Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel and It's A Laugh Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.
REQUITED
Chapter 4
Guidance Counselor
"Take you car back to the hotel." Maddie said. "It's a beautiful day. We can take my car and ride with the top down."
"Where do you want to go?" London asked excitedly.
"Anywhere we want." Maddie said.
"Well can we eat something? I'm starving." London said as she held her stomach.
"Yeah, me too. Let's go." Maddie said as she ran around to her car and hopped in. She watched London sashay over to her car and climb in. A smile as wide as Boston Harbor spread across her face. London was home. Now would come the hard part. Maddie had to tell her that she was in love with her. London cranked up her car and slowly pulled out of the garage with Maddie behind her. Maddie stuck her earpiece in her ear seconds before an incoming call chirped.
"Hey!"
"Hey! When I get to the hotel I'm gonna run upstairs and change."
"Why? You look fine."
"I'm just gonna throw on some jeans and tennis shoes."
"Whoa! London Tipton wearing jeans and tennis shoes? What is the world coming to?" Maddie said.
"Hey! If President Obama can run a cabinet meeting with no tie on, I can wear jeans and tennis shoes out in the street." London rationalized. "Besides, the jeans will make my ass look fabulous!"
"Well… since you put it that way…" Maddie said.
They pull up to the main entrance to the hotel. London hopped out of her car and noticed that Maddie was staying put in her car.
"You coming up?" London asked Maddie.
"You go ahead. I have a phone call to make. There is a question on a project that I'm working on that I have to ask about now before it leaks out of my skull. Last piece of work today… I promise." Maddie said looking up at London. Maddie had to catch herself as her eyes flickered across London's breasts and down to her midsection. Easy there girl. She thought to herself.
"Okay. I'll be down in ten minutes." London smiled and then bounded inside.
"I hope you are in your office." Maddie said as she picked up her cell phone and dialed. "Please be in your office. I need to talk to you." The dial tone on the other end reached the fourth ring. "Crap!" Her anger quickly subsided when she heard the receiver pick up.
"Good Morning, Raven Baxter."
"I am so glad you are in!"
"Maddie?" Raven said. "Girl, it's been too long! How have you been?"
"I've been fine. There is something really important I need to ask you. But before I do, how is Chelsea?" Maddie inquired about Raven's wife of five years.
"She's fine. She stayed home with little Tonya." Raven said. "And guess what?"
"You're gonna be Time Magazine's Woman of the Year." Maddie joked.
"You're funny. Really funny. But no." Raven deadpanned. "There's gonna be another little Baxter-Daniels running around soon."
"Oh my God! Chelsea is pregnant again?" Maddie exclaimed.
"Not this time." Raven countered.
"You?"
"Four and a half months!" Raven exclaimed.
"Are you showing?"
"I'm starting to." Raven said with her smile evident through the phone.
Maddie laughed. "So we're gonna get to see Raven Baxter waddling around at C.J.'s wedding!"
"No way, girlfriend!" Raven corrected. "Raven Baxter does not waddle! Even pregnant, Raven Baxter struts, honey!" They both laughed. "But you didn't call to talk about me and my growing belly. What's on your mind?"
"I need some advice. I am in love with somebody and I don't know how to tell them." Maddie said.
"Wow! He must be really special for you to be calling me. What's his name?" Raven inquired.
"London." Maddie said and then froze, allowing what she knew was going to be shock for Raven to set in.
Raven laughed. "You managed to go out and fall in love with a guy that has the same name as your best friend. That's gonna be tough in bed calling out his-slash-her name. 'London! Oh, London!'" Raven continued laughing.
"No. Raven you don't get it. He is a she. She is London. I am in love with London." Maddie revealed.
"Ah. Okay. Now we are on the same page. Excuse me while I remove my foot from my mouth." Raven said.
"It's okay. I just don't know what to do. And I figured since you fell in love with and married your best friend, you could give me a pep talk?"
"I'm your friend aren't I? Of course I'll help you." Raven said. "Do you know how she feels?"
"No. I can only hope."
"Well that's a start. That's what I had in the beginning."
"You never told me how you two managed to get together." Maddie said.
"Oh wow! I thought I did." Raven said. "Well, we were in college and Chelsea started really stressing out about stuff going on in her life. I worrying about her and thinking about how I could help her. I started to realize that I just didn't want to help her; I wanted to take care of her. I told myself that I loved her, but the more I thought about her and what she was going through and what she meant to me, I realized that I was in love with her."
"So how did you tell her?" Maddie asked.
"Well…" Raven chuckled at the memory. "We got into a fight… actually it was more like she screamed at me about me telling our friend Eddie that I was worried about her. We both started crying. I went to the bathroom. After a few minutes, she came to apologize for yelling at me and… Wooo! Damn!… every time I think about that…"
"You mean that's how you told her?" Maddie asked in a mild laugh.
"It's more like we showed each other how we felt." Raven said. "Then afterwards, she was so cute. We were in the shower and she says to me 'I think I have feelings for you.' She had me forever right there."
