An hour after Valerie dashed into Chris's workplace after losing her top at the local swimming pool, she was sitting in the back room. Her friend had dug up a "Pizza's Plenty" t-shirt. So the boss wouldnt get suspcious, Chris set her friend to work making pizza boxes. Another half hour passed by before she quit.
"I'm gonna get out of here." Valerie said. "When are you going?"
"You're in luck," Chris said.
"I like the sound of that." Valerie said stretching her arms.
"I'm leaving now." Chris said grabbing her purse. "Where are you going to go?"
"I suppose back to the Beach Par-tay Shac-kay, or whatever its called. They still have my clothes." Valerie thought.
"Think those guys are still there?" Chris asked with a knowing waggle of her eyebrows.
"The gig would have ended half an hour ago." She slapped her forehead. "My laundry, and my car!" She said. "I gotta go."
"Now hold on there, I'll come with you." Chris said.
"Thanks all the same but how are we both gonna fit on the bike?" Valerie asked.
"I'll walk it." She shrugged.
"Okay. Good thing its not too far. The walk to the pad that guy lives it will be farther." She thought for a minute. "I got something else to do."
"Whats that?" Chris asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk.
"Uh, nevermind." Valerie said. "Unfinished business."
Beach Par-tay Shac-kay
Valerie went to the desk she got the bathing suit from while Chris put her bike on its kickstand. Valerie ran the bell insistantly. She still had the swim suit bottom on, and it was starting to ride up. An attendant came over to her.
"Hi, remember me?" Valerie asked.
"Yeah, flash gordon!" The guy cracked. Valerie frowned. "Can I get another look? I want to send my cousin a picture of you, he lives in Idaho." He said.
"You have my clothes, I would like them back now." She said as Chris approached from the back.
"Sure." The attendant sighed, obviously upset that he wouldnt get another look at Valerie like he had hoped. "Right here." He handed her the clothes she wore from the laundry mat.
"Thanks." She said. She ducked into a dressing room. The attendant looked at Chris. "Soooo. Hi, how are you?"
"Married." Chris said. "Don't even think about it."
The attendant groaned and went back into his office.
Valerie yanked the bottom off and threw it over the top of the dressing room. There was a "smack" and a "hey!" She smiled, as she imagined that she accidentally hit the nosy attendant over the head with the swim suit bottom. She unfolded her underwear and pulled it on. She picked her pants and unfolded them. She was about to pull them on too when a note fell out of the pocket.
"Thats funny, that wasnt there before. It would have been soaked from the washer accident." She thought. She pulled on her top while she examind the folded note. She pulled her shoes on and walked out of the dressing room. She unfolded the note. Chris looked on as they walked out of the building.
"Don't tell me, that pervy guy left you a number? I'd say dont call. Its not like hes gonna get to see anything else." Chris opined about the attendant.
"Its not from him." Valerie said as she read the note. "Whats the story morning glory?" She said it out loud.
"What?" Chris said. "Did the Riddler attack or something?"
"Nope." She said. "I gotta get to Nesmiths pad."
"Why?" Chris asked. "Is this that unfinished business?"
Valerie nodded. "Yep."
"Then lets go, hop on the back. We can get there faster." Chris said. Valerie rolled her eyes. "Its perfectly safe. Me and Andy do it all the time."
"Look what you do on your own time...." Valerie said. "What the hell, I can't end this day without breaking something. It wouldnt feel like a full day."
Valerie slid on the back of her friends bike. She put her feet up the best she could. "I'm ready."
"Hold onto everything you want to keep, here we go."
Chris swung down the road and rolled for a while, they they hit a bump and rode down some rickety stairs. Valerie held on to her friend till she could see her knuckles turn blue.
"Is this the real shortcut?" She asked her friend.
"Sure it is." Chris said after they rode over a bump that nearly threw them both. "Left or right?" She said as they approached a fork in the path. "Left or right?" She asked again.
"Right." Valerie said. Chris turned right. After riding a couple more bumpy minutes they arrived at the street Mike lived on. "We're here."
"We have to go back. I left my stomach somewhere." Valerie moaned.
"Quit complaining. We're here." Chris said. "We'll walk the rest of the way."
"Thank you." Valerie said. "Its time to consider a car you know..." Valerie chided her friend as they walked toward the string of beach houses.
The beach house (Mikes)
"Hey Mike, come look at this!" Micky said coming in the door. He was covered in grease.
"What did you do now? Turn Valeries car into a smaller pile of junk?" Mike asked.
"Even better." Micky said with a big smile. "I fixed it."
Mike looked at Peter and Davy. They shrugged and walked out to the front door yard to have a peek. The whole car was back to the way it was before.
"Its great." Peter said.
"Good job Mick." Davy concurred.
"Nice." Mike said.
"I know. I just can't figure out where this goes." Micky said holding up a part.
"Can't be that important." Mike said.
