10:59
"Come on, come on, come on…"
The last "on" that left Tina Belcher's mouth dragged out into a groan, completely in sync with her body as she dramatically stretched herself out onto the bar of the restaurant, her eyes still on the digital readout of her floral watch. She watched the colon separating the hour from the minute blinking for what seemed like hours until finally all four numbers changed.
11:00
She started in a full sprint into a slide towards the door, stumbling half-way over a rubber mat that was positioned in the floor, causing her to run smack into the door. Her hands swung out, protecting herself from smashing her face into the door. Her large brown eyes glanced down at the glass, dragging her chipped black painted fingers against the cold door, foggy from the December air.
She let out a sigh, letting her head rest against the door for a moment before sitting up, reaching up to flip the sign in the window to "CLOSED". She moved her fingers down to her wrist, pushing aside a hair tie and an Equestranauts charm bracelet to grab a green coiled wrist band with two gold keys dangling off of it. She locked the door and pulled the key back out, not wasting any time before glancing across the street into the now darkened windows of Jimmy Pesto's Pizzeria.
A baffled look crossed her features, one eyebrow darting up over the wide frames of her glasses. On nights like tonight, Jimmy Junior could usually be found there, waiting to get her attention so that he could signal how long he was going to be…or tell her to check her phone for a text message or voice mail. Tonight, he was nowhere to be found.
She shrugged her shoulders and headed behind the counter. She grabbed her phone and her travel coffee mug she'd been sipping out of and refilling off and on throughout the day before heading upstairs. As soon as she walked in, she sat the keys to the restaurant down on the kitchen counter and headed into the living room on the way to her bedroom.
"Tina, did you lock up?" Bob asked her from the couch, glancing up to make eye contact with the girl.
She nodded, "Yeah, dad, I got it."
"Are you going to bed?"
Tina licked her lips, desperately fighting the urge to let out the groan that was starting to build up in the back of her throat. He was suspicious. He had to be suspicious. After all, he was the one that found a tell-tale pair of red headphones in the kitchen at the shop and asked where they'd come from, fully aware that the headphones that would be periodically wrapped around Tina's neck were purple.
"Uh…yes." she replied quickly, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear, still standing in one spot, knowing very well she should've started making her way to her room moments ago.
"Did you…uh…need anything else? Do you need to tell me something?"
It came out like a reflex.
"Uhhhhhhhh…" the girl stammered.
"Snap out of it, Tina!" she scolded herself internally.
"No."
"Are you sure?" Bob asked.
"Uh, yeah…I just…I…uh…just remembered…"
Her thought got cut off by the sound and sensation of her phone vibrating in her back pocket.
"Are you going to take that?" Her father asked, glancing towards her pants pocket.
"Uh…yeah…I just remembered that I need a birth control refill…for my…per—"
"Oh my god…go tell your mother."
She didn't need to be told twice. The girl quickly shuffled to her room, shutting the door behind herself. She leaned against it as soon as she got inside, closing her eyes for a second. That felt like a closer call than it truly was.
-Ping-
-Ping-
Tina opened her eyes and looked around before finally recognizing exactly what the sound was. She headed to the window and pushed it up, hanging halfway out as she glanced down at her boyfriend. His hands were stuffed into a varsity-style jacket and he was looking up at her with a look she knew well. It was one he gave her when he was trying too hard not to be annoyed with her.
"I've texted you like ten times! It's freezing!" he said quietly.
"Sorry, Jimmy Junior…my dad stopped me and—"
Jimmy's eyes widened as he spoke, his lisp seeming unusually heavier as he tried to keep his voice down, "What?! Did he catch you? Did you…accidentally…tell?"
"Oh my god, no." Tina spoke, "He was just asking me if I locked up and everything."
"Oh, well, are you ready?"
She pursed her lips, awkwardly scratching at her arm as she looked away.
"Uhhhh…"
"Oh my god…" he groaned, "My parents have been out since nine, we're losing daylight, Tina."
"It's nighttime, Jimmy."
"Whatever…babe, come on."
"Give me five minutes."
Without waiting for his response, she hopped back inside and shut her window. She tossed her phone onto her bed and quickly stripped out of her work clothes and into a white shirt that was identical to her typical blue one with one of Jimmy Junior's flannel shirts thrown over-top paired with a pair of blue jeans with an accidentally placed hole in the knee from one of her many falls.
The girl turned and looked at the clock: 11:25.
She stuffed her feet back into her Converse and then threw her phone into the purse that was lying at the foot of her bed before sticking her head back outside.
