Chapter 11
"Did I hear you right?" Keith had to pick his jaw up from the floor. "Did you just suggest I have sex with your roommate?"
"No, I absolutely did NOT." Laurie said vehemently. She should have chosen her words better. He'd completely misunderstood and she guessed she might understand why, but seriously what did he think, she was some kind of madam? "I just asked you not to avoid her."
"Explain." Keith said curtly.
"Keith, she's just so introverted and shy around guys. But, when she talks about you, well, she's a whole different person." Laurie searched for the best words to convey what she was asking. "I want you to be nice to her. Give her some attention so that when you leave, which you obviously will have to, she has some new confidence in herself. And maybe, just maybe, she'll start going out on dates. Meet Mr. Right. At the very least, have the opportunity to meet Mr. Right."
"So long as you don't have me earmarked as Mr. Right." Keith was a little nervous when that subject came up lately. What was it about people wanting to pair him up and marry him off? First his mom, then Dina saying she loved him and now Laurie putting his name and Mr. Right in way too close of a proximity for his comfort.
"Mr. Commitment-phobe you can put your running shoes away – for now." Laurie laughed. It was common knowledge that Keith wanted nothing to do with commitment. At least not in the near future. Oh, she knew he was close to Dina and that's why she'd asked her to come up with Skizzy, Gordy and Angie. She was hoping that Keith would pay some attention to Bonnie, but then get side-tracked by Dina. Bonnie wouldn't be upset knowing that Dina and Keith already had something going before she came along. Had Keith's head been turned by either Selena or Tiffany, Bonnie would have been devastated. But, someone who already had a claim on Keith? Well, that just made it impossible for Keith to act on any feelings he may have had for Bonnie.
Mission accomplished – Bonnie's feelings were spared.
"Oh, by the way, my roommates – all of them – are totally and completely off limits to you, brother dear." Laurie reminded him just as he turned on the ignition to head for home. "All except for a little flirting with Bonnie. Got it?"
"But…." Keith was about to argue that she couldn't put such beautiful women off limits without some type of reward.
"No buts. You are not to do anything with any of them. I do not want to look for new roommates next year." Laurie needed to be sure he understood. "Promise me, Keith."
"Fine. I promise." Keith answered and then wondered how he'd gotten the raw end of this deal.
xoxo
It had been after 1:00 in the morning when Keith and Laurie had come piling back into the house with Keith trying to tickle Laurie for telling him that all of his problems could be traced back to his 'pretty boy' good looks.
"Take it back or pay the piper." Keith said after chasing her around the kitchen table in the shadows as only a small light had been left on over the sink. Catching her, Keith pinned her in the corner between the wall and the cupboards.
"Not a chance, Pretty Boy." Laurie said bravely.
"Now you've asked for it." Keith went in for the kill.
Within seconds, Laurie was laughing so hard she could barely remain upright, but she refused to give in. She just kept trying to escape while gasping for breath.
They were both frozen in surprise when the kitchen light snapped on and a voice said, "I've got a weapon!"
"Don't shoot Bonnie. It's just me and Keith." Laurie gasped after quickly recognizing Bonnie's tense voice.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought we were being robbed." Bonnie stepped fully into the kitchen to see the brother and sister, wind-blown, but most definitely not thieves.
"By who, the Three Stooges?" Keith joked. "We were making enough noise to wake the dead."
"We're sorry for waking you." Laurie smacked Keith's arm for his sarcasm. She'd seen the embarrassed look pass over Bonnie's face. Not only because she was sleep mussed and frumpy looking but because Keith had teased her for thinking they were the worst cat burglars in the world.
"Right, sorry about the noise." Keith quickly apologized himself. So, this was roommate number 3. The one he was supposed to be making nice with to bring her out of her shell. Well, at least she was pretty. It wouldn't exactly be a hardship to flirt with her if only just a little.
"Oh, that's quite alright." Bonnie said while keeping the baseball bat she'd been holding above her shoulder - in a perfect batters stance - in one hand. Her other hand quickly reached up to her hair, wildly flying about her head. She was so used to it being tied back that her new loose style had her thinking she must look like a witch at the moment.
