I am so, so sorry that it has taken me this long to update! The last few weeks of school are always a whirlwind! Report cards, closing out my room, etc. Then we left for a crazy week and a half of Girl Scout events- the Hershey Park Camporee, Philadelphia, then the 100th Anniversary singalong in DC- Girl Scouts Rock the Mall. And for 5 out of 8 days I was in a tent. Gasp! With no internet! Double gasp! But I am home and off for the summer, so hopefully updates will be more frequent!

Thanks to GabbyDunk, stephfan6511, jenio1, Karren, and Angela3511 for checking to make sure that I was still alive and planning on updating! LOL! This chapter is for you, Babes! ;)

Chapter 22

Sunday, October 15, 1995

We pulled into the driveway, and I saw that the living room light was still on. I turned to Carlos groaning.

"My mother is going to have a heart attack that I'm getting home so late!"

Carlos grinned. "What's the worst she could do? Ground you?"

I glared at him. "Yeah, probably."

He leaned in and captured my lips. Pulling back, he said, "So then just sneak out the window, and I'll take you for ice cream!"

I punched him lightly on the arm. "Har har! I'm glad you think this is so funny, mister!" I tipped my head and looked at him. "Won't your parents mind you getting home so late?"

He gave me a smug grin. "Are you kidding me? First of all, my parents are thrilled that I went to the dance tonight. Mama was already hounding Papa to make some kind of frame that could hold senior Homecoming pictures of me and all of my siblings. Second, Mama loves you. She won't care what time I come home as long as I'm with you."

My eyes widened slightly. "Really?" I squeaked.

Carlos nodded. "Really, Babe. Now, are you ready to go in and face the music?"

I blew out a deep breath. "I guess so."

He slid out of the car, tugging me out after him. We walked up to the door hand in hand and stopped to face each other.

"I had a really good time tonight." Carlos whispered huskily.

I leaned in closer to him. "Me too." I whispered back.

He gently pulled me to him, and I melted against his chest. My lips pressed against his, and I kissed him as if my life depended on it. When I finally pulled back, my heart was racing. I was pleased to see that Carlos also had a slightly glazed look on his face. It was good to know that I wasn't the only one affected!

With one last tight squeeze, Carlos whispered, "Good night." He waited on the front porch until I walked into the living room, closing and locking the door behind me.

I looked around warily but didn't see my mother anywhere. She must be pacing in the kitchen, I decided. Hmmm…. Maybe I could just go upstairs and completely avoid seeing her tonight. Then I wouldn't have to deal with the lecture. I headed for the stairs, completely prepared to deny that I knew my mother was still awake and waiting for me, when the kitchen door opened.

Crap! I froze on the bottom step.

"Have a good time, pumpkin?" my dad asked gruffly.

I whirled around, surprised. "Dad! What are you doing up? Where's mom?"

My dad smiled at me. "I talked her into going to bed around midnight. I told her that I'd wait up for you and make sure that you got home OK. Why? Did you want to talk to her about something? You want me to go wake her up?"

"No!" I screeched. Then clearing my throat, I lowered my voice. "I mean, no, that's OK. I just wondered. Usually mom waits up to grill me about my dates."

My dad winked. "Do you want me to grill you?"

I gave him a broad grin. "Not really."

My father looked at me seriously then. "Did Carlos behave himself?"

My cheeks flooded with color at his question, and I shifted my eyes to the very fascinating painting on the hallway wall. Carlos had most definitely not behaved himself tonight, but I had enjoyed every minute of his horrible behavior!

"Yes." I squeaked out.

He cleared his throat. "He was respectful?"

I nodded. "Yes, daddy."

"Alright then." He growled and pulled me in for a hug. Leaning down to kiss my hair he whispered, "Cuz if he's not, I'll shoot him."

I snapped my head up and looked at my dad, a startled laugh on my lips. I was pretty sure that my dad was joking, but his eyes were serious.

"Does that mean you're going to shoot Steve?"

My dad took a step back and shook his head in disgust. "No. That whole mess is all your mother and sister's doing. I should probably shoot them."

I laughed. "Yeah, that'd go over well!"

He scrubbed his hands over his face and muttered. "I almost feel sorry for Steve, the poor dumb bastard."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud as my dad went around and turned off all of the lights on the first floor. He double checked the doors and windows, and then we headed up to bed.

"Dad?" I questioned softly.

He patted my shoulder. "Yeah, pumpkin?"

"Do you think you could forget to tell mom that I got home so late?"

He grinned. "How's 1:30 sound?"

I smiled back gratefully. "Good! Thanks, dad."

"No problem. Good night, pumpkin." He dropped another kiss on the top of my head and then walked into his bedroom, closing the door.

