"So...what do you wanna do?" Tawny asked me, after opening the door and
letting me into her house ahead of her.
I shrugged, and started up the stairs, knowing where her room was. It was about all I knew of her house. I felt around on the wall for the light because it was now fairly dark, but I couldn't find the switch.
Tawny came in and flipped it on, then grinned, and put her things down in a corner that was obviously meant for them. I just dropped mine in the middle of the floor, then stood there. She looked at me, and said, "My dad should be home soon. He probably picked up some food. I've gotta go check and see who called. The answering machine's downstairs."
"Does your dad know...about us?" I asked before moving a single step.
"Well...yeah, sorta." She rolled her eyes, "Before we do anything...if you wanna do anything, of course, I should call everyone that's called me." She stopped at the door, and waited for me.
"Why would anyone call you?"
"Business." She muttered, and we both started back down the stairs.
"Like what kind of business? Do you deal crack or something?"
"Uh...no. A different kind of business. I get paid for my services."
"Oh my God...you're a prostitute."
"I should have known that was coming." She sighed, "No, just come on and you'll see."
We strolled into the den, and she sat in the chair, and looked at the Caller ID. She raised an eyebrow, and I asked, "Can you tell me your business now?"
"Tom's called three times, just as I suspected...expected him to call more though, and one from Twitty. Less people than I thought." She said mostly to herself.
"Please tell me you're not a prostitute."
"Yes, Ren, I am indeed a prostitute." She said sarcastically. I sat on the couch, and watched her pick up the phone. "Hi, can I speak to Tom please?" She paused, "Yes, this is Tawny. I'm returning his call." She covered the receiver and looked at me, "Psychiatry."
"That's illegal, you don't have a license to do that."
"If I didn't think you were so damn hot, I'd kick you for saying that."
I smiled, "You get paid?"
She nodded.
"Why didn't I ever have to pay?"
"You figure it out."
I knew I never had to pay for her advice because she liked me. That was so nice. I sat and listened quietly while she talked to Tom in her very calm manner, instructing him to find a new person to focus his attention on instead of Louis because Louis wasn't worth the stress he caused himself. The conversation went on an incredibly long time, at least it felt like it did. Tom was very stubborn, and Tawny kept repeating everything she said over and over.
Her dad walked in and greeted us both. I nodded unsurely.
"I'm almost done." Tawny said to me, noticing how very boring it was to listen to her talk to someone that wasn't me.
I sat through her conversation with Twitty as well. I didn't know my way around her house, and I didn't feel like wondering around with her dad present. Twitty wasn't as stubborn as Tom, so it didn't take her nearly as long. The moment she hung up, I got up and stretched.
"Wanna eat something?" She asked.
I blinked. What'd she want me to eat? "Uh..."
"I mean food. Sorry, shoulda clarified that, I suppose." She motioned for me to follow her.
I did, reluctantly, into the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at the table looking at some magazine. He looked up when we entered, "She staying the night, Tawny?"
"Yeah." She stated, plainly, and opened the refrigerator, "Did you bring any food home?"
"Nope. You guys can just eat what you want. "
I snickered.
"I mean..." He started to correct himself, "Eat whatever you can find...in the kitchen...err...that's edible...and...nutritious."
I laughed a little more.
"Dad, you're scaring her."
"I apologize. Hey, why don't you two order a pizza or Chinese? I ate on the way home."
Tawny looked at me, and waited for my choice.
"Chinese is good."
Mr. Dean scribbled down what we wanted. He was nice. I'd never spent much time around him. Tawny asked him to call us when the food arrived, then she pulled me back up to her room. She looked around nervously, "So...uh...what do you wanna do?"
"I'd like to know where your mom is."
"Why?"
I laughed, nervously, "Because I feel bad leaving your dad downstairs all alone."
"That's kinda weird. She's away for business stuff. She's almost always away."
"I noticed that. I was just wondering. I'd like to know stuff about you before we...um..."
"Have lots of sex?"
"Yeah..."
She turned on the TV, "Anything else?"
"Um..." I thought for a moment or so, "Yeah. You're afraid to touch me all of a sudden, aren't you?"
