jess blinking and focusing on the big screen TV.
Sasha did look hot. Jess felt the pang of jealousy as she stared at her friend on screen. Jess wished she had a body like Sasha’s. Jess had used to diet all the time but had given up last year when her mother had started taking her to a shrink, worried about her eating and always dieting. After many sessions Jess was slowly accepting her size eighteen, sixteen on a good day, body.
Her mother continually told her that it was inside that counts and that she was beautiful. That the guy she was meant to be with would think that, too. Jess hoped her mother was right because no man so far had been interested in her. Not that Jess had tried to get any guy’s attention. Sure she crushed on guys, but they were way out of her league. Most of the guys at her school were ridiculously good looking, and the girls were gorgeous. Jess’s mother had joked that it was something in the water where they lived, but Jess drank that water and she wasn’t a size 6 or 8, tall, and model beautiful. Jess supposed it was Vegas, and all the gorgeous people seemed to stick together and produce even better looking offspring.
Jess didn’t think she was ugly. She had light olive skin with no blemishes, hazel eyes, and long chestnut hair. She just wasn’t in the same league as most of the people around her. She was okay with that, but sometimes, like now, when her two best friends forgot her birthday because of a hot girl, it got her down. Jess knew it wasn’t Sasha’s fault she and her friends had forgotten her birthday. Sasha did have a lot going on, and Jess had only told her the date of her birthday once.
Playing with the hem of the baggy shirt she wore, Jess berated herself for not saying something to remind her friends. She was cutting her nose off to spite her face as her mother would say, but Jess thought it was the principle. Travis and Zeck should remember. She shouldn’t have to remind them. They didn’t have to remind her about their birthdays. Jess never forgot theirs. She could say something now, but…
Travis threw a pillow at her interrupting her thoughts. “It’s finished. It’s been finished for a while. What are you staring into space about?”
Jess shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to tell them. They had known her almost all her life and been friends all that time. They should know her birthday.
Travis studied her for a moment before he continued. “What do you want to watch now?” He winked at her. “Or has watching the dancing made you motivated? Do you want to go out instead? We could go dancing and shake our booties.”
Jess rolled her eyes at Travis’s attempt at being funny. She looked at her tracksuit pants and her brother’s old shirt. She wasn’t dressed to go out. “Where would we go?”
Travis shrugged. “There has to be something on. It is Saturday night.”
Zeck winked at her. “Yeah, Jezebel.”
Jess glared at Zeck. Lately he was being a real asshole. Zeck knew she hated being called by her full name. “Don’t call me that.”