I let out a huge sigh of relief and headed to my own room. Quickly hanging up my dress, I slipped on my jammies. I put Mrs. Manoso's hair clips back in the padded box and sat them on top of my dresser. Carlos and I were supposed to spend the day together tomorrow, well really later today, so I could return them then.

Once everything was put away, I collapsed onto my bed in exhaustion. Sleep claimed me almost as soon as I shut my eyes, and I spent the next several hours reliving my senior Homecoming in all of its glorious detail.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

Carlos greeted me with a grin when I came down the stairs later that morning. In fact, it was the largest, sexiest grin I'd seen him wear yet.

I leaned up to give him a peck on the lips.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" I teased.

He shook his head, still grinning from ear to ear. "No reason."

I might have believed him if he didn't have a little gleam in his eye.

He helped me into the car, biting his lower lip and trying to hide a smirk.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around and glared at him, my hands on my hips. "Spill it, Manoso!" I ordered huffily.

He tipped his head back and let out a deep laugh. "Manoso, huh?" he teased.

I just glared at him. He coughed to cover up the last of his laugh but didn't answer me. He just drove to his house with that stupid, infuriating grin on his face. Ugh!

"Mama! We're home!" Carlos called out, pulling me through the door behind him.

Mrs. Manoso bustled out of the kitchen, a big smile on her face. "Stephanie!" she squealed, cupping my face and kissing me on both cheeks.

She grabbed my arm and tugged me towards the kitchen. I could smell something delicious cooking for Sunday dinner.

"Tell me all about the dance!" she ordered as she headed for the stove.

"Well," I began.

"Don't mind me. I'm just your actual child. Don't ask me what happened at the dance last night." Carlos teased, his eyes sparkling.

Mrs. Manoso glared at him. "No one wants to hear what a boy thinks about a dance, Carlito!" she scolded, throwing an oven mitt at him.

He laughed and turned his head, narrowly avoiding being hit by the flying kitchen accessory. Unfortunately, when he turned his head, it provided his mother and me a perfect view of the very large, very dark hickey I had left on his neck last night. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so smug about getting my revenge….

"Dios mio!" Mrs. Manoso shrieked, grabbing Carlos's chin and turning his head.

I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks turn red as she inspected Carlos's neck. She was still spouting off a tirade in Spanish, none of which I understood. Carlos was trying not to laugh as his mother continued to lecture him.

"Please tell me you got the pictures taken before this?" she pleaded, looking between the two of us.

Carlos winked at me and then turned to his mother with a serious expression on his face. "I can't remember, Mama."

She blew out a disgusted breath and smacked him on the back of the head. "Estupido!"

I rolled my eyes at Carlos and shot him a look, which clearly said, shame on you! I couldn't believe he was torturing his poor mother like this!

"We got the pictures taken first." I assured her.

She let out a relieved breath. "Thank God!" she sighed. Then she turned back to Carlos. She lectured him in Spanish, her hands flying.

Carlos just grinned at her. "I don't know why you're so upset with me!" he said in a mock serious voice. "I am clearly the victim here!"

I narrowed my eyes at him and so did his mother. She smacked him again.

"Because boys are always the ones who start these kinds of things!" she huffed.

"Exactly!" I smirked in agreement.

Carlos rolled his eyes as we all sat down at the little kitchen table. Mrs. Manoso listened with rapt attention as I told her all about the other dresses, the music, and the food. I carefully left out any mention of Carmen, a detail that didn't escape Carlos's attention. I answered all of his mother's questions and finally gave back the beautiful combs, thanking her again for her generosity.

She winked at me and patted my hand. "You are welcome to borrow them any time, dear."

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

I was helping Mrs. Manoso clear the dinner table when I heard the front door open and close.

"Hola, Tia Maria!" Lester called out.

Mrs. Manoso glared at him. "What's this I hear about you stealing my Carlito's girlfriend for the evening?"

Les grinned. "She promised to help me with a project, that's all. I'll return her safe and sound, no worries!"

"We should be right back, right Les?" I clarified.

He nodded. "Yep. We'll be back for dessert in an hour or two."

Mrs. Manoso put her hands on her hips and pinned Lester with a stern gaze. "You remember to behave yourself, young man." She scolded sternly.

Lester swallowed nervously as we walked towards the door. "Yes ma'am."

Tugging on my arm, he pulled me towards his Mustang.

"I couldn't wait! I already hit three of the closest Taco Bells and cleaned them out of sporks. We just have to stop at the one right off of North Road."

I grinned and shook my head. I was pretty sure that boys never actually matured past the age of 12 or 13. They get older, yes, but they never mature. Think about it. What are all males 12 and up obsessed with? Naked women, cars, sports, and practical jokes. I rest my case.

Lester backed out of Carlos's driveway and turned to me, a wicked grin on his face. "Soooooo…. How did the homework assignment go?"

