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Mind Tuck -*- Copyright 1998 by Ellen Hayes.

Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual
persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when
used for satirical purposes.

This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and
possibly sex.  If you are legally not allowed to read materials
containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading
this.  I am not responsible.
Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it
in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally
allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish,
state, and country.

All rights reserved.  See the bottom for distribution rights.


Mind Tuck

***
20:46 6 Mar

     Flash!  I flicked the phone on.  "Hello?"
     "Val?"
     I sighed.  "Yeah, Lisa, what's up?"
     "Ah, well, I told Travis you got into town today, and he'd like to
take you out tomorrow night."  She sounded kind of hesitant.
     "Oh, God...."  I shifted in my seat.  "Yeah, okay, I know.  I told
my folks I was going out yet again..."

***
11:41 7 Mar

     "Um, Tuck?"
     Old suspicion flared up in me again.  "Yes, Debbie?"
     "Did you want to work next week?  I need to know..."
     "Oh, hell, I forgot!  I'll, uh, I'll ask my folks and call you
tonight, okay?"  She shook her head.  "Oh, no.... I'll call my folks and
ask them... damn!"

***
12:08 7 Mar

     "Hello?"
     I said, "Dad?" and crossed my fingers.  Debbie gave me a thumbsup.

***
12:11 7 Mar

     As I hung up the phone, I jammed my fist up and down.  She
high-fived me, and we took off.
     It was nice to have someone you didn't even have to talk to, to
communicate.

***
14:51 7 Mar

     "What's the deal?" I asked rhetorically.  "I mean, do they resent
us being young or something?  Why do they ALWAYS pile on the work when
we have a holiday?"
     "Because they hate us, Tuck," Debbie explained.  "They remember
being young, and they're jealous, so they're punishing us by making us
act like them, working all the time."
     I sighed as she unlocked her car door.  "Yeah, God..."

***
15:13 7 Mar

     "I want to wear something COMFORTABLE tonight!"
     "Fine!  We'll let you pick something out.  Unless Lisa has an
idea."  She glanced at me sideways when she should have been looking
forward at the road.  "Besides, you look good if you dress prep."
     "Oh, God..."  The shame of it.

***
15:48 7 Mar

     "What is it with you two and stockings?" I asked.  "Nobody else
wears 'em."
     "Well, yeah, they do, sometimes," Lisa contradicted.
     Debbie explained, "Well, it's simpler to deal with when you gotta
go to the bathroom, I think, and if you run one you don't ruin the whole
pair."
     "Plus they're sexy!" Lisa giggled, and poked Debbie.  Debbie poked
Lisa back, and I poked Lisa too.  That led to a general poking and
tickling session between the three of us for a couple of minutes.
     "Which reminds me," Debbie said, "did you cut your toenails
recently?"
     "What?"

***
16:16 7 Mar

     "Oh, God, this is so insane," I commented as I tried lining my eyes
again.  This was the third time trying to get them the same on both
sides.
     "Life is insanity," said Lisa, sounding like she was quoting
someone.  "The crazy people are the ones that deny that."

***
16:37 7 Mar

     "And what are you two gonna be doing while I'm out with Mr.
Studly?" I asked them.  When they didn't answer right away, I turned
around and gave them the eye.  They were blushing.  "Remember, no
sneaking around any more," I told them as I shook my finger at them.
     After a while longer, Debbie just nodded at me, looking at the
floor.  I sighed, "You two kids, I swear..."
     "Are you mad?" Debbie asked desperately as she looked me in the eye
again.  They both looked upset.
     I thought about it.  "No, but I wanna know you still like me when I
get back.  So you need to pay some attention to me, when I'm here."
     "What about me?" Lisa asked.
     "Oh, you can fall all over me too," I teased.
     She came over, grabbed my head, and gave me a long kiss.  When she
let go, I was gasping for air.
     "Oooh, that looks like fun," commented Debbie.  Then she grabbed
me.  So I grabbed her back.

***
16:41 7 Mar

     I sighed.  *Here we go again,* I thought.
     What I was wearing, for this, the third date, was relatively
reasonable.  Except a little prep.  Pink long sleeved oxford shirt,
stonewashed blue denim jumper, a couple of slips again, low brown heels
and matching belt, and a very familiar brown bomber jacket.
     "Wait," I said as they got ready to attach jewelry to me.  "I got
my own this time."
     "I gotta see this," Lisa commented.

***
16:43 7 Mar

     "Only you would think of something like that, Val," commented
Debbie sadly, shaking her head.
     What I'd done was gotten a few dead computer pieces from Dad, and
some jewelry my sister had dumped, and made two 4 meg SIMMs into clip
earrings, and a totally fried Intel Pentium into a necklace.
     "Do you have to wear that?" Lisa asked.
     "I have to let my inner geek show through!"  They just shook their
heads.

