| “Worth It” Part 5 A short story based on the WB Series, “Tarzan” By Deb Duncan Disclaimer: Don’t own any of it…not the characters or the series in any form. I am making no profit off of this. I’m writing it purely for my own enjoyment, and hopefully for the enjoyment of some of the fellow Tarzan fans. Distribution: If you want it, you can have it… just give me credit and tell me where it is going. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jane resisted for about 2 seconds and then simply melted into his arms, no coherent thoughts able to stay in her mind. Even the thought that her sister could come out of her room to look for her didn’t register. She had wanted this kiss almost as much as he had; ever since she’d seen that sexy smile light up his face when he’d said, “Maybe.” Putting his hands around either side of her head and pulling Jane closer, John kissed her deeply, using his tongue to tease and tantalize as Jane had done yesterday. He was a quick learner. Settling back against the foyer wall with Jane in his arms, his mouth moved from her mouth to her exposed neck, to her shoulders, to her ears and back to her mouth, as he kissed her, smelled her and tasted her. He just couldn’t seem to get enough of her to satisfy the craving deep inside him. And Jane, whimpering and pushing against him, making little moaning sounds that she didn’t even realize she was making, was driving him even crazier. He needed her so desperately. John’s wandering fingers found her torn sleeve and he stroked the soft, white skin through the torn fabric, and then kissed her tender skin. This, of course, only made him want more, so his hands slowly crept up her back, under her torn t-shirt, feeling her soft, electric skin as he kissed her neck and raced back to her mouth, to drown himself again in its sweet taste. Jane’s hands had clamped themselves around his body at first, creeping up to grasp his shoulders from behind, pulling him closer. She needed him closer, wanted to touch him, to feel that hard, warm body she’d felt yesterday. Mindlessly, her hands moved on their own, down under his long-sleeved t-shirt. One hand played up and down his warm back, stroking the hard muscles and warm skin, as the other hand settled at the small of his warm back and tried to pull him even closer to her. John, following an instinct deeper than time, picked up Jane and carried her into the living room, heading towards her bedroom, all while still kissing her. Jane, softly whimpering and complaining wordlessly at the loss of his mouth when he looked up to navigate the unfamiliar room, fastened her mouth on his neck and started to kiss and suck it, which almost drove John to his knees. Luckily, he’d just found her big, comfortable couch with his legs, and he sank onto it, with her on his lap, raining soft kisses on his mouth. His hands went up around either side of her lovely white neck and then up into her hair, where he finally managed to unfasten the huge barrette holding her hair back. A cascade of glorious red curls fell down around her head; he tangled his fingers in the curls as he drew her mouth towards his and ravished it thoroughly. John was nibbling alternately on Jane’s earlobe and neck when he suddenly went still. The quiet click of a door lock being turned had finally registered in his passion-fogged brain. His sudden cessation of movement and action allowed Jane to start coming back from the sexual nirvana she’d been in. Looking up at John’s intent face, Jane came back fully, her cop instincts finally clicking in. “What is it, John?” she whispered. “Ssshh. Listen,” he whispered back. A door started to creak open down the hall. Finally figuring out what was happening, Jane relaxed a little, but then realized where she was. “John, you need to put me down. It’s Nikki. She’s coming out of her bedroom.” Jane struggled to slide off of John’s lap, but he wasn’t ready to let her go. One hand was fisted in Jane’s hair and the other was half way up her back, under her shirt. He slid his one arm down around her waist and tightened both slightly. “Nikki’s here?” John asked quietly, and then sniffed the air. Since the two women’s scents were so prevalent in the apartment, he hadn’t realized Nikki was actually there. Usually she, or the music she liked to play, was pretty loud, or she at least moved around in her room. However, he hadn’t heard a sound from her room the whole time he was here. Of course, he had been rather busy. That thought brought his mind back to the struggling woman on his lap. “Sit still,” he told Jane, “Nikki likes us together. And so do I.” And with that statement, he captured her face with his hands and kissed her long and hard. Jane