Sunny crept quietly passed the couch, making sure not to wake her cousin, as she tacked a small note on the coffee table. She took one last look at the sleeping figure before walking towards the door. Sunny herself a last look over, then walked out of the house to the small car parked in the driveway.
As Sunny's car rolled down the street, another car came from the opposite end and stopped in front of her house. Out of the car stepped Richie with a worried look on his face. He'd been trying to call Sunny for days since the carnival and she hadn't returned a single one of his calls. He knew he had to come over and sort things out.
He walked hurriedly to the door and knocked loudly. As Terri heard the knock, she rose sluggishly from the couch and walked towards the door. She hated being woken up before noon and this made her quite upset. Before opening the door, she looked carefully through the peephole. Her heart stopped as she saw Richie standing on the step. She couldn't let him see her like this! "Hold on a second!", she yelled, as she ran up the stairs. She searched her room for the sexiest number she could find, finally settling on a tight, lowcut, black dress. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and hurried back down the stairs. Terri stopped momentarily to catch her breath before opening the door for Richie. "Hey!", she greeted cheerfully.
"Umm...hi...I'm Richie. Is Sunny here?", he asked hopefully.
"Oh, I'm really sorry Richie. She's not here right now. She left me a note that she was going out. Lunch date or something…", Terri replied, trying to keep a straight face and she applauded herself for the lie.
Richie's face fell at the news. "A....a lunch date?", he questioned quietly, his lip quivering. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, pretty sure. Why? Did you have a date with Sunny? You know, it's so hard to keep track of all her boyfriends." She giggled.
"Ohh...", Richie said, trying not to show the hurt in his eyes. "I guess I'll just go then..."
"No silly!" Terri squealed grabbing his shirt sleeve. "Come on in. I was just making breakfast."
"Well, I dont know...", he trailed off.
"Come onnn!", she persuaded. "I'm Terri. Sunny's cousin."
"Well, I guess I could stay for a little while...", Richie finally agreed, hoping he could get some insight into Sunny's behavior lately.
Richie followed Terri into the kitchen, watching her hips swing in rhythm as she walked. His eyes were glued to every curve the tight dressed revealed of Terri's slim figure.
"You want...Cheerio's or Honey Bunches of Oats?", she asked reaching up to the top cabinet housing the cereal.
"Hmm?", he asked, his eyes still on Terri's long tan legs.
"Cheerio's or Honey Bunches of Oats?", she repeated, looking down at Richie.
"Oh…", he said, shaking out of his daze. "Honey Bunches."
"I thought you'd pick them. They're sweet...just like you," she replied, smiling flirtatiously as she set the cereal on the table.
Richie laughed in turn, taking a seat across from her. "They're my favorite."
"Really?", Terri asked in amazement. "Mine too! Sunny can't seem to understand why I eat them. She hates them."
As Terri poured the milk into each bowl, she smiled sweetly at Richie, revealing the light brown eyes framed by a set of long, black eyelashes. He stared deeply at her, noticing the small flecks of green in the beautful eyes.
"So, what's up with you, Richie?", Terri asked, sitting down beside her cereal.
"Well.."Richie began, his mind returning to Sunny. "I've been kinda worried about Sunny lately."
"Oh really?" she asked, trying to look concerned. "Have you two been dating?"
"Yeah...she didn't mention me?", he asked, feeling hurt.
"Well...I don't think so...Like I told you, it's hard keeping track of all of Sunny's guys," Terri explained.
"There's a lot?", he asked.
"Well, I don't know that it's my place to tell you, but yeah, there's a few I see here a lot," she replied taking a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. She made sure to lick the spoon seductively, before dipping it into the bowl again.
"I see..." Richie spoke, thinking intently at the news. He couldn't believe Sunny could do this to him.
"So, Richie...", Terri said, trying to change the subject.
"Oh..uhh...Terri...", he stammered, attempting to think of something to say to her, his head full of Sunny thoughts. His mind finally fell to her outfit. He'd wondered earlier about it. "No offence or anything, but, why are you wearing that?"
"Oh, this old thing?", she asked, laughing. "Actually, I was out late last night dancing, and didn't really get a chance to change when i got home."
"Oh really? Where?", Richie asked, trying to concentrate on her words, instead of contemplating what he would do about Sunny.
"The Groove Spot. You been there?" She smiled.