"Coast should be clear. I'm heading out now."
"Is that my shirt?"
Once again, Tina closed the window without a response. She walked to her dresser and quickly sprayed lavender scented body spray on her neck and wrists before lifting up her shirt to place the scent on each side of her hips. Hesitantly the girl stuck her head out of her bedroom door, listening for any sign of life from the rest of the house. The house was silent, meaning her family had finally all went to bed.
The teen ran her tongue across her bottom lip, sighing before immediately dropping to a push-up position in the floor, lifting up the lacy pastel blue dust ruffle of her bed. Her eyes scanned around for a potentially prying little sister before shooting back up. She walked over to the closet and opened it, peering around inside and around her clothes, shrugging at the emptiness she'd found.
Carefully, she walked out of her bedroom door and down the hall. Suddenly, the loud sound of her phone vibrating in her back pocket sounded like a swarm of bees flying into the house. Tina froze in place, fumbling around with her purse until she reached inside, opening the text message that waited for her.
Jimmy Junior-peach emoji, heart emoji, pizza emoji-
"Light is on in A+O's room. Hurry."
She let out a long sigh and took the stairs as quickly and as quietly as she could muster. As soon as she got out the backdoor where the trashcans were at the side of the restaurant, a long "Oh my god…" trailed off of her lips.
"We've been doing this for months, T."
"Yeah, I know…I haven't gotten any better at it, but really like, where's my 'Hey, baby' or I mean I'd even take the good old fashioned 'Hey, Tina' at this point." she crossed her arms over her chest.
Jimmy Junior chuckled at her before walking over to dip in and press a kiss to her cheek. He smirked to himself before leaning into her ear, his hands coming to rest on her hips. "Hey, Tina."
A shiver ran down Tina's spine that had nothing to do with the cool winter air. She bit back a huge grin, resorting to playing with the end of her now-grown-out hair. His arms moved forward, now snaking around her to lay against the small of her back as he pulled her in closer.
"So, are you still frustrated with me?" she winced a little, trying to look as apologetic as possible.
He let out another chuckle, shaking his head, "I'd been waiting for you for years, and I'm going to be waiting on you for the rest of my life, so I've got to start somewhere."
The rest of my life.
The phrase instantly played on loop in Tina's mind before she could muster out an, "Oh?"
Immediately realizing what he had said, Jimmy Junior pulled one hand off of her back to awkwardly run through his hair. "I mean…" he tried to think of some way that he could skirt around the subject of the conversation at hand and failed.
"No pressure." Tina jumped in for him.
"Thanks, T." he said, moving to stand by her side, lacing their fingers together, "So, uh…my place?"
"It is your turn, isn't it?" she smiled up at him, tugging his hand a little to begin to lead them across the street.
They walked in a comfortable silence, glancing around, particularly at the Wonder Wharf, which was lit up for the Christmas holidays in green and red among other colors. Once they got over to the side of the street where the pizzeria was located, Tina glanced back up at Jimmy Junior and noticed the distant look on his face.
"Jimmy, are you okay?" she asked softly, giving his hand a small squeeze.
Jimmy was knocked from his daze, shaking his head a little. "Yeah, I'm fine…I just…" he paused, "Are you sure your dad doesn't suspect anything…like…anything at all?"
Tina didn't miss a beat, "Positive."
"Really?"
"My dad still thinks we broke up the day after they got into that ridiculous argument in the street…after my mom read my diary…again."
Tina rolled her eyes at the memory of her father and Jimmy Pesto Sr. standing in the middle of Ocean Avenue yelling insults and obscenities about each other and each other's kids and that Super Bowl commercial from years ago at one another while her mother stood behind him.
"I don't get why, out of all the people in this world, my kid had to go and fall in love with your kid. Of all the stupid things that have come out of your stupid restaurant, this is the worst. She could do so much better than stupid Jimmy Pesto Junior. How can she even understand what the hell he's saying?"
"Bobby, stop. This isn't about you and Jimmy Pesto, this is about the kids. They're almost grown adults, Bobby. Let them be."
"Mom, just go find Little King Trashmouth…he's probably hungry…actually, let's just all go back inside…please, god let's go back inside…oh my god…"
"Your freak of a daughter has been obsessed with my son for years, and she's bound to have used some kind of stalker tactic on him. That's the only way Jimmy Junior would've given her the time of day, let alone…'violated' her as you claim."
"Ouch" she thought out loud. The words still stung, even weeks after it happened.
