Teenage boys...
I own nothing...
"Madison Catalano! What are you doing?" Angela exclaims.
Maddie and one of Sharon's twins had their lips locked together when Angela had walked out on the patio. At the moment she isn't sure which twin it is.
The kids break apart guiltily. "Mom! I didn't know you were home." Maddie jumps up from where she was sitting to stand in front of Angela.
The twin, either Billy or Bobby, tries to move past Angela into the house. She puts her arm out blocking his path. "Wait a minute, Mister," Angela says to him. "Madison, you go to your room. I'll be up in a minute."
Maddie rushes into the house with her head down. The twin, who she's now certain is Bobby, shifts from one foot to the other. He seems to be really fascinated with the toe of his shoe.
"Bobby, you know better. You're almost two years older than her. She just turned 13." Angela watches as Bobby's face turns bright red. "You guys shouldn't be out here alone."
"I know, Angela. I'm sorry." He looks over at her. "You aren't gonna tell Jay, are you?"
She almost laughs at the terrified look on his face. "I have to tell him. We don't keep secrets. But if you promise me that this won't happen again, I'm sure he'll go easy on you."
Bobby says, "I promise. It was the first time and I started it. Don't yell at Maddie, ok?"
"I'm not going to yell at her. I'm going to talk to her, though. The two of you won't be left alone together, either." She watches as he fiddles with the plastic bracelet on his arm, the bracelet that Maddie had been wearing that morning. "You like her, don't you?"
"Yeah. But I know that she's still young. I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her." He takes a deep breath. "I just don't want you and Jay to be mad at her. She didn't do anything."
Angela decides to take pity on him. After all, he was her godson and she loved him as if her were her own. She pulls him into a hug. As her arms wrap around his thin shoulders, he lets go of the breath he seemed to be holding and relaxes against her. His arms go around her and hug her back. She squeezes him tight before letting him go.
"Bobby, I don't mind that you and Maddie like each other, but there will be rules. You do understand, right?" She watches his face as he nods. "I'll talk to Jordan about it."
"But why? He's gonna be mad at me. And he'll probably ground Maddie for life." He goes back to staring at his feet.
"He's not going to ground her. You should know by now that I'm the evil parent, not Jordan. And he won't be mad at you, I promise. Speaking of Jordan, where is he? And where is my son?" Angela asks, looking around the backyard.
"He's in the garage with Shane and Billy. Me and Mad laid Justin down for his nap a little while ago." Bobby looks toward the backdoor as if he expects Jordan to suddenly materialize and hurt him.
"Ok. You go hang out with them in the garage and I'll go talk to Maddie." Angela watches as Bobby disappears into the house.
She stands on the patio looking out at the backyard for a minute, trying to decide what she wants to say. She knew that this day would come, but she had no idea that it was going to be with one of Sharon's boys.
Angela, Sharon, and Deborah had been shopping for the double wedding that they were planning for the last weekend in September. They had talked about Sharon's boys getting ready for high school. Sharon was concerned that they would end up being like their dad, sleeping around.
Angela had tried to reassure her that both Billy and Bobby were good kids and that she didn't think they'd be careless. She didn't think they were really into sex or chasing girls. Now she was seriously worried that she had been wrong. Especially since it was her 13 year old daughter that she had caught with 14, almost 15, year old Bobby.
When did Maddie grow up on me? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was changing her diapers? Chasing after her? And now she's kissing boys? When did this happen?
"Here goes nothing," she mumbles to herself, before heading upstairs to have a talk with her daughter.
Angela was in the kitchen with Justin when Jordan and Shane finally came out or garage an hour later. Maddie was mad at her, so she was locked in her bedroom. Billy and Bobby were in the den watching college football with Jamie, who had shown up a while ago. Graham had dropped him off on the way to the restaurant.
Jordan leans over to kiss Angela's cheek as he heads to the sink to wash his hands. Shane makes himself at home and grabs a soda from the refrigerator before plucking Justin out of his walker and sitting at the table with him. Justin is happily cooing to his Uncle Shane, his new favorite person. Looking on at them, Angela smiles.
Jordan grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and leans on the counter beside her. "What happened with Bobby earlier? He came in the garage white as a ghost, not saying anything."
Shane looks up from Justin. "He was fine when we went out there. He and Maddie were playing with Justin on the floor."