Keith's eyes had flown to her hair, but only because the color was so rich and vibrant, that it automatically drew the eye. Her hair color along with the pale porcelain skin that wasn't over-powered by the freckles that most red-heads suffered with, were a startlingly lovely picture. Danny would have been envious.
"Nice form on the bat. I'd have been worried if we had been burglars." Keith grinned.
"What?" Bonnie was losing her initial surprise at finding Keith and Laurie instead of burglars. However, instead of making her feel more relaxed, she was now starting to go from alarmed to downright star struck.
"You are going to put that down, aren't you?" Keith talked calmly to her hoping that she'd come to her senses before she accidentally swung the bat. "With your form, I'm sure you could deliver quite a blow."
Bonnie looked up at the bat as if it had appeared there out of thin air. Keith quickly went over to her and relieved her of the potential weapon. Her startled eyes flew to his face again and she blushed the darkest shade of red he'd every seen. But, with her fare skin, it was even more noticeable than it would have been on anyone else.
"Bonnie?" Laurie figured she'd better draw Bonnie's attention to her or she might just burst into flames in something akin to spontaneous combustion brought on by none other than her dear brother. "Earth to Bonnie."
"Hmmm?" Bonnie looked at her vaguely after tearing her eyes away from Keith's beautiful grin.
"Bonnie, I'd like you to meet my brother. Keith, this is Bonnie Newton – the last roommate you have yet to meet." Laurie decided that bringing the mundane introduction into the mix might give Bonnie time to recover.
She was wrong.
Bonnie's eyes flew back to Keith and then immediately fell to the floor. Now that she was no longer shocked into staring at him, she couldn't meet his eyes to save her soul. She mumbled what they both thought might be 'nice to meet you', but she'd said it so quietly that they weren't sure.
"If I promise not to steal anything will you shake my hand?" Keith extended his hand in the hopes of drawing her out.
Keith's joke caused Bonnie to peek at him through her lashes, blush, giggle and extend her hand toward his. Keith enveloped her hand in between both of his and held on until her eyes rose shyly to his; a shy but beautiful smile took over her face.
"You just stole her heart." Laurie muttered behind Keith.
"Did you say something Laurie?" Keith asked without taking his eyes off of Bonnie who was blinking a little slowly as if coming out of a dream.
"Not a word. Come on, let's all call it a night. It's late and you have a busy day tomorrow." Laurie reminded Keith.
"Where will you sleep? You can use my bed." Bonnie's offer rushed out and then she blushed all over again realizing how it had sounded like an invitation to sleep with her.
"He'll sleep on the couch." Laurie grabbed Keith's arm and pulled the two apart before Bonnie's heart was any more lost to her brother's charms; little as he'd used them.
Keith glanced over his shoulder at the silent girl watching him in awe and just shrugged as Laurie pulled him away.
"I told you to flirt with her, not leave her a puddle of mush at your feet." Laurie chastised in a whisper.
"What, I hadn't even started to flirt yet." Keith frowned at Laurie's accusation. He hadn't had a chance.
"Well, quit laying it on so thick. The poor girl didn't stand a chance." Laurie pushed Keith down onto the couch and threw the blanket and pillow she'd put in a chair earlier that night at him. "Hope it's comfortable enough."
"I could always just share someone's bed. I don't think Selena or Tiffany would mind sharing. Bonnie's already offered too." Keith teased Laurie knowing she was already put out by something he'd had no control over. He knew she'd rise to the bait quickly.
"Over my dead body, brother dear. Sleep. Here. Alone." Laurie commanded and then turned to walk away.
"Laurie." Keith waited for her to turn back. "I was only doing what you asked me to do."
He watched Laurie sigh and look away for a moment to gather her thoughts. While she did that, she saw Bonnie head upstairs. She waited until she was out of sight and then walked back toward Keith.
"I know and thank you for that. But, I may have underestimated her attraction." Laurie plopped down next to Keith who hadn't gotten back up but had moved the pillow and blanket to the side after Laurie had tossed them at him.
"You know something?" Keith waited for Laurie to look at him with a question in her eyes. "You're a really good friend."