***
16:52 7 Mar

     Dingdong!  Lisa got up to answer the door.
     I took a deep breath.  Debbie squeezed my hand, and whispered,
"Just act normal, okay?  No problem."
     I heard Lisa and Travis talking at the door, but too quickly they
came back to the living room.  "Hi," he said in his deep voice.
     "Ah, hi!" I squeaked.  Not that I was nervous or anything.  Haha.
Debbie nudged me to stand up, so I did.
     He gave me a funny look.  I had a long moment of paranoia before he
asked, "What did you do to your hair?"
     "Ah," I stalled.  Then I realized what he was talking about.  "I
got tired of it being so fried, so I got it colored back to my original
hair color, and had all the damanged parts cut off."  This sounded a lot
like something Lisa had mentioned at the last sleepover.
     "Oh," he said.
     Pause.
     "Um, ready to go?" he asked.  Unfortunately, I was.  I nodded, and
he offered me his arm as I walked towards him and the door.  I ignored
it.  Well, I mean, I was acting like I didn't see it, but I could almost
hear it as I hurried outside.

***
16:56 7 Mar

     "Valerie?" he said after he started his truck.
     "Uh huh?"  I didn't really want to look at him.
     He sighed.  "Look, I'm really sorry about last time, back around
New Year's.  I... I don't normally get like that."
     I swallowed.  "It's, it's okay.  I know how it is sometimes."  I
didn't, but that was besides the point.
     "Are you... if it's too much, if I blew it, tell me now, okay?"
Now I looked at him.  He was staring at his hands on the wheel.  "'Cause
I don't want to, you know... if I scared you too bad, I don't, I mean, I
don't have to go out with you, I just thought it would be, maybe, fun or
something."  He risked a glance at me.
     "It's.... it's okay," I told him quietly.  "Just... do you think
you could not drink tonight?"  He nodded.  "I think that'd help me feel
better."  It definitely would.
     "Okay."
     Pause.
     "So what would you like to do?" he finally asked.
     I thought about it.  "I'm a little hungry, actually."
     "Where would you like to go?"

***
17:13 7 Mar

     "I hate rush hour," he said.
     "This is nothing like, like home," I smiled.  "At least things are
moving, a little."
     "Is the traffic really that bad, like they say?"
     I nodded.  "You might as well walk, or take a bike or the subway or
something.  That's why you always see those pictures of guys in suits on
bikes - it's faster than a car.  And you don't have to go to the gym if
you ride home, I guess."

***
17:16 7 Mar

     "What ARE those earrings?" he finally asked.
     "Oh, these?"  I took one off and handed it to him.  He turned it
over a couple of times, looking at it.
     "Little tiny circuit boards?" he finally asked.
     "No!  Duh.  Well, sorta; they're SIMMs."  He looked blank.  "Like
computer memory?"  He'd heard of computer memory, at least.  "Well,
that's one thing you can do with dead ones.  My dad gave 'em to me."
     He snorted.  "Your dad must be a real geek."
     "They were my idea."
     Pause.
     "Well, I feel like a total idiot," he eventually commented.  I
snickered unwillingly at that.  "Where did you buy them?"
     "I made them."
     Pause.
     This had a certain amount of fun in it.

***
17:21 7 Mar

     He was reaching for topics to talk about.  He seemed strangely
nervous.
     "Oh, uh, math, history-"
     "Which math?" he asked.  "And which history?"
     "Um, pre-cal, and, uh."  He was giving me a strange look.  "What?"
     "Pre-calculus?"
     I nodded.  "I, uh... I kind of like math."  Not to mention that Dad
had told me that I needed every scrap of math I could get.  And I kind
of liked math.
     "And you're a sophomore?"  I nodded again.  "It's just that most
sophomores at our school are taking something like algebra."
     I shrugged.  "Guess I'm just ahead of the curve."  Like two years
or more.
     Pause.

***
17:28 7 Mar

     "So, ah, ehauya...."  He trailed off in confusion.
     "What?"
     "Nothing."
     I glanced at him.  He was looking straight ahead at the traffic,
which was a nice change from my friends.  He seemed to be sweating,
though.
     "Are you hot?" I asked.
     "Uh, well, uh, if you're too hot I can turn it down," he said, and
fiddled with the heater.  That wasn't what I'd asked, either.

***
17:39 7 Mar

     "So uh, anyway, is this the place?" he asked.
     "Yeah, this is it," I said.  Debbie and I had been here once.
     "Uh, okay."  He pulled in and found a parking spot.  When he shut
the car off, he rushed out of the truck.  *Must be hungry,* I thought as
I got out myself.  But that wasn't it, because he was right there,
looking like he'd lost the race or something.
     "I, uh, I was gonna open the door for you," he said, getting out of
my way.  *Oh, hell,* I thought, and hoped he wouldn't think anything
about my screwup.
     I followed him to the door, and he opened it for me.  As I started
to walk in, though, something hit my shoulder and pushed me.  "Hey!" I
complained, and turned the other way to bitch at Travis.  But he wasn't
there.  *What the-*
     "Sorry!" said something behind and above my head, and I jumped a
little.  I turned some more, and Travis was holding the almost-shut
door.
     "What are you doing?" I demanded.  This was getting weird.  Which
was scary.
     "I, ah, my hand slipped," he explained as he pulled the door open
again.  "Sorry, uh, sorry."
     I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I tried to go in
again.  This time I made it.

