Chapter 7
What a Tangled Web We Weave
Katherine waited patiently. She totally forgot that some one was installing the pond today. It added a nice peaceful surrounding to her Japanese garden in the back yard. She heard the back door open and saw Mark come out, to the backyard, all sweaty and his hands, greasy.
ÒWhy aren't you ready to go?Ó She asked him. She was already in her two-piece bathing suit and was wearing a sarong around her waist.
ÒYour not dressed, go put on a shirt!Ó Mark said in a brotherly way.
ÒI have one in my bag,Ó Katherine replied. ÒNow you go get ready.
Mark went back inside to get dressed when she heard on the doorbell mic, ÒLET ME IN!!!! YOU GOT ANYTHING TO DRINK???? OR EAT????Ó
ÒWould you quit it?!?! ThatÕs so rude of you!!!Ó She heard Orlando say.
Katherine pushed the button so the front door swung open automatically.
ÒWOAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! We have to get one of them, Orlando!Ó Alex exclaimed as she watched the huge front doors swing open.
Orlando sighed; his sister could be so childish at times.
They walked in and looked around.
In front of them was a huge double staircase. If you went up the steps a little, you would see that there was yet another stairway which led you to the living room. The living room was red and white with a huge flat screen T.V. hanging from the ceiling. The living room was surrounded in glass walls so you could see clearly outside.
Outside was a soon-to-be Japanese garden. There were trees, bushes, flowers and other simple things. A man was filling up the pond and in the center of all this stood a gazebo. Katherine was standing in the gazebo talking with the man. They walked through the living room and the glass doors and across the small bridge leading to the gazebo.
Katherine turned around, ÒHey, glad you make it, so what do you think?Ó
They walked to the bridge connecting to the gazebo, Katherine met them half way. Alex looked down at the little plastic bags full of goldfish and water, ÒI like the goldfish, and can I have one?Ó
ÒSure,Ó Katherine reached down to one of the bags and grasped hold of it. Alex reached down to help her. Instead of standing back up like she had planned, Katherine fell pulling Alex in with her.
ÒAL-Ó
Even though the pond wasnÕt full yet, it was still deep enough so the water could still cover their bodies. The sputtered as they came up for air.
Ò-EX!!!Ó Orlando finished yelling.
ÒGeeze, lower the decimals, weÕre all right, bro.Ó
Orlando apologized for yelling and helped them out of the pond. Katherine rung out her hair and Alex shook her head spraying water on Orlando.
ÒHey watch out.Ó Orlando said, while blocking his face.
ÒSo are we ready? Everybody else said they would just meet us at the beach.Ó Alex mumbled as she went through her bag to get a towel.
Katherine said they were almost ready; they were just waiting for her brother. Just as she finished her sentence Mark appeared.
Ò I heard yelling. What the hell happened?Ó Mark snickered as he looked at him.
Ò Orlando pushed us in!!Ó Alex screamed as she ran over to Mark and pushed him. She bounced of, stumbled backwards and once again fell into the pound. ÒOkay that backfired.Ó
After that whole little incident, they teased Alex about it while driving to the Santa Monica beach. Katherine was still soaked when they were in the car. She rolled down her window when Mark stopped at the stoplight. Mark rolled down his window too.
A black Honda Civic pulled up beside MarkÕs Supra. The passenger window rolled down.
ÒHey, man, nice chick,Ó the guy said checking out Katherine.
ÒExcuse me? WhatÕd you just say?Ó Mark said looking at the guy through his sunglasses.
ÒYour chick, sheÕs hot.Ó
ÒWhatÕs your name?Ó Mark queried
ÒWhy.Ó
ÒSo I can find you and kick your ass. Your talking Ôbout my sister!Ó Mark said Ò You better not run into me on the street!!Ó Mark yelled as he burned rubber and skidded off leaving everyone in a thick smoke.
ÒWhat was that Ôbout?Ó Alex asked Orlando.
Ò I donÕt know, weÕll ask them when we get to the beach.Ó
Mark pulled in the parking space. Toni, Josh, Shane, Justin, Dragon, and Vanessa were already there, waiting by their cars. Orlando pulled in next to him.
