Prelude To a Kiss
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A fanfiction by Lori G
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"Hi Lori!" I turned, shocked to hear an unfamiliar voice call my name. I turned and looked at the girl that had called my name. She had long black hair, and was wearing yellow glasses. She was short and thin, much shorter
than me. She continued to smile at me, like she knew something I didn't. I held on to the large box, holding it tightly up against my body, so that itwouldn't fall.
I always thought that if I did something that made my muscles ache, but continued to do it anyway, I would end up a stronger person, physically and emotionally. I was looking at her, analyzing her.
"Hi." I said wearily behind my purple sunglasses. I could feel sweat starting to make the red bandanna I was wearing wet. It was bad enough I was sweating like I pig in only September, my light gray shirt darker in other
areas, due to wetness.
"I don't expect you to know me, you've never seen me." The girl teased.
"Ya, I gather that." I joked. I was still clenching tightly to the box, my muscles aching and I started to lean backwards to compensate.
"Well, baby blue eyes, I didn't think you'd take so long to catch on!"
"Mena!" I laughed. Mena stood, laughing at me almost, as I recognized her. My family was moving to Bixby, Oklahoma. We had lived in Phoenix; I had grown up there, but now we were starting new again. We hadn't really expected to move so suddenly. We had gone on a road trip earlier, in June and July. We visited Bixby, knowing we would eventually move there when I
started attending college in Tulsa. My family found a large house, on a nice large piece of property and decided to move later in the year. My father took an early retirement and we rented our house out. I had met Mena on the internet; I had gone looking for a people from the Tulsa area that were home schooled. I had finished High School early, leaving my school sophomore year to start home schooling. Mena was the first person I had contacted, and we had become good friends.
"I'd hug you or something, but I'm gross!" I joked, heading towards the house. "Come on up and I'll show you my room!"
"Okay!" She walked up to me, her black hair swinging behind her, and she soon passed me. My little brother came running back out to the moving van. He would be twelve in November, and he was only an inch shorter than I
am. It annoyed me.
"Is that Danny?" Mena asked as she opened the front door for us. She stepped inside and held it open for me.
"Ya, that's Spud." I answered, a nickname I had given him since he became addicted to video games when he was four years old. Mena laughed and started up the stairs.
"My rooms the last one!" I huffed as I climbed the stairs towards my new room.
"What's in that box anyway?" Mena asked as we reached my room. I almost ran to my queen size bed and dropped it, my arms burning.
"My computer, monitor, printer." I stopped for breath.
"God, that must have been heavy."
".My stereo, speakers and kareoke machine." I panted.
"Good Lord!" Mena mocked. "Flex for me!" She joked. I raised my arm, glad that all the flab was gone. I had finally shed all the extra weight from my insulin disorder, and was glad to be a normal teenager. She cracked up as I kissed the tiny muscles that appeared.
"You have bigger bulges than I ever will." She laughed again. "You need a break!" She said in all seriousness. "Want to come to a party tonight?" I raised an eyebrow and wiped sweat off my forehead.
"I'll ask my parents, I'm sure they'll let me." I said, starting to regain a normal breathing pattern. "Is it a party party? Or a uh. More settled one."
"Party. I'm sure they'll be booze and dope, but just because its there doesn't mean we'll use it. Yuck." She made a rubber face, and crossed her eyes. I laughed slightly.
"I'm sure I can."
"Good!" She almost shouted. "Being home schooled we NEVER get invited to parties, and it will be a good chance to meet new people for you!" She said, letting her car keys dangle in her hand.
"So is that where all your Hanson posters are going to go?" She joked, turning to the wall behind my bed. I snorted.
"No. I only have one. I don't know if it made it through the move though." I trailed off. I didn't really care either way. It would be cool if it survived, but if it didn't I wouldn't cry.
"I'll pick you up at eight then, considering you don't have a car yet."
"Nor a license." I responded playfully, glancing down at the wristwatch that never come off my hand. It was already three o'clock.
Mena picked me up, a few minutes early. My parents were real cool about letting me go out, even though I didn't really know these people. I think they were just hoping I would develop a real social life. I didn't have very many friends outside Nelli, Allana and Gracie. They were my band mates and soul sisters, and I had to leave them, and any career I had planned, in Arizona.
I wore my new leather pants, a pair I had picked up in New Mexico as we drove through. I wore a white muscle tank and my hair down, with my blue doc martens. I had worn my gold crucifix around my neck, hoping it would keep some off the drugs and booze offers away, but it didn't work in the longrun.
We arrived at the party, and the house was blaring music loudly, the sound of mainly the bass pumping out to us as we walked up towards the front door. The music wasn't as loud as I thought it was; the speakers were by the door, but by nine I had enough, and went downstairs into the basement. There were a lot of kids going up to the bedrooms upstairs, but I didn't care. I
found a baby grand piano sitting at the bottom of the stairs. There was a pool table in the first part of the room, and to the immediate left, the chic black instrument. I could barely hear the music anymore, I had closed the door almost completely, and had only left it open a crack so I wasn't locked inside by accident. If I had closed the door I probably wouldn't hear the music at all. The basement was most likely also the storm cellar.
I set my bottle of beer down on the piano. I had only taken one sip of it when it was handed to me at the door, but I didn't want to get any other drinks, so I just carried it around. I figured I might have to drive home anyway.
I sat down, and ran my finger tips against the smooth white keys. I closed my eyes and started to play, a soft slow song to counteract the hard music I had for the last hour upstairs at the party. I started to sing softly, growing louder and louder, not realizing what I was doing. I had my eyes closed and was too involved in it. I loved music, and even more so, I loved making it.
"It's beautiful." A voice scared me as I finished, still lingering on the last note. I cut off quickly, surprised that someone else was in the basement with me. I looked over and saw a boy with long blond hair sitting on the couch across from the piano. I hadn't even noticed him when I came in.
"I didn't mean to scare you." He apologized, slightly chuckling.
"No, no. I just didn't see you." I said, returning to playing softly, just nothingness that flowed out from my fingers in a soft melody.
