Hi guys, here's the next chapter! Oh the last 3 chapters excite me like nothing else, hehe. Enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews again! Only two more chapters after this...
PART II- Chapter 20.
Syd's POV"Vaughn… I swear if you shake the ladder one more time, I'm going to get down from here and kick your ass." I threatened.
"Is that a threat?" He mocked.
"Oh you better believe it is."
"Good because I'm looking forward to it. I get kind of turned on when you kick my ass a little bit."
Shoving the small roller covered in paint towards Vaughn's face, I quickly ran it across his cheek causing him to gasp in surprise.
"Hey! You're supposed to be painting the wall! Not me!" He yelled.
"Stop shaking the ladder and I won't put paint on your anymore." I shouted back.
Small splatters of paint lined my jeans as I carefully turned back to the wall and continued applying the first coat of paint. Vaughn and I had decided weeks before that our room needed a complete makeover.
The boring white walls needed to a little spicing up and we mutually agreed that a new paint job would help. After moving out all our furniture to the family room and covering all of our clothes, we were ready to get started.
Deciding on a color was the difficult task for us. Of course Vaughn pushed for the masculine colors, trying to convince me that gray or dark blue would look good. I, on the other hand, wanted more of a lighter color. I wanted to walk into our room and feel happy and relaxed.
We finally agreed on a peach color paint, a color 'not too girly' in Vaughn's words and one that wouldn't put me in a depressed mood. It took much convincing on Vaughn's part for him to agree on the color, but after telling him peach was only a lighter shade of orange and that orange was his favorite color, it worked out well.
I carefully slid the roller up along the ceiling, concentrating on not falling off the ladder. Even though Vaughn convinced me that he wouldn't let me fall, once in awhile he would shake the ladder causing me to wobble a bit. It was something I didn't find all too amusing.
"So Syd…" Vaughn said, breaking me from my thoughts. "I was doing some thinking and… remember I told you my mom finished up her last radiation session about 3 weeks ago?"
"Of course." I responded.
"Well, I was hoping next weekend we could fly down to LA to see her. I know the last couple of weeks have been crazy, but next weekend looks free for us. Do you want to go?"
"Really?" I asked excitedly. "I'd love to see your mom! Plus, we can go visit my dad too. You think we can get a flight by next weekend?"
"Sure we can. It's just, I'm really proud of her and I need to see her. They ran some tests on her to see if they got all the cancer cells. She should be finding out soon whether or not she's going into remission." He explained.
"Ok, next weekend it is. It sounds perfect."
The paint fumes were beginning to give me a headache as I climbed down the ladder and examined my work. We still had a long ways to go with only a quarter of the room painted, but so far the job looked well done.
I gulped down long sips of cold water from my water bottle, laying it against my forehead to try and cool myself off. While Vaughn walked to the other side of the room to open the window, I took a seat against the unpainted wall, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I never knew painting could be such hard work.
"Ugh, it's getting hot in here." Vaughn complained, whipping his t-shirt off of his body.
I gaped at him for a few seconds, admiring his flawless body and gushing over how amazing he looked standing in his cargo shorts. The waistband of his blue boxers peeked up from the top of his shorts that laid low on his hips.
With the sun now shining directly into the room, I could see the beads of sweat slowly dripping down his forehead and onto his chest making me want to get up and drag him into the bathroom for an afternoon shower.
"Looking good there Mr. Vaughn." I playfully told him.
"Why thank you. I've been working on this." He smiled, lightly patting his stomach.
"I think I'm going to need further examination."
Pushing myself off of the ground, I threw my arms around Vaughn's waist, caressing the strong muscles of his lower back. With one hand on my hip and the other on my neck, he threaded his fingers through my hair, lightly massaging my head with his fingertips.
Weiss interrupted us a moment later, carrying a stack of takeout menu's in his hand.
"Hey guys… Fran and I are going to order lunch. You want anything?" He asked without looking up from one of the menu's.
"Yeah, where are you guys ordering from?" Vaughn questioned, still keeping me in his arms.
"Toto's. Here take a look." Weiss handed Vaughn the menu, shaking his head after looking at us. "Dude… Mike, go put a shirt on. I can't even look at you. Don't stand next to me cause you're making me look bad."
"What? I like it." I sarcastically answered back.
"Man, you two. You're always so cuddly." He acted disgusted. "Syd, you still like to hug Vaughn even though he's all sweaty and smelly from painting?" He joked.
"Shut up Weiss. I don't smell as nearly bad as you do when you sweat." Vaughn retorted. "Just order the usual pizza we get."
