Thanks to everyone who's reading, and to the reviewers of chapter 9: spectre666, AtomicFire, Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, cpneb, Commander Argus, whitem, ZK Chromedragozoid, MrDrP, Joe Stoppinghem, Dr. J0nes, Kradeiz, CastaS, and dartblade.
I couldn't imagine doing this without the help of my beta reader, MrDrP. A roll of tokens for the pitching machines at Farley's Frozen Rope is on its way to him.
Special thanks to Jeriddian for technical assistance.
Disclaimer: Disney owns Kim Possible and these characters.
Chapter 10
Kevin awoke early the day after the Mad Dog Picnic. He smiled to himself as he thought back on the event. That Saturday had been yet another recent contender for the title of Best Day of Kevin's Life. Everyone who was anyone at Middleton High now knew about Tara and him, and they thought it was cool. They thought he was cool!
Except Bonnie.
He threw off the sheet and got out of bed. Ow ow ow! He ached all over. Guess I overdid the jockdom yesterday.
Gingerly, he made his way downstairs to the kitchen, where his mother was drinking coffee and perusing the Sunday Examiner. Donna Guberman quickly shifted into Dr. Warren mode when she saw the way he was moving. "Kevin! What happened to you? Why are you moving like that?"
"Just a little stiff. I fell a few times playing Frisbee with Tara and some others at the picnic yesterday. I'll be okay."
"Are you bruised? Come over here, let me check you out."
"Mo–o–mmm!"
"Don't 'Mom' me, young man, get over here and pull up your shirt."
With an exasperated sigh, he complied. She softly palpated a bruise on his ribcage. "You got this just from tossing a Frisbee around?"
"Well, it was more like Ultimate Frisbee, with some football players and other jocks. It got pretty intense. I guess I overdid it trying to keep up."
"So you tried to become superjock to impress some girl? Oh, Kevin."
"Mom! Tara's not just 'some girl'! She's the most amazing girl ever. Well, after you, but you're taken."
"Nice save, Mr. Smooth Talker. Now, anything under your pants I need to look at?"
"No, Doctor," he said, blushing.
"Well, you should be fine in a day or two, then. I just hope all that effort paid off."
Kevin didn't reply. He just had a goofy grin on his face.
"… Tara's new BF …"
The name coming from her younger sister's lips pierced Connie Rockwaller's consciousness as she neared the kitchen of her family home. Her interest was piqued right away; the little blonde girl had quickly displaced baby sister to become Connie's least favorite person on Earth. She quietly entered the kitchen and saw Bonnie sitting at the counter, cordless phone to her ear. She listened intently to Bonnie's end of the conversation while pouring herself a diet soda.
Connie and Lonnie had despised their sister ever since she'd come along to push them out of the spotlight at age four, and their dislike had only intensified when they'd come to blame the newcomer for Dad's moving out a few years later. Privately, though, for all the sisters put her down, Connie had to admit that Bonnie seemed to be a worthy bearer of the Rockwaller name. Cunning, manipulative, willing to use anyone to get what she wanted. She's smarter than Lonnie, that's for sure.
Bonnie's blonde friend was the main topic of the younger girl's conversations. She was apparently pumping her friends for information about a new guy Tara was dating, a guy Bonnie didn't seem to approve of. Connie listened, fascinated, as Bonnie learned more about the boy.
Blondie's dating a chess nerd? Figures. Any guy with options would run from that psycho.
Bonnie put down the phone and started to rise from her chair.
"So, you're going to do something about this nerd, right?"
Bonnie sighed. "I don't know … Wait a sec." She turned toward her sister. "You're talking to me? What's going on?"
"I'm curious. Last night, a couple of losers you've been dumping on for years went to bat for you unasked. People Lonnie and I treated like that in high school wouldn't spit on us if we were on fire. I'd like to know what's going on."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow very slightly, but doubted Connie's sincerity. "Why?"
