“What do you mean a gathering place? Do you mean that any kids who hang out there are high-risk kids?” Bella didn’t see any kids hanging around the area.
Wilma nodded, then took Bella by the arm and guided her back toward the double doors. “Well, it would be irresponsible of me to lump them together definitively, but for the most part, yes. Why they come here during the summer, instead of anywhere else, is beyond me, but they come by every few days. It would be great to get those kids involved in something to occupy their time. During the school year, the good kids avoid that area like the plague.”
They went back inside the school and walked back toward Wilma’s office.
“What kind of trouble, exactly? And if you’re sure they’re getting into trouble, can’t you speak with their parents?” She wasn’t quite sure why Wilma thought it was imperative to show her that area instead of just mentioning it.
“Oh yes. We’ve taken all of the appropriate steps. People like to think that parents can control their teens, but we know better.” She nodded knowingly at Bella. “There’s only so much parents or teachers can do, which is why I hope your program might help get those kids and others like them involved in something more productive.”
“That’s the driving force behind it, and the hope.”
“You asked about the type of trouble they get into, and that’s a little hard to define. They’re the kids who bring tension into the classrooms. You know the type. They interrupt class with jokes; they’re generally disinterested and sneer at the kids who are trying to actually learn. They jaywalk, too.”
“Jaywalk?” Bella stifled a laugh.
“Don’t scoff. That’s where it all begins. It doesn’t take much to move from breaking small rules to landing in jail.”
Bella followed Wilma into her office and refrained from telling her that it was that type of thinking that also led kids to trouble. If they were assumed to make bad choices, they often felt a need to live up to the assumption or to walk farther down Bad Decision Alley.
Wilma leafed through a file cabinet and withdrew a manila folder. She handed it to Bella.
“This is the list I mentioned. There are also companies noted that you might want to stay away from.” She whispered, “Unsavory business owners.”
As Bella headed to her car, she didn’t know what was worse, knowing the high school was run by a busybody like Wilma, who appeared to be looking for trouble and willing to spread gossip based solely on her opinion, or the fact that she couldn’t wait to go home and share her own gossip with her friends. She hadn’t known what Wilma was like before she accepted the summer position, but it wouldn’t have curbed her enthusiasm any more than it did now. She was in this for the kids and the intellectual challenge.
Back at her cottage, she changed into her bathing suit, gathered her laptop, phone, a notebook, and the manila folder, and headed down to the pool. She’d rather go to the beach, but without Internet, she’d have no hope of getting any research done.
She found Tony and Jenna lying in the sun. Tony’s hands were clasped behind his head; his sculpted body was already evenly tanned. Jenna wore a string bikini that was in danger of splitting at the very thin seams.
“You two shouldn’t be allowed out in public with bodies like that,” Bella teased.
Tony squinted against the harsh sun. “You’re not so bad yourself. How was your first day of school?”
“More importantly,” Jenna interrupted. “I didn’t get to talk to you last night after the barbeque. Wanna spill on the mysterious twenty minutes when you and Officer Sexy disappeared into your cottage?”
Bella glanced at Tony and said, “The school was a fact-finding mission, and it was interesting.” She sighed at Jenna. “Twenty minutes in heaven.” Bella set up her laptop on a glass table and shifted the umbrella so she could see her computer screen.
Jenna held her hand out to Tony. “Five bucks.”
Tony reached for his wallet. “You guys get more action than I do.”
“We didn’t do that, so don’t pay her.” Bella stretched out on a chair beside Jenna in the sun.
“I thought you had to work,” Jenna said.
“I do, but I want five minutes of sun before I hunker down and do real-world work.” She closed her eyes and sighed.
“You still have to pay me,” Jenna said to Tony. “The bet was if they hooked up, not if they had sex, and twenty minutes in heaven says way too much to be innocent.”
Bella remembered the look in Caden’s eyes when he was kissing her belly, and the feel of being in his arms. Oh, how she’d wanted to stay in his arms. Forget the ecstasy of kissing him. Just being that close to his warmth and feeling his heart beating against her as he carried her to the bedroom was heaven. He felt safe and sure, and his words held promise for so much more than lust.
“And that smile says even more.” Jenna touched her arm. “Care to share?”
Bella sighed. “He’s confusing.”
“Like women aren’t?” Tony quipped.
“I never said that. I know I confuse the heck out of him.” She’d been thinking all night about what he’d said. I thought I made it clear that I wanted to sleep with you, but I wouldn’t because you won’t commit. She’d also been thinking about what Jenna said about not classifying their relationship. The truth was, Bella was a classifier. She had never been the type of woman to date more than one guy at a time, and she didn’t have any interest in that now, either. She also knew it probably seemed silly to tell Caden or her friends that she didn’t want to date or commit when she was clearly interested in Caden, but it didn’t feel silly. It felt like she was trying to stand firm to her convictions—even if she and Caden were already doing intimate things that she didn’t normally do outside of a committed relationship.
Maybe life choices weren’t as easy as she’d hoped.
And if she were honest with herself, it wasn’t Caden who was confusing at all. It was her.
“What kind of guy won’t…you know…with a woman who’s offering no strings attached?” Bella asked.
“The gay kind,” Jenna answered.
“I’m going to put on my therapist hat for a minute.” Tony sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees.
“You’re not a therapist. You’re a motivational speaker and a surfer, neither of which qualifies you to wear a therapist hat.” The truth was, Bella had gotten lucky in the male friend department. Tony’s advice was usually spot-on.
“Fair enough,” Tony said. “Then I’m putting on my man hat, and I know I am qualified to wear that. First of all, since when are you looking for a scrump and dump?”