A/N: Okay, I know I said 20, and there's still one more to go, but I can't wait...I'm posting anyway. Plus I doubt all of you read my summary-that I change on a regular basis-(but I'm not changing it anymore for a while), so I'm putting the new warning here:

Chapter 6 stays in my notebook unless I get a bunch of reviews on this chapter, 'cuz I'm greedy and I want reviews. I ain't even gonna type it unless I get alot. And yes, I check on my story stats, so I know there's a lot more of you out there reading this thing than reviewing. Yes, that means you.

However, a BIG thank you to all of you who did review. You people keep me writing. Kay, done with that. And now I just have to say, YAY! My Melissa-ness has read my story now! Woot! The person I based one of the characters off of likes my story! Yippee!

Also, I know in the 1st chap, Kelsie and Melissa said they'd meet back at 10; I'm changing that to 9:30 for purposes of the story that you won't see until chapter 7.

Also (I start a lot of sentences in my author's notes with the word "also," don't I?), if at all you think Kelsie looks like a Mary Sue in this chapter, and possibly the next two, SHE'S NOT. Riley just gets to see some of her strengths here. Kelsie is based off me, so all the strengths she has are mine too, so they aren't unrealistic. So there.

Enjoy the further Embarrassment of Riley (heehee)

Chapter 5

"Hi, Aunt Julie," Kelsie responded as she hugged her aunt.

"I'm here with Riley," Kelsie whispered quickly to her aunt Julie. "I don't think he knows anything, or he wouldn't have brought me here," she finished as they broke the embrace.

Riley whirled around, eyes wide in shock. "You – you're – you – aunt – I WHAT?!?"

Kelsie tried not to laugh at Riley's dumbfounded expression as Julie Johnson, owner of the Sweet Tooth Bakery, mother to the twins, and Kelsie Greene's favorite aunt, explained, "Kelsie's my niece. She and her roommate Melissa are staying with me while they are here in D.C. for the summer. She helps out here in the bakery on weekends – in fact, Riley," she continued, her brown eyes sparkling, "she's the one who makes those éclairs you love so much." She looked innocently at him as her niece collapsed into the nearest chair, giggling uncontrollably.

"Um, oh, okay," Riley mumbled sheepishly. Suddenly Kelsie's coughing fit as they came into the bakery made perfect sense. He had been raving to her about those éclairs, not knowing she was the one who made them. He could feel his face heating up, so he took the time to diligently stare at the floor.

Jessica chose that moment to point out the obvious. "Look, Mommy, Riley's face is redder than your strawberry pie!" She tugged on her mother's arm and pointed at the red-faced person in question.

Her mother couldn't keep a straight face any longer and she started laughing as well. Riley eventually joined in, Jessica's innocent little observation having broken the tension, and his embarrassment. Kelsie got to her feet and walked over to him, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Nice one, Super Geek," she teased, patting him on the back before bursting into another fit of giggles.

Riley saw his chance and took it; he needed to direct the attention away from himself if he wanted to retain any shred of dignity. "Super Geek?" he asked suggestively, raising his eyebrows. "A step up from plain geek, isn't it? I like it."

"Did I miss something?" Mrs. Johnson asked. She turned to look at her niece, who had stopped laughing now and was shaking her head at Riley, eyes wide.

"No, Riley, don't!" Kelsie begged.

Smirking, Riley put his hands on Kelsie's shoulders and, ignoring her protests, gently turned her around so the back of her shirt was visible. "If geek is sexy," he reasoned, completely oblivious to the ice-cold daggers she was shooting at him with her eyes, "then I have no choice but to assume that Super Geek is…super sexy!"

"Shut up, you!" she sputtered, wrenching away from him and pounding him in the arm.

"Why should I?" he tossed back

"If you don't," Kelsie threatened, only half-serious, "I'll stop baking here on weekends. You can't buy my éclairs if I don't make them," she pointed out triumphantly.

Riley didn't even flinch. "Then I won't show you my tracking model," he said evenly. He slid the backpack holding his laptop off his shoulder, setting it down on a table next to him. He pointed out, "Isn't that the whole reason we left the American Historyfest?"

"Oh, yeah!" Kelsie frowned – now she had no comeback. "I forgot about that."

"Ahem!" Mrs. Johnson cleared her throat loudly, interrupting their silly bickering. It was obvious, really, that Kelsie and Riley liked each other, so she wisely decided to give them some time alone.

Once she had their full attention, she told them, "You know, Jen and Jess had both really wanted to see the Cul-de-Sac of Fire tonight, but I couldn't take them since I had to be here at the bakery. However, seeing as you two are the first ones to stop by tonight, I don't see any reason I couldn't take them and let you two stay here. Of course, if Kelsie wouldn't mind cleaning up, that is." She looked at her niece expectantly.

"Oh, sure, no problem," Kelsie assured her.

