More than twenty minutes after Jack gave his unique performance, the teens
had finally returned to their own little groups. Tired of enduring Shawn
and Philip's good-natured ribbing, Jason vacated his position at the grill
and allowed Shawn to finish the first batch of grilled food. Besides, Jack
and Jeremy were both sticking close to the grill, and Jason wasn't really
in the mood to see what the fates would do to him if he purposely subjected
himself to their company.
Kevin and Susan were sitting near the pool, clearly lost in their own world. As for Erin, Jason's sister had gone to the kitchen to find a little peace from Jason's friendly, but somewhat intimidating, friends. Meanwhile, Brady had once disappeared. Jason wasn't quite sure what was going on with Belle's older brother, but he had a feeling that the guy was keeping a low profile for a reason. Near the hammock, Chloe and Belle were carrying on some type of conversation with Zach, while Mimi simply wondered aimlessly around the spacious backyard.
As Jason stood near the picnic table that housed the blaring boom box, Mimi slowly worked up the nerve to approach him. Mimi found herself staring at Jason and cursing the feelings that were forming for him. She tried telling herself that falling for him was pointless. Mimi even resorted to mentally naming everything that was wrong with Jason. He was egotistical. He was just another jerk. He had ridiculed her for years. He had a jealous ex- girlfriend with psychopathic tendencies.
On the other hand, he never expected her to be someone she wasn't. He was athletic. He could make her laugh. He had protected her from Jan. Plus, Mimi silently added, he looked extremely hot in a towel. And, she could only imagine how hot he would look out of the towel.
"Hey, Mimi, don't look at my wiener like that!"
Jerking her eyes to up to meet Jason's, Mimi felt herself blushing from her extreme embarrassment. As she opened her mouth to stutter some type of explanation, Jason interrupted her. "I can't help it if the thing got burnt to a crisp. Shawn's the idiot controlling the grill."
Mimi sighed with relief when she noticed the hot dog that Jason was displaying. As he twirled the darkened object with his plastic fork, Jason continued, "Anyway, don't blame me when the rest of the food turns out just like this. I am not proclaiming myself 'Lord of the Grill' anymore. Shawn stole the title - or tried."
Walking away from Mimi, Jason sat down in one of the two chairs near the corner of the pool. He then motioned at the empty seat beside him. "Go on, sit down. I swear, I won't bite."
Against her better judgment, Mimi placed her body in the chair beside Jason. With the way her heart had started to flutter around from him, she wondered if it was healthy to continually place herself in such close proximity to him.
The duo sat in silence until Jason whispered, "Geek-boy is finally going to work up the courage to ask out the sister of Godzilla."
"What?" Mimi asked with a mixture of confusion and exasperation.
Discreetly pointing across the pool to where Kevin and Susan were relaxing on the chaise longues, Jason explained, "He's about to ask her out. All he's done since he got here was follow her around and try to work up the nerve to ask. If they weren't so completely pathetic, they might almost be cute. Well, almost."
"You are so wrong, Jason. There's no way something is going on between Kevin and Susan."
"Sure there is. The nerd practically starts drooling when he feels the earth shake upon her arrival."
Jason's cruel sense of humor not pleasing her, Mimi stated, "You really are a jerk. I don't know why you pick on those two all the time, but you should really stop. Kevin and Susan are nice people." When Jason only gave a snort and rolled his eyes, Mimi insisted, "They are! Seriously, Jason, not only are they nice, but they're fun to be around."
"You're starting to sound like a freakin' girl scout. You should stop spending so much time hanging out with Belle. She is turning you into some little goody-goody like she did Shawn."
With every word that left Jason's self-assured mouth, Mimi's anger increased. Just when she started thinking that he might be a nice guy, he had to go and start insulting everyone she was friends with. Mimi felt that somebody needed to teach Jason a lesson.
Looking at Kevin and Susan, Mimi smiled devilishly before turning her full attention back to Jason. "You like making bets, don't you?"
"I suppose."
"How about you and I make one? I am willing to bet anything that Kevin isn't going to ask Susan out." After seeing Kevin and Jan in the middle of a serious make-out session in the hallway during lunch, Mimi felt certain that Kevin could not have feelings for another girl.
"I'm telling you, Mimi. The dude is all hot and heavy for her. I'm a guy, we just know these things."
