Damn Good Times

[Alex Kaine]

Alex had the very surreal feeling of walking into a scripted event. Something about the quiet, steady insistence from Aidan and the somewhat manic enthusiasm from Tess made him wonder if he should be inspecting Ronnie for a camera or if he should be focusing on remembering his lines.

"Well, I'm, uh... pretty much free?"

[Aimee Connors]

Aimee sighed, silently agreeing with Tess' assessment of the PETA thing. She reallycdidn't want to hang out with a bunch of vegan crazies, but she wouldnt mind spending time with Tess. Maybe talk to her about girl stuff.

Jen was at work, and never had the right perspective when it came to things Aimee wanted to talk about. She flicked to another channel, tired of Ellen's antics, and burrowed her small body further into the nest of pillows.

[Ronnie Bluth]

"Ronnie and Scott are trying to get some fresh air," Ronnie corrected darkly, glowering at the ceiling. "SCOTT!"

[Scott Green]

As if on cue, Scott rounded the corner in a pale blue Hurley tee and checkered board shorts, his hair masterfully gelled to look as though he didn't own a comb and had just rolled out of bed after a hard night on the town. The teenager's chromatophoric skin shifted as he stepped into the brightness of the family room, reflecting the pale green walls.

"Dude," he snorted at Ronnie, gesturing to his face. "You can't rush perfection."

Ronnie rolled his eyes but the demonstration was lost on Scott, who seemed to notice all at once that there was a congregation in the den, an air of stilted activity clinging to the corners. "Hey sweet, are you guys coming too?"

[Tess Abrahams]

"No!"

It came out louder than she'd intended. Aware that the boys were now staring in somewhat alarmed curiosity, Tess shook her head and took a slow, calming breath. Namaste, namaste, namaste. "Uh, no. We're not. You guys go on ahead though, the courts are probably filling up."

Or maybe they weren't. Tess really didn't have any idea about the population flow on basketball courts in rural California neighborhoods during the summer months. And frankly, she didn't care.

Two down, two to go. Everything was so close. "So Aimee, Alex. Neither of you have plans. You're both free. At the same time."

[Alex Kaine]

This was... this was his cue, right? What was he supposed to say again?

"Uh... yeah. I guess we are."

Alex looked fecklessly at Aimee, hoping she could make some sense of this.

[Aimee Connors]

Aimee looked at Alex over the back of the couch as Ronnie and Scott slammed the front door on their way out, already trash talking as they jogged away from the house. "Uh, okay."

She shifted on the sofa, sitting a little more upright. "Am I missing something here?"

[Alex Kaine]

Alex slid his eyes from Aimee to Tess. The older girl was practically sending him telepathic signals.

"Well," he said, "apparently Aidan and Tess are trying to get us out of the house for unspecified reasons. Maybe they're painting it or something. I dunno. So, Aidan gave me twenty bucks. Want to go get lunch and rent some movies?"

From down the hall came the light smack of a hand hitting a forehead.

[Tess Abrahams]

"What? That is not even... this is friendly concern, here... Alex," Tess crossed her arms over her chest and dismissed his implication with a huff.

Tips of her ears flushing in a guily tell, the woman turned to Aimee with dignity, brow lofted in a way that clearly said, well?

[Aimee Connors]

They were all staring at her, and Aimee flushed, a darker purple creeping across her cheeks. "What!? I don't need my hand held - I'm not going to go jump off a bridge or something. I didn't even like my job."

She sighed. "Fine, lets go have lunch, Alex. Going out and being stared at some will be great for my self esteem." Aimee slowly got off the couch and started down the hall to find a pair of shoes in the understairs closet.

[Alex Kaine]

Alex stood back against the wall as Aimee scuffled on by. Then he gave Tess a sideways look that said, Really?

"Okay, so..." He shoved his hands into his pockets and felt for his wallet and cell phone there. "I guess we're going out. Have fun, um. Painting."

Alex headed back to hook up with Aimee. Moments later, the back door swung shut, leaving Aidan and Tess alone in the house.

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan stepped into the living room, feeling like he was wading knee-deep in thick, miry awkwardness.