"Oh yeah, me and my friends go there all the time...", he replied, starting to get up. "You know what? I should be going now...I'll see ya."
"Wait, you don't have to go Richie!", Terri said, running after him.
"I'm sorry Terri. I really have a lot to do. Tell Sunny to call me when she gets home," Richie finished, as he left the house.
Terri watched him walk towards his car for a second, before falling angrily onto the couch. She'd been so close. She knew she'd have to do more than flirt to get Richie to forget about her cousin. She'd need help from someone more powerful than her, and she knew just who to turn to.
************************************************************************************
“Dude, Len, you look fine! Let’s go!”
“Gel, you have nothing to worry about, Scott’s in-love with you. But I, on the other hand, am still wooing Abs. I have to look seductive!” Yelena yanked out her ponytail and turned away from the mirror to face her friend. “Up or down?”, she asked, twisting her scrunchy.
“Down, now come on,” Angelica replied, grabbing the scrunchy out of Yelena’s hand.
“What’s with you, I thought you always had to be
fashionably late’?” Yelena crossed her arms "triumphantly.
“Uh, hun, Scott only called an HOUR AND A HALF ago and said come over. I think this signifies as fashionably late. Now let’s go. Anyway, what’s with you? All we’re doing is hanging out…why do you insist on looking perfect?”
“I already told you, Abs needs to want me. In order for him to want me, I have to look hot. OK?”
“Yeah yeah, whatever.” She took Yelena’s hand, dragging her away from the mirror.
Scott and Abs leaped up simultaneously as the doorbell rang. They looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
“Umm…” Scott shrugged his shoulders and went to answer the door. Abs followed him. Scott looked through the peep-hole and then turned to smile at Abs. He opened the door, stepping back to allow the girls in, a huge grin on his face. “Hey, I thought you guys might not be coming..”
“Oh sorry, we had some errands to do and we ran a little late…”, Angelica answered, hugging Scott and Abs in turn.
Yelena hugged them both as well, and asked, “So what are we doing tonight?”
Abs took their coats and hung them in a closet, saying, “Well, whatever you want really. Since we’ve been really busy lately, we figured we’d just take a night to chill, y’know? So you can play pool or watch a movie or play video games, or go cook with Richie…he’s making dinner. He’s obsessed with this new cooking show so he has to try out all the recipes every chance he gets.” Abs rolled his eyes in the general direction of the kitchen.
Laughing, Angelica said, “Well, I’d love to help Richie with his cooking!” She headed off toward the kitchen with Scott in tow.
Yelena turned awkwardly to Abs. “What movies do you have?”
“Ummm,” Abs looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “I dunno…wanna go check?” Yelena nodded and they moved off toward the TV room.
“Hey, Richie!” Angelica dashed into the kitchen, receiving a warm welcome from Richie. He hugged her, careful not to spill any of what he was holding on her.
“Hey, girl! How are you? We haven’t seen you around here for a while…”
“Well, we’ve all been busy, y’know? It’s nice seeing Scott and Abs a lot, but I miss just chillin with you and J. Where’s Sean at these days? Haven’t seen him forever…he’s never here.”
“Oh, he’s always out on dates or something…he’s quite the Mac with the ladies…” Richie made a goofy face and nudged Angelica’s elbow as if to say “if ya know what I mean”. Angelica returned the goofy look and elbow nudges. “Say, have you met J’s girlfriend yet?”, Richie asked, placing his masterpiece in the oven.
“No, I haven’t? Is she here?”
Angelica dipped her finger into a sauce Richie was concocting. She received a light slap on her hand from Richie as he said, “Yep, they’re playing Playstation I think.”
“OK, well I’ll go meet her and then I’ll be back to help you in here.” She turned and smiled as she noticed Scott, slouching in the doorway. “Wanna introduce me to J’s girlfriend?”
“Sure…” The two went upstairs and entered a room at the end of the hall. “J, Angelica wants to meet your girlfriend.”
“Oh, hey!” J rose and hugged Angelica in greeting and then took the hand of the dark haired girl who rose behind him. “This is Katie. Katie, this is Angelica. She’s a good friend of ours.” J beamed as he spoke Katie’s name.
Katie reached over to shake Angelica’s hand and whispered conspiratorially, “He really sucks at this game.”
