<i>for a moment
your eyes open
and you know
all the things i ever wanted you to
know
i don�t know you
and i don�t want to
till the moment your eyes open
and you know</i>
�I don�t
know why you like this ride,� Michael said.
�Because
it�s the most fun ride in history,� Taegan said.� �The inventor of the Teacups was a <i>genius</i>.�
�What
other ride can you have races with other people to see who can spin faster?�
Adriana added.� �You two should
understand racing.�
�Why would
you want to do that?� Aaron asked.
�It�s <i>fun</i>, that�s why,� Adriana
said.
The girls�
final full day was nearing its end.� They
were sitting in the Teacups again.� There
were, once again, very few people in the park because it was getting late and
everyone was heading back to their hotels before the mad rush when the park
closed, so the operator said they should stay on for a bit.� �How about you and Aaron go in that one,�
Adriana pointed to a Teacup next to them, �and we�ll see who gets the dizziest
when we get off after this.� And then
we�ll know who are the Teacup Champions.�
The boys
looked at each other and rolled their eyes.�
�No problem,� Michael said.� �Ready to lose?� Michael asked.� �Do I get a gold medal for this one?� That would make seven.�
�Funny,�
Taegan replied.� �We�ll see who
wins.�� The guys got out and went over to
another Teacup.
�Hey, not
fair!� Aaron called when he saw that the girls had started spinning before the
ride had even started.
�It is too
fair!� All�s fair in Teacups!� Adriana yelled
back.
The ride
started, and the girls, who�d had a substantial head start and had been on so
many Teacup rides that they practically knew the physics of how to turn it for
the most spin, were going so fast everything else was a blur.� Laughing and yelling snide comments at the
boys, they were practically in their element.�
When the ride ended, the girls both staggered off the ride, holding onto
things to keep from falling over.
Michael
and Aaron were relatively steady on their feet.�
�You cheated,� Aaron pouted.
�There is
no cheating in Teacups.� You can start
spinning before the ride goes, and if you�re smart, you can figure out the best
direction to spin,� Adriana said, lacing her fingers with his.� Partly for balance.
�Can I
just tell you that if Doubles Teacups was an Olympic Sport, we�d be, like,
twelve time gold medalists,� Taegan said, linking her arm with Michael�s.
�Thank God
it�s not,� he replied.
She gave
him a dirty look.� �You�re just pissy cuz
you lost.� I am well practiced in the
sport of racing Teacups.� Every time we
go to an amusement park, we go on the Teacups and race some crazy boys or
something.� It�s quite fun.�
Michael
and Aaron rolled their eyes at each other over the girls� heads.
�I saw
that,� Taegan said, de-linking her arm from Michael�s and drifting a bit away
from him.
�Aww, come
on.� I think you�re adorable with your
weird Teacup obsession.�
She looked
at him and raised an eyebrow.� Michael
hung his head.� Laughing, she nudged him
with her hip.� He looked at her and
chuckled.� She gripped his arm and rested
her head on his shoulder as they walked out of the
�I don�t
want to go back,� Adriana said.� �I feel
like going back means we have to leave.�
�Even if
we were to hide in the park, you�d still have to leave tomorrow,� Aaron said
sadly.
�Shhhh,�
Adriana shushed him.� �I was hoping no
one would bring that to light.�
The ride
back to the girls� hotel was quiet until they got off the shuttle.
�It�s too
bad Durex didn�t sponsor this tour,� Taegan said quietly.� Adriana, Aaron, and Michael stopped walking
and looked at her.� �Oh God, did I say
that out loud?� Taegan asked.�
Michael
kissed her hair and chuckled.� �You
know,� he whispered, �I agree with you.��
Taegan grinned.
�I think
we�re going to go back to my room,� Michael said.� �Give you guys some privacy.�
�Give you
guys some privacy,� Aaron repeated, smirking.�
Michael laughed.
�We�ll see
you for breakfast, yeah?� Adriana asked.
�How about brunch?� Eleven sound good?�
Taegan replied.
They all
agreed and Michael and Taegan hopped on the next shuttle, leaving Aaron and
Adriana standing outside the girls� hotel.�
�Upstairs?� Adriana asked.� Aaron
nodded, and they slowly made their way upstairs.� �We should do something different,� Adriana
said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Aaron
raised an eyebrow.� �Like what?� he asked
warily.
�We can
have sex later,� Adriana said,
rolling her eyes.� Aaron laughed.� �We should order a movie and a pizza or
something.�
�You do
know it�s almost nine, right?�
Adriana
nodded.� �I know.� But we haven�t, like, sat around and just
cuddled or anything.� We�ve been having
sex all the time.� I�d like to just chill
out and watch a movie with my boyfriend on my last night here,� she said.
Aaron
conceded.� They picked Shrek, which was
playing on one of the movie channels, and relaxed on Adriana�s bed.
�Addy?�� Aaron asked about halfway into it.
�Yes?� she
replied, looking at him upside down from where she was sitting next to him, her
head resting on his chest.
�What are
we gonna do?� he asked.
�What are
you talking about?�� She shifted so she
was looking at him right side up.
�I mean
after tomorrow.� I�m going back to
�You live
in
�Yeah.�� He chuckled.�
�I thought you would have known that.�
�Nah, I
wasn�t <i>that</i>
obsessed with you.� But I live in
�Really?�
�Yeah.� So when I�m not at
�You don�t
have an accent,� he said.
�No.� They only just moved there when I started
college.� So I haven�t really been there
very often.�� Aaron leaned over and
kissed her.� �Mmm,� she said.� �What was that for?�
�Because I
love you,� he said simply.