"And, most of the time, you're a really good brother." Laurie freely admitted.
"I promise to treat her with kid gloves. I won't lead her on, just be nice. Remember, I have no desire for another scene like the one you walked in on with Gloria." Keith teased to get Laurie out of her pensive mood.
"Be careful. You saw her tonight. She's just so shy and innocent. And, you, well you're Keith Partridge." Laurie reminded him.
"Hmmm….you say that like it's a bad thing." Keith feigned hurt. He loved being who he was and doing what he did.
"From where I'm sitting…." Laurie left that one hanging and elbowed Keith in the ribs lightly.
"That does it." Keith leapt up from the couch for better leverage and proceeded to go back to tickling Laurie into submission.
Laurie's shrieks of laughter brought all three roommates down the stairs this time thinking that she was being attacked.
"Oh for Pete's sake will the two of you give it a rest." Selena laughed when they finally realized they had an audience and had paused in their play.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." Keith said quickly while keeping an eye on Laurie; he knew darn well she'd watch for an opening to pay him back and he wasn't surprised when he saw the pillow heading his way. At the last second he ducked and the pillow crashed into a lamp knocking it to the floor and shattering the base.
"Now look what you made me do." Laurie said without heat.
"Me? I was just standing here. Right?" Keith appealed to the three roommates who were all watching with fascination. "That was all her fault."
"But you ducked." Laurie accused and then continued the silliness. "That was a very inexpensive lamp and will be almost impossible to replace."
"Fine, I'll take you shopping at your favorite flea market tomorrow to replace it. Happy?" Keith sighed dramatically. "You know, one of these days, you're going to make me go broke."
"You two are completely nuts, do you know that?" Tiffany found their playfulness fascinating. She didn't have a brother of her own and was amazed at how close these two were.
"Thanks for noticing." Keith pulled Laurie close to keep her from grabbing anything else and throwing it. "It's a family trait and we're all very proud of it."
"Some of us are crazier than others." Laurie hugged Keith close before pushing him away. "Now, sleep. I am completely bushed."
"Yeah, I could sleep too." Keith admitted as a yawn surprised him.
"You've only been up a few hours." Selena reminded him in surprise.
"Yeah but it was almost non stop for three weeks before that. Sorry, I need my beauty sleep." Keith joked.
"I'll say." Laurie said and then quickly side-stepped Keith's grab for her in payback. "Alright, ladies, let's leave sleeping beauty to his bed. Or couch in this case."
"Remember what they say about payback Laurie." Keith said to her departing back.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Laurie scoffed as she herded her friends up the stairs.
xoxo
Keith woke up to hear Laurie shooing her roommates out of the living room and back into the kitchen. It had been a little disconcerting to realize that three females had been watching him sleep. Talk about living in a bubble. He was definitely not planning on staying at Laurie's the next night. He'd sleep on his bus or get a hotel room.
He snuck upstairs and took a shower to start his day. He knew he had a sound check in the late afternoon, but hoped to spend the rest of the day with Laurie. They'd only scratched the surface of catching up with each other on their drive the night before. If he was totally honest with himself, he probably missed Laurie more than almost anyone else in his family. Oh, he missed his mother, but there were certain things he just would not talk about with her. Laurie was his true confidant; his best friend and his sibling closest in age. They had a special bond.
After blow drying his hair, he packed up his duffle bag and carried it back downstairs and set it by the couch before heading into the kitchen. He'd take it out to the car and then explain to Laurie why he wouldn't be staying overnight that night. He knew she'd understand.
"Morning." He said to the room in general and then gave Laurie a quick kiss on the side of her head as he walked past to pick up a coffee mug. "I sure hope there's plenty of coffee."
"Second pot and it hasn't been touched yet." Laurie informed him while she flipped the pancake on the griddle. "I imagine you're hungry."
"More like starving." Keith admitted while he took his first sip. He glanced over to the table to see all three roommates watching his every move and flashed them a grin.
"When's the last time you ate?" Laurie frowned just realizing that he'd slept the day away the day before and she'd never thought to feed him.
"Hmmm….what day is it?" Keith joked.
