NotExpected 21

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn "Oh my," Susie had looked surprised at my blush, "you think he's cute too, don't you?" "In a shy kind of way," I had admitted, "but then again, so are a lot of other boys." "That's because they are all in love with you," Kelley had claimed, "but don't want to deal with your parents." "By the way," I had changed the subject, "Someone told me that Amanda and her sidekicks are up to their old tricks again. There is a freshman girl that we need to go talk to." "My goodness," Susie said with exasperation in her voice, "when is that bitch going to learn?" "I guess that I will have to have another talk with Amanda at cheer practice after school," Kelley sighed. I don't recall thinking any more about the interchange with Pete until we met again that snowy December evening several years later.

Chapter 21

In our senior year, the Posse nominated each other for the Prom court. I figured it was a joke and went along with it just for fun.

I was shocked when Jenny and I were actually voted to be two of the four Prom Princesses. We really didn't campaign seriously for the honor.

This created a dilemma for me. Jenny was steady dating a cute guy at the time who was taking her to the Prom. Kelley and Susie also had dates. We had even talked the three guys into going as a group to dinner and the dance. I volunteered to pay for a big stretch limo that could accommodate all of us. Given my untouchable status, no one had asked me to the Prom. I knew that I would have to either take the initiative to find a prom date or go without.

We had been prom dress shopping together and had a great time trying on lots of gowns. The four of us girls were very excited. Even though I could afford it, I had Tom foot the bill for a very expensive and gorgeous prom dress and accessories. I figured that was the least he could do for scaring all the boys away.

I did not want to be a Prom Princess without a date, so I came up with a plan to get one.

At lunch two weeks before the Prom, I diverted from my normal lunch table and went to the back corner of the lunchroom where the geeks and gamers hang out. I had a passing acquaintance with several of these social outcasts. The Posse and I had a pretty good reputation amongst the geeks at our school since we had rescued several of them from bullies over the years.

As I approached the table, the eyes of the boys facing me all got big and conversation at the table stopped. The others turned around to see what their buddies were gawking at.

"Hi guys," I said brightly as I set my lunch tray at an empty place at the table. I sat down to a table of speechless young men. "How’s it going?"

The first boy to mentally reboot said, "What are you doing here, Andi?"

He had been one of our bully rescue projects in our Sophomore year.

"Looking for a date to the Prom," I sweetly replied.

"No way!" another exclaimed. "Don’t tell me that the most gorgeous girl in the school, and a Prom Princess, needs a date from one of us."

"There is no way that any of us are going to the Prom," another one stated. "It's not our thing."

"Have any of you ever been on a date?" I asked. When I sat at the very table twenty years earlier, the answer to that question would have been a resounding 'No!'

"My Mom made me take my little sister to a movie last month," One boy said raising his hand. "Does that count?"

"I don’t think so," I sadly shook my head.

"Don’t look at me," another said. "I’ve heard about your parents. I gather that when The Facts of Life are explained to your dates, that they don’t dare take you out again. I even heard that one of your dates bailed before you could get out the door."

That was, unfortunately, true. The last boy to attempt a date with me was already out the door before I made my entrance. Whatever The Facts of Life are, they were too much for him to handle.

"Here’s the deal," I said, "As a duly elected Prom Princess, I have to go to the Prom and I don’t want to go alone, so I need a date. I have, so far been unsuccessful at attracting one. So, since I am reasonably sure that none of you have plans to attend the Prom, I decided to try my luck with you guys. I will pay for the tickets, dinner, and limo plus a $200 bonus for one of you to be that date. The lucky boy will have to shave, take a shower, wash his hair, and generally present himself as an upstanding young man. We will be going as a group with the rest of the Posse and their dates. Who’s interested?"

"No way," one boy said emphatically, "No amount of money is worth facing your parents."

They all looked at each other and started to argue amongst themselves. Everyone but Jimmy. He was sitting across the table from me looking thoughtful.

Jimmy had a reputation for being extraordinarily bright and only mildly socially impaired. He just wasn’t into playing the social games of high school. He would later be successful in a pre-medicine major in college and everyone was expecting that he would be accepted into a prestigious medical school.

"What about it, Jimmy?" I asked him. "Are you up to the challenge?"

"Let me get this right," he said. "The most gorgeous, popular, and accomplished girl in the school who has already been chosen to be a Prom Princess, and most likely will be voted Prom Queen, wants to pay me to clean up my act and take her to the Prom? But I must face her father who has scared the crap out of every guy that’s ever tried to date her. Is that right?"

