Disclaimer-see first chapter
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Later that night...
Blake was very excited about movie night. He was really looking forward to spending time with the whole Ranger gang again, and he was having visions of snuggling in the dark with Tori. However, there seemed to be a problem. Tori and Hunter were standing in front of the door facing each other, and Blake could feel a storm brewing. "Shotgun!" the yelled simultaneously, making Blake jump about a foot in the air. Neither blond seemed to notice.
"No way," said Tori, "I drove last time."
"You did not! I drove last movie night," Hunter retorted.
"But I drove us to the store. It's your turn."
"What?! Since when do we take turns every time we go out? Only movie night at Cam and Leann's counts and you know it."
"Well, I'm not driving tonight."
"Me either."
"Fine, we won't go."
"Fine."
"Fine"
"FINE"
Blake cleared his throat his throat to remind the fighting couple that he was still there. Tori and Hunter, who were practically nose-to-nose at this point, swiveled their heads to look at him. Blake raised his hand and volunteered, "I have a rental car. I can drive." Tori smiled sweetly and him and then at Hunter and said, "Perfect. Shotgun." With that she turned and walked out the door.
Upon arriving at Cam's new house, Blake was startled when Tori popped open her door before he even turned into the driveway. Hunter yelled, "No fair" and followed suit. Blake watched as his passengers ran into the house without bothering to knock or close the door behind them. Walking at a more leisurely pace, Blake knocked on the still-open door. No one answered, so he walked inside, shut the door behind him, and followed the sounds of a struggle into the living room. Along one wall was a bay window overlooking a huge backyard. A big screen TV sat along an adjoining wall, with two over-sized chairs facing it. A long green couch completed the cozy room. Shane sat on one end of the couch. Dustin was on the floor by Shane's feet using his hands to demonstrate his latest freestyle trick. And on the chair closest to the hall, Tori and Hunter were engaged in a battle. They were sitting side-by-side, each attempting to push the other onto the floor.
Blake greeted Shane and Dustin and then gestured to the struggling pair in question. Dustin glanced in their direction and shrugged, "They do that every time Cam hosts movie night. I don't know why they bother-it always ends the same way."
"Tori wins?" Blake guessed. Shane laughed, "Nah, man. They just end up sharing. They'll calm down when Cam sees them." At the sound of Cam's name, Tori looked up guiltily. The samurai was nowhere in sight, but she did spot Blake. This gave her an idea.
"You know Hunter, if you loved your brother you'd let me sit here with him," she said with big puppy-dog eyes. Hunter just snorted, "Please! My brother would be just as happy sitting with you over there in the crappy chair." Blake moved to stand by the matching chair and eagerly agreed, "Yeah Tor. I'll share this chair with you." After receiving one of Tori's death glares he changed his tune. "I mean...I can't share. I need my space." And the Great Chair War resumed.
A few minutes later Cam came in from his kitchen holding a bowl of popcorn in each hand. He looked at the pair fighting on the chair and sighed. "I'm sure it's pointless to remind you two that there is an identical chair right there?" Cam pointed to the chair that Blake still stood by. In response he got an overlapping diatribe about why this chair was superior. Cam caught something about TV angles and distance to the bathroom before holding up a hand to stop the onslaught of words. "You're right. That is the best chair. Perhaps I should sit there-as it belongs to me." Tori and Hunter immediately apologized and stopped the shoving match. It really was a big chair and they were slender enough to sit side-by-side quite comfortably.
"If the kids are settled then..." Cam paused and glared at Hunter and Tori-who did their best to appear totally innocent and bewildered by Cam's words. "Good. What are we watching tonight?" Shane held up a handful of DVDs. "I thought, in honor of Blake's return, we could have our very own marshal arts film festival. Guaranteed to be free of artifical butter." Dustin bounced on the floor in excitement, "Yes!! And if they're really lame we can turn down the sound and do our own voice-overs."
The lights were extinguished and the first movie popped in, and Ranger Movie Night had officially begun. The first movie turned out to be really bad. The whole group lost interest within the first half hour and began to add their own dialog. This quickly proved to be a bad idea as Shane and Dustin kept making the characters pontificate about the wonders of the yellow and/or red ranger. Cam threatened to turn the movie off, but the boys would only behave to a minute or two so he just gave up.
