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Pillow Tuck -*- Copyright 2001 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.


Pillow Tuck


***
09:31 25 Jul

     I wondered why Miz Parker got to hang out on the porch and play
with Stella when I had to be out on the back lawn getting beaten up by
one of my cousins and other smaller cousins that weren't even mine.
     I HAD to get through school so I could get through college so I
could get rich so I could pay some poor desperate high school student to
be a punching bag to MY children.
     At least I'd had the smarts to add some more gel when I had the
chance AND scarf some aspirin.  That was probably why I wasn't
screaming.

***
11:37 25 Jul

     "Staying for lunch?" I asked Miz Parker as I got ready to cook some
noodles.
     "No, well..." she wavered.
     "Awwww, come on," I said, fulfilling my role as Emissary of Evil.
     "All your friends are doing it," Amy grinned, catching on.
     "Be cool!" I added.  "Just try it once."
     "First one's free!" Amy smiled.
     Miz Parker finally got the references to anti-drug campaigning and
laughed.

***
12:03 25 Jul

     "Exercise makes YOU hungry," I disputed.  "It makes ME nauseous,
which is sort of the opposite of hungry."  Especially when I'd been
doing it right up to lunchtime.  I was still sort of sick with
breakfast, actually.
     "But you need to eat something!" Amy insisted.
     "Amy, I'm having tea," I told her.
     "How can you cook when you're not hungry?" Miz Parker asked like it
was the most amazing thing in the world.  Amy and I just stared back at
her like she'd said something immensely stupid, which she had.

***
13:19 25 Jul

     "If you guys wash the dishes," I bargained, "then I'll show you our
camping gear.  But you have to do a good job."
     "Ooh cooool!" someone shrieked and then the boys were clearing the
table at such speed I was worried they were just going to powder the
dirty dishes instead of washing them.

***
13:28 25 Jul

     I inspected the dishes, and returned two of them.  "Aw come on-"
     "I said wash not rinse," I intoned, staring at all three of them.
     "Wait we can-" Ricky babbled before he took off.
     "IT'S ALL LOCKED IN THE TRUNK WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE IT!" I yelled
after him, and all three came back in a moment looking very sour.  Which
sort of balanced me and Amy and Miz Parker grinning like fools, and
Stella just sort of looking around like she didn't get it.
     Then Stella reached out and grabbed Miz Parker by the tit, which
caused Miz Parker to squeal something almost immensely rude.  Stella
laughed as Miz Parker pried her little fingers loose, then reached again
when she thought Miz Parker wasn't looking.  "Nuh!" Miz Parker
complained as she held Stella at a safe distance.
     "Man that's gotta hurt," Amy observed, which made me wince when I
thought about it for the briefest instant.

***
13:37 25 Jul

     We were going to give them the whole show, which is why we'd
brought the 'uniform' clothes, as well as the pads and swimsuits and
other stuff to change into.
     As I pulled my blouse off and reached down to pick up the swimsuit,
Amy almost screamed, "Oh my G-"
     I tried to stand up quickly and ran into the vanity.  "Ahh," I
hissed as I grabbed my head and fought my way upright, "what?"
     She was pointing at me.  "Your back!"
     "What?" I said, trying to look at it.  *Mirror,* I realized, and
turned so I could point my back at the mir-
     "Your, I mean, did the doctor say anything?" she asked anxiously.
     "What doc-  Doc Treble?" I asked, catching a clue, and Amy nodded.
"Oh..."
     Oh, shit, I hadn't even thought of that.
     "Wait," I said to both of us, as I replayed my memory.  "I took off
my shirt, and she looked at my front, but not my back, she just reached
around and listened from the front."
     "Are you SURE?" Amy hissed.
     "Yes!" I hissed back.  "I was there!"
     "Okay, but-"
     I pointed at my front and pulled the bra straps down my arms.
"See, there's not really anything visible from the front.  And she knows
I wear a tank top a lot when I swim, so I won't burn so bad.  So..."  I
concentrated harder.  "She didn't even blink that I saw, so I don't
think she saw anything suspicious."
     "Are you sure?"
     "Amy, what's she gonna do, call up Dad and tell him she thinks I've
been wearing funny clothing and sitting out in the sun with it?"  Amy
made a face at me.  I explained, "If she saw anything, either she'd have
asked about it then, or just put it up to me swimming a lot here and not
think about it any more.  Really, she WOULD have said something.  She's
the one that got me into trouble with these," I pointed at my chest, "in
the first place."
     "She bought you those hooters?" Amy gasped, and for a moment I
thought she was serious, until she started snickering.

***
13:50 25 Jul

     "Good lord," Miz Parker observed as the boys stood silently and
stared as Amy and I finally achieved a neutral tripedal stance with the
help of the thick oak quarterstaffs that were also part of the standard
hiking gear.  "You HIKE with all that?"
     "Stagger, mostly," Amy grinned as she achieved balance and went
biped.
     Luckily, Dad had designed the harnesses so that Mom and Dana, and
later Susan, could wear them easily, so even with the breast forms
installed I didn't have straps mushing anything that shouldn't be
mushed.
     It felt kind of weird, standing around in light makeup and tittage
while wearing the gear I associated with things like running around in
the woods - not a feminine activity, really - but here I was.
     Then I thought about Travis, the Eagle Scout, and what he would
think of all this stuff, and I chuckled.  There was definitely a
different design philosophy at work-
     "What are you laughing at?" Amy wanted to know.
     "Uh, the pads," I lied.  "Maybe this year I won't take a dive."