"That about sums it up," I agreed.

"$500," he said.

"What?" I had asked in confusion.

"$500," He repeated himself. "I want $500 and the other things you mentioned. And the tux rental."

"You are crazy," I told him.

"Take it or leave it," he shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t really want to go to the Prom anyway."

We stared at each other for a minute. The other boys were sitting on the edge of their seats looking at the two of us in disbelief.

I spent a moment considering how bad I wanted a Prom date.

Finally, I said, "$500, the dinner, limo, and the tickets. You pay for your own tux and a corsage for me. I have already picked out a baby blue pastel dress. The corsage should complement it."

We stared across the table at each other for another minute. Everyone at the table was waiting with bated breath for his response.

Finally, he said, "Okay, I’ll do it on those terms with half of the money upfront and the balance at the conclusion of the date. Plus, I want one kiss. On the lips. At the Prom."

I made a face at that, but finally stuck out my hand, "I believe that we have a deal."

He shook my hand, "I believe that we do."

"Dude!" one of his buddies exclaimed in disbelief, "This is freaking amazing. You are getting PAID to go to the Prom with the hottest girl in the school and she is going to kiss you? Do you think you can handle her father?"

"We’ll see," he shrugged his shoulders.

I gave him $250 cash on the spot to seal the deal.

----<0>----

I ran into Amanda and a couple of her hanger-ons in the hall between classes later that day.

"What’s this I hear that you have to pay a boy to take you to Prom?" She asked in disgust.

"Just go away, Amanda," I sighed.

"What a loser," she said as she headed off to her next class. "You are so pathetic."

I knew, then, that I would never live this down.

But at least I was a Prom Princess. Amanda hadn’t made the cut, even after campaigning hard for it.

The whole school knew about my bargain before the day was over. The story seemed to grow with each retelling. I am sure that the geeks embellished it more than was warranted.

----<0>----

The night of the Prom, I hired a super stretch limo, which picked up all of the guys first then the rest of the Posse. We all ended up at the mansion together, where Sandra had a hired photographer to take pictures of us as couples and as a group.

When Jimmy came to the door, he had a look of nervous resolve on his face. He knew what was coming. As the photographer was getting set up, both Tom and Sandra took Jimmy into the Study to explain The Facts of Life. Jimmy was visibly shaken when he rejoined us for photographs. It was hard to get him to smile during the photo session.

We had reservations at a swanky restaurant for dinner before the dance. There were lots of other Prom couples there too. By the time dinner was over, Jimmy had recovered somewhat but he was being very careful to be the perfect gentleman. I was still untouchable.

The Prom was held in the ballroom of one of the upscale hotels in town. I knew that several of our classmates had reserved rooms for the night, but none of Posse was up for that. There was no way that my date would suggest such an impropriety after the Facts of Life lecture.

Before the dance started, the Prom Court was invited to the raised platform where the band was located so that the results of the voting for the Prom court could be announced. I was floored when I was pronounced Prom Queen and Jenny the first attendant. I never have figured out how that happened.

I danced the obligatory first dance with the football player who was named the Prom King before returning to the table that the Posse had claimed. I spent the rest of the evening dancing with Jimmy and visiting with the rest of the Posse and their dates except for the few times that I was asked to dance by other boys. Quite a few of the kids stopped by our table to congratulate Jenny and I. Jimmy didn’t mind me dancing with other boys as he did not seem excited about dancing.

As the dance wound down, Jimmy still hadn’t claimed his kiss.

"When would like your kiss?" I asked him during a slow dance.

I am sure that you could have put a phone book between us. Jimmy was being very careful to not overstep his bounds. It must have been something that my parents had said.

"I think that I will pass on that," he said nervously.

Maybe it was the magic of Prom night, but I was finding him to be rather cute. He did clean up nicely.

"A deal is a deal," I told him with a grin. Then I pulled his head down and gave him a big long passionate kiss, on the lips, right there in the middle of the dance floor for the whole school to see. I think it stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Dude," one nearby football player said in awe to Jimmy. "you are one really brave man."

One of my former dates piped up, "You better hope that her old man doesn’t hear about this."

Another one said, "I wouldn’t worry so much about her father. It’s her mother who scares me."

Jimmy was white as a sheet. A white sheet with a definite smear of lipstick on his lips.

I really really do want to know what’s in The Facts of Life lecture.

Jimmy’s street cred went up considerably that night.

It was also our one and only date.