Ò WhatÕs wrong with you?Ó Alex asked Mark as she came out of the car.
ÒSome guy said Katherine was hot.Ó
ÒOooooo, was he cute?Ó she asked Katherine.
Ò I dunno. I didnÕt get to see.Ó Katherine said with a touch of disappointment.
Ò Oh well. CÕMON GIRLS LET THE BOYS UNLOAD!!!!!Ó Alex shouted motioning for them to follow her, down the hill to the beach.
Once they were on the beach, they laid their towels out and started to undress to their bathing suits.
ÒDude, look at AlexÕs abs! SheÕs forming a four pac!Ó Mark said surprised. ÒWhereÕs yours?Ó he said looking down at OrlandoÕs stomach. Which was more under developed than AlexÕs.
ÒDonÕt talk bout my sis, Orlando said angrily. ÒBut, man Justin look at KatherineÕs ass.Ó After Orlando said that Mark pushed him.
ÒIÕm sorry, but look VanessaÕs got the figure.Ó Shane said. Making a motion with his hands in a shape of hourglass.
ÒI donÕt want to her that Ôbout my sister. In fact donÕt say that bout her again.Ó Josh said. ÒYeah but Toni has the boobs.Ó Josh said dreamily.
ÒIf you say that to me again IÕm gonna have to kick your ass. Hear me?Ó Shane said eyeing Josh suspiciously
Ò Dude theyÕre all hot so lets just start unpackingÕ kayÓ Dragon said frustrated.
The boys brought all the bags and food down to the beach. The girls were laid out on their stomachs, tanning.
The boys set up and started playing catch.
Ò Alex I got water guns loaded in my bag.Ó whispered Toni. ÒYou and Katherine squirt them down and me and Vanessa will grab the ball.Ó
ÒOkay, letÕs go.Ó Vanessa said excited.
The girls got up casually and went to their stations. Toni placed herself close to the guyÕs game and Vanessa went up to Shane to distract him. Katherine and Alex got out the guns and headed toward them quietly.
ÒGO!!!!!Ó Katherine shouted. She and Alex ran over squirting the guys as Vanessa pushed Shane and Toni grabbed the ball. Toni ran but was tackled by Josh. He kissed her cheek and took the ball. Katherine ran to Josh and wrestled him to the ground, struggling to get the ball. But, Justin picked her up. He sat her down and grabbed the ball and ran. He was stopped by a screeching yell. He turned around and Alex jumped on him bringing him to the ground. They wrestled for a moment before Toni and Shane got in. Shane retrieved the ball and threw it to Mark who ran and threw it to Dragon. Dragon ran but was stopped by Vanessa. She screened him but didnÕt do effectively.
ÒLook lets start a game of tackle football.Ó Alex said out of breath. ÒBoys verses girls.Ó
ÒWait the guys have more.Ó Vanessa pointed out
ÒTo bad.Ó Dragon said, ÒLetÕs go. Girls get the ball first.Ó He tossed the football over to Vanessa. The girls picked their targets. Toni had Josh, Josh had Toni, Katherine had Mark, Mark had Alex, Alex had Justin, Justin had Katherine, Shane had Vanessa and Orlando and Dragon had everybody.
The game started with a pass to Katherine who was tackled playfully by Justin.
ÒYou hurt her I hurt youÓ Mark scorned.
The girls moved up. Vanessa passed the ball to Alex who ran but was tackled and carried over to the water by Mark. He dropped her in and splashed her.
ÒYOU ASSHOLE!!!!!Ó Alex yelled as she waded through the water splashing him back.
ÒJust tryingÕ get you back.Ó Mark said shielding his face from the on coming water. Alex ran over to Orlando who was sitting down next to Katherine.
ÒYour stupid, Alex,Ó Katherine and Orlando yelled in unison while.
She looked at him. His high cheekbones accented his charming deep brown eyes. His hair was styled into a Mohawk giving him the troublemaker look. He wasnÕt overly buff like her brother and not a stick like Josh. He was average. He was wearing a pair of black trunks. His toes were in the sand. A sun was tattooed on his right abdominal section.