***
14:02 25 Jul

     I laughed and nudged Amy, and Amy turned and laughed, as we watched
all three of the boys struggling to lift ONE of the packs.
     Then I checked my 'brew' and it was boiling, so I grabbed the pot
off the stove with the gripper and carefully poured the water over the
tea bags in my mug.  "See?" I said to Miz Parker, "Simple."

***
13:55 25 Jul

     "See?" I said, showing Amy what I had in mind, using the hat as a
prop.
     "You think?" Amy asked, staring at my head, or above it.
     "Yeah, I mean, it's not gonna be GREAT, but I think it'll work."
     She considered.
     "Are you gonna wear that HAT with that stuff?" Gary asked, sounding
completely crazed at the idea.
     I looked over, and Ricky was just paralyzed.  I had to look away
before I laughed.  "Um, no..."

***
14:14 25 Jul

     "Oh, yeah, in fact once we drop the packs and dump the water out of
this," Amy waved the float bladder on her chest, "it all floats pretty
easily, and with the head up.  Like a life jacket."
     "Wow," Gary commented.
     "Can we see?" Ricky begged.  "You could show us in the pool,
please?"
     "No," answered Miz Parker firmly before we could even start to
answer.  That was okay by me; I didn't want to go to the hassle of
drying the rope out tonight (or the rest of it either), and if I didn't
do it tonight Dad'd skin me.

***
16:31 25 Jul

     I remembered that I wanted to get rid of Amy just in time to call
Mike.  And, wonder of wonders, he was home.
     "Mike!"
     "Hey Tuck!" he said, which caused me to look around the kitchen
nervously.  "Whatsup?"
     "Can you pick Amy up from the Parker's place?"
     "Why?" he asked suspiciously.
     "I said I'd go work on Travis' computer tonight, remember?" I said
exasperatedly.  If I was going to go to the trouble of thinking up a
believable lie, the least he could do is pay attention.  "Jeez!"
     "Shut your pantied ass up, Tuck," Mike shot back, and I was going
to be upset over the way he kept calling me 'Tuck' until I realized I'd
better be more upset over him saying 'pantied ass' with my name attached
at his house.  Then I realized he was in his room and the door was
undoubtedly shut or he wouldn't have said it.
     I hoped.
     "What time?" he asked, which completely baffled me until I
remembered what we were talking about.
     "Uh.  Five thirty okay?"
     "Yeah, s'okay," he allowed.  "What time you think you'll be
finished?"
     "Dunno.  Probably not 'til late," I hoped.  "What're you guys
doing?"
     "Kim wants to go dancing or something," he said.  "Dan 'n Ellen are
coming, I think..."

***
17:37 25 Jul

     I thought I'd come up with something to divert Amy's attention when
Travis arrived, since it looked like Mike wasn't going to get here by
five-thirty, but I hadn't counted on Miz Parker getting there first and
saying, "So is Travis coming by tonight?"
     I think the face I made gave her the idea that she'd said a Bad
Thing, because she looked a little bit worried after that.  Luckily, Amy
was looking at her and not me at the crucial moment.
     "Well," I lied furiously, "I dunno, I mean, I think we got his
place clean, but now he wants me to help with his computer."
     "I wanna get summa that money," Amy purred, looking predatory.
     "What money?" Miz Parker asked.
     Oh, I wanted to kick the woman SO bad, but Amy would see if I tried
it, and then she'd want to know why I was kicking my employer.  "For
cleaning Travis' room and stuff, remember?" I told Miz Parker.  *PLEASE
get a CLUE!* I beamed at her.
     I guess the face I made when Amy wasn't looking at me again told
Miz Parker something, or my telepathy cranked up, because she said, "Oh,
right!" like she'd forgotten all about it, and then nodded.  "Right, you
said you were going to help him with that."

***
17:41 25 Jul

     "He's here, Val," Amy smirked at me from the front of the house,
and I knew she wouldn't have been smirking if it was Mike pulling up.
     Luckily, I'd prepared for this.  The reason I'd been carrying
Stella around was so that I could, at this moment, bobble Stella in the
sling - it actually fit over my web harness - and make her make noise.
"Um, Amy?  I think I need to change Stella one last time.  Go talk to
him for a minute, wouldya?  Tell him about your non-job or something."
     "You b-" she cut herself off as Miz Parker started to point the
Evil Eye in her direction.  "I'll tell him!" Amy sang as she zipped out
the door.
     "She's just here for the summer," I explained to Miz Parker before
she could ask for an explanation, "and I don't want her getting all
upset about me having a date and her not, you know."
     "Oh, okay," Miz Parker nodded, like she remembered dating.

