Age Is But a Number

Charlotte and Caitlyn unpacked their things on their beds. They got their own hotel room right next to the four brothers. Their mom's got a room on the floor above them because it was the only one that was available and close enough to the kids. The ones next to them were taken by two couples, not that the five friends were complaining. Neither was little Frankie, for that matter.

"I'm staying in a room next to two hot girls," Frankie explained. "I don't care where or who I have to sleep with."

Nick laughed as he unpacked his things, wondering when his little brother noticed girls and began calling them hot and such.

"Even if I have a couple burritos for dinner?" Joe asked. Frankie did not flinch. "Bean burritos?"

"Oh man, remember that time Joe went overboard with Taco Tuesday night at that Mexican restaurant down the street from our house?" Kevin added. "He didn't think the five tacos were enough and had a couple bean burritos with extra hot sauce." Him and Nick came together and made a disgusted face, pinching their nostrils.

Frankie's eyes widened. "Well, I, uh. . . . Two bean burritos?"

"Yes sir," answered Joe. "I saw a Mexican restaurant on our way here. Hey if I love the burritos, I'll just get more."

"You do that," Frankie said. "I've been feeling gassy all day anyway."

Joe's jaw dropped as Frankie strutted off to the door. His plan to get the pull-out couch bed all to himself did not go as planned, and Kevin agreeing to help really was not . . . helping.

"Wh-where do you think you're going?" Joe asked.

"To hang out with Charlotte and Caitlyn," Frankie answered, opening the door. "I'll show them what a real man looks like." He flexed his muscles, smirked at his brothers' slack jaws, and walked out the door. He stopped, turned around, and walked back in.

"Just one more thing," he said. He let one rip and Nick held back laughs. "That one's for free."

When the door shut Nick started laughing, holding his sides, applauding his little brother's cleverness and comedic timing.

.:-:.

"Charlotte stop it!" Caitlyn laughed, trying to hide her blush.

"Just admit you are completely and utterly excited that your mom is going to be one floor above us, leaving just you, me, Kevin, Joe and Nicholas Jonas!" Charlotte shouted, a smile on her face, following Caitlyn as she tried to flee.

"Yes, yes, I'm ecstatic, okay?" Caitlyn laughed. She saw how smug Charlotte looked and put her hands on her hips. "And you're not excited that Mom is up there and that Kevin is next door?"

Charlotte abruptly stopped laughing. It was her turn to hide her blush now. "Well, I - I -"

The door knocked and Charlotte took the opportunity. She ran towards the door, hopping over Caitlyn's suitcase, and opened the door. She raised an eyebrow when Frankie stood there, an adorable smile on his face.

"Hey Frankie," Charlotte greeted. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to show my brothers that I can get girls better than they can," he explained, letting himself in.

The two girls giggled. "Well aren't you cute," Caitlyn complimented, rubbing his hair. "Knowing the boys, they are going to be coming here any minute now and will be wondering if you actually pulled it off."

Charlotte caught on. "So when they come, we're going to be all over you, all right? Do you mind?"

Frankie smiled. "Not at all," he answered.

They heard a knock at the door and Joe asking if they could come in. Charlotte and Caitlyn immediately began laughing, Charlotte adding an "Oh Frankie you're so funny!" and dragging Frankie over to the bed, sitting on the edge and hugging him to make the boys sweat. When Caitlyn answered the doors, the brothers were curious and confused and awestruck that Frankie was so successful.

"Hey guys," Charlotte laughed, seeing their jaws dropped. "Frankie here is just so adorable!" Caitlyn nodded in agreement as Charlotte gave Frankie a kiss on the cheek. Kevin stopped breathing. He’d have to ask Frankie later how he got her to kiss him.

"Well, I am his older brother, so he got it from me," Nick suggested, smiling and shrugging. Caitlyn's heart skipped a beat.

"And I'm his older brother, so as you can see, they got it from me," Joe added, flexing his muscles. Neither of the girls had a crush on him nor did they think of him more than a friend, but he was a very handsome man.

Kevin rolled his eyes and stepped in front of the two. "I was voted one of the sexiest men alive, so hand's down, Frankie got it from me," he explained, then wiggled his eyebrows at Charlotte.

Charlotte tried to suppress a smile and held Frankie's hand and said to him: "You're the cutest, Frankie."

Joe's jaw dropped. "But - but -"

"I wanna go to the beach," Frankie said. "I can show you girls my manliness there."

Caitlyn and Charlotte giggled and agreed. The boys pouted, a sense of defeat coming over them from losing the girls to their nine-year-old brother.

"Oh calm down you three," Caitlyn said. "We were just doin' Frankie a favor."

"Heck, I wasn't kiddin'," Charlotte shrugged. "Now get out of our room so we can change and we'll ask the moms if it's okay if we go down to the beach, all right?"

"All right," the three older brothers agreed, then blew the girls a kiss at the same time.

When they exited the door, Charlotte watched as Caitlyn fainted, but in the overly excited Jonas Brothers fan way.
-~-
"Dang, your mom is agreeing to everything lately," Charlotte pointed out. "I never expected her to let us go on vacation when we asked, and she was all for it. Then letting us come to the beach by ourselves? Wow."

"Denise is treating her to a day at the spa, of course she would agree to anything," Caitlyn said, rolling down the window. She took a big breath in. "I love the smell of the ocean, don‘t you?"

Nick smiled over at her, admiring her beauty as her hair blew in the wind. Charlotte noticed his drooling over her best friend and asked him to keep his eyes on the road before he crashed them. He glowered at her before he turned back around and watched the road. Still, both chuckled lightly.