J heard her and he slapped her behind, retorting with, “Yeah, that’s only why I’ve won 6 times in a row and you’ve only beat me twice.” Katie spun around and punched him in the stomach. J twisted her arms behind her. Katie cursed loudly, laughing raucously. Angelica ducked as Katie took a swing at J. She stumbled backwards into Scott who grabbed her around the waist. He began tickling her and she yelped, squirming out of his arms onto the floor. He fell down on top of her and commenced tickling her again, as off to their left J and Katie were going at it full force. J had Katie over his knee and he was smacking her butt while she attempted to kick and punch him mercilessly.
Angelica wriggled out from under Scott and tried to crawl away, but Scott grabbed her ankles. She half screamed half laughed and began kicking at Scott. He pulled her back toward him by the ankles. She jumped up and he tried to grab her ankles again. She sat on his back and began tousling his hair. Scott yelled and sat up, knocking Angelica onto the floor. “Not my hair!” He attacked her hair in return. They both grasped each other’s wrists and collapsed on the floor laughing hysterically. They turned their attention to J as he ran out of the room with Katie hanging onto his back, piggy-back style. They began laughing even harder as they listened to J and Katie making weird animal noises.
“Wow, that was fun…”, Angelica said, sighing.
“Yeah, it was,” Scott replied, wrapping his arms around Angelica’s waist as they slumped against the couch.
Yelena twisted the tassel on the pillow nervously as the credits began to roll. She glanced over at Abs who appeared to be equally nervous. He got up and turned the TV and VCR off. “So what’d you think of the movie?”, he asked.
“Oh, it was good. I’ve seen it so many times before. I love it.”
“Wow, me too! It’s one of my favorites…”
“Yeah, mine too. So…what’s Richie cooking?”
“Ummm, I dunno. He’s a pretty good cook though.”
“That’s good…when did he get into cooking?”
“Oh, I don’t know…he just got really into this cooking show and started cooking all the time…”
“Oh…so…what’s new?” Yelena was starting to worry that Abs had no interest in her whatsoever, but then her heart jumped at what he next said.
“Actually, I was kinda wondering if you could help me out with something…see I have this friend that I really like…but I don’t know how to tell her…” He smiled at her hopefully. Yelena returned his smile and he continued. “See, I’ve liked her for a while, but I thought she was interested in someone else ‘cuz she was never home when I called or she was talking to a friend of mine…” Yelena’s heart jumped. She was always on the phone with J. He cracked her up so they’d been hanging out a lot lately with his new girlfriend. “I guess I’ve wanted to tell her for a long time…but the right time just never presented itself. Do you think you can help me?”
“Oh…Abs…well…I don’t know what to say…I think she is interested, she just hasn’t had the opportunity to tell you either…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. She’s liked you for a long time, too.”
“No, way, really, she doesn’t act like it…” Yelena began thinking about how nervous she always was around Abs and how she would never talk to him.
“Yeah, she knows that…”
“Wow! Seriously?! Angelica really likes me?!” Time froze. Yelena grabbed the remote obsessively pushing the rewind button. Unfortunately, it didn’t work how she wanted it to. Her heart was floating limply in acid in her stomach. She felt the color rise to her cheeks and then drain just as quickly. The room around her spun and all she could see was Abs’ elated face. The expectant look in his eyes in that instance was the very bane of her existence.
Seeing his elated smile made her want to die. But not after first sawing it off his face. And then having Richie stir-fry it so it could be fed to Angelica. She grimaced and the world stopped spinning and the walls seemed to drain away. She suddenly felt extremely nauseated. “I’m sorry…I don’t feel good at all…I’m gonna go home.”
“Wait, wait, what’s wrong? She doesn’t really like me does she…”
Yelena lurched and almost puked as Abs muttered about Angelica. She walked into the kitchen where Angelica was putting the final touches on a fabulous meal with Richie. “Hey, you’re just in time! This is soo good, Richie is the best cook!”, Angelica said, holding out a piece of chicken to Yelena. She suddenly noticed the look on Yelena’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just feel sick that’s all. I’m gonna go home. You stay and eat and do whatever. I’m leaving.” She turned to walk out the door but her friend stopped her.
“No, I know something is wrong. Now what is it? I know you too well…”
“Nothing is wrong, I just don’t feel good, that’s all. Now let me go home.” Angelica looked hurt.
“OK, well, I’ll see you later then. Get some rest…” Yelena immediately regretted her words as she listened to the genuine concern in Angelica’s voice.