My eyes widened and I smacked his arm. Hard. "Just fine, thank you!"

He wagged his eyebrows up and down. "Tell me more so I know what grade to give you."

I glared at him. "You are not getting any details, Les! I already told you that! It went well. Leave it at that!"

He smiled knowingly. "Well, huh? Not spectacular? Just good? OK? Mediocre?"

I groaned. "It was fabulous, OK? Sensational. Terrific. Wonderful. Now drop it!"

His eyes flicked back over to me. "So about lesson two…"

I tipped my head and looked at him. "What about it?"

"You want it, don't you?" he grinned.

I buried my face in my hands. Why the hell did I think that Les could be mature about this? Hadn't I just said that guys never matured past the age of 12? How could a 12 year old boy be mature about sex?

"How bad do you want it?" he asked in a low voice.

"Lester, honest to God! If you're going to be all perverted about this, then I don't need any help from you!"

He chuckled. "Who are you gonna talk to then, Beautiful? Lula?"

I shuddered slightly. Lula's mother was a professional, and Lula had access to some serious inside information. I had made the mistake of asking her one question before Homecoming, and the answer I had gotten in return still made me blush! "Um, no. I think Lula's a little out of my league."

"Would you rather ask Carlos about this stuff?" he asked, half serious.

I chewed nervously on my bottom lip. I felt completely comfortable with Carlos. I really did. But for some reason, I wanted to figure some of this out on my own. To surprise him? To learn things that I could do for him and with him? I couldn't explain it. It wasn't that I felt like I couldn't talk to him. I knew I could. I blew out a frustrated breath. "Some of it." I finally answered.

Les nodded his head in understanding. "Steph, you know I respect you and Carlos, right?" he asked softly.

My head snapped up in surprise. "Yeah, Les, why?"

"Well, I joke and tease, but I'd never take it too far. You know that, right?"

I patted his arm. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm waiting for you to give me lesson number two already."

The serious face was gone in an instant as Lecherous Les returned. He rubbed his hands gleefully.

"You need to talk to him."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "I just said I would. About some of the, uh, more intimate things that I don't know about."

"No, no, no. Not that kind of talk!" Les said, exasperated.

I glared at him. "Listen, buddy. Have you forgotten why you're giving me lessons in the first place? Because I know nothing about this particular topic. You can't talk in code around me! You're going to have to spell it out already!"

"Alright, then. Talk dirty to him. Tell him what you like, what you want, what you're going to do."

My face flamed a bright red. "Um, maybe a little less explicit next time!"

Les ignored me and kept going. "If he's doing something that feels good, tell him. If you want him to do something, tell him. And best of all, tell him what you're going to do to him just before you do it. It is hot as hell to have a girl narrate foreplay!"

I took a deep breath. I had asked for this after all! "Les, that's kind of… awkward! I don't know if I can do that!"

He looked over at me, confused. "You don't know if you can do what? Tell him what you like?"

I fidgeted in my seat. "Talk dirty to him!" I choked out. "I'm a Burg girl for crying out loud! My mother would kill me if she found out!"

He smirked. "Are you planning on telling her what you whisper in Carlos's ear?"

"No!" I shrieked.

"Do you think he's going to tell her?"

I shook my head no.

"Then there you go! How would she ever find out?"

I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. This just seemed a little out of my league.

Les pulled into the parking lot of Taco Bell and cut the engine. Turning towards me, he grabbed my hands. "Listen, Steph. I'm not saying that you have to act like a porn star and swear at him or beg him to tie you up or spank you or anything…"

I sucked in a deep breath. Good God! Did this guy have absolutely no shame at all? Wasn't he the least little bit embarrassed talking about sex?

"You just have to tell him what you like, that's all. You don't have to be vulgar. Just vocal. Do you know what I mean?"

I tipped my head to the side and nodded slowly. "I think." I whispered.

"Close your eyes." Les commanded.

I glared at him.

"Come on!" he coaxed impatiently. "I promise not to do anything inappropriate."

Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and sat still, waiting. If he did something disgusting, I was going to kill him.

"Think about last night. When you and Carlos were at the beach house."

I took in a shaky breath as my mind replayed his hands in my hair, on my breasts, on my… Oh! A flush covered my face and crept down my neck.

"Imagine that Carlos is doing something that feels really good…" Les whispered.

I nodded. Oh yeah. I had plenty of those kinds of images.

"Now just tell him how it feels."

"Incredible." I breathed.

"That's all you have to do, Beautiful. If he's doing something that makes you feel good, tell him."

I opened my eyes and slowly shook my head to erase the very vivid images that were flying through my mind. "I think I can do that." I whispered huskily.

Les grinned. "I know you can."

He leaned over and climbed out of the car. "Now let's go get us some sporks!"

