Author's Note: A HUGE thank you to all the people who reviewed. You guys are so awesome! My head can hardly fit through the door anymore... :)
Lizzie C: Hmm... new characters? It's an idea, and one I hadn't thought of. I'll have to think about that! Thanks for your great review!
liz3386: Wow! I feel so... wanted. :) Believe me, I absolutely love Adam Lamberg's hair. I am the biggest sucker for curly hair on guys, it is so adorable.... I'm thinking he'll get it back at some point, at least in a flashback! :) I'm so glad you like my story. I love reading stories with humor in them. My opinion is this: If you can't laugh at life, what's the point of living? I'm always cracking jokes and making sarcastic comments, so it's natural for me to just write that way. BTW, I took your advice, and here's the next chapter. ;)
starcraze: I'm with you on that, I'm not sure where it's going either... :-D All I know, is that I'll do my best to make the ride entertaining.
Now, if everyone's ready, you have before you, I believe, my longest chapter yet by far.
~*~*~*~
As Lizzie and Gordo stepped inside the apartment she reached for the light switch, illuminating the small front room. A relieved Gordo laid down on the overstuffed leather couch, which had been a gift from Lizzie and Miranda's parents for the special occasion of finally having their own place. A glance around showed an older TV in relatively good condition with a battered VCR to go along with it; two mismatched chairs, one dark green and the other burgundy, were placed on either side of the couch; and a chipped coffee table sat in the middle of the small area, littered with magazines.
"Well Gordo," Lizzie began. He barely cracked open an eye to glance at her. "I'm gonna change into my pajamas *and*," she added, before he could get anything out from his already-open mouth, "get that red toenail polish you love so much," she finished with a grin.
"Whatever McGuire," he murmured. "You ain't painting my toenails."
"Oh aren't I?" Lizzie said to herself, turning to go to her bedroom.
Meanwhile, on the couch, Gordo threw an arm over his eyes, trying to block out the mental image of Lizzie in her pajamas. She would look so cute, like she was six again and bringing Mr. Snuggles over to his house for a sleep-over. He shook his head, and began to lightly doze.
In her bedroom, Lizzie started throwing off her clothes while she headed to the dresser next to her bed. Reaching in the top drawer, she started rummaging around for a set of jammies. Hmm, she thought. Where were those green... aha! she thought triumphantly, as she pulled out a stretchy lime green tank top with matching pants and pulled them on. Then she walked over to the shelf where she kept a scanty collection of video tapes. Hmm... what would Gordo be able to stand? 'Sleepless In Seattle'? Hardly. She kept looking. Maybe... yeah, there it was. *Their* movie. Tucking 'The Princess Bride' underneath her arm, she grabbed the bottle of massage oil off of her desk. Poor Gordo, she thought. He'd really hurt himself at practice today. Lizzie thought back to ninth grade, when he'd decided to try out for the high school swim team...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lizzie and Mirand just stared at Gordo, jaws hanging to about their knees.
"You're *what*?" they asked together.
"Trying out for the swim team," Gordo answered defensively.
"Hold on," Miranda said. "You. Swim team."
"Yes. Me. Swim team," he answered in an exasperated tone.
"*You*. *Swim team*."
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Gordo stated, quite miffed. "Don't you guys think I can do it?" he asked, a pleading glint in his eyes.
"Of *course* you can do it!" Lizzie hurried to say. "It's just that... well--" and here she looked at Miranda for some sort of help.
"--We've just never seen you demonstrate any interest in swimming. I mean, you're always saying you don't want to conform, to be your own person, and you're joining the *swim* team," Miranda rushed out.
"Well..." Gordo trailed off. "I was at the community pool the other day and the guys' swim coach was there and he saw me swimming. He came up to me and asked if I was going into high school, and if maybe I was interested in joining."
Miranda and Lizzie looked at each other for a moment, then back at Gordo.
"I guess I'd never really thought about being on the swim team, but he made it sound like such a good idea...."
"Well then," Lizzie began slowly, "I think you should do it, if it's something you want to do."
Gordo's expression brightened a bit. "I think it'll be really exciting! I figure, it's high school. It's time to do something different, you know?"
Miranda gave a wicked grin. "Let's go shopping for your Speedo, then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lizzie remembered that day so clearly. It had been two weeks before the start of high school, and Miranda had come home just a few days before that. It had been the best summer of her life, she'd thought at the time. She smiled, shaking her head. Lizzie left her room to head back to the living room, where she found Gordo sprawled out on her couch, an arm over his eyes. Poor guy, she thought. He must be really tired, on top of it all. Struck by a sudden idea, she set down her things on the coffee table and ran across the room, launching herself on the couch, right at the very end where his feet were resting.
