Chapter 3

"You're in a good mood," Blythe observed as her son sat at the kitchen table for dinner.

"I guess I am," Greg replied as he slathered butter on his bun and shoved half a piece into his mouth.

"Any particular reason?"

"Other than acing my Bio test yesterday, and scoring the winning goal for the game last night? Dave and I are going out with twins tonight."

John House looked up from his dinner and eyed his son sceptically. "Who'd go out with you?"

"John!" Blythe scolded. "I'm sure she's lovely. What's she like?"

"I've been so busy with studying and practice that I really haven't had much time to talk to her."

"My prodigal son, with his nose supposedly buried in a textbook. Although, I haven't seen you do much studying. We'll know for sure when you get your test mark back."

"I study smart, not hard," Greg replied with a serious tone directed at his father.

"What's her name?" Blythe inquired, trying to change the subject. Greg being interested in anyone enough to smile like that had her intrigued.

"Her name is Cory Wallace, her sister's name is Michelle."

"Cory? Last I heard, that was a boy's name," John snickered.

"It's short for Corinne," Greg shot back, before turning to his mother. "They're identical twins, just moved here from New York. Their dad works for the FBI...or the DEA...something like that. They've moved around the country a lot, just like we have."

"Correction, we've traveled around the world. I'll bet they've never lived in Japan or Egypt."

"I don't really care," Greg snarled. "I'm not dating them for who their dad is or where they've lived."

John opened his mouth to speak but Blythe cut him off. "So far, everyone I've met in this town seems nice."

"They're drones," John muttered.

There was a horn honking outside and Greg jumped up from the table, grateful for the interruption. "Dave's here. Gotta go."

He gave his mom a kiss goodbye, grabbed his jacket and went outside to where Dave waited. Parked at the curb was a brand new black Pontiac Firebird with the T-roof.

"Wow! When did you get this?"

"Early birthday present. My dad's going out of town and wanted to give it to me before he went away."

"Far out!"

"I'll say. It screams, and the chicks'll be screaming too," Dave grinned.

Greg was completely in awe. On the hood was the Firebird insignia in all its glory, with gold trim and the interior was black leather. "Perfect timing for our date."

"You'd better believe it. They'll have to put out, before they even get in," Dave laughed as the two boys high-fived each other. "Come on, let's go pick them up."

John heard tires squealing outside and jumped up from the table. "What in hell..." He made it to the kitchen window just in time to see the Firebird speed away, leaving a trail of smoke behind. "Hooligans. They'll get themselves killed one of these days, driving like that."

"Boys will be boys, John. This is the first time I've seen Greg actually happy about something in ages. Let him enjoy it."

X X X

Greg and Dave stood at the front door and waited for someone to answer it. Less than a minute later, the door opened and an older lady answered, presumably the twin's mother.

"You must be Greg and Dave. Please, come in. The girls are almost ready."

The two boys stepped inside and followed Mrs. Wallace through the large house and into the living room. "So where are you taking the girls tonight?"

"Roller skating. A new rink opened up. It's supposed to be awesome."

"The girls love skating so they'll enjoy that."

Michelle was the first to come down the stairs dressed in a short denim skirt, boots and a tight red sweater. Her long blonde hair was clasped at each side with shiny barrettes. "Hi guys. Cory will be right down."

Greg nodded and kept his eye on the stairs. What he saw gave him chills. Good chills. All the way up his spine, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Cory came down wearing a blue cotton T-shirt, slim jeans, ankle boots and a black leather jacket. Her hair was done up in a long braid down her back and blonde ringlets framed her small face. She reminded him of Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch, only Cory was a hell of a lot prettier. She'd give Marcia a run for her money, and he'd had plenty of fantasies about Marcia Brady.

"You look...good," he stammered, and then cursed himself for being lame, but she seemed to like it.

"Thanks. So do you," she smiled as she took in his black jeans, blue shirt with the top two buttons undone and his black shoes. He looked sharp, and the blue shirt made his blue eyes look even bluer.

"Let's go then," Dave said eagerly as he let the girls go first, showing some chivalry in front of their mother.

When the girls saw the car, Michelle squealed. "Whose car is this?"

"It's mine," Dave said proudly as he opened the large door and pushed the seat forward. "You want the front or the back?"

"Cory and I could sit in the back. I think Greg would have an issue getting back there with his long legs," Michelle giggled.

Greg rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Up to you."

Without another word, the girls climbed into the back and they set off for the roller rink.

The place was packed, but the rink was huge and lots of people were skating to the latest pop and rock tunes. Once they had their skates and booted up, they took to the rink. It had been awhile since Greg had skated and he fell a few times until he got the hang of it.

