Mimi rested her head on top of the boxes she held on her lap. They had been at the mall for three hours and Belle showed no signs of easing up.

Chloe sat down on the bench next to Mimi, just as exhausted. "Is she always like this?"

Mimi lifted her head to look at Chloe. "Belle is ninety percent water and ten percent caffeine. We could be here until they close."

A mountain of clothing with Belle legs approached the duo. Belle handed Chloe another stack of clothes for Chloe to try on. "Let me see you in these," she commanded.

Resigned, Chloe got to her feet and shuffled towards the dressing room. Belle took Chloe’s spot on the bench and put her arm around Mimi, gently shaking her. "Why are you acting so tired, Mimi?"

Mimi had no desire to tell Belle exactly why she was so tired. After spending a very restless night thinking about Brady, the shock she received that morning had wiped out any energy she’d had left. Mimi had been speechless upon entering the kitchen. Every bottle of water in the house covered the counters and table. Brady’s tank top had been very carefully folded and placed on the kitchen table. Mimi knew it was Brady’s way of sending her a message. What the message was exactly, she wasn’t sure. But she did know that he wasn’t going to let her forget about last night any time soon. Not that she could. Constantly thinking about last night and the ramifications of it and what it meant was mentally exhausting her.

"Haven’t you properly appeased the shopping gods?" Mimi asked with a sigh. "I mean, the only thing we have left to do is to sacrifice a virgin to the volcano. We could throw Chloe in. She probably has the right outfit for it in that stack you’ve picked out."

Belle gave Mimi a disgusted look. "We aren’t leaving until we’re finished." Changing the subject, Belle asked, "Hey, did you ask your mom if you could spend the night again tonight?"

"Yes, I called her on my cell phone a few minutes ago while you were doing your treasure hunt thing over in the Junior Miss section."

"Great. Tonight is the night that we teach Chloe how to tame that mane of hers and the best way for her to put on make-up," Belle said. She stopped to look over at her best friend of ten years. "I’m really glad that you’re spending time with Chloe and me."

Mimi shrugged. "She’s not as bad as I thought she was. Playing beauty school tonight should be fun."

Chloe came out in a light blue sundress with yellow flowers. She held her hands up and asked, "Well?"

Belle put her hand to her chin and studied Chloe. "Spin – let me see the back." Chloe dutifully spun around as Belle studied the dress and the effect it had on Chloe’s coloring. "Okay, that one’s a keeper. Go and try on the next one." Chloe returned to the dressing room and closed the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror. I wonder what Philip would think about the way I look right now, she thought. Then she sighed in disgust. "I can’t believe how shallow I’m being. People are starving in third world countries and I’m worried about making an impression on Philip Kiriakis," she murmured. She started to unzip the dress.

"How is Chloe paying for this?" Mimi asked Belle.

"Apparently Mrs. Wesley was so thrilled that Chloe wanted to buy some normal clothes that she handed over several platinum credit cards. That was why we had to stop by her house this morning." Belle jumped up. "By the time I’m done with Chloe Lane Dr. Wesley’s going to have to get a second job to pay back the bill."

**************************************************

Philip lay on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. That was the second time Brady had tackled him. So much for touch football, he grimaced.

"What’s the matter, Phil? Can’t handle a little necessary roughness?" Shawn yelled at him.

Philip got to his feet slowly, wondering what had gotten into Brady and Shawn. This was supposed to be a friendly, fun game and those two were playing like it was the freaking Super Bowl. "Since when did we decide to play tackle?"

Brady threw the football up in the air and caught it. "Aren’t you like the star quarterback of Salem High, Kiriakis? I would think you could handle a little heat."

"Oh, I can handle it. Question is, can you take it?" Philip challenged. He called to some of his teammates to start the game up again, but they indicated that they had had enough and started drifting away.

"Let’s go get something to drink over at the Java Café," Philip suggested as he wiped some sweat off of his brow. "Maybe it will help the two of you cool off."