"Does that mean you're willing to make the bet?"
Taking one last glance at Kevin and Susan, Jason answered, "Yeah, I'll make the bet. Just tell me the stakes - so I'll know what you have to do when I win."
"First, you are not going to win, because Kevin isn't going to ask Susan out. Second, the stakes are simple. If I win and Kevin doesn't ask Susan to go on a date before they leave the barbecue, then you have to."
"I have to what?"
"Go on a date with Susan."
Giving Mimi a look that communicated his absolute displeasure with such an idea, Jason said, "No way. I am not going to go out with her."
"So, you're backing out of the bet?"
Confident that he would win, Jason slowly replied, "No, no, I think that I'll stay in. But, if I win, you have to agree to do something for me."
"What?"
Rising from his chair, Jason moved next to Mimi and knelt so that he was on the ground beside her. Jason placed one hand behind Mimi's neck and brought her face down near his lips. In her ear, he whispered just what she would do if he lost. It wasn't anything immoral or disgusting, but it was definitely something that he knew he would love and Mimi would hate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After Chloe had endured all she could take of Zach unabashedly flirting with Belle, she headed in the direction of the kitchen. She had just seen Erin step out the backdoor, so Chloe assumed that she could find a little peace in the sanctity of the indoors. She was wrong.
Chloe performed a quick search of the cabinets before finding something to drink out of. As she stood at the sink filling the plastic glass with water, Chloe pensively stared out the window and watched her friends.
While Erin joined Kevin and Susan, her older brother finished his conversation with Mimi. Chloe wondered what exactly was going on with those two. It seemed terribly odd that they would remove themselves from the group and share what appeared to be a personal conversation, especially after the way they had vehemently denied being interested in each other following Jack's performance. Chloe smiled at the thought of there actually being more between Jason and Mimi. Of course, from the way Jeremy continued to steal glances at Mimi, Chloe knew that Jason would definitely have some competition.
As Chloe stepped away from the sink, she felt someone use their hand to cover her mouth. Shocked by the sudden attack, Chloe allowed the plastic glass and the water it contained to fall to the floor. Just when she felt certain that her terrified heart was ready to beat completely out of her chest, Chloe was spun around to face her assailant.
"Brady! You scared me! What are you doing?"
"Do you remember how I told you earlier that we need to talk? Well, it's time."
As usual Chloe found herself instinctively denying Brady, "What if I don't want to talk now? Maybe, I would rather clean up the water you just caused me to spill all over the floor."
Shrugging off Chloe's statement as though it were simply preposterous for her to bother cleaning up the water, Brady declared, "The water can wait. Right now, I need to talk to you. You see, I have plan that will give us both what we want."
Smirking, Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Brady. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really. I'm telling you, Chloe, my plan will make us both happy."
"What exactly is this plan of yours, Brady? It's not illegal, is it?"
"No, it's not illegal," responded Brady with not only exasperation, but a twinge of humor. "It's . . . ." Brady paused as he looked over Chloe's shoulder and out the window. Seeing Jason make his way toward the house, Brady grabbed Chloe's hand and said, "Come on, we need to go some place else. We can't afford to let Jason or anyone else overhear."
Jason entered the kitchen only seconds after Chloe and Brady slipped into a nearby hallway that led to the living room. After finishing his conversation with Mimi and ironing out the details of their bet, Jason had returned to the grill only to find that Shawn had moved on from ruining the hot dogs to wrecking the hamburgers. When Jason had left the men at the grill, it was looking like Jack was just about ready to succeed Shawn as "Lord of the Grill." However, Jason was far too hungry to stick around and wait and see how Jack did at the grill. And, Jason was far too hungry to notice the water in the floor as he moved to retrieve some food from the refrigerator.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Leading Chloe to the living room, Brady kept her within his grasp. There was just something about the way her hand fit perfectly in his that made him never want to let go. Turning to face her, Brady stated, "Chloe, you have to trust me. If you go along with this plan, we will both be much better off."
"What are you plotting, Brady? And, why exactly to you need my help?"
Brady smiled as he realized that, despite her reluctance, Chloe was interested in his scheme. "I want your help because I know that we can work well together. After all, didn't we score a ten on that love machine?"
Feeling quite smug, Chloe retorted, "Actually, Philip, Shawn, and I rigged the love machine."