ÒSo, how long have you known Alex?" Katherine asked striking up a conversation. Orlando looked at her crazy.
ÒYeah, we grew up together, IÕve known her all my life.Ó Orlando replied going along with the wired question.
ÒThatÕs nice... soooooooo..........ummmmmmmm......... you seeing anybody right now.Ó She asked curious.
ÒNaw.Ó
ÒOh thatÕs nice.Ó Katherine got up from her spot and walked over to get a soda. Justin was already over there drinking a ÒCoronaÓ.
ÒDo you want some?" He offered.
ÒOkay.Ó she took a sip and spit it out. ÒWhat the hell is this?Ó
ÒA ÔCoronaÕÓ Justin said smiling.
ÒOh...ohhhhhhh. Okay. I like it.Ó She said dorkishly. She started dancing to a song playing in a car near by. She popped her hips and dipped gracefully.
ÒGO...GO...GO... ITÕS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!Ó Justin shouted, waving his arm up and down.Ó The action attracted Mark who walked over grabbed the ÒCoronaÓ form KatherineÕs hand and dumped it on Justin's head.
ÒYou stupid? What the hell are you doing giving my sister this shit?Ó
ÒI like it.Ó Katherine went into a giggling fit.
"HA!! SheÕs tipsyÓ Alex laughed. Katherine burped loudly causing Alex to fall to the ground laughing.
ÒCÕmon letÕs build a bon fire. "Shane said while hugging Vanessa.
They all started to collect dry driftwood, expect for Katherine who was wandering around looking for nothing in particular. Vanessa came over. ÒHere...sit here... okay?Ó She said treating her like little kid.
The group built the bon fire and set some bigger pieces of driftwood a little ways away from it in the form of a hexagon. There were two people sitting on each piece; Alex and Orlando, Mark and Katherine, Vanessa and Shane, Toni and Josh, and Justin and Dragon.
ÒLetÕs tell scary stories!Ó Toni proposed.
Everyone knew about ToniÕs little Òstory tellingÓ addiction. Not to be rude they said it was still too early.
It was once again quiet until Katherine started talking, ÒYaw know, IÕve seen some pretty gross things you guys have done.Ó It seemed like she wasnÕt tipsy anymore, she could talk without laughing.
ÒIÕve seen Dragon feeling up a girl in public. He was a restaurant and the manager kicked him out. I think itÕs pretty gross to be having sex in a restaurant.Ó Everyone looked at Dragon. They knew he was a Ôplaya, but didnÕt really talk about it much.
ÒAnd Josh, I saw you staring at our language teachers ass.Ó
ÒI remember that, It was the language one teacher right?Ó He replied.
ÒNo language two, the old ladyÕs ass,Ó everyone cracked up and Josh went red.
ÒShane, you have images of Vanessa naked on your walls.Ó
Toni looked at Shane, ÒNo wonder why you donÕt want me coming in your room.Ó
Katherine continued, Òand Justin, you stare at Christina Aguilera and jerk off during class.Ó Dragon scooted away from Justin a little bit.
ÒBut I saved the best for last, my dear brother Mark-Ó
ÒWhy do I get the feeling IÕm gonna have to get you back for saying what your about to say.Ó He said giving her his trademark glare. Katherine wasnÕt intimidated by it since she knew he was just trying to scare her.
ÒThereÕs no way I can NOT see you do this Ôcause itÕs on the big screen downstairs. Mark was jerking off to porn and thatÕs all I have to say.Ó
You could see a vain popping up on his temple. He grabbed Katherine by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. He ran to the ocean and dumped her into the water. Katherine screamed and pulled Mark down with her, which was surprising considering her brother was twice as big as her. The rest of the night went smoothly and they put out the fire and headed back towards Katherine and Marks house.
When they got there they were all pretty tired except for Mark and Katherine since they both had given each other wake-up calls.
