Chapter 9
"Told you I'd catch you," Steph said, leaning against the counter in the kitchen as she caught her breath. She had just chased Chris around the backyard after he had pulled her hair, and now she was out of breath. Their backyard was huge, and Chris had made it his top priority to run almost everywhere so she wouldn't catch him, even though he had only told her that he would race her back to the house.
"And you did," Chris said, leaning against the counter next to her. He put one hand on her shoulder. "I must say, you've impressed me, Steph."
"Really?" she asked, looking at him. "How so?"
"You just have," he said simply. He removed his hand from her shoulder and reached into his pocket, then pulled his hair back into a ponytail. "So, are you ready to get back to the others?"
"Yeah, let's do it," she said, standing up straight. "I just hope we haven't missed Spin The Bottle..."
"Why? Were you looking forward to kissing someone?" he asked curiously as they walked slowly out of the kitchen together.
"Yeah," she said, grinning at him. "And I think you know who I'm talking about."
"No, I don't know," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. He stopped walking and pulled her to him, putting his arms around her. "Why don't you tell me who the lucky guy is?"
She smiled shyly at him. It was funny how she'd known him for so long, and yet, she was still so very shy around him. "I'll give you one guess, and I'll even give you a hint," she said in a low voice. "I've been knowing him since, well, forever, and...we kissed earlier."
"Sounds kind of like me," he said with a laugh. "But you know, we don't have to play Spin The Bottle if you want me to kiss you... That is, if you tell me what you made Shane get all that stuff for."
"Like I told you earlier," she said, pushing him away lightly. "I'll never tell." She laughed at him, then headed for the den where the others were.
"Fine. I see you like it the hard way," he said, following her to the den. "But I'll figure it out, because I'm one smart cookie."
"Yeah, you're smart," she agreed as they reached the den. She turned around to look at him. "But if you don't figure it out tonight...you'll definitely know by in the morning."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
She smirked at him before going into the den. "You'll figure it out."
"Well, look who finally decided to join us," Shane said, standing up. "Chris and Steph..."
"You totally missed the game," Ty said, getting to her feet. She and Amy dragged Steph away from the guys, and Steph noticed how big they were both smiling.
"Ok, so who kissed who?" Steph asked when they were on the other side of the room.
"I kissed your brother," Amy said, grinning from ear to ear. "And I have to say, he's a great kisser!"
"They kissed way past the time we set for them," Ty said, wiggling her eyebrows at him. "I'm so jealous!"
"What are you jealous for? You kissed C-Dawg," Amy said, turning to look at Ty. "So what's so bad about that?"
"Nothing's bad about it," Ty replied with a little laugh. "It was...fun."
"I can't believe I missed it all," Steph said with a sigh.
"You didn't miss much. I'm sure you and Chris were busy making out wherever he ran off to earlier," Amy said. Steph looked over at Chris and smiled, and Amy raised her eyebrow. "Oh, so something did happen? Do tell!"
"Nothing happened. We just talked, and he said he wanted a Trish-free weekend," Steph said, looking back at the girls. "And he said something about me now being old enough to be the type of friend he's always wanted me to be, whatever that's supposed to mean."
"Wow, it sounds like my sister's gonna be getting kicked to the curb sometime soon," Ty said, laughing. "That would be a first, because she's usually the one to do the kicking...dumping...whatever."
"No one said anything about dumping anyone," Steph said, looking down at her shoes and remembering everything Chris had said when they'd been alone. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but he'd been talking like he wanted to be more than friends with her... And then he had said they didn't have to play Spin The Bottle if she wanted him to kiss her... She did want him to kiss her, but she wasn't sure if he wanted to kiss her because he really wanted to or because he wanted information about the stuff Shane had brought back for her...
"Steph," Ty said, elbowing her in the ribs. "The guys are coming over here and you're, like, totally spaced out!"
"Yeah, are you daydreaming about Chris or something?" Amy asked, smirking lightly at her.
"Shut up," Steph said, turning around. Together, the three girls stood next to each other and looked at the three guys approaching them, arms folded across their chests.
The guys came to a stop in front of them and stood, looking extremely cool. "Hello ladies...and Steph," Shane said, looking at them.
"Hey, if they're ladies, Steph's one, too," Chris interrupted, coming to her defense right away.
"Whatever," Shane said, waving him off. He looked back at the girls. "We're going to play Truth or Dare now, so who's in?"
"We're all in," Amy said, speaking for the three girls. "As long as we pick who gets to go first."
"Deal," Shane said. He looked at his two friends, and all three of them shared a knowing look. "Come on, let's get started."
About three minutes later, they were back in their little circle on the floor, and once again, Stephanie was sitting right across from Chris. She closed her eyes for a minute, just thinking about what had happened in the kitchen earlier. It was just a kiss, but it had felt like so much more... Too bad we missed Spin The Bottle, she thought. But I'll never regret going after him when he left...
"Chris, you're first," Amy said. She shared a knowing look with Ty, and then she looked back at him with a smile on her face. "Truth or dare?"
Chris thought about it for a second. He knew that if he chose truth, they were going to pester him with questions about Trish, but if he chose dare... I can handle any physical dare they throw at me, he thought. "Dare," he said confidently.
"This one's for you, Steph," Ty leaned over and whispered in Steph's ear.
"What are you talking about?" Steph asked, looking at her friend and feeling confused.
"You'll see," Ty said shortly.
"Dare, huh? We dare you to...strip down to your boxers," Amy said. "But that's not all. After that, we want you to run around the entire room singing 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' as loud as you can."
