Chapter 16: The Baby-Sit
JUNE 2, 1980
NEWPORT BEACH, CA
"Jimmy!" Kirsten giggled as Jimmy tickled her with kisses on her neck. "Stop it! Jimmy!" Kirsten squealed as she started laughing even harder.
Jimmy stopped momentarily and smiled at her. He was lying underneath her on the bed of her bedroom. "I thought you liked it when I did that," he teased.
Kirsten was still giggling when she answered, "Yeah, but it tickles!"
Jimmy continued kissing her on the neck, making her giggle once more and as he was doing this, he proceeded to remove the tank top she was wearing.
"Jimmy!" Kirsten giggled again. "My parents are downstairs!"
"So what?" Jimmy said. He continued to kiss her, and Kirsten made no attempt to stop his actions. Jimmy then rolled the two of them over so that he was on top, pinning her down to the bed.
"Jimmy! It's getting late and what if my dad walks in on us again?" Kirsten giggled as they continued to kiss.
Jimmy slowed down, but didn't stop, and in between kisses said, "You do have a point. I think he would really have me killed this time around. And it is a school night after all…"
Jimmy ceased the kissing and rolled off Kirsten onto his back. But to his surprise, Kirsten rolled back on top of him and started kissing him again.
"I thought you wanted me to leave?" Jimmy inquired.
"Just because you need to leave doesn't mean I want you to leave," Kirsten said and continued kissing him. A minute later, though she pulled away from him and said, "But you probably should go…unfortunately…"
Kirsten rolled off Jimmy, sat up on her bed, and pulled her tank top back over her head. They both got off the bed, but then started kissing again and fell right back onto it.
"The process of leaving seems to take a while, doesn't it?" Jimmy stated.
"Yes it does," Kirsten said and continued kissing him.
Jimmy finally broke up the kissing by saying, "I really should go home."
Kirsten sighed and said, "I know you should."
They got back off the bed again and managed not to end up back on it this time.
Just as Jimmy was about to leave, he asked, "Hey, Kirst. What are you doing this weekend? I was thinking we could take the boat to Catalina or something…do some snorkeling, kayaking…what do you think?"
The smile on Kirsten's face faded slightly, "I can't go this weekend, Jimmy…I promised my parents ages ago that I would baby-sit Hailey for them this weekend…they're leaving for Palm Springs on Friday…I'm sorry…you can come and help me out if you want…"
Jimmy smiled at the idea, "That actually sounds like fun…sure! Hailey always makes for an interesting babysitting adventure."
Kirsten had a surprised look on her face, "Fun? Wasn't the exact response I expected…well, I mean considering Catalina is the other option for you."
"Well, Catalina isn't an option without you. And besides, we can make it fun…even without Hailey," Jimmy said and winked at her.
Kirsten smiled and said, "Yes we can…now you better get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye Kirst," Jimmy said and kissed her before he left the room.
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JUNE 4, 1980
NEWPORT BEACH, CA
"Now Kirsten, you have all the phone numbers, right? All the emergency numbers, the number of the hotel, and the neighbor's number," Katherine inquired.
"Yes, Mom! It's not like I haven't baby-sat for Hailey before," Kirsten said, rolling her eyes.
"Just checking that's all. Okay, Mrs. Jones is dropping off Hailey from gymnastics class around five o'clock," Katherine informed her.
"Right, got it. Oh, and Mom…just to let you know, Jimmy is probably going to be coming by some this weekend to help out with Hailey," Kirsten told her mom.
"That's fine," Katherine replied, unsurprised as Jimmy had helped baby-sit for Hailey before. "Bye, sweetie! Have a good time this weekend," and Katherine embraced her in a hug.
"Bye, Mom!" Kirsten said and hugged her back.
As Kirsten broke from the embrace, her father approached her. "Have a good weekend, Kiki. We'll be home late Saturday night…probably around midnight. I think you'll hold down the fort just fine until then," Caleb said.
"I'm up to the challenge. I'll be fine, Dad. Have fun in Palm Springs!" Kirsten replied.
"Bye, Kiki," Caleb said and gave her a quick hug.
"Bye!" Kirsten said as they both walked out the door to leave, closing it behind them.
