They were fighting over the jar of pickles they had bought for F.N.M.F. Lori’s pager went off and they playfully fought over who would get it first.

“I got it!” Danica shouted.

“Damnit!”

“It’s Brian. The phone is under the clothes on the bed.”

They chatted while she dialed the number and waited for Brian to answer.

“Hey baby, where are you?”

“I’m at the house. We’re about to start F.N.M.F.”

“Oh,” he said, “Hey, guess what. We’ve got some time off. It’s only a month, but I’m gonna come visit you.”

Lori smiled from ear to ear. In the seven months they’d been dating, Brian rarely had time to visit her. He was supposed to spend the entire summer with her, but their plans fell through and he had to tour. He flew Lori, Dani, and Angie from Orlando to see him in Germany, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris.

“That’s awesome. When are you coming? I can’t wait to see you, it’s been too long.”

“I’ll be there in two days, I can’t wait to see you either, and yes, it has been too long,” he said, laughing, “I miss you so much. But I’ve got to go. Fatima is yelling at me to get back to practice.”

“Okay, bye baby.”

When Lori hung up, she was beaming. Danica was dying to know if what she had heard was correct.

“Brian’s coming to town? When?”

Lori looked at Dani, grinned, and shouted, “HE’S COMING IN TWO DAYS!”

The next two days passed quicker than Lori thought they would. Dani kept them busy cleaning the massive two-story house her parents gave her when they retired to California.

At 2:45 on Sunday afternoon, Dani and Lori took off to the airport to pick Brian up in Dani’s new Toyota Rav 4. When they got there, they sat down and waited for Brian’s plane to arrive. At 3:50 sharp, the plane landed and Brian was off by 4:00. He saw her immediately and ran straight to her, picked her up and spinning her around.

“It’s been much too long,” he said, kissing her softly.

“Bri, do you want this, or should I put it back on the plane?” a familiar voice said from behind Brian and Lori.

“Kevin! Hi!” Lori said, hugging him.

“Sup?” he replied.

“I’m sorry about bringing Kevin without telling you first, but it was kind of last minute. He’s going to his mom’s and won’t be with us that long. Dani, would you mind taking Kev to Ann’s place?” Brian asked.

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“Besides, we’re happy to see him. It’s been a while Kev,” Lori said.

“Yeah, can we go now? I want to get out of here before anyone recognizes us.”

Dani grabbed Brian’s bag and stomped off, angry with Kevin for being so pissy.

“What’s wrong with her?” Brian asked Lori.

“I don’t know. She’s kinda cranky today. She’ll get over it.”

They walked hand in hand to the parking lot and found Dani waiting in the car, still fuming. Lori climbed in the back with Brian. Kevin crawled in the front. He adjusted the seat and went to sleep. About 20 minutes later, he woke up and changed the radio station. “Kevin, change it back! You NEVER mess with Dani’s radio,” Lori warned him.

“That’s okay Lori. Kevin, could you please change it back or turn it off? That’s the only station I listen to.”

“Whatever,” he said, switching off the radio.

“Don’t be that way. I asked you nicely to change it back or turn it off.”

“And I did, okay? Get over it.”

“Kevin if you keep actin this way, I’ll pull the damn car over and push your sorry ass out.”

“Whatever, Danica, I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up when we get there.”

“You’re damn right I’ll wake you up when we get there. I’m taking you straight to your mother’s and tossing you out with all your shit.”

“Bitch,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” he said, rolling on his side.

Dani sped all the way to Ann’s house. When they got there, she pulled into the driveway, shifted to park, leaned over to Kevin and smacked him on the back of his head.

“What the hell was that for?”

“Get out of my car. We’re here.”

Kevin got out of the car and grabbed his stuff from the back. Danica shifted to reverse and peeled out of the driveway and headed towards her house. Right as she pulled to the stoplight at the edge of the neighborhood, Brian’s cell phone rang. He burst out laughing.

“Uh, Dani?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you turn around please?”

“Why?”

“Because Ann left for Kentucky to visit Tim and Kevin doesn’t have a way into the house,” he said, and burst out laughing again.

Dani and Lori couldn’t help themselves. They both laughed so hard their sides hurt. Dani turned the car around and headed back to Ann’s, reveling in the fact that she was going to be able to tease the hell out of him.