"Ok, I'll tell Francie." Weiss said, walking out of the room.
We finished painting the room after 2 days, still having to sleep out in the family room so the paint could dry and the paint fumes could air out from the room. The color of the walls brightened up the room, but also gave it a real homey kind of feel.
On Sunday morning, Vaughn had found us two cheap plane tickets to LA for Friday night, having us departing from the San Francisco airport around 6:30. I could tell Vaughn was excited since he talked non-stop about seeing his mother and of course Donovan.
I found it adorable the way he treated his beloved bulldog, keeping a picture of him on our dresser and calling his Aunt every week to make sure Donny was getting the proper food fed to him. He always feared coming home to a fat dog.
It amazed me how everyday Vaughn and I would grow even closer, making me love him even more as our relationship went on. Our relationship was coming up on our one-year anniversary, but the butterflies in my stomach every time he walks into a room, or the tingly feeling I get when he kisses me still hadn't subsided.
It was almost scary to think about how dependent on him I had become. When I'm not with Vaughn, I feel the need to always think about what he's doing or how many hours it's going to be until I see him.
I always prided myself in the fact that I was an independent person. Mostly, because I was forced to grow up fast, having to take care of myself because my father wasn't around for me when I was a child. But with Vaughn, I needed him.
Weiss poked fun at us on Wednesday morning, slamming the front door loud enough to wake Vaughn and I both up from our peaceful slumber. I was more than eager to move back into our room since the couch bed was not only small, but also ridiculously hard giving me a sore back.
"Morning sleepyheads! Time to wake up for class!" Weiss cheered loudly, shuffling around in the kitchen.
"Ugh, it's way too early and bright." Vaughn groaned.
"When are you guys moving back into your own room? I keep thinking I'm going to walk in here and you two will be going at it and I'll be scarred for the rest of my life."
"Just give us a couple of more days for the paint fumes to die off. Then we'll be out of your way Eric." I mumbled. "Besides, we're going home this weekend so you won't have to see us."
"Really? Fran and I have the apartment to ourselves?" Weiss asked excitedly.
"Yes." Vaughn sighed. "What are you so excited about? You guys don't even do anything."
"Ouch Mike, that's a low blow. Actually, I was going to ask you guys if you could take a night out tonight. I'm cooking Francie dinner, you know, to hopefully get her in the mood."
"Wait, you and Francie haven't… you guys are still…" I choked out, not really believing that Francie and Weiss hadn't slept together yet.
"No." Weiss answered quietly, hanging his head to the floor.
Just then, Vaughn took that moment to throw back the covers and get out of bed, slipping out in only his boxers. He tiredly rubbed his eyes while searching for his shirt that he carelessly flung on the floor the previous night.
"Ahh! I don't want to see that!" Weiss yelled, shielding his eyes from Vaughn.
"What? I have my boxers on!" Vaughn answered back.
"Still… I don't want to see you like that."
"So Weiss, is that why you got up early to shop for all of those groceries? What are you making her?" I asked eagerly, wanting to know tonight's plans.
"My special homemade crab ravioli's, French bread, and a little spinach salad." He answered proudly. "Sorry to kick you guys out tonight, but you're ok with it, right?"
"Yeah, sure. Vaughn and I will just catch a movie or something. Good luck tonight Weiss!"
Vaughn's POV
I was a little apprehensive on leaving the apartment that night so Weiss and Francie could have a romantic evening in. I had a big midterm coming up the next week and since Syd and I were going away from the weekend, I desperately needed to prepare and study. I doubted the fact that I would get any sort of studying done over the weekend in LA.
But, knowing how long Weiss had been waiting and him being my best friend and all, I understood the situation and agreed to take Syd out so they could have some alone time. I was happy for Weiss. Knowing how much he liked Francie and how happy she made him, I was glad the two finally decided to get together.
When 6 o'clock rolled around, Syd and I both wished Weiss good luck and made our way out of the apartment. He was nearly flipping out by that time, waiting for Francie to arrive home and him desperately trying to prepare the food before she got there. He was running around that kitchen like a complete madman.
"So are you ready for our big date?" I asked Syd, gripping tightly to the steering wheel.
"Of course. So where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise." I joked smiling.
"Aww, c'mon Vaughn. You know how I don't like surprises and how impatient I get. Just tell me already."
"Wait 5 more minutes and you'll see where we're going."
The rest of the car ride was silent, except for the radio quietly playing as Syd keenly looked out the window, attempting to recognize the street signs and where we could possibly be going. I smiled to myself know she was going to love this.