Shawn knew that he had been playing roughly, but he had demons he needed to exorcise after last night. Belle had never been so pissed at him. And he didn’t even know what for! It made him feel like tackling someone again. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Secretly pining for Belle while she just thought of him as a friend was far preferable to her being furious with him. Once he got past his pride he knew that he’d do anything to get their easygoing friendship back.

Brady wondered if Shawn’s problem was the same as his – unreleased sexual tension. Brady chuckled again at the thought of Mimi finding his surprise in the kitchen. He just wanted her to know that he wasn’t going to forget – and would make sure that she couldn’t forget either.

The three headed towards Salem Place at an easygoing gait. The day was a particularly beautiful one – the sun was dappling gently through the leafy cover overhead. Bluebirds sang sweetly as a soft breeze caressed them as they walked. Only Philip was able to take note of his surroundings and to appreciate them. Last night with Chloe had been amazing. He wanted to call her today and ask her out, but was afraid that she would think he was too eager if he called too soon. He thought he should play it cool for a couple of days, maybe see her at school on Monday. School on Monday. What was he going to do about that? Philip found himself asking the same questions he’d been asking since getting home last night. Did he care what other people were going to say? In the great scheme of things, did it really matter what people at school thought of him? He had had some incredible interactions with Chloe over the last couple of weeks. She was getting to know him in a way that no other girl ever had. He had already told her things he’d never told anyone else. And after seeing her last night…Philip noticed that when Chloe was around him that everyone else ceased to exist or matter in the least. He grinned, and knew he was looking forward to the next time he saw her and to hell with what anyone else thought about them.

"You guys still coming to that frat party tonight?" Brady asked. He had invited Philip and Shawn earlier in the week to go with him to the Alpha party over at Salem University. He belonged to the Alpha chapter at his school, and had been invited to the party when this chapter found out from his old friend Mike from junior high (an Alpha at Salem U.) that he was back in Salem. Mike had also dragged him to a couple of other social events, but Brady hadn’t really been into it. He had too much going on at home.

Both Philip and Shawn had initially been excited at the thought of attending an actual college fraternity party. The only thing they knew about frat parties was what they saw in movies. They’d been keen to experience it for themselves first-hand. Shawn had even hoped that Brady would invite Belle along and he’d get the chance to spend more time with her. That didn’t seem like it would be a real possibility now. But maybe what he needed was to go to a party like this to get his mind off of Belle for a few hours. "Sure. I’m in. But I’ll probably need to spend the night at your place so that my parents don’t wait up. They have plenty of other things to worry about right now."

"I don’t think that’ll be a problem. John and Marlena left last night on yet another romantic rendezvous, surprise, surprise," Brady commented sarcastically.

Philip had also wanted to go, but his interest in meeting college chicks had severely waned since last night. "I’ll have to see if I can make it. My dad wants me to do some chores to replace that stupid suit."

"Well, Phil, that’s what you get for hanging out with hot babes underneath buckets of blood," Shawn joked. Philip lunged playfully at Shawn. They reached the café and went to the window to order some sodas.

Shawn immediately heard Belle’s unmistakable giggle behind him. He looked over to the right to see Mimi, Belle and Chloe laden with shopping bags. Belle looked over and only saw her brother. "Brady!" she waved. Then she saw who was standing behind Brady – Shawn. Too late! she thought.

"Hey, sis," Brady returned the greeting as he and his friends walked over to the girls. "You trying for the new world record on most money spent in a single morning? Dad’s going to have a conniption when he finds out."

"This isn’t for me, it’s for Chloe," Belle retorted.

"Hi, Chloe," Philip grinned. She looked beautiful in the obviously new peach sundress she was wearing. He was glad that she was trading in her black clothing for the much more attractive and much more revealing attire she was sporting at the moment.

"Hi, Philip," she smiled back. Even sweaty this man somehow managed to look perfect. It was almost sickening.

Mimi glared at Brady. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? The Three Musketeers. Athos," nodding at Shawn, "Porthos," at Philip, "and Dumbass," as her eyes rested on Brady.

Brady grinned at the gauntlet being thrown. "I’ll take ‘Bitter and Sexually Frustrated Females’ for $200, Alex." Mimi’s eyes flashed and she grabbed his arm. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she hissed.