When they got there, Kevin threw his stuff in the backseat and climbed in the front seat.

“Don’t even start. I didn’t know this was gonna happen. It was a surprise that I was coming to visit her.”

Dani managed not to burst out laughing again, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“Brian?”

“Yeah, Kev?”

“I don’t have a place to stay.”

Brian laughed, “Kev…I’m staying at Dani and Lori’s house. You’d have to ask their permission to stay.”

“I don’t mind,” Lori said.

Dani shot Brian a “drop dead” look in the rearview mirror.

“Dani” Brian said.

She considered it for a minute and decided to let him stay. It would give her a chance to tease him more.

“I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly.

“But you’re gonna have to sleep on the couch. There are only four rooms. I have one, Lori’s got one, there’s a guest room, and my office.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in her ear.

He kissed behind her ear, trailing to her cheek. His lips found hers and claimed them for his own. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him even closer to her. He began to take her shirt off her, slowly.

Danica jumped out of her bed and raced to the bathroom to splash her face with cold water. She stared at her reflection in the mirror.

“What the hell?” she said to herself, “I don’t even like the bastard and I’m dreaming about him?”

She walked out of the bathroom to go get a glass of water from the kitchen. She hesitated at the door to the living room. She could see Kevin’s silhouette sprawled on the couch.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“Is my imagination playing tricks on me? Or did I just hear him say ‘Don’t be afraid?’ “

“Danica?” his voice was raw and husky. He sounded tired, but very sexy, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Kevin turned on the lamp beside the couch, “Don’t be afraid,” he repeated.

“Is this irony or what?” she thought. “I’m not afraid. I just didn’t want to wake you up. It would be rude.”

She walked to the kitchen and got a glass out of the cabinet. She walked to the Ozarka bottle and filled the glass to the rim. She gulped it down. When she heard a noise behind her, the glass dropped out of her hand, shattering on the floor.

“Relax, it’s only me,” Kevin said.

He noticed the smashed glass on the floor.

“Don’t move,” he said, reaching out for her.

She pulled her hand away, as if his was poisoned.

“I can take care of myself, Kevin. I’m a big girl.”

He put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the floor despite her protests. She realized how safe she felt in his strong arms.

“I’m going crazy,” she thought.

Kevin took her to the living room and sat her down on the couch he’d been tossing and turning on. He inspected her legs to see if there were any shards of glass in them. He found a small piece and as he reached to pull it from her skin, she winced.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“She’s got nice legs. Why does she always cover them up?” he thought. “Do you feel any pain? Do you think there’s any more glass stuck in your legs?”

“None thanks.”

“Go to bed. You sound tired, I’’ clean up the glass.”

“No, it’s my mess, I’ll clean it up.”

“Nope, you’re going to bed.”

Before she could protest again, he picked her up off the couch and took her to her room. When he realized she was asleep in his arms, he laid her gently on the bed.

“Good night,” he whispered, pulling the covers over her and walked back to the kitchen to clean up the mess she had made.

“Look, Lori, I know it sounds weird, but it happened.”

“What was the dream about?” Lori asked, curious.

“I don’t remember anything but him saying that.”

“LIAR!” Lori shouted, “C’mon, tell the truth. I know you better than that. I can tell when you lie to me.”

“I’m not lying, honest!” “As Bill Clinton,” she thought.

“Yeah, right. But I can’t stay to drag the details out of you. Brian and I are going to the gym. Kev’s gonna stay here and work on the computer in my room. He’s got some stuff to work on.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll be upstairs working on the Lloyd web page if you need anything.”

“I won’t. Brian and I will be home around 8:00.”

“8:00?!”

“We’re gonna go eat dinner,” she smiled, “ ‘Don’t be afraid.’ “

Danica threw a pillow at her head, narrowly missing her target.

“It’s nice,” Kevin, said from behind her, “I can tell you put a lot of work into it.”

“Thanks…Hey, why are you up here?”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could either borrow your car, or if you’d take me to Blockbuster. Brian, Lori, and I are gonna chill here tonight and they’ve elected me to get the movies. The thing is, I don’t have a car and Brian and Lori took hers.”

“Sure, I’ll take you. I’ve got to run to town anyway and pick up some Cokes from Kroger. Brian drank the last one today.”