"Ah, Chloe, you didn't have to go to all that trouble just to score a ten with me." Before Chloe could respond, Brady continued, "But, seriously, we can discuss your crush on me later. Right now, we need to talk about how we are going to pull my plan off. It won't be easy, but it will definitely be worth the work. For what you'll be getting out of my plan, I can guarantee that you would be willing to do any amount of work."
Chloe was about to ask Brady what exactly her reward for helping him would be, but the voices of Kevin and Susan walking down the hallway from the kitchen stopped her. Returning her gaze to Brady, Chloe smiled at the exasperated look upon his face.
Pulling Chloe's hand, Brady muttered, "That's it. Let's go upstairs so we can finally finish this conversation. We can just duck into the first room we find for all I care - just as long as we are alone."
Entering the living room, Kevin stated, "I could have sworn that I heard voices coming from in here."
Glancing around the empty room, Susan replied, "You must have been hearing things. Besides, I wouldn't care who was in here as long as long as they didn't give us the same dirty looks Jason did when we came through the kitchen." Sitting down on the couch, Susan stared up and Kevin expectantly. "Now, what did you want to ask me?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Oh. My. God. What are you doing?" Mimi asked in disgust as she entered the kitchen to retrieve the hamburger buns that Jack had sent her to fetch.
Looking up from his snack at the table, Jason asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
Mimi pointed accusingly at the food Jason held in his hand. "That! How can you possibly put that in your mouth?"
Dropping his gaze to the barbecue chip covered in french onion dip, Jason smiled. With the dip-covered chip in his hand, Jason stood and walked closer to Mimi. His smile growing almost wicked, Jason commented, "Actually, Meems, this tastes really good. You should try it."
"I don't think so."
"Oh, I do," stated Jason before using his free hand to quickly grab Mimi's wrist. Pulling her to him, Jason waved the chip in front of Mimi's face. "Mmm, doesn't this look good?"
"Uh, no. It looks totally gross."
When Jason moved the chip near Mimi's mouth, she increased her efforts to escape both him and his unusual snack. Jason only laughed as Mimi struggled to loosen his grasp on her. As Jason laughed, Mimi took the opportunity to use her free hand to propel the chip from Jason's hand to the floor.
"You did not just do that."
"Oh, I did," assured Mimi with a self-satisfied smile.
Before Mimi was given a chance to process his actions, Jason swiftly tightened his grip on her wrist and used his other hand to unclasp her bracelet. Releasing Mimi, Jason dangled the bracelet in front of her.
Motioning to the table where the chips and dip sat, Jason commanded, "Try it - or you don't get your precious bracelet back."
"I've already told you that I am not sticking those two things in my mouth at the same time. It's just gross."
"Well, then, I guess you don't want your bracelet back."
"Give it to me, Jason!"
Taking the bracelet and slowly placing it in the back pocket of his shorts, Jason raised his eyebrows and growled with a seductive smile, "Come and get it."
When Mimi only stood frozen in place, Jason remarked, "I should have known that you were too much of a chicken to work for it. I guess you didn't want it back after all - chicken." Jason followed his comments with a short round of clucks.
As she lunged at Jason, Mimi muttered, "I am not a chicken!"
Jason took a short step to his right to and try to avoid the impact, but Mimi grabbed hold of him anyway - her hands instantly reaching for his back pocket to retrieve her gold bracelet. However, as it was his turn to struggle, Jason took one too many steps to the right and accidentally discovered the puddle of water left by Brady and Chloe.
Losing his balance, Jason reached for Mimi to steady him. Unfortunately, she was too consumed with trying to recover her bracelet from his back pocket to help. Because of that, Jason was able to bring both himself and Mimi crashing to the floor.
Only seconds after the couple hit the hard linoleum, Jack came prancing into the kitchen. Seeing Mimi's hand tucked in Jason's back pocket, Jack rolled his eyes and stated, "That's not the type of buns I sent you in here to grab!"
Just when Jason and Mimi thought that things couldn't get worse, Jeremy, Belle, Philip, and Shawn entered the kitchen. Their conversation was immediately ended when they noticed Jason and Mimi's position on the floor. While a look of disappointment cast itself over Jeremy's handsome face, Philip grabbed the camera from Belle's hand and began to snap a few pictures of the flustered couple lying on the floor.