----<0>----

As the end of our high school career approached, the weighted class ranking had me in first place, with Kelley and Susie right behind me. It was a tight race. I had a perfect 4.0 grade point average. That included straight As in the Advanced Placement courses that we had all taken. The others had each received an A- in one or more classes. Jenny was also in the top ten, but had slipped just a little more than the others. All the time working together in our condo study hall had really paid off.

I did have, unfortunately for me, a pang of conscience. I really didn’t need the honor. I had recently completed my Computer Engineering degree and had my acceptance into MIT in hand. Plus I felt that having an extra twenty years of life experience and a college education had given me an unfair advantage.

Looking at my schedule, I decided that the most difficult final exam that I would face would be in my AP Physics class. Kelley was also in the class. We were both at the top of the class rankings. I did a calculation and determined that I needed to drop to a B+ in the class in order to lose my place at the top of the ranks and let Kelley take the number one slot in the weighted class rankings. That is, assuming that she got straight As in all her classes.

To drop my grade to a B+, I had to drop my score on the final exam to 30%. That was way out of character for me, but it had to be done.

I studied extra hard with Kelley to prepare her for the exam. She thought that I was studying so hard so that I could cement my position in the standings.

When the exams were distributed, I stared at the questions. I knew that I could ace the exam, but I set to work trying to fail it without being too obvious. That was an impossible task.

When grades were posted, I found that I had done better at failing than I had thought. I earned a straight B in the physics class. This dropped me to third place behind Kelley and Susie. I just smiled to myself.

When the Posse learned of my grade, their first assumption was the teacher had screwed up the grading somehow. Kelley knew that I had the subject down cold.

"You need to go see the teacher about this," Kelley insisted. "This can’t be right. You would have to have missed almost every question on the exam for this to happen."

"You’ve never done that," Susie pointed out.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess that I just had a bad day."

When I did get my test paper back, it had a big 25% written on the top along with a "Come see me" from the teacher.

"What happened, Andi?" the teacher asked when I went to see him. "You had to have intentionally thrown the exam. The next lowest score was 60%. This wasn’t that hard of an exam for someone of your talents and you haven’t missed a point all semester."

I shrugged, "Bad day," was all that he was able to get out of me. He was frustrated by my response.

The girls were worse about it.

"25% !?!?!?" Jenny exclaimed. "Why did you do it?"

I just smiled at her and the other girls. "It was a bad day."

"Bull," Kelley was angry with me. "You’ve NEVER had that bad of a day. Ever. You blew the exam on purpose."

Jenny looked hard at me then said to Kelley, "She blew it so that you could be #1. It is so like her."

"It so is," Susie agreed.

I had no comment.

Kelley was so angry that she didn’t speak to me for three days. Another first.

During her valedictorian address at graduation, Kelley spoke of friendship and sacrifice, using me as her example. She came right out and said that she wouldn’t be giving that address if her friend had not sacrificed herself to give up the top spot for her. She encouraged the class to be equally selfless as they moved on to their futures. It was a touching tribute.

I was happy for my friend.

----<0>----

For a graduation present, Tom and Sandra gave the four of us a skippered sailboat charter in the British Virgin Islands. The girl's parents paid for transportation to and from the BVI. Our parents insisted that we hire a female captain to go with us, which the charter company was happy to supply, for a price. My parents also paid to have the boat stocked before we arrived. We rented a Jeanneau 440 with three cabins, one for the captain, and the other two for us. This was to be our first trip without our parents watching over us. The other girls were excited by this big step in their lives. I, of course, had been there, done that, but it was many years ago in what felt like another galaxy.

We were met at the airport by a representative of the charter company and taken straight to the marina where we met our captain at the boat.

"Hello girls," A bubbly young woman in her late 20s greeted us. "I am Cassie. I will be your captain for the week. My husband would normally go with us, but when he heard that the guests were four eighteen-year-old girls, he found another charter needing a captain."

"Wise man," I commented as we all introduced ourselves. We were more than okay with an all female crew. Throwing a male into the mix would have drastically changed the dynamic.

We spent the next hour settling in and getting a briefing on the boat and its systems.

Two hours after setting foot on the boat, we headed out on a short reach to Norman Island for our first night afloat. We had a fair wind and arrived in plenty of time to explore the national park site with natural sea caves. The snorkeling was awesome. Cassie had been planning on just hanging out on the boat, but we talked her into her bikini and had her join us in our explorations. She had spent several years in the area and was a great guide to the local wonders.