Angela looks between Jordan and Shane. She takes a deep breath and blurts out, "I caught him and Maddie on the patio earlier."
Shane's eyes grow wide. "No shit?"
Jordan says, "What the hell do you mean, caught them? Doing what?"
"They were only kissing." Shane stands up from the table. With Justin in his arms, he starts walking toward the door. Angela puts her hand out to stop him.
"Shane, don't. I've already talked to him and he's embarrassed enough as it is." She tightens her hand on his arm. "He's scared of what Jordan is gonna think. Don't freak him out."
Shane jiggles a squirming Justin around in his arms. Frowning, he says, "Angela, she's just a baby. He needs to keep his damn hands off of her."
Jordan, still leaning against the counter, has his arms crossed over his chest. "What did he say when you talked to him?" His jaw clenched, he says, "How long has it been going on?"
Angela turns to Jordan. "He said he was sorry. That it was his doing. He said it was the first time they had kissed. I really don't think anything is going on, so don't get all pissy." She looks back at Shane. Both guys look extremely irritated. She doesn't think she could stop both of them if they went after Bobby. "You guys have to remember that he's still a kid, too. He's only 14."
"About to be 15. In just a few weeks." Shane leans against the counter on the other side of Angela. When Justin reaches for his mom, he passes him off to her. "I still think I should talk to him. He has to know that she's too young for him. And he waited until we were in the garage to make his move. Sneaky little shit."
"Seriously, Shane? They're together all the time. Here. At your house. At Dad's. He could have made his move anytime. It's not like he was trying to seduce her. They're teenagers. They like each other. They just have to be told the rules." Angela takes Justin back over to his walker and straps him in. As Jordan pushes away from the counter, she steps in front of him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go talk to him. I'm gonna tell him my rules." He starts to move around her.
"Jesus. Listen to both of you! It's not that big of a deal." She puts her hand in the middle of his chest, holding him in place. "Think about what you were like at his age. Weren't you doing the same thing?"
"That's exactly why I wanna talk to him. When I was his age, I was trying to get in everyone's pants. I'm not gonna let some horny little teenage boy make the moves on my 13 year old daughter. He's two years older than her." Jordan runs his fingers through his hair, huffing in frustration.
"You're two years older than me. Shane is two years older than Sharon. Hell, Brian is four years older than Danielle. What's your point?" Angela pushes him back toward the counter. Standing in front of Jordan, she looks at Shane. "I can't stop you guys from talking to him, but don't go and scare the shit out of him. He's not you." She looks at Jordan. "He's not you, either. He's a good kid. At least they have us to look after them. They've both been told that they can't be alone together. We have to trust them."
Jordan rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, he looks away. "So, I'm not supposed to say anything? I should just pretend like you never told me?"
"I didn't say that. I just don't want either of you going in there all pissed off. And not in front of Jamie and Billy, either. Don't embarrass him like that." She steps closer to Jordan, touching his arm. "Babe, just chill out. Talk to him after you calm down. Think about it. You've known this kid since he was born. He's your godson. You know he wouldn't try that with her. He looked scared to death when I told him I wasn't going to keep it from you."
"Fine. I'll do it your way. But I will talk to him. You can count on it." Jordan moves his thumb up to his mouth, chewing on it.
"What about you, Shane? You gonna leave it for now? Talk to him about it later? And the two of you better not gang up on him, either." Angela watches as Shane reluctantly nods. "I'm going to call Sharon and tell her. You both better behave yourselves."
She walks over to the bar and pulls her phone from her purse. Walking toward the backdoor, she says, "Jordan, watch your son. I'll be back in a minute." She leaves the two men brooding in the kitchen, Justin happily playing in his walker.
Later that night, Angela is sitting up in their bed rubbing lotion on her arms when Jordan comes out of the bathroom. He pulls the covers back and climbs into bed beside her. When she's finished with her arms, she starts to rub lotion on her leg. Jordan turns her so that her legs are draped across him and takes over.
"Me and Shane talked to Bobby." He feels her tense up under his touch.
"Jordan..." She starts to scold him, but he interrupts her.
"Just let me finish." He squirts lotion on her other leg and starts to rub it in. "We didn't corner him. After you went outside to call Sharon, he came into the kitchen where we were. He told us what happened and he said he thought maybe he should come to me, not the other way around."