"Sorta. Yeah. I just don't wanna do anything wrong, and make you mad or something."
"Awww!" I squealed.
She winced, "Don't 'awww' at me."
"But you're so cute!"
"I'm not." She crossed her arms, and glared, but it had no real affect on me.
"Stop arguing with me, Tawny. You're cute and you know it."
She shrugged, then her lips twisted into a half-smile, "Yeah, I guess I am."
I flopped down onto her bed, "Don't be afraid of me. Remember, I got kinda annoyed with Bobby because all he would do is give me high-fives."
Laughing, she came over and sat at the head of her bed, using the wall to rest her back on, "Come back here."
"Don't laugh at Bobby. He can't help it he's dumb." I moved back, and then laid my head on her lap. She was sitting with her leg's crossed, and she looked down at me a little confused, but said nothing. "Your dad seems pretty understanding." I tried to get some conversation going.
"He is, and you should tell your parents. It's not like they're excessively conservative, homophobic cabbages."
"Cabbages, huh?"
"Yeah. Bobby is a type of cabbage, and Twitty is a kind of cabbage, as is Donnie, no offense to you."
"That reminds me, what's Twitty gonna do about the Donnie stuff?"
"He talked to Louis, finally, after I told him to do it days ago, and all's well in that area. I told him that he should tell Donnie, and that should get it off his chest no matter what the outcome is. He's just confused. I don't think he really likes Donnie or anything like that."
"Oh...sounds good."
"Of course it does. I said it."
"Tawny! Food!" Her dad called from downstairs before I could comment on her ego.
"Get off." She said, and slid out from under me when I lifted my head. She exited, and I used the opportunity to see if there was anything on TV to watch while we ate. Nothing much that was interesting. I left it on the Discovery Channel figuring something interesting would come on after a while. A few minutes later, she came back with some boxes, "Had to get forks." She said, and handed one to me, "Chopsticks don't work right."
"What're we gonna do after we finish?" I asked, and grabbed a box of rice.
She shrugged, "Whatever you want." She glanced at the TV, "You put it on the Discovery Channel..."
"It's educational."
"Uh huh. Can you do anything and not be concerned with educational content?"
"Not really. No."
She rolled her eyes, "I've gotta cure you of that."
"I've gotta cure you of your stiffness when I hug you." I said, and shook my fork at her.
"Your mom does that." She pointed out, and nodded toward my fork.
"I know."
"So...gonna tell her?"
"She already knows."
Tawny groaned, and gave up to eat her food.
Conversation shifted frequently throughout the meal, and the topics were various. She was easy to talk to, despite her sarcasm, cynicism, and ego. She wasn't condescending, though she did think that she knew most everything. When she didn't know something she was quick to admit it, and willing to figure it out. After we finished we took the leftovers down and put them in the refrigerator. We popped into the living room and thanked her dad before going back upstairs.
"So...what now?" She asked. Again she was standing far from me.
"I dunno..." I paused, and remembered what Ruby had said earlier, "Um...while I was at Ruby's she said something about how I don't know...um...how to do it." I sighed, and laid down on her bed on my stomach.
"Do what? It? Sex?" She laid down next to me, but on her back with her hands behind her head.
"Yeah...I've got no experience whatsoever...in any way...never been past first base, ya know...except with you..."
"Oh...well...I won't have anything to compare it to if you suck ass...well...if we do anything like that, that is."
"Yeah..." I sighed again, "I dunno if I feel like it."
"That's ok."
I smiled. "Come here...closer." She rolled onto her side, and propped her head up with her arm. I did the same, but on the opposite arm, so that I was facing her. "I promise that I'll tell my parents when I get home tomorrow."
"That'll be good. If they go crazy and try to kill you, then tell me, and I'll protect you."
"You?" I laughed. "You're so little...and-"
She kissed me softly, cutting off my sentence. "Ren...I will."
I slipped my arms around her, and pulled her down and close to me, "Ok."
Our faces laid close together, and I just looked into her eyes. I felt like I could do it forever. The TV was still on in the background. It was some nature show. I couldn't tell what it was about.
"Spider Monkeys-" Said the voice on TV.
