Disclaimer-I don't own anything. The Power Rangers belong to Saban among others and the songs belong to the writers or whoever bought the rights to them. The lyrics I borrowed from them will be in bold.
Authors note-There will be songs since they are going dancing, but I don't want this to turn into a songfic-not that I don't like songfics. So, I'm only including a line or verse that I feel adds to the scene. If you want the full lyrics I'd be happy to send you the web address where I nabbed them.
Also, I lived in the panhandle of Fl for awhile. The boardwalks there are smallish 2-story freestanding places on a beach, usually with a few restaurants and/or shops. That is the kind I'm envisioning here, not the ones you see in movies and such that seem to go on for miles.
WickedIcePrincess-I never get tired of reviews. Keep them coming. They motivate me to write faster. Thanks!!
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Standing in a loose circle just outside of the restaurant the nine well-dressed ninjas turned quite a few heads. The group was oblivious to the attention they were attracting as they plotted their next move.
"OK, so I heard about this totally cool party happening on the beach. There are going to be live bands and dancing," Kapri said excitedly.
"I don't know," Marah interjected, "Our last attempt at a party on the beach didn't turn out so well." Kapri elbowed her in the side. "What?" Marah continued, "Remember, it was interrupted and a lot of our stuff was ruined." Kapri widened her eyes and jerked her head in the others direction.
"I remember. I don't want them to remember." She said through clenched teeth.
"Oh!" Marah exclaimed.
Leann ignored her boyfriend's fighting cousins and offered her opinion. "I'm not sure we're all dressed for the beach." She indicated Tori and herself.
"The bands and dancing and stuff is actually on a boardwalk," Kapri told her. "Did I fail to mention that? And you could always ditch your shoes if you do end up on the beach."
Tori and Leann agreed to this reasoning and it was decided. The group slowly made their way toward the lights and sound that marked the party.
Whomever had set up the party had gone all out. They had taken over a large boardwalk set on a fairly empty piece of the beach. One of the restaurants had remained open to provide refreshments. The boardwalk itself was currently brightly lit with large spotlights, but there were also strings of small twinkling lights hung over the dance floor. Down on the beach proper there were dozens of tiki lights illuminating the sand. Many of the party-goers had spread out blankets and towels and were resting there. One end of the boardwalk was given over to a temporary stage for the live performances. It was currently empty, but a DJ was set up off to one side to provide music between sets. The rest of the space was filled with people dancing.
As soon as the ninjas stepped into the light they heard a voice call out in surprise, "Sensei!" They turned to greet Eric, Kyle and Tally. The 3 teens began to give respectful bows to each of their teachers, but Shane stopped them.
"Whoa! What are you doing?" The wind ninja hissed. Lowering his voice to a whisper he asked, "What part of secret ninja academy do you not understand? Tonight we are not your teachers." The three students looked doubtfully at each other. Shane made shooing motions with his hands. "Seriously guys, go! Have fun."
Eric smiled gleefully and dragged his friends away. When they were out of sight, Shane and turned to the others, "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret that?"
"Lighten up bro! It's a public place. How much trouble could they get into?" Dustin asked.
"Yeah, Sensei. Let's have some fun," Marah put in as she pulled Dustin onto the dance floor.
Cam and Leann wandered over to the stage in search of a band that Cam knew while Hunter and Tori went to fetch some blankets from the van. Blake watched them go and then caught sight of Marah and Dustin dancing together.
"So," he turned and addressed Kapri and Shane who were scanning the crowd, "Marah and Dustin. What's up with them?"
Shane smiled knowingly. "Nothing dude. They're 'just friends," he said in a voice heavy with sarcasm.
"Right. They're 'not interested' in anything more," Kapri joined in. Then she gave a smile of which her Uncle Lothor would have been proud. "Want to have some fun?" she asked Blake.
"What kind of fun?" Blake asked warily, but Shane was already nodding his head.
"Good idea. Next time there's a slow song we'll show Blake our favorite game," the red ranger said happily. Seeing his navy conterpart's bewildered expression he explained, "Kapri and I will each ask Marah and Dustin to dance and see who gives into their jealously first. It's usually Marah."
"This will be great!" Blake said getting into the spirit of the game.
"What'll be great?" Hunter asked as he and Tori rejoined the group.
