Disclaimer: I don't anything/anyone you recognize in this story.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I didn't think it was that long. Stuff happened and yeah, my family's going through some stuff right now... anyways, there's no mention of any iCarly people in here, it's mostly Shorty's time in Long Beach. You don't have to read this chapter, but there's some foreshadowing in this chapter. It'll probably help you understand things in later chapters. Well yeah, g'night.

CHAPTER 10

I've been driving for a while now probably twelve hours or so, only stopping to get more gas, use the restroom, and/or buying something to eat. It's the longest twelve hours of my life but I'm too focused on getting to Long Beach to care. It's been three and a half months since I've seen my girlfriend, and nothing is stopping me from getting to her.

I miss her. Everything about her. Her touch; kiss; caress. Everything. The way her eyebrows meet together when shes concentrated on a book. The way her lips curve when shes smiling. The way her dimples form and goes away when she's chewing. The way I sit, with one arm on the back of the sofa, and she curls into me. The way her hand finds mine when we're walking side by side. The way her scent lingers in the room, long after she's gone. It's every little thing, from the big things to the little things, that I miss about her.

Keeping her deep in my mind I push down on the gas pedal a little harder and make my way to her.

I don't know where the idea came from, but I'm an hour and a half away from my destination when a thought hits me. We've never tried it before, and its never came across my mind at all, but I want to try something new. With that thought in mind I get off the freeway and search for the nearest mall and/or shop. I finally find a small shop after ten minutes of searching. I pull into the drive way and put the car in park. Before I shut the ignition off I dig into my front pocket and retrieve my cell phone. I wait two rings when she finally picks up.

"Are you here yet?" Jerika asks hopefully.

"No, sorry babe." I say with a chuckle. "I'll be there soon."

"How soon?" she sighs.

"I don't know. An hour and a half at most." I estimate.

"Where are you now?"

"I just pulled over somewhere." I answered vaguely.

"What are you doing there?" she asked suspiciously

"'Bout to buy somethin'," I answer, not bothering to go into specifics.

"Like what?" she pushes.

"You'll see." I tease. "Now get ready, we're gonna roll out as soon as I get there."

"To where?" she asks curiously. "I thought we were gonna stay in and you know... get reacquainted with each other." she says cautiously like there are people around her.

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for that." I say with a laugh. "I wanna go clubbin' tonight. I wanna get reacquainted with your ass." I say the last part huskily.

"But we could do that at home!" she whines.

"Please, babe?" I plead. "I wanna dance with you! I miss havin' your body pressed up on mine, all hot and bothered." There's silence on the other end and I know I'm winning. "I'll even throw in a surprise." I toss in.

"Alright, fine!" Hook, line, and sinker. Now I'm just reeling in my prize. "What's the surprise?" she questions.

"Got damn woman! You've asked like a billion questions and we haven't been on the phone longer than," I pulled the phone from my ear and put it in front of me to check how long we've been on the phone, "three minutes." I exclaim. "and plus, it's not a surprise if I tell you! You'll have to wait and see."

"Will I like it?" she asks like a little kid being promised a great gift. I look out my windshield and at the small yellow colored building.

"Of course," I reply, "Now go get ready." I demand.

"Ugh, you're whack." she says darkly.

"Oh yeah, babe?"

"Hmm."

"Why don't you wear your naughty school girl outfit," I practically growl out.

"Whatever makes you happy," she teases.

"You do." I say simply.

"I love you," she sighs dreamily.

"I love you, too." I smile. "I'll see you in a few."

"Bye."

"Later." When I hear her end of the phone click, I snap my phone shut and turn off the ignition. Swallowing a deep breath of air, I get out of the comfort of my Matrix and step into the shop. "Let's see what ya got." I say to myself before exploring the items.

--

Before I even pull into Jerika's driveway, her door swings open and she runs out of her house. I park a little clumsily, half on her lawn and the other half on the driveway. I don't even turn my car off, I just leave it on park. I throw my car door open and run out to catch her as we meet half way. I pick her up off the ground easily and her legs lock around my back, silently in the back of my head I hope she doesn't feel what I've got in store for her.