Micky pitched it over his shoulder. "Thought so."
"But that doesnt mean you shouldnt hold onto it." Mike said picking it up.
"Sorry." Micky said. They heard footsteps. Mike looked up.
"You." He said.
"Thats my line." Valerie said. "This is Chris, Mike. Chris, this is Mike Nesmith."
"Wow, you're even cuter than she says." Chris said putting her bike on the kickstand. Valerie punched her. "OW." Mike raised an eyebrow.
"I never said that." Valerie said.
"Not in those words exactly." Chris said.
"We need to talk." Valerie said.
"We do." Mike said. "Hey Micky, go show Chris the pad."
"That won't take too long." Micky said. Mike glared at him. "I'll see what I can do." He walked over and took Chris by the arm. "Chris you ever see real beach sand before?" He asked lamely.
"Well..." Chris was heard saying as Micky lead her away.
"Now what?" Mike said.
"You wanted to hear my story. So you'll hear it." Valerie said. "Lets walk and talk."
"Okay." Mike said.
They walked a mile before Mike broke the ice. "Did you see the car?"
"Yea, I guess I can drive it home now." Valerie said. "With my laundry."
"Right." Mike said. They walked to the boardwalk. Mike kicked at a random rock.
"I was engaged." Valerie said. "For about two years." She said. "We would have been married if not for the thing."
"What thing?" Mike asked.
"The thing that my ex best friend Mary Sue hit on him and he didnt turn her down. They probably dated for half our actual engagement." She sighed. "I forgave. She moved away. Ok I didnt really forgive...I used a voodoo doll on her for a while but once that didnt work, I decided to do the sort of grown up thing." She confessed. "Since then the guys I dated were either jerks who couldnt stay or or jerks who wouldnt leave. I gave up on guys totally."
"I can sort of understand that, with what happened with me and Denise." Mike said. "So, like Peter says you keep guys away before they can hurt you."
"Right." Valerie said. "Just till I get my dream fantasy man."
"Whos is your dream fantasy man?" Mike asked with interest.
"Sonny Bono. He and Cher can't last forever." Valerie said. Mike laughed. "What, I'm serious."
"Ok, so we've both had a bad day." Mike said. "It can't get any worse."
Thunder boomed overhead. Mike and Valerie looked over their heads and watched as a torrent of rain came down upon them. Valerie looked down at Mike. They were both getting soaked. Mike took off his hat and wiped his face. Valerie shook her head and started laughing. Mike put his hat back on, a little water squirted out of the hat folds. Valerie started laughing harder.
"Oh laugh will you?" Mike said putting his hands on his hips.
"I have been wet all day, its your turn!" She said pointing at him. She had been wet so many times it didnt bother her now.
"Well, what do you think of THIS." Mike pulled Valerie close to him. The motion shocked Valerie. She blinked her eyes so she could see through the downpour. Mike brushed some hair out of her face. He drew her even closer and kissed her on the lips. Valerie hesistated for a second then fell into the kiss herself. It was shocking, after all the fighting and scrapping they had been doing they were now kissing in a downpour. She had never expected this today. Maybe this is what she wanted all along. She felt him run his fingers though her long blonde hair. She felt the temptation to do the same but his hat seemed welded to his hair by the rain water it had absorbed.
The kiss seemed to last forever. Mike finally pulled back from her. It took her a minute or two to recover from the intensity of the kiss. It almost felt like Mike had to hold her up to keep from collapsing to the mud covered ground.
"Now you can't say you did nothing all day." Mike said.
"What brought that on?" Valerie asked weakly.
"I think we both know." Mike said. "Sometimes it seems like crazy things happen on what hope is an ordinary boring day."
"I think thats a good thing." Valerie said. "At least today wasn't predictable."
"Then maybe I can predict when I can ask you out?" Mike asked.
Valerie looked at him. "Ok, we went ass-backwards here. You ask me out, then kiss me. Thats the way it has to be."
"Okay. Will you go out with me?" Mike asked. "No expectations whatsoever."
She thought for a minute, mostly to keep him in suspense. She kinda liked toying with him like that. "Sure, what the hey."
"Great." Mike said moving in to kiss her again. Valerie looked up. Mikes forehead almost connected with her chin.
"Hey, it stopped raining." Valerie said.
"It did? I didn't notice." Mike said looking around.
"Now what do we do?" She asked.
"I suppose we go home and get these wet clothes off." Mike said.
"Hey, first we have the date..." Valerie said.
"We do still have your laundry, ok?" Mike reminded her.
"Oh right." Valerie remembered. "We better get back, they're gonna think we eloped or something."
"That comes on the third date." Mike said. Valerie looked at him with a raise eyebrow. "Fourth date?"
"We'll see, ok? Lets not go too fast." Valerie said. "I'll do it right this time." She thought as they walked toward the pad. "I guess today wasnt so bad after all." She said as she looked at him. "Not bad at all."
