Chapter 11: The Weekend--Friday Night

Friday night. At last, a quiet evening at home! Some time to relax and reflect on the events of the week. Not! The parents had all been planning a big weekend for some time. Okay big may have been a stretch. Essentially, Mark's family was coming over to swim and barbeque and play cards tonight, and then we were all going over to their house to do the same on Saturday. Usually, the kids just played video games or swam or whatever and stayed out of the way. The biggest stress point in my life right now was that this was the first time I would see Shannon, in person, since the whole dream thing had blown up on me. I looked for Allison as soon as I got home. She was out by the pool and I tossed my stuff in the general direction of my bed and went straight out.

"Hey sis, I talked to Bob. Did you talk to Shannon? What did she say? Did she tell you about the dream? What do you think? Did I do okay? Or am I in deep trouble again, or still?"

Allison just looked at me for a minute, "Okay," she started, "I think I got most of it but it's going to take me a little bit to sort through it. Why don't you come back on Tuesday and we'll see how far I've gotten. Or you could just kiss me and tell me how much you missed me today and we can try it over again from the top."

I blushed so hard you would have thought Susan was there. Then all I could do was laugh at myself for a few seconds. "Thanks. I needed that. I am so wound up I feel like I'm going to explode. I'm sorry. Let's try the 'start over' thing."

With that I bent down and kissed her and whispered, "Hi, Allison. I missed you a lot today, and I am so glad that you are here for me to come to. Thanks." Then I kissed her again and pulled up a nearby chair to sit in. "Better?"

"Jimmy, you're home! I'm so glad. I missed you a lot today too. By the way Shannon called and you are in really deep trouble now."

"What!?" I couldn't believe it. "What did I do? How could I have made it worse? Oh this sucks!!" I couldn't decide if I was pissed off or depressed. Then I noticed that Allison looked like she was about to wet herself, "Oh you're cute. Thanks a lot! Like I haven't got enough stress in my life."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy, I just couldn't help myself, and you really are in trouble, but it's a good kind of trouble."

"Really, you're not just messing with me? So what's going on?"

"Well, you know Shannon had a crush on you before?"

"Yeah, I seem to remember you mentioning something about that. YES! Isn't that what got this started in the first place?"

"Well, technically speaking no, but it was the most significant recent event. What I mean to say is that she had a crush on you before, but now she doesn't."

"She doesn't." I was, well, crushed.

"No, I don't think so. I think now I would have to say, what was that line Meg Ryan had in Top Gun? Oh yeah, 'She is one-hundred percent, prime-time, in Love with You'. Jimmy, your little chat with her last night just blew her mind. Before she just thought you were sweet. Now? You are the sweetest, most kind, wonderful, caring person to walk the planet since Christ. Of course she knows it was all a dream, just her mind clarifying the fantasy, but I think she is putting you up for the Noble Peace Prize."

"You have got to be kidding."

"Oh no, trust me; you scored some really major league points there. I tell you it was practically sickening the way she carried on. Okay, I'm making that part up, but the rest is true I swear. The question now is how are you going to handle it when she gets here, especially since Mark will be here too? The parents can pretty much entertain themselves, but there could be some major tension floating around the room and I don't know how you, we, are going to hide it."

Crunch time and we, I, didn't have a clue. "Okay, we'll just have to wing it and pray. Let's talk about something else."

"Okay, you said you talked to Bob. What did you tell him and how did he react?"

"Well, I didn't tell him everything, I just hit the major stops around the diamond. He took it pretty much the way I'm taking this thing with Shannon. Meaning that he all but freaked out and has no idea where to go, if he should go, or what he should do or think about the whole thing. The good news is that after I explained my, okay your, reasoning about keeping it secret, he agreed. Boy did he agree, he basically said that abduction by hostile aliens would be preferable to what would happen if this got out."

"Well, that's a positive sign anyway. Did he have any constructive suggestions?"

"No, he said he was going to need most of the weekend just to sort it out. It kind of blew his mind. It's a lot to drop on someone all at once. At first he was terribly excited, I mean when you think about it, he's a certified psychiatrist, psychologist, and a researcher. This is Nobel Prize material. Then I hit him between the eyes and told him he couldn't tell or even talk to anyone about it. But he was cool about it. Once I brought up our fears and concerns he agreed a hundred and ten percent. He thinks you are absolutely right, especially about what would happen if the government got wind of it. I think he was a good choice, but then anybody who would turn their backs on the money they could make in private practice or the research end to teach High School students could never be accused of seeking glory, fame, or money. Anyway, we exchanged phone numbers. He will only call if he has an important question, and I will only call if something big happens, another 'escalation' or something like that."