Glancing at his audience with a nervous smile as the water soaked through his shirt, Jason smile and casually remarked, "So, how's it going? Is everyone having fun?"
Taking one last picture, Philip flashed his dimpled-smile and stated, "Obviously not as much fun as the two of you."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As she was led into the room by Brady, the first thing to register in Chloe's mind was the almost seductive glow cast upon the room by the setting sun. While Brady crossed the room and opened the balcony doors to allow the soft breeze of late summer to enter the room, Chloe ventured a shy glance around the bedroom.
Without a doubt, she knew that it was Jason's room; however, it wasn't quite what she would have expected his room to look like. Though there were a few sports posters plastered to the walls, the room had the general feel of someone considered more intellectually oriented than Jason. On his desk was what appeared to be a very modern computer system, and he had shelves full of books.
Chloe's analyzation of the mysterious Jason Masters was ended when another mysterious man placed his body directly in front of her. Meeting Brady's confident gaze, Chloe found herself wondering what he was thinking. More importantly, she was hoping that he couldn't know what she was thinking as her eyes drifted to his tempting lips.
When Brady took a step closer to her, Chloe demanded, "Tell me what I get out of your little plan, Brady."
Smirking, Brady asked, "You don't like waiting to get what you want, do you?"
"No, I don't."
Placing his right hand behind Chloe's head, Brady murmured, "Neither do I."
Chloe had only the briefest of seconds to catch the mischievous gleam in Brady's eyes before he pulled her to him and her lips were devoured by his. In some ways, the kiss seemed so harsh, so overpowering that it was barely within Chloe's power to keep her lips against Brady's. But, at the very same time, Chloe found her own hands drifting to the back of Brady's neck and pulling him even closer to her, demanding all that he would give her.
On some level, Chloe realized that the balcony doors were open, the door to the bedroom was unlocked, and her boyfriend, along with nearly a dozen other people, was just downstairs. But, as Brady directed her toward Jason's bed, none of that seemed too important. As long as his lips didn't venture away from hers for anything more than a breath, Chloe was fine.
Chloe had always been so rational and sensible that, had she been thinking more clearly, she would have certainly been stunned by her wanton behavior. However, in a moment when she could not even imagine formulating a complete sentence that expressed her emotions, Chloe's logical thoughts were equally evasive.
Placing his left arm acquisitively around Chloe's waist, Brady continued his overwhelming kisses as he turned his back to the bed. As he moved, he was pleased that Chloe struggled to keep their bodies from being separated in the least. She needed to be as close to him as he needed to be to her.
Inching backwards, Brady finally felt the edge of the bed against the back of his legs. In a swift, yet smooth, movement, Brady gently threw himself on the bed, pulling Chloe's willing body with him. Continuing to fulfill her wants with his hungry kisses, Brady allowed his hands to gently stroke her back.
Despite his complete pleasure, it had not been Brady's intention to find himself atop the bed with Chloe's body firmly pressed against his. Brady had originally asked Chloe upstairs for the simple purpose of informing her of his plan to make them both happy. Well, he had certainly found a way to make them both happy, even if the passionate kisses had not been a part of his scheme.
Chloe could feel Brady's lips curl into the slightest of smiles as her hands ventured under his shirt. Logic completely thrown to the wind, Chloe ignored the guilt that would most certainly assault her once she was able to pull her body a safe distance from Brady's. However, as long as she could feel him close to her, Chloe forgot that logical thoughts even existed.
Moving his hands up Chloe's back, Brady tightly gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it toward her shoulders. As he did so, he hardly noticed that she had moved her hands so that they were slowly unbuttoning his own shirt.
When Chloe sat to straddle Brady, he saw the desperate look in her eyes and recognized it. He understood what she was feeling, because he felt the exact same thing. After what seemed like a lifetime of desiring one another from afar, the dam of emotions had finally broke and they were allowing themselves to truly feel what had been lingering in the hidden recesses of their hearts since the moment their eyes met for the first time.
Once she had helped Brady quickly remove her shirt, Chloe hurriedly leaned back down to him, as though the brief seconds without their lips touching had pained her. Even when Brady removed his own shirt and began to make an intricate trail of kisses down Chloe's neck, both remained oblivious to the real world.
