Duncan heard the oven timer going off, then quickly being shut off. Tessa, fast asleep next to him, seemed not to notice. Quietly he got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. Richie was behind the counter eating nachos right off the oven pan. He looked up when he heard Duncan in the hallway.
"Sorry," he said in a low tone. "I tried to catch it."
"It's alright," Duncan took a seat on a stool on the other side of the counter from Richie. "You mind?" he reached for a chip.
"Go for it. Jalapeno?" he held up the jar.
"No thanks." They ate for a few minutes before Duncan spoke again. "So, you're back later than we expected."
"Chill, Mac," Richie answered, seeing through Duncan's round about question. "Nothing happened."
Duncan smiled. "I didn't ask that."
"Yeah, you did."
"No, I didn't. I merely commented that you were out later than we expected."
"Which translates to 'where the hell were you'."
"Only to those who feel guilty."
"I have nothing to be guilty about."
"Oh?"
"See, she said sure but then we got there and…" he stopped. "I'm not talking to you about this!"
"Keep your voice down," Duncan hissed. "And I never asked you to."
"Yeah, you did. You said 'Oh?'."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Like hell it doesn't. It means 'tell me your story so I can see if you're lying'."
"Only if you have something to feel guilty about. And you already said you don't. So I don't know why you're so paranoid."
"I'm not."
"Then why do you have to translate everything I say?"
"Cause with you, you use code."
"I'm not using code. I just want to know how your evening went."
"It went fine."
"You and Angie looked really nice together. I hope you got those pictures like her mother asked."
"First thing…well, almost."
"Good. Tessa wants a copy, too."
"I figured."
"So nothing happened?"
"Mac," Richie put down his nacho. "I'm not talking to you about it."
"That's fine. But if you want to, I was eighteen once, too, you know."
"Yeah, a million years ago when Mr. Burke could'a carried out his threats on ya."
"Four hundred years ago. I'm not that old."
"Three hundred and eighty-two, you're not that old, either."
Duncan smiled. "Touché."
Richie smirked. "Besides, what happened to the 'gentleman' thing to do? I thought you'd freak if I…"
"I was eighteen once," he interrupted. "And I do remember what it was like when it came to girls."
"Don't you think it would be a little weird? I mean, you and me talking about this stuff?"
"Not for me."
"Cause, I just don't get what she did," he admitted a bit bashfully.
"What did she do?" Duncan got up and got two orange juices out of the refrigerator.
"She said yes. So, you know, we did the prom thing and had fun and all that, you know."
"I know," he smiled.
"Then Cameron and Beth decide to go with some other people to this hotel so it's just me an' Ange."
"Alright."
"So we went to the beach; you know that look out over the water?"
"A popular spot, I assume?"
"We weren't the only people there. So we park and we're, like, kissin' and stuff…"
"Okay."
"And just when we're about to, you know," he blushed. "She stopped me."
"So what did you do?"
"I took her home. And when I dropped her off she kissed me and said she had a great night and she'd call me tomorrow so we could get together. I just don't get it."
"That she changed her mind?"
"Yeah."
"This is what's confusing you?"
"Well, yeah, I mean if she didn't want to, why did she say yes when I asked her?"
"Maybe she wanted to when she said it," Duncan told him. "But the more she thought about it and the closer the time came, the more uncomfortable she got. You should be glad she was comfortable enough with you to say no even though you were well on your way. She trusted you to respect her opinion and wants. That's a big compliment to you."
"So, if a chick doesn't wanna…well...then that's a compliment?"
"Yeah. It means she knows that you will respect her and she doesn't have to worry about you pressuring her into doing something she's not ready for."
Richie thought it over. "I always figured it was more of a compliment if she said yes and then went through with it."
"Because you think like a boy." He reached across the counter and ruffled Richie's hair.
Richie gave him a bemused look. "I swear, MacLeod, if I ever live to be as old as you, I will never understand chicks. I mean that's why I like to hang out with guys; they say what they mean."
"And that's why you were translating everything I said earlier?"
"I was right, wasn't I? You wanted to know if I did or not." Richie put the empty pan in the sink and gulped the rest of the orange juice before throwing away the disposable cup.
"I never said that. I just said if you wanted to talk, I was here."
Richie nodded. "Right." He gave a big yawn. "I think I'm done for the day."
"You've had a long day." Duncan tossed away his own cup and put his arm around Richie's shoulders as they walked side by side down the hall. "And you didn't say anything to be embarrassed of," he added. "So don't worry about it."
Richie chuckled. "Night, Mac."
"Night, Rich." Duncan went into his own room where Tessa was waiting up for him.
"Is he okay?"
"He's fine. Just wanted to talk."
"About what?"
"He's eighteen," he said, as if that was all the explanation necessary.
"He slept with her?"
"No. They didn't do anything."
"How do you know?"
"A guy can tell these things," Duncan told her, crawling into bed. "Though I do have the suspicious feeling he may have a new girlfriend."
AN: okay guys, one more chap to go!
