"You know that you'll get warmer faster if you actually put some clothes on, right?" Cody asked as his brother adjusted the thermostat upwards to a balmy ninety degrees. Zack had vanished into their bedroom after throwing his jacket in the general direction of the coat rack when they'd entered the suite and came back out wearing just his favorite fleece pajama pants.
"So you always tell me," Zack replied and flopped down on the couch beside Cody and turned on the television.
"I always tell you because it's true and also because you know Mom will throw a fit when she gets home and walks into another one of your dry saunas." Cody leaned forward and started untying his shoes.
"I'll turn it down again before she gets home. Besides, I'm going for comfort now after the beating we just took."
"You still don't think that was my fault, do you?" Cody tucked the laces into his shoes and temporarily slid them under the coffee table.
"No. It just kinda sucks that you and Chase come out to your first game and we totally stunk up the place."
"Well, for what it's worth, I still had fun and Chase said he did, too." Cody leaned back against the cushion and let his hands lazily fall into his lap.
"How? We got blown out! I don't see how that can be fun."
"Not everyone lives and dies by sports like you do, Zack. I had fun because I got to hang out with you and Chase while doing something I hadn't done before and I imagine Chase is probably somewhere on the same page. Also, that hot chocolate was really good."
"It was, wasn't it?" Zack laughed. "It was like drinking a Hershey's bar." The brothers were quiet for a bit as Zack randomly hopped through the channels. "You know what was the best part of the whole night?"
Knowing Zack like he did, it could be anything. Cody had no idea and he admitted it. "No, what?"
"Not having to walk home."
"I'll agree with that. The wind chill was probably in the single digits by the time we got out of there, maybe even lower, and we weren't in it."
"Yeah, that was nice, too."
"Huh?"
"Dude...Chase's mom is totally hot."
"What?"
"You didn't notice? Are you sure we're actually related?"
"In case you forgot, I was sitting in the back with Chase the whole way. The only part of her I really saw were her eyes in the mirror when she looked in it."
"You know Rogue from the X-men, right? Not the movie but the old cartoon. You'd make a better Rogue than that movie girl did."
"Umm, thanks, I guess," Cody said as he pretended to think of who Zack was talking about.
"You have no clue, do you?"
"Not a one."
Zack let loose with a long sigh and pulled his phone from a pocket and furiously tapped away. "Her," he said as he showed Cody the screen.
"Zack, aside from the red hair, I'm pretty sure Chase's mom looked nothing like that!" Cody said and laughed.
"Well, no, not just like that but kind of." Zack studied his phone for a few seconds and Cody pulled a small cushion from his end of the couch and placed it on his brother's lap. "Hey!"
"Just in case. Those pants don't hide much," he said and Zack didn't argue. "I guess that kind of explains why you didn't do much talking in the car on the way here, huh?"
"Maybe." Zack tried to hide a guilty grin.
"I should tell him," Cody laughed again as he pretended to grab his phone from the table.
"You better not!" Zack said and leaned over to pin his brother against the side of the couch and gave Cody's ticklish flanks a workout.
"Okay! Okay! I was only kidding!" Zack pulled back and Cody resettled himself on the cushion and pushed his hair out of his reddened face before smirking at his brother.
"What?"
"What if Chase meets our mom and thinks she's as hot as you think his mom is?"
"Then we'll have to get him to a doctor as quick as we can because he'll obviously be going blind."
"Ouch," Cody said with a grin. "Anyway, I'm going to go grab a shower before you can use all the hot water. Have fun with whatever her name is." Cody gestured at Zack's phone as he got up.
"Rogue, Cody. Rogue. Hottest X-woman of all time," Zack shook his head at his brother as he walked away.
"Sure thing," Cody said over his shoulder as he grabbed clean clothes from his dresser before ducking into the bathroom and closing the door.
He wasn't in the shower much longer than normal, just his usual five minutes with an extra minute or two tacked on to make sure there weren't any frozen spots left on his body, but when he came back out Zack had pulled the blanket over himself and was slumped against the arm of the couch and nearly asleep. Cody watched his chin slowly sink to his chest before jerking back up again.
"Why don't you go to bed?" Cody asked as he took his spot back.
"Because it's Friday night and no one goes to bed this early on a Friday."
"You were about ten seconds away from drooling."
"I'm not even tired yet," Zack answered automatically and promptly yawned.
"Of course you aren't." Cody piled the sarcasm on again and Zack caught it this time.
