Chapter 9

"Man, Steph, you look like a totally different person," Chris said, turning around in his seat to look back at Stephanie. She was now wearing the shoulder-length red wig and the clothes that Jess had picked out for her as a disguise. He looked at her in wonder, taking it all in. "How'd you get all you hair to fit under the wig?" he asked curiously.

"I have no clue," Stephanie said, checking her reflection in her compact mirror. "But I don't recognize myself, so I'm pretty sure none of the fans will recognize me, either."

"If you ask me, you look like you're ready for work," Rich teased, still wanting her to notice him. "Is that the wig you wear on your night shift on the corner? And are those the clothes, too?"

"Oh, Rich, cut it out," Jess said, turning to look at Stephanie as well. "Steph, you look better in that wig and those clothes than I ever have!"

Stephanie laughed the compliments away and smoothed her short skirt down. "I don't dress like this. This isn't my style. Are you sure these clothes look ok on me?" she asked, looking at Jess and then at Chris. She had already heard Jess's opinion, though, so she really just wanted to find out what Chris thought.

"I think you look ok," Chris said, letting his eyes scan quickly over her and then forcing himself to look away so Jess wouldn't catch him staring at Stephanie. "Ok" is quite an understatement, he thought. Stephanie was right, those clothes definitely weren't her style. That didn't mean that she didn't look good in what she was wearing, though, because she did. It just wasn't something he was used to seeing her in. She was dressed in a tight, cleavage-baring shirt that showed her stomach, a short black skirt that barely went mid-thigh, and some boots that came up nearly to her knees. She looked very punk rock-ish and very un-Stephanie like, and in his opinion, her sexy little get-up was going to attract more attention than her regular jeans and a shirt would have. Leave it to Jess to make Steph just ooze sex appeal today of all days, he thought, biting his lip as he looked out the window...

"I think you look sluttier than ever before," Rich piped up, a bit annoyed that she had ignored him earlier. "And since when do you have your nose and belly button pierced?"

"Duh, Rich, my nose isn't really pierced," Stephanie replied, rolling her eyes at him. "But my belly button has been pierced for a while now."

"Funny," Rich said thoughtfully. "I didn't notice that last night when we-"

Before he could finish, Chris started coughing loudly. "You ok?" Jess asked, concerned.

"Perfectly fine," Chris said, clearing his throat. He glared menacingly at Rich, then turned back around. "I'm thirsty. Everybody ready to go?"

"More than ready," Stephanie said quickly, reaching for the door handle. She was anxious to get out of the car and away from Rich. She couldn't believe that he had almost just told Jess what had happened between them the night before. He had been right on the verge of just letting it slip out, and if it hadn't been for Chris pulling the old coughing trick... She shuddered at the thought of what could have happened.

"Honey, we can't get out yet. You forgot to finish your disguise," Jess pointed out to her husband. "Where's your lip ring? Your cap? Your sunglasses?"

Chris sighed and pulled on a cap, putting it on his head backwards. He put on some sunglasses, then pulled out a fake lip ring and put it on his bottom lip. "Happy now?" he asked, turning to look at his wife so she could see how he looked now.

"You kinda look like a buff, blonde Travis Barker," Rich observed. "Minus the body art and the mohawk, of course."

"Sure," Chris said sarcastically. "Thanks for comparing me to a guy that looks like a freaking bird."

"Chris, how mean! I met Trav a couple of months ago, and in person he looks nothing like a bird," Stephanie said. "As a matter of fact, he's a good-looking guy...very romantic with the wife and sweet with the kids. Haven't you seen his show on TV?"

"You watch Meet The Barkers?" Jess asked, surprised.

"Yeah. It's a good show," Stephanie said with a shrug.

"Everybody ready?" Chris asked, a bit impatiently. For some reason, he didn't want to hear Stephanie talk about another guy, and he didn't know why. He'd never had a problem with listening to her talk about other men in the past, but now all of a sudden, it was different. He felt different...

"Yeah, we're ready," Rich said, speaking for himself and the two women.

"Great," Chris said. "Let's get out of here..."

Nearly three minutes later, they were walking towards the entrance to the mall. "Leave it to Chris to park in the back of the parking lot," Stephanie joked when things got too quiet for her.