�Awwww.� I love you too,� she replied, kissing him
again.
�You know
what I�ve wanted to do since we ran into each other at that club?� Aaron asked.
�What?�
�Dance
with you.�
Adriana
grinned.� �You are a huge sappy
goofball,� she laughed.
He smiled
and nodded.� Standing up, he went over to
Taegan�s bag and picked up her mp3 player.�
Adriana giggled.� He plugged it
into the set of portable speakers Taegan had brought and picked out a
song.� Going over to Adriana, he held out
his hand.� �Care to dance?� he asked.
She nodded
and giggled some more, taking his hand.�
He wrapped one arm around her waist and clasped her hand with the
other.� Her arm was around his neck, and
their hands were close to their shoulders.�
They were very close together, so Adriana laid her head on his shoulder.
�I wish we
could stay like this forever,� Adriana said.
�Me too,�
Aaron replied.� She reached up and kissed
him.� He kissed her back for a few
seconds before deepening the kiss.� He
picked her up, causing her to let out a squeal.�
She laughed as he placed her gently on the bed before kissing her once
again.
*
�I feel
like a bubble bath,� Taegan announced as she and Michael went into his hotel
room.
�A bubble bath?�
You do realize it�s our last night here.�
I can think of some better ways to spend it,� he said, waggling his
eyebrows suggestively.
Taegan
laughed and kissed him.� �No, I think a
bubble bath will do it,� she said.� �Do
you have bubbles?�
�No, but
the tub�s a Jacuzzi tub,� he said, grinning.
�Care to
join me?� she asked with a sly grin.
�I think
that could be arranged.�� He scooped her
up and carried her into the bathroom.�
Taegan gasped.� There were candles
and flowers and a bottle of champagne.
�Michael
Fred Phelps,� she said.
�Don�t middle name me, Taegan Aislinn.�
She
laughed and then squealed and kissed him.�
�I love you,� she said.
�I know,�
he replied cheekily.� She hopped out of
his arms and they undressed and climbed into the bath.� Taegan stretched her legs out and relaxed
against the side of the tub, leaning her head on the edge and closing her eyes.
�I haven�t
had a bath in ages,� she said.
�I�m glad
you�re enjoying yourself.� Here.�
She opened
her eyes and he handed her a glass of champagne.� They clinked their
glasses, but didn�t toast to anything.
They sat
in silence for a few minutes, stealing glances at each other.� �Can you transfer?� Michael asked.
�What?�
Taegan replied, giving him a sideways glance.
�I�m
sorry.� I�m just...� What am I going to do after tomorrow?� he
asked.
�Aw,
honey, we�ll still see each other.� Just....not as often.��
She slid over to the other side of the tub so she was sitting next to
him instead of across from him.� �We�ll
find some way.�
�It�s not
that far from
�Who cares
about
Michael
chuckled.� �That�s where Aaron goes.� So Adriana will be able to
see him.�
�He goes
to school in
�Yeah.�
Taegan
grinned.� �Adriana�s parents just moved
to
�But we
will.�
�We�ll be
ok.� I can come see you sometimes, and we
can get together on vacations and weekends when you�re not training like the
maniac you are,� she said.� �My family
doesn�t live that far away from
yours, so at Christmas we can visit.� Oh,
Mike, I wish I went to
Michael
laughed.� �You�ve never called me Mike
before,� he commented.
�Should I
not anymore?�
�NO, it�s
ok.� It was just different, that�s
all.� God, Taegan, I feel tongue tied,�
he said.
�Why?�
�I don�t
know.� Just because I feel like I�m not
going to see you ever and what if we don�t talk at all, either?�
�Shut
up.� I won�t let that happen.� I�ll call you so much you�ll start to screen
your calls.� �That�s my crazy stalker
girlfriend.� I�ll have to break up with
her one of these days,� you�ll say.�
Michael
laughed.� �That�s highly doubtful,� he
said.
�We�ll be
fine.� We�ll figure something out.� I love you, so it�ll be ok.�
�I love
you too.�� He leaned over and kissed her,
and soon the champagne they�d been drinking was forgotten.
*
The next
morning at eleven, they met for breakfast before the girls had to go to the
airport to catch their plane.� Breakfast
was strained and awkward because all four were upset about their
departure.� Michael and Aaron would be
leaving a little later in the day, but the girls� plane was scheduled for
Too quickly.
The ride
to the airport was also quiet.� No one
quite knew what to say.� When they got
there and Michael and Aaron escorted the girls to their gate, both girls gave
the plane a dirty look.� �Damn you for
being on time,� Taegan said bitterly.� �Stupid pilot.�
Michael
laughed and kissed her forehead.� She
lifted her face to kiss him on the lips.�
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist
to pull her closer.
Adriana
was trying her damnedest not to cry.
�It�s ok,
you know,� Aaron said.
�What?�
�To cry.� You can if you want.�
That did
it.� The damn broke and Adriana flung
herself at Aaron, tears streaming down her face.� He hugged her close.
A couple
of minutes later, Michael and Taegan had stopped making out and Adriana had
composed herself.� Their plane was
called, so Taegan and Adriana picked up their carry-on bags and said, �I�ll
call you tomorrow.�
This made
everyone chuckle, as they spoke at the same time.� Giving the guys a final glance, they trooped
sadly onto the plane.
�We should
do this every year,� Aaron said.
�I agree,�
Michael replied.
�How long
should I wait before I call her?�
�How
long�s the flight?