Chapter 19: Adventures In Babysiting
When everyone said they were leaving, Joey and I were in Mackie, Avie
and Jessie's room with the kids. Joey sat cradling Zoë in her arms tenderly. Her motherly instincts amazed me as she kept Zoë quiet and entertained. She cooed
quietly and Zoë cooed right back. I heard Joey's small laugh as the baby
flailed her tiny arms. I smiled warmly at the thought of Joey's maternal
instinct already developed before she even had children. I knew one day she
would be a perfect mother to her kids. Joey continued to rock Zoë until her
small arms rested on her tiny, warm body. I got up and walked over to Joey and
looked at the sleeping baby in her arms. She put a finger to her lips and stood
to take the baby into my parents room where her crib was placed. She left
quietly, gliding on her feet as to not jolt the baby and wake her up. She
returned in a few minutes, smiling slightly.
"One down, two to go," I smiled. "My parents just left. I say we're off
to a good start."
"Hey, guys," Kat suddenly entered the room, red-faced.
"Hey, Kat. Why are you blushing so much?" I asked.
"Long story that I don't have the breath to tell right now. Ask Zac
later. Anyway, I just came to say hello and goodbye before I left."
"You can stay if you want to, Kat," Joey offered. Please say no. Please
say no.
"Nah, I have to clean my room. My mom is threatening to take away my radio
if I don't," Kat sighed.
YES!!
"Okay, well, I guess we'll see you later," I shrugged.
"Later," Joey nodded.
"Bye," Kat smiled and left the room. I soon heard the front door open
and close and suspected that she had left.
I returned my gaze to Joey who had now taken her place on the floor
beside Mackie who was deeply engrossed in scribbling in a X-Men coloring book.
I looked at my watch, wishing it was already 8:00 so I could put Mackie and
Avie down to bed. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to be able to hold
Joey and tell her what she meant to me.
Taylor stared at me the whole time I played with Mackie and Avie. He
eventually joined in as we played "Hi Ho Cherrio," but he still continued to
stare at me.
"Stop that, you're making me self-conscious," I hissed to him later as
the kids played Barbies.
"I can't. You just look so...wantable," he whispered into my ear. I
looked down at what I was wearing. My jean shorts were old and ragged at the
cuffs. My shirt was slightly baggy and hung down to below my hips. I wore my
sandals with no socks and my hair was down in large waves.
"Wantable isn't a word, and the kids are right here. We'll talk later,
okay?" I sighed. At the moment, I wanted to kiss him badly, but with the kids
around, I wouldn't so much as peck him. I knew how little kids were. I had too
many siblings to make these kind of mistakes.
"It's 7:50. Can we put them to bed?" he asked, softly kissing the rim
of my ear. I pushed him away and gave him a stern look.
"Fine," I rolled my eyes. "Mackie, Avie, it's time for bed."
"Aww, can we stay up a little longer? You're a fun babysitter," Avie
pleaded.
"I bet you say that to every sitter. No, you guys are young. You need
sleep," I then crouched down to Avie's level, "but if you wanted to color for a
little while in bed, I wouldn't tell on you."
Avie smiled and laughed. "Okay."
"Hey, Mackster, you need sleep, boy," I picked him up and swung him
around.
"Wee! No bed now, Joey! I want to play!" he laughed.
"Nope, little buddies need lots of winks. Then you can dream of being
big like your brothers," I looked over at Taylor who leaned against the wall,
watching me. "Especially Taylor. He's a cool brother, trust me."
A half hour later, we had successfully put both of the kiddies in bed
and were going down to the basement to watch a movie on the big-screen.
"What movie do you want to watch?" Taylor asked me. His hormones had
finally taken a rest and he was almost normal again.
"I don't know. How about Men In Black?" I suggested.
"Okay," Taylor agreed. We reached the basement and I took a seat on the
long couch facing the TV. I laid down, taking up the entire couch. When Taylor
finally got through the previews and to the movie, he turned around to sit down
with me.
"Hey, where am I supposed to sit?" he inquired, noting how I was
stretched across the entire couch.
"I don't know. I guess you'll have to go somewhere else," I smiled.
"Who said anything about going somewhere else?" he smiled slyly. "Are
you ticklish?"