I chuckled and climbed out of the car, tagging behind Lester as he entered the store. He sauntered up to the girl at the counter.

"Hey, honey." He said smoothly, distracting her.

I watched as she gave him a wide flirtatious smile and batted her eyelashes. Rolling my eyes, I walked over to the counter that held the napkins, straws, and packets of hot sauce. I opened my purse and shoved in handful after handful of sporks until they were all gone.

Sliding up next to Les, I bumped his shoulder with mine. "Get your drink?" I asked innocently.

The girl behind the counter winked and handed him a cup.

"Yep. Just got it." Les grinned.

"Can I get a cup, too?" I asked in a friendly voice.

"That'll be $1.19." she answered, cracking her gum.

I rolled my eyes and dug out some change as Les filled up his free cup. Jerk!

We carried our drinks back to the car, me grumbling under my breath the whole way about people getting freebies.

Les just smirked. "Don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful, Beautiful!"

I just stuck my tongue out at him as he laughed and pulled out of the parking lot. We drove a little ways down the street, and he pulled into a grocery store parking lot.

Confused, I looked over at him. "We're not sporking the front of the store are we?"

He shook his head. "No, but we have to get them ready." He pulled a handful of sporks out of a grocery bag and began unwrapping them. Catching on to what he was doing, I started helping him unwrap. There were hundreds of sporks! And I am not exaggerating!

"How are we going to get these all in someone's yard without them noticing?" I asked in astonishment.

Les shrugged. "The same way you toilet paper a house without them noticing. You wait 'til it's dark and then you try to keep really quiet!"

I shook my head as we made quick work of unwrapping the rest of the plastic utensils. Finally done, Les hopped out and shoved the trash into a nearby garbage can.

We pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and drove a little ways across town. Turning onto a back street, Les parked across from a small white ranch style house.

"You ready?" he asked excitedly.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied, shaking my head at his excitement.

We crouched down and crossed the street in a duck walk. I watched as Les hung the shopping bag on one arm and used his other arm to grab a spork and shove it in the front yard, handle first. Mimicking his actions, I hurriedly used up my bag, randomly sticking the plastic silverware all over the grassy front yard. After about ten minutes, I only had a few left, so I made a ring around the large oak by the sidewalk.

I glanced around and could see Les carefully placing something all over the driveway and the path up to the front door.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"They're snappers." he whispered back, finishing up with the front porch.

"What?"

"Snappers, poppers. You know, those things that you used to throw on the ground at the 4th of July? You throw them and they make a popping noise."

I rolled my eyes as we sprinted back to his car. "Have you met my mother? My sister and I were barely allowed sparklers! There's no way that she'd let us use those popper things!"

We crouched down in Les's car, our eyes trained on the house.

"What are we waiting for?" I whispered.

"Someone to come home."

I waited a beat, then asked, "For how much longer? We told Carlos's mother we'd be back for dessert in a few hours, tops."

Headlights swept over the car, and we slid further down in our seats.

Les grinned widely. "Showtime, Beautiful!"

I scooted closer to Les and peered out the bottom of his window, watching as the car turned into the driveway of the house we had just decorated. As soon as the tires hit the driveway, there were dozens of loud snapping and popping noises. The car slammed on the brakes and sat still for a few seconds. Then gently easing off the brakes, the car moved forward slowly. The popping began again, and the driver turned the car off.

The driver's side door opened and I watched a huge dark figure climb out of the car. He walked towards the front porch, setting off more of the poppers before he hopped into the yard. That's when he appeared to notice the sporks that covered a huge portion of the grass. He leaned down and pulled one out of the ground. Flinging it angrily, he stuck his hands on his hips and looked around.

"Shit!" Lester muttered. "I think we've been made!"

He fumbled to get the key in the ignition as Tank charged across the lawn towards Les's car.

"Santos!" he bellowed. "You're dead! My parents are going to shit a brick! Your ass had better get over here and help me clean this shit up!"

Les finally got the car started and took off, tires squealing, just before Tank made it to the street.

Tank stood in the middle of the road, angrily waving his arms around and screaming obscenities.

I let out a huge breath when we turned off of Tank's road and back towards Carlos's house.

Lester was bouncing around, high on the thrill of pranking one of his friends. "Wasn't that awesome, Beautiful?" he crowed.

"Yeah, awesome." I answered, my heart pounding in my chest. "If you tell Tank I helped you do that, I'll kill you!"

"It's gonna cost you!" he grinned.

"Cost me what?" I growled, eyes narrowed.

"Just a little favor!" he answered innocently.

I sighed and leaned back, banging my head on the headrest. Because what could possibly go wrong when Les called in his little favor? I thought sarcastically.

TBC

So what should Les's favor be? And how should lesson 2 go? ;) Any suggestions for lesson 3?