She planted the last of the roses and sat back to eye her work. Planting was something Chelsie Warren hated doing, but she loved helping her grandmother.
"Peachy, you can go in now, I'm sure your tired," Chelsie's grandmother said.
"Thanks grams," Peachy picked up her water bottle and headed in the house.
Noticing the red light flashing on the caller id box, Peachy curiously walked over to check it. It didn't surprise her to see Hanson, Walker appear 3 of the 5 new calls.
She picked up the telephone and dialed the familiar number.
"Yo," Zac answered.
"Hey," Peachy greeted, "I've noticed that one or two or three people in your family have called my house."
"Oh yeah, that's Tay," Zac said.
"What does he want?"
"Hmm, beats me."
"Is he there?” Peachy asked.
"No, he left like two minutes ago," Zac said, "But I think he's going to your house. The car is gone."
"Your mom and dad let Tay take the car?" Peachy asked in amazement. Taylor, although he had a license, wasn't the most trustworthy driver.
"My parents are practically dead today. They're still in their pajamas," Zac said.
"Okay, I'll go," Peachy said.
"Yeah, bye."
"Bye," and the conversation ended.
"Peachy, Taylors' here," Peachy's grandmother said, poking her head through the door.
"Tell him to come on in."
Through the window, Peachy could see Taylor walk up the pathway to the door and walk into the house.
"I can't believe they let you take the car," She greeted.
"I can't believe you never answered your phone," Taylor said sitting on the love seat.
"I was outside."
"Oh, well Jon is having some people over for something for...something. And I don't wanna go alone."
"Then go with Reggie or something," Peachy suggested.
"He's going on that date with Heather that night. And I asked Ike, but Ike has this major complex about being better than everyone younger than him, so he said, 'no.'"
"Jon's friends scare me," Peachy said.
"They aren't that bad...when sober...you know." Taylor assured.
Peachy looked at Taylor in doubt. Jon had that reputation. His friends were the "up all night rebels." All over Tulsa, they had a reputation for that. And if they weren't at Jon's they were out somewhere else, wrecking another house, getting drunk, or just causing trouble.
"Tay, I don't know if I really want to go. The last time I went to one of those, I ended up, like, sitting on that awful brown couch in Jon's basement. You know, the one that smells?"
"This time, I'll hang out with you. I won't be making out with Stephanie this time," Taylor stated matter of factly.
Peachy smiled. "Didn't you say something along those lines last time?" She interrogated.
"Well, sort of."
"Yeah." Peachy said, then added, "I'll go."
"Great! I knew you would. You can't resist this incredible charm of mine. Let’s go get ice cream." Taylor stood up and put his hand out to help Peachy up. She gladly obliged and grabbed the hand.
"I want you to know that I will not have fun." Peachy said, as they walked out to the car.
"Peachy, where are you two going?" Peachy's grandmother called from her position by the rose bushes.
"We're going to get some ice cream." Peachy said, "It is kinda hot."
"Alright, see you later."
And Taylor and Peachy drove off. "Piper's," Taylor said as he made his way to Willamette Highway.
"That's cool," Peachy said turning the air conditioner off and rolling her window down. "This is definitely window weather." She said.
"Isn't all sunny weather 'window weather' to you?" Taylor asked.
"Sure," Peachy said as she watched the familiar city go by.
"Hey, we're going to California in 4 days," Taylor informed Peachy, "Reggies' going. He practically had to beg your parents, but he's going.”
Peachy looked over at Taylor who was surprisingly keeping his eyes on the road. "Why?" she asked.
"Why not?" Taylor asked back. "It's summer. I think he wants to go so he has something to do."
"But why would he want to go to California? All you guys are going to be doing is recording. It's not like he's going to have the best time of his life."
"Maybe he wants to go to see the hot girls. They are a lot hotter on the West Coast..." Taylor was cut short by a swift punch to the arm. "I was just kidding, you know that."
**A.N. just kidding.**
"Mom, can I have Tay spend the night tonight?" Reggie asked at the dinner table.
"Yeah." Mrs. Warren said.
"Cool," Reggie got up to call Taylor.
"When did grandma leave?" Peachy asked her mother.
"About 5 o' clock. Where were you? She said you helped plant the rose bushes and then left."
"Tay came by and we went to go get ice cream. I didn't know she was leaving so soon or I would have stayed."
"It's okay, you can call her tomorrow morning."
Reggie came back into the dining room with the cordless phone still at his ear. "Yeah, I would have done the same thing," he said. Peachy watched in disgust as he started to eat. "Oh yeah," he said with a mouth full of food.
"You sick pig! Close your fucking mouth when you chew!" Peachy shouted.
Mrs. Warren stood up. "Go to your room!" She pointed a finger to the hallway. "You do NOT use language like that."
Peachy stood up and walked to her room. She couldn't believe she had just yelled at her brother like that. Feeling like a complete idiot, she plopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She hadn't bothered to turn the light on, so she could see the glow in the dark stars that were scattered across her ceiling. The radio was left on and she could hear a familiar song echoing through her room. The song was very familiar. She reached over and turned up the volume to hear the familiar lyrics of "Weird" wafting through. She began to sing along, but stopped when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," She said.