"They lied. It's not like riding a bike," he smirked as he picked himself up for the third time. Cory and Michelle had no problems keeping up with Dave who was amazing on skates. Greg shook his head. Was there anything Dave wasn't good at?

"Come on, Greg," Cory laughed as she took his hand. "It's couples only skate. I'll help you."

The moment their hands touched, they both looked at each other and they knew there was no going back.

Nazareth's Love Hurts began to play, the lights went out and the black lights turned on, highlighting the neon decor. There was even a disco ball.

"Trippy," Dave laughed as he took Michelle's hand and whisked her away. After a few pointers from Cory, House finally found his bearings again and was skating as well as she was.

"Wow, not just a pretty face after all," Cory grinned up at him. She was considerably shorter than he was, probably not any taller than 5'5", but on skates, she came up to his shoulder. "I love this song!"

It was a total make out song if he ever heard one and he'd always liked it. He allowed Cory to drag him all over the rink and laughed at how adorable she was. That is, until the bottom of her jeans somehow got caught in the wheel of her skate and she fell hard, landed on her butt and pulled Greg down with her.

"Ow! That hurt," she groaned as she rubbed her ankle.

"You're telling me," he winced as he picked himself up and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

"Me too."

They went to the concession area and Greg bought them each a hot dog and cokes. They were soon joined by Dave and Michelle and the four of them ate together.

"So what would you ladies like to do after this?"

Cory and Michelle glanced at each other and shrugged in unison. "What is there?"

"Well, we could go watch the submarine races," Dave suggested. "They're pretty good, huh, Greg?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Cory was skeptical of course, but Michelle seemed eager. She and Dave had really hit it off and she was happy for her sister, but even though Cory felt a connection with Greg, she was still shy.

They left the rink and her ankle was still a little tender from the fall. Greg noticed she was limping back to the car and offered to sit in the back with her.

"Will you have enough room?" She asked him.

"It'll be fine if your sister pulls her seat forward a little."

Once Greg was comfortable, he picked up Cory's legs and laid them across his lap. Then he began untying her boot.

"Hey! What're you doing?"

"Checking out your ankle, duh," he said like it was common knowledge.

"It's okay, Cory," Dave called from the front seat. "Greg's gonna be a hotshot doctor one day."

"Would the good doctor approve of a...herbal refreshment?" Michelle giggled as she reached into her purse and pulled out a joint.

"If he doesn't, I do," Dave said. "Spark it, baby."

"You're going to Hopkins to become a doctor?" Cory asked him as she watched him remove her boot very carefully and then her sock.

"That's usually where one goes for the undergraduate medical program. I'm in line for a scholarship. All I have to do is ace the final exam and it's mine. Then I can get the hell out of my parents house. It's all about freedom, baby doll. What about you?"

"I'll be staying here. I want to join the FBI. My dad wants me to join the DEA but I don't want to just catch drug dealers. I want to catch all the bad guys."

Michelle passed the joint to her sister and Cory took a long toke. "And here I thought you were a good girl," Greg snickered as she passed it to him. When he refused, she shrugged and handed it back to her sister.

"And here I thought you were a bad boy," she grinned wickedly.

"Who's to say I'm not?" he grinned back, just as wicked, and they looked at each other, neither one breaking eye contact until Dave drove over a bump, causing Greg to hit his head on the roof.

"Hey, take it easy over those bumps, man!"

"But it is smooth, isn't it?" Dave laughed. "Here we are," he said as he pulled into an empty lot and parked.

"Where are we?"

"Manassas National Park."

"And...nobody's here."

"I know," Dave grinned as he reached for Michelle and they began kissing almost immediately.

Greg sighed and turned on the dome light in the back so he could examine Cory's ankle, seeming completely oblivious to what his friend was doing. She tried hard not to crack up laughing. He looked so serious, but he had a very gentle way about him as he touched her ankle.

"Well, it's swollen a bit but I don't think it's fractured, either. If it was broken, you wouldn't have been able to walk on it at all. Put some ice on it when you get home."

"Yes, Dr. House," she smirked. "Actually, that sounds kinda sexy."

Greg couldn't help but grin. He wasn't sure about the sexy part, but it did sound good.

At some point while Greg and Cory were talking, Michelle had found her way onto Dave's lap and the windows were steaming up. "It's getting hot in here," Cory observed. "Let's get some air. I don't feel like watching my sister in a live show."

Greg nodded and pushed the now empty seat forward, opened the passenger door and climbed out with Cory close behind him. "I hope you have a rubber," he muttered to his friend before he slammed the car door shut.

Greg walked and Cory limped across the field until they found a bench overlooking the distant lights of the city. "If I forget to tell you later, I had fun tonight," she said as she leaned back against the arm he had stretched out behind her. For the first time since she'd been dating, she felt safe with Greg and didn't know why. She didn't get the same predatory vibe she got from his friend Dave. She knew what Dave was about, and Greg didn't seem to share his friend's...lustful tendencies. Or if he did, he wasn't acting on them.

"Me too," he nodded as he glanced over at her.

Damn, she's gorgeous! he thought to himself as he tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. She radiated sexy with a self-confidence that he admired but found lacking in most girls. Then again, she wasn't like the others. It seemed she was everything he looked for in a girl he was interested in. If he was true to himself, he could say she was the other half of him, but it was too early to make that assumption. He barely knew her, and yet, he felt he'd known her all his life.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, noticing that he was staring off into space.

"Huh? Oh, nothing really." Then he chuckled inwardly. "I hope your sister's on the pill."

"I hope your friend has a raincoat," Cory giggled. "As much as Michelle wants kids one day, I don't think she's ready to settle down just yet."

Greg nodded. "I get that. So tell me about your dad. What's his racket?"

"He used to work for the FBI and then the DEA was formed and he became the director's aide for them. He wants me to follow in his footsteps because he says I have a good sense about people. But I can't branch out as well as I can with the FBI so he's a little pissed off. I've already been accepted into the program in the fall so I'll be doing my training at Quantico. It'll save us some money because I won't have to live on campus."

"Sounds good."

"What about you? I'll bet your parents are thrilled about your wanting to become a doctor, huh?"

Greg snorted. "Hardly. My mom is happy about it, but my dad expected me to join the Marines and follow in his footsteps. I wouldn't last two minutes in that environment. I have...authority issues," he grinned wickedly as he thought about all the teachers he'd managed to alienate in high school. "I've always been fascinated with medicine so that's what I'm studying. It's what I'm good at." He glanced at her. "What are you good at?"

"In general?"

"Yeah, besides roller skating."

"I've been in martial arts since I was five. I like being able to feel in control at all times. It's like having a secret weapon nobody knows about."

"I know now," he pointed out with a grin, playfully poking her side.

"Yeah, and now I'm going to have to kill you," she grinned back. "What about you, Greg? What's your secret?"

"You're sure I have one?"

"Everybody has at least one."

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed what it is by now, then. If you're so good at reading people."

"I think I've figured it out," she nodded, "but I want to know if I'm right. I can tell it's something that only Dave knows and he's obviously a very good friend or it wouldn't be a secret anymore."

Damn, she's good.

"Then enlighten me," he said as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

Cory cocked her head to one side. "You have high standards and morals. You do what you do because it's right, and you don't care or think too much about the consequences of your actions. You don't run from things, you face them head on and take no prisoners, and for that, people think you're a hard-ass but you're anything but. You're not as tough as you want people to think you are, and you have a romantic side that you don't want anyone to see because you equate romance as a side of weakness."

"There's nothing wrong with romance," Greg interjected. "I can be romantic when I want to be."

Cory smiled and brushed a curl out of her eyes. "I'm sure you can. Anyway, that's not the secret. I'm getting to that. The truth is, you're still a virgin because you haven't met the right girl and you don't want to invest all your emotions in the wrong girl. And since you've moved around so much growing up, you haven't been with anyone long enough to put the effort in and get to know them. It's not just about sex with you. You don't want to just do it because you can, and believe me, Greg, I doubt you have any problems getting dates but you don't date because you don't want to get hurt."

Greg felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as she spoke. Everything she said was right on.

"What are you? Some kind of psychic?"

Cory shrugged. "I'm not a mind reader, I just see what I see. Anyway, your secret's safe with me, and if it's any consolation, I'm a virgin too. So we're even on that score."

"Seems you and your sister aren't all that much alike," he chuckled as he gestured to the steamed up car windows in the parking lot.

"Michelle is older than me by three minutes, and the way she treats me, it might as well be three years."

"No shit?" Greg dismissed. "I thought you were the older one. You're way more mature than she is."

Just then, the car door opened, they could hear the music blaring from where they were sitting and Michelle waved at them. "C'mon guys. We have to book it home!"

Cory chuckled to herself as she stood. But her ankle gave way when she took a step and she wobbled. Greg managed to steady her, and then gestured to his back. "Hop on, M'Lady."

"Why thank you, Sir Gregory," she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he hoisted her onto his back. "Handsome and gallant. Such a rare find."

As he piggy-backed her across the field, they were both smiling by the time they returned to the car.