***
17:44 25 Jul

     I came out of the house fully loaded, with my little pack clipped
to the load rings on the front of the harness - the easiest way to carry
everything, barring a wagon or packhorse or something - and staff in
hand to find Travis looking around for me.  I blew him a quick kiss
before Amy could turn around.
     "So are we going someplace?" Amy asked me when she did turn around,
moments later as I walked up.
     "Uh..."  I looked at Travis, and he was still staring at me, so I
had to look away before I giggled or something.
     "Oh, jeez, you're doing that computer thing," Amy remembered,
judging by the disgusted tone in her voice.
     "Yeah, and I called Mike to come and pick you up-"
     "And he's late," Amy sighed in disgust.  "Well, let's put the packs
into the car- are you gonna take 'em or-"
     "Either way," I said.
     "Have Mike take 'em home," she suggested, and I nodded after a
moment's more thought.  "Speaking of, when are YOU getting home
tonight?" she asked me.
     "Um, whenever we get his computer set up the way he wants it.  'E's
the one payin'," I added in a Cockney, or cockneyed, accent.
     "Gawd," Amy complained at me.
     I risked another glance at Travis, and he was still staring at me.
     "What?" I made the mistake of asking.
     "You!" he said like it was completely obvious.  Even Amy turned
around to look at me again.
     When she shrugged, and I didn't see anything either, I asked again,
"What?!"
     He shook his head like he couldn't believe how weird I was being.
"You... that..." he pointed.
     Oh.  I still had all my gear on.
     "Oh, this old thing?  I just threw it on," I said mildly.
     Amy swiped at me and I blocked it, but then she apparently got an
idea, because she said, "Hey, uh, Val!  You still got that camera?"
     "Yeah, why?"
     "I wanna picture of you like that," she nodded.
     "Me too," Travis added, which was totally unexpected.
     "What?" I asked, but Amy was grinning and nodding like she'd
already known that.  "What?!" I complained to Amy.
     "You just look ever so cute like that," Amy said in an ever-so-cute
voice.  She came up and tried digging in my little pack, but I swatted
her hands away.  "Come on, lemme get a picture!"
     I sighed, but it was Travis going, "Please?" that convinced me to
unclip my little pack, dig the camera out of it, turn it on, and hand it
to Amy.
     "Put your beret on," she instructed as she sighted through it and
started moving backwards.  I sighed, and pulled my gray beret out of my
fatigue pants pocket and adjusted it on my head.  "Perfect," Amy
commented, sounding immensely pleased, and started taking pictures.  "So
smile already!"
     I looked at Travis and smiled.  And smiled.  And moved a little,
like Amy directed, and did a couple of other things, and it took me even
longer than that to realize that Amy was using up all my film.  "Hey!" I
complained as she snapped one more and then she stood up and said,
"That's it!"
     "That's all my film!" I complained.
     "But you look so CUTE!" she grinned, and then ran off before I
could catch her or hit her with the staff.  Luckily, Mike came driving
up about then, so I could do something else and get rid of Amy.  And
this stupid pack.  And get my camera back.

***
17:49 25 Jul

     "Twenty bucks if you do inventory," I suggested to Mike.
     "Per."
     "Both!"  Amy was not considered qualified to do pack inventory,
seeing as how she'd only gone twice before, and Dad was a pedantic fuck
about it.
     "Mmmmmmm..."
     "Twenty-five," I sighed.  "And tell Dad you got paid-"
     "He'll want to see the checklist sheets or the layout or
something," Mike agreed.  "Okay.  Cash, th-" but I was already digging
in my little pack. "So what were you doing with that camera and all the
stuff?"
     I sighed.

***
17:51 25 Jul

     I waved at Mike and Amy as they drove off, along with two sets of
gear and packs and twenty-five dollars of my cash, and then waited a
bit longer to be safe, before trotting over to Travis and smiling
apologetically at him.  "I'm sorry, I got crossed up, but I brought
something nice for the party, if we can go by your house..."  He was
still looking at me kind of funny.  "What?"
     His head began moving back and forth in that pattern that told me
he didn't quite believe it.  "I can't believe it," he confirmed.
     "Can't believe what?"
     "That you..."
     "What?"  I was actually getting curious.  Well, more.
     "That you can look like, like that," he said, pointing at me, "and
still..."
     "What?"
     He shook his head, quickly this time.  "Let's go over to my place
and get ready, and I can tell you there."
     "Okay," I agreed.  "Can I get a quick kiss first?"
     He smiled and gave me a quick kiss, which told me that whatever was
going through his little brain, way up there, he wasn't that upset with
me.

***
18:08 25 Jul

     I didn't think it was that unreasonable that I take a shower first,
and I was hurrying.  Maybe it was just that I'd locked Travis out of his
own bathroom.  In any case, he seemed kind of peeved when I opened the
door, before he realized I was wearing nothing but a towel and a pair of
panties.
     Actually, two pairs plus some gel in a particular spot, but I
wasn't going to tell him that, nor why.
     "Do you need to go?" I asked, and he nodded, and I traded places
with him, dropping the towel when he shut the door and quickly starting
to change into the dress I'd brought upstairs.

