"You know, you could quit playing the *peeping tom* and come sit beside me."
Michelle did an about-face and smiled coyly at Kute_Tush, who sat patting the empty spot beside him on the loveseat. Giving a dramatic sigh, Michelle left her spot at the window and flopped down beside her killjoy of a boyfriend. "I wasn't spying on them." she defended, looping her arms around Kute_Tush's waist. "It's only logical that I, being the eldest, look out for my little sisters."
Kute_Tush wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. "I've missed you."
Michelle let her body go limp in his arms, resting her head against his broad chest. "I've missed you, too."
An absurd gagging noise from the couch across from them cut the moment short, and they both glanced up to see Brenda glaring back at them, her lip curled up in disgust.
Sitting upright, Michelle ran her fingers quickly through her hair. "Problem, Brenda?"
Brenda merely rolled her eyes in response and turned her attention back to the television. "I've had enough Sunset Beach for one day, thank you."
"Yeah, uh-huh." Michelle shrugged her eyebrows at Kute_Tush and nudged him with her elbow. "You're just jealous because 'ol Bongo_Boy isn't here with you."
Color slowly crept up Brenda's neck as she tossed a throw pillow aimed at Michelle's head.
"Oh come on, Bren! You know you've got a thing for him!"
Brenda glared ruefully at the two of them, and pulled herself up from the couch. "I don't have to take this from you two! I'm leaving!"
"You can run from your problems, but you can't hide from them!" Michelle yelled behind her as the slamming of Brenda's bedroom door echoed somewhere off in the distance.
"She really likes him, doesn't she?" Kute_Tush pulled her into his arms and rocked her slowly.
Michelle sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, but she tries real hard not to show it."
Kute_Tush pulled away and cradled her face in his hands before kissing her softly. Yearning for what she had missed for so long, Michelle returned his kiss, savoring the sweetness of the moment.
Before their kisses could become more heated, the phone, which rested beside them on the lamp stand, sprang to life.
"Forgive me." Michelle pleaded, pulling away from Kute_Tush's embrace and grabbing the cordless phone from it's perch. Kute_Tush leaned back against the plush cushioning of the loveseat, as Michelle brought the receiver up to her ear and gave a breathy, "Hello?" Shaking her head, she set the phone down on the table while yelling, "Bren?! Telephone!"
The sound of muffled footsteps thundered above the two of them as Brenda came clambering down the stairs. Grabbing the phone from the table she slowly made her way into the kitchen. "Yeah, Tina? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes, I am, no thanks to you......"
Both Michelle and Kute_Tush exchanged a look and shook their heads in unison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I guess Kute_Tush showing up at your house tonight worked like a charm?" ExLax glanced over at Melinda, who sat fumbling with her car keys. Bored with that, she quickly shoved them into her purse.
"I should think so! I don't think I've ever seen that girl in such a rush to get me out of the house!"
ExLax laughed as he eased his foot on the break to yield at a stop light. "What do you suppose they'll do with Brenda?"
Melinda slapped her forehead in mock anguish. "Poor girl, they'll probably lock her in the linen closet while they play a little game of *catch-up*."
ExLax shuddered. "May God have mercy on her soul!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's go get some pizza." Michelle suggested, getting up from the loveseat. She turned and pulled Kute_Tush up beside her, while also grabbing her purse from the lamp stand. "I'm famished."
"You wanna drive?"
"How about we walk?" She tossed her car keys into her purse before slinging it over her shoulder. When Kute_Tush gave her a funny look, she muttered, "Safety precaution." and pointed into the kitchen.
"Oh.......Sounds good to me." he replied, taking her hands in his and giving them a warm squeeze. "Um, are we taking *Bill Nye* in there with us?"
Michelle snorted as she opened the front door. "She's 15. She should be able to hold her own while we're out." Pulling him on to the front porch with her, she clicked the door shut and they began to make their way down the sidewalk that wound through the neighborhood, hand in hand.
***Back in the Kitchen***
"Oh, you don't, do you?" Well, if I wasn't in enough trouble already, I'd show you!" Brenda pressed the call end button and slammed the phone down on the kitchen table.
Marching affirmatively back into the living room, she stopped short when she noticed the loveseat that Kute_Tush and Michelle had occupied earlier empty. "Must have got tired of spit-swapping and went out to get some supper." Shrugging her shoulders, she threw herself into the empty chair and scowled coldly at the blaring t.v. screen. "If I wasn't already in enough trouble, I'd show Tina." she grumbled, squirming uneasily in her seat. "Ouch, what the......" She lifted her thigh and extracted a set of keys from under her. "Probably Kute_Tush's." She shrugged off the find and disposed of the keys on to the lamp stand.
Flopping back once more, she glumily stared at the t.v. in silence. "You know what, I'll show Tina." she growled. "She doesn't think I'll go through with it, but I'll show her." She jumped from the loveseat and made her way to the front door. "Wait...... I'll need a means of transportation." She leaned up against the wooden door frame, tapping her fingers frantically on the wall.
"I wish I had Bongo's number. He'd give me a ride, I'm sure." She sighed and trudged back over to the loveseat. "What to do, what to do......" Her eyes fell upon the small collection of keys that sat there on the tabletop in all their pride and glory. Picking them up, she scurried over to the window and peered out on to the driveway. Kute_Tush's black mustang sat parked alongside Michelle and Melinda's cars, the glossy finish on the hood glistening in the dimming sunlight.
Tossing the keys high in the air and catching them, Brenda sighed as she trotted towards the door. "Hmmm, wonder if I can drive a stick shift......"