And, they remained lost in a place where reality was a taboo until the bedroom door opened and a familiar voice stated in shock and disdain, "Oh, boy . . . . . .or girl. Either way, you guys are going to end up with a rugrat if you don't cool it - now."
Kevin and Susan were sitting near the pool, clearly lost in their own world. As for Erin, Jason's sister had gone to the kitchen to find a little peace from Jason's friendly, but somewhat intimidating, friends. Meanwhile, Brady had once disappeared. Jason wasn't quite sure what was going on with Belle's older brother, but he had a feeling that the guy was keeping a low profile for a reason. Near the hammock, Chloe and Belle were carrying on some type of conversation with Zach, while Mimi simply wondered aimlessly around the spacious backyard.
As Jason stood near the picnic table that housed the blaring boom box, Mimi slowly worked up the nerve to approach him. Mimi found herself staring at Jason and cursing the feelings that were forming for him. She tried telling herself that falling for him was pointless. Mimi even resorted to mentally naming everything that was wrong with Jason. He was egotistical. He was just another jerk. He had ridiculed her for years. He had a jealous ex- girlfriend with psychopathic tendencies.
On the other hand, he never expected her to be someone she wasn't. He was athletic. He could make her laugh. He had protected her from Jan. Plus, Mimi silently added, he looked extremely hot in a towel. And, she could only imagine how hot he would look out of the towel.
"Hey, Mimi, don't look at my wiener like that!"
Jerking her eyes to up to meet Jason's, Mimi felt herself blushing from her extreme embarrassment. As she opened her mouth to stutter some type of explanation, Jason interrupted her. "I can't help it if the thing got burnt to a crisp. Shawn's the idiot controlling the grill."
Mimi sighed with relief when she noticed the hot dog that Jason was displaying. As he twirled the darkened object with his plastic fork, Jason continued, "Anyway, don't blame me when the rest of the food turns out just like this. I am not proclaiming myself 'Lord of the Grill' anymore. Shawn stole the title - or tried."
Walking away from Mimi, Jason sat down in one of the two chairs near the corner of the pool. He then motioned at the empty seat beside him. "Go on, sit down. I swear, I won't bite."
Against her better judgment, Mimi placed her body in the chair beside Jason. With the way her heart had started to flutter around from him, she wondered if it was healthy to continually place herself in such close proximity to him.
The duo sat in silence until Jason whispered, "Geek-boy is finally going to work up the courage to ask out the sister of Godzilla."
"What?" Mimi asked with a mixture of confusion and exasperation.
Discreetly pointing across the pool to where Kevin and Susan were relaxing on the chaise longues, Jason explained, "He's about to ask her out. All he's done since he got here was follow her around and try to work up the nerve to ask. If they weren't so completely pathetic, they might almost be cute. Well, almost."
"You are so wrong, Jason. There's no way something is going on between Kevin and Susan."
"Sure there is. The nerd practically starts drooling when he feels the earth shake upon her arrival."
Jason's cruel sense of humor not pleasing her, Mimi stated, "You really are a jerk. I don't know why you pick on those two all the time, but you should really stop. Kevin and Susan are nice people." When Jason only gave a snort and rolled his eyes, Mimi insisted, "They are! Seriously, Jason, not only are they nice, but they're fun to be around."
"You're starting to sound like a freakin' girl scout. You should stop spending so much time hanging out with Belle. She is turning you into some little goody-goody like she did Shawn."
With every word that left Jason's self-assured mouth, Mimi's anger increased. Just when she started thinking that he might be a nice guy, he had to go and start insulting everyone she was friends with. Mimi felt that somebody needed to teach Jason a lesson.
Looking at Kevin and Susan, Mimi smiled devilishly before turning her full attention back to Jason. "You like making bets, don't you?"
"I suppose."
"How about you and I make one? I am willing to bet anything that Kevin isn't going to ask Susan out." After seeing Kevin and Jan in the middle of a serious make-out session in the hallway during lunch, Mimi felt certain that Kevin could not have feelings for another girl.
"I'm telling you, Mimi. The dude is all hot and heavy for her. I'm a guy, we just know these things."
"Does that mean you're willing to make the bet?"
Taking one last glance at Kevin and Susan, Jason answered, "Yeah, I'll make the bet. Just tell me the stakes - so I'll know what you have to do when I win."