***
18:11 25 Jul

     "You're not gonna wear that, are you?" was his first comment when
he came out of the bathroom.
     I wanted to kick him.  "Why NOT?"
     "It, it looks all churchy," he said.
     I sighed, feeling mildly wounded.  "I thought it looked nice."
     "It does!" he corrected, apparently figuring out that this was
exactly the sort of comment to upset a girl, or me.  "I mean, it's
just," he pedaled along, trying to find a conversational place to catch
his balance, "I mean, it's just not the sort of thing girls wear to
parties."
     "What's wrong with it?" I challenged, because I was feeling mildly
evil and because I was mildly peeved that I'd gone to all the trouble to
bring the matching hat and now he was complaining about it.
     He frowned again.  "I, uh, I've never seen a girl wear something
like that to a friend's party."
     I just stared at him.
     "Aw, come on, that's even too formal to go dancing like I've seen
you," he said back.
     I sighed.  Maybe he was right.  "But, it's either this, or shorts."
     "Shorts would be better," he said.
     "Jeez, I just wish-"  #DING# went the clue bell in my head.  "Hey,
if you want, we could skip the nice dinner, go get something quick, and
then we could hit a mall and find something a little more to your
liking?  How about that?"
     He made a face, which I translated as, 'This was all a plot to
entrap me into shopping!  And, damnit, I got caught!'
     "I am NOT trying to trap you into shopping with me!" I said out
loud back at him.
     Now he had a face that clearly said, 'Oh shit, how did she read my
mind?'
     I tried not to laugh or smile and added, "It was just an idea,
okay?  I can change back into my shorts, from earlier today, if you
want."
     "Well, I mean," he said uselessly, and I did laugh then.
     "Oh, Travis," I sighed when he looked peeved.  "C'mere and kiss me,
and then we'll figure out what to do."
     He looked suspicious and didn't move, so I went over to him and
climbed up his front so I could kiss him.  Or tried to.  "Come here!
Darnit!  Get down here with us short people!"  That made him laugh, and
bend down and kiss me.
     A couple of minutes later, I broke the kiss while I could still
think and asked, "So what do you want to do?"
     "I still want to go to the party."
     Oh well; I'd sort of figured he wanted to go, but I'd hoped...
"Fast food and shopping for a better outfit, this dress a nice dinner
and I change, this dress a nice dinner and we go to the party like
this..." I outlined the choices.
     "How about, a nice dinner, that dress, and we go shopping REAL
QUICK," he emphasized, "after we eat."
     I thought about it.  "Let's shop before we eat- QUICKLY," I agreed
before he could say it, "and then we can make sure the shops don't close
while we're eating and trap me in this," I said, and winked at him.
     He thought about it for a while, then nodded.
     "So go change!  Jeez, it always takes you guys so long to get
ready-"  I actually managed to get all that out before he started
chasing me.

***
18:16 25 Jul

     Travis had a mirror over his dresser, so I was using it to put my
'evening' makeup on.  I caught him watching me as I was doing my second
eye, and I grinned at him.  "You're watching me," I notified him that
I'd caught him.
     "Is that bad?" he asked, but he didn't sound as unsure as he
usually did.
     "No, if it was I'd be doing this in the bathroom," I confirmed, and
he nodded like he'd guessed that already.  "Hopefully it'll go well and
I won't mess up and have to redo something."
     "Hopefully," he said, and resumed changing his own clothes.
     I covertly watched him in the mirror for a while before he noticed,
and then I had a giggle fit over that and his expression when he caught
me.

***
18:22 25 Jul

     "Jeez, hurry up already, I swear, you girls-"
     "Hey, go bite yourself," I told him after checking his facial
expression in the mirror, to make sure it was okay to say something like
that.  The half-grin he had, told me that it was.
     "Should I bite myself for 'Ow' or 'Oooh'," he asked, which baffled
me for a few seconds until I remembered, and laughed.

***
18:57 25 Jul

     "How does this," I held up the black knee-length skirt, "go with
this?" and I waved the hem of the OD Green tank top I was still wearing
at him.
     "How would I know?" was his completely useless reply.
     "Men!" I exclaimed to the ceiling.  Then I screamed as he tickled
my rear end.
     He stopped as I fell down, and he helped me up, but he was still
grinning.  I wanted to yell at him, but that would have upset him, so I
just made him hug me instead.

***
19:18 25 Jul

     We had arrived unexpectedly, at least in my opinion, in front of
one of the best Asian-cuisine places in town.  "Travis!" I gasped, "We
can't afford here!"
     He nodded confidently.
     "Oh jeez," I complained without thinking about it and started
digging through the small clutch purse I'd bought to make sure I had
enough money to-
     "Valerie," he rumbled, putting a hand over mine.  "I've got it."
     "But..."  He just gave me a stern look, and I gave up with a
little, "You didn't have to do this."
     "But I wanted to," was about the last thing that could be said on
that topic.  I knew he was going to say it, too.
     So I said, "Thank you," instead of arguing, and as a reward he
leaned over and kissed me.

***
19:20 25 Jul

     He broke the kiss and said, "I'm kind of hungry."
     "Men," I sneered, and then bailed out before he could try tickling
me or something.  *Oh damn I bet he smeared my face-* I realized though,
and so when he came around the truck I was trying to get a good
reflective illumination going on my face to check my lipstick.
     He was going, I decided, to pay for laughing like he was, and in
particular because everyone was looking over at us to figure out what
was so funny.

***
19:22 25 Jul

     "Jensen, party of two," Travis told the maitre d'.
     I looked up and over his arm at his face, as best I could without
letting go anyway, and he just smiled while looking straight ahead.
"Travis?"
     "Yes sir, your table's ready," said the maitre d', and off we went.
     "I changed the reservation," Travis grinned, "while you were in the
bathroom."
     "Oooh, you," I complained, but I couldn't help smiling too.
     "I knew how long it'd take you to get ready," he lied, and it was
so outrageous a lie that I had to poke him.  "Ike!" he complained as he
lurched away from me, almost throwing us both into a table since I was
still clinging to his arm, and I decided not to do this again.

***
19:28 25 Jul

     "I loooooove teppanyaki," I commented as I stared at the menu.
     "Is that expensive?" Travis asked, and I had to look at him before
I was aware he was kidding.
     "Yeah," I smiled, "I guess you could say that," I said slowly, and
his grin sort of wilted.  This was not a cheap place to eat, and the
'expensive' dishes were about the level that would make my dad wince.  I
was going to eat cheap so they wouldn't chase us around with cleavers
when we couldn't pay; I only had maybe a hundred dollars on me, and I
don't think Travis had much more.  "Since teppanyaki is the style of
restaurant we're at, and not a dish.  We're paying for the table service
as well as everything else."
     "They just cook it right here, right?" he confirmed, and I nodded.