Allison just nodded and said, "Yeah, it's a lot to take in. I've had a lot more time to think about it just because I noticed it first. As long as it was just the two of us I didn't see a problem. In fact," she smiled and I thought I even saw a bit of a blush, "it really made me feel special, but then when you 'bridged' Shannon, well, you know the rest."

"Yah, tell me about it. So, do you any suggestions on how I should handle the whole thing with Shannon tonight?"

"Actually yes, I know this is going to sound really stupid, but the only thing I could come up with is, 'be yourself'." She looked at me apprehensively.

"That's it? That's the best you could come up? Just 'be myself'?'"

"Yes..." she said a little tentatively.

"Allison, I've been counting on you to help get me through this!" I said, trying my best to sound angry and disappointed in her. I guess I'm just not that good an actor. "Sorry, I just can't keep a straight face. Don't worry about it. I've been wracking my brain over this and all I came up with was to do just that, be myself. Just let it go and see what happens. Just because I have been in her head doesn't mean the situation has changed. In fact, that was the whole point of the second visit, to try to get the situation back to where we could just act naturally and see how things went. One thing is for sure though."

"What's that?" she asked.

"I want to know how she tastes."

Allison suddenly turned a bright shade of red and her eyes got big, "You mean?" she kind or pointed a finger at her chest and waved it back and forth.

"No! Okay, maybe eventually, you little perv! I meant her kisses. I want to know how her kisses taste. I have a hunch but... well, never mind. One thing I've discovered over this week is that I really want to kiss her. You've made it clear that she wants it too, so the real challenge is how to do it without Mark finding out and wanting my head on a pole."

Suddenly Allison grew one of those ear-to-ear grins. "Oh, I think I can arrange to take Mark out of the picture for long enough to give you two some free time to get better acquainted."

"You mean you?... And Mark?" I was stunned. It had never occurred to me that Allison might be attracted to Mark. But then I never thought Shannon would be attracted to me either.

"I know what you're thinking and the answer is no, I'm not hot for Mark. It's not that there is anything wrong with him but I'm not attracted to him. I certainly don't want to do the kind of stuff we've been doing with him, but hey, just because I don't want his bod doesn't mean I can't have fun kissing him. And he certainly can't say anything about you kissing his sister if he gets caught kissing yours, now can he?" she said.

I knew that mischievous grin from past experience and I suddenly felt sorry for Mark. Okay, not that sorry. After all, I had kissed Allison and even if there was no future in it, Mark was in for a real treat. Even if it just lasted the weekend, he would have nothing to complain about. Apparently Mark had plans for the evening whether he knew it or not, which meant that I was going to be spending time with Shannon, whether I was ready or not. Suddenly I was nervous.

Allison picked up on it right away. She reached over and put her hand on my knee and said, "Jimmy, you'll be fine. I know you will. Just relax, and let things work themselves out. Trust me, I know Shannon. She has a vision in her head of how she wants things to go, and if you let her, she will guide you right down the path to where she wants you to be. If things are going to fast, then just stop for a second and let it catch up. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to just stop and enjoy the scenery before moving on. And remember, she is just as nervous as you are."

I must have been holding my breath, because suddenly I let it out in a rush. "Okay, I'll try. Suddenly I like dreams a lot more. At least there I have some control."

"Yeah, but just think about how nice it was for us the other day. Reality definitely has its positive points."

I just looked at her and smiled, "Oh Yeah!!"

We started getting things set up as much as possible for the evening. Not that there was a lot to do, the barbeque is gas but I made sure all the utensils were clean. Then I checked the chemical mix in the pool. Allison made sure we had plenty of towels on hand and that there was lemonade and iced tea in the refrigerator. Mom and Dad got home about 5:30, and the Davises would be here around 6:00. Once everything was ready we changed into swimsuits and just hung out, enjoying the time together. All the activity helped keep my mind off of what might happen later, but once I ran out of things to do I started to get nervous again. About ten minutes before time for our guests to arrive, Allison called me from the garage.