Kevin laughed while she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. They went to Kroger first because Blockbuster was on the way home. Kevin went in to get some Cokes for his addicted cousin. He put the in the back seat and they took off to go to Blockbuster. As they were headed there, it started raining suddenly. It was raining so hard that Dani could barely see where she was going. She gripped the steering wheel so hard; her knuckles began to change color.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Pull over,” he said, sounding concerned.

“Where?”

“There,” he said, pointing to a dirt road, “Pull in there and get away from traffic.”

She did as he said and turned off the engine.

“I’m really sorry, I get scared in rainstorms, especially while I’m driving. I was once in two car accidents in one day because of the rain.”

“That really sucks,” he said, sympathetic, “We’ll just have to wait it out here, then. I’m a little nervous driving in the rain, myself.”

Danica unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed into the backseat, laying it down for more room.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m a little bit claustrophobic.”

“Oh. Do you mind if I climb back there with you? My legs are too long to be really comfy up here.”

Yeah,” she said, making room for him.

He climbed in the back with her and stared at the case of Coke, thirsty.

“Do you think Brian would mind if we stole some of his Coke?”

“Not at all,” she said, opening the case.

They sat there for about 20 minutes, talking and joking around. The rain still hadn’t slacked off. In fact, it had gotten worse. A sudden clap of thunder sent Danica jumping into the air, and straight into Kevin’s safe, strong arms. She looked up into his penetrating green eyes, hypnotized by his gaze for a minute. She broke away and sat back.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?”

“For jumping into your lap like that. It was totally uncalled for. It’s only a little thunder.”

“It’s okay, I don’t care.”

They sat there, silent for another 15 minutes. Danica looked over at Kevin, catching his eyes with her own. They locked gazes. He began to slowly lean towards her.

“What are you doing?”

“Never mind,” he said, leaning against the side of the car again, “Just never mind.”

“Were you about to do something like this?”

She leaned over to him, kissing him gently. He pulled her towards him; his lips hungry for the sweet taste of hers, greedy to claim what he had so often dreamed about, her luscious mouth. Lying down on his back, Kevin’s hands began to explore the curves of her body. She started to fumble with his shirt, trying to get it off him.

“Don’t rip my shirt, I would want to go back to the house naked,” he said against her mouth.

“That’s not such a bad idea,” she said, ripping the tight black tank top off his gorgeous body.

She threw the destroyed shirt to the side. He pulled her closer to him, pressing her body against his. They could feel every curve; every muscle of each other’s body. Kevin rolled her onto her back, switching their positions. He leaned his head down to kiss her again when she stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, breathless.

“Listen.”

“What? I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. The rain has stopped and we’re not supposed to be parked here.”

“Damnit,” he grumbled, rolling off her.

“So, Kevin, do you wanna go get those movies now?”

“Definitely,” she said, reaching up to kiss him softly, “Now let’s go. I’ve got the movies.

They checked out and rushed home. It was only about 5:30, but they still checked the house to see if anyone was there. When they found the house empty, they ran to Danica’s room, Kevin shedding his shirt in the process. He lifted her off the ground and placed her on the bed. He crawled on top of her, careful not to hurt her underneath him. He leaned down and kissed behind her ear, then trailing to her cheek, and finally, her lips. Every time he touched her, she felt a surge of electricity go through her. His entire body shuddered. He wanted her so bad; he could taste it, literally. He ran his tongue across her jaw line and her neck. He sat her up and, agonizingly slow; he began to remove her shirt. She wanted him to hurry up and take the dam thing off, but he just took his time. He got it off and surprisingly gently; he sat her back down on the bed. His right arm wrapped itself around her waist, while his free hand roamed. He claimed her mouth once again, moaning softly. Dani started to run her hands over his chest when the door flew open.

“Hey Dan – OH SHIT! – I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to – OH SHIT!” Lori turned and walked out the door. Kevin and Danica looked at each other, groaned, and rolled off the bed.

“I’m telling you, I walked into her room and they were laying on the bed, Kevin on top of her, and neither of them had a shirt on.”

“Wait, BOTH of them weren’t wearing a shirt?”

“Both of them.”

“Way to go Kev! – OW!” Brian said as Lori landed a punch on his shoulder.

“Dani’s my best friend!”

