"Huh? Wha? OHMYGOD! It's friggin' 9:15!! TANNER!!" Rachel, who had just half crawled, half tumbled out of bed ran down the thin corridor of her home and skidded to a screeching halt just outside the bathroom. She grabbed a towel and stripped down, jumping into the freshly poured bath water.
As she scrubbed herself down, she thought about her Zac. It had only been 2 months since they met, but it felt like so much longer. They had met in the park on a chilly morning, while they were both having love problems. They had bumped into each other and instantly become friends. After about 4 days, they were dating and having the time of their lives.
"Yo Rach!! You ever comin' outta there?" Tanner shouted from outside the closed bathroom door. "There are other people in the house that have to use the shower too, ya know!"
A very exasperated Rachel stepped out of the tub and wrapped a pink towel around her wet shivering body. As she stepped out into the bright, window-lit hall, she was almost trampled by her sister, who was also carrying a pink towel in her arms.
"Geez, good morning to you too dearie." The bathroom door slammed without answer. Rachel shrugged and made her way quickly down to her small, yet at the same time quite cozy room. She walked non-chalantley to her closet and opened the mirrored doors. As she sorted through her massive collection of sweaters, sweat pants, and tank tops, she happened to glance over at her clock. She almost had a spasm. It was 9:23!
"Oh my, oh my.." She quickly grabbed a B.U.M tank top, a pair of faded blue flair jeans; some socks and pulled them on as fast as her little arms would allow. As she ran down the hall, she heard the doorbell ring. And Tanner's still in the shower!!
Semi-panicked, Rachel jogged over to the locked door, un-did the latch, and opened the door to two grinning boys standing on the porch steps.
"Oh! Hi guys!!" Rachel greeted warmly as she invited the two inside.
"Heya Rach!" Zac walked over and gave her a kiss as Taylor took a seat on the couch. "How're you?"
Rachel beamed. "I'm alright. I actually just woke up." She paused to give a goofy look of anger. "'Cause my stupid sister didn't wake me up until just now."
Zac nodded. "Yeah, Tay just woke up too." He laughed. "And he's not quite as cranky as usual."
Tay threw a pillow at him just as Tanner whizzed by on her way to her room to change. Rachel smiled.
"That's Tanner."
"I'll be up in a minute guys!" Tanner shouted from downstairs. "I just have to change!"
"Okay!" Rachel laughed. "Sorry 'bout my sisters entrance." She looked at the floor sheepishly. "I stayed a little late in the bath this morning, and she just got in a minute ago." She grinned again and said, "She's also a bit on the slow side."
As Tanner skipped quickly from her hair, to her clothes, to her makeup, she was still thinking about her little 'conversation' with Taylor earlier. She shook her head. It wasn't quite a conversation. She had pretended to be her sister because she was afraid of him saying something or showing disinterest in her. But she probably wouldn't see him again, and so she wouldn't worry over it. This was going to be a fun day, and she wouldn't let anything ruin it for her sister or Zac.
As she put the finishing touches on her makeup, which just consisted of some mascara, eyes shadow, and gloss, she grabbed her leather jacket, which she doubted she would need and her purse and bounded happily up the stairs to join her sister and company up in the living room.
When she reached the living room, she was greeted by Zac, who gave her a big hug. She grinned and cracked, "So Rachel, this is Zac." She gave him a once over and giggled. "He's kinda cute."
Rachel pushed her sister out of the way and slipped her arm through Zacs. "Hey, off my guy!" She laughed with the others until she saw Tanner eyeing Taylor. She grinned. Plan A, on a roll…
"Hey," she began sweetly, in her introductory tone. "Tanner, this is Taylor. Zacs big bro."
Tanner's head snapped over to where Taylor was seated on the couch. A look of sheer amazement sprung over her delicate face. That's Taylor? As in, the Taylor that I lied to this morning?? Uh oh… Quickly but gently, she held out her hand and smiled. "Hi Taylor. I'm Tanner."
Taylor took her hand, and returned her smile sweetly. "Hi Tanner. Nice to meet you."
Seeing the look of kindness in his eyes, Tanner almost fell over. "Same here." She managed to choke out. She saw him smile. Okay, I got him to smile. That's good… right? She swallowed hard and managed to grin back sweetly. "You ready?" She asked the awaiting teens as they grabbed their jackets. They nodded and she grabbed her keys from her pocket.
As she quickly dug through her purse to make sure she had money, Tay gave the blond a once over. She was wearing a mini-skirt that showed off her beautifully tanned long legs, which were also covered in white almost translucent knee-highs. A tube top that was covered by a nice silvery wrap showed skin, but not in a bad way. It was actually perfect on her. She also wore some 2 inch heeled clog shoes that added a couple of inches to her 5ft 10-inch height. She had her hair down, which reached just below her waist in a long wave of crimps. It was held back neatly in two butterfly clips next to each ear and her bangs which were parted on each side of her forehead, came down delicately to frame her just as delicate face. She wore minimal makeup, and silver moon earrings that added just the right touch to her almost gothic look.
Once she had her money safely in her wallet and her keys tucked securely in her right hand, she nodded at her group and smiled. "We're outta here!" And with that, the three bounded out the front door and plunged into the car.
