crowd, I let Jane catch up to me, seeing that Kendra had walked on ahead. Hoping she wouldn’t be offended, I leaned close and mentioned that I had some Tiger Balm in my bag upstairs if she needed it later to help make it through a sit-down dinner.
“For…for my feet?” she asked in confusion. “Oh no, honey, I don’t think—”
“I didn’t mean for your feet , honey,” I replied coyly, putting much more Texan into my voice than usual, matching Jane’s own drawn-out vowels.
Jane was silent for a few seconds and then nodded, looking only a little bit embarrassed. Tiger Balm was almost a code word. The lethally fiery balm was well known among those of us who tended to be on the receiving end of things when it came to our chosen expression of love. That is, as long as the skin is only bruised, not broken. On broken or abraded skin, Tiger Balm is a punishment—one I’d only experienced once and hoped never to go through again.
“Toss it to me in the hall when we come back up, but puh - lease try not to let Kendra see or she’ll shit a brick.” A few seconds later she paled and asked, “Did she tell you?” Her steel magnolia façade was near crumbling, and I rushed to reassure her.
“No, no, she didn’t have to. I figured it out on my own. I mean, I figured out the two of you were…together…earlier. And figured out some other things. You know. And the way you were moving around on your seat earlier…well, I’ve been there enough times that I recognized that wiggle. The balm will burn like hell at first but—”
“She did tell me again and again to pack those stupid, ugly fucking hiking boots,” Jane admitted, “but I threw them out at the last minute when I was making room for a new dress. She hasn’t even seen it on me yet. Damn, this hurts!”
“We’ll do a sneaky ointment handoff later. You can keep it. It’s not like I’m going to need Tiger Balm this trip for anything but a pulled muscle if we go hiking again.”
“You’re not?” Jane said, her initial confusion replaced by a dawning awareness. “Oh honey, that’s just sad. But maybe y’all will make up. Rio’s pretty romantic, after all.” And breaking into a painful little jog, she left my side and rejoined Kendra, leaving me a bit puzzled and slightly concerned.
Just what impression had Jack and I been giving everyone?
The question was driven from my mind instantly when I felt a grip like a vise clamp around my wrist—and Jack’s very quiet voice not asking, but telling, “Later on you will be explaining some things, little Katie.”
Oops.
Jack clearly deduced part of his explanation for himself at the beach. Jane tore her shorts and t-shirt off and dashed into the water with no regard for the effects of the hot sand or saltwater on her feet, but I could see his eyes widen as he spotted the patches of pink still clearly visible on either side of her butt where her bikini bottom wasn’t quite covering all the evidence. And without realizing it, Kendra gave an even clearer sign, watching Jane’s little dance across the sand with a very satisfied smirk and unconsciously shaking her hand from the wrist. Well, it made sense her hand was probably a little sore too, if she’d done that much damage in that short of time.
Jack turned away from this scene with a little “huh” and a look on his face that was comical enough to force a nervous giggle from me. He looked my way, puzzled, and helped me spread out the towels while mulling things over.
“So I guess I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was going to say you should see if Jane will do the sunscreen on your back, but apparently that would be pretty inappropriate. And obviously I’m not going to suggest you ask Kendra to go anywhere near your back.”
After a second of trying not to laugh, I couldn’t keep it in. And to my relief, Jack joined in as we sat down, puzzling all those around us as we purposefully didn’t share the joke.
“I don’t need
“For…for my feet?” she asked in confusion. “Oh no, honey, I don’t think—”
“I didn’t mean for your feet , honey,” I replied coyly, putting much more Texan into my voice than usual, matching Jane’s own drawn-out vowels.
Jane was silent for a few seconds and then nodded, looking only a little bit embarrassed. Tiger Balm was almost a code word. The lethally fiery balm was well known among those of us who tended to be on the receiving end of things when it came to our chosen expression of love. That is, as long as the skin is only bruised, not broken. On broken or abraded skin, Tiger Balm is a punishment—one I’d only experienced once and hoped never to go through again.
“Toss it to me in the hall when we come back up, but puh - lease try not to let Kendra see or she’ll shit a brick.” A few seconds later she paled and asked, “Did she tell you?” Her steel magnolia façade was near crumbling, and I rushed to reassure her.
“No, no, she didn’t have to. I figured it out on my own. I mean, I figured out the two of you were…together…earlier. And figured out some other things. You know. And the way you were moving around on your seat earlier…well, I’ve been there enough times that I recognized that wiggle. The balm will burn like hell at first but—”
“She did tell me again and again to pack those stupid, ugly fucking hiking boots,” Jane admitted, “but I threw them out at the last minute when I was making room for a new dress. She hasn’t even seen it on me yet. Damn, this hurts!”
“We’ll do a sneaky ointment handoff later. You can keep it. It’s not like I’m going to need Tiger Balm this trip for anything but a pulled muscle if we go hiking again.”
“You’re not?” Jane said, her initial confusion replaced by a dawning awareness. “Oh honey, that’s just sad. But maybe y’all will make up. Rio’s pretty romantic, after all.” And breaking into a painful little jog, she left my side and rejoined Kendra, leaving me a bit puzzled and slightly concerned.
Just what impression had Jack and I been giving everyone?
The question was driven from my mind instantly when I felt a grip like a vise clamp around my wrist—and Jack’s very quiet voice not asking, but telling, “Later on you will be explaining some things, little Katie.”
Oops.
Jack clearly deduced part of his explanation for himself at the beach. Jane tore her shorts and t-shirt off and dashed into the water with no regard for the effects of the hot sand or saltwater on her feet, but I could see his eyes widen as he spotted the patches of pink still clearly visible on either side of her butt where her bikini bottom wasn’t quite covering all the evidence. And without realizing it, Kendra gave an even clearer sign, watching Jane’s little dance across the sand with a very satisfied smirk and unconsciously shaking her hand from the wrist. Well, it made sense her hand was probably a little sore too, if she’d done that much damage in that short of time.
Jack turned away from this scene with a little “huh” and a look on his face that was comical enough to force a nervous giggle from me. He looked my way, puzzled, and helped me spread out the towels while mulling things over.
“So I guess I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was going to say you should see if Jane will do the sunscreen on your back, but apparently that would be pretty inappropriate. And obviously I’m not going to suggest you ask Kendra to go anywhere near your back.”
After a second of trying not to laugh, I couldn’t keep it in. And to my relief, Jack joined in as we sat down, puzzling all those around us as we purposefully didn’t share the joke.
“I don’t need
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