Barb Erikson shook her head. Like it or not, it was just a little disconcerting to have that cute little redhead hanging around the living room, wearing a bikini that she would have said almost wasn’t there if she hadn’t seen Jan Archer’s earlier – that bikini really almost wasn’t there. Misty’s seemed conservative by comparison, even though as Barb looked at Misty’s backside she could see the crack of her butt peeking out from under the waist band.

A little earlier, she’d offered to find Misty something to wear if she was cold and wanted to cover up a little, maybe one of Howie’s T-shirts, but the girl had waved her off. “That’s fine, Mrs. Erikson,” she’d said. “I’m just a little bit warm, and this is fine if you don’t mind.”

It really wasn’t all that fine with Barb, but she didn’t feel like she could say much about it. It seemed to her that Misty was giving Howie her version of a hero’s reward by allowing him to thoroughly check out her body. It was really a little skinny and scrawny, Barb thought, but not bad for a fifteen year old who still had a little growing to do. When she filled out a little, she was going to be a stunner.

When you looked at the two of them together they still seemed like a couple of kids, Barb thought. Howie was still lying on the couch, but with Misty on the floor next to him – right next to him. That could have been worrisome at their ages, but after she’d called home to let her parents know where she was, they’d rigged up the Nintendo and were busy playing some beep-beep-beep-CRASH game that Barb didn’t understand. They were laughing and having a ball, which Barb took to mean that Howie was feeling a lot better.

What a weekend! First Jack and Vixen, and now Howie and Misty! We’ve gone for years, really forever without seeing teenage girls around this house, and now two at once! Well, to be fair, it didn’t look all that serious between Howie and Misty; they looked like two kids hanging out together, playing games. Though she’d seen little of Jack and Vixen, somehow that seemed a lot more serious, even if it had only been going on a few days. What had happened, all of a sudden?

Besides, it didn’t seem like Misty was a bad kid, by any means, at least from what she’d said, what Barb had seen, and what Barb had heard about her. Howie had spent a lot of time this summer hanging around with his friends, some of whom were a little rough for her tastes. Maybe Misty could civilize him a little – at fifteen, boys usually needed some civilizing anyway, although Jack hadn’t needed much. Besides, at that age, it couldn’t be anything serious, could it? After all, she was a mother, worried about her children and a little sorry to see them growing up. They wouldn’t be around much longer; Jack would be gone in another year and Howie only a couple more years after that. The house was going to seem lonely without them around.

As it turned out, Jack and Summer needn’t have hurried; Vixen was giving Alan a run for his money, at least relatively speaking. She got him in a couple of traps that he had difficulty getting out of, and Jack and Summer looked on with interest at the most competitive game of the evening.

Vixen finally lost, although it was a close one. “Thanks, Vixen,” Alan said. “That was a real good game.”

“Yeah, I almost had you there for a moment,” she smiled.

“I’ve got to get back in practice,” Summer said. “I’m not as bad a chess player as you made me look.”

“OK, we can practice,” Alan said. “It’s not like there’s been a lot else to do this summer. Hey, people, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some pizza. Anybody have any thoughts about what they want?”

There was some talk about it, but the upshot was that they decided on a large pizza, half all meat for the guys, and half all loaded for the girls. Alan went to the phone and called Parker’s Pizza, who they all agreed made the best pizza in town. “It’s going to be a few minutes,” he reported when he came back from the phone. “They’re a little backlogged right now.”

“I suppose we can wait,” Jack said. “That was a pretty good dinner Vixen’s mother made, and I probably ate too much anyway.”

“We’ve got some time to kill,” Alan said. “Anybody got any ideas?”

“If we hadn’t ordered the pizza, it’d be kind of nice to go to the beach,” Summer suggested. “But I suppose nobody brought any suits, and I suppose it’s not a good idea for you to go out right now, is it Alan?”

“No, it’s not,” he sighed. “I want to keep a pretty low profile until this thing with Frenchy gets ironed out.”

“You know,” Jack said, “it’s insane that we all have to be running scared of that yahoo,” Jack observed. “It sure would be nice if someone were to do something about him, but if the four of us run across Frenchy while he’s with some of his buddies, I don’t think we’re army enough to deal with it.”

“Probably not,” Alan agreed. “The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that it’s time to try working through the system, at least giving it a try. Sure, I have the risk of him coming back at me, but I’m running that risk anyway.”

“Something will happen,” Summer said flatly. “I don’t know what yet, but something. I agree, though, we should try to stick together, and maybe bring in a few more kids who think the way we do. Nancy Halifax really gets it bad from a lot of people, for example.”