"Oh, no you don't. Don't you dare!" I smiled, trying to move away
quickly, but Taylor was too fast. His hands soon engulfed me in ticklish
wanderings. I squealed and writhed, soon escaping his grasp. He attacked me
again, this time on the floor. Finally, he pinned my arms and legs down, not
allowing me to move.
"What you gonna do now?" he laughed evily.
"Nothing. You have nothing to tickle me with," I smiled seeing that all
his appendages were holding down mine.
"Yes I do," his eyes lit up. Suddenly he leaned down and began biting
my stomach playfully. I laughed as he did so and tried to get up, wriggling
beneath him. The combination of my moving and his biting soon made my shirt
come up, baring my stomach. Suddenly, Taylor's biting turned into soft kisses
on the bared skin. After kissing me a few times, he looked up at my face and I
looked down into his. There was a lust in his eyes that seemed to penetrate
deep within me. He carefully let go of my arms and moved his head up to my
neck, nuzzling me softly. He kissed me carefully as if not wanting to sear my
skin anymore than he already has with the burning kisses. He finally moved his
lips up to mine and kissed me sweetly. Each kiss was exciting and new but
familiar and something I seemed to recognize at the same time. I felt his hand
move to my hip and slowly slide up. I took a deep breath as he kissed my ear,
and waited for the memories to come flooding back. I was utterly surprised when
they didn't. Taylor's touch was soft and unsure, not like the touch I
remembered as a child. His was confident and almost expert. Taylor continued to
touch me with amateur hands carefully. Suddenly he raised up and looked into my eyes.
"Is this....okay?" He asked between his heavy breaths. I simply nodded.
His worried face soon turned to a goofy smile as he kissed me again. He then
removed his hand and kissed me a few more times before pulling away. I'd never
known a guy to have such willpower. I almost knew that when I gave him an inch,
he would think he could walk a mile, but he didn't. He stopped as soon as he
thought I needed it. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his chest
heaving with each raspy breath. I leaned over him, propped up on one elbow.
"That was nice," I whispered.
"You mean...you weren't scared of me?" Taylor whispered back. I sat up
and looked at my hands. Taylor sat up as well and put an arm around me.
"Taylor, I'm beginning to realize that you aren't like that man from my
childhood. When he touched me, it seemed all wrong. That a man like him
shouldn't touch a girl like me. But when you touch me, oh. A million things
surge through my mind. If I could block out my childhood, I'd love to spend
every second of the day in your arms, but I can't. Just the thought that he was
the only man that ever explored those places on me that are so private sickens
me and it scares me too. It scares me when I go into a flashback. It's like I
did some sort of drug one time, I got myself into one bad situation, and for my
entire life it's going to haunt me.
"Joey, none of that was your fault, you know. You couldn't have done
anything differently to have kept him from doing that," Taylor frowned.
"I keep thinking I could have. I mean, if I had left, if I had run
away, if only I had screamed, if only I had known what he was doing...." I felt
tears form in my eyes. I felt Taylor's arms encircle me and I rested my head on
his awaiting shoulder.
"Joey, you were seven years old, the only thing you could have done was
gotten yourself into a worse situation. If you had struggled, he might have
gotten mad and raped you all the way. Since you were just a kid, you didn't
know those things. There wasn't anything you could have done to keep him away,"
Taylor whispered. "But you're here with me now. And I swear on my life
and yours that I will never hurt you. I'll never cross that line of lust unless
you want me to. I'll never do anything to you that will hurt your body, or you
emotions."
"Thank you Taylor," I wiped away a tear that trickled down my cheek.
"That means so much to me. I mean, that you care for me that much to put your
own needs on hold."
"I love you too much not to," Taylor said. I realized he said that
without thinking, because he said he never told a girl he loved her without
thinking about it.
"I love you too," I whispered, hugging him tightly, hoping that he
would never let go.
Chapter 20: A Yellow Taxi With A Strange Kid In It
"'Boredom is the spawning of all things great.' Yeah right. whoever
said that was talking a bunch of bull," I sighed as I read a book entitled Greatest
Quotes. I set the book down and looked at the clock. The red digital numbers
flashed a menacing 8:00. Great, my clock is out, now I have to go downstairs
and see what time it really is. Well, it is SOMETHING to do. "Hmm...maybe I
can get something to snack on while I'm in the kitchen." I waltzed downstairs
and into the kitchen. "Hey mom." I noticed my mother sitting at the table,
reading a magazine.