Gordo quickly pushed himself upright. "Whu--?" he spluttered, then gathered his wits. "Lizzie..." he growled threateningly while she giggled at the end of the couch. "Argh!" he said, flopping back down. "You are so dead when I'm able to get off this couch," he threatened jokingly.
"Then that gives me plenty of time to get a visa and move to Europe," she teased back.
"Touche," he answered, and both fell quiet for a few moments.
"Well," Lizzie started, getting up off the couch and rummaging behind it. "Aha! Found it!" she cried as she pulled out an old quilt and spread it on the floor, along with a throw pillow from the couch. "Come over here and let me have my wicked way with you Mr. Gordon," she joked. Oh Lizzie, he thought, if only you knew....
With a pain-filled groan, Gordo rolled off the couch and crawled the few feet to the blanket, flopping onto his belly while Lizzie laughed at him.
"Come on Gordo," she said. "You have to take off your shirt."
"But that means I have to sit up," he whined.
"Ohhhh, poor baby."
"Just once, McGuire, go through a SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY SWIM PRACTICE and then tell me how you feel, 'kay?" he shot back, sitting upright. Lizzie just grinned at him. Muttering something under his breath she figured she'd rather not know, he began pulling the shirt over his head.
Any entertaining comebacks she might have responded with immediately left her brain as she just stared at the ever-increasing expanse of bare chest she was seeing. Damn, she thought, if that's what swimming does every guy in the world should think about joining.... Her thoughts trailed off as the shirt came completely off over his head, and she concentrated on her microwave. Okay Lizze, she thought to herself, pull it together. This is *Gordo* and he does *not* want you staring at him like that. She took a deep breath and smiled at Gordo again, who was looking at her a little oddly.
"You know the drill," she said, still smiling. "Lay down on your stomach." Gordo did as he was told, cushioning his head on the pillow and drifting into that hazy semi-concious state he'd been in earlier. This is gonna be so great, he thought. Not only a massage, but a massage from Elizabeth Brooke McGuire, and he hadn't gotten one from her since before she decided to go to school for massage therapy. He could think of worse ways to spend his Friday evening....
~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Minds out of the gutter, people, it ain't going there! :) Okay, it's almost midnight and I need to hit the hay. Gotta be up at 7 to go to work. (Ah, the joys of 'adult' life.) So this might not be the best place to stop, but I've got to. Sorry! Please don't forget to review, I love reading them!
Lizzie C: Hmm... new characters? It's an idea, and one I hadn't thought of. I'll have to think about that! Thanks for your great review!
liz3386: Wow! I feel so... wanted. :) Believe me, I absolutely love Adam Lamberg's hair. I am the biggest sucker for curly hair on guys, it is so adorable.... I'm thinking he'll get it back at some point, at least in a flashback! :) I'm so glad you like my story. I love reading stories with humor in them. My opinion is this: If you can't laugh at life, what's the point of living? I'm always cracking jokes and making sarcastic comments, so it's natural for me to just write that way. BTW, I took your advice, and here's the next chapter. ;)
starcraze: I'm with you on that, I'm not sure where it's going either... :-D All I know, is that I'll do my best to make the ride entertaining.
Now, if everyone's ready, you have before you, I believe, my longest chapter yet by far.
~*~*~*~
As Lizzie and Gordo stepped inside the apartment she reached for the light switch, illuminating the small front room. A relieved Gordo laid down on the overstuffed leather couch, which had been a gift from Lizzie and Miranda's parents for the special occasion of finally having their own place. A glance around showed an older TV in relatively good condition with a battered VCR to go along with it; two mismatched chairs, one dark green and the other burgundy, were placed on either side of the couch; and a chipped coffee table sat in the middle of the small area, littered with magazines.
"Well Gordo," Lizzie began. He barely cracked open an eye to glance at her. "I'm gonna change into my pajamas *and*," she added, before he could get anything out from his already-open mouth, "get that red toenail polish you love so much," she finished with a grin.
"Whatever McGuire," he murmured. "You ain't painting my toenails."
"Oh aren't I?" Lizzie said to herself, turning to go to her bedroom.
Meanwhile, on the couch, Gordo threw an arm over his eyes, trying to block out the mental image of Lizzie in her pajamas. She would look so cute, like she was six again and bringing Mr. Snuggles over to his house for a sleep-over. He shook his head, and began to lightly doze.