"Who wrote that?" He asked, leaning forward on his knees, a beer bottle dangling from his hands, still full, like mine.
"I did." I said smugly, smiling as goofy as I could. He stood up and walked towards the piano. I could see his face better now. He had dark brown eyes and pouty lips, with a predominant nose and beautiful jaw. He smiled and set his bottle down, leaning on the edge of the closed lid.
"You're amazing." I could feel my face blush, going quickly to my neck. I blushed easily and blushed hard.
"I don't know if amazing is the right word." I said, feeling like I didn't fit the description. He chuckled.
"No trust me, you're awesome. I should know -" He cut himself off quickly and looked awkwardly at me, as if I was supposed to help him out. He outstretched his right hand to me after a pause.
"Zac Hanson." He introduced. I smiled, stopping my playing and offering my hand back to him.
"Ya, I know." I said shaking his large hand. He had a small Band-Aid on his middle finger. He nodded, raising his eyebrows. "And I didn't scream or faint." I joked.
"You have soft hands." He smiled again, "So do you have a name?" he asked, our hands finally parting.
"Lori." I trailed off. He chuckled as I resumed playing.
"No last name?" He joked, running his fingers over the black piano lid.
"I don't know which one to give you."
"Ya. I thought I recognized you from the FBI's most wanted list." Zac laughed again, pushing his hair back over his shoulder.
"No, no. just stage or real?" I asked him, still feeling the cold keys beneath my fingers. I hadn't played in a week and it was killing me.
"Both." He said, cocking a half smile as he started to flirt with me.
"Gervasio is too ethnic, so Daniels is my nom de plume." I joked,looking back down at the keyboard. I could feel myself starting to blush again; I was flirting with Zac Hanson.
"So how old are you?" He asked almost wearily. I smiled and looked back up at him.
"Sixteen in a month." I said.
"Me too!" He sounded excited. "What day?"
"The twenty-sixth." He smiled the biggest I had seen him smile so far.
"I'm four days older than you."
"I know." I said sarcastically, almost mad at him for it. I remember the day I finally saw the cover of their album. It was a month after I already had all the lyrics memorized. I thought I was older than he was, finally older than someone. But he had barely beaten me.
"So why are you down here, and not up there?" I asked him, finally doing the interrogation.
"Not really my scene. I just came along to make sure my brothers behave." He joked. I snorted and smiled as I glanced down at the piano again. Zac came over and sat next to me on the bench, his warm thigh
pressing against mine.
"Know any duets?" He asked, looking over at me, he was making a slightly funny face, sticking his lower lip out slightly, but pulling the corners of his mouth back.
I looked back at him, almost mimicking his expression, looking him dead in the eyes as I found the keys I was looking for. I started playfully pounding the lower half of 'Heart and Soul' before we both burst out laughing.
Just then noises came from the stairs as someone came down into the basement with us.
"Zac?" I heard Isaac call, "Are you still down here?" I stopped playing and stood up. Zac had already moved from the bench.
"Ya!" He said as Isaac and Taylor rounded the stairs. Isaac was holding onto Taylor's shoulders, guiding him down the stairs, and over to the couch where Zac had been sitting. Taylor sat down, blood streaming from his nose and running down his face and chest.
"Jesus! What happened?" Zac almost yelled.
"Some stoned moron was too excited while he was dancing and slugged him." Ike explained, putting his hands on his hips and evaluating Taylor. Taylor was leaning his head backwards, pinching his nose.
"No, no, no!" I said, coming out from behind the piano and walking over towards him. Taylor and Ike both noticed for the first time that I was in the room. I grabbed a tissue from the table next to the couch and brought it over to him.
"This is Lori." Zac introduced me to his brothers.
"If you tilt your head back the blood will run back into your sinuses and dry there." I explained. I squatted down in front of him and pinched his nose for him. "Tilt your face towards me." I said. He was staring at me, silently, just looking at me. I looked up and met his glance. His blue eyes had been staring at me, watching my face. I smiled out of nervousness and blushed slightly. I looked down at my boots, the butterflies in my stomach over powered me, and I had to move away from his eyes. I could feel him still looking at me. I could feel Isaac and Zac staring at me. I was pulling a Hanson hat trick.
"Nice Cross." Taylor said to me in his nasal voice. I looked back up and smiled.
"Thanks." I said, looking back into his eyes.
"Spark, spark." I heard Zac mutter to Ike under his breath, and they both tried to cover laughter. Taylor's eyes narrowed and shot over my shoulder at them, then back to me. I wiped his nose, and dabbed it.
"There you go." I said, standing up. The blood on his face and neck were starting to dry, he still looked good to me though. I felt like I was falling down real fast. I walked over to a trash can in the corner and threw the tissue away. I could still feel all their eyes on me. I turned back around and found Taylor standing now, and Ike and Zac leaning identically against the piano with their heads turned towards me.
All three turned their heads quickly, Taylor looking down at the ground and shoving his hands in his pockets. Isaac cleared his throat as he turned away. I giggled and looked down, starting to blush again.
"Taylor," I started, he looked up at me, "Take off your shirt." All three looked at me again, only this time puzzled. Taylor looked the most confused of all.
"Do you want the blood out or not? I know a trick." I said, holding my hand out. He looked strangely at me for a moment, then reached down, grabbing his shirt and lifting it up over his head. It was my turn to stare now. He had much more muscle mass than I ever thought he would, exposing built up pecs and arms, not to mention a fabulous stomach. I swallowed and quickly turned my gape into a closed mouth grin as I took his shirt. I laid it out on the piano and grabbed my bottle of beer. I poured a few drops onto
the main part of the stain and started to rub it.
"How did you know about that?" Taylor asked, coming up behind me. I smiled and glanced over at him.
"I've had to deal with a lot of blood on clothing." I explained. He looked embarrassed and started to blush slightly.
"Oh." He sounded like he regretted asking, like he was kicking himself for asking a stupid question.
"No, no. I have two little brothers!" I said, relieving him of his embarrassment.
"Oh!" He sounded much better this time.