I just stand there, supporting the both of us, and bury my face into her neck; her hair, breathing in her scent that I love and miss so much. After a few minutes we both pull back and I stare deep into her hazel eyes.

"God, I've fuckin' missed you, ya know that?" I asked quietly, taking in her beautiful features. She put our foreheads together and nodded, making my head move up and down with hers. I smiled.

"I've missed you too honey." she says before slowly moving her head forward. We met half way and it felt like I died and went to heaven when our lips finally met again after so long. The kiss was slow and passionate at first, then it got more heated.

A cold breeze blew and I felt her shiver in my arms. Hesitantly, I pulled out of her kiss and away from her. I looked in between us and realized she was really wearing her naughty school girl uniform; red plaided mini skirt, tight white short sleeved button down shirt, white stockings, and black high heels.

"I'd take you right now." I growled out.

"I bet you would." she challenged with a smirk.

"I bet you'd want me too...," I trail off, "but we gotta get goin'." I gave her my own smirk when her jaw dropped. I gently let go of her legs but left my arms wrapped around her. I repeatedly gave her small pecks on the lips until she started kissing me back, then stopped.

"God, you're such an asshole sometimes." she exasperated before turning around to make her way inside the house. I give her a smack on the ass before she gets far enough and laugh when she yelps and soothes the pain with her hand. "Asshole." she looked at me over her shoulders and I just wiggled my eye brows at her, causing her to giggle.

I stand outside and wait while she gathers up everything she needs for tonight and turns off the light inside her house. I know if I go inside there, there's no coming back out... until tomorrow afternoon. I walk towards her when she comes out the door and locks it. When she turns around I gather her into my arms and place a soft kiss on her lips. "Hey!" I finally realize something, "you taste like," I pause to lick her lips, "my chapstick!" I accuse.

"Well duh," she states like I'm stupid, "we were just making out."

"No!" I deny, even though we were, "I bought a new chapstick. You taste like my Almond Swirl." I say darkly staring into her eyes.

"Okay," she admits, "maybe I sorta took your Almond Swirl before you left." she says sheepishly.

"I knew I didn't lose it!" I exclaim, "I was lookin' for it every where before I finally bought a new kind." I know I'm probably making myself look like a jackass for getting worked up over chapstick, but I like my lips to be smooth and delicious at all times. So sue me for wanting nice lips.

"I know, I'm sorry!" she says quickly. "I should have told you I took it, I just wanted something of yours close by. Every time we kissed you would taste like your Almond Swirl and I wanted to always remember the taste of your lips." she finishes off with a pout of her lips.

"Aw, babe." I say softly, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to get so worked up over this." I swoop in and give her a kiss. "But damn, I do taste good, don't I?" I ask playfully with another lick of her lips coaxing her to smile. With a silent agreement, I take her hand in mine and lead her to my 'skillfully' parked car. I open the passenger side door for her and make sure her luscious legs are in properly before closing it.

When I've reversed out of her driveway and have the car in drive I take her left hand in mine and smile when she moves our intertwined hand to her lap. We sit in companionable silence as I make my way to V20, a night club at the Pike in Downtown Long Beach.

Parking is always a problem at the Pike, but I found a relatively good spot a little ways from the club. While Jerika's in the passenger seat putting on some final touches of make up and fixing her hair, I take the time to get out of the drivers side and walk over to her side to open the door. I offer her my hand as she gets out of the car and in return she gives me a quick kiss on the lips. I cringe when I realize she's wearing lip gloss now, I'm about to swipe my lips with the back of my hand before she stops me and licks my lips instead. I stand there dumbfounded until she takes my hand in hers and starts leading us to the back of the line.

I snap out of my thoughts when I realize what she's doing. I stop abruptly, causing her to jerk backwards and into my arms. "Babe, you should know better than anyone that Shorty does not wait in line for anything." I say cockily. She just gives me a confused look. "C'mon." I say, leading her to the front of the line. People are staring at us as we pass them up and I don't care.

