Unlike other teenage girls, Jen buried herself in books — mostly ones about influential American political figures. Her father Gerald, an undersecretary with the U.S. State Department, had passed his thirst for politics to her. It was one of the few things she genuinely enjoyed, and it wasn’t just to please her parents. She wanted more, though, and dreamed of the day when a boy would want to kiss her. But every time she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t imagine when it would happen. Teen Beat had tons of articles about how smart, shy, sexually inexperienced girls should approach a guy. But even the wisdom of Teen Beat couldn’t help Jen.
As her brothers played football on the beach, Jen sat on a chaise lounge reading a biography on President Johnson. A large t-shirt covered the bathing suit she was afraid to reveal. She was taken aback when the girl next to her invaded her space and just started gabbing.
“I bet that book attracts all the cute boys,” the strange redhead teased. “Come on, let’s really try to meet some guys. You’re on vacation, right?”
Within minutes, Zoë had Jen giggling, as she pointed out the bulges in the boys’ bathing suits, especially the foreigners in the teeny Speedos. Zoë and Jen traded family vacation war stories. They both agreed that being locked in a room with your siblings and forced to wear a bathing suit in front of your family for a week was not their idea of a vacation.
When Zoë suggested they find some real boys, Jen became timid. She told Zoë that she had only been kissed once before — playing “two minutes in the closet” at someone’s party in the sixth grade.
“Guys are morons, Jen. There’s no need to be afraid of them,” Zoë expertly advised. “The problem with most girls is that they spend all their time trying to get some guy to notice them. The key is to make them come to you.”
A few nights later, Zoë and Jen met two 17-year-old guys at the hotel’s game room. Within minutes, Zoë had the two baseball-capped hormone-ragers eating out of her hand. Zoë gently worked Jen into the fold. After standing around the Pac Man machine for about an hour, one of the guys, Kurt, suggested that the four adjourn to the beach. Jen didn’t think that was such a good idea, but before she could voice any objection, Zoë, Kurt, and Jake were headed outside. For once, Jen threw caution to the wind and followed.
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