"If you girls want to," Cassie told us, "you can go to dinner on shore at Pirates. It is a family-oriented beach bar and restaurant. It is a nice place to hang out. I would stay away from Willy-Ts unless you are looking for a party."

"What are you going to do?" asked Kelley.

"I have some reading to catch up on," Cassie replied.

"You could come with us if you like?" Susie mentioned.

"That's alright girls," she smiled back at us, "I've been there plenty of times. Just go and enjoy yourselves. This is your trip. Also, I know the crew of one of the boats in the anchorage. If it is alright with you guys, I'll have them over for a visit."

"No problem," I told her.

So the Posse all piled into the dinghy and motored ashore. The restaurant is right at the water's edge and seemed to be doing a booming business. One look at the menu showed that this is a place for those who don't worry about spending lots of money.

The legal drinking age in the BVI is eighteen, so the girls all wanted to try a drink with dinner. We ordered four different flavors of Daiquiris that we shared. It was the first alcohol that I had had in six years and it went straight to my head. It appeared to do the same to the rest of the Posse.

"Oh," Jenny exclaimed after a first sip, "this is good."

"I could get used to this," Susie agreed.

"I want to see what a Margarita is all about," Kelley said. "Let's order those next."

"Be careful," I warned, "I think that we should keep it to one drink tonight to see what it does. We still have to motor back to the yacht and I don't want any drunk chicks falling overboard."

"Spoilsport," Jenny pouted, "You are acting like you are thirty-eight instead of eighteen."

"She is thirty-eight," Kelley pointed out.

"I keep forgetting that," Susie admitted.

Being eighteen-year-old girls, none of us ate much, so we just ordered appetizers and salads and spent a couple of hours chatting. We were all comfortable with each other and conversation streamed effortlessly. By this time in my feminine development I was fully integrated and could chat with the best of them. It was good to relax with my friends in a warm tropical environment.

Cassie had already gone to bed by the time we returned to the yacht. After securing the dinghy, we lounged in the cockpit and continued our discussion while watching the stars.

The next morning, we slipped our mooring and motored our way out of the crowded anchorage.

Kelley and Jenny had breakfast duty and prepared a light breakfast of bagels and fruit along with a pot of coffee for all of us.

We spent a couple of hours snorkeling around some rock formations known as the Indians before setting sail for the short hop to Great Harbor on Peter Island. We took an indirect route so that we could play with the sails. Cassie was impressed when Susie took command of the boat and we all pitched in to see how well we could sail the big boat. Cassie only had to point out where things were and train us on features that we were not accustom to.

"You girls really know what you are doing," she sounded surprised and pleased. "I don't have to do anything but tell you where to go. You make me feel like the guest."

Once she was comfortable with our skill levels, she went out on the foredeck in her bikini with a bottle of sun lotion and her book and left us to run the boat.

That night we ate aboard, after more swimming in the warm ocean, grilling some fresh Tuna steaks that we found in the refrigerator. Susie and I put together a salad to go with the fish.

"This is fun," Cassie said as we all lounged around the cockpit in our bikinis after dinner. "It is nice having a girl's vacation for a change."

"I know what you mean," Kelley added. "It is nice not having to watch out for leering guys. Jenny and I get enough of that when cheering."

"I think most guys come to the volleyball games to see us in our tight shorts," I added. "Sometimes I think that the only thing they remember from the games is all the nice asses in tight shorts."

"And the bouncing boobs," Susie added. "A sports bra only does so much to keep the girls under control. I heard some boys drooling over your breasts at one of your games."

"Exactly," Cassie agreed. "Even with my husband around, I have to be careful on most cruises. The guy cruises are the worst. You wouldn't believe how lecherous some guys get when they are away from their families. Particularly after a few drinks. Family cruises are better, particularly if there are kids around. Couples cruises aren't too bad - most of the time - but some husbands don't behave well even with their wives around. On a normal cruise, there is no way that I would be sitting around in a bikini enjoying a warm evening. While I like guys, there are times when it is nice to be a woman without having to have my guard up all the time."

"Amen to that," Jenny agreed. So did the rest of us.

I remember thinking, sadly, that I didn't really get it when I had been a guy.

----<0>----

We slept in a little later than we had planned the next morning. We slipped our mooring around 9 AM as we ate another light breakfast underway. We enjoyed yet another day of sailing, snorkeling, and sunning on our way to Cooper Island.

That evening we had dinner on the boat again and went ashore to sample the local beach bar. That evening the girls learned a lesson that all first time drinkers seem to need to learn.