resisted for a couple of moments and then just went limp, savoring his wild taste and power. God the man could kiss! And she had once thought he wouldn’t know what to do? Good grief! “Jane? Is that you?” came Nikki’s voice floating down the hallway. “I fell asleep, I guess.” Nikki’s voice was getting closer and louder. “I’m kinda hungry, too. What’s for dinner?” As Nikki said that last line, she came out of the hallway into the living room and stopped abruptly. There was her sister, cradled on John’s lap on the couch, looking like she’d just been thoroughly and completely kissed. Cool! Nikki’s eyes widened slightly, her face registered surprise only for a moment. Then she grinned. “Well, I see I’m interrupting something, right? About time.” She giggled. “Sorry, John, didn’t mean to stop you. You just go right ahead. Can I watch?” And she plopped in the oversized chair and ogled them. At John’s surprised expression, Nikki laughed. “Oh, you should see your faces! You’d think you were both fifteen and caught necking by your older sister. It’s priceless!” And she laughed some more. Jane, who felt entirely too good to even care that Nikki had caught them necking, just smiled and leaned back against John’s chest. “Go ahead, birdbrain, laugh it up. I don’t see you with a good-looking hunk like this.” She ran her hand up John’s neck and into his gorgeous hair. Two could play this game. Puzzled, John asked, “Necking? Hunk? What do they mean?” He looked at Jane and Nikki quizzically, hoping they’d answer his questions. Both women looked at each other and then burst out laughing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Mmmmm, that’s so good,” Nikki purred, munching on the last piece of pepperoni pizza. “John, you haven’t eaten all of your pizza? Don’t you like it?” John, slowly eating the strange food, couldn’t decide whether he really liked it or not. “This tastes so strange, kind of hard and greasy at the same time. But these round things on top taste good,” he added, as he picked several off the top of his pizza and chomped them. “And so does this white stuff.” He picked his pizza apart, scraping off the cheese with his fingers. “I don’t like this red stuff or the hard bottom very much,” he said as he licked his fingers and then took another piece of orange and apple, which he ate quickly. He much preferred the juicy fruits. “So, this is cardboard pizza?” he asked Jane, licking his sticky fingers. Jane, who had just taken a big drink of soda, spit it out all over her plate. “What?” she sputtered, wiping her mouth with her napkin as Nikki fell over laughing. “Where did you learn that term?” Jane obviously didn’t remember telling John about frozen pizza. John looked at her quizzically. “You told me about Nikki having to eat cardboard pizza - when you came to eat at my house. Isn’t this cardboard pizza?” John looked at Nikki, who was rolling on the floor and laughing even harder. “Yeah, sis…explain that one!” Nikki managed to gasp out in between laughing fits. “Oh, Nikki, cut it out,” Jane said, half serious. She just couldn’t get mad at Nikki, who was so obviously enjoying herself. Plus, John now had a huge grin on his face as he watched Nikki laughing and rolling. “Well, John, it’s really just frozen pizza that we cooked. Cardboard pizza is just slang phrase we use for it…oh, just forget it, it’s not important,” Jane added as she noticed the very puzzled look on John’s face. “Those round things on top are called pepperonis, and the white stuff is mozzarella cheese. Good, huh?” She smiled at John, who smiled back. “Okay, but not as good as chicken,” John said and shrugged his shoulders. “Chicken?” Nikki squawked as she sat up. “Tastes like chicken?” Nikki rolled over and started laughing again. Everything was funny to Nikki right now. Rolling her eyes and noticing John’s puzzled stare at Nikki’s comments, Jane just touched his arm and said, “Don’t mind Nikki. Once she gets this weird and starts laughing this hard, everything’s funny to her, whether it’s actually funny or not. We just have to let her wind down.” “Strange,” was John’s only comment as he reached for the last piece of apple. “Are girls always this strange?” he added, munching on the apple. “No, only teenage girls,” Jane answered, smiling. “And you don’t ever want to be in a room full of them when they all think something’s funny. That’s sheer insanity!” Jane fondly remembered slumber parties Nikki had had when they were still living at home. “Hmmm,” John said as he tried to imagine a whole room full of shrieking teenage girls. Remembering how crazy and excited Nikki had gotten the first day he met her, he decided he didn’t ever want to be in that situation. Nikki was loud