Note: Hello people, thank you for the reviews...major shout out to ksha. That meant a lot to me . . . ^_^. The last chapter, I forgot to make a disclaimer.
There is a such thing as the Dixieland Mafia, or was, but I'm not sure if it still exists. Everything else concerning it came from my cranium. Well
anyway, chapter 9!
The next day, Harry had gotten some tickets for a Boardwalk tour that would last relatively the whole day. Leaving the house at 10:45, the four drove to the hotel the bus was meeting in front of.
The tour bus was a double decker and all red. They sat on the top deck with M.J. sitting with Harry and Kristi sitting with Peter. They saw the Ripley's building, went to Planet Hollywood, the Trump Casino, and Warner Bros. Store. Along the road, the guide would point out the places that were the basis of the Monopoly game and stop at them. Each site had a special plaque explaining the site and when it originated.
It was five o'clock when the tour finished. The four got off of the bus and walked along the boardwalk stopping at different shops for about an hour. M.J. spotted a Japanese restaurant called "Akio Sushi Bar". "I've got a coupon for here from that store down the street as a gift. Thirty percent off of any meal or special here. I am kinda hungry." The only thing they had was lunch and that was at eleven at McDonald's. "C'mon ya'll, let's eat here," she said as she started for the door.
Harry's eyes widened toward the building. "Sushi? Raw fish?"
M.J. nodded her red head. "Yeah."
He shook his head with a chuckle. "Sorry, but I don't feel like being an E Boli. candidate."
Peter jumped in. "Actually I've tried it before. It's not that bad."
Kristi turned toward him wide eyed. "Parker, you had raw fish?"
"Yeah Devun," he threw back with humor. "It's good. Let's try something new . . . expand your horizons."
M.J. stepped by Peter, linking her arm with his. "I'm game," she said with her all-knowing smile. Peter glanced at M.J.'s arm for a moment before turning his gaze back to Kristi and Harry.
Kristi watched M.J. in humor. 'What was she set on trying to prove?' Kristi thought to herself ruefully. It took every strand of strength she had not to roll her eyes at the sight.
Peter handed his arm out for Kristi. Being urged by his eyebrows, she shrugged her shoulders while taking his arm. "I guess I am too."
M.J. nudged Harry with her free arm. "C'mon Osborn." Then she gave him a puppy face...
How could he resist?
Sighing hard, he linked his arm with M.J.'s free one. "Okay fine..."
"Great." Peter broke his and M.J's link when they were about to go through the door. M.J. gave him a funny look, but soon turned around and walked with Harry.
Peter eyed M.J. carefully. He could honestly say that he had never met someone with such odd actions. His gut was telling him that she was flirting with him. His small shallow side perked up at the thought of that. She wanted him and he knew it, but it appeared to him that she just wanted him to fall all over her, never going to someone else, but just always be there. She didn't necessarily WANT him, but she wanted to have him. His shallow side thrived on this. She was so . . . wanting.
Even now, as he stood there, with her arm recently removed from his, he still couldn't completely figure her out. The rational part of him thought the whole wanting explanation was it, something else in him thought otherwise. Its reason was still cloaked with uncertainty, but it lurked in the shadows of his head anyway. Then he looked to Kristi...
Humor is very easily read on her face. Her facial features contour easily to show a change in emotion. Though there was humor, there was also a cloud of other things on her face, as normal. Everything else was so jumbled together that it was impossible to figure out what she was thinking.
When they walked into the wooden building, their eyes were met with exotic flowers surrounding the front of it. When they entered the foyer, they heard soft oriental music playing on the air. From the foyer, they walked to the main room. There were no glass windows in that spot, but there were paper ones with flower shapes on them. A tall man with oriental facial features stood before them. He had on a white, buttoned up shirt with black pants. Nodding his head slightly to them, he said, "Welcome to Akio Sushi Bar. How many are in your party?"
Harry, as usual, spoke for them. "Four."
He nodded his head to them again. "Very good. Follow me please." The room had soft lighting, made possible by the red lanterns, each with a different design, hanging up around the restaurant. They walked down three steps onto a wooden floor. The host led them to a green, wooden table with four chairs around it. Siting down, the host handed them their menus and said quickly, "Your waiter will be out shortly."
M.J. looked around with wide eyes. "See? Isn't this nice?"
Harry nodded his head carefully. "Sure, it's just the food that's going to bother me." On the table, each place setting had a square, b lack plate. There was a small bowl next to it. "They sure do expect you to eat little," Harry said while eyeing his plate. "This looks like stuff for an oriental tea party."
M.J. hit him softly on the hand. "Stop being so negative about this."
He held up his hands in defense. "Who's being negative? I was just making an observation." He draped his arm around M.J.'s chair while pointing the other at the black squares. "Small plates."
Kristi looked beside her plate. "Oh cool! You get chopsticks!" She picked them up quickly and undid the wrapping that surrounded them.
Peter turned to her slightly. Propping his chin up with his hand, he asked, "Have you ever had sushi?"
She shook her head while placing the chopsticks correctly in her hands. "Nope. I'm like Harry, all my meats, fish, and poultry were cooked my whole life."
Peter nodded his head slowly, eyeing her furrowed in eyebrows. "I think you'll like it."
Biting a bottom lip, she said, "Maybe I will." Trying out a swift movement, she was assured her chopsticks where in working order. She looked up from her fingers and demonstrated her chopsticks. Grinning at Peter, she said confidently, "I got this." Peter shook his head toward her and smiled back. Kristi's eyes lit up for a quick moment, but she brought her eyes back to her chopsticks.
M.J., witnessing this, rolled her eyes quickly and started a conversation to stop it. She cleared her throat loudly. "When I come for sushi, I always get Crunchy rolls and-"
Harry held up his hand. "Crunchy rolls? That just don't sound right if it's raw."
"Well, it's not all raw fish. Crunchy rolls are made out of crab meat." Glimpsing at his disgusted face, she said quickly, "I think you'll like it, seriously Harry."
A short man of about twenty walked to their table with four bowls. He placed them down in front of each person and pulled out a spoon for each of them. Nodding his head slightly, he said, "Hello and welcome. I am your waiter, Shawn."
Kristi looked at the bowl cautiously. It had a greenish tint to it with cut up green leafy parts and white chunks in it. Looking up slowly, she pointed to the bowl. "What is this?"
M.J. spoke up before the waiter could. "This is Miso soup."
Smiling slightly, she just nodded her head. "Right..."
"May I get your beverage orders?"
M.J. went first. "I'll have water."
Then Harry. "Diet Coke."
Then Peter. "Pepsi."
Lastly, Kristi. "Root beer."
Shawn nodded his head to them again. "Okay, I'll bring your drinks out momentarily."
Everyone's eyes fell onto the menu. Taking a deep breath, Harry said sarcastically, "Well Sushi queen, what do you recommend?"
M.J.'s eyes ran across the menu. "Crunchy rolls and Philadelphia rolls."
Peter gave her a surprised look. "You like Philadelphia rolls?"
One of M.J.'s problems with Peter was that not a lot of common ground could be found. Going on a limb and denying one of her favorites, she said while taking a sip of her soup, "Well . . . they're okay I guess, but I figured Harry might like them because they have cream cheese in them, and we all know how much he likes cream cheese."
Harry scoffed while looking at his bowl. "Not with raw crustacean." Turning to Peter, he asked, "You?"
"I was never too fond of Philadelphia rolls. I like the Snow crab rolls, Alaskan rolls, and California rolls."
Harry never lifted his head up from his bowl until he saw a bubble come to the surface. "Um . . . is this stuff good?"
"I love it," M.J. said quickly.
Peter shook his head. "Not too fond of that either. I'm not into the whole tofu thing."
Harry pointed into the bowl. "That's what those white chunks are floating around?"
"Yeah."
Harry put his nose to the bowl. "It smells like bacon." Dipping his spoon in it, he took a sip. "Tastes like it too."
Peter looked at him oddly. "It has no meat in it."
"Maybe they use the juice or something."
M.J. scoffed toward Harry. "That's sick Harry."
He smacked his lips together. "It's pretty good." The waiter came back with their drink orders. While he passed them out, Harry glimpsed toward Kristi, who was sitting in her seat being quiet. "Do you like your soup?"
Taking her drink from the waiter, she said with shrugged shoulders, "I'm not a bacon fan, so I put my spoon down when you said it tasted like it."