"Lonnie figures they feel sorry for you 'cause you're such a pathetic enemy, but I say maybe you're just that good at manipulating people. Maybe we misjudged you all this time. Maybe you're really a Rockwaller."
Connie could see Bonnie was beginning to buy it. She continued. "So, I assume you're already planning to push the skinny redhead out and take over the whole cheer squad?"
"Well, duh," Bonnie said.
"Then you have to break up Tina and the nerd."
"It's Tara, and I'm not sure I need to bother. Everyone I talked to, except for Liz' ex, seems to like him. Besides, what are the chances it'll last anyway? Tara changes boyfriends like shoes …"
Connie shook her head. "You can't think like that, Bonnie. If you want to rule the Food Chain, then your word decides who's cool or not. Besides, Blondie was your loyalest follower. If she starts thinking for herself, what's going to happen with the rest of your little group? They'll all drift away and stop listening to you. You'll never be captain then."
"Hmm, you may have a point."
"You know I do."
As Bonnie considered the older girl's logic, Connie grinned at her new twist on an old adage. The enemy of my enemy is … my sister.
Kevin invited Tara over for chess that afternoon. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite pool weather, with thick clouds and cooler temperatures. That vexed him, since Tara had been hinting that she would wear her less modest suit next time they went swimming. He was looking forward to seeing it.
They started with speed chess, best two out of three—Tara won two straight games—then moved on to an untimed game. Kevin won that.
"Good game, G-man," Tara said. "I'll get you one of these days, though."
"I have no doubt," he said with a smile. "But I'm going to start beating you in speed chess someday."
"We'll see about that. How about another game of this first?"
"Sure. I could go for a cold drink, though," Kevin said. "Want anything?"
"Good idea," Tara agreed. "What've you got?"
"Let's see."
The two teens went to the kitchen portion of the room. Kevin opened up the big Below-Freezing refrigerator and peered inside. "There's apple, cranberry, and pineapple juices. Also milk."
"I'll take apple," said the blonde. "Where are the glasses?"
"That cabinet there," Kevin said, pointing behind her. He twisted the cap of the juice bottle, but couldn't get it open. He wiped his hand on a dishtowel and tried again. "Unghh. Who closed this thing, The Hulk? Hold on, Mom has a gadget here that can give me some leverage."
He put the bottle down on the center island and began rummaging through first one drawer, then another. Finally, he found the device he sought. He turned back to find the bottle open and Tara perched on a barstool across the island, sipping her juice.
"How'd you open that?" he asked.
"Just twisted it," she replied.
"Huh. I guess I must have loosened it for you," Kevin said.
Tara gave a sort of snorting snicker into her juice, nearly spilling some.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kevin asked. "How else could you open it when I couldn't?"
Tara squirmed in her seat, looking embarrassed. "Dunno," she mumbled.
"C'mon, Tar, I can tell you've got something on your mind. Spill it."
Tara took a sip of juice, and then set her glass down. "Kevin, have you ever seen the cheer squad do a pyramid?"
"Duh, of course."
"And where am I usually in them?"
"On the bottom."
"And why do you think Kim puts me there? It's because I'm one of the strongest on the squad."
"Yeah, but still … you're a girl."
Tara looked down at her chest. "Ohmigod, you're right! Wow, that keen diagnostic eye will certainly serve you well in your medical career. FYI, we 'girls' happen to train very hard for cheerleading. We lift weights and everything. I bet I'm stronger than you are."
Kevin looked skeptical.
Tara got off her stool, moved her glass to the counter behind her and, turning back to the center island, planted her right elbow on the counter with her hand held out. "Okay, G-man, you think you can take me, arm wrestle me, right here, right now," she challenged.
"What? That's nuts."
"C'mon, Chess Boy, bring it."
Shaking his head, Kevin leaned over the island and clasped Tara's hand. "Ready?"
She nodded.
"On three," he said. "One, two, three!"