“I’m sorry, Gel, I just feel really crappy, that’s all.” Angelica hugged her. “Get some rest…I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning, don’t wait up ‘cuz I don’t know how long I’m gonna be here.”
“OK, thanks, Gel.” With that, Yelena left. Angelica turned back to Richie and shrugged her shoulders.
“What’s wrong with her? She’s not really sick is she?”
“Nope. I’ve known her for enough years to know that. I’ll find out soon enough I suppose. I’m willing to bet it has something to do with Abs.”
“Speak of the devil…”, Richie muttered as Abs strode into the kitchen.
“What’s that, Richie?”, Abs questioned, taking a piece of chicken.
“Oh, nothing, just that Chef Neville does not appreciate your grubby mitts in my food!!”
Abs snapped his hand back as Scott joined them in the commodious kitchen. “Oh yes! I am so hungry!” He held Angelica around the hips as she fed him a piece of chicken.
“Quality, huh? Richie and I make a good team…”
“I’ll say, that’s really good! Keep watching those shows, Rich!”
Richie nodded and smiled cheekily at everyone in the room. “Let’s go everyone. Dinner is served!”
J and Katie entered the kitchen from another doorway. J swiftly seated himself at the table and began shoveling food onto his plate. Katie laughed, glancing over at Abs who was glaring at Scott and Angelica. She mentally recorded the glare. There was obviously something between the three of them. She made a note to herself to speak with Angelica about it after they ate.
************************************************************************************
Sean tapped his foot rhythmically, as he took a sip of his coffee. He hummed along, intently watching the swift movements of the drummer's hands. As the song ended, Sean rose, clapping enthusiastically. He loved going to jazz clubs and this one had always been one of his favorites.
As the bassist began strumming his strings to begin the next song, Sean looked around at the other people at the club. His eyes circled around the room, inspecting the figures until his eyes stopped at the bar. Sitting at a stool, was a striking young lady. She wore a sparkly silver halter-top, accompanied by a short leather skirt. The girl sipped her drink slowly, looking bored as she surveyed the area. Suddenly, her eyes fell on Sean. He didn't recognize her, but she recognized him. She was Joy, one of Alana's friends. Joy couldn't believe her luck. She'd been trying to think of ways to see Sean since her friend had met him at the club weeks ago. Now was her chance.
Joy finished her drink before rising from her bar stool. She straightened her skirt and sauntered over to Sean's table, running her fingers through her hair.
He waited in anticipation as the girl approached, fixing his collar and checking his reflection in a spoon.
"Hi, " she said, smiling as she slid into the booth beside Sean. "I'm Joy."
"I'm Sean," he replied. "So...what is such a lovely lady like you doing here all alone tonight?"
"Waitin' for you, baby...", she spoke, raising her eyebrow flirtatiously.
Sean smiled at her, liking her style. He motioned for her to move closer to him in the booth. As she settled comfortably into the seat, he put his hand casually on her leg, feeling the cool leather on her skin.
"So...Joy...", he began. "Tell me about yourself."
"Well, I'm in high..." She stopped herself before finishing the sentence. Joy had realized that she couldn't let Sean know she was in high school. This could let him connect her to Alana and she knew she couldn't let this happen. "I mean...I work...at an office..."
"Oh...okay..", Sean spoke, making a confused face at her. "So you like jazz?"
"Oh yeah. Love it...", Joy replied, leaning in closer to Sean, allowing her dress to dip even lower then before.
Seazing the oppurturnity, Sean tilted her head and kissed her lightly on the lips. Softly, he whispered in her ear, "Anyone can make you sweat, but only I can keep you wet..."
"I like how that sounds...You wanna get outta here?", she replied quietly, blowing in his ear. "I think the bands over."
Sean nodded, as he took Joy's hand and walked her to his car. "I can't wait to give you some baby…", he said, opening the door for her.
As they drove towards a little park nearby, the two sat almost silently, sharing provocative glances occasionally. Soon, they reached the park and began strolling down the narrow pebbled paths.
"You know...", Sean began, looking up at the sky. "The stars tonight can't compare to the sparkle in your eyes."
"Oh Sean... That's so sweet!", she said, sighing and leaning in to rest on Sean's shoulder.
"You're shivering," he said, taking off his jacket. "You want my coat?"
"Awww!" Joy swooned. "Thank you!"