"Are you serious?" Shane asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"Totally," Amy replied.
"Yo, I don't think that's appropriate, dawg," C-Dawg said, shaking his head. "I mean, it would be hella funny though..."
"He doesn't have to do it," Ty pointed out. "He could just change his mind and choose truth... But really, Chris, how do you think that'll make you look in front of Steph here?"
Chris looked at Steph, then stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. "I'm totally up for the challenge," he said bravely, tossing his shirt over to Steph. Steph caught the shirt, and Chris grinned at her. "Mind holding my pants, too?"
"Sure," Steph said, smiling and clutching his shirt against her chest. It smelled like him, and she liked the scent...
Chris walked over to Steph and handed her his jeans, and then he looked down at Amy. "Where do you want me to start?"
"Here is fine," Amy said. She looked up at him. "Ready?"
"No, the question is, are all of you ready?" Chris joked. By then, he was only wearing his boxers, which were black, and some socks. I can't believe I'm doing this. I might as well take this to the highest level... He started jogging around the room. "The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..."
"Oh my God, he looks so gay!" Shane exclaimed as Chris pranced around the room, doing pirouettes like a ballerina while singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". They all watched him as he ran around the room, and then he came back and stood next to Steph.
"Steph... My pants," Chris said, holding his hand out. She handed him his jeans and held his shirt up as well, but he shook his head. "No, I don't need the shirt right now. You keep it for me." He smiled at the look on her face, then went over to his previous spot. He put his jeans back on, then sat down. "So, it's my turn to pick who goes next, right?"
"Yeah, man," Shane said. "And I think you need to get them back for what they did to you."
Chris looked directly across from him, and his eyes landed on Steph, who was currently hugging his shirt to her chest. She looks so adorable, he thought, smirking. "Steph," he said, startling her out of the little daze that she was in. She looked up at him, and he smiled. "Truth or dare?"
Steph bit her lip nervously. If I choose truth, he's going to ask me what I'm going to use that stuff Shane brought back for, but if I choose dare he might make me do something really stupid, she thought. "Truth," she said finally.
"Just as I expected," Chris said. "So, Steph, I have a question for you. Do you have a crush on someone in this room?"
Steph looked at him for a second, wondering if she should really answer that question. Of course she had a crush on someone in the room; she had a crush on him! But the question was, was she ready to admit that in front of her brother and C-Dawg?
"Come on, Steph, it's not that hard of a question," Shane said, looking over at Chris. "Just tell this dork that you don't have a crush on anyone here and we can move on."
"Actually, Shane, I do have a crush on someone in this room," Steph admitted, looking shyly over at Chris. "And I think he knows who he is..."
"Well, Steph, I never knew you felt this way about me, mami," C-Dawg said playfully, scooting over next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Not you, John, me," Chris said, sending C-Dawg a dark look. "She likes me."
"Is that true, Steph?" Shane asked.
"Well it must be, since I chose truth instead of dare," Steph said, grinning at the look on her brother's face. Her grin faded, though, as his look changed into an expression that she couldn't quite read. "Shane, don't be mad because I like him..."
"Mad? I'm not mad that you like him," Shane said. "I'm mad because you didn't tell me first!" He folded his arms across his chest and pretended to glower at her.
"See, he's so sweet!" Amy whispered in Steph's ear. "I knew there was some reason I liked him..."
"Since it's my turn now, Shane, truth or dare?" Steph asked, looking at her brother.
"I'm not a wimp. I choose dare," Shane said. "So what do you want me to do?"
"Ok, then, I dare you to tell the truth," Steph said, smirking at her brother. "Do you have a crush on Amy?"
Shane's mouth dropped. "Steph! That's not fair! I chose dare, not truth!"
"Scared to admit it?" C-Dawg asked, looking at Shane.
"I don't want to play this game anymore," Shane said, abruptly standing up. He looked over at the clock on the wall. "I think we need to have something to eat. I'm starving!" He walked over and picked up the cordless phone. "I'll be back. I'm gonna go order some pizza."
"I'll be right back," Chris said, standing up. He followed Shane out of the room and into the kitchen. He waited for Shane to finish ordering the pizza before speaking. "Dude, why didn't you just answer the question? We all know that you do," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but what if she doesn't like me that way?" Shane asked. "I mean, sure, I'm a pretty popular guy at school, but that's only because I'm rich. Popularity means nothing, really."
"I wish Trish would get that through her head," Chris said with a sigh, leaning against the counter. "She thinks popularity is more important than anything... Sometimes, I don't even know why I'm with her."
"Me neither, man. I've been telling you to break up with her since you first started going out with her," Shane said. "And when was that, centuries ago?"
"Feels like it, but it'll be a year and a half in October," Chris replied, looking away. "That's a long time, huh?"
"Way too long to put up with all her shit," Shane answered, looking away as well. "Did you know that Steph had a crush on you before you asked her?"
"Yeah, I knew," Chris said. "I think I've known it for a really long time, but I just wanted to hear her say it..."
"Do you like her, too?" Shane asked curiously.
"Of course I do, dude," Chris said in a low voice. "But you've known that for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Shane said. He sighed again. "We totally have girl problems."
"How true..." Chris stood up straight again. "So, we better get back in there before they start thinking stuff."
"Thinking stuff like what?" Shane asked, leading the way out of the kitchen.
"I don't know," Chris said, shrugging, following him. "I just want to go back in there..."
A/N: This chapter's kind of random, I know. The problem is, I'm anxious to get to October/Halloween. I wrote a chapter for that a while ago and it's so controversial! I can't wait to put it in! But first...I have to get there, lol...