“A lot of people seem to think she’s a lesbian,” Vixen said. “I don’t know what to think, and when you get right down to it I really don’t care. She’s always seemed to be a pretty good kid to me, and if you’re looking for a misfit, she certainly qualifies.”

“Yeah,” Summer agreed. “That’s her business, in any case. If she is a lesbian, she hasn’t done anything to prove it that I’m aware of. I think she’s just another lonely, bored Spearfish Lake kid with a few quirks and doesn’t get along with the crowd very well. Kind of like the rest of us.”

“Tell you what,” Alan said. “Let’s not do anything about it tonight, I mean, beyond the four of us. We can think about who else we should talk to, but let’s give it a couple of days so we can see if anything happens with this lawyer business tomorrow. I don’t know if anything is going to come of it, but maybe we ought to give it a chance. Maybe I can learn something along the way. I’ll tell you this much, though. I’m not looking forward to going back to school with those jerks running around.”

“I don’t think any of us are,” Summer agreed, “and I haven’t taken the crap that you guys have, although I’ve gotten my share. Mary Lou and Brianna and Vanessa provide most of the grief.”

“No shit,” Vixen replied bitterly. “I’ve taken so much shit over my face that I was sick of it years ago. I was telling Jack earlier that I don’t mind the gossips seeing us kissing or hanging out because it spreads the word that I can too find a boyfriend, no matter what all the small minds say about me. And I’m finding out that it is nice to have a boyfriend,” she grinned at Jack, “Even if it means that I have to get up at oh-dark-thirty to hang out with him. Getting to watch all those birds just adds to it.”

“It sounds like you’re getting into that bird stuff, Vixen,” Summer grinned.

“Yeah, I am,” she said. “I guess I’ve always been interested in birds and nature a little, and Jack is teaching me just how much fun it really is. I’m getting real tired of sitting around the house reading books I’ve read before, so it’s nice to be learning something new. I haven’t made my mind up by any means, but Jack’s plan to go into wildlife biology has gotten me thinking a little that it might be something I want to take a look at. I don’t know if I’d be all that interested in birds as a specialization, but it’s something to investigate.”

“That’s news,” Jack commented. “I didn’t know you’d been thinking about that.”

“Only the last couple of days,” Vixen admitted. “I think I told you that I didn’t really have any idea of what I wanted to do in college, and really, I don’t. The wildlife biology thing is just something to look into, or at least to get me thinking about what I want to study. I really doubt that I want to do something in the humanities. I’d really rather do something that involves hard science or real values. I’m not a math whiz like Alan, but that’s what I think of as a real subject, rather than a fuzzy subject. I don’t know if my thinking will lead me to wildlife biology like you, Jack, but at least you’ve gotten me thinking constructively.”

“That’s worth something,” he smiled.

“You know,” Alan laughed, “that would really make you one of us misfits. Think of all the kids we know heading to college who are planning on doing fuzzy subjects so it’ll get them a degree. They really don’t want to learn anything if they don’t have to, they just want that degree to put on their résumés.”

“Yeah, no fooling,” Jack agreed. “‘You want to study wildlife biology? That’s hard!’” He shrugged. “No one wants to touch it because it’s hard. Hell, it’s supposed to be challenging.”

“It’s even worse if you’re into math,” Alan agreed. “We were talking about looking for colleges earlier. I hope I can find someplace where hard sciences are respected, and humanities are, well, only tolerated. That ought to do a pretty good job of filtering out kids just looking for an easy way through college.”

“Dream on,” Jack snorted. “There may be some place like that out there, but I’ll be darned if I’ve ever heard of it.”

The four of them talked on as they waited on their pizza, which seemed to be a long time coming. It was good talk, serious talk, and all of them enjoyed it – and for each of them it was nice to be able to talk with someone their own age about things that were important to them, even if all of them weren’t interested in the same things. Summer and Vixen talked a little about some fantasy books they’d read, and Alan had read some of them, too. Jack found that part of the discussion a little hard to follow, but it was clear that there was some serious interest in the subject.

They were talking about fantasy when Jack saw the pizza sign on the car that pulled up outside. It was still light, not anywhere near sunset on this long August day. “Pizza’s here finally,” he spoke up.

Vixen glanced out the window. “Oh, shit,” she said. “That’s Laurel Haeussler doing the delivery. She’s one of the worst of the gossips; she’ll have the word out in minutes that we’re hanging out together.”

“I thought she was working at the Fiesta,” Summer said.

“I think she fills in at Parker’s,” Vixen shook her head. “Shit, she’ll be running her mouth all over town.”

“Well, hell,” Jack laughed. “If she’s going to gossip, we might as well give her something to gossip about. Slide over here, Vixen, and we’ll let her see some serious making out.”