“Yeah, and Kev’s my cousin. So what?”

“Agh…never mind,” she muttered, sitting down, “I knew we shouldn’t have come home early.”

Danica and Kevin walked into the room and sat on opposite ends of the couch. They said nothing, and stared at the blank TV screen.

“So, what did ya’ll do while we were gone?” Brian asked, laughing.

“Shut up!” They said.

“Oh, I see, it’s a secret,” Lori teased.

Lori and Brian walked over to the couch and sat between them. They put on the first movie, “Halloween: H20.”

“We’re sitting between you two so you don’t jump each other again,” Brian said, still laughing.

“Why don’t you two shut up? It’s not like nothing happened in that dressing room,” Kevin shot at them.

“Hey, I didn’t get Lori’s shirt off her. From what she says, you got that far and were going further,” Brian shot back.

Danica and Kevin had had enough. They jumped up off the couch and left the room. Dani went to her office to call her mom in California. She picked up the phone and began dialing, not knowing that Kevin had followed her. He took the phone from her and hung it up.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Look, Kevin, what happened was an accident.”

“Yeah, you ‘accidentally’ feel on my lips, and we ‘accidentally’ took our shirts off, like all the other stuff that was going to happen was an ‘accident’ too, right?” Dani, we both wanted it to happen. I wanted to tell you something. I’ve been having these strange-“

“Dreams?” she finished for him.

“Yeah. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I want you, more than I think I should.”

She just stood there, shocked by what he was saying, but even more shocked by what she was about to say.

“You’re right. It was no accident that it happened. I want you just as bad, and I can’t help it. There’s just one thing I have to ask, is it right for us to do this?”

He didn’t answer. He took her back into his arms instead. He was greedy for the taste of her lips on his once again. The desire they felt at that moment was so strong; they barely parted to speak to each other.

“Do you think we can make it to the bedroom?” Kevin asked.

“Uh – uh.”

“The couch?”

“Uh – uh.”

They sank to the floor, and she began to remove his shirt once again. He jumped up with out warning and ran to the door.

“What are you doing?”

He said nothing. He just locked the door and ran back to her waiting arms. She rolled on top of him and lowered her head, her lips grazing his, teasing him with the anticipation she knew he felt.

“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN THERE?” Brian and Lori shouted from the other side of the door.

“Why is it we always get to this part and someone always manages to interrupt us?”

Danica rolled off of Kevin and ran to the door. She swung it partially open.

“Fuck off. We’re busy,” she said, slamming the door behind her.

“Come on guys! We’ve got to watch the movies before we have to take them back!” Brian shouted.

“Who cares!”

“All right, fine! We’re gonna go watch the movies and take them back tonight.”

“Fine with us,” Kevin shouted back.

They heard Brian and Lori’s footsteps as they walked away.

Kevin whispered to Dani, “They’re still there. They want to know how far this will go.”

“Let’s give them a thrill.”

They rolled around on the floor, making a lot of noise. Dani rolled Kevin onto his back.

“What?”

“Shh…”

She trailed kisses down his chest, stopping at the top of his jeans. She unbuttoned the button and loudly unzipped them. He moaned her name and she growled.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?” Lori shouted.

That’s what you get for eavesdropping!” Dani shouted back.

“Come on, Dani, they’re not gonna leave us alone.”

He put his shirt back on and they went downstairs to watch the movie.

“Kevin I – “

“He silenced her with a kiss. “Don’t”

He ran his fingers through her long red hair. She pulled him down on top of her, losing herself in his smell.

“Don’t let me go,” she whispered.

He buried his head in her hair, never wanting to.

She saw Kevin and Danica wrapped in each other’s arms.

“BRIAN!” she shouted, “Get in here! There’s something you need to see.”

“What is it Lor – OH SHIT!”

Kevin was the first to wake up. Though Lori and Brian were shouting, neither Kevin nor Danica had heard them.

“Dani? Hey, it’s time to get up.”

He leaned down and kissed her gently. Without opening her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

“I like having you here in the morning,” she said, still drowsy.

I like being here too,” he mumbled, kissing her again.

“Ahem,” Brian cleared his throat, “Good morning.”

They scrambled out of the bed, Kevin looking for his discarded tank top.

“What happened in here last night?” Lori demanded.

“Nothing!” they said in unison.

