A Wet Day
by Dafney Dewitt

Jenny stabbed her key into the door. She was
impatient to escape the rain. Some idiot with
Ohio license plates had parked a bright red
Buick in her spot. She drove two blocks
before finding an empty space to park, and
was forced to run through the pouring rain.

Out of breath, angry, and soaking wet, Jenny
stood just inside the apartment she shared
with her lover, Alex. Her feet frozen in
place, she looked down at the small pools of
water forming around her wet shoes.

Something was wrong.
The apartment smelled like a bread bakery.

A blond woman's head popped out from behind
the kitchen door.

"Hi, my name's Susan!"

Jenny clung to the front door knob without
speaking. She never knew what to say.
Meeting new people was awkward. It made her
feel shy and inadequate.

"You must be Jenny. Alex told me all about you."

Jenny managed to mutter a reply, "You must be
a friend of Alex."

It sounded so dumb. Of course, she was a friend
of Alex. How else would she have gotten into the
apartment? So Alex had told Susan all about Jenny.
That did not sound good because Alex had never
told Jenny anything about Susan. Jenny felt
betrayed.

Susan flashed her a quick smile.

"You can let go of the door knob now. I promise
not to bite."

Jenny looked down at her hand, squeezing the
doorknob in a hard, white knuckled grip ready
to swing the door open and flee. Susan's smile
made her feel foolish. Sheepishly, she let go of the door handle.

"You from Ohio by any chance?" asked Jenny
trying hard to appear intelligent.

"That's right," answered Susan brightly. "I must
have parked in your spot."

Jenny used her fingers to brush the dripping
strands of hair hanging in her face behind her
ears. Irritated by Susan's smiling face and
feeling like a soaking wet fool, Jenny rushed
past her with an apology.

"I gotta get this wet stuff off," she mumbled
heading straight for the bathroom.

In the safety of the bathroom, Jenny wasted no
time. She stripped out of her wet clothes and
jumped into the shower. The hot spray of the
shower melted away her anger. It made her feel
warm and safe.

Damn good looking, Jenny thought. No doubt
about it. Susan-from-Ohio was trouble. Younger
too. Alex would compare. Jenny-Susan, Susan-
Jenny? Which one would she want? Jenny knew
the answer. It would be Susan.

Thinking about Alex excited Jenny. She slipped
her fingers between her legs touching herself.
It felt good. Rubbing. Touching herself.
Feeling her knees start to buckle with desire,
the shower drumming against her body, Jenny
felt a wave of pleasure rising inside her.
Just a bit more and the wave would submerge
her in a foamy torrent of turbulence. She
waited for the wave to crest. She waited
for it to come crashing down.

Suddenly, Jenny screamed.

The shower water had turned ice cold.

"Shit!" she yelled. "Fucking bitch!"

From behind the bathroom door, she heard Susan's
muted voice.

"Oops! Sorry, I turned on the dishwasher."

Susan turned the dishwasher off, and the shower
warmed up again, but not Jenny. The moment was
lost. Frustrated, she stepped out of the shower
and dried off.

With one towel wrapped around her head like a
turban, and another tucked around her breasts,
Jenny padded into the kitchen to confront Susan.

"You're just in time," said Susan removing a
freshly baked loaf of bread from the oven.

The smell was delicious.
Jenny's stomach grumbled.