"I'll get it!" Selphie screamed while running towards the ringing phone. "Hello. Lara? Oh! I'm sorry. Hello Lyla, my name's Selphie. No, Lara's asleep right now. Sure. Okay, you'll be here around one o'clock? Okay, bye." Selphie hung up the phone.
"That was Lyla?" Squall asked Selphie.
"Yep," Selphie smiled. "She sounds really nice."
"So," Irvine said pulling himself out of the pool. "She's gonna get here around one?"
"Yeah, she asked if I could tell Lara," Selphie looked around.
"Lara hasn't come out of her room yet," Rinoa leaned against the wall.
"Or Zell," Quistis pushed her hair back. "He's usually the first one up. This isn't like him."
"I bet I know what happened to him," Irvine chuckled.
"Well," Squall pulled on his shirt. "I'm gonna go up there and tell her myself." Squall pulled his socks on and started the walk to Lara's room.
*******************************************************
Lara ran her hand along Zell's chest. "Good morning Zell," She said with a smile.
"Good morning Lara," he kissed her forehead. "What time is it?"
Lara turned to look at the clock. "It's almost noon." She got up and walked towards the bathroom. "Zell, I'm gonna soak in the hot tub for a little bit. Feel free to join me," she smiled as she walked into the bathroom. She grabbed her bikini and put it on. She slowly slid into the warm water and leaned back against one of the jets. Zell walked in behind her and got in.
"This water feels good," he smiled.
"Zell," Lara scooted closer to him. "You were wonderful last night."
"Thanks," He smiled. "You were great, too."
"Care for another go at it?" She gave him an evil grin.
"Sure," he kissed her. "In here?"
"Zell, sit on the edge." She pushed away from him.
"Okay," He stood up and sat on the edge, his back to the door.
Lara stood up, walked over to him, and started to kiss him. She moved slowly down his neck, then to his chest, then to his stomach. She stopped when she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" She asked putting a finger to Zell's lips.
"It's Squall," Squall yelled from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," she yelled. She looked at Zell and spoke softly. "Zell, get underwater. We don't want him to see you here like this."
"But..." Zell started in protest but Lara stopped him.
"Hold your breath," She said before she pulled him into the hot tub and pushed him under. Squall stopped at the door.
"Do you have something on?" He asked.
"Yeah, come in," Lara smiled.
"Good afternoon Lara," Squall said as he walked into the bathroom. "Lyla just called. She wanted us to tell you that she'll be here around one."
"Okay," Lara smiled. "Is that all?"
Squall shook his head. "We were kinda wondering if you've seen Zell. It's past noon and none of us have seen him yet. This isn't like him. He's usually the first one awake."
"Have you looked everywhere?" Lara asked not wanting to lie to him and say that she had not seen him. At that moment, Zell burst out of the water, splashing water out of the hot tub and across the floor, soaking Squall's socks. Zell took a deep breath.
"Is he gone?" He asked, while breathing heavily. Lara shook her head and pointed at Squall. Zell pushed his hair back. "Sorry."
"That's all right," Lara said while standing up. "Squall, will you please toss me a towel." Squall grabbed a towel from the rack and threw it to her. She caught it. "Thanks," She said as she dried off.
Squall looked at Zell. "Zell, aren't you getting out?"
Zell had a nervous grin on his face. "Well, I kinda...." He trailed off.
"Squall," Lara lightly pushed Squall towards her room. "Let's let him get out himself." They walked into her room and Squall sat on the couch, pulling his socks off. Lara grabbed a towel and sat down next to him.
"Sorry," Lara handed the towel to him.
"That's all right," Squall started to dry his feet. "Lara, is there any particular reason you two are up so late?" He had a grin on his face. Lara nodded and bit her lip. Squall leaned closer to her. "Was Zell wearing anything in there?" Lara shook her head, smiling nervously. Squall's jaw dropped. "Did you two, well, you know?"