"Nothing!" Kapri said quickly. Blake and Shane threw her puzzled glances, but she ignored them both. "Let's go secure a patch of sand for these." She lifted one of the blankets from Hunter's arms and led her friends down to the beach.
Marah, Dustin, Cam, and Leann found the others a few minutes later. Cam told them that he was going to sit in with his friends band.
"Cool. When are they on?" Tori asked.
Leann answered for the green ranger. "They're the next band. The DJ is going to do an hour of requests and then Cam's band will be up."
"Requests! Awesome. I have to go pick a song," Dustin exclaimed.
"Me too. I'll go with you," Kapri said putting her hand out so Dustin could help her up. Marah narrowed her eyes and jumped up too.
"I need to stretch my legs," she said by way of explanation.
"But you just sat down," Kapri pointed out.
"I didn't stretch before dancing. I might cramp."
"Why don't we all go?" Cam said in an effort to stave off a fight.
The DJ was just announcing a new request as they reached the dance area. To Shane's horror it was dedicated him.
"And this song goes out to Shane from Eric McKnight and friends," the DJ's voiced boomed over the speakers. Alice Cooper's School's Out began to play. It was a good thing the red power disc was in the Abyss of Evil, because Shane was fuming. He stalked off to find his wayward students.
"Go easy on them dude. You did say to have fun," Dustin called before he headed toward the DJ with Cam's cousins in tow. The others fought their way into the crowd and began to head bang with the rest of the dancers.
The song was practically over by the time Shane tracked down Eric, Tally and Kyle. He dragged them over to a relatively quiet corner and was just warming up to his lecture when Dustin's request started. It was Kung Fu Fighting. Shane stopped his lecture, began laughing and promised he would stay out of the kids way if they stayed out of his for the rest of the night. They readily agreed. Shane joined his friends who were making fools of themselves by executing the fakest, cheesiest 'kung fu' moves ever seen on this planet-or any other for that matter.
A few songs later someone requested a sappy love song for their girlfriend. Kapri and Shane exchanged significant looks and approached Marah and Dustin. Kapri asked Dustin to dance. He looked to Marah, but Shane had already pulled her onto the floor. Blake quickly maneuvered into a place where he could see both couples.
Kapri wrapped her arms around Dustin's neck and swayed to the music. He looked distinctly uncomfortable. Shane was trying valiantly to engage Marah in conversation, but her eyes were glued to the other pair. About a minute and half into the dance Kapri laughed loudly at something Dustin had said, and Marah's control snapped. She marched away from Shane and snatched Dustin away without a word. Shane and Kapri met up with each other and danced their way over to Blake.
"You win again," Shane told Kapri.
"You need to be more aggressive," she told him.
"Why bother? It's so much fun to watch Marah freak out."
"I don't know," Kapri mused, "It's getting too easy. Tori is much more fun." She nodded in the direction of where Tori and Cam were dancing. "It takes longer to upset her, but it builds up so it's more interesting when she does give in to her jealousy."
Blake couldn't figure out how Kapri would know this since he had been gone almost the entire time she had been hanging out with his friends. He looked to Shane for clarification, but the red clad man shook his head in confusion. Before they could ask Kapri, a nervous young man stopped by to ask her to dance.
"What was she talking about?" Blake wondered aloud.
"Don't worry about it. Maybe she was watching when we first met Leann or something." Shane said dismissively.
"Yeah," Blake agreed, but he couldn't shake the image of Hunter and Tori on the beach that morning. Deciding it was time to devote himself to Tori, Blake went to make a song request of his own. After speaking to the DJ he found his friends resting on their blankets in the sand. Over the speaker the next dance was announced.
"This one goes out to Tori from her favorite guy." The opening notes of Blake's request played over the last of the DJs words.
Little surfer little one
Made my heart come all undone
Do you love me, do you surfer girl
Surfer girl my little surfer girl
Before Blake could ask Tori to dance, she rounded on Dustin, Shane, and Hunter.
"Alright what did you guys do now?" she asked accusingly. The three shook their heads vigorously and spoke simultaneously.
"It wasn't me!"
"I haven't done anything."
"I've been here the whole time."
Hunter caught sight of his brother standing behind Tori and pointed, "Maybe you should check with my little bro. He looks guilty of something."