"First, you are not going to win, because Kevin isn't going to ask Susan out. Second, the stakes are simple. If I win and Kevin doesn't ask Susan to go on a date before they leave the barbecue, then you have to."
"I have to what?"
"Go on a date with Susan."
Giving Mimi a look that communicated his absolute displeasure with such an idea, Jason said, "No way. I am not going to go out with her."
"So, you're backing out of the bet?"
Confident that he would win, Jason slowly replied, "No, no, I think that I'll stay in. But, if I win, you have to agree to do something for me."
"What?"
Rising from his chair, Jason moved next to Mimi and knelt so that he was on the ground beside her. Jason placed one hand behind Mimi's neck and brought her face down near his lips. In her ear, he whispered just what she would do if he lost. It wasn't anything immoral or disgusting, but it was definitely something that he knew he would love and Mimi would hate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After Chloe had endured all she could take of Zach unabashedly flirting with Belle, she headed in the direction of the kitchen. She had just seen Erin step out the backdoor, so Chloe assumed that she could find a little peace in the sanctity of the indoors. She was wrong.
Chloe performed a quick search of the cabinets before finding something to drink out of. As she stood at the sink filling the plastic glass with water, Chloe pensively stared out the window and watched her friends.
While Erin joined Kevin and Susan, her older brother finished his conversation with Mimi. Chloe wondered what exactly was going on with those two. It seemed terribly odd that they would remove themselves from the group and share what appeared to be a personal conversation, especially after the way they had vehemently denied being interested in each other following Jack's performance. Chloe smiled at the thought of there actually being more between Jason and Mimi. Of course, from the way Jeremy continued to steal glances at Mimi, Chloe knew that Jason would definitely have some competition.
As Chloe stepped away from the sink, she felt someone use their hand to cover her mouth. Shocked by the sudden attack, Chloe allowed the plastic glass and the water it contained to fall to the floor. Just when she felt certain that her terrified heart was ready to beat completely out of her chest, Chloe was spun around to face her assailant.
"Brady! You scared me! What are you doing?"
"Do you remember how I told you earlier that we need to talk? Well, it's time."
As usual Chloe found herself instinctively denying Brady, "What if I don't want to talk now? Maybe, I would rather clean up the water you just caused me to spill all over the floor."
Shrugging off Chloe's statement as though it were simply preposterous for her to bother cleaning up the water, Brady declared, "The water can wait. Right now, I need to talk to you. You see, I have plan that will give us both what we want."
Smirking, Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Brady. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really. I'm telling you, Chloe, my plan will make us both happy."
"What exactly is this plan of yours, Brady? It's not illegal, is it?"
"No, it's not illegal," responded Brady with not only exasperation, but a twinge of humor. "It's . . . ." Brady paused as he looked over Chloe's shoulder and out the window. Seeing Jason make his way toward the house, Brady grabbed Chloe's hand and said, "Come on, we need to go some place else. We can't afford to let Jason or anyone else overhear."
Jason entered the kitchen only seconds after Chloe and Brady slipped into a nearby hallway that led to the living room. After finishing his conversation with Mimi and ironing out the details of their bet, Jason had returned to the grill only to find that Shawn had moved on from ruining the hot dogs to wrecking the hamburgers. When Jason had left the men at the grill, it was looking like Jack was just about ready to succeed Shawn as "Lord of the Grill." However, Jason was far too hungry to stick around and wait and see how Jack did at the grill. And, Jason was far too hungry to notice the water in the floor as he moved to retrieve some food from the refrigerator.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Leading Chloe to the living room, Brady kept her within his grasp. There was just something about the way her hand fit perfectly in his that made him never want to let go. Turning to face her, Brady stated, "Chloe, you have to trust me. If you go along with this plan, we will both be much better off."
"What are you plotting, Brady? And, why exactly to you need my help?"
Brady smiled as he realized that, despite her reluctance, Chloe was interested in his scheme. "I want your help because I know that we can work well together. After all, didn't we score a ten on that love machine?"
Feeling quite smug, Chloe retorted, "Actually, Philip, Shawn, and I rigged the love machine."