I sat up, "Ooh. Spider Monkeys."
"Damn." Tawny turned the TV off, "Spider Monkeys are spawns of Satan." She mumbled, and pulled me back down beside her.
"They're not. They're cute."
"Cuter than me?" She said with wide eyes, looking like she would cry at any second.
"No way!"
"Then why'd you leave me for the Spider Monkeys?"
"I just wanted to look at them for a second."
"Fine."
I laid back down, "Do you realize how really stupid that moment was that we just had?"
"Yeah, but no one'll know about it except you and me."
I faintly heard the doorbell ring, and was about to sit up and, but she threw her arm over me, signaling for me to stay down where I was. "But- "
"No buts. It's probably just someone needing directions or a neighbor or something wanting advice from my dad. You are some kind of paranoid maniac."
I took her word for it, and agreed with her diagnosis. "You write nice poetry."
"Ok...nice smooth and seamless subject change." Typical Tawny-sarcasm at its best was used.
"It-"
Someone burst into her room and cut me off. "Ren!"
We both sat up immediately.
"Oh my gosh!" I yelled.
My mom and dad were both inside the room, and I spotted Louis and Mr. Dean just outside of the threshold of the door. My mom looked from me to Tawny, and back again several times, "What's going on, Ren? You've got some explaining to do."
"Um...well..." I stood up, and cleared my throat. I started to fiddle with my hands behind my back, nervously.
"Well?"
I looked down at everyone's feet, couldn't look at their faces at the moment. How had this happened? Why were they here? "I...uh...I'm...I'm in love with Tawny!" I yelled, not meaning to. "That wasn't so hard." I said quietly to myself. Then I looked up at everyone's expressions. Louis and Mr. Dean were still lurking outside the door, and my parents were both wide- eyed with gaping mouths. Louis told them, and then they called Ruby and she blew my cover even more. Needed to explain! I talked very fast, "I really like her, and I didn't wanna tell you guys cus I thought you hate me and kill me, and stuff like that. Louis was lying about going out with her so that it would give her an excuse to come over, and I wanted to stay with her. Not to do anything bad or anything like that, but just to spend time with her because I don't really get to. I don't see her at school very much, and when she comes over it's only for a few hours, and it's always really awkward because I was trying to keep us a secret, so I left my Jeep and Ruby's, and claimed to be over there, when I was really over here. Sorry. Don't be mad at me..."
My dad started to say something, but Tawny got up, stood in front of me, and started yelling at them, "If either of you are mad at her for liking me, and don't want to try to understand then...then you're..."
"Cabbages." I whispered.
She shook her fist at them, "Cabbages! Heartless cabbages...that was not good word choice, but you should get the point! She can't help that she likes me, and I can't help that I like her! There's nothing you can do to change our minds, and there's nothing wrong with it, especially if neither of us can help it! And-"
"Tawny, be quiet for a minute and let the people talk." Her dad said from behind my parents, then he ducked out of sight again.
"Ren..." My mom began, "We're disappointed that you thought you couldn't tell us this. We knew all along."
"Told you." Tawny said between her teeth.
"Shush." I pushed her away from me and she stumbled into her open closet, then I directed my attention back to the parental units, "Why didn't you say something? It would've saved a lot of people a lot of trouble."
"We wanted you to tell us yourself." She continued, "You'd always been so open with us before."
"Who told you? Was it Louis or did you read a note from my room? If it was Louis, then I'll rip his arms off as soon as I get home, and if you read-."
"There's no need for arm ripping." My dad said, "It was Mr. Dean. He called us and told us everything."
"Dad!" Tawny yelled.
His head poked around the corner, and he smiled, "I'm sorry. I just thought it would help if they had me explain it to them before Ren did. Just in case...you know..."
"Ren, honey, I trust you to make wise decisions and I never read anything of yours." Said my mom.
I had started to doubt things for nothing. It had been Tawny's dad that blew my whole cover, probably the very day that she told him. It wasn't Louis. He had nothing to do with it. I looked down again, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" My dad asked.
"I dunno...for not telling you."
"And?"
"Uh...for lying."