"SHAAAAAAAWTY!" the bouncer, dressed up in all black with sunglasses and headphones on, exclaims when he sees me. We give our signature hand shake then give each other one armed hugs. "It's been too long! Where've you been, G?"

"I don't stay in LB no more, cuhz. I moved up north." I tell him. I pull Jerika into me and motion to the bouncer, "You remember Franklin, my cousin, right?" I ask her. She just nods and I watch on as they exchange awkward looks.

"David's brother, right?" she finally asks. Frank just nods his head stiffly. I'm beginning to wonder what the hostile vibe is but Frank ushers us inside before I can ask. I watch on as Jerika goes inside before turning to Frank.

"We need to catch up, cuhz." He says, clearly trying to keep me from asking questions, and it's working.

"I know, imma be at your parents house tomorrow for Thanksgiving. You gon be there?"

"Of course, dumbass!" he exclaims, "I'm not gonna miss spendin' time with my family for nothin'," I laugh and fall into his open arms. "It's good to see you, cuhz." he says quietly into my ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I say pulling out of his embrace, "and good lookin' out." I motion to the club.

"No problem." With that, I walk into the club and was met with loud music.

--

We've been dancing for a couple hours now, only stopping to get drinks of water. We dance close, pressing our bodies together we become one. Sweat is dripping off of my forehead, down the side of my face, and drips off my chin like a leaky faucet. I pull her backside impossibly closer to me and groan when she grinds harder against me. I know she feels what's in my pants, that bulge is impossible to miss. I'm just surprised she hasn't said anything about it, but I have a feeling she knows what her surprise is.

Not being able to take it anymore I turn her around and grab onto her ass, pulling her flush against me. Hot skin on hot skin feels wonderful. "I want you," I said hoarsely into her ear, taking one of her hands and putting it on the bulge in my pants.

Before I know what's happening Jerika's dragging me off of the dance floor, out of the club, and pushing me into the drivers seat. I look over at her stunned and literally became wetter when she growled out, "Drive."

Nothing makes sense to me right now, like how she unlocked the car door and had me in it with the car already started, but I listen to her and take off. When we're at a stop light I look over to her and notice that she has her skirt hiked up and she's playing with herself. Before I even know what I'm doing I replace her hand with mine and start teasing her clit. Before I get to slip a finger in her, a car horn blows me out of my thoughts. Without removing my hands I step on the gas and make my way to her house. At every stop sign/light I would play with her, tease her. I loved how she moaned, groaned and whimpered.

"Open the garage door." she groans out. I listen to her and push the button on the remote thats clipped onto my visor. I pull my car inside and before I can even put the car in park she straddles my thighs and kisses me hungrily. I'm out of it, but I still take the time to change gears and close the garage door. I moan as I feel her hands frantically unzip my pants and pull out the strap on.

I don't know why, but seeing her handle a strap on is seriously turning me on. God, how I wish I had a penis right now, just to feel the sensation she could be giving me. I quickly move her thong to the side and bunch her skirt until it's all crumpled up on her stomach. She takes the strap on and aligns it with her entrance before I stop her.

"Wait!" I say breathlessly.

"What!?" she bites out. I reach under the seat and feel around for the lever, when I find it I pull it up and move the seat back to give us more room.

"Okay, now go." With that she slowly lowers herself onto the pink translucent strap on and moan out loudly when it's deep within. "You okay?" I ask quietly when she doesn't move for a moment.

Her answer is to wrap her arms around my neck and slowly move her ass up, pulling the dildo out of her. I kiss her and swallow her moan as she slides back down the shaft. After a few moments both of our breathing comes out in short pants and the windows are all fogged up. When she moves up, I grab hold of her hips and securely hold it in place, she gives me a weird look but I start an assault on her neck making her moan.