"Oh . . . well...pass it down then! No use in wasting Mino soup."
"Miso," M.J. corrected.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."
"Excuse me," the waiter said while clearing his throat. "Are you ready to order?"
Harry looked at the menu and then back to M.J. and Peter. "Why don't you two order for us?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine with me."
M.J. looked up at the waiter. "How many rolls are there in every order?"
"Six every roll type. On the Nigiri, its four. They are a little wider than a half of dollar and are very filling. If you are interested, there is a special going on. Any seven type sushi combo for only 63.99. The rolls are smaller, but you get eight and six instead of six and four. It would be much cheaper than getting different orders of each of them."
M.J. spoke first. "That'll work. Um...I would like some Crunchy rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and Yellow tail rolls."
"Very good." The waiter turned his attention to Peter who was eyeing the menu carefully.
He glimpsed over the menu before speaking again. " Okay, from the Nigiri Sushi section, I would like some smoked Salmon. From the other side, I would like the Snow Crab, California and Shrimp rolls."
"Is that all?"
Peter glimpsed over the menu quickly before nodding his head. "I think so."
"Okay then. Your order should be out soon."
When the waiter left, silence claimed the table. Peter glimpsed between M.J. and Harry curiously. They were saying something amongst themselves. 'No use in breaking that convo up...' he thoughts to himself. His tore his eyes away from the couple and let them fell on Kristi's face.
Kristi had been quiet the whole time. She was too busy having her mind flash everywhere it could. She was dazing off a lot more. Her eyes would catch something and then just stare off into an oblivion. Sometimes it fell on M.J., then Harry and lots of times it fell on Peter. Her mind started wandering on telling her feelings which was NEVER good thing for her.
"I got the shrimp rolls for you, since I know how much you like shrimp," Peter said in a whisper.
Shaking her head, she said, "Hmm?"
"The shrimp rolls. I ordered them for you since you like shrimp so much."
Giving a small smile, she said, "Thanks." It got quiet between the two of them again. For once, there was nothing Kristi had in her head to start a conversation with . . . not out loud anyway. Everything sounded better in her head.
Did she want to tell? What had she told M.J. earlier, "Curiosity is a killer"? She made a small sigh. This was more than curiosity; it had to be more than curiosity. She thought it would be interesting to tell him, but something in her liked keeping this. The mere thought of knowing something that someone else doesn't know felt good for some reason. Something reasoned with her that she shouldn't say anything. And that she-
"Yo Kristi?"
Kristi shook her head quickly and looked toward Peter. "Huh?"
He tickled her side playfully."You dozing over there? That bus ride must have tired you out."
Squirming from his touch, she said in a chuckle, "I'm not sleepy, just . . . out there."
He raised an eyebrow toward her. "Did you have some of that salt water taffy? I'm telling you, they put something else in there..."
"It's all a conspiracy right?"
"You know it. All concocted by the Dentist industry. Just like how they are behind Halloween."
Kristi was about to say something else, but their food had arrived. Each sushi type was served on what looked like a miniature wooden tray. Everyone
took their pieces and ate, discussing only what everything tasted like and whether they liked it or not.
M.J. eyed Harry with a huge grin on her face as he "inhaled" each roll one by one. Kristi had her camera out and took a picture of him. He was scarfing the food down like there was no tomorrow. M.J. laughed at him. "I knew you would like it."
Dipping the roll in soy sauce, he said with a quick nod. "It's great stuff."
Peter was about to get his second Crunchy roll, when he turned to Kristi."How are your rolls?"
Kristi eyed the shrimp incased in rice-covered seaweed on her plate. "The Crunchy rolls and California rolls are pretty good. I love the shrimp though. It's not that bad." She picked up her roll and took a bite of it.
Peter laughed at her as the seaweed dangled from her lips. "I told you you would like it."
Chewing slowly, she nodded her head in agreement. During the meal, Kristi took pictures of Harry and M.J., then one with Peter in it. Harry grabbed her camera and took a picture of her and Peter. It was funny the way he went about it. He acted like he was a professional photographer, telling them to scoot closer, push strands of hair back, don't slouch, just lots of things.
By the time the meal was over, it was 7:40. When the waiter came back with the check, Kristi asked him to take a picture of all four of them. They were on their way to where Harry had parked the car for the tour when Peter commented on how many rolls Harry brought back with him."Did you bring enough Alaskan rolls?"
"I only brought two with me."
Peter added in, "And then you brought a Crunchy roll."
M.J. joined in. "And then a Shrimp Roll."
Kristi added in a quip. "And two California rolls."
Harry held up his hands in defeat. "Okay! I get the point! It's your fault. You got me hooked on them." Harry glimpsed down at his watch. "It's almost eight now, what do ya'll want to do?"
"We can go clubbin'," M.J. suggested.
Harry reached for the sky to stretch his arms out. "That's cool, I gotta work the food off."
"Okay. Well, what places are good here?"
"I dunno. Let's go back home, get changed, and maybe we'll see a place on the way."
They found the car and went back to the beach house. M.J. changed into a baby blue halter top with matching skirt and white strapped heels. Her crimson hair was combed down to cascade over her shoulders. Kristi changed into a tan, shimmery shirt that wrapped in the front. She wore a black, leather skirt that fell at her knees with slits on both sides and brown boots. Her hair, still straight from flat ironing it earlier that morning, was put up in a brown clip.
Harry changed into a dark red silk shirt open in the front with a gray shirt underneath it while wearing some black pants and shoes. Peter had on an indigo shirt buttoned up half way with a white shirt on underneath. His pants were black and so were his shoes.
It was almost 11 when they left the house. They drove around for thirty minutes until they saw a club that caught their eye, Club 430. It was called 430 because it stayed open until 4:30 in the morning. When they got there, it took 15 minutes to park and another ten minutes to get in. The place was packed with music pulsating off of its walls. As soon as Kristi took a step into the building, she felt out of place. Just a wave of insecurity rushed over her and she didn't quite know why.
Finding a table, they all sat down. "This place is loud!" Harry shouted over the music.
"Yeah . . . it definitely is an eye opener!" Peter shouted back.
They had been there for about twenty minutes before anyone said anything about dancing. "Are any of you staying here for a while?" M.J. asked.
"I probably will be," Kris answered.
"Will you watch my purse?"
"Sure."
M.J. grabbed Harry's arm. "Osborn, you wanna roll?"
Leading to the floor he said, "After you Watson."
Peter sat there opposite of Kristi until a brown haired, busty, woman came up next to him. Rubbing a hand over his shoulder, she said close to his ear. "Hey baby blues."
Peter flinched some when he first heard her. Turning his head slightly to the side, he asked, "How did you know my eyes were blue?"
She moved a short hand over his shoulder once more. "They shine even in here."
Peter gave her a small smile. "Um thank you."
"I've been watching you since you got in here. How about you and me go do some moves?"
Peter's words began to stutter out. "Um, well really, I'm not a-"
She pulled him out of his chair and began to drag him toward the direction of the music. "C'mon! Loosen up!" Peter gave Kristi one look of desperation as he was dragged into the masses. Kristi just sat there and watched him leave. Leaning back into the shadows, she rested her head against the cool wall and propped her crossed feet on the chair closest to her. Her head rocked slightly with the small vibrations of the current music.
That whole day, she felt down, like she was in a funk. She feared she was getting jealous of M.J. Every time they turned around, it seemed as though someone was hitting on M.J. Sure she dressed only a small bit differently, revealing more, reveling in her body and beauty, but other than that, what more was there? That was the problem. There didn't need to be anymore, those features were just enough. She could jump into a conversation and dominate it with one sentence. Sure Kristi would have her moments, but those spare moments would leave just as quickly as they came.
Peter gave her the looks of someone who would be there for her . . . a friend. There were a couple of instances were she thought she saw something more, bu it seemed as though there was something in her head that shut that notion down entirely to easily in order for it to mean something. She wanted to find out what he thought, but at the same time she didn't want to. Her pessimistic mind that it was figured it would never be mutual. The friendship was too strong, or so she thought.....
She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed when Harry plopped back down onto his seat. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, he asked, "Kristi, did you get up at all?"
Readjusting her feet, she said quickly, "No."
He peered at his watch in the darkness. It was already past 12:30. "I'll stay here and watch the stuff if you wanna go dance or something."