Blake was taken aback by this accusation, "I look guilty of what exactly?"
"Did you request this song?" Tori asked.
"Um...yes?" he answered hesitantly.
Tori let out a long-suffering sigh, "What have you done?"
"I thought...I mean...Don't you like this song?"
Cam decided to help his navy companion, "Tor, I don't think Blake was here when Dustin started all this."
Tori thought about this for a moment. "I think your right. Sorry, Blake. I didn't mean to yell at you. It was very sweet of you to think of me. Would you like to dance?" Blake agreed and led his partner back to the boardwalk.
"What was that all about?" Blake asked once he and Tori were dancing.
The blond woman laughed. "It's all Dustin's fault really," she started. "He broke a CD I'd loaned him. He confessed, apologized, and then sang the opening lines of this song over and over until I forgave him. It was annoying, but also kind of cute. How could I not forgive him? Unfortunately it worked so well that now Shane and Hunter do it too. It's much less cute the 40th or 50th time you hear it."
"So when you heard the dedication you just assumed it was one of them," Blake finished for her. "So I guess this isn't going to become our song."
"Nope, I'm afraid it's already taken by Dustin," Tori agreed.
"Don't worry. We'll find something." Blake assured her with a serious expression.
Tori smiled, but she felt slightly panic-stricken. She wasn't sure she was ready to have a song with Blake. It seemed like a really, well, couple type thing for two people who had never even been on an official date. As they danced, Blake kept pulling the other ranger close to him. It was making Tori nervous-not that excited nervous feeling he used to evoke, but a more uncomfortable nervous. She kept pulling back under the pretense of straightening her dress or adjusting her shoes. As the song faded, Tori announced her desire to dance with Dustin and practically sprinted away.
Blake knew things still weren't normal between him and the blue ranger, but he tried not to worry. He hadn't even been back two days yet, and they'd had zero alone time. But he couldn't help but think how short a week was. At this rate, he thought to himself, we'll be back to normal just in time for me to leave again. This separation is harder than I thought it'd be.
Kapri spotted Blake standing alone and asked him to dance. He wasn't given a chance to answer before he found himself back in the dancing throng. The space ninja's dancing style was...enthusiastic, and Blake had little breath to spare for conversation. This turned out to be fortunate since his dance partner was talking nonstop. Finally, just to stop the flow of information about how to make the ninja uniforms more flattering, Blake panted out a question.
"Why isn't...Marah...stopping...Tori...from dancing...with Dustin?" He said between twirls and dips.
"Don't be silly," the pink-haired woman replied. "It's Tori! She's no threat. Even an airhead like Marah can see she's in love."
"Really?" Blake smiled. Maybe this long-distance thing wasn't so tough after all.
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Leann gathered all of her friends together a few minutes before Cam went on. They clustered around the front of the stage so they could lead the cheering. Blake took advantage of having all his friends in one place to ask if anyone would like to go riding with him.
"Sure bro," Hunter answered. "How about Wednesday? The Thunders are going to visit the Wind Academy that day, so I don't really have to be there." He looked uncertainly at his friends. "Although, I suppose that means the rest of you can't leave."
"Actually, the last part of the day will be just Cam and I teaching levitation," Shane volunteered. "So Tori and Dustin can duck out early and I'll join you later." Once that was settled, the 8 ninjas turned to where their favorite samurai was taking the stage.
The band was very good and they played lots of rockin' guitar-heavy songs, so Cam got a lot of action. During his first solo Tori decided to be really, really supportive. She screamed like a crazed teenager at a boy band concert and pretended to faint when Cam looked her way. Dustin caught on and joined in. Soon, the group of ninjas had a whole section of the audience excited about the guitar player.
After the song Cam tried to glare at his friends, but he had a small smile on his face that belied his stormy expression. They were much more restrained through the rest of the set, but Cam seemed to have developed a fan club among the rest of the audience. Leann was keeping a close watch on one group of girls who kept trying to flash the guitar player.