"Very good. Now it's our turn to explain." He laughed, almost evilly, "Louis was in on our plot the whole time..."
I glared at him, and he backed out of sight.
"He told us your plan for tonight, and we of course, got a confession out of Ruby, then we figured that tonight would be a good night...to...well...stop by the Dean residence, and see what was up."
Evil family, I have. What was up with everyone testing me in some way? They came in and scared the shit out of me just to get me to tell them something they already knew. So parent-like. I couldn't help, but glare, or attempt to at least. Why'd they have to make me go through the trouble of hiding it? At least they didn't see too mad or anything.
"Well...we'll be on our way now. Goodnight." My mom gave me a hug, and my dad followed suit. Then they both headed out.
"Hey! Wait!" I said loudly. They turned and looked at me curiously, "That was way too easy. You're ok with all this and you're leaving me here?"
My dad shrugged, "Yeah. I don't see why not. You're responsible enough, aren't you?"
My mom nodded, and I blinked in confusion. They obviously trusted me a lot more than I had them. When they walked out Louis stepped in. "Hey si- I mean Ren." He glanced at Tawny and corrected his error. "That went well, huh? Now hook me up with Monique."
I was in a state of sheer confusion, and could do nothing else but agree to it. "Uh...ok..."
He walked out, grinning, and Tawny's dad shut the door.
I looked at Tawny, "What the hell was that?"
"Weird."
"Yeah...they'll probably kill me when I get home tomorrow."
"If that's the case, then we need to have sex."
"Yeah-errr...no! What if someone pops back in or something?" Before she could answer, I said, "Were you in on this thing to? This was some great plan of yours to get in my pants, wasn't it?!" I pointed at her.
"Yes, Ren." She rolled her eyes.
"Stop rolling your eyes!"
She crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes again.
"Stoppit!" I reached out and grabbed her shoulders, then pulled her against me, "It's cute when you roll your eyes..."
"Oh damn...I'll never roll my eyes again."
"How do you write so good?"
She laughed, "You mean well. How do I write so well."
"Yeah. Let me use improper grammar once in a while."
"All you need to write are supplies."
"Like more than just a pencil and paper? Is there something special?"
"You write good, Ren..."
"Hmph. Yeah, essays."
"All you need is something to write on, something to write with, and some kind of motivation."
"What do you use for motivation?"
She shrugged, "Recently. You."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
I wrapped my arms firmly around her, and she held on tightly to me. "I'm part of your papeterie?"
"Someone's been paying too much attention in French."
"You can never pay too much attention to anything, and you obviously paid attention too."
"We talk way too much sometimes."
"I know, but it's okay."
"Yeah..." She nuzzled my neck with her nose. "I love you."
I squeezed her slightly tighter. "I think I love you too."
"You think?" She laughed, "That'll be ok with me...for now...but..."
"But what?"
She snickered, "It hurt my feelings that you aren't sure...so..."
"So?"
"Well...you should make it up to me."
"I won't have sex with you...well...not right now."
She wiggled out of my grasp, "I was actually going to ask you to help me clean my room."
"Liar!"
Throwing a random pillow from her floor at me, she laughed, and said, "I'm not lying. My room's a mess. We could have sex when we're done though...you don't wanna have sex in a messy room."
"I don't wanna have sex with you yet." I said, crossing my arms.
"It's all that's on your mind, you're lying now."
I picked the pillow up and threw it back at her, grinning, "Maybe..."
She caught it before it hit her, then she held onto it, and sat on the floor, "Ren...it's not even really sex...it's like...all foreplay...if that makes you feel any better."
"You're trying to seduce me, you whore."
"I'm a prostitute, remember? It's my job, but you don't have to pay...because you're Ren."
"Stop being so nice, Tawny!" I covered my eyes, and bit my tongue, trying not to laugh at her.
"Nice? Here I was thinking I was being mean..."
"No." I sat down next to her, "I know you're joking about everything so it's like-"
"Reverse-reverse psychology?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." I said, and nearly before I got the word out, I grabbed onto the collar of her shirt, and pulled her in to kiss me. She more or less fell forward onto me.