enough just by herself. “Let’s clean up this mess while Nikki calms down, okay?” Jane said and stood up. Picking up the pizza pan and the paper plates, Jane moved over to the sink. John stood up, picked up the bowl the fruit had been in and the scattered napkins, looked down at Nikki, who was holding her sides and still chuckling to herself and mumbling “tastes like chicken”, then followed Jane. He knew how to do this part; Kathleen and Mary had shown him how to pick up. Once the dishes were taken care of, Jane went over to Nikki, who was lying on the kitchen floor with her arm over her eyes. “Gonna live?” Jane asked her, smiling. Picking her arm up off her face, Nikki smiled and said, “Yeah. Jeez, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. It feels good, though. Help me up, okay?” and she reached up for Jane’s hand. Jane pulled Nikki up off the floor and the two of them walked arm-and-arm into the living room, followed by John, who had been watching the interplay with unconcealed interest. Nikki plopped into the stuffed chair and Jane curled up on one end of the couch. Smiling because Jane had sat on the couch, John walked over and sat down right next to Jane. Nikki watched this with interest, wondering what her mostly too uptight sister would do about it. Jane looked at John and said, “Hey! Give a girl some room,” and then she shoved him over with her shoulder, smiling the whole time. John, at first puzzled by Jane’s shoving, thought maybe he’d done something wrong. Then he looked closer and saw Jane and Nikki were both smiling, so he decided this must be a game. Remembering mock play games with his tribe mates, when shoving, jumping and rolling around were normal, he decided Jane was feeling playful, so he’d be playful, too. Getting a crafty look on his face, John moved swiftly, grabbing Jane suddenly and rolling to the floor with her. Startled and unable to stop from going over, Jane gave a shriek and landed right on top of John on the floor. Laughing and clapping, Nikki shouted, “Good for you John! Get that snooty wench and tickle her good!” “No, no tickling!” Jane yelled. Luckily for her, John didn’t remember what tickling was, although there was a vague, niggling memory in the back of his mind of rolling and laughing on the floor with his mom. Instead, he fastened his arms around her firmly and tangled her legs with his, effectively pinning her to him. “Great!” Nikki screeched as she jumped up. “You hold her and I’ll tickle her!” and she dashed over and knelt down next to them and started running her fingers up and down Jane’s ribs, laughing at Jane’s involuntary barks of laughter. “No, No, NO!” Jane yelled and then couldn’t help but laugh as Nikki hit all the right tickle spots. “Stop, Stop!” Jane managed to bark out breathlessly in between peals of laughter. Jane was uncontrollably squirming on top of John, who was smiling and looking on with a great deal of interest. He didn’t remember Jane ever laughing this much and acting this silly. He’d have to remember this tickling! Nikki finally took mercy on Jane and stopped tickling. She’d been laughing almost as hard as Jane and noticed the huge smile on John’s face. “You didn’t know how to tickle, did you John?” she asked, quite frankly. “No,” John said, “but I do now. Thanks, Nikki.” “You bet. I always have to tickle Jane when she gets too serious. Sometimes everyone just needs a good laugh.” Nikki leaned up against the couch and calmed her own breathing down. Jane was still breathing hard and trying to calm her breathing, too. She was still pressed very close to John and made the mistake of looking at his face. He was smiling and had a very intense, kind of considering look on his face as he gazed at her. It sobered her up instantly. “Um, John? You can let go of me now,” she said, hoping he’d listen. “I don’t want to,” he answered, now getting a definite gleam in his eyes and tightening his arms slightly. “John,” Jane said again, realizing she couldn’t move at all unless he let her. Nikki, watching this action with great interest, decided she was a third wheel. Of course that didn’t mean she couldn’t get one last jab in. “Hey you two, get a room!” Then she giggled and stood up. “I’m heading to bed!” And she smiled at John, who smiled back, and headed to her bedroom. She liked John a lot and he was good for Jane, so she wasn’t going to stand in the way of true love. Sighing, she shut her bedroom door. Maybe someday she’d find her Prince Charming, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jane was still struggling, trying to get John to let her go. “John, you really need to let me go. We can’t do this with Nikki in the other room!” John had his arms and legs