"Jimmy, can you give me a hand with this?"

Not knowing what she could possible need in the garage I just casually wandered out to lend a hand. The door was closed and the room was dark, my eyes had not adjusted to the room so I couldn't see anything. As I reached for the light switch a slender arm shot out of the darkness and grabbed my hand, pulling me to one side. Suddenly; a very soft pair of lips was pressing against mine and a tongue was demanding entrance. I may be slow but I'm not dead yet. I opened up and let the games begin. Allison and I spent a couple of heated minutes going two out of three for the Southwestern Tongue Wrestling Championship before she broke off.

"There, now will you relax!"

It was all I could do not to bust out laughing. I barely managed to keep it down to a chuckle. I reached over and turned on the light. "I hate to disappoint you, sunshine, but kissing you is definitely not a relaxing pastime, just the opposite in fact. Not that I'm complaining by any means, don't get me wrong. As distractions go it rates really high on my list, and it did a great job of taking my mind off of Shannon. In fact any time you feel like doing that again, I'm here for you. And it was fun, but now I have a whole different problem, at least before I could walk around the house without worrying about funny looks and questions; now look what you've done."

Allison glanced down and burst out laughing. "Oh, I see what you mean. Sorry about that. Guess I wasn't thinking far enough ahead." Then she leaned in close and breathed into my ear. "I wish we had more time and less people, maybe I could help you out with that problem."

"Oh thanks!" I said, grabbing her shoulders and pressing her away from me. "Sis, you're not helping!" I gave her a quick kiss on the nose before letting go, "but thanks for trying. Now run away somewhere before I get us both in trouble and let me figure out how to make this go away."

She just giggled and flitted through the door. I had already figured out how to kill a little time and justify being in the garage so long. I took a minute to let the tent collapse then went in to get my dad's keys. Returning to the garage I hit the button and opened the door. Then I backed the car out and rolled our old ping-pong table out to the center of the floor. Mark and I used to play for hours on end but hadn't used it in about a year. After opening it up I dusted it off then started digging through cupboards looking for the net, balls and paddles. Eventually I had it all set up. I closed the garage and was just heading back into the house when I heard a car pull up. Our guests were arriving. It was show time.

I took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm myself, and then gave up as it wasn't working. I decided instead that a good offense was the best defense and went to open the door, ritually greeting everyone as they entered, "Hey Mark, Mr-Mrs. Davis, hello Shannon." I tried hard to keep my voice and tone even but couldn't tell how I was doing. At least I hadn't blushed. That didn't last long.

"Jimmy, don't you remember. I'm Karen," Karen said then she kissed me on the cheek. Mr. Davis took the exchange in stride and stuck out his hand.

"I guess that makes me Tom. Or at least it better because I happen to know that's her husband's name!" he said, shaking my hand.

"Good evening, Karen, Tom, you're right about the name. First rate guy from what I've heard," I said, shaking his hand.

That cracked him up. "Really? Well, just in case, if you see him coming? Try to give me a quick heads up so I can make it over the fence before he catches me here with his wife would you? Thanks! You're a pal."

With that the two of them headed for the back patio. Mark had never even slowed down on his way through. I could already see him with a soda in his hand talking to my mom and dad. Shannon had hung back though.

"Good evening, Jimmy," she said shyly and kissed me on the cheek. I'm not sure if my blush matched hers but it must have been close.

"Why good evening, Miss Shannon, I must say, you are looking quite lovely this evening." I took her hand, kissed it, and then turned and offered her my elbow. "May I escort you to the guest area?"

She positively beamed as she took my arm, "Why thank you, sir!" and we were off to the back yard.

As I opened the screen door and stepped through I thumped my hand sharply against the wall twice and said loudly, "The Lady Shannon Davis," and then passed her through. She stopped and dropped a passable curtsey. It needed work but then how many of us are used to formal introductions.

Allison and the parents got right into the spirit of things and politely applauded. Mark just rolled his eyes and said, "Oh please."

It was a good thing he had set his soda down because the next sound you heard was him screaming and hitting the water as Allison shoved hard. Then she turned back to the rest of us as if nothing had happened, stuck her nose in the air and said, "Cad."

Everyone cracked up, except of course Mark; who came up spitting and sputtering. "Hey, whatja do that for?"