"Well, that too. but, I mean. you know what little boys are like." I stuttered as stupid fell out of my mouth. "I'm just gonna stop there." I giggled, starting to kick myself for answering stupid. We both laughed out of nervousness. Ike was standing watching me from Taylor's other side and Zac was on my left, watching over my shoulder.
"Definitely sparks." Zac teased us. I snorted as my ears turned bright red. I felt Taylor hit Zac's arm behind me.
"Now you know what Zac is really like." Isaac explained to me in a comedic tone. "He lives to humiliate us." I looked up at Isaac, catching him straight in the eye. I liked to look people in the eye, it made them completely honest. He had more hazel brown eyes than Zac did.
"I believe it." I said, looking down at the shirt. I realized that Taylor had put his bare arm up against mine after he brought it back from hitting his little brother. I continued to stare at the shirt, then spit on it. I noticed Zac looking at me with a very puzzled expression on his face.
I spat again, knowing I would never be able to cover the entire stain. I held the shirt towards Zac.
"Spit." I commanded, "No luggies." I warned him. He continued to look at me under his perplexed eyebrows as he spat on the shirt.
"See? The stain is already lifting." I explained, showing it to Taylor and Isaac as well. "You'll still have to bleach it when you get home, but now there's a better chance of getting it out." I looked over at Taylor's face, still stained with his dried blood.
"Um." I pointed at his chin and neck, "Water will work just fine for that. Do you want me to run up to the bathroom for you?" I asked. I wanted to get out of the basement and away from the three of them for a minute, so I could let the shock set in. I wasn't a screamy-teeny, and I really did like them for their music, but I had been fantasizing about meeting them since I was eleven.
"Sure." Taylor smiled. I nodded and ran up the basement stairs quickly.
"She's just. amazing." I heard Taylor mutter as I came back down the stairs holding a damp paper towel.
"She's fifteen." Zac informed Isaac and Taylor.
"She's got amazing eyes." I heard Isaac add in a matter-of-fact tone. I started to blush, but stopped on the stairs to hear what they were saying about me.
"Oh my God." Taylor trailed off. "I've never seen anyone that beautiful before. It feels like I know her, even though I don't." He trailed off again and I continued down the stairs, I didn't want to eavesdrop. I started singing softly to myself, but loudly enough for them to hear me. I turned the corner and saw all three of them staring at me again. Isaac was sitting on the piano bench, and I sat down next to him. I started playing the top part of 'Heart and Soul', the only duet I know. He joined in and we both
laughed slightly as we played.
"Zac said you play the piano fantastically well." Isaac said, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he was looking at my profile.
"I wish. Moderately well. that sounds better." I said. Taylor walked back to the piano, leaning against it. He had finished cleaning his face and looked his normal, exceptional beauty.
"What happened to your shirt?" He asked. I remembered the drunk in the hall spilling punch on me on my way back.
"Oh, some idiot." I trailed off.
"Wanna do the spit and beer thing?" Zac asked eagerly, I looked up at him, with my head still lowered as I smirked.
"No thank you, I'll wait till I get home." I said.
"Where's that?" Ike asked, his top hand bumping into mine on the keyboard.
"Just on the other side of Lakeview." I informed. "We just moved from Arizona."
"Nice." Taylor said smiling. He caught himself and reduced it to a grin. "Do you like Oklahoma?" He said, starting to get that flirting tone to his voice that both his brothers already had.
"What I've seen so far." I blatantly flirted back, looking up into his eyes. He swallowed hard, but held my glance. I felt like I was melting, right then and there. I was going to turn into a stain of melted butter on Isaac's jeans, and that's all the Hanson three would have to remember me.
"Are you a songwriter?" Isaac asked, trying to break the stare between Tay and I. I nodded.
"Oh ya. As long as I can remember. I composed first at four and wrote lyrics first at five." I explained, not meaning to show off.
Zac snorted, "Prodigy child." I giggled out of shyness, just playing mindless nothing on the piano; Isaac had stopped playing already.
"Nah. not me. Jack of all trades, master of none." I joked; unfortunately, it was more true than comical.
"What school are you going to?" Taylor asked now, his turn for conversation.
"Actually, my brothers are being home schooled. I'm already done. I'll probably be teaching some of the other kids in the ring until I start my classes at U of T."
Zac snorted again, "Prodigy child." I laughed out loud this time.
"No! I'm not really! I promise! I just, ...I pulled out of normal High School in January for the same reason I skipped second grade! I was just moving faster than everyone else. and now I sound so egotistical!" I groaned playfully and slammed my head down on the keyboard sending a high, dissonant sound into the air. I heard the three of them laughing.
"Do you know what home school circle you're in?" Taylor continued with his questions.
"No, but my mom was supposed to get the list faxed over tonight." I said, looking back up and right back into Taylor's eyes. He was so captivating.
"Mom had to fax some info tonight." Isaac trailed off. I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.
"Lori?" I heard Mena's voice as she descended the stairs. I jumped upand almost ran over to meet her before she got all the way down and saw the three guys at the piano.
"Hey, you ready to go?" She asked strangely. I raised an eyebrow as she staggered to me and fell into my arms as she tripped on the stairs. She was laughing madly at herself, and looked up and saw the three men standing by the piano.
"Holy Shit!" She yelled. I giggled awkwardly and helped her regain her balance. She looked up at me with her drunken eyes. "That's Hanson!" She whispered to me. I heard Zac snort and laugh again.
"Yes, I know." I said, trying not to laugh at her. She continued to look at me.
"I'm drunk." She stated, Zac continuing to laugh. "Sorry."
"It's all right." I assured her. She stood up and pulled her car keys out of her pocket and handed them to me.
"I'm gonna go fall asleep in my car. Drive me home when you're done." She said, turning and pulling herself up the stairs. I turned back to look at the three of them. They were all smiling broadly at me, and burst into laughter in unison.
"That was Mena." I tried to offer an explanation. "The only friend I have in Tulsa." I laughed and moved back towards the piano.
"You have us." Zac sang sweetly. I smiled, but didn't blush this time.