"Oh God! I don't know if we're… Wow!" Maddie was dumbfounded by the passionate way Raven and Chelsea's revealed their love for each other.
"Look, not everyone does it the way we did. Actually, I don't know if anyone does it the way we did it." Raven said. "The point is that if she feels the same way…"
"Which Chelsea obviously did." Maddie interrupted.
"Obviously." Raven countered with a chuckle. "If she feels the same way, there will be that moment when you look into her eyes and will know. It may not be the next time you see her or the time after that. But when the time comes, you'll see it, you'll feel it… you'll know it." The passion with which Raven spoke overwhelmed Maddie. She wondered for a second if she had that same passion inside for Maddie. "Has she flown in from Paris?" Raven asked.
"Yeah. She's upstairs changing. We're going to spend the day together. Just a friendly day." Maddie said.
"Good. Don't push it. Just be natural. If it's real, it will come to you. When I was wondering whether or not Chelsea had feelings for me, Eddie told me that the eyes are the windows to the soul. When you can, study her eyes. They don't lie. But you're an attorney. You should know that already, counselor."
Maddie took a moment to ponder Raven's advice. "You're right. I'll take your advice. By the way, I have yet to meet your friend Eddie. He sounds like a great guy."
"He and his wife, Gina, are coming to visit in a few weeks. You and London should come along. Shoot! I've got a call on the other line. Can you hang on a second?"
"Sure." Maddie said as Raven clicked over. As she sat there she took in Raven's words. The eyes are the windows to the soul. Looking into London's eyes? I can do that. Maddie smiled to herself as she heard the phone click back over.
"I need to take this call." Raven announced. "But we're flying in to town on Wednesday. I'll get together with you. Maybe the four of us can go out… get some conversation started, plant some ideas maybe?"
"You live in New York. You're not driving?"
"I drove down to D.C for a business meeting two weeks ago and got carsick. I don't want to take any chances." Raven said.
"Okay. Well going out sounds great. Thank you so much Raven. Call me as soon as you get in town. Okay?"
"Count on it. Love you Maddie."
"I love you too. Give Chelsea my love."
"I will. Bye."
"Bye." Maddie hung up with Raven and smiled. She felt like this was just a matter of picking the right moment. If only she knew what was on London's mind. At the moment it wasn't for her to know. As she sat in her car and waited London to come back down, she let her mind begin to wander. Raven had put an indelible image in her head. She allowed herself to slip into a daydream. London Tipton naked, in the shower, water cascading over her body. Mmmm. Maddie closed her eyes and licked her lips. London…
It only took London a few minutes to change out of her business suit and into her casual attire. The rest of the time she spent in her room was contemplating what to do next.
"I am spending the whole day with Maddie." London wondered aloud as she paced. "What do I say? What do I do? How am I supposed to act?" London said to herself. "Now if this were a business decision I was making, what would I do?" She thought for a moment. Then an idea hit her. "Of course. That's exactly what I'd do!" She picked up the phone and dialed. "I'd speak to an adviser. That's what I'd…"
"Good Morning, Raven Baxter."
"Raven… It's London."
"Wha?… Hey, London! I was just talking about you!"
"To who?"
"Uh… Chelsea. She's on the other line."
"Well, look, let me not interrupt you. I can…"
"No! We're almost done anyway." Raven paused. "Hang on for a sec and let me say goodbye."
"Okay." London said as Raven clicked over. "I hope this is a good idea." London said to herself. "Sandrine is the only person besides Marion that knows. Maybe…"
"Okay, I'm back." Raven said. "So how are you? Have you flown in yet?"
"Yeah. I'm actually on my way to breakfast with Maddie."
"How is she? I haven't talked to her in… I don't know how long!" Raven said before thinking to herself that it had been roughly a minute since she had spoken to Maddie.
"Looking better than ever. She's actually why I called. I am having a problem and I need your help."
"I'm all ears." Raven said.
"Raven, Maddie is my best friend and normally I would go to her to talk about this, except, it's about her."
"What is it?" Raven said, hoping London's response was the same as Maddie's.
"Promise me you won't tell anybody, except Chelsea, I mean I know she's your wife." London said.
"I promise, now spill it, L.T!" Raven sometimes referred to London by her initials.
All right, now or never. London thought. "I am in love with Maddie."
"YES!" Raven exclaimed, sensing that a love match would be imminent.
"I'm glad that you're happy, but how do I get from here to where you and Chelsea are?" London asked.
"Well, you hop on 95 and head south until you see these REALLY tall buildings…"
"Raven! I'm serious!"
"I'm sorry I can't help it. Hormones kicking in. Being pregnant makes me goofier than usual."
"That's okay, it just that… Wait a minute! Did you say you were pregnant?"
"Mmm hmm. Four and a half months today."
London squealed in excitement. "Oh my God Raven! I am so happy for you! I am going to throw you the biggest baby shower of all-time with decorations and foods and gifts that you could choke elephants on!"
"Whatever you do don't let Chelsea hear you talking about choking elephants!"