In her bedroom, Lizzie started throwing off her clothes while she headed to the dresser next to her bed. Reaching in the top drawer, she started rummaging around for a set of jammies. Hmm, she thought. Where were those green... aha! she thought triumphantly, as she pulled out a stretchy lime green tank top with matching pants and pulled them on. Then she walked over to the shelf where she kept a scanty collection of video tapes. Hmm... what would Gordo be able to stand? 'Sleepless In Seattle'? Hardly. She kept looking. Maybe... yeah, there it was. *Their* movie. Tucking 'The Princess Bride' underneath her arm, she grabbed the bottle of massage oil off of her desk. Poor Gordo, she thought. He'd really hurt himself at practice today. Lizzie thought back to ninth grade, when he'd decided to try out for the high school swim team...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lizzie and Mirand just stared at Gordo, jaws hanging to about their knees.
"You're *what*?" they asked together.
"Trying out for the swim team," Gordo answered defensively.
"Hold on," Miranda said. "You. Swim team."
"Yes. Me. Swim team," he answered in an exasperated tone.
"*You*. *Swim team*."
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Gordo stated, quite miffed. "Don't you guys think I can do it?" he asked, a pleading glint in his eyes.
"Of *course* you can do it!" Lizzie hurried to say. "It's just that... well--" and here she looked at Miranda for some sort of help.
"--We've just never seen you demonstrate any interest in swimming. I mean, you're always saying you don't want to conform, to be your own person, and you're joining the *swim* team," Miranda rushed out.
"Well..." Gordo trailed off. "I was at the community pool the other day and the guys' swim coach was there and he saw me swimming. He came up to me and asked if I was going into high school, and if maybe I was interested in joining."
Miranda and Lizzie looked at each other for a moment, then back at Gordo.
"I guess I'd never really thought about being on the swim team, but he made it sound like such a good idea...."
"Well then," Lizzie began slowly, "I think you should do it, if it's something you want to do."
Gordo's expression brightened a bit. "I think it'll be really exciting! I figure, it's high school. It's time to do something different, you know?"
Miranda gave a wicked grin. "Let's go shopping for your Speedo, then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lizzie remembered that day so clearly. It had been two weeks before the start of high school, and Miranda had come home just a few days before that. It had been the best summer of her life, she'd thought at the time. She smiled, shaking her head. Lizzie left her room to head back to the living room, where she found Gordo sprawled out on her couch, an arm over his eyes. Poor guy, she thought. He must be really tired, on top of it all. Struck by a sudden idea, she set down her things on the coffee table and ran across the room, launching herself on the couch, right at the very end where his feet were resting.
Gordo quickly pushed himself upright. "Whu--?" he spluttered, then gathered his wits. "Lizzie..." he growled threateningly while she giggled at the end of the couch. "Argh!" he said, flopping back down. "You are so dead when I'm able to get off this couch," he threatened jokingly.
"Then that gives me plenty of time to get a visa and move to Europe," she teased back.
"Touche," he answered, and both fell quiet for a few moments.
"Well," Lizzie started, getting up off the couch and rummaging behind it. "Aha! Found it!" she cried as she pulled out an old quilt and spread it on the floor, along with a throw pillow from the couch. "Come over here and let me have my wicked way with you Mr. Gordon," she joked. Oh Lizzie, he thought, if only you knew....
With a pain-filled groan, Gordo rolled off the couch and crawled the few feet to the blanket, flopping onto his belly while Lizzie laughed at him.
"Come on Gordo," she said. "You have to take off your shirt."
"But that means I have to sit up," he whined.
"Ohhhh, poor baby."
"Just once, McGuire, go through a SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY SWIM PRACTICE and then tell me how you feel, 'kay?" he shot back, sitting upright. Lizzie just grinned at him. Muttering something under his breath she figured she'd rather not know, he began pulling the shirt over his head.
Any entertaining comebacks she might have responded with immediately left her brain as she just stared at the ever-increasing expanse of bare chest she was seeing. Damn, she thought, if that's what swimming does every guy in the world should think about joining.... Her thoughts trailed off as the shirt came completely off over his head, and she concentrated on her microwave. Okay Lizze, she thought to herself, pull it together. This is *Gordo* and he does *not* want you staring at him like that. She took a deep breath and smiled at Gordo again, who was looking at her a little oddly.
"You know the drill," she said, still smiling. "Lay down on your stomach." Gordo did as he was told, cushioning his head on the pillow and drifting into that hazy semi-concious state he'd been in earlier. This is gonna be so great, he thought. Not only a massage, but a massage from Elizabeth Brooke McGuire, and he hadn't gotten one from her since before she decided to go to school for massage therapy. He could think of worse ways to spend his Friday evening....
~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Minds out of the gutter, people, it ain't going there! :) Okay, it's almost midnight and I need to hit the hay. Gotta be up at 7 to go to work. (Ah, the joys of 'adult' life.) So this might not be the best place to stop, but I've got to. Sorry! Please don't forget to review, I love reading them!