"Than could you guys help me get her home? She lives up in Sperry." I said grimacing. It was too far for me to walk and I didn't know Tulsa very well.
"Sure." Ike assured as he slid off the end of the bench and stood up, leaning on the piano and putting his other hand on his hip.
"Play something for us!" He asked playfully. I sighed heavily and looked down at the black and white keys, then back up at my new friends.
"You asked for it." I groaned and started to play a different song than the one Zac had heard me play. It was a little faster, and required more vocal agility. I wanted to show off for them, they were professionals in the area I wanted to make a career in, and they could give me good advice.
"I will knock you on your knees, when I stand before you," I started to sing. Taylor looked positively white. I looked back down at the keys. I didn't want to get distracted and mess up; I wanted to show how professional I could be.
I played on, trying not to think about the fact that I was playing for the band I respected the most in the entire world. I just played
passionately and rhythmically and felt the words and music, letting it creep up my fingers and my arms, and throughout my whole body. I sang loudly, but not aggressively, I strained my voice methodically to emphasize certain words and feelings, then moved on.
"When I stand before you." I trailed off on the last line. I had my eyes closed as I sang, the calm rush starting to seep out through my feet. I opened my eyes and was met immediately by Taylor's intense blue eyes. I just stared at him for a moment, not really noticing that Zac and Isaac were still silent.
"Uh. wow." Ike finally muttered. I laughed nervously, wondering if he really felt that way. I looked over at him and smiled, then quickly over to Zac and back to Taylor. He had put on Isaac's button down shirt with Mena stumbled in and left Ike in his white undershirt.
I did blush this time, and looked down at my hands, turning them over as I evaluated the palms and long chubby fingers that my hands held.
"I should get Mena home soon." I said, looking up at Isaac. He nodded and patted the piano. I looked back over again at Tay, who was still studying my face, and met my glance again. I felt so overwhelmed by him, by his eyes.
I drove Mena home, driving her black sports car smoothly along the freeway. I was a pretty good driver, the absolute opposite of a speed demon. I had taken Taylor with me, he sat in the back seat, making small talk, mostly about music, as he directed me towards the streets that would lead me to the freeway, letting me get to know my way around town. Ike and Zac followed behind us in Isaac's green bug.
When we finally reached Mena's house, on the other side of town, Taylor helped me get her out of her car, and wake her up enough to get her into herhouse. She turned and looked at me groggily, then over to Taylor, and back at me.
"Shit, Lori. Call me when I'm sober." She joked as she stumbled intoher house and shut the front door. I turned and smiled at Taylor, laughing slightly. I looked back at the car and saw Isaac climbing into the back seat, Zac already there. I walked towards the passenger's side.
"Taylor's driving!" Zac shouted happily.
"Great, scare her off!" Taylor sighed as he slid into the tiny car. He closed his door and I closed mine almost in unison. I looked down at my watch. It was already midnight, and I reached into my purse quickly.
"Crap." I muttered, taking my pill bottle from my bag and taking the lid off, sliding a pill into my hand.
"What's that?" Zac asked curiously.
"My insulin fixer." I said, popping it into my mouth. Taylor glanced over quickly as he turned the corner.
"Are you diabetic?" I shook my head, putting the bottle back into my purse.
"No. Total opposite. I make too much insulin. It sucks, destroyed my immune system, almost killed my ovaries and blew me up to the 'Get Met' blimp." I explained quickly, not wanting to dwell on my health problems for the ride to my house.
"You're not fat." Isaac reassured me.
"Hell no." Taylor added quickly.
"Oh, not now. but I used to be. Junior High was hell. I finally lost all the weight this year. I haven't even been on the medication a year and I 've lost almost a hundred pounds." I explained, proud of myself.
"Wow. That's cool!" Zac cheered me on in his own way.
"My brothers have it too. So does my dad. I hope to God my kids don't get it." I said, looking at Taylor out of the corner of my eye, then out the window.
"Well, hopefully Taylor's genes will be more predominant." Zac teased us. I looked nervously over at Taylor. At his long, defined arms, his beautiful hands with long elegant fingers, his almost perfect wrists, and then up at his face. He was smiling and shaking his head.
"He just never quits." Taylor sighed, starting to take it more playfully.
"I know. I have two of him at home, only they're eleven and eight." I joked back.
"How fun." Isaac laughed.
"Nah. I don't want to think about marriage and kids right now," I started, "Maybe the first kiss before any of that." I mentioned
non-chalantly, not really thinking about it. Taylor looked over at me a few times, glancing back at the road.
"You've never been kissed?" He asked in disbelief, looking at me in shock, glancing between my eyes and my mouth.
"Nope." I answered quickly.
"No Way!" Zac almost shouted behind me. "Dude, gimme your hand." He said. I reached my left hand up behind me. I felt Zac write on my hand with a pen. Taylor glanced over at my chest, trying not to look, but slightly swerving into the shoulder of the freeway.
"Don't run off the road Taylor, they'll still be there when the car stops." I said blatantly. I had been used to guys looking at my breasts and nothing else. Taylor had actually looked at my eyes and face more than my chest, and it seemed like he was finally noticing them for the first time. They were even considerably smaller than they used to be.
"Sorry." He blushed. He was brighter than I usually was, redder in the cheeks and on his ears. His hands and arms were actually blushing too. We finally reached the exit for my house.
"It's not your fault, you have a Y chromosome." I said, shrugging my shoulders as Zac laughed.
"Lori, you have the softest hands!" Zac said again, he had just stopped writing, but was still holding onto my hand, rubbing it with his thumb. Isaac reached over and felt my hand, rubbing his fingers on my fingertips.
"You play guitar, don't you." He stated, more than asked.
"Jack of all trades." I answered. He continued to rub my fingers and the back of my hand.
"Man, you do have soft hands." He said exasperated.
"May I please have my hand back!?" I almost laughed; Taylor did. I took my left hand back and looked down at what Zac had written. It was two phone numbers and a sentence that sprawled over fromthe back of my hand and onto my palm: This is Taylor's, he's too chicken to do it, so I will. I giggled slightly as I looked over the numbers.