Blake turned his attention to studying Tori out of the corner of his eye. As the movie progressed, she and Hunter had shifted around trying to get more comfortable. Blake noted was some uneasiness that Hunter now had his left arm around Tori, who was half-leaning on the older Bradley's chest. As he watched, Tori threw her right leg over Hunter's left. Hunter was whispering something in her ear, sending her into a fit of giggles. The motocross star reminded himself that he and Tracy often ended up in such positions while sharing a seat on a bus or plane. The loneliness of being without their family and friends had instantly bonded them to each other and to Brian. This thought comforted him and helped him to stamp down his jealous feelings. After all, there was nothing going on between him and Tracy. He shook off his thoughts and made the new character on screen list the glories of the Navy ranger.
It was getting late when the second movie ended, but no one wanted their movie night with Blake to end. It was decided that they would take a break and watch one last movie. Dustin quickly stole "the good chair" and settled back in victory. His smug smile lasted exactly two minutes when Tori and Hunter returned and forcibly returned him to his place on the floor. Hunter sat back down, but Tori remained standing to stretch her legs. Blake took advantage of the lapse in conversation to ask Tori about her plans for Saturday.
"I have to teach two of my favorite guys to surf," she said throwing an affectionate smile at Hunter. "Bro, you're learning to surf? When did you start that?" Blake asked in disbelief. Hunter explained that he had introduced Charlie to Tori awhile back and the youngster was immediately smitten. "When Charlie found out that Tori was surfer he decided that he had to learn," Hunter said with a bemused shake of his head. "Who can blame him?" Blake said, shyly looking at Tori. "That shouldn't take all day. What do you say to dinner and dancing tomorrow night?"
"Excellent plan man! We haven't gone out in ages," Shane exclaimed from the doorway. "We'll invite Leann and Marah. That means Kapri will want to tag along, but it'll still leave me and Hunter free to cruise for chicks." Shane noticed that Tori was attempting to kill him with her eyes and amended, "I mean, it will allow us to look for ladies to spend some quality time with." Tori gave a weak smile, but her mind was racing. Because it wasn't Shane's use of the word "chicks" that had upset her-it was his inclusion of Hunter. "But that's ridiculous," she thought, "I don't care who he's with, I'll be there with Blake. I'm just used to doing everything with Hunter. I'm sure that's all that's bothering me."
Meanwhile Blake was trying to clarify that he had only meant to invite Tori. However, he gave up when he heard the other guys planning out the night. Tori caught his eye and smiled to indicate that she knew what he had meant to ask. She felt bad that his plans had been spoiled. Wanting to make it up to him she cast a wistful look to where Hunter sat in their chair and pulled Blake over to the couch to sit by her. She looked over at Hunter and warned, "This does NOT mean that you've won." Hunter only smirked and stretched out in reply.
Blake could not concentrate on the last movie. He was hyper-aware of Tori's presence next to him. She seemed tense and kept shifting around. It had been months since they'd last seen each other. Phone calls and emails were just not the same. Things still felt a little strained and weird between them. He told himself that it would take to time to readjust, but he couldn't help but note the little gap between them on the couch. He also couldn't help comparing it to how she had been cuddling with his brother all night. And he couldn't help comparing it to how he and Tracy sat together. When Tori got up to use the restroom, Blake angled himself into the corner and put one arm across the back of the couch in hopes that Tori would snuggle against him when she returned. However, Tori wasn't really paying attention when she returned and sat across Hunter's lap out of habit.
Hunter was surprised but pleased when Tori rejoined him. The chair just wasn't as much fun alone. It was too big and he'd felt strangely empty without Tori's weight against him. Finally comfortable again, both ninjas fell asleep. Her head on his shoulder, his head laying on hers.
By the time the movie ended, only Dustin was still awake. He switched off the TV and turned on the lights to rouse the others. There was a chorus of moans as the former rangers awoke. Tori, whose face was buried in Hunter's neck remained asleep. Hunter gently pulled back and looked tenderly at the woman asleep in his arms before waking her. Cam observed this and made a mental note to have a talk with his crimson friend soon. Agreeing to meet at Storm Chargers after close the next day, everyone headed home.
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