"What?" he glanced down at her, his brownish-red eyebrows knitting together.
"Nothing, just…memories…arguments…can-cans…gay raccoons." she blew out of her mouth, aiming upwards so that her bangs would blow over a little, watching the white wisps of smoke in the winter air.
"Oh…kay." Jimmy Junior replied with a small shrug of his shoulders, pulling his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door.
He let Tina inside and then followed behind her so that he could quietly shut the door and then take her hand again. He navigated her through the dark halls of their apartment, holding both of her hands in his, not foolish enough to think that there wasn't a possibility of her completely falling over and blowing the cover they'd worked so hard to build up.
Tina followed closely behind him until they finally came to a familiar stop. He pushed the door open and led them both into his room, closing it and locking it behind him before flipping the light switch on.
"Finally" he let out a sigh of relief, walking over to his bed. He flopped down onto his back, kicking his shoes off of his feet.
A playful smirk etched its way across Tina's face. The urge to walk over and straddle her boyfriend's hips was very real in that moment. She chose to refrain, walking over to the bed to sit down next to him. She kicked off her shoes as well and decided to lie back against the bed, staring up at the ceiling just like Jimmy Junior.
Not too long after her back hit the bed, the weight on her right shifted as Jimmy propped himself up on his elbow beside of her. "Did I mention that my clothes always look better on you than they do on me?" he smirked.
Tina grinned widely, feeling a rush of heat race to her cheeks, "No, you did not…at least, not this time."
She let there be a brief pause in the conversation before adding in, "But…I think all of my clothes…and your clothes…would probably look better in the floor…don't you agree? Maybe? Kind of? Yeah?"
A bright flush of pink came to Jimmy Junior's cheeks and Tina's face lit up; still amazed that she was able to draw this kind of reaction from him. It was something she found both amusing and sexy all at the same time, and she frequently used it for her own benefit.
"I mean…I…wouldn't object…but…"
The sound of her phone going off from the floor jolted him out of his thought, immediately glancing down towards the small bag.
"Ugh…Jimmy, like, the only time you mentioning the word 'but' is a bad thing." she said, propping up beside of him before reaching down to grab her phone. She quickly ignored the notification, not even bothering to see who had tried to contact her before sitting the phone down on his nightstand.
She rejoined him on the bed, moving in closer to him, "Continue?"
He reached over and caressed her cheek gently before scooting into her frame a little more. He let his forehead come to rest against hers, dipping in to press his lips to hers for a moment.
"You should…let…me finish." he spoke, kissing her between words.
Tina's eyes fluttered shut, her hand reaching out to come to rest on his ribcage, kissing him back just as sweetly.
"I'm listening." she responded, not even bothering to open her eyes as she tried to savor the moment.
4:15AM
Tina rolled over in bed, pulling the covers up over her body, trying to block out the sudden draft she was feeling in her half-awake, half-asleep state. She let out a small groan as she felt Jimmy Junior's arms slip around her waist, bringing her back to the warmth of his body which soon began to lull Tina back to sleep, taking in deep breaths of his scent mixed with the distant scent of fabric softener.
7:30AM
-Bzzzzzz-
-Bzzzzzz-
-Bzzzzzz-
Tina rolled over, bumping right into Jimmy Junior's chest as she tried to turn away from the noise that was pulling her farther and farther out of sleep.
"Oh my god, mom…I'm not putting on makeup or writing today…let me sleep…"
"Tina, what the fuck is that sound?" Jimmy groaned from beside of her, hiding his face down in the crook of her neck.
Her eyes opened slowly, taking a few seconds to admire how her boyfriend looked in that moment. He was shirtless with his hair disheveled and snuggled into her side, unwilling to wake up. He was as gorgeous as ever, even more so if left up to Tina. She reached up and pushed some falling hair out of his eyes and then leaned in to kiss his forehead.
"What time is it?"
"I don't know…It looks like the sun is barely up…so—"
The brunette's words came to a screeching halt as she glanced past Jimmy's shoulder to see the time on the clock. Her vision was blurred slightly from the distance between herself and the clock. She reached over to the nightstand, knowing exactly where Jimmy Junior would always put her glasses when he removed them along with the rest of her clothes.
She slid the thick frames over her eyes and rolled back over, focusing back in on the red numbers on the clock that appeared to be screaming back at her: 7:45AM.
"Oh my god." she said, immediately sitting up in bed, the sheets falling to pool around her waist, the cool air of the room hitting her now exposed chest.