***
19:39 25 Jul

     "So what were you talking about at Miz Parker's house?" I asked
him before I sipped my tea.
     "Huh?" he said, and I sighed and put my glass down, but he added,
"Oh that."  He was just doing this to torment me, I realized.  The
annoying thing was that it was, well, annoying.  "Uh...  Well, it's
just..."
     Pause.
     "Just what?" I prompted.
     "Somehow, I see you like this, dressed more like that," he pointed,
"than like you were there," he said.
     "Well..." I started, and then I stopped.
     "It's just kind of incongruous," he added.
     "The sets don't intersect?"
     "Huh?  Yeah," he agreed, smiling at me.
     "I... it's a family thing," I sort of explained.  "Amy's borrowing
Susan's stuff this year, since she's visiting."  I shrugged.  "I just, I
mean, Dad has a lot of stuff for us to carry, so it's the easiest way to
carry it.  Plus, putting stuff on web gear and in fatigue pants ensures
that if one of us lost a pack we'd still have the 'basics'."
     "That's a lot of stuff," he noted.  "We don't carry more than like
twenty-five percent of body weight, in the Scouts, and it looked like
you had more than that."
     I KNEW it was more than that.  At least when we had some food in
there.  "Yeah, but it's a little more balanced around the body, with the
harness.  And, y'know, the pack doesn't weigh all that much-"
     "What?" he disputed.
     "I mean, compared to what it would weigh if it was all in the
pack," I explained.  "Like we carry water on the harness and not in the
pack, so that's not part of the pack load.  Knives, the ten essentials,
stuff like that."
     "The fourteen 'Ten Essentials'?" Travis grinned.
     This was one of the things you could argue about for hours.  Which
was why there were fourteen 'Ten Essentials'.  "Thirteen; Dad likes us
to have radios," I smiled.
     "You're kidding."
     "Why would I kid you about something like that?"
     "What kind of-"
     "Four-twenty megahertz, amateur band, voice.  One of them, I mean,"
I said.  "There's a lot of amateur freq bands, of course.  But we can do
Morse too, with a small key on the wrist or some place like that, it's
not voice-only."
     Then I had to chuckle, because he had the most stunned look on his
face.  "What?" I asked him.
     He shook his head, but he got a smile on his face too.  "I just, I
mean, I keep forgetting that you do all that geek stuff-"
     "Geek stuff?" I said in a stern tone, like I was annoyed.
     "That's what you called it," he said back.
     "When?" I challenged.

***
19:41 25 Jul

     He'd won that 'argument' by kissing me into submission, so I
decided we'd both won and didn't resume 'arguing' when he stopped.  Of
course, I was too happy to really argue, or talk right away, when he
stopped.  I did have the energy to pull out my compact and check my
lipstick though.  It needed a touchup but since I was about to eat, I
figured, why bother?
     "Anyway," he picked right up where he'd left off, "I just keep
forgetting that you're brainy too."
     "Well, I mean, it's not that hard," I said, feeling a bit of flush
start.  *Damnit.*  If he was going to be like that, he could wear the
rest of my kissed-off lipstick for dinner.  "It's just some extra study,
and some practice, and my dad was into it, I mean he's still into it but
he was when I was little too, so I just picked it up from him, I think.
Even Susan has some of it, and she's not anything like technical."  To
put it mildly.
     "So when do I get to meet your sister?" he grinned.
     I don't think he was expecting a quick, "When hell freezes over."
     "Why?"
     "Because!"
     "No, come on.  Because why?" he asked.
     "Because... I dunno, I just..."  I thought about it.  "I dunno,
she's just my sister..."
     "That's not a good reason."
     "So when can I meet your brothers you mentioned?" I countered.
     "When hell freezes over," he shot back, which I wasn't expecting.
"Because," he explained more slowly, "because they're both assholes and
I don't want to contaminate you with them."
     "Okay, then that's why I don't want you to meet my sister," I
triumphed, and stuck my tongue out at him.
     He glared at me for a second and said, "No, that's not it.  I bet
your sister's nice."
     "That's another good reason not to introduce you two.  What if you
like her more than me?"  Boy, now that I thought about it, that would
REALLY suck.  *Never ever,* I made the mental note.
     "I don't think so," he said simply, and leaned over and kissed me.
"I like you.  A lot."
     Apparently, all you could do when someone said something like that
to you was put your head down so he wouldn't see the blush, and giggle.
Or at least that was all I could do.  Luckily, it wasn't on the griddle
part of the table.
     He took unfair advantage of me then, by kissing my ear.  Also
pushing my hat over to one side, but I'd fix that when he stopped.  If
he stopped.  If I was still conscious when he stopped...