"Love me yet?" She whispered.
"Maybe I always have."
The End
I shrugged, and started up the stairs, knowing where her room was. It was about all I knew of her house. I felt around on the wall for the light because it was now fairly dark, but I couldn't find the switch.
Tawny came in and flipped it on, then grinned, and put her things down in a corner that was obviously meant for them. I just dropped mine in the middle of the floor, then stood there. She looked at me, and said, "My dad should be home soon. He probably picked up some food. I've gotta go check and see who called. The answering machine's downstairs."
"Does your dad know...about us?" I asked before moving a single step.
"Well...yeah, sorta." She rolled her eyes, "Before we do anything...if you wanna do anything, of course, I should call everyone that's called me." She stopped at the door, and waited for me.
"Why would anyone call you?"
"Business." She muttered, and we both started back down the stairs.
"Like what kind of business? Do you deal crack or something?"
"Uh...no. A different kind of business. I get paid for my services."
"Oh my God...you're a prostitute."
"I should have known that was coming." She sighed, "No, just come on and you'll see."
We strolled into the den, and she sat in the chair, and looked at the Caller ID. She raised an eyebrow, and I asked, "Can you tell me your business now?"
"Tom's called three times, just as I suspected...expected him to call more though, and one from Twitty. Less people than I thought." She said mostly to herself.
"Please tell me you're not a prostitute."
"Yes, Ren, I am indeed a prostitute." She said sarcastically. I sat on the couch, and watched her pick up the phone. "Hi, can I speak to Tom please?" She paused, "Yes, this is Tawny. I'm returning his call." She covered the receiver and looked at me, "Psychiatry."
"That's illegal, you don't have a license to do that."
"If I didn't think you were so damn hot, I'd kick you for saying that."
I smiled, "You get paid?"
She nodded.
"Why didn't I ever have to pay?"
"You figure it out."
I knew I never had to pay for her advice because she liked me. That was so nice. I sat and listened quietly while she talked to Tom in her very calm manner, instructing him to find a new person to focus his attention on instead of Louis because Louis wasn't worth the stress he caused himself. The conversation went on an incredibly long time, at least it felt like it did. Tom was very stubborn, and Tawny kept repeating everything she said over and over.
Her dad walked in and greeted us both. I nodded unsurely.
"I'm almost done." Tawny said to me, noticing how very boring it was to listen to her talk to someone that wasn't me.
I sat through her conversation with Twitty as well. I didn't know my way around her house, and I didn't feel like wondering around with her dad present. Twitty wasn't as stubborn as Tom, so it didn't take her nearly as long. The moment she hung up, I got up and stretched.
"Wanna eat something?" She asked.
I blinked. What'd she want me to eat? "Uh..."
"I mean food. Sorry, shoulda clarified that, I suppose." She motioned for me to follow her.
I did, reluctantly, into the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at the table looking at some magazine. He looked up when we entered, "She staying the night, Tawny?"
"Yeah." She stated, plainly, and opened the refrigerator, "Did you bring any food home?"
"Nope. You guys can just eat what you want. "
I snickered.
"I mean..." He started to correct himself, "Eat whatever you can find...in the kitchen...err...that's edible...and...nutritious."
I laughed a little more.
"Dad, you're scaring her."
"I apologize. Hey, why don't you two order a pizza or Chinese? I ate on the way home."
Tawny looked at me, and waited for my choice.
"Chinese is good."
Mr. Dean scribbled down what we wanted. He was nice. I'd never spent much time around him. Tawny asked him to call us when the food arrived, then she pulled me back up to her room. She looked around nervously, "So...uh...what do you wanna do?"
"I'd like to know where your mom is."
"Why?"
I laughed, nervously, "Because I feel bad leaving your dad downstairs all alone."
"That's kinda weird. She's away for business stuff. She's almost always away."
"I noticed that. I was just wondering. I'd like to know stuff about you before we...um..."
"Have lots of sex?"
"Yeah..."
She turned on the TV, "Anything else?"
"Um..." I thought for a moment or so, "Yeah. You're afraid to touch me all of a sudden, aren't you?"