"There weren't any other spots up front," Chris pointed out. "Why? Tired? Need me to carry you?"

"Of course she doesn't, silly," Jess said with a laugh. "Ok, so Stephanie and I are going to Victoria's Secret to catch their mega sale. Where are you two going?"

"I want to ride up and down on the escalator," Rich said immediately. The other three looked at him. "What?" he asked, holding his hands up.

"How immature," Stephanie said, trying not to laugh. The truth was that she and Chris had done that a lot of times in the past, just ride up and down on the escalator. What could she say? It was fun sometimes...

"Yes, that's very immature," Chris agreed, sharing a knowing look with Stephanie.

"Aw, Chris, you know that you're always riding up and down on the escalator with me," Rich said. "It's not immature... It's just bringing out the child inside. My parents were always telling me not to ride up and down the escalator when I was younger... This is just my way of rebelling."

"Ok, ok, you've convinced me," Chris said. "But we can't draw too much attention to ourselves. We're trying to be discreet, remember?"

"Then we might as well go to Victoria's Secret with the ladies," Rich grumbled as they reached the entrance to the mall.

"Yes, let's do that," Chris agreed, looking at Stephanie. "We'll do that."

"Are you sure, honey? Because I don't plan to rush while we're there," Jess warned, taking Chris's hand. Stephanie just looked away, trying to look anywhere else besides their joined hands.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Chris replied, looking at Rich and Stephanie. His gaze lingered on Stephanie for a long moment, but then he turned back to Jess. "So... What are we standing here for? Let's go."

They all reached the main entrance. Chris opened the door for Jess and Stephanie. As Stephanie walked inside, he looked after her and licked his lips. He didn't mean to, but he was already imagining what it would be like to be with her. He couldn't believe how much things had changed since the day before. He smiled to himself as he remembered what had almost happened twice that morning...

"Dude, is it just my imagination, or were you just checking Stephanie out?" Rich asked, nudging him.

"I was," Chris admitted as he watched his wife and his best female friend walk together to the escalator. They were talking animatedly to one another, and ever so often they would both look back at him and Rich and giggle. "I wonder what they're laughing at?"

"Uh uh, don't change the subject," Rich said, shaking his head. "You were just checking out hr ass!"

"So?"

"Your wife, she's right next to her."

"Hey, you slept with her. Can't I at least look?" Chris asked defensively.

"Hey, she's not mine," Rich said. "Look at her all you want. Hell, we could both get a great view going up the escalator."

Chris hadn't thought about that, and he didn't like the idea of Rich looking up Stephanie's skirt on the escalator. However, he couldn't say that without causing suspicion, so he just nodded. Besides, Rich had already seen everything Stephanie had to offer, and while that sickened Chris a little, he would have to learn to deal with it. He couldn't change the past, anyway.

"Damn, check it out," Rich said, bending down a little and looking up.

Chris did the same, squatting down, and soon he was staring up Stephanie's skirt. He knew that he was being pretty obvious, but it was too much of an opportunity to pass up. He stared up and whistled lightly. "Jesus, she changed into a thong."

"What do you mean, she changed into a thong? She could've been wearing one all day," Rich pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right," Chris said, knowing for a fact that Stephanie hadn't been wearing that thong earlier in the closet. Oh, he would've remembered that. He SO would've remembered that. He did remember what she'd been wearing earlier, and he remembered what he'd done to her in the closet. She'd been nearly naked while he'd been fully clothed... Just that memory conjured up vivid images in his mind, images that he didn't need to be seeing at the moment, because he was going to develop a problem that couldn't be taken care of if he kept picturing the way she'd felt against him...

Chris and Rich were so caught up in looking under Stephanie's skirt that they didn't notice when they reached the top. They both tumbled over and landed on their butts at the top of the escalator.

"Oh my God, are they ok?" Jess asked worriedly.

Stephanie turned to look at the two men. She'd seen them staring under her skirt the whole way up. Serves them right, she thought, smiling. She looked at Jess. "I'm sure they're fine. They were probably just...excited...about being on the escalator."

"Well in that case, let's go!" Jess said excitedly. She linked her arm with Stephanie's and practically dragged her to Victoria's Secret, leaving the guys behind.

"Why didn't you tell me we were at the top?" Chris grumbled, looking at Rich.