Kirsten walked over to the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and dialed a familiar number.
"Hey, Jimmy!" Kirsten said into the phone. "Yeah, they just left. You can come over anytime….Okay, then I'll see you in a few…Okay, bye!" and hung up the phone.
About five minutes later, the doorbell rang and Kirsten wasn't surprised to find Jimmy standing at the door when she answered it. In his hand there was a case of Corona.
"Hey!" Kirsten said and greeted him with a kiss. "Nice choice on the beer."
"Well, it is one of my favorites, after all. Let's get them to the fridge," Jimmy said with a smile.
"Yeah, good call," Kirsten said and the two of them walked into the kitchen. As Jimmy was putting the Coronas into the fridge, Kirsten said with a sly look on her face, "So Hailey doesn't come home until 5 tonight…"
"So that means we have the house to ourselves until then," Jimmy said with a slight smile.
"Exactly," Kirsten said, getting close enough to wrap her arms around him.
"Well, we definitely have to take advantage of that," Jimmy said and kissed Kirsten and then picked her up and led her towards the couch…
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Kirsten practically flew off of Jimmy when she heard the front door opening, knowing that Hailey had just arrived home. Damn it. We lost track of time, Kirsten thought. She quickly pulled her shirt back over her head and tried desperately to smooth out her disheveled hair. Meanwhile, Jimmy got off the couch and managed to get his shirt back on just as Hailey entered the room.
"Hi!" Hailey yelled excitedly as she came in. "Hi Jimmy!" Hailey said and gave him a hug. "Are you going to help baby-sit?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
"Of course, Kiddo! That's why I'm here," Jimmy answered.
"Yay! Good!" Hailey practically screamed. "So what are we having for dinner, Kiks? You aren't cooking, are you?"
Kirsten chuckled, "Very funny, Hailey. No, I'm not cooking. I'm going to go order a pizza."
"Awesome! Hey guys, can we play some board games while we wait for the pizza?" Hailey asked.
"Sounds great. Why don't you go get some of them, Kiddo?" Jimmy replied.
"Okay," and with that Hailey bounded out of the room.
"Are you sure that you're ready to take Hailey on?" Kirsten asked after ordering the pizza. "She's pretty competitive."
"Look who's talking," Jimmy replied.
"I'm not that competitive!" Kirsten insisted.
"Right…Just keep telling yourself that," Jimmy said.
Just before Kirsten could replied, Hailey yelled into the room, "Time to play Clue!"
"Remember, Kirsten…It's just a game," Jimmy joked.
"Shut up!" Kirsten replied.
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After a couple rounds of Clue and a pizza dinner, the three of them played a game of Monopoly. Jimmy ended up losing all his money to both Hailey and Kirsten, who were playing extremely intense. The two sisters were locked in a dead even tie, which lasted for what seemed like two hours, at which point Jimmy decided that they should call the game.
It was nine o'clock now, and they had just finished putting Hailey to bed. She actually for once went to bed rather easily, but Kirsten figured that she had a rather long day, with dance, gymnastics, and competitive board games. Kirsten was tired herself and slumped onto the couch at which point she turned on the TV, while Jimmy pulled out two of the Coronas from the fridge.
"Oh, a Dallas rerun is on! It's the one where Miss Ellie gets breast cancer and has to have surgery. It's such a good episode!" Kirsten exclaimed.
"I can't believe you watch that show," Jimmy said as he handed her the beer. "I mean it's about how all these rich people have all these problems and lead dysfunctional lives."
Kirsten took a swig out of the bottle and said, "Oh, shut up. You know you watch it…and that you secretly like it!"
Jimmy scoffed at the idea, "Yeah right!"
"You know you do," Kirsten teased.
"Shut up," Jimmy said and started kissing her. As their kissing grew more intense, they laid down on the couch, with Jimmy on top of Kirsten and both of their shirts removed. As they continued kissing, their hands roamed the other's body, and Jimmy's hands managed to find their way to the button of Kirsten's jeans. He slowly started to undo it.
"Jimmy," Kirsten said as she took his hand away from the button of her pants. "I'm not…I don' think…"
"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry. I just thought you might be…and with your parent's gone…" Jimmy apologized, trailing off.