I get her off guard, when shes high in heaven, I plant my feet firmly on the floor mats and start penetrating her deep, hard, and fast. With each thrust of my hips a loud moan escapes her lips and I feel myself floating into a galaxy far far away. She's screaming, "I'm... baby, I'm... FUCK! I'M CUMMING!" I still penetrate her even after her head tosses back and her body curves into me. I take that moment to kiss along her exposed neck and stop what I'm doing to watch her chest move up and down with each breath she takes. I'm mesmerized; captivated by this sexy, sweat glistening skin, heavy panting side of her, and I was the one who did it. Me. I'm proud of myself.

I place butterfly kisses up her throat, to chin, along her jawline, cheeks, and stop when I reach her lips. I look deep into her eyes and its coated with desire. For me. I smirk and kiss her lips softly. I move my hips slightly and she gasps. I slip my tongue into her mouth and we tongue wrestle for dominance.

The light in the garage has been long gone, only staying on for five minutes before automatically shutting off, so when Jerika suddenly opens the door we're both blinded by the light over us in the car. I blink stupidly as she slips off of me, and take her hand when she offers it and slide out the car too. I watch as she bends over the drivers seat to turn off the ignition and pull the keys out.

"Where's Jenny?" I ask about her roommate. Jenny never really liked me much, said I wasn't good enough for Jerika and always asked why she wasted her time on me. I never really liked her either, she's a bitch and I always wondered why my girlfriend wasted time on her fake ass.

"She went to her moms house."

"When's she comin' back?"

"Day after tomorrow. Why?"

Before she stands up straight, I grab her hips and bend over her until I'm right next to her ear. "Ready for round two?" I whisper seductively into her ear and hear her purr in response.

--

As soon as I walk pass my cousins gate and step foot onto their yea, all hell breaks loose. It seems as though all of my cousins, young and old, knew I was finally there. Before I knew what was happening I was surrounded by half of my cousins, nieces and nephews (from my older cousins), and close family friends (that I basically call my cousins).

"Amanda!"-"Shorty!"-"Where've you been?!"-"I've missed you!"-"You're still short."-"You got FAT!"

I was being pulled left and right for hugs and questions so fast, I felt like my head was going to explode. When I looked up my eyes locked onto Jerika's eyes and I gave her an apologetic smile. We walked in together, hand in hand, before she was unwillingly pushed to the side by everyone.

Then I noticed her eyes shift away from mine to look over her shoulder. Getting curious I slowly turned around and was met with the spitting image of me, but mini-er. She was behind the wooden mail post, hugging it and staring at the scene curiously, obviously wondering what the commotion was about. A bright smile graced my lips when I saw her eyes widen upon seeing me.

"C'mere Nelly," I called out with open arms. When she got closer I knelt down on one knee and everyone surrounding me parted like the Red Sea. I hugged her tight, stood up, and spun us around slowly, causing her to giggle cutely.

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm pretty much a family person, very family oriented and I loved everyone of them with a deep passion. My family helped mold me into the person I am today. Even though I fucked up my life, they're still there when I need them the most. Well my cousins and stuff are at least.

"I missed you Auntie Manda!" My niece, Nelly, exclaimed as she wrapped her small arms around my neck and squeezed tightly, throwing in a kiss on my cheek for good measure.

"I missed you too, Sme-Nelly." I said, returning the kiss. Then I gently lowered her to the ground, "Look who else is here." I motioned to Jerika behind us.

"Hi Auntie Jerika!" she ran up to Jerika and hugged her leg.

"Hey Sweetie." Jerika ruffled her hair.

"Where's Uncle Dawid?" Now this question would totally be normal under any circumstances, but when it's directed at my girlfriend... that's another story. I frowned when everyone seemed to quiet down and the air seemed to tense.

"I don't know, Sweetie, I just got here." I was about to say something when Nelly took hold of my index and middle finger then tried to pull me down the driveway.

"C'mon Auntie! I know you're hungry! You always are." Everyone laughed and the tension seemed to disappear.

