|
|
Chapter Ten
“I’m the mean man from the circus, with the handlebar mustache As black as my soul with tips that scream panache I’ve a thing for blood red coats and boots up to my knees Plus a personality like a blunt cheval-de-frise” sang Colleen and Ryan sang loudly, as they drove into the parking lot of the Plaza the next morning, windows down and wind whistling in their hair. They saw the huge touring bus waiting for them and the guys standing outside, their amused faces laughing as they heard the crazy song by Three Minute Hero blasting out of Colleen’s Jeep. They pulled to a stop and Colleen put the car in park, as Ryan opened the door and walked over to the guys.
“Good morning!” she said cheerily as she walked over to Brian to give him a kiss.
“Hey, girl,” he said softly as he wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist and smiled, thinking how lucky he was to have met this awesome girl. “You look good.”
Ryan looked down at her short black spaghetti strap cotton dress and straw tie up sandals. “You think so?”
Brian nodded. “Yeah, I like the buns too,” he said, looking at the two buns Ryan had put her hair up in. She smiled and turned to see where Colleen was.
Colleen was still sitting in the car, singing the rest of Circucide, dancing in her seat. The rest of the guys were just standing there, watching her. The song finally ended and she got out.
“Hey guys!” she yelled as she walked over to where they were standing. She was dressed in black Adidas running pants with white stripes down the side, and a white tank top that said naughty angel in small letters. Her long auburn hair was in two braided pigtails and she was wearing a pair of black sunglasses with purple lenses.
“Hey, pirate. Looking good,” said A.J. with a smile. “I especially like your sunglasses,” he said.
Colleen smiled. “Thanks, A.J. You’re looking pretty good yourself,” she said as she took in A.J.’s baggy jeans, white T-shirt, and yellow sunglasses.
“Well, girl, you know if you like what you’re looking at, I’m always interested,” he said with a grin.
“A.J., you’re interested in anything with boobs,” Colleen replied. The rest of the group laughed.
“Ready to hit the road?” asked Donna as she came walking up behind the group. “You’re following us, right Colleen?” she asked with a smile.
“Yeah,” Colleen nodded, as she wondered if Donna was going to mention Howie and Nick’s new hairdos.
“Okay, let’s go then. We have a schedule to keep,” Donna continued as she looked at her watch. She started to walk away but turned suddenly. “Oh, and Colleen?”
Colleen turned back to look at her. “Yes?”
“I like the guys’ new hair,” she said with a smile and then turned and walked to the bus. Colleen smiled.
“Good, now I don’t have to worry about her suing me for making you guys look ugly,” she said, grinning.
“Well, hopefully,” said Nick. Colleen stopped smiling. “I’m kidding, Colleen,” Nick said as he noticed her worried look. Colleen nodded.
“Okay, well Ryan, you coming?” she asked as she started to walk back to her car. Ryan nodded and after quickly kissing Brian, walked to the car and got in the passenger side. All the guys except Kevin turned and got on the bus. Kevin walked up to Colleen and gently pulled on her arm to stop her from walking. She turned around and smiled as she saw it was him.
“Hey,” she said softly. Kevin looked down at her shirt.
“Naughty angel, huh?” he asked with a smile. Colleen nodded.
“Yeah, why do you like naughty girls?” she said, flirtatiously.
“Oh yeah,” he said with a smile. “You know, you didn’t give me a good morning kiss, like Ryan gave Brian,” he said as he pulled her closer.
“I didn’t know you wanted one,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “But your wish is my command,” she murmured as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him softly. He kissed her back and the kiss grew more passionate.
“Hey you guys, don’t you need to breathe?” yelled Nick loudly out one of the bus’s windows. Colleen and Kevin broke apart, Kevin scowling at the interruption.
“We better get started,” Colleen said softly. Kevin nodded.
“Yeah,” he whispered, totally ignoring what she was saying as he bent down to kiss her again. Then they heard Ryan honk the horn on Colleen’s jeep. They decided to give up.
“We’ll talk to you guys later,” Colleen whispered as she quickly kissed him on the lips.
“Okay, drive carefully,” Kevin replied. Colleen nodded and walked to her car. She got in and fastened her seat belt, waiting for Kevin to get on the bus and for the bus to pull out of the parking lot.
“So, it’s looks like you and Kevin are getting closer,” Ryan said with a grin as she turned on the radio and searched for a good song. “Or is it still just flirting?” she asked, with an I told you so look on her face. Colleen smiled thoughtfully.
“I really like him Ryan,” said Colleen, sounding amazed at the realization. Ryan nodded.
“I noticed that you guys have really been connecting. You two seem good together,” Ryan observed, looking at Colleen as she thought back as to how happy her cousin had been these past ten days with Kevin.