***
17:40 7 Mar

     I was in front, so when the little oriental waitress asked, I said,
"Two please."  So did Travis.  He was beginning to get on my nerves.  As
if I had any left.
     "Two?" said the waitress, and I nodded.  "Right tis way."

***
17:43 7 Mar

     "Coke please," I said.  We'd been staring at each other over the
menus for a couple of minutes.
     She left.  I looked at my menu until Travis said, "Uh, what's
good?"
     I looked up at him.  "What do you like?"
     He shrugged, oddly helpless.  "I dunno."  Then he added, "Uh, I
never had Chinese food before."
     "Then, why did you say you wanted to come?"  I thought it was a
reasonable question.
     "Because I thought you wanted to come here."
     This whole thing was beginning to sound like a bad movie.  I
sighed.  "Well, do you like Chi- never mind.  Would you like to try
some?"  He nodded, uncertain.  "Well, here, put your menu down."  I
pointed at the dinner specials.  "You know what an egg roll is?"

***
17:49 7 Mar

     I thought everyone had SOME idea of what Chinese food was, but
Travis had absolutely no clue.  I had to tell him everything.  Twice.  I
had to send the waitress back for more time so I could keep explaining
things to him.  At least he didn't have any allergies or any weird diet
restrictions.
     "Ready?" she asked.  I looked at Travis, and he nodded.
     "Yes.  He'd like the almond chicken dinner plate, and I'd like the
shrimp special."
     She scribbled on a pad.  "What soup?"
     Oh, boy, I'd forgotten about soup.  "Uhhhh.... egg drop for me, and
he'd like won ton."
     She scribbled.  "Okay!" she smiled, and I smiled back.  She took
our menus away and left.
     "What's won ton?" Travis asked.
     "You'll like it," I told him.

***
17:51 7 Mar

     "So what's the weather been like here?" I asked him, desperate to
break the silence.
     "Uh, kind of cold, it's been raining a lot..."  He thought.  "I
dunno," he said.
     "When was the last time it snowed?"
     "Uh, around February, uh, I guess a week or so ago.  It's rained
since then, though."
     Pause.
     This was really getting on my nerves.

***
17:58 7 Mar

     We were almost up to having a conversation, about how his
basketball was going, when he leaned back and bumped the table hard
enough to spill our drinks.
     "Ohsh-" he jumped forward, bumping the table into me.
     "Oof!"  When I recovered from the impact, I unwrapped my silverware
and started sopping up the soda with the napkin.
     He frantically apologized, "Oh, God, I'm sorry, I just bumped-"
     "Shut up and wipe!" I snapped at him.  Then got worried - here was
a guy about twice as big as me, and I just told him to shut up?  I
glanced at him, and he looked like I'd just kicked him.
     The waitress swung through with several other napkins, and she
helped wipe the table off.  "More drink?" she asked.  I just nodded, not
able to trust myself to keep from screaming.
     "Look, I'm real-"
     "Shut up."  I put my head in my hands.  This was not going well.

***
18:01 7 Mar

     By the time she brought us fresh drinks, I was almost calm again.
*Oh, God, this is like one of THOSE dates, fron junior high.*  The ones
where you have no idea what to do, and everyone stands around staring at
each other...
     Bing! went the lightbulb over my head.  It was so funny, I started
to laugh.
     "What?" Travis whined.
     When I could stop laughing, I said, "Look, this is all going to
hell, right?"  He just looked ashamed.  "Yeah.  So let's start over,
okay?"  That was something I always wished I could do.  I stood up, and
he stood up with me.  The look on his face was priceless.
     I stuck out my hand to him.  "Hi, I'm Valerie, I'm from New York.
What's your name?"
     "Uh, Travis.  Travis Jensen," he added after a pause.
     "Hi, Travis, nice to meet you."  I sat back down, just remembering
to do the skirt thing as I did.  "Would you like some Chinese food?"
     "Uh..." he looked around.  "Yeah, I guess so."  He sat down too.
     "Great, I already ordered.  So, Travis, do you go to high school?"

***
18:14 7 Mar

     He'd gotten the idea, finally, and we were starting to talk about
each other when the food arrived.  *Finally!* I thought.  "Could we have
some chopsticks, please?" I asked the waitress, and she pulled two packs
out of her apron.  "Thanks," I said gratefully as she nodded and smiled.
I pulled mine out of the paper, and was going to taste my food when I
noticed Travis looking at me.
     "You can eat with those?" he pointed.
     "Well, yeah.  It's pretty easy..."

***
18:16 7 Mar

     "No, more like tweezers, see?"  I showed him.  "It's easy."
     He tried another bite, and fumbled it.
     "No, you're letting 'em get away from you again.  See, here, hold
them down here..."