completely around her, pinning her to him very effectively. “Why not? I like holding you.” John looked at Jane’s enticing lips, so very close to his. Remembering previous kisses they’d shared recently only made him want her more. If he just pressed his lips to hers quickly before she could object… “Unh!” John grunted slightly as Jane smashed her head into his upper chest and broke his concentration. “John, I mean it. Let me go! I don’t like being confined!” Jane was a little claustrophobic and anytime her arms and legs were pinned completely, she went a little ballistic. Sam had found out the hard way once when they were practicing self-defense moves. Hearing the rising note of hysteria in Jane’s voice, John abruptly let go of her and she scrambled up off his body. Lying on the floor, looking up at Jane, whose chest was heaving with her recent exertion and her phobia, he quietly said, “I’m sorry, Jane. I didn’t know.” Looking at his apologetic face, Jane relaxed a little, and then gave a crooked smile. Offering her hand to him, she pulled him up off the floor…and right into her body. John put one hand on her hip and the other just behind her back, to prevent her from falling over. Most people would have instantly backed away from another person in that situation, but John didn’t. He stood perfectly still and just stared into Jane’s eyes, his desire for her shining clearly from his eyes. Jane could do nothing but stare back at him with a slow twist of desire starting to curl through her belly. God, he had the most beautiful blue-green eyes, just like a lion she saw once in a zoo. And the look in them was causing the most disturbing sensations in her body. She recognized desire when she saw it; she wasn’t an innocent. But his desire was so direct, so honest, that it never seemed dirty or unwelcome; he wanted her and showed it, and if Jane didn’t watch herself, it would be all too easy to just give in to both their desires. Her bedroom was only a few steps away. All of this flashed through her mind as they stared at each other. Jane dropped her eyes finally and stepped back just as John clasped her hand and brought it up to his mouth. “Jane,” he whispered and kissed her hand, just like he’d done back in the greenhouse many weeks ago. The touch of his mouth on the top of her hand sent thrills of desire coursing throughout her body and her eyes were drawn back up to his. Moving a little closer, John lifted his hand and lightly ran it down the side of her face and through her silky hair, as his other hand slowly drew her closer to him. Jane’s gaze went from his eyes to his full lips, which was a big mistake. They always looked so inviting. Tearing her eyes away from his lips, she looked into his questioning, hungry eyes and realized that she desperately wanted him to kiss her again. She didn’t care anymore if Nikki came in and caught them kissing. She had a right to love another man after Michael! Besides, Nikki had seen her and Michael kissing before, so it wouldn’t be as if Nikki had never seen her kissing a man before. Looking back at his lips, Jane leaned in and kissed him gently. John’s eyes widened slightly as he realized she wasn’t going to turn away from him this time. His arm tightened slightly around her back, drawing her up against him as his other hand slipped behind her neck and brought her mouth even closer to his. Deepening the kiss slowly and tenderly, John showed his love for her with all his being. Slowly and surely he was tearing down the walls Jane had built around her heart. Unfortunately, he still had a long way to go before he reached his goal of making her completely his. Jane pushed against John a little harder and his legs ran up against the edge of the couch. The sudden stop caused him to overbalance and he fell backwards and sat on the couch. Slightly startled, he looked up at Jane, who was grinning now. Grinning back at her, he started to get up, but Jane put her hand on his chest and said, “Oh no you don’t,” and pushed him back down. Watching him closely, Jane slowly sat down on him with her knees on each side of his body. John’s eyes widened slightly at this new, aggressive Jane. Smiling hugely at him, feeling suddenly aggressive, Jane slanted her mouth across his and kissed him soundly. Fisting one hand in his hair and the other behind his neck, she put all of her being into kissing him senseless. Responding to her ardor, John put his arms around her and pulled her tight, meeting her passion with his. Many deep, drugging kisses and several minutes later, Jane sighed and reluctantly pulled her mouth from his. Both of them were breathing hard and John’s response to her actions was very evident. John stared at