"Sorta. Yeah. I just don't wanna do anything wrong, and make you mad or something."
"Awww!" I squealed.
She winced, "Don't 'awww' at me."
"But you're so cute!"
"I'm not." She crossed her arms, and glared, but it had no real affect on me.
"Stop arguing with me, Tawny. You're cute and you know it."
She shrugged, then her lips twisted into a half-smile, "Yeah, I guess I am."
I flopped down onto her bed, "Don't be afraid of me. Remember, I got kinda annoyed with Bobby because all he would do is give me high-fives."
Laughing, she came over and sat at the head of her bed, using the wall to rest her back on, "Come back here."
"Don't laugh at Bobby. He can't help it he's dumb." I moved back, and then laid my head on her lap. She was sitting with her leg's crossed, and she looked down at me a little confused, but said nothing. "Your dad seems pretty understanding." I tried to get some conversation going.
"He is, and you should tell your parents. It's not like they're excessively conservative, homophobic cabbages."
"Cabbages, huh?"
"Yeah. Bobby is a type of cabbage, and Twitty is a kind of cabbage, as is Donnie, no offense to you."
"That reminds me, what's Twitty gonna do about the Donnie stuff?"
"He talked to Louis, finally, after I told him to do it days ago, and all's well in that area. I told him that he should tell Donnie, and that should get it off his chest no matter what the outcome is. He's just confused. I don't think he really likes Donnie or anything like that."
"Oh...sounds good."
"Of course it does. I said it."
"Tawny! Food!" Her dad called from downstairs before I could comment on her ego.
"Get off." She said, and slid out from under me when I lifted my head. She exited, and I used the opportunity to see if there was anything on TV to watch while we ate. Nothing much that was interesting. I left it on the Discovery Channel figuring something interesting would come on after a while. A few minutes later, she came back with some boxes, "Had to get forks." She said, and handed one to me, "Chopsticks don't work right."
"What're we gonna do after we finish?" I asked, and grabbed a box of rice.
She shrugged, "Whatever you want." She glanced at the TV, "You put it on the Discovery Channel..."
"It's educational."
"Uh huh. Can you do anything and not be concerned with educational content?"
"Not really. No."
She rolled her eyes, "I've gotta cure you of that."
"I've gotta cure you of your stiffness when I hug you." I said, and shook my fork at her.
"Your mom does that." She pointed out, and nodded toward my fork.
"I know."
"So...gonna tell her?"
"She already knows."
Tawny groaned, and gave up to eat her food.
Conversation shifted frequently throughout the meal, and the topics were various. She was easy to talk to, despite her sarcasm, cynicism, and ego. She wasn't condescending, though she did think that she knew most everything. When she didn't know something she was quick to admit it, and willing to figure it out. After we finished we took the leftovers down and put them in the refrigerator. We popped into the living room and thanked her dad before going back upstairs.
"So...what now?" She asked. Again she was standing far from me.
"I dunno..." I paused, and remembered what Ruby had said earlier, "Um...while I was at Ruby's she said something about how I don't know...um...how to do it." I sighed, and laid down on her bed on my stomach.
"Do what? It? Sex?" She laid down next to me, but on her back with her hands behind her head.
"Yeah...I've got no experience whatsoever...in any way...never been past first base, ya know...except with you..."
"Oh...well...I won't have anything to compare it to if you suck ass...well...if we do anything like that, that is."
"Yeah..." I sighed again, "I dunno if I feel like it."
"That's ok."
I smiled. "Come here...closer." She rolled onto her side, and propped her head up with her arm. I did the same, but on the opposite arm, so that I was facing her. "I promise that I'll tell my parents when I get home tomorrow."
"That'll be good. If they go crazy and try to kill you, then tell me, and I'll protect you."
"You?" I laughed. "You're so little...and-"
She kissed me softly, cutting off my sentence. "Ren...I will."
I slipped my arms around her, and pulled her down and close to me, "Ok."
Our faces laid close together, and I just looked into her eyes. I felt like I could do it forever. The TV was still on in the background. It was some nature show. I couldn't tell what it was about.
"Spider Monkeys-" Said the voice on TV.