***
18:19 7 Mar

     "Oh," I mentioned as I thought about it, "you might want to start
on your soup before it gets cold."
     He looked at it suspiciously.  "I don't have to eat this with
chopsticks, do I?"
     "Uhhh," I moaned, "don't be dumb, use the spoon."
     "What is it?"
     "Just try it."  He did, one small spoonful, and swallowed it.
"Well?"  He nodded.  "See?"
     "What is it?"
     "Sort of like beef broth, except the won ton, which is like a large
noodle."  He nodded.  "Didn't I tell you you'd like it?"  He nodded.
     "So what's yours?" he asked.
     "Raw eggs poured in boiling water, plus some other stuff like
onions and whatever else they use."  He made a face.  "It's better than
eggplant!" I protested.
     He actually snickered at that.

***
18:25 7 Mar

     "So how long have you been playing the piano?"
     "Synthesizer," I corrected.
     "Sor-"
     "Travis, chill, okay?  You're making ME nervous.  Just relax."  I
couldn't believe I was saying this.

***
18:46 7 Mar

     "So what does yours say?" he asked.
     I sighed.  "'The current year will bring you much happiness,'" I
read.  Oh, God, I hoped so.  It had been kind of mixed so far.  "What
does yours say?"
     He cracked it open, and pulled out the slip of paper.  "'Get ready!
Good fortune comes in bunches.'"
     "Very auspicious," I observed, "as a friend of mine would say."
     "Oh, what's her name?"
     Her?  I was thinking of Mike... "Michelle."  *He's gonna kill me if
he finds out I'm doing this.*  First he was my boyfriend, now he's my
girlfriend-
     "Is she in town, or back in New York?"
     "Oh, New York," I lied.

***
18:50 7 Mar

     He'd calmed down a little, when it was apparent I wasn't going to
kill him, or get up and walk out, or whatever he was thinking of.  Me, I
thought it was funny.  Here's a guy who could beat me to a pulp if he
got the urge, without working up a sweat, and I'm trying to keep HIM
from running off screaming.  What a reversal.
     "So, what do you want to do next?" I asked him.
     "Uh, I dunno, whatever you want."
     I fought the urge to laugh out loud at him.  He seemed so eager to
please.
     "Let me, uh," something that had been nagging at me got my
attention.  "Let me go fix my makeup, and I'll think about it, okay?"
He nodded, and I got up.  I did remember to take my purse with me.

***
18:53 7 Mar

     After a quick trip to the stalls, I was in front of the mirror when
it hit me.  *I'm in a girl's bathoom, in a dress, fixing my makeup.  So
I can finish a date with a guy.  That my girlfriend's girlfriend set
up.*  I didn't quite know what to make of all this.  A year ago, I would
have laughed if someone had told me what I was doing now.  Or hit them.
     And I still had to figure out what to do for the rest of the
evening.  With a guy.  Who was apparently afraid of me.  Heh.

***
18:56 7 Mar

     "Well?" I asked him when I got back to the table.  He got up, and
we went outside, slipping our coats on as we went.
     I'd thought about it, and rejected a movie (alone in the dark) and
dancing (I was too tired, and dancing was too intimate) and going to
someone's house (bad idea, no matter whose house).  So, off to the mall.
"How about just going and checking out Westcross Mall?  I went one time
with Lisa and it was okay," I added.
     He looked at me.  "If you want to, I mean that's fine with me if
it's okay with you."  He looked desperate.  No, he looked like he was
trying to cover up desperate with suave and debonair.  As in "swave and
de-boner."
     I nodded, holding it in, and let him unlock my door and help me
into his truck.  After he shut the door, I allowed myself to laugh into
my hands for a few relieving seconds before I choked it all back down.

***
19:04 7 Mar

     "So what kind of music do you like?" I asked him.
     "Ah, well, I like dancing, so I listen to a lot of dance music..."
He trailed off again.
     I turned on the stereo, and something with a full orchestra came
out.  "Doesn't sound like modern dance," I pointed out.  Lucky guess on
my part.
     "Ah, well, I, uh..."  I looked at him, and he was blushing.  Hard.
I bit my lip, hard, to keep from falling all over myself.
     "I just don't know anything about classical," I said, staring
straight ahead.  "But, you know, praticing keyboards like I am, I'm
starting to like it more and more.  There's a lot of good stuff for
piano, and if you can do other stuff, like this setup can, it's just..."
I waved my hands around, at a loss for words.

***
19:18 7 Mar

     I was waving my hands and talking about Band in a Box, and I was so
into it that I barely noticed that we'd gone into the mall.  Except I
got hot all of a sudden, and when I reached for the zipper on my jacket,
I noticed I wasn't wearing my ski jacket, and then I noticed the heels
on the end of my feet, and the skirt I was wearing, which all sort of
added up to I had forgotten what I was doing.
     "What?" Travis asked.
     "Huh?"
     "You just stopped in the middle, is something wrong?"
     I shook my head.  "No, I just remembered, uh, something.  Anyway,
uh, I guess we're here.  Whatcha wanna look at?"
     "Uh," he rubbed his nose, "whatever you want."
     I sighed.  "Well, come on, let's go see what's here, anyway."
Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

***
19:22 7 Mar

     The perfumers were a lot more insistent than usual, but we made it
through without any real problems.  Maybe it was because I was dressed
like a girl or something.  There was a directory a little away.