her as if he was looking at a whole new Jane. Yes, she’d responded as eagerly to him before, but he had always been the aggressor. This woman sitting on his lap, smiling at him seductively, was a very different woman. Jane looked at the somewhat shocked look on his face and laughed. “What, you didn’t think I could make the first move or take what I wanted?” Jane laughed again. John’s mouth curled up in a one-sided smile and he shyly shook his head. “No,” was all he could get out at first as his hands started wandering up and down her back. “But I like it,” he finally added and smiled at her again. “Let’s do it again?” he asked, cocking his head a little and smiling his sexy little smile at her. “As you wish,” Jane said, borrowing a line from a favorite movie. She captured his all-too-willing mouth again, and pushed herself against him, needing and wanting to be closer to him as much as he wanted her closer. Releasing his mouth several minutes later, Jane moaned and covered his face with kisses and attacked his ears and neck, causing John to growl low in his throat, grab her and do the same. Jane wanted his hands on her so desperately she couldn’t think straight, and felt like she couldn’t breathe. Putting her hands behind his head as he ravished her neck, she pulled his face down lower and pressed her breasts into his face. Somewhat startled, but so lost in need that he just responded instinctively, John nuzzled her breasts through her shirt and bra, breathing in her scent deeply. “Oh God, John, I need your hands on me,” Jane moaned, not even realizing she was saying it. “Yes,” John panted, moving his hands to her buttons and trying to undo them. Shakily, Jane showed him how to undo the buttons before he ripped her shirt. As each one came undone, he kissed the bare, warm skin as it was exposed. When the last one was undone, he slid his hands up and around her back, under her shirt, and then pressed his mouth to the warm, rounded flesh at the top of her bra. Kissing the tops of her breasts, he moved slowly down and mouthed her taut nipples through her bra. Jane moaned and pressed against him with her whole body. Moving his hands slowly around to the front, watching Jane’s face intently, John gently cupped both breasts, slowly moving his thumbs up and over her very sensitive nipples. He was driving her insane. “Oh God, John, don’t stop,” Jane panted. Her hands came up and showed him how to unclasp her front-hook bra, and her breasts fell into his warm, large hands. John stared at Jane’s milky-white breasts for a moment, overcome by awe at their beauty. He rubbed his hands gently over them and then lightly squeezed each nipple with his fingers. John kissed first one breast and then the other and murmured her name. With an instinct older than either of them, John lightly licked and sucked each nipple as Jane moaned his name and made little whimpering noises. His hands continued to cup and caress her breasts, as his mouth loved them, and Jane simply surrendered to his hot mouth and wonderful fingers. After several long minutes of this ecstasy, John pulled Jane around to sit crosswise on his lap so he could reach her mouth easier, while still touching her breasts. She didn’t even try to resist; the taker had been taken. John looked at Jane very seriously and then kissed her so very tenderly. She had given him such a great gift that he had no words and so he showed her with his actions. Shuddering at the emotions flowing through her and the tenderness he gave her, Jane stroked his face and stared up into his eyes. “Jane,” he whispered and kissed her again, caressing one naked breast while he kissed her neck, her ears, her eyes, her mouth. John wanted her so very badly, and thought he’d explode with need, but realized he had to go very slowly, or he’d lose it all. Slowly, but carefully, he moved both of them so they were lying side-by-side full-length on the couch. Kissing Jane and lightly stroking her breasts, her face, her arms, John tried to calm himself enough so he didn’t rip the rest of her clothes off, as his instincts were screaming at him to do. As he reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers a few minutes later, Jane reached up and stroked his beautiful face. Knowing what it must be costing him to stop, she tried to lie as still as possible in his arms and just love him with her eyes. Her heart, which had been racing most of the night, slowly started to calm. As much in need of release as he, she understood perfectly what he was feeling, but knew they could go no further right now. She was surprised Nikki hadn’t come out and interrupted them before this. She fervently hoped Nikki had fallen asleep. “Penny for your