The five friends showed up at the beach and parked near the sand. The beach was full, but not overwhelmingly full. Charlotte looked for an open volleyball court and found one open. She called out to the others that she was going to grab it before anyone else did and took off, sliding her sandals off before she ran.

“Kev,” she called. He looked up. “Would you toss me the volleyball?”

He nodded and threw it. When she caught it she smiled at him and continued to run. Kevin watched her as she ran off, seeing the brown shining in her red hair. He became a little worried; the last time he played a sport with her she fainted. He turned to Caitlyn as he pulled out the cooler.

“Caitlyn, do you think Charlotte will be all right?” he asked her.

“What d‘ya mean Kev?” she replied, scooping up Charlotte’s sandals and putting them in her beach bag.

“I mean playing volleyball is work enough as it is,” he explained. “Playing in the sand requires more work. You don‘t think she‘ll . . . ?”

“No,” Caitlyn answered. “She knows her limits and I‘m pretty sure she‘ll take it easy, especially in the heat.” Kevin nodded, but his eyebrows were still furrowed. “Don‘t worry, Kevin. She won‘t faint.”

The others caught up with Charlotte, who was hitting the ball in place, counting how many times she could bounce it before it fell.

“Hey Charlotte what are you doing?!” Joe shouted, and it broke her concentration and the ball fell into the sand with a thud.

“Joseph . . . something Jonas I am going to throw this at your face!” she shouted back. “I was concentrating!”

“You don‘t know my middle name?” Joe asked. Charlotte sighed and shook her head no, giving up on trying to make him feel guilty. She got over it. “We‘ve been friends for almost over a month and you don‘t even know my -”

“Do you know mine?” Charlotte interrupted. The boys were silent.

“Anne!” Caitlyn shouted, happy that she was the only one that knew.

“You don‘t count, Caitlyn Emi Matters,” Charlotte replied. “Nor does it count that you know their names either, number one Jonas Brothers fan.”

“Charlotte Anne Reynolds,” Kevin said, smiling. “Goes well together. My middle name is Kevin.”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Kevin Kevin Jonas?” she asked.

Kevin chuckled and shook his head. “I‘m Paul Kevin Jonas the second,” he replied, holding up two fingers.

“You go by your middle name so you won’t get confused with your . . . Dad?” He nodded. “Oh. I‘m gonna call you Paul now.”

“Please don‘t,” he begged. Charlotte shrugged and laughed.

“And the rest of you?” she asked Joe and Nick.

“Jerry,” Nick says.

“Adam!” Joe replied happily.

“Nathaniel,” Frankie adds, putting on his sunglasses. He grinned wide when Charlotte and Caitlyn awed.

Charlotte got an idea. “Caitlyn, it sure is sunny out here. Where are your sunglasses? You should put them on.”

Caitlyn gulped, holding her bag closer. The only sunglasses she has are the ones she stole from Kevin. “I - I‘m fine.”

“No, no, you should,” Charlotte insisted.

“What‘s goin‘ on here?” Nick asked curiously.

Charlotte lunged for Caitlyn’s bag and the two fought over it, hurling themselves on the ground as they wrestled for it.

“Maybe we should -”

“No, no, let them fight,” Joe interrupted Nick, staring at the two girls. Nick punched him on the arm and Joe hissed and his arm stung.

“Ha!” Charlotte shouted, holding up the sunglasses. Caitlyn clawed at her hand, trying to reach them, but Charlotte handed them to Kevin. “These look familiar?” she asked him.

Kevin looked at the sunglasses, turning his head to the side. Realization crossed his face. “Yeah these are my sunglasses! They have the scratch on the - how did you get these? I got to close to a fan and she stole them right from my head.”

Charlotte pointed at Caitlyn sitting on the ground.

Caitlyn waved and said, “Guilty.”

Nick, Frankie and Joe began laughing, holding their sides. Joe was laughing so hard he was down on his knees, letting out such a loud laugh.

“What are the odds of that?” Nick asked, taking a breath, but continued laughing.

“I guess you want them back,” Caitlyn guessed.

Kevin handed her the glasses. “Keep ‘em. I‘ve got plenty.”

“Dang,” Charlotte muttered. “That‘s not the reaction I was hoping for.”

“Charlie, just for this I‘m gonna kick your butt at a game of volleyball,” Caitlyn replied, grabbing the volley ball and tossing it up and down, up and down.

Charlotte’s competitive side came out. “Bring it Emi,” Charlotte replied.

.:-:.

“Oh my God, he‘s staying here too,” Laura muttered to herself, looking out the window of her hotel room. She saw Kevin getting into his jeep, a place where they spent a lot of time together alone in the dark, nothing but the moonlight shining through the windows.

“What was that babe?” her boyfriend ( he was the man she was caught with when she was with Kevin) called.

“Nothing, Devon,” she answered, smirking as she saw Kevin carrying a beach towel. She knew where he was going to go with his brothers.

What’s this? she asked herself. She saw a girl with red hair mixed with brown putting a couple beach bags in the trunk of a mustang. Kevin smiled at her and she smiled back. When she walked away Kevin watched her and Laura noticed that look in his eyes. She has seen that look of love in his eyes before, when he was looking at her.

“Devon, how about we go to the beach later, huh?” Laura asked.

Devon walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist. “Later? Why not now?”

Laura smirked seductively at him as she went to her suitcase and pulled out some skimpy lingerie. “I wanted to try these out,” she purred.

Devon removed his towel with a smile.