"Right!"
"We'll get to me later. First, let me give you some advice that was given to me that I just gave a friend of mine. The eyes are the windows to the soul. They tell the story of the person's heart. They do not and cannot lie."
"How do I look into her eyes with out pouncing on her? I mean I've felt like this for seven years."
"You better demonstrate some of that discipline that you learned in martial arts training."
"Like you demonstrated discipline with Chelsea in that bathroom?"
"That was the passionate kindling of a new and exciting relationship!" Raven defended herself. "You just wish you can get Maddie in a bathroom like that."
"Okay. I do not need to go back down to the car wet and I am not changing my underwear so I am going to say thank you for your advice and hang up now." London said with a sense of playful urgency.
"Whoa! It's that bad, huh?" Raven asked.
"I haven't wanted anything this bad… ever." London said with vehement passion.
"Well go. She's waiting for you. By the way, We fly in Wednesday. Let's all four of us go out to dinner that night."
"All right. I'd like that." London paused. "Thanks for the talk. It really helped calm me."
Raven lapsed into one of her impressions. "Well, that's me, Chuck Woolery, trying to help you make a Love Connection."
"You are a nutcase that I love to death." London said with a smile.
"And this nutcase loves you too. Man, I'm hungry. I think I'm going to get a hot dog from the corner." Raven said. "Be sweet and I'll see you Wednesday."
"Bye, Mommy!" London said before hanging up the phone. "She is all mine. Let's go work on scaling Mount Madeline!"
London came back down and walked up to Maddie's car. She noticed that Maddie had slid down in the seat with her eyes closed and had a warm almost sensual smile on her face. London desperately wished she were a mind reader. She stood for a moment and studied Maddie. This was the first time that she allowed herself a taste of up close and personal visual lusting for the blonde legal eagle. Her eyes trailed from that devilish smile all the way down, lingering on her bare legs, down to her three-inch heels. When the tip of Maddie's tongue peeked through her lips as she licked them, London decided that she could take no more for that moment.
She pretended to just walk up to the car as she flung the door open and plopped down in the passenger seat slamming the door behind her.
"Cheese and rice, London! You scared the crap out of me!"
"Cheese and rice?"
"Well, Chloe tells me that I curse too much. I'm trying but it's hard. People in the legal field can really piss a person off." Maddie said.
"I know what you mean. Sandrine gets on me about threatening to fire people all the time… not to their face, mind you. It just makes me feel better to say it."
"Sandrine? Is that a friend of yours back in Paris?"
"No. Sandrine… my secretary?" London said. She was met by a blank stare. "I told you about Sandrine." More silence from the driver's side. "I've never mentioned Sandrine?"
"First time." Maddie said in a slightly clipped tone.
"Sandrine is my secretary. She is the closest thing I have to a best friend in Paris. Since I spend a lot of time in the office, we talk a lot, about a lot. I guess she's more like a secre-friend."
Maddie shook her head and smiled. "Only London Tipton could come up with a word like secre-friend."
"Paris Hilton made 'frenemy' a word, so why not?" London reasoned.
Maddie chuckled. "Where do you want to eat Princess?"
"Princess. You haven't called me that in years." London fondly remembered.
Maddie looked at her best friend. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."
London returned the earnest look. "Yeah… we do." London's eyes lingered for a second on Maddie's before changing gears. "Now… to answer your question, I could go for a good hot dog."
"A hot dog? But it's a quarter to ten. Where are we gonna find a good hot dog this early in the morning."
"Nathan's." London answered.
"There aren't any Nathan's around here." Maddie said.
"But the best Nathan's on earth IS on Coney Island." London responded.
"You want to drive to New York? For a hot dog?" Maddie asked incredulously.
"No. I want to drive to New York, for a hot dog… with you." London said with a smile.
Maddie looked at the smile plastered on London's face. She wanted to tell her how impetuous it was to drive to New York until she remembered telling London that they could go anywhere they wanted.
"All right. But I need to run back to my place to change." Maddie said with a playful resignation in her voice. She cranked up the car and put it into gear. "Why do you have to be so cute?"
"It's like the man said in Trading Places, 'Breeding, Randolph. It's in the blood.'" London said doing her best Don Ameche impression. Maddie laughed and drove off.
A couple of things. Yes, that was Raven from That's So Raven. Yes, on the show Raven does know Maddie and London. Remember the episode, That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana? The advice Raven gave them and the remembrance of how she and Chelsea got together came from my very first story, Thunderstorms. (It's a cheap plug, but if you haven't read it, I want you to read it and review it.) The mention of Eddie and his wife Gina came from the relationship Eddie and Gina (original character) began in the Thunderstorms sequel, The L Word. (Yes, another cheap plug! But at least I'm honest!) Last but not least, I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, but it ain't over. Chapter Five is coming up. PLEASE REVIEW!
Also, special shout out to That's So Productions, Warren and Rinsler Productions and Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment for the characters they own - Raven, Chelsea and Eddie. As for Gina... she's all mine.