thoughts,” she murmured as she reached up and ran her fingers down his cheek. “Hmmm?” was all he could manage, lost in the wonder of her body. “What are you thinking?” she quietly asked. “How beautiful you are,” he answered, looking into her passion-filled eyes. “How much I want you,” he added. “And I want you, too,” she quietly stated, “but this isn’t the place, and I’m not quite ready for that, no matter what my body thinks.” She knew he realized what she meant. “I know,” he replied, and then kissed her gently. “We will go slow, as you want.” “Thank you, John.” Jane stroked his face and gazed into his knowing eyes. Lying close and whispering to each other, they both reveled in their newfound understanding. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jane woke to the sound of FeFe Dobson singing “Take Me Away” on Nikki’s CD player. She groaned and turned over to look at the clock. Ten-thirty? She’d slept until 10:30? Jane was very surprised. Sure, she and John had stayed up very late last night, whispering and kissing, but her body was so used to getting up early that she never dreamed she’d sleep this late. Thank God it was Sunday! Jane looked around her room and saw that John wasn’t there. She looked over to the window and saw that it was mostly shut, but not latched, so she figured that was how he got out. She sighed. Would he ever learn to leave by the door? Maybe someday. She wondered how he did climbing with his Nikes on? It must have been a first for him since he’d just got them yesterday. She hoped it wasn’t too awkward, and he wasn’t laying somewhere, bleeding to death… Startled at her thoughts, Jane jumped up and ran to the window. Sticking her head out of the window and looking down, she didn’t see John lying on the pavement or any big bloodspots. Putting her hand to her heaving chest, Jane pulled her head back inside her window, shut it and then leaned against it, trying to calm herself. God, it was hard loving a man as different as John. He was always doing unexpected things that drove her crazy. Of course, he did do good things, too. Amazing things, actually. Flopping back down full-length on the bed, Jane closed her eyes and remembered last night. Putting her fingers to her lips, she thought of the heated kisses, gentle touching and passion from the night before. God, the man could kiss! And he turned her to mush the minute he started kissing and touching her, so much so that she couldn’t think straight. Heck, his smile alone was almost enough to push her over the edge! But what a sweet fall it would be. Smiling at the thought, Jane opened her eyes and sat up. Well, what to do today? First, a shower. Then see what Nikki had going. Then eat something. Then…whatever struck her fancy, she guessed. No plans and the cleaning was all done. Maybe she and Nikki should go catch a movie. She’d been dying to see the new Tom Cruise movie, The Last Samurai. Maybe Nikki would go, too, since both sisters had the hots for him. Hmmm, maybe John would like to go see a movie, too? What a thought! And it might be kind of fun, introducing John to the movies. Oh sure, she knew he’d watched some TV, but seeing an action flick on the big screen was a whole different ballgame. Humming to herself, Jane headed for the shower. ~~~~~~~~~~~ At that moment, John was crouched in an armchair watching the Discovery Channel. Kathleen had told him that a program about Africa was on the television, so he wanted to watch it. It had started out well, in the thick jungle he remembered, but now it was showing Northern Africa, which was mostly desert. He wish they get back to little Manu, the monkey, playing in the trees, or the views of the lush jungle. It made him a little homesick. Kathleen came into the room and saw John perched on the chair, concentrating on the TV. “So, I guess you like the program?” she asked. John looked up at her and nodded his head, then quickly turned back to watching the program. “Just wait until you go to the movies, John,” she continued, sitting down on the couch. “The screen is a hundred times the size of this TV screen and many movies have stereo surround sound, which makes you feel almost like you’re in the movie.” Not wanting to miss watching Histah, the snake, strangle and eat Bara, the deer, John didn’t answer for a few minutes. When the program switched to a commercial, he finally looked over at Kathleen, who was patiently waiting, having watched TV with him before. “How can they fit a TV that big in a house?” he asked, wondering at a screen that huge. Kathleen smiled. How to explain a movie screen and theater simply enough for him to understand? “They don’t have a TV that big, John. Instead, they hang a strong, white