***
19:44 25 Jul

     "So how's your music coming?"
     "Not that well, I guess.  I-"
     "Why?  Sorry," Travis apologized.  "Why?" he repeated.
     "I, I just don't have a lot of time to do it," I sighed.  "I'm
babysitting all day, and then I'm either out with you- which is great,
and I'd rather be out with you, don't get me wrong.  Or at your place,"
I smiled, and tickled his leg under the table with the tip of my shoe.
"Or I'm out with my other friends or something."
     "What about weekends?"
     "Same thing..."
     "You could skip church," he babbled insanely.
     "Who said I go to church?" I retorted, and he just pointed at the
dress I was wearing.  "It's a NICE dress!" I insisted.  "Ricky liked it,
even!"  I decided not to mention that he'd also liked it on him, at
least until Jack and Johnny had found us.  I hadn't talked to Jack in a
while, either; I might want to call him-
     "What are you thinking about?" Travis asked me.
     "Some guy who liked me in this dress," I smirked.
     "Does he kiss you too?" he teased.
     Eventually I said, "Only once, but he's not as good as you."
He rolled his eyes at that and I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek
before he could dodge.  I left a bit of lipstick too, though, and so I
had to tell him, "Hold on," and wipe it off with my napkin.  He still
had some on his mouth, but I decided to leave that for now.
     "Ewww, cooties," he grinned.
     "I could stop doing that," I offered, and he kissed me, apparently
to indicate that stopping was a bad idea.  "I guess not," I said when he
let go.
     "I like it," he said, which made me giggle again.  Which,
apparently, made him kiss me again.
     "I could do this all night," I sighed.  Then I realized, *Hey, he
has his own place, I COULD do this all night!*
     "What are you thinking?" he asked me suspiciously.
     "What?  Nothing!" I lied.
     "You're thinking something evil," he claimed, like he knew.
     "I am not!"
     "Are.  And it's something about me," he said.
     "Get out of my head you stinking mind-reading mutant!" I shot back,
which made him blink, then laugh.

***
19:47 25 Jul

     "I dunno," I claimed, "it's just like there's not enough time in
the day for me to do everything, any more."  Travis nodded like he knew
what I was talking about.  "Though it's nice having money," I added, and
he nodded at that too.  "Speaking of work, how was your week?"  He
shrugged.  "Come on, it had to be more interesting than that!"
     "Not really.  Watch people swim for half the day, yell at kids
doing things like running or trying to kill each other," which was a
universal sport I thought, "and then spend the other half in the kitchen
frying stuff and putting it on plates."
     "So what do you cook?"
     He laughed and shook his head.  "Really, Val, really boring stuff.
Burgers, hot dogs, fries, stuff like that.  Rec food."
     "Rec what?"
     "You know, concession stand stuff.  Really boring."
     "Bummer," I agreed.
     "So what about you?" he asked.  "Amy said," he explained when I
went all quizzical at him, "that you cook lunch and breakfast for the
kids?"
     "Oh, yeah, um..."  I shrugged.  "Whatever the kids want, sort of,
and whatever I can find in the refrigerator and pantry."
     "What did you fix today?"
     "Travis!" I laughed.  "You don't care about that!"
     "Amy said you were a good cook.  Though she also said you weren't
as good as she was," he grinned.
     "Yeahright," I snorted.  "She's just jealous."
     "Of what?"
     "Of me being a better cook than her!"
     "So what did you make today, O Great Chef?"

***
20:13 25 Jul

     The smell of the ginger beef I'd ordered was almost making me
drool already, and I had to keep swallowing so I wouldn't look stupid.
     "Isn't this great?" I asked as I turned to look at Travis, and he
nodded in agreement, so I kissed him.

***
20:27 25 Jul

     "No, hold the bottom stick like this," I demonstrated with my own,
"and then use the other one like a thumb or something."  I put the other
chopstick back in my hand and wiggled it up and down.  "See?"

***
21:24 25 Jul

     "Let me go fresh- oh, wait, I still have to change, don't I?" I
confirmed with Travis.
     "I just think you'll look funny," he said apologetically.
     "Look funny?" I asked back.  "You mean, I look funny now?"
     "Well, I mean, I mean," he started, as he turned a bit red himself,
and I had to laugh.

***
21:39 25 Jul

     Travis came back to his Suburban bearing the Great Key of the
Toilet, which I took and ran with.

***
21:42 25 Jul

     "So okay?" I asked when I gave him the key back, and turned around
in a full circle to show him me from all sides.  I'd kept the stockings
and heels, but they went pretty well with the black skirt I'd bought
earlier and de-tagged quickly in the bathroom.
     "Yeah," he nodded.
     "So go take the key back so we can go to the party."  'So we can
leave, go back to your place, and spend some private time', I didn't
add.
     "And," I had another sudden flash of sense, "while you do that,
I'll call my dad and get a curfew extension."

***
21:45 25 Jul

     "Yes, Dad," I sighed, "I know I have therapy tomorrow.  I'll go,
okay?"
     "Don't miss it," he warned.
     "I won't!"

***
22:11 25 Jul

     "Oh hi," said the girl at the door who looked vaguely familiar.
"Glad you could make it," she said to Travis as we came in, and turned
to me.  "Hey," she said, and made a friendly wave at me.
     "Anne, this is Valerie, I brought her to one of your parties back
in January?" he reminded both of us.
     "Oh yeah," she said, nodding.  "Didn't your hair used to be
blonde?" she asked me.
     "Um..."  *January, was....*  "Yeah, it was," I remembered.  That
had been a lifetime ago, maybe a lifetime and a half.
     She looked at Travis and then at me, and asked me a question with
her eyebrows, and I nodded.  Her eyebrows went up at that.

***
22:18 25 Jul

     "So aren't you glad you changed?" Travis asked.
     "Shut up," I told him unseriously.  "It looked nice."  It also
looked, or would have looked if I'd still been wearing it, extremely out
of place for this party.
     "What looked nice?" some girl, a bit potted, asked.