"Let me see." Taylor said, holding his right hand out for mine. I gave him my hand and smiled as he rubbed the bottom of my fingers with his, and then moved his hand in a wave like motion, feeling my palm.
"You do have soft hands!" He announced.
"Alert the media." I moaned playfully. Taylor intertwined his fingers with mine and set his hand down in the center of the seat, holding it.
"Is the other one soft too?" Zac asked. I sighed, and moved my right hand behind me. He grabbed it as Isaac and I chuckled. He started writing on it again. When he finished I took my hand back, reading what Zac had written on it this time: He is so TOTALLY into you.
"No, really Zac?" I laughed.
"I don't get the feeling that you mind very much." He teased. I turned and looked back at him. He had an eyebrow raised and a playful expression on his face.
"Not at all." I smiled and turned back to the road, giving Taylor instructions on where to turn. He held on to my hand until we pulled into my driveway. He parked the car, but left the engine running. I opened the door and stepped out awkwardly, trying to get my long legs out of the car. I don't know how Taylor got out and around to my side so quickly.
He took my hand and helped me stand before he shut my door. He walked me up the middle of the yard, on our brick pathway to the front door.
"We're having a pool party tomorrow. kind of a goodbye to summer thing. Do you think you can come?" He asked as we walked up the bricks and stepped onto the porch. I nodded.
"Sure, can I bring along the folks?" I asked.
"The more the merrier!" He smiled, happy that I could come over to his house. I realized I would have to dig through many boxes to find my swimsuit.
"You have a great smile." I blurted out. I wanted to compliment him in some way, and it was the only way I could think to at the moment.
"So do you." He said, leaning in slightly close to my face. I felt my stomach twist again, and I was looking into his eyes, but glanced down at his mouth, already knowing the shape. His lips were moist and perfectly shaped, and I thought about kissing him, and I think he thought the same.
"You're pretty tall. There aren't very many girls close to my height." The stupidity fell out of his mouth.
"There aren't very many guys taller than me." I said, returning the favor as we both stammered like idiots.
"You're what, six even?" He asked.
"Almost. still technically in the five foot something range." I sighed gratefully. And he was actually quite taller than I was; probably by about four inches. He and Zac both towered over me.
He nodded, and we both stood there for a few moments in awkward silence. I finally stuck my hand out for him to shake. I heard Zac laugh from the car. I smiled slightly and Taylor bent down and kissed me on the cheek.
I couldn't find my bikini anywhere, and I had to go buy a new one in the morning. My little brothers were ecstatic to get to go to Hanson's house. They were both fans, and my mom asked me to tell her the story for the fourth time as we were out shopping.
I ended up buying a blue bikini. I wasn't too happy about the low cut bottom and the strings on the tops, but it was the only suit in my size, and it was on sale. I ended up wearing a loose thermal over it, with jean shorts and sandals. I'm sure I was a sight to see for Diana when she opened the door.
She stood there, with her long hair down, almost to her knees, in a black bathing suit. I was wearing my purple sunglasses, and my hair was down, to the middle of my back. She smiled at me, which was a good sign, I was relieved. I was holding a large bowl in front of me.
"You must be Lori." She said sweetly. "I've been hearing nothing but, all morning." She said, stepping aside and allowing my family and I come into her home.
"Guilty." I murmured.
"The boys say you're quite a good musician." She continued, shutting the door behind us and turning to face my parents and me.
"Guilty. I guess." I giggled. Diana smiled and looked at my parents. I turned, "This is my Dad, Tony," both my father and Diana muttered warm salutations and shook hands, "And this is my Mom, Cathy." Again the same motion. Diana looked strangely at my father.
"Where did you guys move from?" She asked, looking my father over, trying to place him.
"Arizona." She thought for another moment and smiled. She pointed her finger playfully at my dad and my little brothers.
"I took you back stage last August." She continued to smile slyly. My dad nodded and smiled back, starting to engage in conversation. I felt a big wet hand on my shoulder. I turned my head quickly and saw Zac.
"Hey." He smiled, looking at the bowl. "What's that?" He asked. I looked down.
"A peace offering." I joked, "Fruit salad." He nodded.
"Cool." He said, motioning for me to follow him into the kitchen. I walked, carrying the large bowl with me, watching two blond children run around the pool outside. I set the large bowl down on the counter, and Zac took the lid off, sticking his hand in and pulling out a strawberry.
Zac wasn't exactly bad to look at. He had very broad shoulders, and nice legs. He was almost tan, but not quite. He had buffed up A LOT since the little blond boy I remembered seeing on TV years ago. I heard voices floating in from the dining room, and the smell of hot dogs and potato chips seemed to come with it.
"I really wanted to kiss her last night." I heard Taylor say. I turned and smiled at Zac, who was smiling back at me.
"He hasn't been talking about anything else." Zac moaned, still smiling broadly at me. "But that Spit and beer thing really worked." He joked, pulling a banana slice from the bowl. I smiled and turned my head back towards the dining room.
"You should have." I heard Isaac shove a chip or something else crunchy into his mouth.
"Ya, but I barely know her, I just. I don't know." Taylor finally gave up trying to explain it. I was blushing. This was the first time I knew that someone really liked me a lot.
"I would have kissed her if I were standing on the porch with her, man. She has one of those really pretty mouths. Nice lips." Isaac said again. I started to giggle under my breath.
"Ya, I know. I can't believe she's never been kissed. She kinda gives off a really experienced vibe, like she knows things, y'know." Taylor sighed, "But she still stays innocent looking. Damn, that's sexy." I covered my face with my hands and I heard Zac sucking juice off his fingers.
"I'd teach her how to kiss. Were you watching her mouth while she sang? It was like, seductive, and sexy, and just. wow." I started to laugh outloud now, and Zac grabbed my hand with his pruny wet fingers and dragged me towards the dining room. I was slightly dragging my feet, trying to get rid of the blush still on my cheeks.