The next band had a very different style. They opened with Save the Last Dance for Me. The bright spotlights were turned off, and the boardwalk was lit only by the moon and the strings of lights twinkling overhead. Leann snagged Cam away from his admirers, and Hunter put a hand out to Tori. The last year they had spent fighting, training, and teaching together really showed on the dance floor. Tori responded to Hunter's lightest touch, and he allowed her dance skills to shine. Each time he spun his partner around, her dress and hair would flair out enticingly. Neither ranger realized that a space had opened around them as the other dancers stopped to watch.
Cause don't forget who's takin' you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darlin', save the last dance for me
The applause at the end of the dance was for both the band and the blond pair. Hunter and Tori looked startled to discover themselves the focus of so much attention. They took a bow and went toward the restaurant in search of refreshments. Blake, who had watched the dance with a growing sense of unease, noted that they hadn't dropped hands yet. He intercepted the couple before they hit the restaurant door and claimed the next dance from Tori.
In fact, he kept her on the floor for the next couple of dances. Hunter danced with various women, but they all ditched him when he ignored them in favor of following his brother's movements around the boardwalk. He wasn't the only one who was watching. Kapri had also noticed all the attention the younger Bradley was bestowing on her water instructor.
"No fair," she said to no one in particular. "I didn't know the game had started."
Tori had just suggested to Blake that they should get that drink he had interrupted earlier when she spotted Kapri and Hunter on the dance floor. The DJ was back up and the current song was Oh, Darling by The Beatles.
Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
Paul McCartney's voice was raw and full of passion, and Kapri was certainly taking advantage of it. She was practically glued to Hunter. Tori was sure some of those moves weren't meant to be seen in public. As she watched, Kapri wrapped a leg around Hunter's waist and whispered something in his ear.
"That's it!" The blue ranger huffed, interrupting Blake's story about a practical joke he and Tracy had played on Brian. Tori stalked up to her roommate. She pulled Kapri roughly off of him.
"Tor, is something wrong?" Hunter asked with concern. Tori really hadn't thought much past getting the formerly evil space ninja away from her friend. She now scrambled for a plausible excuse.
"I, uh, need to get away from here. I...I have a headache from all the noise...and the crowd and...everything," she stuttered.
"Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Yes, exactly! That's why I came here."
"OK, let's go," Hunter said.
Tori 'accidentally' kicked Kapri as they passed her. She didn't want her getting any ideas about tagging along. Tori and Hunter walked down to the beach and headed away from the party. They stopped when the noise of the party was a soft background and stood looking out at the waves. Tori shivered in the light breeze coming off the water.
"Are you cold?" Hunter asked. When Tori nodded he removed his button-down and draped it over her shoulders. The surfer looked in admiration at the well-defined abs revealed by Hunters white cotton T-shirt.
"Oh no, now you're not wearing any crimson. The guys will be so upset." She commented.
"Nah, I really am wearing crimson underwear," Hunter smirked. Tori threw her head back and laughed. After a few minutes in comfortable silence, Hunter cocked his head back to the party and commented, "Hey Tor, they're playing your song."
Tori listened closely and heard the strains of Lady in Red playing faintly. "So it is."
Hunter gave a formal bow, "May I have this dance?"
Tori curtsied in response and answered, "Of course." Then she stepped into her roommates arms and the world fell away. Hunter held the blue ranger close to his chest and softly sang into her ear.
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight,
I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing,
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side,
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away,
And I have never had such a feeling,
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight;
Tori smiled and leaned in closer as Hunter continued.
The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,
There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I want to be,
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,
I'll never forget the way you look tonight;
I never will forget the way you look tonight...
The lady in red, the lady in red,
The lady in red, my lady in red,
Tori and Hunter remained locked in their slow dance long after the music changed, hearing only the surf and the beating of their own hearts.
"Tor?" Hunter whispered and she pulled back to look at the Thunder ninja. Whatever he was going to say died on his lips as he looked into Tori's eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
Neither was quite sure afterward who had moved first, but suddenly they were kissing. It started out as just a little kiss. So soft and gentle it almost wasn't real, but then Tori's arms snaked around Hunters neck and she sighed against his mouth. The kiss grew more urgent and Tori felt her whole body sing. Hunter's hands began to move up and down the blue rangers spine. She shivered under his touch, and Hunter smiled. There was room for only one thought in his head-Please don't let me wake up this time.
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Perhaps I should have warned you all that I'm a sucker for cheesy romance. Review please.