***
22:29 25 Jul

     Travis was making the pit stop he hadn't at the gas station, which
left me hanging around for a while.
     Unfortunately, as I was talking to Mandy about things of virtually
no importance, some guy came up and smiled at me and asked Mandy, "Hey
Mindy, who's your friend?"
     "Oh this is Valerie!" Mandy said as she turned around to look at
the guy.  Apparently, he wasn't who she thought he was, or something,
because she added in a slightly different tone, "She's Travis'
girlfriend."
     "Nuh uh," disputed the guy, still looking at me but not talking to
me.  I hated that.
     "Uh huh," I said back, and smiled wickedly at him.

***
22:31 25 Jul

     *Clue equals none,* I thought, because even I knew better than to
push if some girl said she was with someone else.  Even Mandy seemed
stunned.
     He didn't though; he was still arguing, "So if you're with Travis,
where is-"
     At almost the same time I detected him, Travis asked, "Someone say
my name?"  I moved backwards against him, and he put his arms around my
shoulders.  Mandy and I had identical 'See I told you so!' smirks on our
faces, too.  Mine felt goooooood.

***
22:35 25 Jul

     "Wanna dance?" Travis offered.
     "Thought you'd never ask," I smiled at him, and held my hand out
which he took and then we made our way to the basement, wherein was the
stereo, apparently.

***
22:47 25 Jul

     I greatly liked dancing with Travis, I decided.  He wasn't as good
as Mike, but apparently he'd either been practicing dirty dancing with
someone before he met me, or he was just naturally talented, or I was,
or something, because I was enjoying that part of it a lot.
     People were looking at us too, but then again, I would have looked
if someone had been doing what we were doing...

***
23:14 25 Jul

     "So how long have you and Travis been together?" this girl named
Sharon asked me as I poured another coke for Travis.
     "Oh, a couple of months, six weeks, something like that," I
claimed.  We'd danced until I was ready to drop, and it was a lucky
break that I'd remembered to transfer the tube of numbweed into my
purse, because I could then claim I needed to piss, which I did, and
then gain some privacy to reapply the blessed stuff. And piss too, of
course, as well as check my makeup for a few moments before unwedging
the door and letting some other girl in.
     "You like him?"
     I gave her a look.  "I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't like him,
would I?"  She smiled and shrugged.

***
23:18 25 Jul

     "Why is everybody looking at me and you?" I asked Travis as we hung
out in Anne's back yard and sweated.  
     Travis just shrugged at me, and sipped at his drink.
     "Is my skirt caught in my pantyhose?" I pressed.
     "You're wearing pantyhose?" he said uncertainly.
     I sighed.  "Stockings, but that's not the point.  Why are all of
your friends looking at me, Travis?"  I wasn't just imagining it either.
I'd caught a large number of subtle glances, which could have been my
imagination or paranoia, or us dancing, except for the few frank stares
I'd gotten when we weren't.  I had worried a bit about possibly getting
'caught', except that no one was chasing me screaming 'Kill the faggot!'
They were smiling, actually.  And, of course, the three or four guys
that had tried to engage me in conversation every time I got more than
three feet away from Travis; that would also not be happening if they
suspected something awry.  They seemed to be more interested in what I
was doing with Travis of all people.
     Which was one of the reasons why my arm was twined around his while
we were both so hot.  I had several reasons...

***
23:22 25 Jul

     "So why?" I persisted.
     He shrugged again.  "Just, I mean...  It's a long story and I don't
want to go into it here."
     I thought about that for a bit.  "Is it something I need to know?"
     He sighed, and turned to face me.  "Look...  I dunno.  Can we just
enjoy the party for a while?  What time do you have to go home?"
     "I gotta go by two or so," I estimated; that would get me changed
and home by three, with some time to spare.
     "Please?" he asked, and I finally nodded.
     I hoped, though, that he didn't think I'd forget and not ask later.
Especially since, after we linked arms and walked back to the house, I
caught some more stares and two girls whispering and looking at me.

***
00:17 26 Jul

     "Yeah, it was a good party," I told Anne as we got ready to leave.
"I'm just kind of tired out, I worked all week, and-"
     "What do you do?"
     "Babysitting.  Three boys, one baby girl, all day long, five days a
week," I summarized, and she sort of made an 'ick' face.  "Yeah, so I'm
kind of tired.  But thanks for inviting us!" I said, and smiled at her.
     "Sure no prob," she smiled back.  "Good to see Travis getting out
once in a while!" she said to Travis and hit his shoulder.

***
00:24 26 Jul

     "Yeah, sometimes I don't get out that much," Travis admitted as he
drove.
     "Sometimes?  Sounds like 'hardly ever'," I commented.
     He shrugged.  "I mean, I just, I mean..."
     Pause.
     "What?"
     "I'm kind of shy," he said, like it was true and painful.
     "Nuh uh, come on, what's the real reason?"
     "That IS the real reason!" he insisted.

***
00:26 26 Jul

     "But you always had girls around, that I remember," I said.
     "Not really- you only saw me a couple of times," he said, "when I
wasn't with you."
     "I saw you going to a dance with one," I reminded him.  "Remember,
when you ran into all of us, at the end of school, and you were with
Bobby and those two girls who were obviously dates?"
     "That was just for junior prom," he said, like that somehow
'excused' him.
     "Sounds like a date to me," I mentioned.
     "My mom set that up."
     Pause.
     "No way," I denied.  "No WAY."
     "Why do you keep saying I'm lying?!" he snapped.
     "Travis, you're like this big handsome guy, you've got a car, you
play sports, you're not an asshole, I mean why WOULDN'T you be crawling
with girls?  It just doesn't make sense!"
     "It does!" he tried to insist.