"Her mouth is hypnotizing. So are her smile and her eyes. And y'know. it's mostly the way she uses her personality to use them." Taylor explained, analyzing the way he felt for me. I could see him, shirtless and wet, sitting on a chair at the head of the dining table.
"Lori's here!" Zac announced loudly, just as Taylor was finishing his last sentence. I looked over at Taylor, smiling, knowing I could 'hypnotize' him if I wanted to. He looked back up, looking like he had never seen me before, like he was looking at me all new again. It made me fell special and beautiful, and I loved the butterflies that were flying around my stomach. I walked around the table loaded with hot dogs and hamburgers and potato chips. I wondered over to the side of the table were Isaac was standing. He
had one leg propped up on the chair next to me. I was sitting next to Taylor, and Zac sat opposite me.
I decided it was still to hot for thermals and took my shirt off. I had my bikini on underneath, and I knew they could see it through the beige thermal, but they all stared at me.
"They're just boobs!" I said, flinging my shirt down on the table. "This is not something new!" I joked playfully. Zac looked perplexed at my cleavage, a reaction I wasn't used to.
"What's that?" He asked, leaning across the table and pointing at the bottom of my breast.
"Breeeaaaast." Isaac said slowly, and Zac threw a few potato chips at him.
"Scar." I said, grabbing a carrot stick from the veggie plate. Now I had confused all three of them. I held my carrot in the center of my hand and motioned with my fingers in front of me.
"I have 'T' shaped scars on both, and small circles around each nipple." I explained, tracing my scars in the air. They still looked confused. I sighed and dropped my shoulders. "I had a breast reduction a few months ago." Taylor and Isaac nodded in understanding and Zac's eyes almost popped out of his head.
"You mean they were bigger?" He looked genuinely surprised. I groaned and covered my face with my hands and shook my head while doing so. Ike chuckled slightly and Taylor looked mortified.
"Yes. too big." I answered, eating the rest of my carrot.
"Is that actually possible?" Taylor joked, almost like he was mocking Zac.
"Yes!" I laughed, "Especially for whoever has to carry them around." I snorted. "You hang two watermelons around your neck and try to function normally."
"I like watermelon!" Zac raised his eyebrows playfully as he shoved a cucumber slice into his mouth. I just smiled and shook my head, glancing over at Taylor, who was also smiling.
The pool party was great, I climbed up and jumped off the roof before my parents could stop me, so I got away with it. I also did a barrage of flips off the diving board into the pool. Later, we had a chicken fight. I got on Zac's shoulders, and Jessica climbed up onto Taylor's. Zac and I won, three times in a row.
"Switch!" Zac shouted, throwing me off his shoulders. I resurfaced and swam towards Taylor, flashing a playful smile at him. Jessica looked over at Zac curiously, but he was too busy watching Taylor and I. I climbed up on his shoulders and held on to his hands for a while. The first fight I let Jess win. I didn't want her to feel bad, and I wanted to hold on to Taylor's shoulders again. I climbed back up, and hadn't even gotten completely up when Jess and Zac knocked me back off. I came back above water.
"You win!" I said, surrendering to Zac. I grabbed Taylor's shoulders again, and started moving my thumbs in a circular motion. Taylor's neck relaxed and his head flopped back.
He groaned. "Oh man, can I keep you?" He joked as I massaged his neck and the rest of his shoulders, moving down to his arms and biceps. He moaned this time.
"None of that in the pool, kids!" Isaac shouted. I laughed, and so did everyone else. I looked over at Isaac, smiling.
"You know you want it too!" I teased him. He smiled and jumped up, running over to the pool and jumped in, splashing Taylor and I. Zac swam over in front of Tay.
"Dude, the look on your face right now is totally wrong." He joked. I peeked around at Taylor. He was groaning softly and had his eyes rolledback. I laughed and stopped rubbing his shoulders, turning to Ike.
"Don't stop!" Taylor whimpered. I put my hand on Isaac's tan shoulders, giving him the same massage Taylor had just got. Ike's head flopped back and he started 'oohing' and groaning as well. Zac and Taylor laughed at him as I smiled.
"Dude, you are coming on tour with us." Isaac mentioned. I laughed slightly, moving to his upper arms. He groaned again and chuckled, "I could really use this after a concert. Oh, man." I moved back up to his shoulders and stopped.
"I have to get to Zac before my hands start to hurt." I said, giving an excuse for stopping as Isaac started to whimper as well. I tried to run to Zac through the water. I started to do the same to Zac. Isaac and Taylor started to laugh at the noises and faces Zac was making.
"You don't get your daughter back!" Taylor joked, shouting over towardsthe table where our parents were sitting. They all laughed and resumed their conversation. I finished up on Zac as quickly as I could; my hands were beginning to cramp.
Zac and I both whimpered as I stopped. I held my hands up out of the water and made my lower lip tremble. Taylor smiled and grabbed my left hand, using both of his thumbs to massage the top and bottom of the area of my hand that was sore. He moved quickly, not pushing hard enough to hurt that tender part of my hand, and switched to my right hand. I was smiling, the pain relieved from my hands, and he had been nice to me. I was so happy that he wasn't this horrible rock star whose fame had gone to his head. He was a home grown, southern gentlemen. I was completely impressed.
We got out of the pool shortly there after, we were all getting shriveled up and sun burnt. So we climbed out and wrapped beach towels around our shoulders, sitting near the table that our parents were at. Taylor and I shared a beach chair, I sat towards the front of it, and Taylor at behind me, with his legs wrapped around in front of me and his arms around my shoulders. We sat there together, mostly listening to theconversations, sometimes throwing in a word or two, but mostly just sitting there.
Zac kept throwing glances over our way; Mac was sitting on his lap,watching us too. He would look at us, and Zac would whisper something in hisear, and Mac's little face would scrunch up in disgust and disbelief. It was cute the way that Zac handled his younger siblings. I imagine that he'll be a good father someday. I wondered if Taylor was the same. I figured thatgrowing up in a large family, he had just naturally been good with children.
