-1Phil smiled as he heard Eddie and Janet moving around upstairs. For a few days he had been scared that there wouldn't be an Eddie and Janet ever again but after the whole thing with Big Cat they seemed to be working it out. Grabbing the two mugs of coffee that he had just poured he went to the front room. Handing one to Pizza Girl he sat down beside her and said "Isn't that a nice sound?"
"What sound would that be, my weird one?" she asked with her head cocked to the side.
"Eddie and Janet. Together and in love." Phil replied as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.
When he pulled away, she grabbed him back and planted a nice long one on him. Leaving him a little winded, she reached for her coffee and said "Be careful with that Love word. Just because we're living in bliss right now doesn't mean everyone else is."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Eddie will figure it out soon enough, though. I've never seen him as happy as he has been this last week."
Pizza Girl smiled impishly at him and said "Maybe you're spreading some of your happiness around."
"Could be, my love, could be." Phil replied as he reached over and pulled her to him. They broke apart when they heard Janet coming down the stairs. Looking in on them she pointed to Pizza Girl and said "I have three words for you. Girls Night Out. Hannah just called and it's on for tonight. Are you game?"
"You better believe it." Since the first time, the three girls had gotten together as often as they could. Pizza Girl couldn't believe how much her life had changed since meeting Phil. Looking over at him, she questioned him with her eyes and by the way he smiled at her she knew that he didn't mind her night out.
"EDDIE!" He hollered up the stairs. "Break out the junk food for the game tonight. The girls are deserting us."
Coming down the stairs Eddie replied "Way ahead of you Phys. Nick is bringing the beer and Owen is in charge of snacks."
"Is Ikey coming?" Phil asked him. Things were getting better, but it was still a touchy subject and Phil took it one day at a time.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him today. I'll see if I can find him on my way to work and I'll call you when I know something. Gotta go, catch you guys later." He wrapped his arms around Janet and gave her a good-bye kiss. "See you later?" He asked. "Are you coming back here afterward" He couldn't believe how much he wanted her to say yes.
"Probably" Janet said. "Hannah said she would pick us up here." She returned his kiss and shoved him towards the door. "Now get out of here so I can get ready for work. I traded shifts with Karen so I have to be there at 10."
Eddie left for work and Janet headed into the kitchen for coffee. Phil was still sitting on the couch with a goofy smile on his face. He was so happy for Eddie and was lost in his own thoughts about the future. When he saw that Pizza Girl was laughing at him he pounced on her and tickled her until she couldn't breathe. He had plenty of time to think of the future, right now it was time for some fun.
"Put some music on and I'll go start us some breakfast." He said when he let her up.
In the kitchen Janet smiled when she heard "Feels Like the First Time" coming from the front of the house. Foreigner had always been her favorite band, but since Eddie had kissed her at Sully's the remastered version of their first album had become her absolute favorite CD. As she sat sipping her coffee, Pizza Girl walked in talking on her cell phone.
"Okay, talk to you later. Bye." Refilling her mug she said to Janet. "That was my sister, Layla. She's coming for a visit. Is it okay if she joins us tonight?"
"Absolutely. The more the merrier." Janet replied. "Tell me about her"
"Well, she's a few years older than me, We were always the closest and I really miss her since she took that job in Boston. She's been working in an ad agency for a few years now and I think she's ready for something new. I hope she can stay for awhile. You and Eddie won't mind, will you?"
"Don't be silly. I can't wait to meet her." Janet gave her a quick hug and placed her mug in the sink. "I'll meet you back here at 7. See ya later,"
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It was a long day for everyone.
Eddie was impatient to see Janet again. They had started talking things over and had made a lot of headway, but he knew that they had a long way to go. He spent a few hours doing some paperwork since Nick was out at a job site and then tried to call Ikey a few times. All he got was voicemail, so he left a message and made a mental note to try again later.
Janet spent all day at work daydreaming about Eddie. Almost losing him twice, once to Rory and once at the hospital, had put some things into perspective. Their talk the night before had made her feel better but she saw a long road ahead. But then again, the road to true love never did run smoothly. Janet couldn't remember who had said that, but felt that truer words had never been spoken. She was really looking forward to Girls Night Out. Since she had started dating Eddie and Hannah and Nick were circling around each other it had been hard to find time to spend time with Hannah. And it was getting harder and harder to pry Pizza Girl away from Phil.
After Pizza Girl left to go pick her sister up at the airport, Phil made up the extra room and straightened the house. The guys always made a mess but it was easier to clean up if the mess was only one layer. Only part of his mind was on his chores, the other part kept straying back to the ring box in his sock drawer. Eddie had gone to the bank yesterday and retrieved it from their joint safe deposit box. They hadn't had time to talk when Eddie got home yesterday since the girls were there. Phil was definitely glad the guys were coming tonight, since he was contemplating a few big steps and he needed some advice.
Pizza Girl drove to the airport with her stereo at full volume, playing a mix that Phil had made for her. Music had always been important in her life, but it had risen to a new level since meeting Phil and his friends. They seemed to have a soundtrack to their lives and loved sharing all kinds of music with each other. After picking Layla up at the airport they stopped for some lunch. She was so happy to see her sister and couldn't wait for her to meet everyone.
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Janet walked in the front door at 6:30. If she hurried, she had time for a quick shower. Waving to Pizza Girl as she went by she said "I'm gonna take a shower, back in a few minutes." Looking over, she stopped short and came to a halt. "Oh, I'm sorry, you must be Layla. Welcome to the house."