"Ah, Chloe, you didn't have to go to all that trouble just to score a ten with me." Before Chloe could respond, Brady continued, "But, seriously, we can discuss your crush on me later. Right now, we need to talk about how we are going to pull my plan off. It won't be easy, but it will definitely be worth the work. For what you'll be getting out of my plan, I can guarantee that you would be willing to do any amount of work."
Chloe was about to ask Brady what exactly her reward for helping him would be, but the voices of Kevin and Susan walking down the hallway from the kitchen stopped her. Returning her gaze to Brady, Chloe smiled at the exasperated look upon his face.
Pulling Chloe's hand, Brady muttered, "That's it. Let's go upstairs so we can finally finish this conversation. We can just duck into the first room we find for all I care - just as long as we are alone."
Entering the living room, Kevin stated, "I could have sworn that I heard voices coming from in here."
Glancing around the empty room, Susan replied, "You must have been hearing things. Besides, I wouldn't care who was in here as long as long as they didn't give us the same dirty looks Jason did when we came through the kitchen." Sitting down on the couch, Susan stared up and Kevin expectantly. "Now, what did you want to ask me?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Oh. My. God. What are you doing?" Mimi asked in disgust as she entered the kitchen to retrieve the hamburger buns that Jack had sent her to fetch.
Looking up from his snack at the table, Jason asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
Mimi pointed accusingly at the food Jason held in his hand. "That! How can you possibly put that in your mouth?"
Dropping his gaze to the barbecue chip covered in french onion dip, Jason smiled. With the dip-covered chip in his hand, Jason stood and walked closer to Mimi. His smile growing almost wicked, Jason commented, "Actually, Meems, this tastes really good. You should try it."
"I don't think so."
"Oh, I do," stated Jason before using his free hand to quickly grab Mimi's wrist. Pulling her to him, Jason waved the chip in front of Mimi's face. "Mmm, doesn't this look good?"
"Uh, no. It looks totally gross."
When Jason moved the chip near Mimi's mouth, she increased her efforts to escape both him and his unusual snack. Jason only laughed as Mimi struggled to loosen his grasp on her. As Jason laughed, Mimi took the opportunity to use her free hand to propel the chip from Jason's hand to the floor.
"You did not just do that."
"Oh, I did," assured Mimi with a self-satisfied smile.
Before Mimi was given a chance to process his actions, Jason swiftly tightened his grip on her wrist and used his other hand to unclasp her bracelet. Releasing Mimi, Jason dangled the bracelet in front of her.
Motioning to the table where the chips and dip sat, Jason commanded, "Try it - or you don't get your precious bracelet back."
"I've already told you that I am not sticking those two things in my mouth at the same time. It's just gross."
"Well, then, I guess you don't want your bracelet back."
"Give it to me, Jason!"
Taking the bracelet and slowly placing it in the back pocket of his shorts, Jason raised his eyebrows and growled with a seductive smile, "Come and get it."
When Mimi only stood frozen in place, Jason remarked, "I should have known that you were too much of a chicken to work for it. I guess you didn't want it back after all - chicken." Jason followed his comments with a short round of clucks.
As she lunged at Jason, Mimi muttered, "I am not a chicken!"
Jason took a short step to his right to and try to avoid the impact, but Mimi grabbed hold of him anyway - her hands instantly reaching for his back pocket to retrieve her gold bracelet. However, as it was his turn to struggle, Jason took one too many steps to the right and accidentally discovered the puddle of water left by Brady and Chloe.
Losing his balance, Jason reached for Mimi to steady him. Unfortunately, she was too consumed with trying to recover her bracelet from his back pocket to help. Because of that, Jason was able to bring both himself and Mimi crashing to the floor.
Only seconds after the couple hit the hard linoleum, Jack came prancing into the kitchen. Seeing Mimi's hand tucked in Jason's back pocket, Jack rolled his eyes and stated, "That's not the type of buns I sent you in here to grab!"
Just when Jason and Mimi thought that things couldn't get worse, Jeremy, Belle, Philip, and Shawn entered the kitchen. Their conversation was immediately ended when they noticed Jason and Mimi's position on the floor. While a look of disappointment cast itself over Jeremy's handsome face, Philip grabbed the camera from Belle's hand and began to snap a few pictures of the flustered couple lying on the floor.
Glancing at his audience with a nervous smile as the water soaked through his shirt, Jason smile and casually remarked, "So, how's it going? Is everyone having fun?"