"Oh my god." she repeated in a frantic tone, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What, T. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
"No, no, not that. You know I don't care about that. I just…I have to be across the street in 15 minutes…I'm supposed to go help my dad set up for the day. There's no school so I'm working opens too. Oh my god." she kept one arm draped across her chest while using her now free hand to run through her hair.
Jimmy Junior flopped back onto the bed with a groan, "You've got fifteen minutes…and you're two minutes from the shop."
"I can't be seen leaving here, coming from across the street. Do you really want a repeat of last time? What if your dad ships you off to a boarding school or something to keep us apart and you meet some girl like Tammy but not as horrible and trashy?"
"It's too early for this…I'm not going anywhere…just…get ready…and go over there or something."
Tina reached over and nervously grabbed her phone before turning back to Jimmy, gently tossing it his way.
"Check it for me."
"What? Why?"
"Please…"
He sighed before glancing at her phone, taking the time to scroll through her current notifications.
"Shit."
"Is it that bad?"
"15 missed texts, 10 missed calls, and 8 voicemails."
Tina groaned loudly, crashing back down onto the bed, pulling the covers up over her face. "We're so screwed…as in we're screwed, we're screwed." she said.
Jimmy Junior pursed his lips before reaching over to the floor. He grabbed his boxers and pulled them up onto his hips before getting out of the bed, starting to look for Tina's clothes while she remained hidden under the blankets.
He gathered her jeans, shoes, socks, and underwear before finally finding the flannel of his that she'd come over in. He walked over to her and sat them on the bed at her feet and then glanced around, trying to find her white v-neck somewhere in his general area. Despite his best efforts, the shirt was nowhere to be found, causing Jimmy to let out a sigh. He scanned the room again until his eyes came to rest on the red shirt he had been wearing under his jacket the night before.
He dropped the shirt down onto the pile of her clothing he'd collected and nudged them to her. "Come on, T. You've only got a few minutes."
"Yeah, until my parents kill me, that is."
Tina's eyes traveled past the heap of blankets that had been piled on top of her and over to where Jimmy was seated.
"You're not going to get to explain anything lying under there, you know."
-silence-
"You're going to have to face them sometime."
-silence-
"Do you want me to go over there with you?"
Tina finally sat up, reaching over for her bra. She put it on and then turned to him.
"No, but I'd like it if you stayed at your dad's window so if things get bad, then you can step in…but I assure you, I can save myself…I think."
Jimmy Junior let out a low chuckle, "Whatever you say…"
Tina started getting dressed piece by piece. She pulled on her jeans and then put on her shoes. Her hand came to rest on his red shirt and her brows knitted together in confusion.
"I couldn't find your shirt. So, just…"
As she put the shirt on, he walked over to her, taking her by the hands to stand her up. His hands then dropped to the hem of the shirt that was draping on her frame. He pulled the shirt up around her waist and tied a small knot in it by looping the fabric around itself.
"There"
Tina glanced down at his handiwork and then back up at him and let out a deep sigh.
"Thanks, Jimmy Junior." she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek quickly, leaving him standing in front of her with a sheepish grin on his face that, despite her panic, made Tina smile right back.
She turned away from him and bent over, flipping her hair downwards so that she could pull her hair into a messy bun. As soon as she was done, she grabbed her purse and her phone, biting on her bottom lip nervously. Jimmy Junior pulled on his jeans from the night before and a new shirt, his shoes following as he started to trail behind Tina out the door.
As soon as she got out of the threshold of Jimmy Junior's room, she began to hurriedly rush to the stairs, only to stop as soon as her foot hit the top step. She suddenly remembered that just because her father was probably now more than aware of where she'd been sneaking off to lately, that didn't mean Jimmy Pesto Sr….or Andy and Ollie were aware of Jimmy Juniors frequent whereabouts.
She began to slowly creep down the stairs, listening for any noise from the surrounding rooms. Jimmy followed along behind her as they got to the side door. He opened it for her carefully, letting her slip out before following suit, walking over to the front door of the restaurant. He slipped in, tossing a hand up at Trev as a hello before seating himself at a table by the window so he could keep an eye on her.
"No way…"
Jimmy Junior's heart skipped a beat. He turned over his shoulder to see Trev making obvious facial gestures towards Tina, who was currently going back and forth between walking at a normal pace across the street and sprinting across the street.
He stared the older man down. "Did I say anything about what happened last time you got completely shit faced with my dad?"
"Because you…"
The teenager air quoted, "Right, because I wasn't even there…"
He paused.
"Just like now."