She shook her head in protest. "Oh no! I just don't feel like dancing tonight. I think I filled up on too much sushi," she said while patting her stomach. Glimpsing around Harry, she asked quickly, " Where is M.J.?"
"I left her on the floor. I needed to give my feet a quick break. She's a big girl. I think she can handle herself." Kristi nodded her head slowly and drank her water she had ordered. Harry drummed his fingers on the table. "Are you having a good time here? Do you like it here?"
"Oh yeah...it's wonderful here. The beach is really beautiful."
"I love beaches. When I was little, I always wanted to be a surfer."
Kristi chuckled at him. "Oh really? You look like the California type."
"Yeah well, I pestered my dad into taking me to get a surf board when we went to California for vacation once. I completely wiped out."
"Aw! Did you hurt yourself?"
"No, but it stunned me for life. No more surfing for me." When he saw Peter coming, he stood up quickly. "Well . . . I'm gonna go see if I can find M.J. or something." She gave him a small smile before saying ok. He walked off and intercepted Peter. "Hey Pete, what's up with Kristi?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well I mean . . . she's lost her humor or something. She's just quiet. She was quiet at dinner, but she been really quiet since we got here. You didn't notice?"
"Yeah I did."
"I've already been to the table three times to see if M.J. was there, but Kristi was just sitting there staring off into space."
"Is that your subtle way of telling me to pry?"
"I'm telling you to pry...just be curious or something." Peter nodded his head toward Harry before patting his shoulder.
"Kris, what's up?" Kristi's eyes flew up toward Peter's voice.
"Nothing, why?"
Peter pulled out a chair and sat down. "You've been quieter today. Is something wrong?"
With a yawn, she said, "I'm fine."
He scoffed at her. "You're also a bad liar."
"It's really nothing, I'm just a little tired."
He hopped out of his chair suddenly and grasped her hands. "Get up and dance with me."
"There is no one here to watch the stuff and besides, I'll take a rain check."
"Kristi . . . you do realize that I just asked you to dance with me? I never dance, so you must know it means something since I'm asking you." She chuckled at that. It was true, he never did dance. He always did have to get dragged into doing something. The busty brunette was a good example. Sucking his teeth, he said, "And besides, rain checks are not allowed. You may never get another chance at this..." He moved his head around some to get her attention.
He let go of her hands and sat in the chair closest to her and leaned his head onto her shoulder. Patting her hand, he asked again, "What's up? You know you can talk to me."
There was too much to say and not enough that should be said. She was thinking about how she felt. The mere fact that she was in an environment that felt funny didn't make things better. Sighing hard, she said, "I'm just not used to this kind of dancing." It was true. She wasn't used to it. The truth be told, she often felt awkward in clubs like that one.
Peter was skeptical about the whole thing. "Oh really?"
"Yeah...a lot of it looks..." she glimpsed around before answering,..."trashy. I just don't do that. That's one reason why I don't get out much." She shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't like the idea of a guy grindin' on me like they do here."
Getting a mental picture, Peter nodded his head slowly. "Now that you mention it . . . I don't either." Peter was talking more to himself now...
Kristi's eyebrow rose as she looked down at him. Was that what it sounded like? "Why don't you?"
Peter blew some air into her face, tickling her nose. "Cause . . . it does sound kinda bad. I guess you're just supposed to go out there and have fun with
people."
"Who are drunk and constantly hit on you?" She chuckled at that. " I dunno . . . I can let loose, but not like that. I mean, They started a mosh pit over there," she said while pointing her finger in one direction. "It's kinda wild in here for me. I just don't feel right. I'm not use to going up to people, asking them if they want to dance and then getting on the dance floor doing . . . " She looked around for a couple, which wasn't too hard to find. Pointing at a girl with a guy at her front and back grinding against her as she moved against them. "There! Stuff like THAT. I'm just uncomfortable."
He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked her square in the eye. "What would be your comfort zone?"
'Away from those eyes of yours,' she thought to herself. "I don't know. Maybe a place like this without so much of," she nodded toward the people again, "that, or maybe a Latin joint where I can do an actual dance, not just move around aimlessly. I know moving around aimlessly is fun, I do it all the time, but I just don't feel like it for some reason. I just have this weird thing with rhythm. I can't stand seeing people off beat and looking tacky while they're doing whatever it is they're doing off beat." Laughing to herself, she said, "The people here don't dance . . . they hump. It looks like some of them are in heat."
Peter laughed loudly at that. "You are a character." And with that, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek without even thinking twice about it.
Kristi realized almost immediately what had happened. His lips, those same lips that were all too enticing had just grazed her cheek. Was she going to flip out? Not visibly. It felt like it was just the most natural, automatic action there was and THAT'S what got her flipped out on the inside. The whole idea of having his lips on her was one thing, but the actual occurrence was something else.
Three seconds later it hit him that he gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was probably one of the most natural actions he had ever done with her. It was just a peck . . . a nice friend to a friend peck, or at least that's what Peter ATTEMPTED to convince himself of. No matter what it was, it left a nice impression on him. Within that time of point 56 seconds, he realized just how smooth her cheek was . . . it was entirely too smooth to have been left alone. So after realization hit him, he leaned his head against her cheek and just let it stay there.
Peter's subtle movements were filled with the things that friendships were made out of: Normal peck on the cheek, leaning of a head on another . . . just
regular old stuff. Then why was she smiling? She was becoming hopeful! Her mind had to work in double time in order to stop that. Her min's way of
functioning was based on one simple rule: If you don't expect the good, when it comes, it'll be a better experience and you'll be ready for the worst if it
turns out that way. Well, it didn't always work. There was always something ticking in the back of her mind always hoping for the best. Maybe that's
why life and all things concerning Peter were so difficult now....
Later that night, Kristi did eventually get up and go dance with Harry when he couldn't find M.J., and Peter was resting his feet from another encounter with his friend the busty brunette. She was doing fine, until a guy came up from behind and started to grind against her. With a swift leg movement, she kicked him in the groin with such speed that she never fell off beat. She did have a little fun, but still felt funny being around all of those people, half of them with rancid alcohol on their breaths and their sweaty bodies "dancing" on each other.
The next day, they got up to go to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure at 11 When they got there, it was 12:40. Immediately, Kristi and Harry wanted to get on the roller coasters. M.J., on the other hand, didn't want to because it would mess her hair up. "M.J., we're going to Hurricane Harbor. Your hair is gonna get messed up anyway."
"Harry is right. Why are you so worried about your hair anyway?" Kristi chimed in.
"You try coming out wind blwon tangles and then you'll see the dilemma."
"But you're going swimming...your hair is gonna get tangled no matter what."
"She sighed quickly. "Oh well, lets go." They went all over the park, pledging to get on every ride there.
When it was 7:50, they already on all the major coasters and a couple of the smaller rides. Glimpsing at his watch, Harry said "Well, do ya'll wanna go to the harbor? Cause we better go now. The park closes at 10."
"That's fine. We got on all the roller coasters, that's cool with me." They made their way back around the park to Hurricane Harbor. There were still some people there, not very many. They went down all the water slides and basically acted like kids again with water fights and Chicken fights. They had a thing going on over who would pay for dinner instead of splitting like usual. The last person in the water before or at exactly 9:00 would have to pay for dinner.
When they were in the wave pool, someone over the loud speaker said there was to be a fire works show in five minutes. Harry rested his hands on his chin on the sides of the pool. "Do ya'll wanna go see it?"
"I think you'll be able to see it from here," Peter said while nodding his head toward the people who were taking seats on their towels facing all one direction. Kristi had just gotten out of the wave pool and went looking for her towel. It was already 8:57 now and Harry thought he might make things interesting. There was an alliance going on between Peter, Harry, and M.J., they all decided to get her in the water right at nine. Harry hopped out of the pool and went toward Peter. Looking at her form, he then nudged Peter in the side. Getting the hint, Peter walked slowly to her form. Earlier that day, she had pushed him in the water, but he had pushed her in first. So he could get the upper hand and say he got her last, why not do it again? Plus it was now 8:58...
Hearing footsteps, Kristi turned around and saw a grinning Peter. "Hey have you seen my to-" she stopped in mid sentence when she saw his grin. Even with her spider sense, for some odd reason she didn't react to him pushing her as she tumbled into the pool on a low wave. Making a violent splash, Peter, Harry and M.J. started laughing. Kristi's facial expression was priceless.