He pushed hard against her arm, but was only able to move it slightly before Tara returned it to vertical. Then, with a smug grin on her face, she slowly forced his arm down, down, down until his hand hit the counter. She let go.
Kevin sank onto on a stool, rubbing his arm, a stunned look on his face.
Aghast, Tara scurried around the island and sat down next to him. "Kevin! Oh, no!" she gasped, stroking his arm tenderly. "Did I hurt you?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Just did not expect that, is all. Wow."
Tara stood up, led him over to the family room sofa, and sat down close to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It's just, I promised myself that first day we played chess online that I'm done hiding things about myself for fear people won't like me. You must think I'm some kind of freak or something."
"What? No, not even close, Tara," he reassured her. "You're great. You probably think I'm a total wimp, though," he said, looking away.
Tara reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, and gently pulled his face back to her. "No way, Kevin," she said softly. "You're the exact opposite of a wimp. Disc yesterday proved that, as if it needed proving. You played all out, never gave up. But, let's face it, I exercise a lot. You don't."
"And you're okay with this?"
"Yes, Kevin, I really like you. I think you're the best BF I've ever had." She batted her long lashes at him and parted her lips expectantly.
He gazed down into those beautiful azure eyes, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. As they kissed, one tiny corner of his mind reflected bemusedly on the wonder of it: barely sixty seconds ago this same girl had practically beaten him up, now she was making him feel like he was the strongest man in the world. But he was a teenage boy kissing a beautiful, sexy girl that he'd had a crush on ever since puberty first hit, so it was only a few seconds before all thought was driven from his mind.
Later that night, though, he thought about what he'd learned in the kitchen. It was great that Tara accepted him as is, but he was still embarrassed. It was time to take action, he decided. He reached for his cell phone and called a familiar number.
"Steve? It's Kevin …"
Tara tried Kevin's new cell number, but was shunted to voicemail.
"Hey, Kev, it's me. Just wondering if you wanted to do something today. I'll try your house."
She punched another speed-dial key. This time Kevin's father answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi Dr. Guberman, it's Tara."
"Hi, Tara, how are you?"
"Just fine, sir, and you?"
"Very well, thanks."
"Is Kevin around?"
"Sorry, no, he went out just a little while ago. Said something about meeting Steve somewhere."
"Huh. Well, thanks, Dr. G. Maybe Jess knows what's up."
She then called her friend.
"Hey Jess, what's that hottie boyfriend of yours up to? I can't find Kevin, and his dad says he's with Steve."
"Steve's at the school working out this morning, T."
"You sure?" Tara asked.
"Poz. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the weight room, without fail, sculpting that incredible bod."
Tara pondered this. Uh oh, what have I done?
"Sooo, Jess, want to come run some laps on the track with me? It's time for my new workout outfit to get a road test."
"So, you gonna tell me why we're doing this, Kev?"
In the Middleton High weight room, Kevin took a long pull from his water bottle and swallowed. "It's Tara. I found out yesterday she's like twice as strong as me."
"And this subject came up ... how?" Steve asked as Kevin lay down on the bench.
Kevin hefted the bar and began his second set of bench presses. "Well, we were in the kitchen – and there was this bottle of juice – that I couldn't open, but she did, and I – said I musta loosened it for her, and – she starts laughing – and, well, next thing we were – arm wrestling, and she totally owned me."
"Wrestling ... with Tara. Sounds like a no-losers activity to me," Steve said with a grin.
Kevin shot him a glare as he placed the barbell back on its pegs. "I'm serious. She's like an Amazon or something, like one big, girl-shaped muscle. I bet she could lift me up over her head and throw me across this room if she wanted."
"Yeah, well, I know Tara's pretty strong. I've seen the cheerleaders in here a lot. Possible has them weight training a couple times a week. They're all in great shape."
"Yeah, I can see that," Kevin said.
"I said 'in great shape', not 'had great shapes', smart aleck. I was in here last winter when this bunch of girls from the softball, basketball, and other teams started ragging on the squad, saying they were wasting valuable weight room time 'cause they weren't real athletes. It went back and forth 'til the squad challenged them to put up or shut up. They held a bench-press contest."