***
19:24 7 Mar

     I sighed.  "I could always use some more tunes," I mentioned.
There wasn't much else that caught my eye.
     "The, uh, Hastings?"
     "Yes, Travis," I sighed, "let's go to Hastings."

***
19:41 7 Mar

     "Hey," mentioned Travis, and held something up.  Switched On Bach.
     "Oh, cool!  Let me see!"  I walked over and snatched the disk out
of his hand and read the back blurb.  "Oh, wow, I gotta get this.
Thanks!"  I smiled at him.

***
20:07 7 Mar

     Three CD's each.  Luckily, Dad had enough blank CD-Recs that I
didn't have to buy those too.  It was a little more than I wanted to
spend, but what the hell.
     A guy gave me the eye, as we waited in line, but then he saw
Travis, and stopped looking at me and started looking at the floor.
That made me feel better.  Sort of.

***
20:09 7 Mar

     "No CD player?"  He shook his head.  "I gotta listen to this CD!"
Bing!  "Wait, I got an idea."

***
20:14 7 Mar

     "CD players, please?  Do you have one I could test out?"  This
being cute stuff had its advantages.  Like I'd noticed with other girls.
Heh.  "With earphones?"
     "Better," the idiot went.  They were always idiots at Radio Shack.
If they knew what they were doing, they got fired.  "I've got a dual
plug, you can both listen at the same time."
     Maybe this one wasn't so stupid.

***
20:17 7 Mar

     I was glad I'd gotten the album, that was for sure.  It was
extremely cool.
     "Wanna try another CD player?" Travis asked me.  I thought about
it, and nodded.  Wouldn't want the clerk to get suspicious.

***
20:28 7 Mar

     "Uh, well?"
     *There's always a bookstore*, I thought.  So I said, "Well, do you
like to read?"

***
20:33 7 Mar

     "Hey, you like science fiction?" I asked him, surprised.
     He nodded.  "And fantasy, too.  Swords and sorcery stuff."
     "Oh, cool!  Say, did you ever read..."

***
20:56 7 Mar

     I only got two books, because that was all the money I had left.
Travis got a few more.  We almost didn't get any, though, because we
were talking about authors and stories and stuff, and almost didn't
notice the register closing.
     We only liked about half the same stuff, and he thought some stuff
I liked was dumb.  But, heck, READING was more than I'd expected from a
jock, so I couldn't complain.  Too much.

***
21:01 7 Mar

     "So what now?"
     "Um."  I was getting tired.  "I dunno."  I thought about it.  "I'm
kind of tired, actually."
     "Want to go home?" he asked, but he didn't seem really upset, like
he would have if I'd said that an hour ago.
     I nodded.  "I'm gonna be busy with, uh, my dad a lot tomorrow.  I
need to get some rest."
     He nodded.  "So you wanna go back to Lisa's?"
     *Well, that's where my boy clothes are,* I thought.  But I didn't
say that.

***
21:08 7 Mar

     Travis sang, "I got me a car,
     it seats about twenty,
     So come on!  And bring your
     jukebox money!"
     "The looooove shack," I sang back,
     "is a little ole place where,
     we can get to-geth-er!
     Love shack bay-y-beeeeeeee,"

***
21:12 7 Mar

     "Did anyone tell you you sound a lot like Kate Pierson?" he asked
me after he turned the radio back down.
     "What?  No!"  I'd been spared that, at least.  Until now.  "You
really think so?"  He nodded.  "No, really?  You're kidding, right?"

***
21:21 7 Mar

     We pulled up in front of Lisa's house.  He turned off the engine,
and got out of the truck.
     When he opened my door, I slid out and said, "Thanks a lot.  I... I
enjoyed tonight, I really did."
     He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  It didn't make him
look better.  "I wasn't sure if I'd blown it forever."
     I looked at his shoes for a second.  "Me neither," I admitted.
"But I guess not.  Tonight was fun, kind of low key.  Like I like."
     "Cool."  We smiled at each other.  "Want me to walk you to the
door?" he finally asked.
     "Uh, yeah, okay," I said.  He offered his arm, so I slid mine
through his, and we walked up to the front door.
     I was wondering whether I should knock on it, in case Lisa's
parents were around, or what, but when we got within about five feet of
it the door flew open.  "Er," I said, because both Debbie and Lisa were
there, in T shirts and shorts, and grinning.
     "Come on in!" Lisa waved, and Debbie did a Vanna at the entryway.