I looked down at my palm, starting to scold myself for thinking about starting a family with someone I barely even knew. He hadn't even kissed meyet. I tilted my head slightly, and Taylor tightened his grip around me, embracing me in a more hug like manner and resting his chin on my shoulder. I put my left hand on his hands, and looked back down at my right. The ink
Zac had used the night before had not completely faded, and I could still see what he had written. I smiled to myself, feeling Taylor's cheek against mine and his breath on my cheek.
"Totally." He whispered into my ear.
I finally put my shorts on, and tied my thermal around my waist after my bikini finally dried. I slipped my sandals back on and helped Diana and Avery clean up the kitchen.
"You like Taylor, don't you?" Avery asked. I smiled at her; she was going to be short like her mother, where as Jess was going to be tall, like her brothers.
"Ya." I said, scraping potato salad from a plate into the trash can. "Don't you?" I asked.
"Not the way you do." She snorted. She sounded and looked a lot like Zac. I smiled.
"That would be kind of gross if you did." I reassured her, smiling as I carried the plate to the sink to rinse it off. I noticed Diana was standing off more to the side, watching us, watching me, rather than helping out. I didn't mind. I was the new girl and she didn't know me yet. I started to load the plates and silverware into the dishwasher.
"So are you going to be in school with us?" Avery asked, handing me a stack of plates she had scraped off.
"Kind of," I started, "There are a few things I need to finish, and some tests I need to take, but I'll mostly be helping to teach you guys."
"You're going to tutor me in math, right?" She asked hopefully, a smile starting to crawl onto her face.
"Yep. What is bothering you about Algebra?" I asked her. She was extremely bright for her age, especially for in the math department.
"Graphing. There's just something that's bothering me, cause I can't get it." I nodded my head as she explained to me.
"I had a hard time with graphing too, but I found a really easy way to remember it. I can show you after we're done if you like." She scrunched up her nose and shook her head.
"It's Saturday. no school!" I laughed and looked down at the pots I was scrubbing as she started to load the dishwasher.
"I totally agree." I said. I started humming to myself absentmindedly. I found myself doing that a lot. Avery stopped and looked up at me.
"You sound like my Mom when you sing." She said, looking up at me blankly, smiling slightly.
"Thank you." I said, finishing the pot I was working on. She was still staring up at me with her big brown eyes.
"You're standing in front of the dish soap." She said, the same blank expression on her face. I giggled slightly, still scrubbing a pan. I jumped back, keeping my soapy hands in the sink, making a bridge with my body, letting her get to the cupboard under the sink. She squirted some of the yellow soap into the dishwasher, then twisted the cap back on quickly and almost tossed it back inside. I jumped back, starting to wash the pot again.
"There she was -" I started singing.
"Just a walkin' down the street -" Avery joined in with me, singing in the same key I was in. She danced with me, swinging her butt and her blond hair behind her. We sang together, and bumped our hips together in rhythm. She used her foot to kick the door of the dishwasher up and then bumped it shut with her hips as she raised her hands above her head. I held my hand out and took hers, spinning her around.
We finished the song and stopped singing in a mad giggle fit. She stopped and looked up at me.
"I like you, you don't treat me like a little kid." She said. She was just like Zac, what you see is what you get, and she'll tell you anything that needs to be said.
"You're not a little kid." I said, keeping up my scrubbing on a different frying pan. She nodded her head.
"You're cool. You can be Taylor's girlfriend if you want to be." She said, walking towards her mother to the living room. As she passed her mother she gave her a small high five. I smiled out the window, watching Zac and Isaac have a water gun fight with my little brothers. Diana came up behind me, and rubbed my back.
"Thanks for all your help." She said. "And the fruit salad." She added with a smile. She looked out the window at her sons. I swear I could hear someone in the kitchen with us, but I didn't want to turn around and look.
"You're very welcome. It's the least I could do. Your sons are such gentlemen. They got me home last night." Diana nodded, drying the three cooking dishes I had already cleaned.
"So what do you want to do, career wise." She asked. I continued to look down at the pot.
"Well, I want a career in music. I would love to be a performer, but if that doesn't work out, and the chances are slim, I just want to do something with it. Be a back up singer or musician, or a studio musician. Maybe even a music teacher. Something to do with the music." I said, rinsing off the frying pan I was using.
"What about kids?"
"I love em, but I'm not ready for them yet. I want a lot when I finally get around to it, especially if my body can handle it." I sighed. I knew she was questioning me because she knew that Taylor wanted to date me. I didn't mind though. I can totally understand where she's coming from. If I had a famous son, I would definitely be weary.
"Good."
"Right now I want nine." I laughed, "I figure I'll change my mind after the first." Diana laughed and patted my back. She picked up another pot I had cleaned and dried it off.
"You do realize you're doing dishes that aren't from today." She leaned over, whispering in my ear. I chuckled.
"That's fine, I'm on a roll." I giggled. I liked her a lot. In fact, I liked Taylor's entire family a lot, and I'm pretty sure he liked mine. I
smiled, and Diana dried her hands, putting the dishes away. I finished, flinging the soap bubbles off my hands and rinsing them under the faucet. I turned and saw Taylor, still in his trunks, holding a towel out for me.
"Thanks." I said, drying my hands and kissing him quickly on the cheek. His father was just walking into the kitchen, and I didn't think it was appropriate to have my first kiss in front of his dad. Taylor followed me with his eyes as I folded the towel and put it over the handle of the oven.
"I wanna show you something." Taylor said grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the staircase. We climbed the stairs and went into his brothers room. It was a large bedroom, with three beds against the far wall and a small living room area by the door. There was a couch there, and a TV and VCR, with a small bookcase filled with movies, CDs, video games and a few
books.
"Our room." He said, throwing his hands into the air. "I figured you'd see it eventually anyway -" He cut himself off. "That sounded bad. What I mean is -"
"I knew what you meant." I said, walking in and looking around. I sat down on the couch. And propped my arm up on the back of the couch, watching Taylor walk into the room.
"That lovely aroma is our socks and underwear." He laughed, "The curse of three teenage boys in the same room." He joked, sitting down on the couch next to me, facing me. He seemed really nervous and I felt bad for him. I touched his arm, and looked him in the eye.