"Girls," I said with concern as they were finishing their third drinks for the evening, "I think that we need to head back to the boat."

We were at a beach front bar not far from that night's anchorage. Each of the girls had already consumed three margaritas and they were all pretty loose. I was still nursing my first one and feeling the effect myself. I wasn't worried too much about them getting drunk - everyone has to do that at least once. No, it was the four college boys that bought them their second and third drinks that I was worried about. The boys were starting to look good to my three friends. Kelley was already practically sitting on one boy's lap and giggling up a storm as he slid his hand under her mini-skirt. I am pretty sure that another boy had copped a feel from Susie and she just giggled and did nothing to prevent the next one. Jenny was playing tonsil hockey with her boy who had a hand firmly attached to one of her breasts was caressing her erect nipple. These girls were lightweights and showing their inexperience with alcohol.

"Just one more round," Kelley pled as she snuggled closer to her boy. "And Joey here wants us to go party on his boat."

The fourth guy tried putting his arm around me to pull me close.

I elbowed him in the gut and he got the message - I think.

"Hey good looking," he grinned at me, "Let me buy you another drink."

"I'm good," I glared at him. "I am the designated driver tonight."

"Lighten up," he suggested, "you're on vacation. Live a little."

I stood up and rounded up my friends.

"Do we have to go, Andi?" Susie whined at me. "We are just starting to have fun."

"Yes we do, sweetie," I assured her.

"Yeah," Susie's boy agreed with her, "She's a big girl, let her stay. I will return her in the morning."

"Sorry guys, maybe another time." I growled at them, "We have to get an early start tomorrow."

I made each of the girls wear a life vest for the short trip out to the yacht, just in case one of them fell overboard.

Cassie helped me tuck them all into bed.

"Is this their first time getting drunk?" Cassie asked later as we were sitting topside enjoying the night air.

"Yeah," I sighed. "They need to learn some restraint."

"I think that they will have something to think about in the morning," she observed.

"I agree," I replied.

"How come you didn't get drunk?" Cassie asked. "This has to be your first time out too."

I thought about it for a minute before replying, "It's a long story that I would rather not get into, but this is not my first experience with alcohol."

"I take it that you learned your lesson the hard way," she probed.

"You could say that," I answered. And changed the topic.

I had gotten drunk a few times when I had first turned twenty-one and made an absolute fool of myself. I watched some girls do the same, but they were taken advantage of by predatory males and they suffered more than simple embarrassment. I didn't want that to happen to my friends.

----<0>----

There were groans in the morning as my three friends woke with splitting headaches.

Cassie and I provided them with big glasses of water, aspirin, and liberal amounts of coffee.

"I guess we had too much last night?" Susie moaned.

"I think there were boys involved?" Jenny asked, "Weren't there?"

"I don't think that I want to know what happened." Kelley groaned.

"Yes," I smiled at them, "There were boys trying to get you drunk, and they did a pretty good job of it."

"Don't tell me that we embarrassed ourselves," Jenny said already knowing the answer.

"I think that you were all ready to go party on their boat," I pointed out. "I am pretty sure that all three of you would have ended up waking up in their beds this morning if I hadn't been there."

"They were cute," Susie pointed out, "At least I think they were. I sort of remember that anyway."

"Judging from where he was placing his hands," I commented dryly, "he definitely thought you were cute."

"I sort of remember that too," Susie said dreamily, "It felt good."

"I am pretty sure that being a single mom wouldn't have felt so good." I said dryly.

"I am on the pill," she shrugged, "but it would probably be best to be cognizant the first time."

"And with a boy that cares about you," Kelley added. "Not like The Asshole I dated in my Junior year. He wasn't interested in me, just sex. We only did it twice. While it was intersting, I didn't come either time and he just walked away with a big self satisfied grin on his face both times. Next thing I know, he's banging that bitch Amanda. I think that he wanted to work his way through all the cheerleaders. I will wait for Mr. Right next time."

"I think that you're right," Jenny said. "The Asshole made a play at me after he got done with Amanda."

"Well," I pointed out to Kelley, "last night it looked like you were warming up to your second conquest. You were practically sitting on his lap and you were giggling a lot."

"And he copped a few feels too," she pointed out. "And like Susie said, it felt nice. Anyway, I'm glad that you had your head on your shoulders. I won't do that again."

Cassie had been quietly watching our interchange with a grin.

"Something about be away from home lets people's inhibitions go out the window," she commented, "I see it all the time, particularly with people who are here without their significant others. But you know what I admire?"