***
21:23 7 Mar

     I guess her parents had gone to bed, or something, because Lisa had
us sitting in the front room, and went to get drinks.  She took Travis
with her, too.  Somehow.
     "So, did it go okay?" Debbie asked, lounging on the couch.
     I nodded.  "Yeah, it went okay, he was just nervous at first."
     "Where did you go?"  She pointed at the bags I dropped on the
coffee table.

***
21:28 7 Mar

     Here I was, making small talk with my girlfriend, her girlfriend,
and my date.  My life was too strange lately.
     "So, anyway," Lisa suggested like it was innocent, "why don't you
go say goodnight to Travis, 'cause we're tired and we've still got to
fill you in on the local dirt."
     Debbie nodded, and they both stood up, and before I really knew
what was happening, I was on the front porch with Travis, and they shut
the door.
     "So."
     Pause.
     "Yeah," I replied, then said, "it was really nice tonight."
     He nodded spastically.  "Cool," he breathed.
     I thought about things for a long, long second, then motioned him
down.  When he bent down, I kissed him on the cheek.  When he stood back
up, he was grinning.  "Can I get a real one too, or would that be
pushing things?"
     "Um," I said, looking him in the eye.  That was a mistake, because
I got dizzy.  "No?" floated out of my mouth.
     He took me at my word, because he bent down, and hugged me close. I
closed my eyes and held on to him because everything was spinning.
     When his lips touched mine, I was expecting something like Jack's
assault, but this was more tender, more caring.  We kissed for what
seemed like forever, and I had actually relaxed when he broke it.
     It took me a few seconds to find my eyelids and push them open.
     He was sort of half smiling at me, like he wasn't sure how I'd
react.  My heart hammering, I smiled back at him.  Then I saw my arms,
wrapped around his neck, and couldn't remember how they got there.  I
didn't let go right away; I wasn't sure I could stand up on my own.
"Well, um, maybe I could see you this week?" he asked.
     "Uh."  I swallowed and tried again.  "Uh, I dunno, I'm working most
of it."  I blinked a few times, still dazed.  "Um, maybe next Friday?"
I wondered what I was saying.
     "That'd be cool," he said.  "I guess I'll call your social director
Lisa?"  I nodded.
     "Want another kiss?" he asked finally.
     I must've nodded, or something, because he bent down and kissed me
again.  This one was longer... I think I wanted it too, because I kind
of pressed up against him.  I completely lost my body for a long time.
Except where we were touching.
     Some time that wasn't enough later Travis pulled back again.  I
tried to move with him, but he just straightened up and out of reach.
I hoped he wasn't saying anything, because I was dizzy and my eyes
wouldn't focus and my ears were thudding with the sound of my heart.  We
weren't kissing any more, but he was still holding me up.  I was still
hanging on to him, too.  When I thought I could stand up again, I pulled
my arms down and moved a little away, and he let go, slowly.  "Well,
later, I guess?" he said.  I nodded breathlessly, and even managed a
smile, and he walked back to his truck.  He waved before he got in, and
I waved back.  Then I started breathing again.

***
21:30 7 Mar

     "Oh, my God, what a kiss!" Debbie exclaimed, pulling me inside.
     "Wha- you WATCHED!?"
     Instead of answering me, she gave me a kiss which promised a lot
more a lot sooner than the ones I'd gotten from Travis.

***
21:35 7 Mar

     I barely noticed going up the stairs to Lisa's room.  I was so... I
don't know what I was, but Debbie was the one to help me find my way
back.  Somehow, I knew that much.
     She shut the door, and practically threw me down on the bed.  When
she jumped and landed next to me, I expected to be almost raped, which
would have been alright at that point, but what she did instead was, she
started stroking my face and neck with the very tips of her fingers.
     THAT drove me crazy.

***
21:41 7 Mar

     Debbie wasn't slowing down, and I hadn't taken my clothes off, but
that didn't seem to matter.  She was rubbing up against me, one thigh
between mine, and the friction was making me worse than crazy.
     I managed to gasp out, "Debbeeeeeee..." but she just bit my neck
lightly, which sent me over the edge.  I think I lifted us both off the
bed.
     After I could manage to open my eyes again, there she was, sitting
right on top of me.  Smiling.  "Didja like it?" she asked, grinning.
     I just pulled her down, close to me, and rolled over so I could
cuddle against her.  I needed her, right now, more than anything.
     "You're shaking?" she noticed.  I was, really bad.
     "Debbie," I pleaded, "Just hold me, please..."

***
21:46 7 Mar

     Debbie and I were cleaning me up when I realized that I hadn't seen
Lisa for a while.
     "She's making business phone calls," Debbie told me when I asked
her.  "She knew what was gonna happen."  And she giggled.
     I was completely embarrassed.

***
21:49 7 Mar

     Watching the two of them kiss, I realized I didn't have anything to
worry about.  "You two are perverts," I mentioned.  They broke, and gave
me this hungry look.  Both of them.  *Uh oh.*
     Not being dumb, I started to run, but they caught me and dragged me
back to the bed.  And started _tickling_ me.
     "No, no, stop, stop," I gasped, "damnit STOP, I haveta GO!"
     "Go where?"  It stopped, for the moment.
     "Ah, bathroom!" I panted.
     They looked at each other for a long time, and finally nodded to
each other.  "Okay, but come right back."
     I got up, and staggered to the bathroom and shut the door.