ÒYou guys can crash here tonight. Our parents wouldnÕt care since there never home.Ó She led everyone up the double staircase. ÒShane and Vanessa you guys can take the couch.Ó The duo stepped down the third stairway and hopped down on the couch. The rest of the group followed her up stairs.
When they got to the top Alex, Toni and Josh took a guest room. Orlando and Justin took another one and Dragon slept by himself. Justin made sure Orlando was asleep before he went down stairs. He was kinda thirsty and decided to go get something to drink. He got up and put his pillows in place of himself. He opened the door quietly and headed down stairs.
Justin saw Katherine sweeping up some sand at the front door. She was dancing to Sean PaulÕs ÒGet BizzyÓ. She shook her hips to the beat and moved her body freely. He came up behind her silently and placed his hands around her hips. She glanced behind her shoulder; a surprised look was on her face. He smiled and dipped with her. It seemed like the music got louder.
Alex looked at the ceiling while lying on the bed. She was wide-awake. She heard music playing down stairs and she left like dancing. On the way out she tripped and fell on Toni who was positioned between Josh and the door.
ÒWhat are you doing?Ó Toni whispered. She tried to get up but was pulled back by Josh. Alex proceeded down the stairs and stopped when she saw Katherine and Justin dancing passionately to Pink ÒYou Make Me SickÓ. She sunk down to the other side of the house, in the living room.
She saw Vanessa sleeping with Shane. She heard a clattering noise in another room. Alex walked over to the door, opened it, and walked in. The room was a garage. The walls were plastered with posters of chicks, neon beer sings, and cars. There were toolboxes pushed up against the wall. In the middle of all this was a Mazda. The radio was playing ÒMurder She Wrote.Ó Alex started dancing. Mark pulled himself from under the car. He reached over to grab a ÒCoronaÓ.
ÒI canÕt believe heÕs sixteen and drinks but wonÕt let his sister drink.Ó Alex thought aloud. She turned around and came face to face with Mark. She screeched and started laughing. Mark smiled making Alex melt inside.
ÒNice car.Ó Alex pointed to the red Mazda. She walked over and got in the diverÕs side. She pretend to drive it.
ÒYeah.Ó Mark said leaning on the car talking to her through the window.
ÒWhere did you get it?Ó
ÒBuilt it.Ó
ÒWow, you wanna build me a car. IÕll be your friend.Ó Alex coxed.
ÒI can teach you.Ó
ÒO! Thanks.Ó Alex jumped out of the car hugged him and kissed his cheek. She then grabbed his ÒCoronaÓ, finished it and belched in his face.
ÒDidnÕt your mother teach you any manners?Ó Mark waved his hand clearing out the stench.
ÒYeah, but I donÕt think I should have any towards considering I think your about to do something to me.Ó
Just like Alex had predicted, Mark belched in her face. Alex stumbled back a little.
ÒOh, you did not just challenge me?Ó She took another sip or her ÒCoronaÓ and burped louder than him. Mark did the same and when he did, it didnÕt seem to get as loud as AlexÕs. But in the mean time, they were drinking a whole lot of ÒCoronaÕs and Mark drank more than her.
ÒYou win the belching challenge and I win the drinking,Ó Mark said looking at Alex. She started laughing, and ark laughed with her.
Alex stared at his lips. WasnÕt she supposed to hate him? But why did she feel like kissing him at this time? She leaned in towards Mark. She felt a sudden drowsiness wash over her.
Mark saw Alex leaning towards him. Was he drunk enough to kiss his sisters best friend? He leaned in with her. Unexpectedly, Alex fell asleep in his lap. He took another swig of his ÒCoronaÓ and thought to himself, Ôwell, I donÕt think that will be happening any time soon againÉÓ
He picked her up and carried her to the guest room. While walking up the stairs he saw Justin and Katherine dancing with each other. Right before her turned away to go up the stairs, He saw Justin kiss Katherine gently on her neck then left a trail of butterfly kisses leading to her lips. Then he kissed her. Mark would deal with Justin later.
For now, he took Alex to her guest room and tucked her in. He hesitated a little before deciding to kiss her. He left the room feeling more than friendship towards Alex.