Dean was pretty sure if the scene playing out in front of him got any more precious, he was going to hurl all over the pretty new carpet Bobby had just had installed in the living room.
Sam and the younger girl he was tutoring in math sat close together on Bobby's vintage couch, heads bent over a single book. But every time Sam looked away, the girl took the opportunity to study the taller boy with unconcealed adoration. It had happened at least six times in the last half hour, and it was all Dean could do not to blow chunks of cheeseburger all over the precious pair.
It wasn't that Sam needed a chaperone with the kid; the girl was just fourteen to his sixteen, and much too young to capture Sam's interest, but Dean was antsy. He needed to corral his brother for shooting practice before Dad got home and kicked his ass for forgetting. Dean thought that by planting himself conspicuously in the room, his clueless brother might actually get the message.
And then Dean chuckled to himself. Sam's middle name was oblivious. He could tell the kid had no idea that the girl beside him was smitten. To Sam, this was a study session, nothing more. And if the kid couldn't notice the hearts and puppy eyes being broadcast to him from six inches away, how could be expected to notice that Dean was rapidly becoming unhinged?
The older boy sighed and gave up. He rose and stalked to the kitchen, irritated, where he was met by one amused adopted uncle.
"Aww. Ain't it cute?" Bobby teased, upending a tray of apple muffins onto a platter.
Dean rolled his eyes. "It ain't funny, Bobby. If Dad gets home and finds out Sam hasn't done his shooting practice, he'll kick both our asses." Dean sat glumly down at the vinyl-cloth-covered table and consoled himself by shoving an entire muffin in his mouth.
Bobby chuckled, "Calm down, Dean, and let the kid live a little. It's only schoolwork for heaven's sake. It ain't like your brother's goofing off with a pack of friends and an Atari. He's helpin' the girl get a handle on her algebra."
Dean was going to reply that Dad wouldn't give a shit if Sam was building the Great Wall of China if he missed shooting practice to do it, but he was interrupted by Sam himself. The lanky kid galumphed into the kitchen on giraffe legs, stumbled once over the door jam, and landed in the chair next to Dean. He followed his brother's lead by stuffing a whole confection inside his mouth in one bite.
Bobby stood looking, shaking his head. "Raised in a damned barn." He grumbled, turning away to check on the progress of the chicken he had baking in the oven.
"You done?" Dean asked, glancing around for Sam's companion. When he didn't see her, he wrestled his brother into a headlock, grinning sadistically.
"Dean!" Sam complained, extricating himself and giving his brother a glower. "Just getting a snack. Delia's big sister'll be here in a minute to pick her up." He grabbed a muffin for Nancy and moved toward the doorway, but the sudden appearance of a tall, leggy blond in a cheerleader costume halted him in his tracks, and the two nearly collided.
The girl looked as surprised as Sam, but she recovered sooner. She took a long look at Sam standing there with his height and his rebellious hair, smelling like Dean's aftershave and apple muffins, and her eyes lit up like beacons.
"Well, hello!" She smiled. "You wouldn't be Sam, by any chance?"
Sam stuttered, "Uh, y-yeah. Are you Veronica?"
"Guilty!" she giggled, walking her fingers up Sam's arm flirtatiously. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping the midget with her algebra. If she flunks one more test, Dad will disown her."
Dean stood by, trying not to stare with his mouth open. Veronica was the hottest chick he'd seen since Fort Worth, and for whatever reason, she seemed to have made an instant connection with his little brother.
Fudge!
"And it's Ronnie, by the way. At least for you, Sam." The girl leaned her long, lean body against him, reached up and tried to give him a peck on the cheek, but he was too tall. He leaned down a bit sheepishly to give her better access, and she completed the move.
Sam thought she smelled like sunshine and maybe Heaven.
"Uh, sure … uh, no problem," he smiled, completely entranced. "Uh, this is my uncle Bobby and my brother Dean." He looked to Dean, "This is Delia's sister, Veronica."
Dean nodded and Bobby smiled. "Nice to meet you, Veronica."
"Same here!" She responded enthusiastically. "When Delia said she had a tutor, I had no idea she was working with a Greek god, for heaven's sake! You got a girlfriend, Sam?" She asked, bold as you please, smiling up at him as she toyed with the pendant on her necklace.
"N-no. No, we, uh, we just got to town a little over a week ago." He stammered.
Her eyes lit up again. "Good! Well, I got dibs, okay? You'd like to take me to the senior dance next weekend, wouldn't you?"
Sam gulped, terrified eyes seeking Dean's for help. "Uh … I … uh."
Dean saw the desperation and tried to help, "Sam, remember Dad talked about you helping him with the car next weekend? Maybe you should ask him before you go making any definite plans." he turned to Veronica. "Maybe he could get your number and call you back? Dad's a bit of a hardass. You know how that goes." he smiled.
Impossibly, Ronnie smiled and pouted at the same time. "You better get my number, Sam. Here, give me your hand." She reached out and grabbed it, holding it so it was palm up in her own. She pulled an eyeliner from her pocket and crowded Sam close as she wrote her number on his palm in slow, deliberate strokes. When she was done, she held onto his hand for a moment, gazing up at him. "Call me if it's okay, promise?" She asked, suddenly shy.
And Sam's heart melted into a little puddle at her well-tanned and toned feet.
"Okay. I definitely will." he said, grinning. "Ronnie."
She grinned back at him suddenly, reaching up and placing a hand behind his head. She tugged him down and kissed him lightly on the lips, tasting like strawberries. "I'll be waiting." She winked, and pulled away.
"Nice to meet you, and thanks again for letting Deel study here." She included them all in her smile, and then she was gone. A moment later, they heard the crunch of car tires over gravel as she backed out and pulled away.
Sam stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking blindsided, his face flushed a bright pink. He met Dean's eyes, looking lost, and the older boy took pity on him. Dean smiled, ignoring the sudden warning bell clanging in the back of his mind. He moved over and tossed an arm over Sam's shoulder, "Well, Sasquatch, if you gotta catch the eye of a forward girl, let it be a cheerleader, I say." He walked Sam toward the doorway, catching Bobby's concerned frown from the corner of his eye.