"See. I told you. He's a good kid. You know, if she has to have a little boyfriend, at least it's him." When Jordan is finished with her other leg, she takes the lotion bottle and places it on the night stand.
"I know he's a good kid. But, babe, just the thought that he was kissing my little girl is enough to make me hate him. She's my baby. You can't blame me for getting upset." He pulls her to him and tucks her against his side with her head resting on his shoulder. "I couldn't help but think about everything I was doing at his age."
"I didn't say you couldn't get upset. I got upset. Do you think I wanted to go have that kind of talk with my 13 year old? I mean, we've had that talk and she's had to take sex ed. But seriously? She was kissing a boy on our patio." Angela reaches for Jordan's hand and starts twisting his wedding band around his finger.
"Well, I don't think we have to worry about Bobby. He probably won't even try to hold her hand now." Jordan chuckles to himself.
"What?" She looks up at him, but he just grins. "What did you say?"
"I didn't say nothing. I didn't have to. I just stood there with my arms crossed and let him do all the talking." He chuckles again at the memory of it. "Shane may have said a few things, you know about how he's gonna be his stepdad and all. And about how it would be legal for him to kick his ass. But I didn't say anything, I promise."
"Well, I remember what it was like when I had my first real crush. I would have been mortified if my mom had caught me kissing a boy, especially one that I liked." She sighs, thinking back to that time.
"How many boys did you kiss? And why am I just hearing about this?" He pretends to be put out by her admission.
"Not as many as you think. It was only like three or something. But I didn't really like any of them. One of them was a dare, too. That one doesn't count." She continues to sit with her head on his shoulder, playing with his hand. "But there was this one guy. I really liked him a lot."
She bites back a smile when he sits up a little straighter. "Really? Who was this guy, the one you really liked?"
"Oh, you know. It was just a crush. It started when I was just a little older than Maddie. I think I had just turned 14. He was a little older than me, too. And he was all cool and mysterious. I think that's what I liked so much about him." She keeps her head down, not wanting him to see her face.
Clearing his throat, Jordan says, "And you kissed this guy?"
She pretends to frown and looks up at him. "Why? You aren't jealous, are you? It was like almost 20 years ago."
"What? No, I'm not jealous. I'm just curious. And besides, you're the one that started this." He shifts on the bed so that he's facing her. "So, did you?"
"No, I can tell you're getting mad. Don't worry about it. It's not important, anyway." She watches as his eyes narrow.
"Why won't you just tell me?" he says to her, scowling.
"Fine, but only because you made me." She turns her body to face him, sitting with her legs crossed. "The first time he kissed me, well the first two times, wasn't that great. But the third time was magical. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips to mine. It was perfect." She sighs wistfully, mostly for effect. She watches as he tries to hide his irritation. "It didn't last long, though. He was a jerk after that, so that was the end of it." She shrugs her shoulders and sits looking across the bed at him.
His brows drawn together, he searches her face. "After all these years, you still remember how magical it was? So, you only kissed this guy like three times?" "
"Three times in the beginning. But after a while, I lost count. And he was really experienced, too. Some of them were totally hot." Angela fans herself with her hand as if to cool herself off.
"Huh? I thought you said he was a jerk? After he treated you like that you still let him kiss you?" He was definitely getting pissed.
"Well, yeah. I was totally infatuated with him. I don't regret one minute of it." She's really starting to enjoy this, but she can tell that she's about to push him too far.
"If you were so infautuated with him, and his kisses were so fucking wonderful, why didn't you end up with him?" He snaps, crossing his arms over his chest
"Who said I didn't?" she asks, cocking her head to the side.
"Oh, come on. You may have let this asshole kiss you, but that's all you did. I know that I was your first." His scowl deepens as he stares at her.
Angela smirks at him. "I definitely let him do more than kiss me. I even let him talk me into meeting him in the boiler room a time or two. And I was only 15 then."
Now Jordan just looks confused. "What? You said you'd never been to the boiler room before."
She can't help but laugh at him. "Baby, I'm just messing with you. You can relax. I was talking about you."
Jordan continues to stare at her for a few seconds before launching himself at her and pining her to the bed. Grinning down at her, he says, "That was just plain evil, Red. Now you must pay."
He lowers his head to hers and begins her sweet punishment.