Colleen nodded. “He makes me happy,” she replied, stating Ryan's thoughts out loud. She stared at the bus pull out onto the road. “I wonder if I make him as happy, though,” she said slowly, hoping that she wasn’t feeling something that wasn’t reciprocated.
Ryan reached over and rubbed Colleen’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Colleen. You make him happy. Brian told me that Kevin has really loosened up since he met you, that he is almost fun now,” she said with a grin. Colleen laughed.
“Great, he makes me feel special and I make him feel goofy,” she said jokingly. Ryan laughed and they sat back and talked of other things.
**************************************************************
On the bus, about five and a half hours later, Nick suddenly threw down his Nintendo 64 controller and groaned. “I’m bored,” he said, flopping on his back dramatically as he spoke. “Hey Frick, wanna play MarioKart with me?” he asked, looking over to where Brian was staring out the window. Brian didn’t answer. He just sat there with a big grin on his face.
“Frick? Hello? What are you staring at?” asked Nick, getting up and walking over to where his best friend sat, watching something out of the window. Nick looked in the direction of Brian’s stare and started smiling too. Howie looked up in surprise as he noticed that Nick was silent for once. He noticed the two guys staring at something out the window and walked over to see what it was. Pretty soon the whole group was staring at Colleen’s Jeep, watching the actions of two certain crazy girls.
Colleen and Ryan had their radio cranked up and were listening to the new single from Britney Spears, "Baby, One More Time." They loved that song and where singing it to each other, complete with facial expressions, dance moves, and gestures.
“They look like they’re having fun,” said A.J. with a grin as he watched the girls belt out the song.
“Yeah, they do. But do you think it’s safe for Colleen to drive with her knees like that?” asked Kevin with a doubtful look.
The other guys just shrugged and sat back down as they saw the song must have ended because Colleen and Ryan were back to normal, well at least what was normal for them.
“Well, that was amusing but I’m still bored,” Nick complained as he flopped onto the couch.
Kevin sat down in one of the chairs and picked up the Patricia Cornwell mystery, Body Farm, which he had borrowed from Ryan. “Hey Nick, turn on the CB radio if you are so bored and talk to some of the truckers,” he said jokingly. Nick’s face brightened.
“Cool, yeah,” he said as he flipped the CB on. He switched channels until he heard one with truckers speaking.
“Hey, Blue Jay, look over on your right,” said some guy.
“Oh, yeah. Are you talking about those fine seat covers in that Jeep?” asked Blue Jay.
“You betcha. I wouldn’t mind having those seat covers in my cab,” the other trucker said.
Nick and Brian looked confused. “Why are they so interested in seat covers?” Brian asked.
“I have no ide. . .” Nick was interrupted by another trucker talking.
“Yeah, I love red hair. I bet those girls are feisty. I like them hot and spicy,” said one trucker laughing.
“Yeah, I agree with you there, Texas Jack,” replied Blue Jay.
Brian and Nick stared at one another as they realized what the truckers were talking about.
“I guess seat covers meant Colleen and Ryan,” said Nick, grinning.
Kevin looked up at the sound of Colleen’s name. “What about Colleen?” he asked, setting down his book.
“The truckers are talking about Colleen and Ryan,” said Nick with a smirk.
Kevin looked out the window and noticed the semi-trucks in the lanes around them. “What are they saying?” he asked.
Nick turned up the CB as the boys all turned to listen to the conversation.
“Hey Texas Jack, next time they stop at a rest stop, let’s see if the ladies are interested in some chow,” said Blue Jay, laughing.
“Sounds good to me,” replied Texas Jack. “I’ll take the one driving, she looks taller and I love long, smooth legs on a woman,” the trucker stated. Nick looked over at Kevin and saw that Kevin wasn’t too happy about the comments being made about Colleen.
“I hear you there, Jack. But you know, shorter women like to make up for the lack of height by taking control. And that honey in the Jeep looks like the take charge type, if you know what I mean,” said Blue Jay. Now Brian wasn’t looking that happy and Nick snapped off the radio before anything else was said.
“Well, anyway, who want’s to play Nintendo?” Nick asked hurriedly, trying to draw attention away from the radio.
“Hey guys, you can’t help what other men say about Colleen and Ryan. I mean you know these trucker types, lonely men on a long lonely road,” said A.J.
Brian started laughing. “Lonely men on a long lonely road? You sound like a country song,” he said. The tension had been broken and Kevin and Brian saw that it was stupid to get mad over what some truckers had said and everyone went back to what they had been doing. About an hour later, the bus pulled into a rest stop to fuel up and the girls were right behind them.
“Good, I am ready to get out and stretch my legs,” said Colleen, as she parked the Jeep and slowly rotated her neck, trying to work out the kinks.