"Because I was too busy looking... Well, you know where I was looking," Rich said sheepishly. "But do you blame me? You were looking, too."

"Yeah, I was," Chris laughed. He and Rich looked at each other and just laughed. This was absurd. They had been squatting on the escalator in plain view of people, just to get a peek under Stephanie's skirt, and now they were sitting on the ground at the top of the escalator. Could things get any more weird?

Apparently so.

"Are you two gonna stay there all day, or are you gonna move so we can get by?" came a sarcastic voice from behind them.

"Or can we just step on you guys?" a second, equally sarcastic voice said. "Because that's what we like to do. We like to step on guys, or at least, those ones that like to be doormats."

Chris and Rich scrambled to their feet and looked at the owners of the two voices, two young-looking women, maybe around twenty or twenty-one. They were both wearing dark makeup and looked very punk rock-ish, dressed the same way Stephanie had been dressed.

"We don't like to be doormats," Rich said quickly, pursing his lips.

"Yeah, no doormat guys here," Chris agreed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Wow, you two look kind of sexy," the first girl said. "And you, your tats are wicked." She turned to the other girl. "Reese, his tats are sweet, aren't they?"

"Wow, yeah," the other girl, apparently named Reese, said. She looked at Rich. "So, what's your name?"

"My, uh, name?" Rich repeated. He looked at Chris and mouthed, "What's my name?"

"His name? Um, his name is..." Chris's voice trailed off as he tried to think of a suitable name for Rich. He grinned triumphantly a minute later. "His name is Billy."

"Billy, huh?" Reese repeated. "Like Billy Bob Thornton?"

"Just Billy," Rich said. "That's it. Billy."

"And what's your name?" Reese asked Chris.

"His name's Chuck," Rich answered before Chris could say a word. "Yeah, his name's Chuck, and together we're Billy and Chuck."

"Billy and Chuck?" the first girl said. She looked at Reese and they shared a knowing look before she turned back to the guys. "Well, Billy and Chuck, why don't you come back to our place and we have a little fun?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea, Crystal," Reese said approvingly, looking at the guys. She walked around them in a circle, then grabbed Chris's butt. "Oh yeah, we could have a lot of fun with you. You have a nice, firm ass. Nice."

"I'm taken," Chris said quickly.

"So am I," Rich added. "Happily taken."

"Why would that matter? We don't care if you're taken or not," Crystal said. "We just want to have a little fun."

"And what hot-blooded male turns down some kinky fun with some young, innocent girls?" Reese added as extra incentive.

"Guys like us," Rich said. He threw an arm around Chris's shoulder. "We're...together."

"Man, what the fu... I mean, yeah, we're totally together," Chris agreed, putting his arm around Rich's waist. "We're not straight. We...like each other."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so?" Reese laughed. "We have strap-ons and everything!"

"When I give you the cue, you run," Chris whispered into Rich's ear, looking nervously at the two girls in front of them.

"What's the cue?" Rich whispered back.

"Run!" Chris replied, and they took off in the direction of Victoria's Secret, leaving the two girls behind. They reached Victoria's Secret and stood outside, catching their breath for a minute. "Dude, what the fuck was with that whole 'we're together' crap?"

"Hey, I was just trying to make them leave us alone," Rich said with a shrug. "Why'd you name me Billy?"

"I just did... But you did the worst thing by naming me Chuck," Chris said, shaking his head.

"How?"

"A couple of years ago, Billy and Chuck were this sort of...couple...who were supposed to get, like, married on the show, in the ring."

"Wow," Rich said with a laugh. "We're Billy and Chuck."

"You two are Billy and Chuck? When did that happen?" Stephanie asked, leaning in the doorway of Victoria's Secret and looking lazily at Rich and Chris.

"Since about five minutes ago, and we're also together," Chris informed her, putting his arm around Rich's waist.

"Yeah, we're a happy couple, and we're cute," Rich put in. "Don't you think so?"

"No, not really," Stephanie said in a dry voice. She looked at Chris. "Mind if we have a word? I wanted to talk to you."

"No problem," Chris said, quickly removing his arm from around Rich's waist. "Rich, could you go keep Jess company for a little while so Steph and I can go talk?"

