Happy Weekend everyone!
Wheeler wakes up and the first thing he sees is Linka, her face still inches from his.
"I could get used to this," he thinks to himself.
As if sensing she was being watched, she opens her eyes and stretches.
"Hi," she says sleepily as she smiles at him.
"Hiya beautiful. Did you get enough sleep?"
"Da. Although I am in no hurry to move from this spot anytime soon," she says as she puts her arm around his side and nestles herself more closely to him.
"Me neither," he replies as he rolls over onto his back and pulls her on top of him. "Except my arm fell asleep lying like that. Are you still comfortable like this?"
"Da...but this matress is a little lumpy," she jokes as she pokes his sides, causing him to…giggle?! Her eyes go wide and her jaw drops, as she gasps,
"Yankee! Did you just...giggle?"
"Nooooo!" he protests. "Guys DO NOT giggle."
"But you just did," and she demonstrates by poking her fingers into his sides again, and once again, he giggles.
"Linka! Stop it!" he laughs.
He struggles to grab her arms, but she sits up, straddling his hips as he tries, unsuccessfully to grab her hands. She keeps pulling them out of his reach and then poking him. He grabs her hips and holds onto her as he rolls over quickly so now she is pinned beneath him, the weight of his body holding her still, allowing him to finally grab hold of her hands and pull them away from his sides. He stretches her hands up over her head and holds both of her hands in one of his. His face is hovering inches above hers as he looks at her with an evil grin. He shows her his free hand, and slowly moves it down to her side, poised to get his tickling revenge.
"Hmm, should I kiss you, or tickle you?" he asks.
"Kiss me!" she tries to distract him from tickling her by lifting her head to meet his lips. It works...for a little while.
He pulls back and whispers,
"You know what happens next right?"
"More kissing?" she asks hopefully.
Then that evil grin returns as he pokes his fingers into her side.
"WHEELER! NYET!" she squeals, as she wraps her legs around his waist and tries to get leverage on him to free her hands.
"I think you mean 'Wheeler! Yes!' I mean, 'Wheeler! Da!'" He continues tickling her as she tries to squirm out of his grasp as she giggles.
He stops tickling her and gives her a minute to catch her breath.
"Are we even now?" he asks.
"Da."
He releases her hands and bends his head to place his lips next to her ear,
"Truce?"
"Truce," she agrees.
He kisses her cheek before moving to look her in the eye. They are just about to seal their 'Tickling Treaty' with a kiss when...
"Wheeler...Linka..." They hear Ma-Ti say in their heads. "Oh...my...I...uh...sorry to interrupt."
Linka pushes Wheeler off of her and buries her head in her hands. He collapses on his back and scrubs his hands down his face in frustration.
"Geez Ma-Ti...anyone ever teach you to knock?"
"There is no door...my ring..."
"It was a joke little buddy. I know there's no door."
"I wasn't...I thought you were sleeping," Ma-Ti stutters.
"It is ok Ma-Ti; it is not what you think. We were just having a...tickle fight. Was there something you needed to tell us?"
"Yes. We can go home now. It was all a hoax."
"You're kidding! We've spent two days looking for nothing?!" Wheeler moans.
"I am afraid so. Two young teenagers showed up at the police station and were asking when Captain Planet was going to come find the bomb. We told them there was no reason to call him. Then we realized that it had not been made public that we were looking for a bomb. Then Sandi started picking up vibes so the police started questioning the boys. These two boys told some girls that they were trying to impress that they could get Captain Planet to come here. They called in the fake bomb threat pretending to be working for Duke Nukem. Case closed. Now it is up to the authorities to decide what they are going to do with these kids. So, we are on our way back to the campsite to pack up and go home. Just thought we would give you a heads up incase you wanted to start packing."
"We will do that. Thank you Ma-Ti," Linka says.
"No problem...I guess I will let you get back to your...tickle fight." Then he was gone.
"What a waste," Wheeler sighs heavily. "I oughta go down to the police barracks and kick those kids' asses myself!"
"It was not a complete waste," she says as she places a quick kiss on his lips.
"Yeah. I guess I'll let them live…So what happens next?"
"We go home."
"And then what?" He asks as he props himself up on his elbow and looks down at her.
"Well, I would like to take a shower, wash my hair, and I have been craving a banana mango smoothie, so I think I will go pick some and make one..."
"I meant with us...what does this mean for us?" he clarifies.
"Oh."
"Are we going to pretend this never happened, like there's nothing between us, just like we always do when we get close?"
"Wheeler...it has never gone this far before. That first kiss, and all the others after it...cannot be ignored. There is no going back from this...not for me anyway...unless you are having second thoughts..."
"No. No way. This is it for me. I've been waiting so long for this...I just don't want to push it. I guess what I'm asking is...what do we do next?"
"I guess we just take it one day at a time," she says.
"Do we tell the others?"
"I have a feeling that Ma-Ti is doing that as we speak! Let us just worry about ourselves. There is no need for a big announcement. They will figure it out on their own."
"When we get back...after you have your shower and your smoothie...we should...will you...do you wanna...maybe we can..." he sighs in exasperation, trying to think of the proper thing to say. He felt like a kid in Jr. High trying to ask the head cheerleader to the Spring dance. "Linka, would you like to go on a date with me?"
She does her best not to laugh at him and his nervousness. She smiles up at him, strokes his cheek, and says,
"I would love to. What time should I be ready?"
"Is seven ok?"
"I cannot wait!" She sits up and kisses his cheek before starting to pack up their things for the trip back to Hope Island.
To Be Continued...