Meanwhile, the rubber soles of Tina's black Converse had just hit the sidewalk in front of Bob's Burgers. She looked at her watch: 7:57AM. She groaned under her breath and then took a deep breath. She headed to the door, keeping her head down until she pushed it open and was immediately greeted by the sight of her father's black clogs on the tile floor. She glanced up without saying a word, simply pursing her lips nervously in response.
"Where in the hell have you been?!" Bob exclaimed, "I got up at 5:30 and saw that the door to your room was open, but when I went to shut it you were nowhere to be found!"
"I…uh…"
Linda walked out from in the kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest, "Yeah, Tina Ruth, you have a lot of explaining to do, little lady. What have you been told about sneaking out?"
"It's just…"
"It's just what?" Bob said, "Care to fill me in on what the hell this is, Tina."
"Are you doing drugs? Are you in a gang?" Linda paused, "Are you having sex?"
Tina's face burned all over and she knew she was sporting a blush as red as the oversized shirt she was wearing.
"Oh my god." her father's signature phrase left his mouth quicker than any other time Tina had heard it before.
"Tina, why didn't you tell me? I told you that if you were to ever decide that you were ready then you could tell me, no matter if it was a girl or a guy or if you were into really kinky stuff or…"
"Lin…"
Tina put her head in her hands for a moment before looking back up.
"Oh my god, mom, dad, it's fine. Just…let it go." Tina spoke up.
"Tina, you're sneaking out and nearly missing your shifts. That's kind of something we can't just let go." Bob paused and gave his daughter a once over, "Wait a minute…why does that shirt swallow you whole?"
Tears were welling up in Tina's eyes and before she could even restrain herself from following through with the action, she found herself glancing over her shoulder into the window of the pizzeria, locking eyes with Jimmy Junior, who stood up from his seat.
Bob kept going on about her sneaking out, completely skipping over the fact that she was most likely sneaking out to have sex. However, Linda had caught her daughter's glance out the window and continued to watch as Jimmy Junior emerged from his father's shopfront and headed across the street with his hands in his pockets.
"Called it." she spoke under her breath.
Tina looked up at her parents, having noticed that they were both now staring out the window. Linda's eyebrows were raised in a knowing fashion and anger was written all over Bob's face. Tina wrapped her arms around herself at the same time that she heard the door come open.
"Mr. and Mrs. B, I can explain…"
Tina looked over at Jimmy Junior and then back at her parents. "Jimmy, don't. You don't have any explaining to do."
"Tina, that's bullshit. He does have to explain. You both have to explain. You know you're not allowed to see him anymore…and you most definitely cannot see her." he spoke, "How difficult is that to understand?"
"But that's not fair!" Tina exclaimed, "I don't know how to make youunderstand how unfair this is, Dad!He's not his dad. He's not the one trying to put you out of business! Not to mention, that even after the fight you two had, Louise is stillallowed to hang out with Andy and Ollie. If you really wanted to cut the ties between our families, you would've cut that one too."
Right about that time, the door separating the steps leading to the overhead apartment and the restaurant swung open from in the kitchen and Louise's voice boomed throughout.
"But it's impossible to make a stink bomb with your own farts. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. Grow the fuck up, Gene!"
"Ugh, seriously?" Tina spoke softly as her mother turned on her heel to hurry into the kitchen, shuffling the younger kids back upstairs for the time being.
"What's going on? What is Stupid Junior doing in the restaurant? No, I must know! You can't take me alive!" Louise belted.
"No, I can't leave; I need a pickle jar to bottle my fart!"
"I wish the zombie apocalypse would hit…right now." Tina spoke solemnly.
Tina watched Linda shuffled back into the main area of the restaurant and went back to her previous position of standing next to Bob, looking over both of the kids.
"Anyway…" Bob trailed off, "You two have been told that you can't see each other anymore. God forbid you keep this up and she gets pregnant and then I have to put up with Jimmy Pesto's crap for the rest of my life."
"…We're using protection? And this isn't about my dad?" Jimmy Junior replied, a tone of disbelief to his voice.
"What he said." Tina reiterated quietly.
"Oh my god…I can't do this…Linda, help." he spoke, stepping out of the way.
Linda rolled her eyes, letting out a disgusted sound before stepping forward.
"Bobby, I can't really do this either. You know how I feel about this situation."
"She was sneaking out…to have sex…with him. He is the son of the man trying to put us out of business. How do we know he wasn't using her?"
Immediately, Jimmy Junior stepped a little closer to Bob. He took a deep breath and then looked back at Tina before looking back at Bob.