"What?" I asked.

"I admire the people who honor their relationships and control themselves," she told us. "I think that the people who are the happiest are the ones who can go home without secrets. I did the party scene before I met my husband and I kind of regret it most days. It was fun at the time, but I particularly regret it when we run into some guy that I had slept with on some one-night stand. They always leer at me and occasionally comment on what a good time we'd had - right there in front of my husband. Sure I was single then, but it gives me regrets. I wish that I had waited. Being with my husband is much better than anything I experienced as a party girl."

We all were quiet for a while, each with her own thoughts on what Cassie had said.

----<0>----

Day four started out with a tack up the Sir Francis Drake Channel to a place called the Baths on the southern end of Virgin Gorda for a day of snorkeling and sunning. In the afternoon we sailed across the channel to Marina Cay. We talked Cassie into joining us for a dinner ashore and a drink at the local bar. We had Cassie take our picture when the four of us crammed giggling into the red British phone booth at the end of the pier.

Day five we spent the mid part of the day snorkeling at three small islands called the Dogs.

As we were climbing back aboard the boat, we were subject to wolf whistles from a nearby boat that had arrived while we were swimming. It turned out to be the four boys from our night of excess.

"Are you guys stalking us?" Susie called across in a flirtatious tone to our 'dates' from that night.

"We are just following the most scenic view in the BVI," one of them replied before they dived in the water and swam over to visit us.

"Permission to come aboard," my 'date' playfully requested when they arrived.

"What do you think girls," Jenny asked, "Should we allow the boys that got us drunk the other night on board?"

"Hey," her date replied, "We didn't get you drunk. We were just being friendly."

Cassie laughed, "Come aboard guys, if you can behave yourselves."

We spent a little time visiting. The boys tried to get cozy again, but we kept them at arms length.

When we got to talking about sailing, it was pretty apparent that we had more sailing experience than they had, but they boasted about their abilities. As luck would have it, they were also in a Jeanneau 440.

Susie got a predatory gleam in her eye.

"Where are you boys headed tonight?" she sweetly asked.

"We thought that we'd head up to Leverick Bay," one of them replied.

"I know that our sailing skills are probably not as good as yours, but do you care to have a race to Leverick Bay?" she asked sweetly. "We have the same boats, so it should be an even race."

The boys perked up at that.

"What wager?" one of them asked.

"A round of drinks at the local beach bar?" Jenny suggested.

"There is a beauty shop there," Cassie pointed out to the girls, "you should get pedicures if you win."

The boys grinned, "And if we win, you all spend the night on our boat."

"In your dreams," Kelley snorted. "I think that we'll settle for a round of drinks."

In the end, we agreed that we would race for dinner and drinks. The captains were forbidden to participate except to warn of navigation hazards. When Cassie blew an air horn, we'd pull anchors and the winner was to be the first one to catch a mooring buoy at our destination. The use of a motor was prohibited.

With Susie directing our efforts, it was really no contest. We raised anchor and were underway before their anchor was secured. They made a mess of getting underway and their tacks were not very sharp. They did not trim their sails well either.

Cassie was all grins as we pulled away from the other boat. "You girls did a great job setting those idiots up. I like your style."

We were already ashore at the restaurant when they picked up their mooring buoy.

"Where did you girls learn to sail like that?," one of the boys asked when they caught up to us.

Jenny grinned, "We've been sailing Lake Michigan since seventh grade."

Pointing to me, she continued, "Andi's parents have a J/88 that we race offshore. Susie and Andi are also some of the best Laser sailors in the Great Lakes."

"We've been suckered," one of the boys groaned.

They did pay for a nice dinner and we enjoyed each other's company that evening before heading back to our respective boats. The girls wisely had only one drink each. We did grant them goodnight kisses.

----<0>----

Day Six was a long down wind sail to Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke island with a stop at Monkey Point on Guana Island for our midday snorkel.

Our last morning was spent cleaning up the boat and packing as we worked our way back to the charter base for our noon check in.

"Thanks for a great week," we each gave Cassie a hug - and a big cash tip.

"Let me know when you come again girls," she grinned at us, "I can always use a paid vacation. It was the best cruise that I've been on in a long time."

We spent the afternoon and evening exploring the island and caught a flight home the next morning.

It was a heavenly break before each of us went home to our summer jobs and preparing to leave home for college the next fall. We did get together frequently that summer as we looked forward to the next big step in our lives.

For the first time in six years we would be starting school without the support of the full Posse. It was a bittersweet time.