“Jack, I’ve heard a lot worse ideas, especially since I’ve wanted to do it all afternoon,” Vixen giggled and slid over next to Jack. Well, a little more than next to Jack, actually on him, and Jack quickly found some interesting places to touch – although Vixen’s lips and boobs were crushed up against him, he found that his hand fit the curve of her bubble butt very nicely. It was an interesting feeling.

“You guys are cruel,” Summer laughed. “Alan, I suppose I could be hanging lovingly on your arm when you go to the door. We’ll give the gossips some more interesting fodder to spread around.”

“That’s one piece of gossip I don’t think I’ll mind,” Alan grinned as he got up and headed for the door, with Summer holding on to his hand.

When Laurel came to the door, Summer was hugging Alan’s arm with one hand and holding on to his hand with the other, giving the impression that some very interesting activity had been interrupted. Alan took the pizza and left her behind to go to the kitchen for the money, giving Summer the chance to talk to Laurel for a moment.

“Wow,” Laurel said in a soft voice, “I didn’t know you and Alan . . . ”

“Just hanging out a little,” Summer feigning a touch of embarrassment. “You know, when you stop and think about it, he really is kind of cute, and he’s proving to be a fun guy.”

Laurel started to say something, but was distracted by Vixen’s low, moaning voice. “Oh, yes, Jack, oh, God . . . ” She glanced over at the sofa, to see Jack and Vixen in a very hot embrace indeed. It was especially hot in that Jack had his visible hand under the waistband of Vixen’s shorts, on what was clearly a bare butt, covered by a thong panty that showed through the fabric of her white pants. She desperately wanted to say something, but Alan was back with the money, and Summer was again instantly attached to him like loose cat hair on clean clothes, and rubbing herself up against him like a cat, as well. “Thanks, Laurel,” he said. “Keep the change. That was good service.”

“Well, yeah,” Laurel said, stumbling for words. “You guys have a good evening. A real good evening.”

Alan shut the door, but his eye went to the peephole. “I wonder if she makes it back to her car before she has her phone out,” he giggled. After a moment, he added, “Nope, there she goes.”

“Good,” Summer giggled next to him. “Maybe we’ll have done something positive for both our reputations around town.”

“You might be right,” Alan grinned, turning to look at Summer, who was still holding on to him. “Summer,” he said. “She’s gone now.”

“So what?” Summer replied, swing around to put her free arm around him and leaning her head up to kiss him.

It was something Alan was not expecting, not in the least, but did it ever feel good! It had never happened to him before, so it caught him by surprise, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy it. Fortunately, he’d taken the pizza to the kitchen earlier, so he put his arms around her and the kiss got more serious. It was really happening, and he didn’t want it to end.

End it finally did, but it took a while. “Thanks, Alan,” she smiled softly. “I’ve never kissed a boy like that before, but I really liked it.”

“I’ve never kissed a girl like that either, but I may have liked it more than you did,” he smiled, feeling a little dazed.

“That’s good,” she smiled. “I wonder if it’s better the second time? Let’s find out.”

It was a wonder, like floodgates opening in both of them, and it was several minutes before either of them realized that there was a pizza getting cold in the kitchen. And on top of that . . . “We really must be putting on a scene for Jack and Vixen,” he whispered in her ear.

They both glanced over at their friends in the living room. In the time that had passed, they’d squirmed around a little. Jack and Vixen still had a hot kiss going, but now they could see that Jack’s hand had slipped up under her camisole and was feeling around her breast under the fabric. “I don’t think we put on a scene for them,” Summer whispered.

“Me, either,” Alan said softly. “Do you think we ought to?”

“Get their attention?” she giggled. “I don’t think they’re likely to get it on in the middle of the living room floor while we’re watching, but you never know. We probably shouldn’t let your parents find them like that, though.”

“You’re right,” Alan shook his head. “But damn . . . ” He raised his voice. “Jack, Vixen! The pizza’s here.”

The two on the couch showed no sign of paying attention to them, even the second or third time they were called. “Maybe we ought to get a bucket of water,” Summer suggested out loud.

“Naw, Mom would really be mad if I got their couch wet,” Alan laughed. “Hey, you two!” he raised his voice again. “The pizza is getting cold, and I don’t think you want Summer and I to eat all of it.”

That got through to Jack and Vixen a little. “I’m not so sure about that,” Vixen said. “I kind of like what we’re doing.”

“Laurel left a long time ago,” Alan grinned. “That was some act you guys were putting on.”

“What act?” Jack smiled. “You get started on something like that and it’s hard to stop. Try it and you’ll see.”