Ryan nodded and then said. “Yeah, plus I’m bored.” Colleen looked at her.
“Gee, thanks so much cuz,” she said sarcastically.
Ryan grinned. “Your welcome.” She opened her door and got out. Colleen did the same and walked around to stand next to Ryan.
“You know Ryan, just because I’m not a certain guy who you can make out with doesn’t mean you have to be rude,” she said with a smirk. Ryan turned and slapped her cousin on the arm.
“Shut up. You know you would rather be in the arms of a certain hunky guy yourself,” Ryan said, rolling her eyes.
“What hunky guy?” asked Kevin as he and the rest of the guys walked towards the girls. He walked up behind Colleen and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you cheating on me?” he asked with a mock scowl.
Colleen smiled and leaned back against him. “Now, why would I want to cheat on you?” she asked, looking up at him.
He pretended to think. “I can’t think of a single reason. I mean I am everything a woman could want,” he said jokingly.
“Huge ego included,” said Colleen, grinning as she gently elbowed him in the stomach.
“Awww, you know you love me,” he said. Colleen just shook her head. She looked over to where Brian and Ryan were watching them.
Brian leaned towards Ryan. “It’s amazing how much he loosens up around Colleen,” he said, gesturing to the scene they had witnessed. “He’s usually so serious.”
“Well, maybe Colleen makes him feel secure enough to let his funny side show. You know he has to have one, I mean he’s related to Mr. Goofball himself,” said Ryan with a grin.
“Mr. Goofball, huh?” Brian asked as he jokingly put Ryan in a headlock. Ryan started to laugh.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said, her voice muffled from her laughter. Brian let her go and pulled her into his arms.
“Yeah, well you’re pretty perfect yourself,” he said as he kissed her softly. They were interrupted by the sound of Nick’s loud voice.
“Hey Colleen, did Kevin and Brian tell you what the truckers were saying on the CB?” he asked with a huge grin as he walked up.
Colleen and Ryan looked towards their respective guys.
“No, they didn’t. What were they saying?” asked Ryan, interested. Nick looked at the looks of warning on Kevin and Brian’s faces.
“Oh, nothing,” he said as he saw that his buds didn’t want the girls to know about the rude remarks that were made about them.
Colleen shrugged. “Okay. Well, I’m going to go to the bathroom and wash my face. We have been driving for six hours and I’m feeling nasty,” she said as she pulled out of Kevin’s arms. “I’ll be right back,” she murmured as she quickly kissed Kevin on the lips.
Ryan pulled herself out of Brian’s arms and said, “I’ll come with you.” The two girls walked into the reststop.
The three guys were just standing there when A.J. came running up to them. “Hey guys, they have a McDonalds in there.” Nick grinned.
“All right!! I’m starving,” he said as he ran into the reststop. Kevin and Brian rolled their eyes and walked towards the fast-food.
While the guys were ordering their meals, the girls walked out of the estrooms.
“I feel a lot better,” said Colleen. Ryan nodded.
“Yeah, I feel more refreshed,” she said as she walked towards the door. Ryan wasn’t looking where she was going and slammed into a person.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she stammered as she steadied herself and looked up towards a thirtysomething trucker.
“Quite all right, miss. Are you the two ladies driving the Jeep?” asked the trucker as another trucker walked up beside him.
Ryan smiled. “Yes, we are. Did you see us on the road?” she asked. The guys grinned.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re both truckers. My name is Texas Jack and that is Blue Jay,” the man replied. Colleen and Ryan smiled.
Meanwhile, the guys had sat down with what seemed to be enough food for an army.
“Hey Brian, pass me my apple pie,” Nick said, stuffing fries into his mouth. Brian threw the apple pie at Nick, hitting him in the head.
“Hey!” Nick yelled.
Brian grinned. “Sorry Kaos.”
“Hey, where’s Pirate and Rye Bread?” asked Howie as he took a drink of his Sprite.
“They’re in the bathroom,” replied Kevin as he ate a fry. “Or they were. Here they come,” he said as he saw the two girls walk through the door.
“Gee guys, thanks for telling us where you were,” said Colleen sarcastically. Kevin moved over and she sat down.
“Sorry,” Howie said with a grin. Colleen smiled. “Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t you’re fault, D.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah, it was probably Mr. Goofball here. Anyway, I’m going to get some food. Colleen, you want your regular?” she asked as she started to walk towards the counter. Colleen nodded.
“You guys were gone for about twenty minutes. What happened to you?” asked A.J. in between bites of his # 4 special.
“Well, we got held up. We met some guys.” Kevin and Brian’s heads shot up.
“Who?” asked Brian.
“Some nice truckers who wanted to take us to dinner. They’re names were Blue Jay and Texas Jack,” Colleen said. “What? Why are you all staring at me with your mouths hanging open?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~