cloth from a large bar at the end of a very, very large room in a building called a movie theater. There are many chairs in this large room, all facing towards the cloth. From the back of the room, a machine called a movie projector shines a large picture that looks something like a TV program onto the big cloth, called a movie screen. That way a lot of people can watch the movie at the same time.” She hoped it was enough of an explanation to satisfy him until she could take him to a movie. John looked a little puzzled and unconvinced at her explanation. “Don’t these people have TVs to watch? Why would they all go somewhere else to watch this movie?” Laughing briefly at his expression, Kathleen answered. “Many people like to see the movies on the big screen because it shows what’s happening so much clearer. Not everyone has your perfect eyesight, John. And in a movie theater, you almost feel like you are part of the movie.” John still looked a little doubtful, but his program came back on TV, and so he switched his attention back to the TV screen. The two of them sat in silence and watched together, John watching the screen, and Kathleen watching John. She was still so amazed and grateful that she had her nephew back. And amused at his ability to focus on something so completely. She just hoped that when he met his new tutor tomorrow, he would embrace learning as eagerly. When the program finished, John looked over at Kathleen. “I will have to go see this movie, I think, to understand what you were saying, Aunt Kathleen.” “Well, it just so happens that there’s a new Tom Cruise movie showing up the street at the theater. Do you want to go with me?” Kathleen hoped he would agree. She wanted to let him experience a movie theater at least once or twice before he tried to take Jane. She didn’t want him freaking out or doing something unpredictable when she wasn’t there to help calm him. “Yes,” John said, smiling at the thought of another new experience. “Who’s Tom Cruise?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jane walked into Nikki’s room twenty minutes later with her hands over her ears. “Can you turn that thing down a little, Nik?” she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was the only way Nikki could hear her. “Um sure, Jane,” Nikki said, scrambling off the bed. Blissful silence reigned in the room. Jane almost fell over, the silence was so profound. “How the heck can you do homework with that so loud?” Jane asked her, wondering if Nikki was going to be able to hear when she was 30. “Oh, you know, I just can,” Nikki said, shrugging her shoulders and flopping back down on the bed, stomach first. “Don’t tell me you never played your music loud. I remember Mom screaming at you to turn it down.” Nikki smiled at Jane. She loved getting one over on her sister. It happened so rarely. “I don’t think I EVER played my music that loud, sis,” Jane said. “Sure I played it loud, but I think that was ‘breaking the sound barrier’ decibel level you were at. You’d better watch out, or you’ll be deaf before you hit 25, Nik.” Jane had revised her opinion; Nikki wouldn’t make it to 30. Nikki rolled her eyes. “Jeez, Jane, that wasn’t any louder than a movie theatre, at the most. You’re just out of practice.” “Yeah, right,” Jane replied, realizing it was the perfect opening. “Say, Nik, you want to go catch the latest Tom Cruise movie with me today? My treat.” “Tom Cruise, as in The Last Samurai?” Nikki almost squealed. “You bet! Can Mallory come, too? She loves Tom even more than you do!” Nikki was hopping on the bed by this time, scattering her papers and bouncing her English book right off the bed. Jane laughed at Nikki’s enthusiasm. “I suppose. Why don’t you go call her while I check out the movie times.” “Yes!” Nikki screamed and pulled her fisted arm down into her body. Then she went racing for the phone. Mallory was just going to die! “Hey, don’t be on the phone too long or I won’t be able to find out the times!” Jane yelled after a quickly disappearing Nikki. She headed to her bedroom, pulled out her laptop and set it up so it would be ready to hook in when Nikki got off the phone. She could hear Nikki chattering excitedly in the other room and smiled. Booting up the computer, she heard Nikki hang up and yell, “She can come!” and then go running to her room. She’d spend the next hour agonizing over what to wear. Jane plugged the laptop into the phone jack in her room and went directly to the theater Web site and checked out the times. Hmmm, the first matinee was at 1:00 p.m. They had about an hour; plenty of time to call Kathleen and see if she and John wanted to go, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |