One more chapter to go! With Alvin and Simon rocking it in Vegas, what happens when somebody returns into their lives? I don't own AaTC, Rain Man or the song that appears in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: I Want To Know What Love Is

The penthouse suite that Alvin mentioned was just one room, but it was the biggest thing that Simon had ever seen in his life. It was even bigger than the two rooms at the hotel they spent their first night together. In fact, this room had plenty of accommodations to house even a family of human-sized chipmunks.

"That girl, Iris, right? She must really like you," said Alvin as they got settled down. "You know, I've never even seen you in a fancy suit before."

"But it's not from K-Mart. Definitely not from K-Mart."

"How can you not like that suit? You look great, Simon."

"Of course, it's not from K-Mart."

"Simon, I'll let you in on a secret. You know why I don't shop at K-Mart? Because K-Mart sucks. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Alvin threw himself on the bed, heaving a sigh of relief. "I have to thank you, man. You just saved my ass, Simon. I owe you big time, you know that?"

"Yeah."

"And look where we are now, Si! I've got your bed by the window, just the way you like it. You are Mr. Las Vegas! What do you think, huh?"

Simon peered out at the glass balcony. "There's a lot of lights out there. It's very sparkly."

"We sure made a lot of money today, didn't we Simon?"

"Yeah."

Alvin sat up a little straighter. "Oh, and speaking of that, I... wanted to say that I'm sorry about losing that 3 grand at the Wheel of Fortune."

"Yeah," said Simon, just staring deadpan.

"No, I really mean it," said Alvin. "I got a little carried away. Too greedy, you know? So... what I'm trying to say... is that I want to apologize, Simon. I'm really, really sorry."

"Yeah, Wheel of Fortune."

Alvin took off his cap and ruffled his hair a bit. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better, Si?"

"I have a date. With Iris," replied Simon.

"A date? Oh, that's great," said Alvin, glad to change the subject.

"I have a date with Iris at the bar. 10 o'clock."

"Are you gonna dance with Iris? Do you dance, Simon?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know how to dance?"

"I don't know."

Here's a chance to redeem myself, thought Alvin. "Would you like me to teach you?"

"Yeah."

So Alvin got up and turned on Simon's portable TV. He flicked the channels until he came to one with an orchestra playing in the background. He walked over to Simon and put his right hand on his brother's waist. Simon recoiled slightly, but Alvin looked him gently in the eye.

"Simon, if you're going to learn how to dance, you've got to touch somebody. That's how we dance, okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"Yeah." And Simon's hand found itself around Alvin's waist.

"Now since you're the guy, you're gonna have to lead. I'll be your date, so what you do is put your right hand by my waist." For the first time since Simon had barely got into body contact, Alvin got to experience his brother's grip. It was a little unsteady, yet gentle altogether.

The music was slowly building up into a song as Alvin and Simon slowly swayed to the gentle rhythm.

At last, my love has come along

My lonely days are over

And life is like a song

"Watch me, Si," said Alvin. "Just move your body to the music. Move your feet."

Oh yeah, at last, the skies above are blue

My heart was wrapped up in clovers

The night I looked at you

"Now when you're dancing, you can't stare down at the floor the whole time. So when I tell you to, look up, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Just slowly look up."

Simon's gaze moved from Alvin's feet until his blue eyes stared back into his brother's.

I found a dream that I could speak to

A dream that I can call my own

I found a thrill to rest my cheek to

A thrill that I have never known

"You're doing great, Simon," smiled Alvin.

Oh yeah, when you smile, you smile

Oh, and then the spell was cast

"Now this is dancing."

"Yeah, this is dancing," repeated Simon.

"I don't know about you, Si, but I'm starting to feel a little silly."

And here we are in heaven

For you are mine, at last

Both chipmunks were smiling by the time the song came to an end. They broke apart and laughed. "Alright! You're a great dancer, Simon!" applauded Alvin.

"Yeah."

"You wanna give me a hug?"

"Yeah."

Alvin put his arms around Simon. But the moment he did so, Simon screamed in terror and pushed Alvin back.

The red-clad chipmunk was stunned for the moment; he looked like a sad puppy abandoned on the streets. "I just wanted to give you a hug, Simon."

He was saved from the uncomfortable silence as the doorbell rang.

"Guess that'll be room service," said Alvin to himself, still feeling hurt and rejected.

Seconds later, all that changed when he opened the door to reveal a familiar face.

"Brittany!" exclaimed Alvin. "What are you doing here?"

The chippete was just as happy as her boyfriend was to see each other again. "I did a little sneaking about. Then Lenny told me you were in Vegas," she said.

"Well, it's great to see you again!"

"And I heard about the business." Brittany sounded a little sad. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Come here." Alvin pulled Brittany into an embrace and a kiss. "I missed you so much, baby."

"I missed you too, Alvie."

"Hey, Simon!" called Alvin. "Guess who's here?"

Alvin and Brittany were lying side by side on the master bed; they had left Simon with the huge plasma screen TV even though he was perfectly content with his portable set.

"It's not right – what you're doing with Simon," frowned Brittany.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," reasoned Alvin.

"I mean, he's in Las Vegas earning big bucks, dressed in a fancy suit. Doesn't that make him uncomfortable at all?"

Alvin was about to reply when Simon burst in, clutching his miniature TV.

"Six minutes to my date. Six minutes to Iris."

Five minutes later, Simon and his TV found themselves downstairs at the bar, with Alvin and Brittany to accompany him, and to catch up on old times.

"Simon, why are you carrying that TV with you? You don't need it for your date," said Alvin.

Brittany, however, tried to be on the constructive side. "Uh Simon, what does Iris look like?"

"She's beautiful. Looks all sparkly. Like a holiday."

Two security guards who had been watching them for a while suddenly approached Alvin. "Mr. Seville, come with us," said one of them in a commanding tone.

"What did I do wrong?" asked Alvin.

"Our manager would like to see you. NOW," said the other in reply.

Alvin raise both hands in agreement, then he turned to his girlfriend. "Brittany, why don't you stay with Simon? Just watch him for a while till I get back, okay?"

"Sure."

As Alvin left the scene, the chippete glanced worriedly at Simon, who didn't seem in the least bit at unease.

"It's one minute after ten," said Simon.

"Don't worry, she'll come..."

The head of security, a Mr. Kelso, was now encircling Alvin as though the chipmunk was a horse for sale. "Congratulations, Mr. Seville. I don't know how you did it, but you've managed to beat our casino system. A little too close for comfort, I think," he sneered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," defied Alvin, folding his arms.

"Mr. Seville, we've rigged up CCTVs earlier on to monitor your card games. Then we analysed them and even share some of the information with other casinos. The footages we have suggest you take your winnings and get the hell out of here."

"With all due respect, Mr. Kelso, somebody has lady luck shining down upon him and you accuse them of illegal activities? Is that the way you treat your customers?" Alvin fired back.

Mr. Kelso leaned forward until his eyes bore straight into Alvin's. "Just keep your mouth shut and walk out, vermin. I'd say those are the best odds you have in your hand right now..."

This was definitely a fight Alvin knew he had to back out before the wildfires grew out of control.

Meanwhile, half an hour had passed in the bar, and there were still no signs of either Iris or Alvin.

It was getting late, so Brittany gently nudged Simon and the two chipmunks left the bar and waited by the elevator. Perhaps Alvin would be back in their suite by now.

"Did you want to dance on your date, Simon?" asked Brittany.

"Yeah."

Simon didn't look sad, but Brittany thought he could use do with some cheering up. "Don't worry. They'll be plenty of other dates for you."

"Yeah."

"Plenty of girls will want to dance with you. It's gonna be okay, Simon."

"Yeah."

The lift arrived with a ping and they got in. As Brittany watched Simon who never took his eyes off the TV screen, an idea popped into her head. She pressed the emergency button, which brought the life to a sudden stop.

"Uh oh, uh oh. Elevator's stopped."

"I like this music," smiled Brittany as she pointed to Simon's TV.

"Uh oh, elevator's definitely stuck."

"It's okay. Do you think you can show me how you were going to dance with Iris?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like to dance with me?" asked Brittany.

"Yeah."

Simon put the TV down and placed his hand around Brittany's waist, just like Alvin taught him to. They waltzed around in that enclosed space, where time seemed to have froze except for the ongoing tune of the music.

"You're very good," smiled the chippete, breathing in the male aroma that was Simon.

"Yeah. Alvin Seville taught me."

Brittany chuckled lightly. "Alvin taught you how to dance?"

"Yeah. Dancing in the elevator."

Simon and Brittany swayed for what seemed to feel like eternity, when the chippete asked all of a sudden, "Have you ever been kissed before, Simon?"

"I don't know."

"You mean, you've never been kissed before?"

"I don't know."

"Okay. Open your mouth."

Simon opened his mouth wide, but he looked like a patient getting a check up at the doctor's.

Brittany chuckled. "No,no. Lower, like you're tasting something. Something very good and soft." She leaned closer to Simon until their lips finally touched. Their mouths slowly explored each other's, as subtle as a lover's touch.

"How did that feel?" asked Brittany once they pulled away gently.

"Wet," replied Simon.

"Then we did it right."

The chipmunks laughed. "Iris sure missed out on a good date," smiled Brittany.

"Yeah."

"And a kiss," she added.

"Yeah. Definitely a kiss."

Morning came and it was time to hit the road once more. Only this time, Alvin had promised he would let Simon behind the Buick's wheel with no hesitation.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Brittany, who sat next to Alvin in the back seat.

"Of course, I'm an excellent driver," said Simon for the hundredth time.

"Don't worry, he's good on the driveway," reassured Alvin.

And true to his word, Simon drove that Buick like a professional all the way to Brittany's apartment, which happened to be a mile's drive to Alvin's home.

Once they arrived, Alvin got out to see Brittany in and told his brother to scoot over to the passenger's seat - Alvin would drive for the remaining of the journey.

"I'll call you immediately after Simon's hearing," promised Alvin as he escorted Brittany to the door.

"Don't worry Alvin, it's gonna be fine."

"I know – I'm just a little nervous."

"Oops, I almost forgot!" Brittany went back to Simon.

"Thank you for that date in the elevator, Simon," she whispered so that Alvin wouldn't hear her. "It was really nice."

"Yeah."

She gave Simon a quick peck on the cheek and bid him goodbye.

"What was that about?" asked Alvin when Brittany returned.

"Nothing. It's just a little secret between us," she said.

"I'm really glad you came to Vegas," smiled Alvin as he locked lips with Brittany. "I'll make it up to you when this is all over, I promise. I love you, you know that?"

"I love you too, Alvin."

As the Buick drove off into the horizon, Brittany waved at the two chipmunks that brought meaning to her life. In her heart, she silently prayed that Alvin was right, and he would win his brother's case...

To Be Continued...

Will Simon remain with Alvin, or will he go back to Dr. Theo? Stay tuned for the conclusion!

As always, please read and review! :)