"He finally got you! It's about damn time! I believe you owe us a meal." Harry said with a quick laugh. They were all laughing hard until she didn't come up.
M.J. leaned over the edge and said, "You can come up now." The water was void of any human movement. They couldn't see her body in the water because the lights were shut off after the announcement of the fire works display.
A full minute had passed by now. Harry walked around the pool quickly when a realization hit him. "Peter, we're at the shallow end." Peter's eyes widened slightly as looked back to the water. Now that he thought of it, the wave was low when she hit the water... There weren't any bubbles that he could hear coming to the surface, the water was calm except for the waves caused by the wave pool system and even then they waves were small.....
Kristi laid on her stomach at the bottom of the pool moving silently. She had been a swimmer since she was five and was excellent at holding her breath. Moving quickly and gently with the current, she swam against the bottom of the pool, touching the sides as a guide to the nearest steps further down by the deeper end.
Peter began to breathe hard. God what had he done? "Kris?" He still heard nothing. Then he got into the water quickly. He felt on the ground for her since seeing was futile because of the darkness. His hands kept feeling around for her. If he was the reason of her drowning, he'd never forgive himself . . . If he was the reason of her getting one drop of water in her lungs, he'd never forgive himself. He came up for air and went back down quickly. He still couldn't find her. Then he began to think that maybe her body drifted down to the deeper end. If she was unconscious plus the movement of the waves, she could be swept to the other end.
Harry and M.J. watched in silence as Peter swam around looking for her. Harry hopped in the water to help him. M.J. was about to go in and help when someone tapped her on her shoulder. Out of pure shock, she jumped in the water herself.
Harry picked his head up when he felt the strong vibration of someone else getting in the pool. When he looked up, he saw M.J. gasping for breath. "What happened to you?"
"Someone tapped me on my shoulder, I freaked out and jumped in."
"Who tapped you-" Harry looked up to see Kristi standing up with her hands on her hips. Just then, both her and Harry's water proof watches beeped indicating it was 9:00.
Peter's head came bobbing back up breathing heavily. "I-Ican't f-findher." Kristi peered at his face and her shoulders feel. He looked like he was about to cry. Peter looked to Harry and said, "Why aren't you looking?"
"Because. She's right there." When Peter saw Harry staring at someone, he turned his gaze to them
Peter didn't know if he was angry or not, but he was happy to see her standing up, breathing fine and not having a concussion or something worse.
He got out of the water and strode toward her. His body was dripping with water and wet strands of his hair were getting on his forehead and in his eyes. For once, Kristi couldn't read his eyes. When he stood straight in front of her, his blues eyes baring down on her face, he slumped down and gave her a hug. Not a regular hug, one out of relief and happiness and feelings that he had kept submerged too long. "I-I thought you hit your h-head and was out or-" he tried to stammer out. Stopping himself, he made some distance between them. Still gripping her, he said, "Please don't do that to me again...please don't..." He whispered the last part.
Harry hoisted himself out of the water with a small laugh. "Well, well, looks like there's another prankster in the group besides myself." He helped M.J. out of the water.
Peter's face was so sad. He didn't even have a smile, just sadness and relief on his features. With a small laugh, she said, "You three owe me dinner."
Peter dropped his eyes for a moment before making a loud chuckle. It was a shaky chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless. Shaking his head, he said with a voice full of sighs, "I guess we do. I guess we do..." He patted her softly on her back as he went to get his stuff.
Just then, there was a lot popping noise. When they looked up, they saw the fireworks display. Watching about ten minutes of it, they got there dry clothes and changed into them.
They ended up leaving the park at 9:30. They drove down the road leading to the interstate when they saw a small Mandarin restaurant open. Stopping there, they were met by a small hostess. Deciding to get the buffet, she led them to their table and got their drink orders.
At the food bar, there were lots of different foods: Egg Drop Soup, Wanton Soup, Crab Meat and Sweet Corn Soup, Hot and Sour Soup, Lo Mein, Fried Rice, Chicken Fried Rice, Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots, Tropical Fried Rice, Plain Rice, Steamed Scallops, Teriyaki Chicken, Spicy Chicken, Kung Po Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Almond Chicken, Broccoli Beef, Barbeque Pork, Braised Duck,, Stuffed Crab Claws, Chinese Donuts, Jello, Pudding, and Egg Rolls.
That night was just like any other night that they had eaten out: Small talk and lots about the food. Peter ended up paying for Kristi's meal, to her
dismay. When they were done eating, they drove back to the beach house. When they got there, it was already past 12.
Their fourth day there, Harry reserved a boat for them for two and a half hours. They drove to the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. The four made their way through it buying odds and ends. The plan was to have a picnic on the boat, so they bought their food and whatever else they may have needed.
Along the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, there were mimes and people selling balloon animals. The streets were somewhat crowded, but not crowded enough to the point of not being able to get things done.
They had gotten to the dock for 12:40, loaded up, and shipped off. It was a white sailboat with blue trimmings and a large, massive sail. On the side of the boat were the words, "Sea Maid." They cruised up and down the beach line waving at water skiers and swimmer that were close enough to see them.
When they got off of the boat, it was already 3:15. M.J. had read about a casino show that she had missed once before, and wanted to go see it. Since no one made any objections to going to see it, Harry reserved the tickets himself and pledged to pay for them. Since they were still in their beach clothes, they decided to go back to the beach house to change. The show started at six, leaving them just under three hours to get home, get dressed, and make it back to the casino.
M.J. wore dark-green dress that sparkled if the right light was shown on it. It was snug at the top, but flowed out at her hips two inches above her knees. Her shoes, made like a sandal, matched her dress perfectly. Kristi had on a dark blue, one sleeved tank top that conformed to her upper body. She wore slim fitting, black dress pants and wore a silver chain draped around her waist with black sandals.
Harry wore his brown sandals and khakis with a simple black button up shirt that had its top two buttons undone, revealing the collar of his white undershirt. Peter had on a red polo shirt with khakis and brown sandals. They left the house at five and got to the casino at 5:30.
The show lasted for two hours. They drove around the city some until Peter pointed out the Atlantic City Hard Rock Café. After taking ten minutes to get seated, they were finally waited on. The place was crowded and Rock music pumped out of the speakers. Once they ate, it was close to 10:00. Having too much energy left, they went in search for a club to go to.
Peter eyes spotted a club that looked interesting. It was called, "The "Latino Promenade". Remembering Kristi's words from the night before, he said quickly, "Hey . . . that looks like a good spot."
Harry looked out the window. It had a pretty good crowd and from the sounds of it, the few music notes that would escape from the briefly opened doors were pretty good. "Looks good to me."
M.J. shrugged her shoulders. "This is fine I guess."
Harry looked at Kristi through the rearview mirror. "Yo Kris, what's the word?"
She as almost kinda shocked. She glimpsed to Peter's figure in the darkness. He remembered what she had said, either that, or it was a heck of a coincidence. Looking back to Harry quickly, she said, "Why not?"
"Good deal." Harry turned the car into the parking lot and found a parking space. When they got out of the car, it was quite evident that people with Latin heritage made up the majority of people here, but there was a nice mixture of all different kinds of people.
When they walked in, the place wasn't packed, but there was a good crowd. There was just enough room for every person dancing to have some breathing room. The building was one story and made of wood. Since it had only one floor, it made up for it in width and length. There were strobe lights on the ceiling, making the room have an array of reds, greens, blues, yellows, and oranges. Every time a color changed, it went with the beat of current song. Once they got completely into the building, the man at the door took down their names and gave them a locker number. Walking to the correct locker, Harry said, "This is interesting. I've never been in a club where they have lockers for you."
"It's a good idea," Peter answered.
Punching the right codes in, he said, "Yeah, but you're screwed if you lose the locker slip." He pulled the locker door open.
Kristi took a couple dollars and tucked them in her key pocket in her pants before handing Harry her purse. "I'm guessing that's why they asked for your name."
Putting her's and M.J.'s purse in there, he said, "Very nice idea." They closed the door and walked out. When they stepped out of the room with the lockers, They were immediately put on the dance floor. Feeling against the wall, they found a table big enough for them and sat down.
M.J. began to move her shoulders to the music. "I love Latin dances."