***
21:52 7 Mar

     They rushed me, giggling, as soon as I opened the door.
     "Wait!"  They both paused.  "Can we just sit for a minute or
something?  I missed you two."  I tried to look serious, which is hard
when your body is expecting to be tickled.
     "Oh, right," Lisa said skeptically.  I walked over to her, slid my
arms around her waist, and tried to kiss her like Travis had kissed me.
     The look in her eyes, a minute later, told me I'd come close.  I
looked at Debbie, and held out my hand.  She came over and held us both.
Then it was Debbie's turn.

***
21:53 7 Mar

     "Ahh!" Debbie squeaked when I let go.  She and Lisa had almost
identical expressions on their faces.  Something like you see in a
romance movie, when the violins are playing, and it's just about time to
break to them in bed the next morning, this sort of moist-eyed dilated
pupil staring at you with a stupid expression kind of thing.
     I grabbed both their arms, and steered them over to the bed.  I
needed to sit down, myself.

***
22:38 7 Mar

     "Oh, God," Debbie moaned in ecstasy, "please don't stop, oh my
God..."  She clutched at the sheets and grimaced.
     Lisa and I grinned at each other as we worked on Debbie.  "Me
next," she told me.
     "My hand is gonna be so cramped...."
     Debbie contributed, "Oh, God..."
     "If I'd known she liked foot massages that much, I'd have started
giving them to her a long time ago," I told Lisa.
     She shrugged.  "Dunno, she's shy about her feet or something."
     "I dunno why, they're beautiful feet."  I kissed a toe.  Lisa
rolled her eyes.
     I'd made it down to shirt, bra, and panties about half an hour ago,
before we started really talking and I stalled.  Now I was under a
blanket on Lisa's bed, with Lisa and Debbie within easy touching
distance.  And we were touching a lot, the three of us.
     "He said I sounded like Kate Pierson," I mentioned.  I didn't need
to say who I was talking about.
     Lisa said, "Who?"
     "You know, from the B-52's?"
     "Oh, yeah," she nodded.
     "I dunno," said Debbie from her bliss at the other end.  "I don't
think you sound like her."
     "We were singing at the time."
     Pause.
     "So what do you sound like when you sing?" Lisa asked.
     "I dunno."  I was sort of embarrassed.
     "Your voice hasn't broken yet, has it?"  I shook my head.  That's
why I was embarrassed.  "Hmmm."

***
22:56 7 Mar

     "Mmmmm," Lisa moaned as I rubbed her shoulders.  Debbie was
painting Lisa's toenails, of all things.  Life, I noted, was getting
strange indeed.

***
23:03 7 Mar

     Debbie had just capped the polish bottle, when she grimaced and
clutched her abs.  "Debbie?"  I was suddenly worried.
     She shook her head at me, but it was Lisa who answered.  "Cramps."
I was puzzled until she waved her hand over her crotch.  Oh, THOSE kind
of cramps.  "It's time for another shot of Advil, I guess."  Debbie
nodded.
     "Well..."  I looked at them helplessly.  "Is there anything I can
do?"

***
23:05 7 Mar

     "Could you stay with me?" Debbie asked suddenly.  I looked at Lisa,
who was looking at me.  "Both of you?"
     "Sure."  "I guess..."  Debbie closed her eyes, but grabbed both of
our hands and squeezed.
     "Well, come on," ordered Lisa, "let's get those clothes off, okay?
Val, could you add the bath salts?"
     "The what?"
     She snorted at me.  "You help her, then," she said, and started
pouring these crystals into the tub.  I turned back to Debbie, who was
holding her arms up.  I lifted her shirt as gently as I could over her
head.

***
23:09 7 Mar

     "Oh, God, this is the part I hate the most," Debbie complained,
massaging her belly.  I nodded.  "Anyway," she changed the subject, "so
what did you get in those bags?"
     "Uh, well, a couple of CD's, and a couple of books."
     "What CD's?"
     "Uh, well, I got the Smashing Pumpkins one, and this thing on Bach,
it's all synthesizers.  It's pretty cool."
     "Where did you listen to it?" asked Lisa.
     "That's why we went to Radio Shack," I explained.

***
23:16 7 Mar

     "Yeah," she nodded after the first track, "it's okay, I guess, if
you're into classical and stuff."
     I shrugged.  "I mean, it's all synthesized, so if I get better, I
could play like that someday."  Debbie smiled at me.  I smiled back.
     "Hmmm," said Lisa, who had been looking at the liner notes.  "I
know I have heard of this person before..."  She got up.  "Be right
back."
     I shrugged, and turned back to Debbie when Lisa shut the bathroom
door again.  "So, do you like classical at all?"
     She shrugged.  "A little, I guess.  It's good background music."  I
nodded.
     I explained, "I'm liking it more since I started trying to learn to
play keyboards."
     "So when are you gonna have a recital, hmm?" she grinned, then made
a face.
     "Uh, when I get good enough, I guess."  I ignored the pain in her
face, so I wouldn't make it worse.  She'd told me to do that.  "It'll be
a while, I think.  I'm still doing scales.  But I'm getting better.
Sort of.  Slowly."
     "You'll get there," she told me.