"Oh, hey sweety." she glanced up. "Oh, I'm going to the store, would
you like to come?" she offered.
"Uh, sure." I figured it would be better going to the store than doing
whatever I came up with doing.
"Great, get some shoes on. We're leaving." she grabbed her purse, I
grabbed my new, light blue Airwalks and we headed out the door. When we
reached the store, I immediately went to the music section to see if there were
any new bands out. I was a sucker for new bands, even when the guys came out
in the VERY beginning, I was one of the first ones to pick up Boomerang and
MMMBop. I smiled at the memory of seeing them live one time. I wish I would
have known that 4 years later I would be going with the youngest Hanson. I was
looking through the pop/rock section when I came across an unfamiliar name.
"Natalie Imbruglia?" I questioned aloud. I took a chance and grabbed
the c.d. I scanned the c.d. and listened to a couple tracks, she didn't sound that
bad. I then ran-off to the magazine section. I decided since I was bored, to
grab myself a few magazines. I picked about seven, which is a lot even for me,
and decided to play a joke on Zac. I mean, I'm still going to torture him
about the voice thing, which I had noticed the other day. I was talking to
him, said the magic word--sex--and he sqeaked "WHAT?!?" I could only laugh at
the memory. I took the six fan mags, the Seventeen, and the c.d. I had grabbed
and met my mom at the checkout counter.
"Is Zac not home or something?" my mom asked, looking at all the stuff
I had grabbed. I frowned and shook my head. "Aww...my poor, sweet baby." she
hugged me. I loved when she was being like this. "Do you want me to get this
stuff for you?" she asked. I shook my head again. "Okay." I then smiled.
After countless hours, seven magazines, and three tracks later...I was
bored, stuffed, and about to fall asleep. I took off my headphones and looked
around my room, it was very......busy.
"Guess Zac'll be surprised." I yawned. I turned out the lights and
fell into a deep, very needed sleep.
"DA-AD, the woman called me devilchild!" I complained. Mrs. Barnell
was my new voice teacher. She was a 60 year old nightmare. "And I don't need
voice lessons.....Tay did, but I'm not that bad. And plus, I'm hitting a
little earlier than Tay did, I can handle it. Just, please dad, don't make me
go back." I begged. She called me devilchild when I had accidentally tripped
on the chair leg and she was about to sit down. I apologized profusly but she
thought I did it on purpose. I haven't gotten a nice look from her since.
"Well, if you hadn't given her a bad impression..."
"Dad, I tripped, it does happen you know."
"I know son, but in the world, people don't believe in forgiving other
people for accidents. And right now, we are experimenting with voice teachers
anyway, tomorrow you have an appointment with Charity Meeks."
"Great." my face fell in horror, "Another person to call me
devilchild."
"Well, this one is 24, I don't think you can bother her too much. She
is an expert, almost born musically inclined...." my dad said. I just walked
off.
"I'M GOING TO KAT'S!!" I yelled. Then I walked upstairs. "Ike, will
you take me to Kat's house, I haven't seen her since yesterday.....please?"
"Zac, do you have legs?" he asked.
"Nope." I had to throw in the usual smart ass reply.
"Yes, you do, it's only five or six miles down the road."
"I know, but it's so much easier for you to drive, and when Tay gets
his licsense, I'll bother him. I promise." I just had the intention of
bothering both of them until one gave in.
"Alright, but just remember that I'm not a Yellow Taxi."
"Yeah, I know, you're a yellow walkie-talkie." I laughed. He smiled
and we went downstairs. We got into the van and he took me to her house.
I knocked on the door as Ike drove off. It was nearing two o'clock and it was HOT.
Kat opened the door.
"Will you help a poor, cold, defensless street beggar into your house
ma'am?" I asked, rubbing my arms and looking pathetic. She grabbed me by the
shirt and French kissed me.
"Is that a yes?"
"No, of course not."
"Oh, okay, I guess I'll go next door then." I sighed.
"Come in here ya little smart ass."
"That seems to be my nickname."
"That's cause you are one." she pulled me by my shirt again, this time,
throught the door.
Chapters 21-22
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