Peter asked, "Do you know some?"
"Yeah."
Harry turned to her. "How did you learn?"
"There was a girl who lived on the other side of me in the neighborhood. She taught them to me."
Peter 's eyebrows furrowed inward for a moment. "Amy, right?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah, Amy Vega. I used to go over to her house all the time and she and her mom would teach me. Then she moved when we were 12. Since then, I would look up a couple of the steps in a book and teach myself. I figured I could be an actress AND dancer, so I figured, why not learn some dances?"
Harry chuckled at the thought of a young M.J. learning the salsa or something."Oh that's great . . . I could just picture you doing the tango at age seven."
She pinched him in his arm. "Shut up Harry."
Peter turned to Kristi. "Kris, don't you have some Latino in you?"
She nodded her head. "On my father's side. My grandmother is a full-blooded Brazilian."
"Did she teach you anything?"
"Yeah. It was only a couple dances. Then she taught me how to mix beats and steps together. It wasn't all about learning the steps to a specific dance, it was also about making your own beat or step."
"Was she a dancer or was she just taught?"
"She used to be a professional dancer, doing little gigs in each village. It was only her, her two brothers, and father. She was a fourth means of income. She would dance in the evenings and go to school in the mornings. All of that stopped once she met my grandfather at one of the shows. The rest was history. When she came to America with him, she had stopped dancing completely."
Harry chimed in this time. "But I take it it never stopped her from teaching you."
"Yeah. It was interesting to see her dance when I was growing up. It amazes me now that a 68-year-old who looks 40 moves like a 25-year-old. My grandfather, on the other hand, wasn't much of a dancer, so she brought some zest to his life. She would tell me that she prayed that I didn't inherit his two left feet."
"Did you?"
"According to her . . . no."
A tall man with night black hair and charcoal eyes was staring at Kristi intently. She looked awfully familiar to him.
Harry drummed his fingers on the table."Did you learn any Spanish from her?"
"I know some Spanish from high school, but in Brazil the official language is Portuguese. Don't EVER come by her speaking in Spanish. She will curse you out. She is a very proud person when it comes to things dealing with Portuguese and Brazil."
M.J. finally spoke up. "Do you know any Portuguese?"
"I know some. I'm not really fluent, like a native speaker, but I know some."
The tall man came by their table. His voice thick with an accent, he said, "Well hello there."
He was looking at Kristina. Wide eyed, she said, "Um, hello."
He squinted his eyes at her for a moment before speaking again. "Would you like to dance?"
"Um . . . sure."
When she got up, he held out a hand for her and escorted her a little ways onto the dance floor. Peter was watching like a hawk. The guy spun her around once before bringing her to face him.
Holding her hands up, he began a step that looked like the Cha-cha. Going at a medium speed, he watched her for a ceratin move."Você sabe o português?" (You know Portuguese?)
She shrugged her shoulders while moving around in a circle. This guy seemed vaguely familiar to her... "Eu sei um pouco." (I know a little.)
"Hmm..." He stepped forward quickly with his left foot and back two steps with his right all the while turning with her.
"Eu tenho a familia em Brasil. Isso e como eu aprendi." (I have family in Brazil. That's how I learned.)
"Quem?" (Who)
"Minha avo e de Brasil." (My grandmother is from Brazil.)
Grandmother? Looking at her dance steps, he said with a laugh. "Eu soube seu sangue vim do motherland."(I knew your blood came from the motherland.)
She raised an eyebrow before mirroring her feet with his. "Oh realmente?" (Oh really?)
He shook his head. "Nao realmente, mas seu sempre bom saber alguem com heritage Brasil aqui." (No, not really, but it is good to know someone with heritage from Brazil.) Sucking his teeth, he said with a quick spin, "So what is your name?"
Doing another step, she said quickly, "Kristina."
"Ah well . . . I am Anthony. What part of Brazil is your grandmother from?"
"A small town by the border of French Guiana."
He knew for sure now that he knew her."Olapoque?"
She nodded her head."Yeah. Do you have family there?"
"Yeah." To make sure he was right, he did a quick step to see if she would counter as he thought she would....she did.
Kristi's automatic response to his move was one her grandmother had taught her when she was younger. How did he know the man's lead? He had by now stopped dancing for a moment and clapped his hands in happiness. "Amarita Dequeina!"
"What did you say?"
"Amarita Dequeina. She is your grandmother isn't she?"
"How did you know?"
"She had a dance partner named Anthony Santos. Sound familiar?"
She thought back on all the conversations that she and her grandmother had together. "Yeah."
"That's my father. He was... I think 17 or 18 when she left with an American."
"My grandfather."
"Yes. I knew it was you because they made up a step together. He taught me both leads . . . I take she taught you them also?"
"Yeah. How old are you?"
"26. You?"
"19."
"We've met before . . . do you remember? On the coast, I think it was Christmas and you and your mother and father came down to the old town to see your grandmother and two uncles. I was visiting from Chicago University. I was about . . . 18 then. "
"I was 11." Her face brightened with realization. "You're the guy that got drooped by his sister huh?"
He groaned out loud while rubbing his hand over his face. "Floral printed shorts..."
She covered a hand over her mouth when she remembered. "Yeah! I remember! Wow...."
"Those were my favorites. When she pulled them, they got caught on a rock which ripped the biggest hole in them. But anyway . . . I knew I recognized you from somewhere." He held up her hand and spun her around before beginning to dance with her again. "Boy, did you grow up."
She blushed slightly. "Yeah well, you got . . . taller." They started to dance again, catching up on what had been happening.
Peter stayed there in his seat watching Kristi move. He was left in a trance. She was shy at the first club, but now that she was in familiar settings, she just let loose. He loved to her like this. She looked over the shoulder of the person she was dancing with to look at him. His mind told him to look down so she wouldn't see him looking at her, but his head failed to do so. She gave him a bright smile. He gave her a small smile and waved.
M.J. walked back to the table when Harry went to dance with someone who said they would teach a certain move. She saw Peter looking at Kristi. Getting an idea, she stepped in front of him. Peter's head shook quickly as if to knock himself out of the trance. Looking up, he saw M.J. with her hands on her hips. "Hey M.J."
"Pete, I haven't seen you move from that seat once tonight."
"I went to the bathroom."
"Dance with me," she ordered.
His eyed looked around for a moment and then he turned his head to see if someone was behind him. Not seeing anyone, he turned back around and pointed to himself. "You talkin' to me?"
She nodded her head at him. "Yeah Robert Deniro, I'm talkin to you."
He shook his head quickly. "I'm not a dancer, most definitely not a Latin one."
She began to tug at his arms. What was it with women forcing him to do stuff? He just couldn't' figure it out."Yes you are. That butt of yours was made for shaking. Just like at the other club . . ." Getting him off of his feet, she said, "C'mon, I'll teach you a couple of steps."
He chuckled while trying to sit back down. "That's okay. I'm a spectator, not a player. I like watching."
'I bet you do,' she thought herself. "Would you just get up?" She pulled him to his feet quickly and pulled him further from the table.
His mind reasoned with him 'Why resist? It never works anyway,' he thought.
M.J. took both of his hands in hers and held them up partially in the air. "Okay, follow my feet." She began to do some steps.
Peter tried his hardest to keep up, but something was off. "Whoa...could you slow it down?"
"You'll get thrown off if I slow it down."
"If you can't already see, I am thrown off." She kept at it for a while until Peter just stopped moving. "We've been at this for ten minutes. I'm hopeless." He went back to his seat. M.J. followed him ans about say something when he stopped her. "Just hopeless."
She was about to say something when Harry walked behind her and slide an arm around her waist. "Do you mind if I steal M.J. from you?"
Peter held his hand out. "I don't mind at all."
"Harry, I was trying to teach Peter how to dance."
"There's nothing to it Pete. Just find the rhythm and move to it."
He gave Harry a sarcastic smile. "Thanks for the tip."
M.J. shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well . . . Let's go Harry." He watched the two saunter off into the mixture of dancers. Peter sat in his seat just watching. He liked watching other dance. It was like art in motion or something close to it.
A tall woman with long jet black hair stood in front of him. Smiling, she said "Hello."
He looked up into green eyes. They had a softness to them that made him relax. At least she wasn't like the girl at the other club. Returning the smile, he said, "Hi."