The door opened and Taylor walked through.
"Weren't you just talking on the phone with Reggie?" She asked as she sat up and turned on the lamp by her bed.
Taylor didn't respond. He walked over to the lamp and turned it off. Peachy could feel him pet her hair and a shiver ran up her spine.
"Why bother listening to us on the radio when I could just sing to you in person?" Taylor asked.
"Because..." but Taylor wouldn't let her finish. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Pushing her down from her upright position, Taylor laid on top of her and began to deepen the kiss.
The kiss was interrupted by a knock at the door. Peachy opened her eyes to see that Taylor wasn't really there. "God, that was a disgusting dream," she mumbled.
She stood up to open the door. Reggie and Taylor were standing there. Peachy squinted her eyes to the light.
"Were you sleeping?" Reggie asked.
"Yeah," Peachy said.
"But it's only 9 o' clock," Taylor said.
"So," Peachy defended. "What do you want?"
She looked at Taylor then quickly turned her attention to her brother.
"We wanted to hang out...maybe have a threesome..."
"You disgusting perv," Peachy said.
"Hey, watch it. Mom'll get mad if you start yelling again," Reggie said wryly.
"We don't want a fucking threesome, we were just bored and we wanted to know if we could hang out with you," Taylor corrected his friend.
Peachy opened the door wide enough for them to walk in. She turned on the light and followed the guys into her room.
"I've always liked your room better than mine," Reggie said taking a seat on the bed.
"Maybe that's because I keep my room clean," Peachy suggested.
"Reg, that's true. Peachy's room is a lot cleaner and cooler." Taylor smiled up at the poster Peachy had put up of them. "Zac gave that to you didn't he?"
"Yeah, he said I need something to remember you guys by, when you’re gone," Peachy said.
"Hey, at least he chose a good picture," Taylor said studying his face in the picture. Peachy couldn't stop thinking about the dream. She had never had a dream like that with Taylor before. It almost scared her.
Reggie dramatically laid back. "And I thought it was boring in my room," He said.
"It's a Thursday night," Peachy reminded, "There is nothing to do."
"Yeah, tomorrow is my date with Heather. She is one hot girl."
"I wish you'd go to that party," Taylor said.
"I'm going on a date, I couldn't take Heather there anyway. This is a first date. Take Peachy or something."
"I am. I had to promise that I wouldn't leave her though." Taylor said.
"Oh, like last time with Stephanie? Ooo, that was cool." Reggie reminisced.
Peachy sat, listening to the conversation that was going on around her. The two boys continued to talk as though she weren't there.
"I thought Peachy didn't like Jon?" Reggie said.
"She doesn't like his friends...she told me," Taylor said.
"Yeah, it would be so nice if you asked me," Peachy said, growing tired of being excluded.
"Well, if you weren't so quiet, maybe I wouldn't forget that you were sitting here," Reggie defended.
"How can you forget I'm sitting here? This is my room. And you were the one who came to me because you were bored...I was sleeping!" Peachy was growing exasperated.
"Jeez, talk about PMS," Reggie said smiling at Taylor.
"Excuse me? What the fuck would you know about PMS? Just leave! You are being so immature." Peachy got off the bed and stood, waiting for her brother to leave.
Reggie stood and looked her straight in the eyes, "Yeah," he said turning to Taylor, "She's definitely pmsing.” Reggie started to double over in a fit of laughter. When he settled down a bit, he walked out. Taylor stayed behind.
"What a jerk," he said as Peachy walked to the bed and sat next to him.
"I hate him so much sometimes," She confessed.
Taylor watched her flip her long brown hair and pull her foot up next to her on the bed. He had dreamt of kissing her before, but knew he never would have the courage.
"It always happens in my family, don't worry about it," Taylor said.
"Yeah, but there's only two of us. We're twins, we should get along. We should think on the same wavelength...you know. Like Tia and Tamara."
"Ha, that's good," Taylor said.
"What?"
"Tia and Tamara are girls. You and Reggie are a boy and a girl. The last time, I heard, Reg was a boy."
"You sure you didn't check?" Peachy teased.
"Okay, and who's the pervert now?" Taylor said looking around as if to see someone who would give him the answer.
"Shut up," Peachy said hitting him on the arm. She wrapped her arm around him and pulled him down to lie next to her. "I'm so tired." She said burying her face into Taylor's arm. Taylor didn't say anything. He was surprised at what Peachy had done.
"Why do you hang out with Reggie?" She asked.
"Because you aren't a guy and when I was little I would have been teased mercilessly if I was caught hanging out with a girl." Taylor answered.
"What about now?" She asked.
"Now," Taylor started, "I have to hang out with Reggie because I did when I was little, and he would feel left out if I didn't hang out with him. He has no friends you know."
Peachy laughed. It was true. Her brother was a loner, and everyone knew it. Taylor was his only friend. Except for the couple of girls that were always following him. Peachy was just glad that he didn't hang out with her friends at school.