Swiftly pulling into the parking space, Syd's eyes lit up once she saw the big, bright sign in the front.
"Bowling! We're going bowling? Vaughn, I'm so going to kick your ass." She stated as she hopped out of the car and pulled me inside.
"Oh, I don't think so Bristow. Lefties are naturally good at bowling. And besides, girls can't beat guys in sports."
I knew that would get her going, knowing how competitive she could be and how she hated the fact that guys always thought they were stronger than girls.
"Oh, we'll see about that, Vaughn." She retorted, squeezing my hand while we approached the counter.
Picking up our shoes and our bowling bowls, we made our way to the #11 lane after surveying our surroundings. The place was crowded with people packing nearly all of the lanes, cheering and shouting loudly at each other. Fluorescent and neon lights flashed everywhere as the alley was dimly lit with glow in the dark pins and bowling balls.
"So you want to make a friendly bet Syd?" I asked while tying up my bowling shoes.
"Sure, what's the stakes?"
"Best of 3 games, winner gets a strip show from the loser."
"Vaughn!" She yelled, slapping me on the arm.
"What? That's fair."
"No it's not!" She argued. "You know you're most likely better at me than bowling. I'm not agreeing to that bet."
"Ok fine… winner gets… a backrub in bed?" I suggested.
"Alright, that's fair."
The first game went by quickly. I purposely let Sydney win, hoping it would give her some confidence so I can later beat her. I loved Syd and all, but when it came to bets, I never wanted to lose. It was hard for me to accidentally throw the ball in the gutter, but I did badly enough for her to win. I watched her triumphantly stroll around the lane thinking she had got me. But it was all a part of my master plan.
I had no mercy the second game, knocking down every pin possible and ending with three strikes in a row. Syd gaped at me surprised, not knowing how seriously I was going to take this. I sure as hell was looking forward to my back rub in bed.
As soon as the third game came around, I was already thinking about my massage and how good it would feel to have Syd's hands all over my back. The damn pullout bed in the family room was doing nothing but harm to my neck and back.
Syd started off slow in the last game, only knocking down six pins each in the first three frames. I smiled mischievously to myself, knowing this was going to be a piece of cake. I thought about throwing the game at first, possibly letting her win. But I shook my head of the thoughts knowing I couldn't let my girlfriend beat me in anything.
Unexpectedly, Syd went on fire, throwing strike after strike and cheering loudly with her arms in the air. I suddenly didn't know what hit me as I watched her score inch past mine, beating me in the last two frames. I hung my head in defeat while she celebrated in front of me.
"Hmmm, hey Vaughn? Can you read me those two scores up there? I can't really see it. What does mine say? 204? And yours? 196. Yeah, I think that's right." She told me, throwing her arms around my neck.
"Ok, ok. You won." I sighed.
Twirling around near our lane, I watched her dance around to the loud music, still celebrating her victory over me. I swiftly began to feel better about my loss as I admired the big dimpled smile spread across her face.
She was beautiful, making my chest swell up and my heart begin to beat faster. The love I had for her at that moment was indescribable. Seeing the happiness within her made me happy and I suddenly knew what I wanted to do.
"You would've let me win anyways, huh?" Syd asked on the way home.
"Maybe… anything to see you smile."
Running her hands slowly through my hair, she leaned over and began placing kisses along the side of my face and then down my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. I had to concentrate extra hard on the road. The feelings she was stirring up inside of me were beginning to blind my senses.
"You keep doing that and you're going to make us crash." I warned, keeping both hands on the steering wheel.
"I can't help it Vaughn."
"Yeah? Just wait another 5 minutes and you can continue on."
The next afternoon, I rushed home from my last class, throwing my backpack in my room and searching for Weiss. I knew Syd wasn't due home for another two hours meaning I had enough time to pull off what I was about to do.
"Weiss? Where are you?" I yelled loudly as I jingled my car keys in my hand.
Weiss exited his room exhausted, wearing his usual sweatpants while rubbing a hand over his face and unruly hair.
"Long night?"
"Yes, Mike. It was a long night." He smirked.
"Mission successful I assume?"
"You can say that." He sighed.
"Good. Grab your jacket cause you're coming with me."
Without any protest, Weiss grabbed his jacket and followed me out to the car. We laughed and talked about the pervious night with him giving me all of the details I wanted to know. I was sure Fran was giving Syd all of the facts on the other side.
It wasn't until we pulled into the parking space that Weiss questioned what we were doing.
"San Francisco Jewelry shop? What the hell are we doing here?" He asked while hopping out of the car.
"You're going to help me buy an engagement ring."
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