Holding out a hand, she said, "I'm Jasmine." She had an accent like the guy Kristi walked off with.
He shook it. "Peter."
"I saw your friend trying to teach you some steps."
He sighed loudly. "Yeah . . . I'm a lost cause."
"No one is ever a lost cause. C'mon, let me try to teach you."
He held up his hand. "That's okay."
"No come on. One thing I saw your friend doing was that she was teaching you the American way. There was a step missing. She was doing seven steps instead of eight. So she had to speed it up in order to get it to go with the music."
Oh well? Why not give it one more shot? Pushing himself up from the table, he said quickly, "Okay...but I'm telling you, it's a waste of time trying to teach me."
"I don't think so." She pulled him a little further form the table so they would have more room. "Okay move your left foot with my right one. Mirror me." He did what she said. "Good. Now move this foot front and then this one twice back with mine."
He stepped on her foot. "Sorry about that."
"You're okay, try it again." He tried it again, but stepped on her foot once more. "Don't get frustrated, just slow it down. You're trying to go too fast." He kept trying. Once he got, He looked up, but then messed up again. "Don't look at everyone else, just watch my feet." He began to move with her. "There ya go! Now add a little speed." He sped it up a little. "Good! Now add some extra movements." She held her hand up with his in hers and turned around. When she turned back around, she prompted him to do the same. He did it without messing up his footwork. "You are a pro!"
He blushed. "Thanks."
"So I see you've found another lover huh?"
The two turned around and saw Kristi with her friend. Placing her hands on her hips, Jasmine challenged, "Well I was lonely since you took on that nice looking girl over there. I found myself Peter."
"Is this your wife you were bragging to me about?"
She crossed her arms with false anger. "Oh he bragged?"
Kristi nodded her head. "Yes, I told him his wife was lucky, and he said that he was the lucky one."
She punched playfully in the shoulder."Oh you wooer. So you finally figured out who she was."
"Yeah. She 's got kin back in Olapoque."
"Really? That's interesting." Eyeing her husband, she said to Kristi, "So I take you know my friend Peter right?" If she didn't, it was a nice time to hook her up with him then. To her surprise, she said she knew him.
Anthony turned to Peter. "You wouldn't mind if I switched partners with you, would you?" He looked between the two girls before saying in a lower voice, "Pretty good trade."
Jasmine looked at him funny. "What does that mean?"
Biting his bottom lip he said quickly, "It only means that it's basically a one to one trade." He held his hand out for her to take.
Taking his muscular hand, she said, "Uh huh . . . "She looked back at Peter and winked at him. He blushed again and looked away. While he was looking down, she gave Kristi the "ok" sign. It was her turn to blush.
Turning her head to Peter, Kristi said with crossed arms, "I saw her teaching you how to dance."
He held up his hand. "She forced me to. She dragged me from my seat and forced my feet to move. You looked like you were getting pretty chummy with that guy when he was married."
"He recognized me. He's from the same part of Brazil as my grandmother. His father had been my grandmother's partner."
"Small world."
She nodded her head. "Uh huh. So you learned the Samba."
He shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment. "I dunno what it was . . . she just told me the steps."
"Well . . . you learned the Samba."
"Cool."
There was a shared silence between the two of them. Kristi shifted her stance. "Can I take you up on that offer from the other day? The dance?"
He was about to say yes, but changed his mind. "I don't know. I think I remember telling you it was a one time thing. You missed out."
Did she hear him correctly? He was going to get her to beg. She was not a beggar . . . Instead she shrugged her shoulders. "Okay fine. I'm sure I could find someone somewhere." And with that, she began to walk off.
He began to laugh. Reaching out for her arm, he turned her slowly back toward him. "C'mon. I was just joking." Hearing the music go to a slower pace, he cleared his throat, and he said with a serious face, "I would love to dance with you."
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah okay . . . " she trailed off.
"I would! C'mon," he said as he dragged her to the dance floor. Kristi had never slow danced with Peter before. Breathing slowly, she reached her arms up and placed them around his neck.
When he stood in front of her, his mind began to reel. 'What have you gotten yourself into, Parker?' He placed his hands onto her waist slowly. He wasn't aware of the fact that he was holding his breath until he exhaled.
His hands felt like they were burning a hole through her shirt. She never did make eye contact with him. She didn't even know if she could call what they were doing dancing. Her back was rigid, and there was probably a foot between them. "I'm apologizing ahead of time."
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "For what?"
"Stepping on your toes."
She gave him a shaky smile. "Um . . . I guess it's accepted?"
He loosened up some and didn't stand so rigid. "I was never any good at slow dances."
"Just don't crunch my feet into a pulp and you'll be fine.". Suddenly, Peter bumped forward into her body. When he turned around, he saw Harry.
"My bad Peter," he said with a sly look on his face. He gave him a quick wink when he turned back around, Kristi's forehead was a lot closer to his than before. There was relatively no space separating them now.
Kristi just stayed as she was. His body heat was driving her crazy. It was bad before, but now it was just torture. When she inhaled, her nostrils were met with a lingering smell of cologne and something else that she couldn't figure out. It must have just been him. He just smelled so damn good.
Peter didn't know what he should do. He didn't know if he should lean his head on hers ro just stay there like that. While debating, Kristi's head dipped onto his shoulder and rested it there. He automatically leaned his head by hers and just moved with her. It was all like a jigsaw puzzle...everything fitting together...
No! Everything could not fit together. 'There is nothing here. She's just tired, you're tired, you deserve a chance to lower your head,' is what he kept telling himself. Not once did he ever admit to himself of feeling anything beyond a friendship, so he wouldn't start now. What was the magic word? Denial, Denial, DENIAL!
Harry went back to the table where M.J. was. "After this song, wanna leave?"
"Okay. I'm getting tired."
"You can lay on my shoulder if you'd like."
"Thank you Harry." She got closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. His arm encircled her waist as he covered her with his jacket. He watched her close her eyes and sighed to himself. This was it . . . he could finally admit it to himself: He loved M.J. He never ever truly loved anyone romantically. It was a great sensation. He wasn't ready to admit it, but he had to. He decided to show her. Their last night was tomorrow. He could arrange a romantic night for them and whatever happened, happened. He was getting happy just thinking about showing her physically how he felt. It wasn't a turn on happy, but an ecstatic happy, like joy. The feeling was so foreign to him, but he loved experiencing it.
M.J. had shut her eyes and was now thinking about the current situation. Peter seemed to be getting closer to Kristi, btu he made no move on her and vice versa. They would sooner or later and when they did, she . . . she would what? What was happening? She was beginning not to care. When did this nice helping of apathy come along? She sighed against Harry. Harry . . . he brought a smile to her lips. He was so nice, generous and loving toward her. His transformation since his father's death brought out the best in him. It brought out something in him that she thought she'd only see in one person and that was-
'Whoa!' her mind screamed. 'What's going on Mary Jane? Get your mind right!' She blocked it out, just like how she blocked out every other thought remotely like that. Her patience was thinning and her hope was dwindling quickly. What would happen when it all left her fi what frightened her...
It was now their last full day in Atlantic City. Kristi had Harry get up with her to go shopping for food. She was getting junk food for the beach later that night and Harry was getting food for him and M.J. He told her about his plan for one night of simple romance with her, which promptly led to him being attacked with pinches on his cheeks and aw's of every kind. To take attention off of himself, he turned it on her asking about what was going on with her and Peter.
Her response...
Nothing. Of course Harry didn't believe her, and she knew he wouldn't, but she tried to convince him regardless "What about the dance?".he asked. Her explanation: She owed him one. "What about at the pool?" he asked. Her explanation: He was freaking out because he thought he had hurt someone. "What about the shrimp rolls?" Then she asked him what was he talking about. He, of course, said that Peter got the shrimp rolls for her. Peter told him that night when they were having a conversation.
"You were discussing me?"
"Not really. Just having a conversation about the trip . . . since you're on the trip, of course you would come up as a topic."
Kristi stopped the grocery basket and got some boxes of pudding. "Osborn . . . come on." She began to push the cart again down an isle.
Grabbing some spaghetti sauce and noodles, he said. "Well I asked him why he got shrimp rolls, cause I know he's not too wild about shrimp. He said he got them for you because you love shrimp." Moving down the isles again, he said triumphantly, "Well now . . . what do you make of that?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Being considerate." She threw in the basket two bags of French Onion Sun Chips, Tostitos cheese dip, and a carton of Goldfish. They continued down another isle.