“Oh yeah! Kevin and Dani got busy!”

“Shut up Brian!” Danica, Lori, and Kevin all shouted at him.

“Nothing happened. We just fell asleep,” Dani insisted.

“Yeah right, you didn’t do anything just like Monica didn’t go down,” Brian shot back.

“Why would we sleep together? We’re not dating. We’re not together.” Kevin said.

“That’s not what it looked like to me,” Brian said back.

Danica walked out of the room with Lori following close behind.

“God, Kevin, What’s up with you? Dani’s the best girl that you’ve had any kind of interest in for a long time. And your dumb ass just blew it.”

“What was I supposed to do, Brian? Tell her that I want her every second of the day? That I care for her more than I think I should? Where would that get me? Nowhere. She just wants to play around.”

“How do you know that, Kevin?”

“I heard her tell Lori one day that she’s not looking for a serious relationship right now. She doesn’t need me. And you know that I’m looking for a serious one. I’m just making it easier for her to break it off.”

“Kevin, you’re the stupidest person I know. Have you seen the way she looks at you? She’s with you for more than just a good time.”

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, making him feel worse than he already did.

“Brian, we didn’t have sex. I held her all night. She wanted to wait, so we waited.”

With that, he ran out of the room, hoping to catch her before she left. When he walked into the living room, he found Lori siting on the couch.

“You just missed her, you asshole. She just walked out the door.”

He ran outside. She was just starting the car. He ran to the door and opened it.

“Dani, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Yeah, well, you did. Move. I’m leaving now.”

He didn’t move. Instead, he leaned towards her and kissed her. She shoved him away.

“ ‘ We’re not together,’ remember?”

“Let me explain.”

“No. You can’t explain holding me all night, not making love to me because I wanted to wait, and then blowing me off in front of Brian and Lori. Now move Kevin, or I swear, I’ll run you over with this car.”

She pushed him as hard as she could, slamming the door. Her tires squealed on the pavement as she sped out of the driveway.

“DAMNIT! I really screwed up this time.”

He ran into the house to find Lori.

”Lori, give me your keys please. I’ve got to find Dani.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” he said, taking the keys from Lori.

He sped all the way to Angie’s apartment, praying that Dani had gone there. He had to tell her what was on his mind. He burst through the door, and found Dani sitting on the bed in Angie’s room.

“Kevin, just go awa – “

He silenced her with a kiss.

“Please let me explain,” he continued when she didn’t say anything, “I heard you and Lori talking a while back and I heard you say that you weren’t looking for a serious relationship. I figured that it would be easier for you to break it off with me because everyone knows how much I want a serious relationship. I don’t want you to end it though. I want more than just a little fun with you. I want you. You mean more to me then life itself. I realize now that you and me together is the way it’s meant to be. No one else fits together with me the way you do.”

Dani smiled. She had to admit; their bodies were a perfect fit.

“Dani, I don’t want to spend another minute without you. I want to be with you.”

When she didn’t say anything, Kevin got worried. “Dani?”

“Shut up, okay? Look, I want to be with you too, but is this really gonna work? You have your celebrity status and I’m starting my own career. Will we be able to make it work Kev?”

“ ‘Kev?’ did you just call me ‘Kev?’ You’ve never called me anything but Kevin before.”

“Kevin Scott…” she began.

“We can and will make it work.”

He lifted her off the bed and raised her mouth to meet his. The fire they had ignited the night before rose again. As they fell onto the bed, their mouths never parted. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. His hand began roaming over her thighs, arms and stomach. He only broke the kiss long enough to remove his shirt. She moved her hands down his muscular chest. She broke the kiss this time to remove her shirt and tease him by nibbling on his earlobe and kissing his neck. She reached down and unzipped the jeans he had so hastily put on earlier that morning. She got the zipper all the way down, and the phone rang.

“CAN’T WE EVER DO THIS WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED?!” she shouted.

She reached over and picked up the phone.

“WHAT?”

It was Lori, calling to make sure she was okay.

She looked at Kevin and laughed, “You sure have bad timing, Lori.”

That's the end of this one. I know it's a major cliffhanger, but there's a continuation in the next part of the series. It's called "Best Enemies" Formerly "Untitled." There is a continuation to that one as well, but it's not anywhere near finished. To see what develops, read on!