"Okay, maybe a little." Zack stretched out every muscle he could and let out a very satisfied groan. He leaned back into the cushion and closed his eyes. "Oh, Chase texted you while you were in the shower, by the way. And before you ask, no, I didn't read it, I just saw his name on the top of your screen."
"Did you not read it because you're a good brother or did you not read it because I changed my code?" Cody asked as he retrieved his phone and unlocked it before navigating to his messages.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Zack said and smiled. "What'd he say?"
"He said he had a lot of fun and we should do it again but maybe at a basketball game since they're inside."
"I won't argue with that," Zack agreed. "Heck, we might even score if we play basketball." He burrowed a little deeper into the blanket.
"Are we any better at basketball than we are at football?" Cody was contemplating his response to Chase as Zack sleepily took his time answering.
"Let me put it this way, Cody. You know who LeBron James, is right?"
"Yes I know who LeBron is!"
"I just had to be sure. It would take LeBron James somehow being able to play on our team for us to have a chance to win half of our games. I probably had a pretty good shot at making the team if I'd tried out. No, even better, you might have made it."
"That bad?"
"Well, maybe not quite bad enough for you to actually make it but you know what I mean," he said with a grin. Cody reached over and lightly punched where he figured his brother's arm might be under the blankets and Zack laughed.
Cody split his attention between the television and his phone as he tried to write a message that didn't sound too eager or excited about hanging out again. I don't want to sound like I'm clingy or anything, he thought to himself. By the time he figured it out and sent it, Zack's breathing had turned into snores. "Mr. Friday Night in action," he said softly and smirked.
Cody set his phone on the arm of the couch and got up to make a little snack. He'd eaten a few of Zack's greasy fries during the game but they'd long since worn off. He was rooting through the refrigerator for the cheese when he heard his phone go off again. He turned around and saw that Zack hadn't budged so he took his time as he cut the Velveeta into squares and put them on the plate with some crackers. He added a glass of milk to his snack and carried everything back out to the living room. He popped a cracker and cheese into his mouth and unlocked his phone to see what Chase sent.
A very tired Carey let herself into the suite and gently closed the door behind her before leaning against it and sighing. "Oh that is so much better," she muttered while kicking off the shoes that had felt fine at the beginning of her second set but now seemed to be lined with gravel. Her eyes were looking around the suite and taking inventory of all the lights the boys left on when she caught sight of a little blond head looking down, seemingly totally engrossed with his phone. Zack wouldn't notice a fire alarm going off right next to him when he's on that thing, she thought and then realized it was her other son. Oh no, Cody's infected now, too! she added with a smile.
"Hey, Cody, I'm home," Carey said as she slowly walked further into the suite.
Cody's head snapped up. "Oh, hi, Mom. I didn't hear you come in. What are you doing home so early?"
"Well," Carey replied, letting her gaze drop down to her watch and reassure herself that it was as late as she thought it was, "it's after midnight. I wouldn't really call that early."
"Midnight? Wow it is. I've been texting with Chase since we got back and I didn't even notice."
"You went after all, huh?" Carey asked as she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of the finest boxed chardonnay the grocery store had to offer. "Did you have fun?"
"Surprisingly yes," he answered. "It was absolutely freezing and our team got demolished but I actually had a good time."
"That's good. Did your new friend go, too?"
Cody nodded. "He met us there and then his mom gave us a ride back after the game was over."
"You thanked her?" Carey knew the answer but tweaked her son a little anyway.
"Of course! Zack and I both did."
"Speaking of your brother..." Carey stepped a bit to her right and peered into the boys' bedroom and saw an unmade and empty bed against the far wall.
"He's somewhere under all this." Cody gestured to the large blanket pile. Carey strode over to inspect the mass of bedding and saw part of a foot sticking out of one end and hair and a nose at the other and nodded. "I told him he should go to bed but he fell asleep there instead."
"He'll be fine. He might regret not listening to you when I vacuum out here in the morning, though," Carey said and shrugged. She reached down and tickled the sole of the exposed foot and Zack jerked it under the covers with an unconscious grumble. "I'm going to find something quick and easy for dinner. Are you hungry?" She took another sip of her wine and started toward the kitchen.
"No, I ate something a little while ago. Thank you, though." He glanced through the two dozen or so texts he'd exchanged earlier with Chase for the hundredth time as a question hit him. "Hey, Mom?"
"Yes, Cody?" Carey opened the freezer and searched for one of her frozen entrees.
"Would it be okay if Chase spends the night over here some time?"
"Oh, like a pajama party?"
"Not really, no. The boy version of that."
