Chapter One: Book Two
I laughed at the two of them and then repeated my question. "Why are you guys here?"
"We helped your aunt with the groceries." Taylor explained, sitting up to take his soaking wet T-shirt off. There was a tank top underneath. "She went shopping this morning and since you were asleep and she didn't want to wake you, she called us over. Ike's in the kitchen putting stuff away."
"And Aunt Mary?" I questioned.
"Went back out to the store. Said she'd be gone for a good four hours." That was Zac.
I nodded and looked out the window behind the two brothers, stretching out on the couch.
"Looks like a beautiful day out, what to do what to do?" I said, sighing with happiness. I loved the summer. I saw Mackenzie and their sister Jessica running around in the yard next door, a.k.a. the Hanson household. The big oak tree in front of the bay window was swaying in the breeze. A beautiful summer morning.
Isaac walked out from the kitchen, a bag in hand.
"Hey chico, what's doin'?" I greeted, smiling.
Ike shrugged, apparently annoyed that no one was helping him with the groceries.
"These are yours," he said, dropping the plastic bag on the coffee table in front of me. I stared at it as though I was waiting for it to come alive and start dancing for me.
Ike looked at me then the bag and back to me again. After a moment of silence, he grabbed it and started pulling the belongings out.
"Jeans, a skirt," he held the skirt up to him as though he were wearing it and started walking around on his toes, talking in a high-pitched voice.
I laughed, grabbing the piece of clothing out of his hands.
"A shirt," he continued, holding up a tank top. "And, well, this." He pulled a lace bra out of the now collapsed bag with his fore finger and thumb as though it had just come from the city dump. "What is this for anyway?" he asked jokingly. After examining it for a moment, he placed it around his head, held the skirt up to him once more and started waltzing around the room.
"I guess I'm a real woman now," he said, tossing his long blonde hair over his shoulder.
Taylor and Zac, now laughing hysterically in their chairs, broke into the chorus of "You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)".
I threw up my arms helplessly and screeched, "Stop playing with my underwear!" which only made the three laugh harder. Zac was on the floor once again, tears rolling down his cheeks.
I blushed and grabbed the lacy under garment off of Isaac's head and shoved it back in the bag, embarrassed by the commotion that the boys were making out of my underwear.
"Wait 'til I get in YOUR dresser drawers," I mumbled while collecting the rest of my new clothing and dragging the bag up the stairs into my room. As I reached my bedroom door, I could still hear Zac's giggles.
After I was done putting my clothes away, I started down the stairs.
That's when the phone rang.
There was a split second of silence before all hell broke loose.
I came charging down the stairs, while Zac was half way across the room, almost to the end table. He grabbed out for the receiver but couldn't quite reach as I picked him up and threw him out of the way. I picked up the receiver in mid-ring.
"McAllister Residence," I greeted breathlessly.
"Hey Lib-what in the WORLD are you doing over there? Oh wait; don't tell me you threw Zac again! You KNOW the last time you did that you broke his wrist!" my best friend Aria called into the phone. But she couldn't help but laugh.
I smiled, despite the fact that she couldn't see it through the phone.
Aria and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember. We met in sixth grade when we both walked out of class together, refusing to dissect a worm. We were closer than sisters ever since.
"Hey, chica, put our good ol' buddy Tay on the phone. Kate's here," she whispered into the phone. I had to plug my free ear in able to hear her.
Katie Limmons was Aria's cousin. She had flown over from New York for the summer vacation to visit Aria. She also had a secret crush on Taylor. She was crushed when she found out that the three Hanson's had decided to take a long break from the music business. They had no choice when Zac was almost trampled by a heard of screaming fans at their movie premiere. But she was ecstatic when she found out that the Hanson family had decided to rent out a house in a place where the population was low. What better place than Shadeybrook, Connecticut?
Of course, no one was as surprised as Aria and I. We heard that there were new neighbors across the street, so she had dragged me over to introduce ourselves. Were we ever surprised to see Isaac Hanson answer the door! But the "Tulsa Trio" and us have been best buds ever since.
"Sure, hold on a sec." I turned to Taylor still sitting in the chair. "Phone. And you know, it's very insulting to me when my best friend doesn't even want to talk to ME. She wants the gorgeous guy in the corner."
Tay smiled as he lifted himself from the chair and walked over to the phone. As he took the receiver he winked at me.
I returned the wink and sat back down on the couch.
"Who was that?" Ike asked, moving his feet out of the way for me to sit down.
"One of Tay's biggest fans," I replied, stretching out on the couch once more.
Zac smiled. "Ah-ha. Kate."
While Ike and I were engaged in conversation on what to do for the rest of the day, you could hear Zac quietly chanting "Taylor and Katie, up in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." under his breath.
Chapter Two: Book One
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