***
23:24 7 Mar

     "No WAY!  You are making this up!"
     Lisa held up her hand.  "I swear to God, that's what it said."
     I was completely whacked now.  "Oh my- but I never heard anything
like that, I mean, it's... are you sure?"  Lisa nodded.  "Well where did
you find that out?"
     Lisa made a face that said, you should have been able to guess this
one and you're gonna feel about as stupid as you look when I tell you.
"The Web."
     She was right, I should have guessed and I did feel stupid.

***
23:32 7 Mar

     Helping Debbie out of the tub and get dried had been more
immediately important, but we'd finally come back to the room, Debbie
wrapped warmly in a terrycloth robe of Lisa's.  "No way, you're making
this up," I told Lisa as we waited for the page to load.

***
23:49 7 Mar

     "That is just so weird," I commented.
     Lisa shrugged.  "Not as weird as fundies."  Then she looked at me.
"Besides, you shouldn't talk."
     I blushed, and snapped at her, "Well, you know, I'm not exactly
doing this sort of stuff on my own."  Lisa gave me a look which I didn't
even try to decode.  "It's true!"

***
23:53 7 Mar

     "Okay, okay," Lisa conceded, "I believe you!  Just if you change
your mind, or know anybody like that, I don't have any problems, is all
I'm saying, okay?  Just keep it in mind."
     I sighed.  "Okay."  Then I looked over at Debbie to see why she'd
been so quiet.  She was asleep on the bed, still wrapped in the robe.
     I must have been staring too long, or something, because Lisa said,
in this voice totally unlike the one she'd been using a minute ago,
"She's so pretty when she's sleeping."  I nudged her foot, and we smiled
at each other, a shared smile.  When she took my hand, and squeezed it,
I squeezed back, and she put an arm around my shoulders.  We stood
there, watching Debbie sleep, for a long time.

***
00:46 8 Mar

     "So anyway," Lisa said as I gave her her jacket back, "she might
want to come over tomorrow and stay with you.  She said something about
that, uh," she glanced over at my dad, "earlier."  She winked at me.
"Um," she went on, getting serious, "she needs some comfort when it's
bad like tonight."
     "Uh," I scratched my head, "I said I'd go out with the guys, but-"
     Lisa interrupted, "She's gonna be working during the day, it's just
in the evening.  I've got another catering thing to do tomorrow night."
She made a face.  Kind of a I wish I'd remembered this or I wouldn't
have done that sort of face.
     "Well, let me ask.  Dad?"  I waved at him.  He pulled his
headphones off and came out of his office.  "Can Debbie come over
tomorrow night for supper?"
     "Saturday?" he asked.  I nodded.  "Well, you'll have to ask your
mom, but I don't see why not."
     "Oh, Dad, this is Lisa, Debbie's best friend.  Lisa, my dad."  They
said hi at each other.
     "Will you be coming over too?" Dad asked her.
     Lisa shook her head no.  "I'm working tomorrow night."

***
00:49 8 Mar

     I gave Lisa a long hug, and a short kiss.  She was taller than me,
which was kind of intriguing.  "Anyway, tell her I'll call tomorrow
about dinner.  Is she gonna be at your place?"
     "Yeah," she nodded.  "Anyway, see you later, sweetie."  She gave me
a peck on the cheek, and I let her out.
     When I was going back to the stairs, Dad said, "Tuck, are you sure
you know what you're doing?"
     I stopped and looked at him.  "What?"
     He gave me a look.  "I don't want to interfere in your personal
life," he started, "but ah, if I could give you some advice," like I
could stop him, "it's, ah, a bad idea to put the make on your
girlfriend's best friend."
     "What?"  *Where does he come up with this stuff?* I wondered.  "No,
it's no problem, Dad.  She likes me, Debbie knows it, and Debbie's cool
with it.  Uh, Debbie and I ended up at her house tonight, spent a few
hours hanging around, the three of us."  He raised his eyebrows.  "No,
it's cool, Dad, really."
     He raised his hands.  "Just some advice."
     "Okay, Dad, I'll remember it," I sighed.
     He could get the weirdest ideas sometimes.

***

- -30-


TS Tip #18: Get a sense of humor.  Get a BIG sense of humor.  Use it.

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"My romantic inspirations?  Oh, Harold Lloyd, the Marx Brothers, Three
Stooges, Little Rascals, Ren and Stimpy, and of course, my own life..."


"Tallyho!"      \   /     @>--,--'--  ehayes@nym.alias.net  + vicki .sig
Ellen Hayes --=(*)=(*)=-- Renaissance Woman    ==[--------  + virus 9.1a
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