Chapter one hundred and six:

Zac walked downstairs to the smell of pancakes wafting through the house.

He grinned broadly seeing Becky standing at the stove in an apron, with pancake mix smeared across her face.

“Morning, Becca!” He said cheerily.

“Hi, Zaccy. Are you hungry?”

He grinned. “I’m always hungry.”

She laughed. “Right. I should have known that. Sit down and I’ll make you a plate.” She turned back to flipping a pancake in the pan.

“How are they?” Zac asked, as he wedged himself into a seat at the table.

Luke shot Zac a quick thumbs up in between shoveling mouthfuls of food into his mouth.

“Where are Jen and Tay?” Zac asked suddenly.

“I think Taylor is still cleaning up. He’s doing a pretty good job of picking up the garbage  before Ike gets here, but I have no idea how he’ll explain all of those beer cans and liquor bottles…” Becky said, setting a full plate in front of Zac.

“And I think Jen is waiting to get in the shower. She’s pretty hung over.” Luke grumbled.

“Yeah? You at least have a good time?” Zac raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because drunk chicks are so hot.”

“Well, I don’t know about that…” Zac winked at Becky.

Becky laughed and playfully pushed him.  “Don’t even think about it!”

Becky sat down at the kitchen table with one single pancake, and took the syrup Zac was passing.  “You know, I don’t think she intended to get drunk. I think she was just trying to loosen up a bit, and drank too much. I don’t really think she did it on purpose. Where did she even get the alcohol anyway?”

“Taylor gave it to her.” Luke rolled his eyes and replied sarcastically  “Such a responsible thing to do.”

“Well, he couldn’t have known she was going to get drunk either. She probably talked him into it.” Becky suggested. “She probably just wanted to have a little fun.”
”Talking about me already? It’s not even ten o’clock yet.” Jenna said, coming into the room wearing a sun dress, and a white cardigan despite the warm weather.
”That’s a pretty dress.” Becky observed, eager to change the subject.

“You think so? I stole it from Christy’s closet.” Jenna reached into the fridge for a bottle of water. “So what is everyone doing today?”
Becky looked at Zac. “I don’t know. There’s a movie I would kind of like to see…”

“Okay. We could do that.” Zac shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind going for a swim again. It’s damn hot out there.”

“What about you, Jen?” Luke asked, finishing the last pancake on his plate. “What do you want to do today?”

“I don’t particularly care… I wouldn’t mind going to the mall maybe…” She suggested.

“Okay.”

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Christy yawned and stretched as she stood next to a pile of luggage in front of the airport.
Isaac appeared with two cups of coffee from the small Starbucks in the building.

“I called Taylor, and he must not have his phone on, because he isn’t answering. So I think the best way for us to get home would be to get a cab.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “One cream, one sweetener. Just the way you like it.” He grinned.

Christy laughed.

He stuck out his arm at the curb and within seconds, a cab pulled up and stopped in front of them.
Christy helped load all of her belongings into the trunk of the cab and got into the back seat, sliding over to let Isaac in beside her.
”So what do you think everyone did without us this weekend?”

Isaac sighed heavily. “Fifty bucks says Taylor had a party and right now he’s in a mad scramble to clean up before I get home.”

Christy laughed. “Is it such a bad thing for your brother to have a party? I mean, he’s legal age and I’m sure he’s responsible enough.”

“I know he’s legal age. But Becky, Zac, Jen and Luke aren’t. And besides that, with those people out there threatening you girls, it just isn’t safe.”

Christy looked away out the window as the driver pulled out of the airport drop off road. She didn’t want to be reminded that there were still people out there to get her and her two best friends. She had had a wonderful weekend with her fiancé, without a bodyguard or any kind of security around, and she still wanted to enjoy that small feeling of freedom.

“And besides,” Isaac continued. “Think about how bad it would be for our image. Think of the headline “Former Boy Band singer gets caught with huge house party”. We’re struggling enough with our career now, and being independent… What’s wrong, honey?” He asked suddenly, gently resting his warm palm on her knee.

Christy forced a smile. “Nothing, baby. Just a bit of jet lag.”

“Oh. Well, I was going to suggest you and I go out for dinner or something when we got back, but how about you take a hot bath, and we’ll order in?” He smiled warmly.

“That would be wonderful.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “But what will you do about Taylor?”

“I can yell at him tomorrow.”

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