"Alright. Let's go eat then babe." With my free hand I reached behind me and found Jerika's without any problem then let Nelly pull us towards the backyard.

--

I've been here for a little over two hours now, and I still haven't seen my parents yet. I've seen all of my brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but my parents still aren't here. I'm happy that they're not here, but at the same time I'm sad.

My relationship with my parents was like a roller coaster, it's had its ups, downs, left, rights, and loopty-loops. We used to get along just fine, when I was a kid, but everything changed when I hit thirteen and they finally figured out that I wasn't going to change the way I was for anyone. I was their only daughter, and they were expecting a lot from me. So when I didn't change the way I was they started treating me like an outcast in the family.

I did everything I could to please them, to try and get their support. I joined the basketball and volleyball teams in middle school but they didn't go to any of my games. I was in orchestra, played the violin, but they never came to watch me play. I even got on the honor roll a couple of times, but nothing seemed to please them. It was like they were the Dursley's and I was Harry Potter, they just couldn't stand me.

I gave up trying to please them when I hit high school and started hanging out with Kevin and David. I started hating them for making me feel shunned in my own home and hung out with kids like me, kids who went or were going through the same thing I was going. I found another home.

They were still my parents, and some part of me still loved them no matter what. So when I finally bumped into my parents when I was walking out the back door to get something to drink, my heart started beating faster. "Uhh, hi?" I said uncertainly. My heart dropped when my mom gave me a once over and walked to where my aunts and uncles were sitting at, on blankets and playing cards.

"How have you been?" my dad asked in Khmer. At first I thought he was talking to someone else, probably someone standing behind trying to get out, but when I looked behind me no one was there. When I looked back at my father he was staring dead at me. I stepped fully out of the door and stood right in front of him.

"I'm doin' better." I replied back, also in Khmer. "You?" I felt something growing in my chest, something like hope. He was actually speaking to me and I was hoping life was going to get better.

"I heard you were doing better." he said, ignoring my question. "That's good. How's your aunt Rosie doing?"

"She's doin' fine." I answered slowly. "She has back problems, but she's good."

"How are things with you and that girl?" That girl has a name, I thought to myself. I felt anger slowly seep into my veins.

"Me and Jerika are fine." I said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, so you guys are still going out?"

"Yeah...," I trailed off. He scoffed. "What?"

"Nothing, that's just interesting to me, that's all." I felt a frown grow on my face.

"Why would it be interesting for?" I snapped in English. My relationship should not be interesting to anyone.

"Maybe the fact that she's been fucking behind your back?" he answered cooly.

"Shut up." I demanded.

"Did you honestly think a long distance relationship was going to work?" he questioned calmly, I felt my blood boil at how calm he was acting when he was easily pissing me off. "It's always one end of the relationship who tries to make it work and the other who goes around and cheats, that end is your girlfriend."

"You don't know what your talkin' about!" I yelled at him. "How dare you talk shit about my girlfriend! You have no right."

"I have every right! I'm your father." he spat.

"No! That's bullshit!" I screamed. "You stopped being my father the day you kicked me out of your house and disowned me." I heard gasps all around me. "I'm gonna marry her one day and you're gonna look stupid in front of everybody." I said with clenched jaws. When I finally took my gaze off of my dad I looked around and realized every one of my family members were standing around us.

I turned around and walked through back door, cutting through the kitchen and into the living room. I grabbed Jerika by the wrist and pulled her out of the front door with me.

The whole drive back to Jerika's was silent, not even the radio was turned on. I had questions flying in my head a hundred miles a minute. I don't know why, but some part of me actually believed what my dad said was true. No matter how hard I tried to push that thought to the back of my head, it stayed there, weighing me down. The fact that it felt like everyone was walking on eggshells around me didn't help my thoughts either.

Something was going down, everyone was keeping something from me, and I had a feeling I was going to be pissed when I found out what it was.

A/N: School is starting again on Monday. I was hoping to get more done for this story, but I've had writers block. Hopefully when school starts my brain will be more productive and I'll be able to update things more quicker.