Lara looked away from Squall, coloring a little. "Squall, I'm sorry, but I kinda feel uncomfortable talking to you about this."
"I understand," Squall said in a caring voice. "Well, are you gonna be ready for when Lyla gets here?"
"I should be," Lara smiled, the redness fading. "Now I just gotta figure out what I'm gonna wear." She walked over to her closet and opened it, in search of her favorite dress.
"I'll just give you your privacy. Sorry for bothering you guys." Squall stood up and walked over to the door. "See ya in a bit Lara." He walked out the door and shut it behind himself. Lara found her favorite dress, it was a black miniskirt dress with the Japanese symbol for love on it. Zell came into the room, fully dressed and his hair combed like usual.
"Lyla's gonna love your hair," Lara giggled.
Zell smiled. "Well, let's go downstairs and wait for her." They both walked down the stairs and out the front door. Zell put his arms around Lara when they walked up to everyone else. Irvine could not contain himself much longer. He really wanted to see Lyla. A nice red sports car pulled up to the gates. Lara smiled and ran over to the gates. She typed a code into the control panel and the gates opened. The car pulled in and when it stopped, Lyla stepped out. She looked like Lara with shoulder length hair. Lara hugged her.
"Lyla," Lara smiled. "Did ya miss me?"
"Of course," Lyla smiled. "Well, aren't you gonna to introduce me to your friends?"
"Okay," Lara walked in front of everybody and pointed to them. "That's Quistis, Selphie, Squall, Rinoa, Zell, and this is Irvine." She put her arm around Irvine and smiled.
Lyla nodded and smiled. "Nice to meet you. Which one's your boyfriend Lara?"
Lara smiled and ran over to Zell. "Zell is. Isn't he a cutey?"
Lyla smiled at Zell. "Yeah, he's pretty cute." Zell blushed a little.
"Well," Lara smiled. "We can get more aquatinted over dinner. Lyla, I'll show you to your room."
Lyla followed Lara into the mansion. The rest of them stayed outside since it was such a beautiful day. Lara led Lyla up the stairs and into the music room. Lyla set her things down next to the bed. Lara smiled at her.
"So," Lara said sitting on the bed. "What would you like to do today?"
"Maybe get to know your friends better," Lyla smiled. "We should also plan for tomorrow's little trip."
"Yeah," Lara laid back on the bed. "We should plan, maybe after dinner. Speaking of dinner, what would you like?"
"Anything," Lyla jumped on the bed. "Just as long as it's not Japanese food. I'm getting tired of it personally."
"Great, we'll eat some American food. I'm getting tired of hot-dogs," Lara giggled. "Maybe we can have steak or cheeseburgers or something."
"Sounds good to me. Let's go back and see your friends." Lyla pulled Lara out of the bed and they walked down the stairs. Lyla stopped Lara before she opened the door.
"Lara," Lyla whispered. "Can you please formally introduce me to Irvine. He's really cute."
"And he's a sweetheart," Lara smiled. "Of course I'll introduce you two. I think you'll get along great. Now, let's go outside." Lara opened the door to see Zell doing a backflip. "Zell, what are you doing?" Lara raised an eyebrow.
"Just showing Squall how to do a backflip," Zell grinned. Lara giggled when she pictured Squall trying a backflip.
"Squall, doing a backflip? He'd land flat on his face!" Lara smiled at Squall.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Squall smirked.
*******************************************************
Lyla sat across the table from Irvine, smiling at him. Zell and Lara were playing footsie under the table. Squall was staring adorably at Rinoa. Quistis and Selphie were carrying on a conversation between themselves.
"Dinner was great Lara," Lyla smiled. "I'm so glad to get away from Japanese food."
"Thanks," Lara smiled. "Well, do you want to start planning for tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Zell looked at Lara.
"Lara's turning back to her old tricks," Lyla smiled.
"That's right," Lara brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I'm going tomb raiding."
Chocobo:Music: "Final Fantasy VIII" - "Where I Belong"