"Great!" She smiled at Kelsie, then turned to her twins. "Go grab your jackets, you two," she instructed them. "I know it's a warm night, but I don't want either of you to leave them here. Oh, and do you have your key with you, Kelsie?"

She nodded, pulling her keychain out of her pocket. "Yep, it's right here," she confirmed.

"Good. You can lock up whenever you want–like I said, no one else has been in tonight. Help yourselves to something from the kitchen; just don't touch anything in the display cases, okay?" Just then, Jenny and Jessie came stampeding out of the kitchen, matching denim jackets in hand.

"Come on, Mommy, let's go! We're gonna miss the biggest ones!" they shouted together, jumping up and down in excitement. They each took hold of one of their mother's hands and attempted to pull her out the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming; stop pulling on me." Their mother sighed. "See you later, Kelsie; bye, Riley," she said to them as she let her little girls drag her to the car.

"Have fun, you guys!" Kelsie called after them as the girls scrambled into the backseat of their little station wagon.

Riley jumped in, "Yeah, have fun watching stuff blow up!"

Kelsie gasped. "Riley!" she hissed, outraged.

He cringed. That hadn't come out quite the way he'd intended. He well remembered his last experience with a true explosion. One of the worst days of his life; turning point in their search for the Templar treasure. The day Ian turned on them and the hunt changed from a simple, harmless quest into a life-or-death struggle to protect history. And guns got pointed at him. Riley didn't like guns.

Kelsie's voice broke into his thoughts. "Hey, whoa, are you okay?" Did my little outburst hit him that hard? she thought. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," she apologized. "I just...well–" She paused as she tried to explain. "It's just that Jen and Jess are a couple of little pyros, and they don't need any more encouragement; they like fire too much as it is. But it doesn't matter; they probably didn't hear you because they were already in the car." And I'm rambling, so I'm going to shut up now, she thought.

"Okay," Riley said quietly. He shifted his feet and put his hands in his pockets. No one said anything for a minute.

Kelsie wanted desperately to break the awkward silence. "So, what were you thinking about?" she inquired.

"The Charlotte," he muttered, looking at the floor.

Yikes! She wasn't expecting that. Kelsie knew all about what had happened that day in the Arctic. She remembered when the story of the treasure first came out; Melissa had been obsessed with the story. Her best friend had hung on to every word, taped every news story and read every interview about the "Treasure Trio." Anything even remotely related to the story of the modern-day Indiana Jones or his girlfriend from Germany–even old stories about the Templar Knights and the Free Masons–she had lapped it all up. And, since Melissa was such a loudmouth, anything she found out, Kelsie had heard. Kelsie could recall about 8 different accounts describing what had happened to the ship they found that meerschaum pipe in.

"I'm sorry," she said gently, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "But, speaking of the Charlotte and the tracking model..." Riley looked at her questioningly. "Well, get your laptop out and let's get started!" She gestured over to where he had deposited his bag not too long ago.

Riley gazed at his bag, then looked back at Kelsie. "But I'm hungry!" he whined. "Can't we at least have something to eat first before I die of starvation?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up, you big baby." She strode off. "C'mon."

He went after her to find her in the kitchen, measuring out flour. She already had butter melting in a pan on the stove. She took a measuring cup, poured some water into the pan, then turned the heat up. She stirred the flour into the boiling butter-water, then beat in a few eggs.

"Where's the recipe?" he wondered aloud.

"Don't need one," Kelsie responded, not looking up. "I've made this enough times to have it memorized."

Riley just watched in amazement. He was impressed with how quickly and efficiently she worked in the kitchen. Before he knew it, she had a pan in the oven and was pulling a carton of heavy cream from the fridge. He watched her measure cream and sugar into the bowl of one of the big mixers. Well, it looked big to him; however, there were a couple more mixers double the size and one that was easily three times as big. This was a bakery kitchen, after all. In just a few minutes, she shut off the mixer and had a big bowl of whipped cream. Riley couldn't resist walking over and sticking his finger in the bowl.

"HEY!" Kelsie protested when she caught him. "Cut that out!" she scolded and smacked his hand before twisting the bowl from the "LOCK" position and removing it from the mixer. She stuck the bowl in the fridge and glared at him. "I was going to let you help me make the glaze, but now I'm not sure if I can trust you not to eat it all. So why don't you leave while I make it. Go get your computer set up, and I'll be out in a minute. Okay? Now, go! Shoo!" she ordered and waved a spoon at him menacingly.

Riley ducked and ran out of the kitchen. "Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm shooing! Just don't hit me!" he called out as he left.

Okay, would you guys let me know if I went into too much detail about the baking part? I am a baker myself, so it just didn't feel complete to me unless I described it all...I don't know. And if anyone's interested in the complete written-out recipe for the éclairs, just email me and I'll send it to you. However, if enough people want it, I'll just post it on my profile.

Please Review! It just takes a minute...just press that little button there...I'll update sooner, and you know it!