"Fine, but only because I get to preview whatever Jess buys before you do," Rich agreed, walking into Victoria's Secret and leaving Stephanie and Chris alone.

"So what's up?" Chris asked, putting both hands in his pockets so he wouldn't reach out and grab her.

"I wanted to tell you something, that's all, but I don't think I can tell you here," Stephanie replied, still leaning in the doorway to Victoria's Secret. "What do you say we go someplace a little less crowded and a lot more discreet?"

"Like where?"

"Come with me..."

They ended up in the arcade downstairs, way in the back, sitting in one of those simulation car games. There was just barely enough room for both of them to be sitting in there, and it was a pretty tight fit as it was. They sat there in silence for a minute, not looking at each other, and then all of a sudden, Chris just started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Stephanie wanted to know.

"You want to be somewhere alone with me, so you bring me to a broke-down game in an arcade," he laughed. "I just think that's funny."

"Well, when you put it that way, then it's funny," she agreed, nodding her head. She placed her hand on his knee and slowly let it travel up, looking into his eyes. "But then when you think about it another way... You and I are virtually alone back here, sitting in a seat that's made for one person...really close..."

"We've sat close before," he pointed out.

"But this is different. I didn't feel this way before," she said, and before she really knew what was happening, she was sitting straddled across his lap. She spoke to him in a low voice. "You know, I know what you were doing on the escalator..."

"Oh really?" he asked, putting his arms around her waist as she nodded. "And what was I doing?"

"You and Rich were both looking up my skirt," she said without missing a beat. "The funny thing about it is, I knew I was giving you a little show... So did you like it?"

"You're wearing a thong. What's not to like?" he asked her pointedly.

"I don't know," she replied, leaning a little closer to him.

"What did you want to tell me?" he asked, cocking his head sideways a little bit and looking at her face.

"Just how hot you made me when I figured out what you were doing on the escalator," she said, right before she closed the distance between them and kissed him. She didn't know when this whole change between them had happened. Just the day before, she would never have imagined that she would be acting this way with him and wanting to do these crazy things to him. He was her best friend, after all. So what if she'd had a few dreams about him in the past...

"Steph, I don't want to wait until Rich leaves," he whispered, pulling back and breathing heavily as he looked into her eyes. "I want you right now..."

"But where would we go, and what excuse would we have if Jess asked where we were?" she asked logically.

"We could just say we got held up by fans who wanted autographs, something along those lines," he said, his hands running down her back and under her skirt. "We'll make up something, I don't care what, and we could do it right here. I don't care where we go. All I want to do right now is lift this skirt up and pull this thong to the side..."

"Chris, you're so bad," she murmured when she felt his hands beneath her skirt touching her. "But you know we can't do it right now... We'd be too...wow..."

"Wow, is that all you can say right now?" he asked, grinning impishly at her. "Wow?"

She didn't say anything, she just kissed him again, moaning into his mouth as his fingers worked their magic on her. She trailed her fingers through his hair, then pulled it a little, kissing him a little harder. She knew this was risky, too risky, but how was she supposed to stop? Nothing was going to stop them, nothing...

"Hey, who's back there?" came an angry voice.

"Oh shit," Chris said, pulling away a little. "Somebody's coming. Quick, get up."

Stephanie got up, her legs shaking a little as she attempted to straighten her skirt, and he got up after her, just as an old man with an accent came wobbling over to them.

"What did I tell you horny little kids the other day? This is an arcade, not a place for you to have sex! You teens today just don't understand the consequences of actions like this!" the man exclaimed, glaring angrily at them. "Out, out, out! And don't let me see you two back here again!"

"Yes sir!" Stephanie said with a little laugh as Chris grabbed her hand and pulled her away. They didn't speak again until they were on the escalator, headed back upstairs for Victoria's Secret. "So, he thinks we're teens, huh?"

"Seems like it," Chris answered absently. He looked into her eyes after a minute. "So... When do we get to finish what we started?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know, but sometime soon," she said definitively, gazing at him. "Sometime soon."

"Good," he said, grinning at her. "Because I can't wait..."

A/N: Things are happening that I didn't plan at all... But that's ok, I guess, as long as you guys review! LOL, I appreciate the feedback and knowing what you guys think about this story... Also, I plan to update some other stories sometime this week if I get a chance...