"Plus, if he didn't come to my house all the time, when would he leave you alone?" Taylor turned so he could face Peachy. She had her eyes closed and a small smile etched on her lips. Tay knew she was asleep and was somewhat disappointed. He could tell by her rhythmic breathing that she wasn't going to wake up soon, either. Ever so quietly, Taylor moved closer to her lips and kissed them softly. Her smile faded and she opened her eyes. Taylor's heart began to race.
"Why did you do that?" She asked.
Before Taylor could answer though, he felt her lips meet his. He was completely surprised but responded eagerly. He had dreamt of tasting her like this, since he was 13, and he had known that it would take time, but he didn't expect it to be this soon. He felt her open her mouth and slide her tongue across his lips. He opened his mouth and welcomed her tongue to touch his. Both their hearts were racing wildly.
Peachy wrapped her arms around Taylor's neck and ran her hands through his golden hair. Taylor responded by running his hands up and down her back. All the while, the kisses intensified. Peachy started to kiss Taylor's face, his eyes, cheeks, chin, nose. She had never realized how much she had wanted this before. Taylor made his way to her neck. Tasting her soft sweet skin on his tongue. She moaned silently, and tilted her neck back.
The door opened, startling them both and causing them to separate.
"Whoa, I did not just see you two kissing," Reggie said stopping dead in his tracks.
"Yeah, you can knock," Peachy said pulling her shirt down.
"I can, but I didn't expect to see you two making out. Jeez, I leave you two alone for 5 minutes and you start kissing,” Reggie said turning to leave.
Taylor turned to look at Peachy. "Sorry about that," he said.
"Oh no, don't apologize," Peachy said. "It's no ones fault.”
"I'll go. Reggie's probably going hostile." Taylor got up and walked to the door. Peachy watched him pull the door shut. She closed her eyes and laid back on her bed. She let out a loud sigh, and soon fell asleep.
"No, I don't want you to argue! You are grounded! You are not going to California either!" Mr. Warren said.
"Dad, I didn't know. You can't tell me I can't go to California! If I don't go, they will have spent all that money on the plane ticket for nothing!" Reggie tried to defend himself.
"So we'll send Peachy in your place."
Peachy's head shot up at the mention of her name. "What?" she said.
"You're going to California. I'm going to call Walker." Mr. Warren got up from his seat on the couch and headed off towards the phone.
"You are so lucky," Reggie said.
"I don't want to go to California. How much fun will it be? They're recording an album. If I go, I'll be babysitting the whole trip."
Reggie sat and thought about it for a minute. "Your right. HA! You suck!!!"
Mrs. Warren came into the room and looked at her two children. "Peachy," she said, "If your going, you need to get all the clothes you need washed into the laundry room. I would also suggest that you start packing now."
"Mom, why do I have to go?" Peachy asked. "I hate California."
"Peachy, don't be ridiculous. You'll have the best time. I'm sure Walker and Diana will have something planned for all of you to do."
"Yeah, exciting," Peachy mumbled under her breath. It's not that she didn't like California, but it had been a while since she had talked to Taylor. At the party, she had hung out with friends she knew from school, trying to avoid Taylor at all costs. She didn't really know if she was all that ready to talk to him now.
"Your leaving tomorrow," Mrs. Warren reminded, "I'd get busy if I were you."
Taking the hint, Peachy got up and walked down the hall to her room. It was going to be a 2-month vacation. She had better start making the best of it.
That night, Peachy and Reggie sat watching TV.
"Why do you get to go and not me?" Reggie asked. He was still confused as to why he had gotten in trouble.
"You moron," Peachy said, "You got grounded for sneaking out to be with Heather. You know how dad yelled at you the last time...why bother?"
"Heather likes me," Reggie said, a big smile spread across his face. "Why do you get to go though? If dad knew how you and Tay got all friendly the other night, he wouldn’t let you go."
Reggie looked at his sister accusingly. He knew that something was going on but wasn't quite sure what was going on.
"Are you guys like, a couple? Taylor would never go out with anyone without telling me," Reggie said.
"Don't worry, we're not."
"You guys just make out as friends?"
"Reggie, shut up, and mind your own business."
Peachy got up and headed off to her room. She hated it when her brother acted like this and she hated the fact that she had to go to California against her own will. Stopping outside of her parents room, she saw her dad talking on the phone. Peachy walked in and sat on the king size bed next to her dad. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. At 44, Mr. Warren was a tall dark man. Peachy always loved the way his brown eyes would smile down at her when she had done something good.
"I'll be off in a moment," he said to Peachy.
Peachy looked around the room. The floor was littered with dirty clothes and towels. It never made sense to her that her parents could have a messier room than she did, but it was something she was used to. Almost something she looked forward to whenever she came in.
Hanging up the phone, Mr. Warren turned to look at his daughter. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked.
Peachy looked up to her father, "Daddy," she said, "Do I have to go to California? I wanted to stay here and go to Jody's pool party and I was supposed to baby-sit for the Jenkin's family next weekend."
"Peach, you'll just have to cancel." Mr.Warren stood up and ruffled Peachy's hair. "Come on sweetie."
Peachy followed him out of the room and walked to her bedroom down the hall. She knew she wouldn't be able to get out of it.