Taking one last picture, Philip flashed his dimpled-smile and stated, "Obviously not as much fun as the two of you."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As she was led into the room by Brady, the first thing to register in Chloe's mind was the almost seductive glow cast upon the room by the setting sun. While Brady crossed the room and opened the balcony doors to allow the soft breeze of late summer to enter the room, Chloe ventured a shy glance around the bedroom.
Without a doubt, she knew that it was Jason's room; however, it wasn't quite what she would have expected his room to look like. Though there were a few sports posters plastered to the walls, the room had the general feel of someone considered more intellectually oriented than Jason. On his desk was what appeared to be a very modern computer system, and he had shelves full of books.
Chloe's analyzation of the mysterious Jason Masters was ended when another mysterious man placed his body directly in front of her. Meeting Brady's confident gaze, Chloe found herself wondering what he was thinking. More importantly, she was hoping that he couldn't know what she was thinking as her eyes drifted to his tempting lips.
When Brady took a step closer to her, Chloe demanded, "Tell me what I get out of your little plan, Brady."
Smirking, Brady asked, "You don't like waiting to get what you want, do you?"
"No, I don't."
Placing his right hand behind Chloe's head, Brady murmured, "Neither do I."
Chloe had only the briefest of seconds to catch the mischievous gleam in Brady's eyes before he pulled her to him and her lips were devoured by his. In some ways, the kiss seemed so harsh, so overpowering that it was barely within Chloe's power to keep her lips against Brady's. But, at the very same time, Chloe found her own hands drifting to the back of Brady's neck and pulling him even closer to her, demanding all that he would give her.
On some level, Chloe realized that the balcony doors were open, the door to the bedroom was unlocked, and her boyfriend, along with nearly a dozen other people, was just downstairs. But, as Brady directed her toward Jason's bed, none of that seemed too important. As long as his lips didn't venture away from hers for anything more than a breath, Chloe was fine.
Chloe had always been so rational and sensible that, had she been thinking more clearly, she would have certainly been stunned by her wanton behavior. However, in a moment when she could not even imagine formulating a complete sentence that expressed her emotions, Chloe's logical thoughts were equally evasive.
Placing his left arm acquisitively around Chloe's waist, Brady continued his overwhelming kisses as he turned his back to the bed. As he moved, he was pleased that Chloe struggled to keep their bodies from being separated in the least. She needed to be as close to him as he needed to be to her.
Inching backwards, Brady finally felt the edge of the bed against the back of his legs. In a swift, yet smooth, movement, Brady gently threw himself on the bed, pulling Chloe's willing body with him. Continuing to fulfill her wants with his hungry kisses, Brady allowed his hands to gently stroke her back.
Despite his complete pleasure, it had not been Brady's intention to find himself atop the bed with Chloe's body firmly pressed against his. Brady had originally asked Chloe upstairs for the simple purpose of informing her of his plan to make them both happy. Well, he had certainly found a way to make them both happy, even if the passionate kisses had not been a part of his scheme.
Chloe could feel Brady's lips curl into the slightest of smiles as her hands ventured under his shirt. Logic completely thrown to the wind, Chloe ignored the guilt that would most certainly assault her once she was able to pull her body a safe distance from Brady's. However, as long as she could feel him close to her, Chloe forgot that logical thoughts even existed.
Moving his hands up Chloe's back, Brady tightly gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it toward her shoulders. As he did so, he hardly noticed that she had moved her hands so that they were slowly unbuttoning his own shirt.
When Chloe sat to straddle Brady, he saw the desperate look in her eyes and recognized it. He understood what she was feeling, because he felt the exact same thing. After what seemed like a lifetime of desiring one another from afar, the dam of emotions had finally broke and they were allowing themselves to truly feel what had been lingering in the hidden recesses of their hearts since the moment their eyes met for the first time.
Once she had helped Brady quickly remove her shirt, Chloe hurriedly leaned back down to him, as though the brief seconds without their lips touching had pained her. Even when Brady removed his own shirt and began to make an intricate trail of kisses down Chloe's neck, both remained oblivious to the real world.
And, they remained lost in a place where reality was a taboo until the bedroom door opened and a familiar voice stated in shock and disdain, "Oh, boy . . . . . .or girl. Either way, you guys are going to end up with a rugrat if you don't cool it - now."