The two continued walking, enjoying the night. Joy held on tightly to Sean, as he hugged his arm around her, caressing her lower back and derriere. She smiled to herself smugly at successfully making Sean forget about Alana. Now all she had to do was to go home with him and she could work her real magic.
Joy suddenly looked down at her watch. "Damn...", she muttered to herself. It was almost her curfew and she knew her mom would kill her if she didn't get home at midnight exactly. "What?", asked Sean, looking down at her.
"I'm really sorry Sean, but I have to go home. My mo-", she cut herself off again, almost letting her age slip. "My boss gets really mad when I'm not at work on time."
"Oh...", he replied sadly. He'd been hoping Joy would come home with him. He began to walk back towards the car.
"Don't you want my number?", Joy asked hopefully.
"Oh, sure," Sean said as she scribbled something down on a scrap of paper and handed it to him. "Thanks..."
The car ride home was silent with Joy upset she had to put her plan on hold and Sean upset about not receiving the booty.
As Joy walked from the car towards her house, Sean hoped for better luck the next time. There were lots of lucky ladies out there and he was gonna give them all an equal oppurtunity.
“Sharked again!”, Angelica wiggled her butt in Scott’s direction. “You really suck at pool…”
“I’m letting you win!”, he retaliated sharply.
“Yeah, WHAT-EV-ER, loser.”
“Fine, let’s play again!”
“Fine, and don’t ‘let me win’ this time!”
“Fine! Let’s go!”
Angelica racked the balls with lightning speed and efficiency. Scott studied the formatted balls and shot. The break was clean. He sank a solid, then set up for his second shot. He missed and Angelica shot him a smug smile. She shot and sank two stripes. She smiled smugly at him again. The game progressed with Scott only sinking two more balls and Angelica winning. Again. They’d been playing pool for an hour or two. They’d lost track of time. At first, J and Katie had played with them. They were all incredibly hyper and they’d been blasting popular rap and cheesy dance music. They had all been dancing around the room and rapping along and having tons of fun. Then Katie and J had gone upstairs and they’d left Scott and Angelica to themselves.
“OK, you win. I suck. This isn’t fair. You’re too good. Where’d you get so good at pool?”
“I dunno,” Angelica said relaxing in a giant armchair. “I’ve only recently obtained a pool table, but I never have time to play…”
“I learn something new about you everyday…what else are you hiding from me?” Scott placed his pool stick on the table and crossed the room to sit in the massive chair.
Angelica cuddled up to him saying, “I’m not hiding anything from you. If you wanna know, just ask. I have no secrets.” She looked up into his jovial blue eyes and smiled. Her heart began to race as his eyes flicked across her face, inspecting every detail. It drove her nuts when Scott did that. And he did it every time before he kissed her. Some how she just never got sick of watching his eyes…he kissed her deeply, enfolding her in his arms. He reached up to stroke her cheek. His lips lingered as the kiss ended, entreating for more.
Yelena sat in front of the TV again; crying. She rapidly tried to stifle her sobs as the door opened and Mark and Tom entered. She turned the TV on and began channel surfing. Mark and Tom jabbered about something and they crossed in front of her on the way to their rooms. Tom said good night to Mark and Yelena and closed his door. Mark halted and sat on the couch next to his distraught room mate. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Yelena replied, sniffling.
“You can’t conceal your emotions from me, Len,” Mark cozened, trying to sound totally corny to make Yelena smile.
Mark succeeded and Yelena said with a half smile, “OK, fine I’ll tell you.”
“Alright, and there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, too…”
Yelena looked at Mark quizzically and then continued,
“Well, we were hanging out with the guys, at their place…”
Mark took her hand in his own and tried to look sincerely concerned. He almost couldn’t. He cared. But not enough that he could stop, for even a second, thinking about how beautiful Yelena was. He needed to tell her hi true feelings. Now was the time. He interrupted her as he realized he hadn’t heard a word she’d just said. Shocked at his interruption, Yelena paused for a second, but when Mark didn’t continue, she did. Again Mark was lulled into ignorance by her voice and her sad, lovely face.
This continued for quite some time; Mark attempting to look interested and Yelena babbling about her evening. Mark tried to interrupt her a few times and explain his own deep feelings, but he always forgot what he was gonna say and Yelena would begin rambling again. Suddenly, Yelena stopped talking and stared at Mark. Mark seized the opportunity and grabbed her and kissed her. To his surprise, she didn’t recoil from the kiss. She actually returned it.
************************************************************************************