I sat up, "Ooh. Spider Monkeys."
"Damn." Tawny turned the TV off, "Spider Monkeys are spawns of Satan." She mumbled, and pulled me back down beside her.
"They're not. They're cute."
"Cuter than me?" She said with wide eyes, looking like she would cry at any second.
"No way!"
"Then why'd you leave me for the Spider Monkeys?"
"I just wanted to look at them for a second."
"Fine."
I laid back down, "Do you realize how really stupid that moment was that we just had?"
"Yeah, but no one'll know about it except you and me."
I faintly heard the doorbell ring, and was about to sit up and, but she threw her arm over me, signaling for me to stay down where I was. "But- "
"No buts. It's probably just someone needing directions or a neighbor or something wanting advice from my dad. You are some kind of paranoid maniac."
I took her word for it, and agreed with her diagnosis. "You write nice poetry."
"Ok...nice smooth and seamless subject change." Typical Tawny-sarcasm at its best was used.
"It-"
Someone burst into her room and cut me off. "Ren!"
We both sat up immediately.
"Oh my gosh!" I yelled.
My mom and dad were both inside the room, and I spotted Louis and Mr. Dean just outside of the threshold of the door. My mom looked from me to Tawny, and back again several times, "What's going on, Ren? You've got some explaining to do."
"Um...well..." I stood up, and cleared my throat. I started to fiddle with my hands behind my back, nervously.
"Well?"
I looked down at everyone's feet, couldn't look at their faces at the moment. How had this happened? Why were they here? "I...uh...I'm...I'm in love with Tawny!" I yelled, not meaning to. "That wasn't so hard." I said quietly to myself. Then I looked up at everyone's expressions. Louis and Mr. Dean were still lurking outside the door, and my parents were both wide- eyed with gaping mouths. Louis told them, and then they called Ruby and she blew my cover even more. Needed to explain! I talked very fast, "I really like her, and I didn't wanna tell you guys cus I thought you hate me and kill me, and stuff like that. Louis was lying about going out with her so that it would give her an excuse to come over, and I wanted to stay with her. Not to do anything bad or anything like that, but just to spend time with her because I don't really get to. I don't see her at school very much, and when she comes over it's only for a few hours, and it's always really awkward because I was trying to keep us a secret, so I left my Jeep and Ruby's, and claimed to be over there, when I was really over here. Sorry. Don't be mad at me..."
My dad started to say something, but Tawny got up, stood in front of me, and started yelling at them, "If either of you are mad at her for liking me, and don't want to try to understand then...then you're..."
"Cabbages." I whispered.
She shook her fist at them, "Cabbages! Heartless cabbages...that was not good word choice, but you should get the point! She can't help that she likes me, and I can't help that I like her! There's nothing you can do to change our minds, and there's nothing wrong with it, especially if neither of us can help it! And-"
"Tawny, be quiet for a minute and let the people talk." Her dad said from behind my parents, then he ducked out of sight again.
"Ren..." My mom began, "We're disappointed that you thought you couldn't tell us this. We knew all along."
"Told you." Tawny said between her teeth.
"Shush." I pushed her away from me and she stumbled into her open closet, then I directed my attention back to the parental units, "Why didn't you say something? It would've saved a lot of people a lot of trouble."
"We wanted you to tell us yourself." She continued, "You'd always been so open with us before."
"Who told you? Was it Louis or did you read a note from my room? If it was Louis, then I'll rip his arms off as soon as I get home, and if you read-."
"There's no need for arm ripping." My dad said, "It was Mr. Dean. He called us and told us everything."
"Dad!" Tawny yelled.
His head poked around the corner, and he smiled, "I'm sorry. I just thought it would help if they had me explain it to them before Ren did. Just in case...you know..."
"Ren, honey, I trust you to make wise decisions and I never read anything of yours." Said my mom.
I had started to doubt things for nothing. It had been Tawny's dad that blew my whole cover, probably the very day that she told him. It wasn't Louis. He had nothing to do with it. I looked down again, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" My dad asked.
"I dunno...for not telling you."
"And?"
"Uh...for lying."
"Very good. Now it's our turn to explain." He laughed, almost evilly, "Louis was in on our plot the whole time..."