"I told you I still wasn't ready. And regardless, Hailey's right upstairs…" Kirsten told him. "I guess I just need more time…"
Jimmy sighed. He was hoping that she was finally ready. He was trying to wait patiently, but lately it was getting harder and harder. "Hey no worries. Whenever you're ready."
Kirsten smiled at him and said, "That's why I love you. Thanks."
"I love you too," Jimmy said and then continued kissing her…
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Saturday had turned out to be surprisingly fun for Kirsten and Jimmy. It was a gorgeous day, so they took Hailey to the beach for the afternoon, and returned in the evening for take-out Mexican food and a viewing of Lady and the Tramp on TV. After Hailey had gone to bed, Kirsten and Jimmy took out a few− well more than a few− Coronas to drink and spent more "quality" time together.
After a fairly lengthy make-out session, the couple managed to stop when they realized that the movie Grease was being played special on TV.
"I love this movie! It's so great! And John Travolta is pretty hot," Kirsten said as she started downing yet another beer and started to feel a buzz.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Jimmy joked.
"It doesn't mean I don't think you're hot too," Kirsten corrected herself.
"Good…I was worried there for a sec," Jimmy said laughing.
Just as the movie broke for it's first commercial, Kirsten heard a low hum in the background. The garage door.
"Shit! It's my parents! It's only 10:15…they were suppose to be home at midnight!" Kirsten exclaimed. "Look at the mess!"
There were empty beer bottles all over the table and two bottles that had just been opened.
"What should we do?" Jimmy asked.
"Um, I'll get a trash bag. Take these," Kirsten said, handing him the two almost full bottles of beer, "and…um…flush it down the toilet."
"Down the toilet?" asked Jimmy.
"Yeah! Come on, hurry up!" Kirsten told him.
While Kirsten quickly grabbed a trash bag and started clearing off the beer bottles from the coffee table, Jimmy emptied the two bottles in the toilet, and flushed it to dispose of the beer. Jimmy then ran back to the family room and helped Kirsten with the rest of bottles.
Just as the pair was heading out the back door, Caleb called, "Kiki! Where are you?"
"Shit! Come on, let's go!" Kirsten said. They took the bag of empty bottles into the side yard where the trash cans were. They started emptying the bottles into the trash, but froze when they heard a voice behind them.
"So this is what you two have been doing this weekend. Drinking beer," Caleb voice said, surprising them.
Kirsten slowly turned around to see her father and tried to say something, but nothing came out.
"I'm disappointed in the two of you! Kiki, what were you thinking?" Caleb said in a slightly raised tone.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I just…um…" Kirsten sputtered out.
"No excuses. Grounded for two weeks. No TV, no phone, no going out, no one coming over, and that includes Jimmy over there," Caleb told her.
Kirsten lowered her head and said, "Okay." She knew she deserved it. Caught drinking by her parents while she was supposed to be watching Hailey.
"And as for you, James, I'm not going to call your parents, but I'd say it's time for you to head home before I decide to change my mind…I like you, but next time I might not be so generous," Caleb told him.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Bye, Kirst," Jimmy said and turned to walk out the back gate.
"House. Now. It's time to tell your mother about this," Caleb said and turned walking toward the house.
Kirsten sighed as she followed him. How does he always manage to catch us at the worst times, she wondered.
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Meanwhile, Hailey stared out a window from upstairs and saw the entire thing. Kirsten and Jimmy are so busted, she thought. Late night beer drinking. She could hear her father chastising them and giving Kirsten a two-week grounding. Well, I guess that's one thing I could do to make Dad mad if I ever wanted to…
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In The O.C. Season 1 Episode, "The Third Wheel," Jimmy and Kirsten talk about the time when they were babysitting Hailey when Kirsten's parents went to Palm Springs. They flushed beer down the toilet and got caught throwing out the bottles. This is were the idea for this chapter came from.
I do not own Dallas or Grease. Dallas aired from April 1978 to May 1991, and during season 3 (1979-1980), it aired on CBS on Friday nights. Grease was released in theaters in 1978, so I don't know if it would have played on TV by 1980 or not…just a guess.
Thanks for all the reviews…if anyone has any advise or ideas for storylines, let me know and I can try to incorporate it…hope the story is still going well