Layla smiled at her and Janet could see the family resemblance. "Go shower, we have all night to get acquainted."
"Okay, back in a jiffy." Janet went up the stairs and headed for Eddie's room. She could hear the guys in Phil's room at the other end of the hall. She didn't have time to waste, so she called out a hello to them and went into the bathroom.
"Coast is clear, she's in the shower" Eddie said after calling a hello back to Janet. "Open that box, I want to see it. I didn't look yesterday and it's been a long time."
Phil opened the box and handed it to Eddie. "What do you think? Will she like it?"
"If she doesn't, I'll marry you Phys." He handed to box back to Phil. "Now put it up before we get busted."
Downstairs, the front door opened and Hannah walked in followed by Nick and Sam. Owen walked in close on their heels and closed to door. By the time introductions had been made all around Janet was showered and dressed. After a quick good-bye and a promise to see Eddie later she collected Hannah, Pizza Girl and Layla and they headed to Sully's. It was quiet for a few seconds as the guys adjusted to the lack of females in the house. After he got Sam settled in front of the Playstation in his bedroom, Eddie came back downstairs and noticed Phil looking towards the door and guessed what he was thinking.
"I never could get in touch with Ikey today. Maybe the girls will see him at
Sully's. Janet knows we were looking for him, she'll tell him." Eddie told him. Looking over at Nick and Owen he said "Before the game starts, Phil has some news. Tell 'em Phys."
Before he could second guess himself, Phil blurted out "I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
After a round of handshakes and hugs it settled down enough for Phil to tell them the rest of his news.
"I think I'm ready to try to go outside. Just a little bit, but I think I need to. I feel like I'm missing out on all of your lives and Pizza Girl deserves so much more than a shut in." Cutting off the guys before they could say anything he said "I know, she accepts me as I am, but I want to be more for her. My lady deserves the world and the world she shall have."
The guys spent the remaining time before the game figuring out a plan to help Phil out of the house. By the time they were done everyone felt like they actually had a chance at success.
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The girls had been at Sully's for just a short while when Pizza Girl noticed Ikey at the bar. Layla was playing darts with Janet and Hannah was at the jukebox as she headed towards him.
"Come over and join us for a drink, dude. You should meet my sister, she's met everyone else." Pizza Girl said as she dragged him off the stool and steered him toward the table. Layla and Janet were done with their game and Hannah had selected "Patience" by Guns N Roses. Pizza Girl gave Hannah a thumbs up for her great selection and waved her over to the table.
Ikey had come to Sully's hoping to run into the guys. He had really wanted to see them but he still didn't feel right just dropping in. He was about to make a hasty retreat until his saw the girl approaching with Hannah. Maybe he could stay for a little while.
"What goes on girls? You are all looking fine tonight." For some reason Ikey felt nervous all of the sudden and his palms were a little sweaty.
"Hey Ikey" Janet said. Hannah echoed the hello and pulled Janet towards the bar.
"Do you see the way he's looking at her? I've never seen Ikey look at a girl that way." Hannah whispered to Janet.
Janet looked over at Ikey and saw what Hannah was talking about. He looked positively awestruck as he shook hands with Layla.
Ikey was having a hard putting words together to form a sentence. All he could do was let the girls talk around him and stare at the vision across the table from him. She was all curly hair and big blue eyes. He wanted to run his hands through those curls so bad that he couldn't stand it. Looking over at her, he realized that she was smiling at him and he felt a little bit of his world shift as he looked in her eyes. Pizza Girl saw the exchange and motioned to Hannah and Janet. The three of them used the excuse of picking out more music and made a quick exit. Standing by the jukebox, they had a good view of the table and they could stare openly because neither of the people at the table was paying a bit of attention to the them.
"I'm supposed to tell Ikey that the guys are watching the game at the house" Janet said, "but I don't have the heart to break that up. I'll wait awhile and see what happens."
Ikey fidgeted with his beer mug, trying to come up with something to say that didn't make him feel like an idiot. Layla reached over and took his hand. She didn't understand it herself, but she felt some kind of connection with this guy.
"Do you feel what I feel?" She was Pizza Girl's sister after all and they had the same gift for directness.
"Check it, I'm about to throw up or something" Ikey said. "I don't even know what to say to you." Ikey had decided to skip the cool route, it obviously wasn't going to work. "I just want to get to know you. Are you in the Ridge for awhile?"
Layla gave him a big smile and said "I'm here until my sister and Phil get tired of me staying with them."
Right then and there Ikey decided to take the bull by the horns. "Could I maybe drive you home tonight? Phil is one of my best friends and I promise to behave."
Seeing all the smiling that was going on, the girls made their way back to the table.
"Hey Ikey, I was supposed to tell you that the guys are watching the game at the house and want you to come over." She smiled when she saw him hesitate. "We'll be there in a few hours. Why don't you go see the guys and we'll meet you there later."
Ikey was torn and Layla could see that. She really wanted to spend some time with him but her sister had told her about his recent problems so she reached for his hand once again and said "Go see your friends, I'll see you later. Maybe we can do lunch tomorrow?"
"I'd like that" Ikey replied, He squeezed her hand and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Catch you girls later. Janet, thanks for telling me." Giving Layla one more look, he headed out the door.
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Driving to Phil and Eddie's house Ikey thought about what had just happened. Things like that just didn't happen to him. For the first time in a long time, Ikey felt hope. He couldn't wait to tell the guys about Layla.