***
00:32 26 Jul

     We'd gotten to his place, but apparently I wasn't going to get my
original wish, because I felt I needed to know more about this, which
meant that we'd have to talk instead of other things.  Though I was kind
of inclined not to do the other things until I'd found out what was
really going on in his head.
     At least he was letting me hold his hand; that way I could feel for
a pulse-burst, which sometimes indicated a lie.  It'd help, anyway.
     "I just, I mean, it's HARD talking to girls," he claimed.
     "You didn't have any problems with me," I reminded him.  "Even back
in October."
     "That was really hard-"
     "And you did it really good," I interrupted.  "I mean, I was scared
of you 'cause you were so confident and everything."
     "No way!"
     "I was!"
     "Man, I was scared out of my mind," Travis said.
     "Then why did you come up to me?"
     Pause, as he squirmed.
     "Um, 'cause I was trying to do better, and I just tried, like,
doing it all of a sudden before I could worry about it."
     "Well, that's a good idea," I said, before I remembered Tuesday.
"Most of the time.  It worked when you did it, anyway," I added.
"Really well."
     "Yeah?"
     "Yeah!"

***
00:41 26 Jul

     "I mean, I like being with you," I said.  "You're fun, you're, I
dunno... comfortable."
     "Huh?"
     "Just, I mean, it's like I can relax more around you.  Even... even
before you told me that you knew about me," I said, tiptoeing around it,
"I felt like I was pretty safe around you."
     "Except for that time I got drunk," he sighed, and looked
disgusted.
     "Well, it was once, and it hasn't happened again, and you probably
would have stopped if I'd actually said anything, right?"
     He nodded as he turned back to face me.  "Yeah, I-"
     "Yeah- sorry," I said.  "But yeah, I mean, that could happen to
anyone, and the rest of the time, it's like, it's like..."
     "But, I mean," he said, interrupting my train of thought.  "Why,
why do you feel that way around me?"
     I shrugged.  "I dunno..."  I thought about it some more.  "I dunno,
I just do."
     "That's no answer," he chided me.
     "well, I mean, I DO like you, I'm sure of that.  And I do feel safe
around you..."  I thought some more.  "And you don't make fun of me
'cause I do 'weird' things."
     "Like what?"
     "Like computers, or camping, or radio like we talked about
earlier?" I reminded him, and he nodded.  "A lot of people make fun of
me for stuff like that."
     "And you don't make fun of me about the Boy Scout thing," he
counterpointed.
     "Not yet, anyway," I teased and smiled.  "So why are you so into
the Scouts?  I mean, seriously, it's a serious question?"
     "Because..."  I waited as he stared into his own thoughts.  "I
just, I mean, it's fun sometimes, and it's like something I can do.
It's really not that hard, but people... I guess, some of the reason I
did it is to look impressive," he admitted.
     "Eagle Scout does sound impressive," I agreed.
     He nodded.  "People... people think I'm a better person, I guess."
     "Really?"
     "Yeah, when I tell them, they get impressed, anyway.  I think it
helped me get the lifeguard job."
     "Why?"
     He shrugged.  "I dunno... it's not something you can get quickly,
so it's like I can be dedicated to something, spend years working on it
and not just run off if it gets boring or hard."  That made sense to me;
I felt the same way about my FCC Tech license.  "So," he continued,
"it's like a resume builder or something."
     "Is that why you did it?"  That sounded out of character for him-
     "No," he said, inadvertently reassuring me.  "I just, I mean, I
like it.  I guess I am a Boy Scout," he grinned.
     Which didn't make any sense to me, so I said, "Huh?"
     "Well, I mean, I like helping people out, right?"  I nodded.  "And
I like team stuff, like basketball... and I like stuff that's like,
challenging?" he asked, looking at me.  I nodded again to reassure him
that I understood.  "So I do all that.  Working on houses for poor
people, and, y'know teaching kids to belong to something, teaching them
stuff they should know, all that.  I mean, I do all that," he corrected
himself.
     I finally said, "Wow!"
     "Aw come on-"
     "No!  I mean, it makes sense, and it's kind of neat," I protested.
"I really think that."
     "Really?" he asked skeptically.
     "Really!" I insisted.  "Eagle Scout Jensen," I smiled, and squeezed
his hand.
     He smiled back, but didn't say anything for a while.  "I always
feel kind of stupid telling people about it, I mean like people my age."
     I nodded.  "That's because most of them are assholes," I commented,
which made him laugh heartily.

***
00:56 26 Jul

     "No, I mean, I just want to stretch out, more than I can on the
couch," I said, completely truthfully.  "And cuddle with you better," I
also admitted.
     "Can we keep talking?" Travis asked me.
     "Yes!  I want to keep talking to you!"
     "Okay," he said, and helped me off the couch.

***
00:57 26 Jul

     I snuggled up closer to him on the bed, and kissed his chin.  He
gave me a skeptical look, so I desisted, and just smiled at him.  "So
why do you like me?" I asked, changing the topic.
     He thought about it.
     And thought.

***

 
We have a great marriage, built on friendship, trust, and carnal
forbidden lust of the most depraved sort.


Distribution:
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+ ==[--------   Ellen Hayes   @>--,--'---      ellen@barkingduck.net +
PGP DH/DSS keyfing: 33D4 156A AE39 53E2 0313  6714 2878 56A8 61B0 9CDC
+ http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes -=[1990]=- vicki .sig virus 11.4 +


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