"Bah!" He looked around for some olive oil.
Getting the oil for him, she said in defense, "Okay, M.J. didn't like the...um..."
"Philadelphia rolls?"
"Yeah. She didn't like them, but she got them anyway, for YOU because you like cream cheese."
They turned down another isle. Wile Kristi was reaching for a 6-pack of bottled water, Harry propped himself up on the basket. "Okay you know what? You need to stop shooting everything down. Just once, accept a good thing when its coming. Accept it with open arms."
Kristi placed the bottles in the cart. If she knew her mind correctly, those last couple of words were going to bug her all day long. She turned to Harry and said quickly, "I hate it when people make me think."
When he understood what she was talking about, he started to laugh. Placing an arm around her shoulder he squeezed her towards him. "That's what I'm here for."
Having everything they needed, they purchased everything and went back to the beach house. By that time, it was already 12. Kristi made her pudding and put it in the fridge to chill. Deciding to make the best of their last day, they drove around, making the boardwalk their final destination. When they came back, it was 6:30. Harry was making too much noise in their room, so Peter went on the porch and fell asleep in one of the hammocks.
Harry volunteered to help Kristi bring her stuff outside. "Why do you have such a big bag?"
She pulled out the pieces of a hammock/cot. Setting it up in 20 seconds flat, she pointed to it. "That's why."
"You had a hammock in your bag?"
"Just call me Mary Poppins." Setting everything else around the low hammock, she said quickly, "Well, I think that's everything." She looked back up to Harry to ask him something, but turned away.
"He'll probably come out here I bet." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't look at me like that! You know you were gonna ask me anyway. Anyway, g'night." He began to walk away.
"Good luck," she called back to him. He turned around and made a praying sign. Kristi turned back around and faced the surf. She was wearing some black Adidas shorts and a white Adidas shirt with her bathing suit on underneath. She settled in her hammock, her pillows propping her up, she pulled out a bag of Sun Chips and watched the ocean.
Peter woke up abruptly in the chair. He groaned as he tried to position himself comfortably. After about twenty minutes of trying, he gave up. Getting up, he stretched loudly and walked into the house. The scent of spaghetti hit his nose as he went upstairs to his room. Before he pulled the door open, his ears caught the sounds of M.J. giggling and kissing sounds. He didn't know whether he should be sickened by it or just ignore it.
Opting for the second choice, he wondered where Kristi was. He sighed to himself and made his way to Kristi and M.J.'s room. When he peeked in, he didn't see her. Furrowing in his eyebrows, he glimpsed out the window and saw a small light coming from the beach. There he saw her stuff and what looked like a hammock or cot. He forgot she was going to sleep out there. He made his way down the steps skipping two steps at a time...
Kristi was sitting up on the sand enjoying her pudding that she had just taken out of the cooler. She loved pudding. She grew up on the stuff. It was probably one of the few foods she could have and not get sick of...ever. She was staring off into the ocean when she heard someone behind her. "Hey there."
Kristi looked up suddenly and turned around. She smiled slowly. "Hey your self."
Plopping onto the sand, he asked, "Why you out here by yourself?" What he meant to ask was, "Why didn't come get me?"
"Well… we were supposed to be camping out here, but Harry and M.J. were all on the sofa and you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you, so I figured it wouldn't waste my pudding and pasta. All for me! I brought extra eat ware just in case someone came out here…" She took out a spoon for him. "Here, you look like you could use some pudding."
He chuckled. "Thanks." He looked in it quickly before digging his spoon in it. He looked back to Kristi who was looking at the ocean with a spoon in her mouth. She looked like a little kid with her low ponytails on each side of her head and a spoon hanging from her mouth. Smiling slightly, he asked her, "What are you doing?"
She looked at the ocean dreamily. "I'm just…contemplating…while eating pudding." Her toes were going in and out of the sand slowly as the salty water washed against them. She liked how it felt.
He smiled at her expression. It was adorable to him. "Contemplating huh?"
She nodded her head. "Uh huh."
"Would you like for me to go?"
She tore her eyes away from the water to look at him. "Oh no! I would like it if you stayed actually."
He tore his cerulean eyes from hers for a moment. "Okay." Looking downward, he started, "I just wanted to get out of that house. Give Harry and M.J. some time."
She could hear his emphasis on time. Turning her head more towards him, she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
He just shrugged and continued to play in the sand. "Don't be. I mean, they're together for a reason. They have feelings for each other…"
"Pete…"
"Kris, I'm sorry. It really doesn't bother me that much, but its just a reminder I guess of what I don't and would like to have." Kristi got curious at that point but decided to let it go. To cover himself, he added, "Besides, I didn't come out here for a pity party."
Kristi began to play with the grains of sand in front of her. "Pity parties can be fun. You gotta have the right music and right food." She picked up the tan particles and watched in interest as they ran through her fingers back to the ground.
This caught Peter's interest, and he began to cup his hands under hers to catch the sand. "Oh really? Like what?" He lifted his hands up and began to release the grains.
She placed her hands under his and caught the grains. "Well…songs like 'I will survive' and fattening foods like pizza and ice cream. They really are fun, you just gotta adjust to them."
Dusting his hands clean, he said with resolution, "Well, I never looked at it that way."
Kristi made a pile with the sand that was in her hands. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Most don't." Refocusing her eyes from the ground, she looked toward the horizon. "Have you ever stopped to look at a sunset?"
"Sometimes."
"I like to think of it as mother nature's self portrait. Its deep, everlasting, and it beauty has no boundaries. It's an endless array of the many things people take for granted. It illustrates love, power, beauty, and life. Have you ever felt like you've taken advantage of them?"
His eyes stayed on her profile. "Every single day."
"I do too." She looked back down at the sand. "Well anyway…that's what I was thinking about."
"Man, you make my thoughts look…well…trivial."
She grinned brightly. "That's my job. I'm out to make others look bad."
"Well then, since you got the whole guru thing down, then tell me, what are you thinking about now?"
She answered quickly, "Pudding."
His eyebrow rose quickly. "Pudding?"
She nodded her head. "Yeah. Jello Chocolate pudding. It is the absolute greatest!" she said while taking in another spoonful.
"Pudding?"
She chuckled slightly at the amusement in his voice. "You thought I was going to say something profound huh?"
"Well just maybe."
"Well…you gotta spice things up sometimes. Keeps things…FRESH."
He shook his head at her. "You never cease to amaze me."
"I have to keep you on your toes somehow."
"Well, I'm sure you could make pudding amazing in a conversation."
"Oh I could! I'm almost sure I could. Pudding…hmm… it smooth, rich, and creamy. It just slides down your throat. It even has a soft taste."
He laughed loudly. "Soft? Oh I have to hear this."
"It's smoothness and delectability make it almost sinful. If it were a person, it would-"
He laughed out a, "You!"
Her eyes shot up. "What! Me?"
"Yes you."
"How so? Am I smooth, rich, creamy, and delectable?" She shook her head. " I think no."
"You'd be surprised by how many people think otherwise."
"Like who?"
"Were you completely oblivious to the eye action you were getting from the guys at the club and on the tour and on the beach? I mean man, you captivated them."
She was looking at her spoon this time. "I wasn't aware you were paying attention that closely."
He almost lost his cool about that comment..."Uh-well, it's not that hard when there's something nice to look at." Almost...
She looked at him through he corner of her eye. "Hmm…well, I know you were just looking out...for a friend."
"You'll always mean more to me than just a friend." He was talking more to himself than out loud...she just happened to hear him.
This time she turned her head to him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are so good to me. You put up with my complaining-"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure I return it ten-fold."
"My problems-"
"My nickname IS Oprah."
"My everything. I know you have to get tired of hearing me run my mouth all the time."
"Oh no, I find it fascinating."
He pushed on her playfully. "You're killing me!"
She shook her head at him."No! I'm serious. You, Peter Parker, are just a fascinating person."
He got another spoonful of pudding. "A fascinatingly boring person."
"No, you don't pass me as boring. You pass me as being a nice, funny, sweet, cute guy with an ability to make people smile and a sense of duty toward the people you care about. It shines from your eyes that you would do anything for the people in your life. You are just…an incredible person. The more I think about it, the more I can honestly say that you are rare."