"And …?"
"Five against five, add up each girl's maximum bench, highest total wins. You know that big girl Valerie, does the shot put?"
"Yeah."
"She lifted the most—but only by ten pounds, over guess who?"
"Not Tara?"
Steve nodded. "Tara, Bonnie, Crystal and Hope all beat the second-place girl from the sports teams. It was a rout."
"Huh, I'd've thought Kim would be in there."
Steve shook his head. "The other team wouldn't even agree unless she sat out."
"So, how much can Tara bench?"
Steve looked at the barbell Kevin was pressing. "Uh … I'll tell you in a couple of months, Kev."
"Oh, man, that bad?"
The boys' conversation was interrupted by a long, piercing wolf whistle coming from the entrance.
"Wow, you really called it, Jess. You said we'd find a couple of real hunks working out this morning, and here they are."
The boys looked toward the doorway at the two blonde beauties.
Jessica was just inside the room leaning against a rack of free weights, her long, toned legs displayed by apricot-colored running shorts with white piping that ran around the leg openings and up the deep side vents to the waistband. Above that, she wore a gray sports bra and a cropped white mesh singlet that showed off her flat tummy.
Tara stood in the doorway, hands on hips, flaunting her skintight, neon pink CB outfit with so much attitude that, as hot as she'd looked the day she'd bought it, she looked ten times hotter now.
She strode toward the two goggle-eyed boys with a stern glint in her eyes. "You better not be working my BF too hard here, Steve."
Jess sauntered over to join the trio, a salacious grin on her face. She sidled up next to her boyfriend. "Don't worry, T," she said as she ran her index finger up and down the vein running along his bulging right bicep. "I think we can all agree that my Stevie here knows his way around a weight room. Kevin's in good hands."
Tara grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "C'mere, you, I want to talk." She guided him over to the other side of the room as Jess pushed Steve down onto a sturdy metal exercise seat and dropped into his lap.
"You're doing this because of what happened yesterday, aren't you, Kevin? Oh, I knew I should have just kept my big mouth shut. I hurt your feelings. I told you, I like you fine just the way you are."
Kevin shook his head. "No, Tara, of course not …"
Tara narrowed her eyes.
"Well, okay, yeah. But really, this is a good thing. Mom's been after me for years to get more exercise, but I never wanted to. I always associated working out with the muscle-headed jocks we have at this school. But now Steve's turned into Mr. Star Athlete Adonis and he's still my best friend, and you … you're the greatest, sweetest girl in the world, and you work out. And did I mention you look fantastic in that outfit, by the way?"
Tara smiled and blushed. "Well, if you want this, I guess I can deal with a BF with muscles. As long as he's cute and smart and funny and plays chess and is a super kisser."
"Yeah, I want to do this. Besides, I need to take better care of myself for the college and med school grind ahead. Plus it'll help me with chess."
Tara raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You're gonna have to walk me through that one. Blonde here, remember?"
"Just picture it: it's a big match, and I walk up to my opponent and get right in his face, then I rip my shirt off," he pantomimed this, and then hunched his shoulders, striking a pose Tara remembered seeing from some TV wrestlers, "and I go, 'I hate your guts! I'm takin' you down, slime! Uhhhh!' He'll be so intimidated I'll win in a walk."
Tara giggled. "You goof," she said affectionately.
"And don't worry, Jess is right about Steve, he's not gonna let me hurt myself in here. He had me warm up and stretch and everything. He's a great trainer."
"That's good," she said running her hands up and down his bare arms, "but even so, you'll still be really sore tomorrow. You should call me and I'll come over and give you a massage."
"Ma– ma– massage?" Kevin stammered.
She leaned in close and whispered, "With scented oil." Then she gave him a soft, tender kiss.