"I love her." he spoke, uttering the phrase for the first time out loud.
"What?" Bob gasped incredulously.
"Wh-What?" Tina chimed in.
"Oh my god, how precious! Teeny Tiny Tina's in love!"
"Linda!"
Tina didn't even hear her family's responses. Jimmy Pesto Junior…James Popalapovich Junior…loved her. After all these years of watching him from afar, waiting for opportunity after opportunity, rejecting and accepting one another and it all led up to this very moment.
She could hear Bob speaking sternly, despite her best efforts to block him out, trying to preserve the moment in her memory.
"I mean, I didn't really plan on this being the way I told her for the first time, but it feels good getting it off of my chest." Jimmy Junior spoke.
"I love you too…" she said softly.
Jimmy Junior turned to look at her and smiled softly, stepping back to stand beside of her. He reached down and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.
"The more you pull them apart, Bobby, the more they're going to want to see each other. It's so romantic, honestly, like Romeo and Juliet without all the violent murders…or West Side Story…without all the violent murders or the singing…"
"And, Dad, he's not his dad…not in the slightest…" she spoke.
"Tina, did you even hear any of that horrible stuff that his dad said about you?"
"She has a point, though. He's not his father. From what I've seen, he's a pretty respectable young man with some amazing dance moves. He may even be better than the real Kevin Bacon!"
"Thanks, Mrs. B…but seriously, I love Tina." he spoke, "I'm sorry for…you know…being…physical…er…with her…but I wasn't trying to use her or take advantage of her…it just happened and…"
"Okay, stop. I can't deal with this. I don't want to hear this." Bob said.
"Sorry" Jimmy Junior said.
"If your intentions were so good…then why in the hell were you convincing her to sneak out with you in the middle of the night?"
"Bobby, they're teenagers, they're going to sneak out. Just calm down. Look, kiddos, you guys are seventeen. You're almost legal adults! You'll be able to vote and smoke cigarettes and all that…so, legally, we won't really be able to stop you…aside from being your parents…but, I don't know…I've always kind of hoped that you two would end up together."
"Linda, seriously?"
"They're cute, and I think he'd treat her well. He doesn't even like his dad."
"How do you know that?"
"I read it in Tina's diary. He told her on the rooftop of our place over pizza while listening to Justin Timberlake. It was like a romance novel. Tina's such a talented writer!" Linda spoke.
"Mom, I'm seventeen. You've got to stop doing that."
She let Jimmy's hand free for a moment to run her hands across her face in exasperation. She sighed and moved them to cross over her chest once she felt Jimmy Junior's hand come to rest on the small of her back comfortingly.
"Can't help it! I've still got to make sure you're still not on drugs!" she said, "Plus, I obviously haven't done it in a while because I didn't know all of this was going on." Linda gestured between the two teenagers.
Tina's eyes traveled back to her father, who had begun to rub the bridge of his nose. "I just…what do you do in this situation? I mean, if we keep refusing to let them see each other they're going to end up trying to run away or something ridiculous and then I'm going to have to kill Jimmy Pesto…which is also an option…but really…"
His shoulders fell as he looked back at them, "You two are going to keep doing this regardless of what I say. It's not like you won't. Plus, I love Tina." He paused, "I love her more than you ever can…and…she's obviously very…attached to you. You also, for whatever reason, seem to make her happy…I'm not happy about this. Let me get that straight. I am not happy. Not in the slightest, and don't think your dad is going to be thrilled either, because he's made that pretty clear when he was talking crap about Tina in front of all of those people…but…I'll work on it…for Tina."
"Am I being tricked? Again…" Tina glanced at Bob and Linda in disbelief.
"He sounded pretty serious. You were serious weren't you, Bobby?" Linda said.
"Yes…I'm serious." Bob spoke, "I'm not thrilled, but I'm serious…Tina, go upstairs and…take a shower, put your clothes on…do whatever, just make it where I don't have to think about all of this when I look at you today."
A flush came back over Tina's cheeks, "Got it…"
Tina began to walk towards the door that led to the steps, but she stopped mid-step, turning around to walk back to Jimmy Junior and kiss him on the cheek.
"Oh my god…Tina!" Bob groaned.
"I'm going!" she said, heading back in the direction in which she was coming.
Slowly, Jimmy Junior started making small steps in her direction, attempting to follow her upstairs.
Bob's arm shot out, chest blocking him from walking any further.
"No way."
"Understood." he spoke, "And Mr. B?"
"What, Jimmy Junior?"
"Thanks."