“Aw, do we really have to cut it out?” Vixen giggled. Alan and Summer couldn’t figure out whether she was serious or not, but both suspected that she would just as have soon kept doing what she’d been doing.

It didn’t take the four of them long to polish off the large pizza, even the crumbs. It may have been a little cooler than ideal, but no one seemed to mind much. The refrigerator was raided for cold drinks, and then again; when Tom and Lisa Jahnke got home, they found the four kids sitting around the kitchen table, playing euchre and giggling a lot. It was a happy sight for both of them; there hadn’t been enough hanging out with friends in Alan’s young life, and now he really seemed to be enjoying himself. They hoped to see it some more.

Eventually, the light began to dim outside. “I really hate to say it,” Jack said, “but if Vixen and I are going out birding in the morning, we really ought to be heading for the barn.”

“I probably should be heading back, too,” Summer agreed. “Alan, thanks for having us over. I’ve had more fun tonight than I’ve had in a while. We’ll have to do it again some time.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said. “Don’t forget, we want to work on those RPG character sheets.”

“I hadn’t forgotten,” Summer said. “I know you’ve got stuff to do tomorrow, but when you get done, if you’re in the mood, why don’t you give me a call and I’ll come over.”

“Sure,” Alan said. “If you like, you can take the book with you. That way you could read it in the morning so you’ll have a better idea of what we’re talking about. I don’t know what time we’ll be done, though. Jack, Vixen, are you guys coming over too?”

“Don’t know,” Jack said. “It won’t be early if we do. I’ve got quite a bit of stuff I need to do tomorrow, some chores and other stuff that I put off last week while I was out messing around in the pine barrens trying to get a photo of that Kirtland’s Warbler. Now I’ve got to play catch up. Maybe in the evening, if Vixen and I aren’t out birding again. We’ll just have to see how the day goes. Don’t forget, Vixen and I get to take you birding some time.”

“Looking forward to it,” Alan said. “Let’s just plan on going to some out-of-the-way place, though.”

“There’s plenty of those if you’re looking for birds,” Jack said. “Finding one shouldn’t be too much of a trick.”

“Can I go, too?” Summer asked. “I don’t know much about birds, but it’d be nice to find out a little about what you two find so fascinating about them.”

“Sure,” Jack said. “I’ll find someplace where we have some good action to watch. Like I said, most likely not tomorrow though. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“Hang on,” Alan spoke up. “I’ve got to run and get that RPG book for Summer. I’ll be right back.”

After he left the room, Tom Jahnke spoke softly to the remaining three kids. “I hope you kids had a good time tonight,” he said.

“Oh, yes,” Summer grinned. “It may be the best time I’ve had all summer. I’m glad Jack and Vixen thought to bring me along. Alan is pretty neat when you get to know him.”

“We’ve always known that,” Lisa said. “It’s just that a lot of other people have had some difficulty figuring it out.”

“I’m glad I did,” she smiled. “I think you’ll be seeing me again, maybe tomorrow.”

“You’ll be welcome,” Lisa smiled. “I see that Alan has told you that tomorrow is going to be a little unpredictable, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

“Not a problem, just have Alan give me a call,” a smiling Summer replied.

In a moment, Alan was back carrying a thin hardbound book. “Here you go,” he said. “It really is pretty straightforward; you just have to understand the world it’s set in.”

“I’ll look it over,” she promised. “Probably I’ll get a chance to look at it tonight, and I’ll make some notes.”

What with all the last-minute items just remembered, it took a while for the three of them to get out the door. Alan went with them, and waited as Vixen got into the back seat and Summer belted herself into the front. At the last instant, she leaned toward him, and he got her meaning. His arms went around her quickly, and they had quick, chaste kiss – it was clear that his parents were watching, after all. “Thanks, Alan,” she smiled. “I had a good time and I’m looking forward to seeing more of you.”

“I had an amazing time,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to seeing more of you, too. You take care.”

“You take care, too,” she smiled. “And good luck tomorrow. Let me know what happens.”

“I sure will.”

The small talk could have continued for a while longer, but Jack started the Jeep, and Alan stepped away. Jack backed out of the driveway, with the three kids in the Jeep waving at Alan, and him waving back at him. He watched till they drove out of sight before turning and heading back to the house.

“Alan,” his mother said when he came inside, “I was watching out the window. Did I see what I thought I saw?”

“Yeah, you did,” he nodded sheepishly. “Don’t ask me what happened, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“Summer Trevetheck,” his mother shook her head. “I never quite expected that.”

“Me either,” he said, still a little amazed at what had happened the last few hours, “but I’ll tell you what, I’m not complaining.”

“Me either, son,” his father said, realizing that Jack had kept his word much better than he’d ever dreamed he would. “Me, either.”

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