After Mike and Valerie picked up the clothes from her washer incident, they threw the whole ball into a dryer. Valerie tried to take out some clothes that were prone to shrinking, but Mike didnt seem to be in a mood to negotiate. Valerie was soaked to the bone, a fact that seemed to keep Mike endlessly amused.
"You know, you're all dressed up and ready to go to a keg party wet t-shirt contest. Should I drop you off at Phi Kappa Kegga or do you know the way?"
"Hmpph" Valerie muttered.
"I'm sorry I couldnt hear you over the mumbling and the surprising a mount of profanity you seem to possess for a women so pretty." Mike said.
"Stop sucking up, its getting you nowhere." Valerie said. "What ARE you doing here anyway? Don't you have a girlfriend you can be a pain in the ass to?"
"Sadly no." Mike said sighing. "Her name was Denise. She ran off with a angry midget from Manchester..."
"Now I don't know Davy all that well but I'm sure hes all right." Valerie said.
"...New Hampshire." Mike finished. "We almost got engaged. She didnt like being with me. Both fans that I have of me hated her cause they thought her a mindless groupy." He shook his head. "She was pretty too."
"Awwwww." Valerie said. "Thats so sad."
"It's ok."
"I mean, who has it worse, you or the midget..." Valerie laughed out loud. "Everyone has as story to tell."
"Then lets hear it." Mike said.
"What?" Valerie said as the dryer buzzed.
"Tell me your story. You said everyone has a story to tell and I want to hear yours." Mike said. He leaned against a folding table. Valerie emptyed her dryer. Most of the clothes were damp. She'd let them air dry. "I can wait. I have all day." He heard someone clear his throat. The attendant pointed to his office.
"You got a phone call Nishwash." He said.
"Nesmith." Valerie and Mike said together. Mike looked at her. Valerie looked off in the other direction and fluffed her hair.
"I'll take that there call." He said. "To be continued." He said to her.
"Can't wait." She said.
The office
"Mike that you?" Peter asked on the other end.
"Its me, whats wrong? Mike said.
"The Beach Par-tay Shac-kay gig called back. They moved up the gig by half an hour. You have to get back here now!" Micky said grabbing the phone.
"What? When did that happen?" Mike asked while he watched Valerie fold her the driest of her laundry.
"Ten minutes ago." Micky replied. "He wants to give us a ten dollar bonus if we get there early."
"We're so there! Let me get back home." He said. He stopped himself. "What do I do with Ms Mary Sunshine?" He asked as Valerie stood outside the door with bag on hip.
"Bring her along." Micky said. "Hurry back."
Mike handed the the phone back to the attendant. He looked at Valerie after thanking him. "Okay, I have to go."
"Where?" She asked.
"Home. We have a gig in twenty minutes." He said. "I can drop you off at home.
"My keys are in whats left of my car." Valerie informed him.
"So you gotta make a choice. I have nineteen minutes now." Mike said. "I can leave you at our pad or we can take you to the Beach Par-tay Shac-kay and afterwards we can see about your car." Mike offered.
"Lets see," She thought. "I can stay in this guys apartment, and wait for him to come back. Huh uh, no way. Or I can go see his so called band play. Hmmm."
"What is this Beach Par-tay Shac-kay?" Valerie asked.
"Glad you asked Val-erie." He said slowly. "I'll tell you on the way."
"Fine." She said. She tried to move the bag but the combo of dry and still damp clothing made for a heavy lift.
"Let me get that."
"Remember what happened last time?"
"I'll be careful." He said hefting it. "Trust me."
"I'll think about it." Valerie said.
"By the way," he said as he walked out the door. He looked over his shoulder. "You still owe me a story."
"Ok." She replied. She had hoped he had forgotten about that. "Lets go."
After a quick change into their red eight button shirts, they loaded their instruments into the car and drove off to the Beach Par-tay Shac-kay.
"Nice outfits." Valerie said. "But how do you tell each other apart?" She cracked.
"Thats why Mike wears the hat." Micky said drumming in mid air. He hit an imaginary cymbol.
"Ohhhh kay." She said.
While they set up Valerie found a pay phone. She dialed the place Chris worked.
"Hi, Pizza's Plenty! Can I help you?" Chris answered right away.
"Chris? Thank god." Valerie said.
"Val? Is this you?" Chris asked putting her notepad down.
"Oh you wont believe the day I'm having." She said. She briefly gave details about the car, and Mike and the washing, but mainly about Mike.
"So he turns up everywhere. Sounds like he likes you." Chris determined.
"I hardly think so." Valerie said. "I must be a pity save. His good deed for the year."
"Uh huh." Chris said. "So far hes done three good deeds for you."
"Same thing." She waved her hand.
"Is he cute?" Chris asked.
"Chris your married!"
"I know but is he cute?" Chris said.
"Well hes not roadkill. I suppose he might be your type." Valerie said.
"Is he yours?"
"I can't believe your asking that. I don't like him."
"You say you dont like him with your lips but what about your heart?" Chris teased.
"Good bye Chris."
"Don't worry about getting Tommy, Andy is gonna get him." Chris quickly added.
"Ok. Thanks." Valerie said.