"I really like you, and I don't want Zac's teasing to push this too fast." I said. He nodded in agreement, seeming to give a sigh of relief.
"Good. I like you too. I like you a lot. I've never really felt this way about anybody. I feel like I already know you." He said, starting to settle down and relax. I was glad he could be himself around me.
"Me too!" I said, "But y'know. we don't, so why don't we get to know each other?" I smiled, moving my hand back up and resting my head on it. "What's your favorite movie?" I asked, smiling.
"Ya, start with a hard one." He blew hair off his forehead. We started to talk. Before we knew it, it was already ten thirty. Isaac came into the room, still somewhat damp and still in only his trunks.
"Hey, your family left an hour ago. The collective parental unit said you could stay the night if you wanted to." I raised my eyebrows.
"Wow." I said. I had just spent the last three and a half hours probing Taylor's brain, finding out strange little things about him and engaging in long, deep conversations about God and religion and morals and politics. It was amazing to talk to him. His voice was soothing and incredible; it kept you hanging on every word, but at the same time made you feel completely comfortable. He talked with his hands and his face. He used almost his entire body, and he was awesome to watch. I really enjoyed talking to him,
and we were quickly becoming friends. I found out that they were going back on tour in a few days. Taylor was still considering kidnapping me and taking me along for my back rubs alone.
"Sleep over!" Taylor yelled excitedly, like a small child, clapping his hands, trying to make himself look like a dork. I watched him with a confused expression on my face, and then we both burst out laughing.
"They figured nothing would happen bad with all three of us boys in here." Isaac explained as he pulled a fresh pair of boxers from the dresser.
"The more the kinkier." I joked. I saw Zac jump into the doorway with a curious expression on his face. We all laughed and had a good time that night. I felt like I had been accepted as one of them.
We turned the couch around, so it was facing the three beds instead of the television set. Isaac and Taylor were sitting on their beds, watching me play with Zac's hair.
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this." Zac groaned.
"Stop complaining. It's good for your hair if you sleep in it." I said, finishing the second pigtail I had french braided into his hair. Taylor reached over to the table by his desk and grabbed a camera sitting there. Zac hadn't noticed that Taylor was setting up the shot.
"Zac!" Taylor yelled. He looked up just as Taylor flashed the picture.
"You are so dead, little man." Zac said. I tied the second pigtail and grabbed the other one. I started whipping them in my hands.
"Look!" I cried, "Handles!" Zac rolled his eyes off to one side. He shook his head.
"Y'know, Lori. only because you're hot." He said sarcastically and flatly.
"Oh! Don't say that Zac! You know you love me!" I teased, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He shrugged me off and stood up, stretching and walking towards his bed. He stopped by the bathroom door, peering in at himself in the mirror. I giggled.
"Can I paint your toenails Isaac?" I asked sweetly, thinking of other ways to comically pick on them. He was lying down in bed now, trying to fall asleep.
"Only if you give Tay a full facial." He gripped. I smiled maliciously and looked at Taylor. He shook his head back and forth.
"No." We both continued to smile at each other. He jumped off his bed and raced towards me, now in his clean red plaid boxers. I had taken my jean shorts off and was only in my thermal and bikini. He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch.
"I'm hungry." He said, almost running down the stairs and into the kitchen. I smiled and laughed quietly as I ran with him. We stopped, not bothering to turn on any of the lights, we could see just fine with the moonlight from outside. We stopped in the kitchen, walking slowly now, so that our huge bare feet wouldn't slap against the floor.
We giggled like small children as we pulled things from the refrigerator. We pulled out the rest of my fruit salad, and what was left over from the veggie tray. The peanut butter was pulled down from a cupboard, along with a package of Oreo cookies. We also grabbed a bottle of the spraying whipped cream. I sat on the counter, and Taylor stood in front of me as we investigated our loot.
After a lively discussion about the culture in the sixties, I took the peanut butter, with a little on my finger and smeared it sloppily on his lips, tracing their shape. He was looking at my eyes, waiting for me to finish painting on his mouth.
"See, this is most lipstick shades in the nineties." I teased. He blotted his new lipstick and licked half of it off.
"Too sticky." He criticized. I grabbed a celery stick and ran it across his lower lip, scrapping some of the peanut butter off. He stared into my eyes again as I chewed.
"What?" I asked.
"You." He trailed off, shaking his head as he licked the rest of the peanut butter from his mouth, then used his hands to wipe off the rest. He reached down and grabbed a large strawberry from the fruit salad with his fingers.
"See, this is the good stuff." He said, tracing my small heart-shaped mouth with the edge that had been cut off the strawberry. I suddenly got the butterflies in my stomach, and realized, that I had been doing that to him all day.
Taylor moved his hand down, and leaned in towards me. I caught a glimpse of his moonlit blue eyes as he moved his face closer to mine, and I leaned in to him. Our lips touched briefly, and then again, and again, in slow, warm kisses. I was surprised at how kissing felt. I hadn't expected it to be amazing and magical, making my stomach fly off and my body turn to mush, but it did, and it felt wonderful.
I opened my lips slightly, and kissed him in that repetitive, soothing way. I dropped my celery into the sink, and moved my hand to his chest, running it up over his shoulder and settled at the base of his long neck. His hair brushed in my face, and his hand came up to hold my cheek as we continued to kiss each other.
I felt the tip of his tongue brush against my upper lip, and I didn't know how to respond. I figured I would let him do everything, and I would follow his lead. I moved my tongue slowly out of my mouth, a little unsure of myself, until it touched his and they danced. The kiss started to wind down, and I slid my hand back over his shoulder and rested it right beneath his collarbone. Taylor kissed me gently and warmly again, moving his hand back into my hair. I kissed him back, moving my mouth down just slightly.
The kiss was almost ended, and I kissed him again, softly on the bottom lip, then sucked gently on it for a split second. We finally stopped, resting our foreheads against each other's. I looked up into his eyes, and we were both smiling.
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