I glared at him, and he backed out of sight.
"He told us your plan for tonight, and we of course, got a confession out of Ruby, then we figured that tonight would be a good night...to...well...stop by the Dean residence, and see what was up."
Evil family, I have. What was up with everyone testing me in some way? They came in and scared the shit out of me just to get me to tell them something they already knew. So parent-like. I couldn't help, but glare, or attempt to at least. Why'd they have to make me go through the trouble of hiding it? At least they didn't see too mad or anything.
"Well...we'll be on our way now. Goodnight." My mom gave me a hug, and my dad followed suit. Then they both headed out.
"Hey! Wait!" I said loudly. They turned and looked at me curiously, "That was way too easy. You're ok with all this and you're leaving me here?"
My dad shrugged, "Yeah. I don't see why not. You're responsible enough, aren't you?"
My mom nodded, and I blinked in confusion. They obviously trusted me a lot more than I had them. When they walked out Louis stepped in. "Hey si- I mean Ren." He glanced at Tawny and corrected his error. "That went well, huh? Now hook me up with Monique."
I was in a state of sheer confusion, and could do nothing else but agree to it. "Uh...ok..."
He walked out, grinning, and Tawny's dad shut the door.
I looked at Tawny, "What the hell was that?"
"Weird."
"Yeah...they'll probably kill me when I get home tomorrow."
"If that's the case, then we need to have sex."
"Yeah-errr...no! What if someone pops back in or something?" Before she could answer, I said, "Were you in on this thing to? This was some great plan of yours to get in my pants, wasn't it?!" I pointed at her.
"Yes, Ren." She rolled her eyes.
"Stop rolling your eyes!"
She crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes again.
"Stoppit!" I reached out and grabbed her shoulders, then pulled her against me, "It's cute when you roll your eyes..."
"Oh damn...I'll never roll my eyes again."
"How do you write so good?"
She laughed, "You mean well. How do I write so well."
"Yeah. Let me use improper grammar once in a while."
"All you need to write are supplies."
"Like more than just a pencil and paper? Is there something special?"
"You write good, Ren..."
"Hmph. Yeah, essays."
"All you need is something to write on, something to write with, and some kind of motivation."
"What do you use for motivation?"
She shrugged, "Recently. You."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
I wrapped my arms firmly around her, and she held on tightly to me. "I'm part of your papeterie?"
"Someone's been paying too much attention in French."
"You can never pay too much attention to anything, and you obviously paid attention too."
"We talk way too much sometimes."
"I know, but it's okay."
"Yeah..." She nuzzled my neck with her nose. "I love you."
I squeezed her slightly tighter. "I think I love you too."
"You think?" She laughed, "That'll be ok with me...for now...but..."
"But what?"
She snickered, "It hurt my feelings that you aren't sure...so..."
"So?"
"Well...you should make it up to me."
"I won't have sex with you...well...not right now."
She wiggled out of my grasp, "I was actually going to ask you to help me clean my room."
"Liar!"
Throwing a random pillow from her floor at me, she laughed, and said, "I'm not lying. My room's a mess. We could have sex when we're done though...you don't wanna have sex in a messy room."
"I don't wanna have sex with you yet." I said, crossing my arms.
"It's all that's on your mind, you're lying now."
I picked the pillow up and threw it back at her, grinning, "Maybe..."
She caught it before it hit her, then she held onto it, and sat on the floor, "Ren...it's not even really sex...it's like...all foreplay...if that makes you feel any better."
"You're trying to seduce me, you whore."
"I'm a prostitute, remember? It's my job, but you don't have to pay...because you're Ren."
"Stop being so nice, Tawny!" I covered my eyes, and bit my tongue, trying not to laugh at her.
"Nice? Here I was thinking I was being mean..."
"No." I sat down next to her, "I know you're joking about everything so it's like-"
"Reverse-reverse psychology?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." I said, and nearly before I got the word out, I grabbed onto the collar of her shirt, and pulled her in to kiss me. She more or less fell forward onto me.
"Love me yet?" She whispered.
"Maybe I always have."
The End