When she broke off the kiss Kevin was practically catatonic. She glanced over at the other couple; Steve's muscle shirt had somehow been pushed way up, and Jess was kissing him passionately, her left hand tracing his rock-hard abs.
Tara took a moment to picture Kevin's head atop that chiseled torso. Yeah, she thought, smiling to herself, a few muscles on my boy would not be a bad thing.
"Yo, Sundstrum," she called out.
"Yeah, T?" Jess replied, somehow without her lips ever breaking contact with Steve's.
"Get your sexy butt in gear and let's hit that track. Those laps aren't gonna run themselves."
Jess reluctantly extricated herself from her boyfriend's embrace and the two girls headed toward the door.
"Come find us after you finish up in here, okay?" Jess said before they headed out to run.
Steve shook himself out of his blonde-induced daze, then snapped his fingers to get Kevin's attention. "Okay, G-man, you look like you got a nice testosterone boost there. Now give me one last set on the bench with ten more pounds."
Kevin complied and then Steve showed him several more exercises. When Steve judged that Kevin had done enough for his first time the two boys started to leave to rejoin their girlfriends. As they started for the weight room door, Jason Morgan entered.
The star basketball forward looked down at the two friends—at 6'2" he topped Steve by about three inches, and towered over Kevin by a good eight—and sneered. "Hey, we finally get a towel boy for the weight room? Great idea!"
"Very funny, Morgan" Steve said. "Kevin was working out."
"The weight room's for athletes only, runt," Jason said, addressing Kevin.
"That's not true and you know it, Morgan," Steve said.
"Well, there's got to be some rule against losers," Jason riposted.
"Loser?" Kevin asked. "Wouldn't the guy who Tara dumped be the loser?"
Jason bristled, but quickly formed his sneer again. "I'm the one who dumped Tara, squirt."
"That's not what I heard," Steve said.
Jason's nostrils flared noticeably. "The Big J was just too much man for her. I told her to go back to the minors and work her way back up. Looks like she decided to go all the way down to the pee wee leagues."
Kevin made a move toward the bigger boy, but Steve held out an arm to stop him.
"You're a real tough guy with your buddy right here, huh, shrimpy?" Jason said with a snicker.
Kevin glared back at him.
"Forget it, Kev, he's not worth it," Steve said. "And I'm sure he's got more sense than to spread his bogus stories about Tara where anybody would hear them," he added menacingly.
Jason blinked.
"C'mon, Kev, let's go find the girls," Steve said.
After reuniting at the school track, the two couples went their separate ways for the afternoon. Steve had to work at the batting cages, and Jess planned to hang around there with him. (The sofa in Mr. Farley's office was perfect for make-out sessions.)
Kevin and Tara sat on the bleachers, discussing what they wanted to do. Since the weather forecast called for a hot and sunny afternoon, they decided on another pool day. They both went home to change—after a brief side trip to check out one of the private places under the bleachers.
While she was home changing, her cell phone rang. It was Bonnie.
"Hi, Bonnie."
"Hi, Tara. Listen, I was thinking we should get together so I can get to know your new BF better. How about the two of you come out to the beach with Brick and me this afternoon?"
"Um, let me ask Kevin, Bonnie," Tara said.
She put the brunette on hold and called her boyfriend.
"Hey, Kevin, Bonnie wants us to get together with her and Brick at the lake this afternoon. You want to? Or I could invite them to your pool with us?"
Bonnie Rockwaller … here? Kevin shuddered. "Uh, why don't we do the lake? That's something new."
"Okay, hold on." She put him on hold and reconnected with Bonnie.
"Bonnie? Yeah, the lake sounds cool."
"Great! Brick and I will pick you up in an hour."
"Okay, I'll have Kevin come over here." She ended the call and reconnected with Kevin to tell him the plan.
Bonnie put down the phone and looked across the kitchen table. "Okay, she went for it."
Connie grinned evilly. "Good. Now, this is mostly for intelligence gathering—but there's a couple of things you might try if the opportunity comes up …"
to be continued …