"Well, that, um... that honestly could have been worse."

[Tess Abrahams]

As soon as the echoing door slam sounded, Tess let out a groan and collapsed sideways on the couch, burrowing into a pile of faded floral pillows. Her face flushed now with the giddy thrill of suburban espionage and she took a few deep breaths, inhaling thick air that smelled of dust and dryer sheets and stale Doritos.

Minutes passed with nothing but the familiar sounds of the House settling around them, rushing pipes and the tackatackatacka of blinds rattling in the breeze, and no one came back for forgotten sunglasses or iPods or granola bars or whatever it was that simply couldn't wait a few hours.

Aidan's voice drew her from the burrow of cusions and Tess sat up, hands pressed against her cheeks.

"I can't believe you bribed him," she grinned. "It's like we're in The Godfather."

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan slipped between the easy chair and the sofa. "Not a bribe, just a little something to cover lunch and... I don't know, a couple tickets at the dollar theater..."

He sat down next to Tess, and the overstuffed cushions sighed under his weight. "Okay. It was a bribe. But what the heck. It was worth it."

Aidan leaned in and kissed her before she could make another move.

[Tess Abrahams]

Tess laughed against his mouth, heart giving a resounding thump, and chased his kiss with another as her fingers carded through his hair.

"Oh," she managed with a smirk, shifting so that they were pressed together without having to twist, faces lingering millimeters apart. Aidan's breath danced across her cheek. "Definitely worth it."

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan reciprocated with a hand through Tess's dark hair, and he twisted in his seat to pull her into a closer embrace when--

"Ow! Dammit, sorry..."

He rubbed gingerly at the distressingly deep wound at the bottom of his ribcage and winced. "No, no, I'm fine, I just have to be careful how I stretch."

[Tess Abrahams]

The space between Tess's eyebrows creased softly and she brushed aside Aidan's protests, rucking his shirt up to reveal a neat patch of bandage, gauze stained with a rusty dampness. Around it's edges, where the medical tape didn't cover, his skin was a patchwork of purple and dark blue bruising.

With gentle fingers, Tess pulled back on the bandage to check on the wreckage beneath. It made her breath catch, still. "You and your stupid hero complex..."

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan's mouth flickered as she probed the edges of the bandage. "It's not that bad, really. I had a very good surgeon."

He took a deep breath, and his lean abdomen rose and fell under Tess's touch. Really, having her hands there wasn't an altogether bad thing. If anything, considering what they'd gone through recently, that simple bridge of contact was even more personal than a kiss. Funny how forty-eight hours could change your perspective on a person.

Actually, if he had to be honest with himself, those feelings had been planted weeks ago. It had just taken the right circumstances to bring them to the surface.

[Tess Abrahams]

48 Hours Previously...


For the bargain price of $50 at the local office supply store, one could get five hundred black and white 8 1/2 x 11 copies printed. And - provided that one was interested, of course - if there was only one employee on duty and it was nearing afternoon break time and that employee was a smoker jonesing for a nicotine hit and really not interested in listening to some broad go on and on about public action, that price got dropped to $40 and labeled as a bulk discount.

Slap.

With a cheery smile out of place in the morning hours, Tess leaned over Aidan's shoulder and smothered the newspaper article he was engrossed in with a bolded flier, pinning it to the table.

LOS SANTOS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEET & GREET!

All residents welcome! Crime prevention awareness evening at the Palm Street Community Center - refreshments provided!

Together we can make a difference!

Below the large print the date and time - set for the following Friday evening - was centered and surrounded by a border of cheery smiley faces that Tess thought added a little welcoming touch.

"You're invited," she sing-songed, dropping a thick stack of identical sheets on the other end of the table and waltzing to the coffee pot. "There'll be donuts, too."

[Aidan Fox]

Aidan peeled the sheet off his newspaper and studied it with wrinkle-browed scrutiny. It shouted at him with all the unsubtle enthusiasm that only comic sans and clip art can convey.

"Uh... looks great," he said, and then he glanced over to the small tower of fliers on the other end of the table. "You planning on dropping these out of a plane?"