"I'm rare?"
"Yes. You are a genuinely, rare guy. Do you know how many girls are probably falling at your feet?"
He made a wry smile. "Nonexistent."
"Boy please! You are a wonderful person. I know I think of you as one."
It slipped out before he could stop it. "Then why haven't you stepped in line with all those other girls?" Making up for it, he added quickly, "If you haven't fallen, then there's my proof of what a failure I am at that task."
What was he saying? Had he been trying to make her fall or what? Her mind pushed those thoughts aside. She had no time for her delusions to take over. This conversation was getting interesting. "It shouldn't matter on whether I fall. Besides, I don't have that kind of luck. Guys like that are so normally out of my reach."
"I'm right here." His mouth was running loose again...
She gave him a small smile. "Yes you are. But c'mon, you aren't so to speak, within my grasp." She got another spoonful of pudding. With humor, she said, " If you truly were, I'd have jumped you by now."
This time, his eyes shot up. "What?!"
"Oh yeah Pete. Look at those arms of yours!" She squeezed one. " Those bulging arms of yours! Gonfle Bras! That gorgeous body of yours!" She hit him in the chest. " Bèl Kò!"
He had a look of bewilderment on his face. "What?"
"Creole babe."
"You gotta teach me that one day."
"I guess so. But back to you! If anything, you're the pudding. I could just eat you up right now."
He laughed at her. "C'mon, now you're being mean."
"No…honesty is my policy." She leaned back on her arms and stared him with a turned head. "Matter of fact…I'm bored. I think I might jump you right now."
He stopped looking at the ocean and back to her. When he saw the grin on her face, he nervously began to scoot away. "Kris…"
She began to lean closer. "Mmm…I love pudding…"
"Kristi…" he warned while shaking his spoon at her. "Why can't you sit there and be a good little girl?" While shaking his spoon, parts of the pudding that was on there flew onto her shirt.
She looked down quickly with a look of astonishment. Getting three fingers worth, she smeared pudding on Peter's face, then she looked at him in a considering manner.
He couldn't believe she just put pudding all over his face like that, but his jaw dropped when he saw the glint in her eyes. It was a look of challenge. She looked like a huntress.
Lord help him…
She turned her head to the side. "Ya know Peter, pudding looks good on you. I'm not one to usually waste it, but it looks absolutely devastating on you . . . you little pudding cup. So devastating…"
Her lips curled into a mischievous smile that had him backing away slightly. Standing up slowly, he said cautiously, "Kris…"
She jumped to her feet quickly. "Oh…PETER!" She began to run after him.
He ran away from her as fast as he could. "Kris c'mon!" Dodging and moving all over the place, he said quickly, "Wo-would you quit it!?"
She ran after him yelling in a laugh, "I'm gonna get you! Damn that thing called estrogen! First, you waste my pudding on me and then you have the nerve to run away from me thinking it would do something! Oh no buddy…you must pay my…my…my little, scrumptious JELLO food item! Why couldn't you be like the rest of the pudding and stay in the cup!"
Once she caught him, she tackled him to the ground and began to tickle him relentlessly. "Kris...hahahaha!…q-quit it m-my, hahahaha!…sides h-hurt…y-you dork…let me go!"
She laughed at his pitiful features until he caught her arms. "Oh no!" She tried to pull her arms from his grasp. "The food chain roles aren't supposed to be reversed!"
He flipped her quickly and promptly began to straddle her. He restrained both of her arms over her head with one arm and began to tickle her with the free one. "HAHA MY LITTLE PRETTY!" he yelled as he tickled her relentlessly. He leaned his head down and wiped the pudding remains all over her shirt and neck. This made her squirm even more.
"EW! EW! EWWW! D-do you…hahahaha!…realize that was a, hahahaha!…w-waste of perfectly g-good, s-stop it w-will ya! Good pudding!" she fought to get out between the bouts of laughter that plagued her. It felt good to laugh. A few moments later, she squinted her eyes in pain. ]
Peter looked down at her quickly. "Are you okay?" Geez…he probably got sand in her eyes. He let her arms go quickly so she could rub her eyes. She reached for her eyes but then attacked his sides. He jumped up in shock. "AHHH you little cheater!" Her laughter rang out as she began to tickle him again, but he overpowered her once more.
Laughing to the point of tears, she sputtered, "O-okay s-s-stop! I can't c-catch my breath! You goober!"
"Okay…I'll let you up… this time." She sat up slowly, trying to catch her breath. She took off her white shirt, turned brown from the pudding, and began to wipe the remnants of it off of her neck with a clean part of her shirt. Grabbing a water bottle, she splashed in on her neck and then wiped her face with a clean corner of her shirt. She gave the bottle to Peter and turned around to put her shirt toward her stuff. She tossed the shirt toward her bag, and turned back around. Peter was still wiping the rest of the water off of his face with his blue t-shirt. She made a long sigh, causing him to look up at her. A grin was still implanted on her lips. When she made eye contact with his own, it felt like fire. If she wasn't in her right mind, she could have sworn he had touched her…him and those damn eyes of his were going to be her undoing.
Peter kept his eyes on hers the entire time. He just couldn't get enough of them. It disappointed him when she looked away from him quickly. She mumbled to herself and then hit her hand on her face. "Kris…Kris?"
She looked up innocently. "Huh?"
"What's up?"
She dropped her head. "I'm doing one of the few things that gets me in trouble."
"What is that?"
She grinned at herself. "Thinking."
"How does that get you in trouble?"
She jumped up. She, for the life of her, couldn't stay still. She began to pace back and forth on the sand. "My mind wanders…it wanders on people and things and bunches of stuff I don't like getting into."
He watched her pace with amusement. It was quite a show. Her eyebrows were furrowed in and her forehead scrunched up. She looked, nervous, upset, and anxious and he couldn't figure out what caused it. "Why?"
She threw her hands up in surprise. "Because…it does!" She stopped pacing for a moment and slumped her shoulders. Scratching her head, she said with shut eyes, "I dunno."
He leaned his face under her's while still sitting on the sand. "What is it you're thinking about?"
She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head at herself. She said too much…was saying too much, and she couldn't stop her mouth. Something wanted all of this said and done with. "Accept it with wide open arms," is what Harry had said. Damn h im. He had her thinking since they were at the grocery store. Well…she opened up a can of worms that she thought for a moment even God wouldn't be able to close. 'Might as well finish it…' she thought. Beginning to pace, rambled on. "It's amazing. All I want from this person would be some sort of mutuality, some sort of affection something…a meaningful hug, heck, dare I even say kiss?"
She was thinking about that other person again... Sighing, he said, "A kiss?"
She blew her hair out of her face and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, stupid to want something so menial right?"
"Thinking about your dream guy?"
She held her forehead. "Not really a dream guy…just someone who has an overpowering affect." She glimpsed at Peter's confused face and then looked away. "Entirely too much power in a glance…" This time she directed her gaze into the ocean with her hands on her hips. "When I look at him, he just has one of the nicest pairs of lips I've ever seen. Just thinking about him makes me babble and make blurbs without stoppage and make up new words and…" she stopped right there and plopped down on the sand. Miserably, she said, "Now…I've probably screwed things up."
He scooted next her. His eyes caught her hands, and he just stared at them. "No…I understand what you're talking about."
She smiled slightly. He was so naïve, it was cute. That's what her problem was…he could take the smallest things, the smallest misinterpretations and turn them into things she would not normally tolerate, but she did, all because it was from him. Everything he did, was okay. Smiling, she said, "No, that's not what I mean."
He bit his bottom lip out of nervousness. She got quiet, almost as if she were waiting for something. This was driving him nuts. It was bad enough he got jealous over something, someone who wasn't even his, but now, she was nervous just thinking about the guy. "Out of curiosity…who is it?"
She chuckled out loud. "You really want to know?"
He kept his eyes on her hands. They were fiddling with something that was in the sand. "Sure…if you don't mind telling me."
'No going back now…' she thought. Looking up at him, she said with a smirk, "IF you really want to know…" She stopped for a moment to shut her
eyes. He looked closely at her. He saw her take a deep breath before she reopened her eyes. She shrugged in a whisper. "Go take a look in the
mirror."
Note: okay that's the of the chapter. 10 should be out soon...peace out and don't forget to review please!