Carey snorted a noseful of cold air. "Oh, right. A sleepover. Where boys stay up all night playing video games, drinking soda, and lighting their farts." She found a Lean Cuisine and pulled it out and scanned the small print for the microwave directions.
"Probably a lot more of the first two than the third, Mom. I hope, anyway," Cody laughed. "So would it be okay?"
"Of course it would be, Cody. When were you thinking about having him stay?"
"I not sure. I haven't really thought about it and I don't even know if he'd want to."
Carey poked a hole in the plastic over the rock-hard chicken and tossed it in the microwave. She closed the little door and set the timer. "Well, if you do ask him, and he does say yes, just let me know and we'll figure something out and make it work."
"Thanks, Mom."
"No problem, honey. Why don't you ask him now?"
Because I'm afraid he might say no and that would ruin what has been, up until this point, a rather fantastic night, he thought to himself. He looked at the phone in his hand and considered it before deciding not to. "I think he fell asleep. He hasn't said anything back in a little while," Cody told her.
"Well, like I said, just let me know."
"I will, Mom." Carey went into her room to change while the microwave hummed away and Cody sat peacefully on the couch. He thought back on the last few hours and couldn't remember a recent time where he'd enjoyed himself as much. Zack suddenly shifted in his sleep and kicked Cody in the shin. "Ow, you jerk," Cody mumbled as he rubbed his leg. "I should tell your new girlfriend about that," he said and grinned. His grin almost turned into a full-fledged giggle as he imagined Zack sitting beside his friend's mother. He could easily see Zack's patented dopey look plastered across his face as his brother stared a hole through the woman as she drove.
If Mrs. Mitchell noticed Zack's razor-sharp attention, she didn't give any sign that Cody could see. There was more than enough conversation to drown out his silence during the short trek to the hotel, most of it consisting of Chase's mother asking Cody a question, Chase rolling his eyes and saying something like jeez, Mom!, and Cody answering the question as best he could while trying to not laugh at his friend. By the time they finally made it through traffic and arrived at the hotel, Cody felt like he'd been through a friendly but very thorough interrogation.
Chase had put his hand on Cody's shoulder and leaned in close as the car was coming to a stop. "I'm sorry, Cody," he whispered, "she usually isn't like this, I promise. She's...I don't know."
"It's okay," Cody told him softly as he unfastened the belt. "It's probably a mom thing. I'm sure mine will do the same whenever you meet her. I'll try to stop her but you know how they are." Cody gave an exaggerated shrug and smile. "Thank you again, Mrs. Mitchell," he said after he found the door latch and opened it. Zack gave his thanks as well.
"Any time, Cody. You too, Zack," she said as the twins got out and closed the doors. Chase waved and they returned it as the car drove off before hurrying up the salted steps and into the warm Tipton lobby.
Chase's breath smelled like hot chocolate, he randomly thought as he again looked at his phone's further thoughts on chocolate breath were derailed by the microwave beeping but the fuzzy warmth the memory brought hung around even as his mother appeared in her oversized pink robe.
"Are you sure you don't want any of this, Cody? I was a lot hungrier a few minutes ago," Carey said as she pulled the steaming plastic container from the microwave and quickly set it on the counter before blowing on her fingers.
"No, thank you," he replied, and was going to add that Zack would eat it for breakfast but a massive yawn interrupted him. He went from vaguely tired to almost exhausted in the course of one deep breath.
"Wow, that was a good one, huh?"
Cody nodded as he shook off the last of the yawn. "I guess that's my body's way of telling me that five in the morning was a long time ago." He rubbed his eyes and yawned a much smaller yawn. Stealing some of the blankets Zack was laying under was suddenly one of the best ideas he'd ever had.
"Why don't you go on to bed, Cody? You've had a long and busy day and that way I'll only have one grouchy boy in the morning instead of two."
"Yeah, I think I will." Cody, with Herculean effort, stood and stretched. "Goodnight, Mom," he said as he walked into the kitchen for a quick hug.
"I'll see you in the morning, kiddo," Carey said as she squeezed her son.
Cody made the journey to his room on leaden feet and sprawled onto the bed. He reached over and flicked the light off before wriggling his way under the covers. Utter contentment hit him as he pulled the comforter up to its perfect spot just below his chin. Cody was well on his way to a blissful slumber when the memory of the short contact with Chase and the electric feeling it sparked in him returned.
"No, please no," he said quietly as his mind started churning. Sleep was a long time coming for him.
I've fallen into my yearly work-is-crazy rut and I haven't had the free time I usually do to sit down and write and I hate that. I guess better late than never, right? Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think.
-SI