"You haven't eaten in over a day have you?" Laurie accused and shook her head at his sheepish look. "Mom would have my head for letting you go that long without eating."
"Then we won't tell her." Keith suggested and then hoped to change the subject by involving the rest of the people in the room. "So, how did everyone sleep?"
His question got everyone to join in the conversation and took the focus off of him for which he was extremely grateful. He made a point to draw Bonnie into the conversation even though he could watch her face heat up each and every time his attention focused on her. Laurie's request might just be a bit harder than he'd thought. She really was terminally shy.
Keith pushed himself back from the table after stuffing in more than he would have thought possible. Laurie really had picked up their mom's cooking skills even if he would always tease her about her lack of cooking ability as long as he lived. Of course, she had a ways to go before she rivaled Angie's skill in the kitchen. Now there was someone with a gift.
"Alright, how does a stop at the furniture store sound." At Laurie's puzzled look Keith reminded her. "I need to replace that lamp."
"Oh, Keith, no, that's alright." Laurie pushed it off. "I threw the pillow."
"And I ducked. So, we share the blame and I still buy you a new lamp." Keith reasoned.
Laurie didn't figure it paid to argue as Keith would just send her one through the mail if she didn't let him buy it now, so she may as well give in gracefully and get what she wanted. "Alright, just let me grab my purse."
"I'll meet you outside." Keith nodded to the three women who really were probably three of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen in a room at one time; well, make that four when you added Laurie. Some things in life just weren't fair. Here he was, in the midst of so much bounty and he'd promised himself and his sister not to touch any of them. Oh, he knew he normally avoided dating any of Laurie's friends; it made family life much easier. But, in this case, he had just made three very beautiful women taboo. It must have been temporary insanity.
He grabbed his duffle and had it stowed in the trunk. He pulled his car out into the street and was waiting for Laurie with the car idling.
"In a hurry?" Laurie said as she climbed in.
"Yeah, I need to get away from all that temptation or I might just go crazy. You really are cruel for telling me they're all off limits." Keith groused as he pulled away. "Which way?"
Laurie gave him directions to one of the local furniture stores figuring if she didn't find anything she liked there, there were several more to chose from. "Sorry, but I've only put three females off limits to you. It's not like you don't still have thousands to choose from. Just leave my roommates alone. I have no desire to look for new roomies for the last few years of school. We get along and things are going really well."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Keith threw back their favorite answer to each other when there really was no argument they could make.
"Besides, what about Dina?" Laurie still hadn't figured out what had happened between the two of them. She remembered Skizzy telling her Dina had been pissed when Keith had left, but when she'd talked to her on the phone, she hadn't given anything away. And, she'd jumped at the chance to come up and see his concert.
"So, are we trying to find a duplicate lamp of the one that broke or are you looking to change the décor?" Keith changed the subject.
"I'm looking to change the décor just as much as you're looking to change the subject." Laurie laughed, but let it slide for now.
xoxo
Laurie, Selena, Tiffany and Bonnie all went to the venue early with Keith, with Bonnie being the lucky person to drive over with Keith. He'd asked her question after question so that she'd not felt uncomfortable. In fact, by the time they'd pulled into the parking lot, she'd been laughing and enjoying herself. Laurie had smiled to see her friend so happy when they'd pulled up right next to them in the lot.
Keith pulled his duffle out of the trunk and threw the keys at Laurie; she caught them in mid-air.
"What are these for?" Laurie wondered.
"I'll be staying on the bus tonight with the band. You don't mind housing my car for the night, do you?" Keith had forgotten to mention that he wasn't going to be spending the night while they'd spent the day together. Laurie, however, was pretty quick on the uptake. She quickly realized that Keith hadn't been the most comfortable at her rented house, so she just let it slide.
"Sure, I'm just surprised you trust me to drive it." She grinned.
"You already moved it once. I'm guessing you won't have too much of a problem." Keith teased back.
"Hmmm…guess I could use this to pick up guys later tonight." Laurie sassed back.