"And Val?" Chris said as Valerie moved to hang up.
"What?" She asked.
"When should we send out the wedding invitations?" Chris laughed.
Valerie hung up and went out into the main club. "Okay so I'm here, what do I do?"
The boys looked at each other. "Well you could play adoring fan for us." Mike said.
"Thats a great idea but how do I be an adoring fan when I havent heard you?" She asked.
"Ohh." Micky laughed. "One, two three four..." He tapped his drumsticks together. They started to play a song they had been rehearsing when she had been on the phone. It was quiet then but now it was louder. Picking out the lyrics, it seemed to be something about a stepping stone. She sat and listened to it. They played for a couple of minutes and stopped.
"What do you think doll?" Davy asked.
"I think I saw a pool on the way in." Valerie said.
"You don't have a swim suit." Mike said.
"I dont need one." She replied. Mike turned a bright red when he thought about what she could mean. "I saw a rental desk on the way in." She finished. She smiled as she walked away. "Maybe that will make him forget about my story."
Mike tuned his guitar while Valerie walked away. He fiddled with one wire.
"Anyone got a G? I think this one is getting worn a little thin." He said. When no one said anything he looked up. "What?"
"Are you gonna let her get away?" Davy asked.
"Get away? I have no idea what you are talking about." Mike said.
"I think she likes you, and you like her." Micky said.
"Are you crazy?" Mike said. "Thats it, you're crazy. There is no affection there. She has some obvious anger about something or somewhat." He said. "I know you thought I was gonna talk to her, but we only got halfway there."
"What, you told her about Denise already?" Davy asked.
"Yeah." Mike said. "She didnt know who had it worse, me or the midget that took her." He chuckled lightly. "That is pretty funny actually."
"See?" Micky said.
"What? I don't see anything. You guys might see it, but I don't." Mike said. "Not yet." He muttered. "I'm gonna go find a place to think. I can't think with you guys looking at me." He said going into another banquet room. "I gotta be somewhere alone."
The pool
"This is nice." Valerie thought sitting back on her lounge chair. "Sunny day. Warm out. Sitting at a pool with a lot of hunks. Not bad bikini. Shoulda shaved, I feel like a yeti on vacation." She looked around at the guys sitting next to a pool "How you doin?" She thought. She sighed. "None of these guys I would actually go for." She mused. "Too tan. Too bulky. Stay a day home from the gym, fella, it wont kill ya."
She stretched and sat up. "It's time to check that water." She decided. She stood up and un did her towel. She strutted around the pool. She dipped a toe in. "Cold." She muttered. "Typical. Might as well dive right in." She put her hands over her head. She pushed her arms straight over her head. She used to be on the diving team. She took a breath and pushed off into a small dive into the deep section of the pool.
She dove to the bottom and touched the bottom of the pool, then swam to the top. She rolled around and sighed. She wiped the water out of her eyes. There were several men watching.
"What are you looking at?" Valerie demanded.
As if there was a cue of some sort, the men started to whistle and clap their hands.
"Nice set honey!" One called.
"What?" Valerie gasped. She looked down. Her top was gone. "Holy f...." She started to say. Her arms shot down and covered her bared breasts. "I have to go now." Valerie said. "Uh next show is at 6:30. Tella friend." She stammered as she tried to back her way out of the pool. She looked at the pool as she walked. Her suit top was at the bottom of the pool, trapped in a pool filter. She definately wasn't going to get it now! She turned on the stairs out of the shallow section. She almost fell as she raced out of the pool area. She ran quickly, but had no idea where she would be heading. She finally stopped in pool cabana section. She ducked inside the closest one. She finally let her arms drop, they were aching from the effort to keep herself covered. She heard a "cough" from besides her. She looked behind her. Her arms flew back to their previous spot. "You!"
"This is interesting." Mike said. "And I swore to god you were hard to get." He said with one hand over his eyes. His hand slipped open. "You decent yet?"
"I can't believe you were looking!" She stammered.
"I didn't see a thing." Mike said. Valerie scoffed. "Okay I saw two things."
Valerie muttered "pervert" to herself, as she felt red heat flow to her neck and face.
"Now,miss wanna be nudist." Mike said. "This is one more thing you have to tell me about later. But first how do we get you out of here, and me to my gig without people looking?"
"I'm way ahead of you." Valerie said. "I can personally guarentee people will be looking."
"I don't see why not." Mike muttered. Valerie looked at him. "I mean I see."
"I don't need your help. If I'm gonna lose my diginity, I'm gonna do it now." Valerie said bolting from the cabana. Mike sat in the cabana as he heard what was going on outside.
"Mama! That womens half naked!" A kid cried.
"Don't tell fibs Charlie!" The mother replied.
Mike lowered his hands and unbuttoned his collar and left the cabana. He suddenly felt very hot. The mother saw him and he shrugged. She slapped him in the face.
"Pervert!" She cried and stalked away with kid in tow.
"This is what I get for being noble." He muttered. "Now where did she go?"
Pizza's Plenty
A knock at the back door distracted Chris from her smoke break. She opened the door to find Valerie standing there with several large napkins wrapped around her torso.
"Let me in." She said as her friend started to laugh. "Oh shut up."