Belle watched her brother and best friend and wondered what in the world that had been about. Shawn looked at her intently, trying to see if there was any forgiveness written on her face. Belle sensed Shawn looking at her, and cast a sorrowful glance in his direction. She didn’t want to be angry with him any more, but she didn’t know how to make things better between them without sounding pathetic. Shawn resisted the urge to reach out and hug her. He cleared his throat. "I’m going to, uh, go back and grab our sodas. Excuse me."

Belle nodded. "I think I forgot a bag back at Barron’s." She turned and ran before Shawn could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

Philip was glad for the opportunity to be alone with Chloe, completely oblivious to the events around him. "You look incredible in –what do they call that?" he asked, gesturing towards Chloe’s outfit.

Chloe smiled, "A dress."

Philip felt stupid. "Yeah, I knew it was a dress, I just thought that there was…Forget it. You look really good."

"Thanks," Chloe blushed attractively.

‘There’s something so different about you, Chloe. It’s like something happened to you last night," Philip observed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When that cape came off, you were like a star," he said.

"A star?"

"Yeah. When a performer goes on stage, something happens to them, right?"

"Yes, the lights and the music go up and it’s a kind of magic," Chloe replied.

Philip smiled and furrowed one dimple. "Magic. That’s it. That’s what you had last night. Like you were born to have people looking at you." He paused and shrugged. "It surprised me."

Chloe was amazed at how open Philip was being yet again. She’d never been this open with anyone else in her life besides Dr. Evans. "As long as we’re being honest here, I have to admit that it was mostly acting. I was really nervous and wondering what people were thinking – especially you," her voice trailed off to almost a whisper.

"Seriously?" Philip asked with a broad grin, his eyes twinkling. He couldn’t believe how good that statement made him feel. He reached down and took Chloe’s hand and held it with both of his. "I was thinking you were beautiful – and how glad I was to spend time with you." Philip gently rubbed his thumbs along Chloe’s knuckles. Rein it in, Kiriakis, he thought. After Chloe’s admission that she’d never been kissed, he knew he’d need to take things slow with her. Chloe couldn’t believe the sensations she was feeling from a gesture as simple as Philip caressing her hand. She could only gape at him with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?" Mimi whispered vehemently at Brady. "Are you trying to make me look like a fool in front of everyone?"

"I didn’t know it was a secret," Brady smiled back.

Mimi had a deep desire to try and smack Brady again. Unfortunately the last time she’d done that…

"Look, I just want you to keep your mouth shut. It’s humiliating enough, okay?" Mimi snapped.

Brady raised his eyebrows at her and smiled an evil little grin. "You didn’t want me to keep my mouth shut last night. In fact, as I recall…"

Mimi didn’t allow him to finish his sentence. She walked away furiously and came over to join Philip and Chloe. They were staring at each other with googly eyes.

Philip saw Mimi fast approaching them and let go of Chloe’s hand. He was going to have to get Chloe alone at some point, without interruptions so that he could just spend time with her. The friends constantly showing up was getting a little annoying. Brady watched Mimi walking away and a plan was forming…He saw his sister standing next to a store and went to talk with her.

Belle wiped away the tears once she noticed Brady walking towards her. "Hey, are you okay, Belle?" he asked.

"Fine. I think it’s just my allergies acting up," she sniffled.

"But you don’t have allergies," Brady said.

"Not in the conventional sense. There are other things I’m allergic to," she said. Like stupid boys. Belle pulled a mirror and a tissue out of her purse to fix her make-up.

"You know what I think you need?" Brady asked as he put his arm around his little sister.

"What?"

"A night of fun. The Salem U. chapter of my fraternity is having a party tonight. You should come. Take your mind off your troubles for awhile. What do you say?"

Belle looked up in surprise at her older brother. He’d never invited her to tag along before, why now? "Really? You want me to come with you?"

"Sure," Brady said.

"Oh, well, I invited Chloe and Mimi to spend the night again tonight," Belle hesitated.

You don’t say? Brady smiled. "That’s okay. You can bring them along too."

to be continued...

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