Keith just rolled his eyes and headed toward the stage door entrance. He knew that Laurie didn't need the help of his car to pick up guys.
xoxo
The girls all stood offstage and watched Keith join his band to run through several numbers checking sound levels on instruments as well as microphones. Keith cajoled Laurie onto the stage to jam with them. While she had a ball jamming with his band, Keith had spent a little time checking out the whole interior of the Gasthaus. He wanted to get a feel for what his audience would be seeing and hearing no matter where they ended up watching the show from. He wandered around while his band played a song through without him on stage with them. He rejoined them for the last few songs and then strolled offstage with the guys all horsing around behind him.
They all stopped with mouths hanging open when Keith stopped in front of Laurie's friends. "Guys, these are my sister's roommates." After looking over his shoulder at his bug-eyed band he quickly added. "Put your tongues back in your mouths and be nice."
Turning back to the girls he added. "They're mostly harmless, but they most definitely are not house broken so watch yourselves."
"Just who are you calling a dog, better look in the mirror" – "Takes one to know one" – "Speak for yourself" – "Eat shit, Partridge" and several other comments were all heard while Keith grinned.
"Told ya." Keith ducked a hand aimed at slapping him in the head. "Come on, let's get something to eat."
Keith led everyone back to the catered meal that was set up for them. They didn't have time to head out for dinner, but they needed to keep their energy level high for the two shows that would be given in a couple of hours.
As they all filled plates and found places to sit on the couches and chairs scattered around the room, Reuben finally decided to show up. He had Keith's costumes.
"Hey, Reuben!" Keith saw him first. "'Bout time you showed up."
"Keith, everything set?" Reuben was a little angry that he'd missed the sound check, but he'd been stuck in traffic. There'd been a major pile up on the freeway and he'd taken the chance to go to his apartment seeing they were playing so close to home.
"Yep, everything's good. Come on over and meet Laurie's roommates." Keith waved him over and made the introductions. Reuben said hi to everyone and then grabbed something to eat before joining in on their quick party.
xoxo
The girls had left the band with more than an hour to go before the show so that they could all get ready; especially Keith who liked some quiet time before each show to psyche himself up.
They took their seats and were soon joined by Gordy, Skizzy, Angie and Dina. Introductions were made all around with no one mentioning that Dina was anything other than a friend.
As the crowd filed in, the house lights soon dimmed. The crowd began to buzz in anticipation with Laurie getting a little shiver of anticipation herself. She loved watching her brother perform.
The sound of a guitar began to fill the auditorium. The first guitar was soon joined by another and then suddenly a primal scream brought goose bumps to everyone. A bright spotlight found Keith onstage and they tore into their first number; Fix of Your Love. They didn't let up for more than an hour and a half; playing most of his songs from both of his solo albums.
By the time they were done, Keith was drenched in sweat and the whole place was totally involved in the show. Keith said goodnight and headed offstage with his band. The crowd cheered for the hoped for encore.
After only a few minutes, Keith came back on stage by himself, carrying just an acoustic guitar. He approached the microphone, where a stool had been placed while the stage was dark. He hadn't done much talking to this point, and the crowd quieted slightly in anticipation.
"Thank you for that great welcome. We're going to do something a little different for you, but first, I need to get a little help." Keith propped his guitar against the stool and, grabbing the microphone, headed toward the front of the stage. "I'm not sure if any of you noticed or not, but my sister just so happens to be in the audience tonight."
A spotlight found a very surprised Laurie immediately and she was tempted to sit in her seat; something no one had done since the show had started. They'd all been standing, dancing and cheering.
"I hope you'll all help me into coaxing her onstage. What do you say Laurie?" Keith grinned wickedly at her. He knew she'd be angry as she hadn't performed in front of an audience in about a year and had no idea he'd had this planned all along. It was the reason he'd asked her to jam with his band.
Gordy and Skizzy had moved to either side of her and started moving her forward. Keith reached down, grabbed her hand and pulled her up while Gordy and Skizzy each helped lift her. Within seconds, she was standing in the glare of the lights with her brother who moved the microphone aside and laughed. "Payback's a bitch, sister dear." Keith threw one of her favorite endearments right back at her.
She could do nothing but smile through gritted teeth.