Storm Before The Calm

♀

"Here she comes! Miss America!" my mom sang from the kitchen. I laughed. My mom sings all the time. We walked into the living room and then into the kitchen. My mom had her hair up in a curled ponytail and had perfect makeup on. Not to mention a sweaterdress and she was wearing boots inside. She definitely took her time getting ready. She walked over to the door to the porch, opened it, and said, "Rick, Olive's home." My dad walked to the door and inside, where Skinner and I stood, awkwardly. I heard Skinner gulp and it made me laugh internally.

"Mom, Dad, this is Jeff Skinner." I finally spoke, after some moments of awkward silence. He reached his hand out and shook my dad's hand.

"Richard. Call me Rick, never Dick." my dad said, winking at me. We both laughed. We had this joke about the nickname Dick. How did that happen? When someone's name is Dichard, then they can be called Dick. Skinner laughed too, and put his hand out to my mom. Being the Italian that she was, she went in for a hug.

"Rosemary. Call me Rose." she smiled, patting his shoulder.

"Where's Ash-" I began to ask, but was interrupted by Ashton barreling down the stairs. She saw a new person and trotted over to Skinner. She sat in front of him, looked up at him, and wagged her tail. He smiled and bent down and pet the top of her head. She licked his hand and laid at his feet.

"And, that's Ashton." I introduced, with a laugh. She loved new people, but she really warmed up to him quickly.

"So, what's for lunch?" my dad asked, looking at me.

"Geez, I dunno." I moaned, stomping into the kitchen and looking in the fridge.

"And maybe you want to ask your guest if he's thirsty." my mom advised. I popped my head into view.

"Skinner, my sincerest apologies. Would you, perhaps, like a beverage for your parched self? Water? Milk? Soda? Tea? What suits your fancy?" I mocked my mom's advice in a hospitable, Southern voice. He laughed.

"Water would be awesome, if you don't mind, Mrs. O'Hara." he laughed. My mom's ears perked up at a 'Gone with the Wind' reference. I got some ice and water from the fridge.

"My mom made me watch 'Gone with the Wind' for Mother's Day last year." he admitted, after I handed him the glass. “Not one of the best times I've ever had.”

“Your's too?" I asked. He nodded, laughing. He drank some water and my mom stared at him. She's crazier than me sometimes. Which is definitely saying something.

"There is some pizza dough in the freezer. You can use that for dinner, it won't thaw in time for lunch." my dad said. I nodded, going back to the fridge. "I'll be in the backyard with the dog, if you need me." My dad never wanted a dog, but since I was an only child, he gave me pretty much what I wanted. Not to mention, he plays with her and takes her for walks too.

"I'm gonna have to go to the store." I sighed, seeing that there was nothing in there. I looked over at Skinner. "You wanna come?"

"Sur-"

"Honey, everyone knows who Skinner is. Maybe he should stay home with us." my mom said. She had that face on like, “My daughter needs to leave so I can ask this boy a million embarrassing questions and unearth all of her baby pictures to humiliate her”.

"But mom, he can wear shades." I defended, not wanting him to have to stay home with them alone. I could see my mom's maniacal cogs moving in her head.

"I don't know about that." she said. I made a quick list of stuff we needed, ripping it off a pad that was on the counter.

"Are you sure-" she started again, but I threw the pen in the drawer I got it from, grabbed my keys, and turned to my mom.

"Yup. We'll be back in ten." I promised, blowing her a kiss. Skinner followed me out of the door, into the garage.

"SHIT." I whispered, once we were in there. I forgot my car at the freaking RBC. How was I going to explain that to my parents? 'I lied to you, left my car at the Staal's. Went to a club. Slept in bed with Skinner. Kissed him. Mrs. Staal drove my car to practice. I kissed him again. The end'? "Oops." he spoke. I turned to him, glaring. I couldn't even breathe, I was about to freak out.

“Well, we gotta go.” he said. “And speed over to get the car and to the store.”

“Lemme just...” I began. I turned around and opened the door. “Heymomineedtogotothefarmer'smarketit'llbeanhoureatsomesnackswe'llbebacksoon!” I yelled quickly, shutting the door. Skinner laughed at me and I slapped his butt, running around him.

“C'mon!” I yelled. He jogged after me, unlocking his car. I opened my door, diving in and clicking on my seat belt. He did the same.

“Go, go, go!” I said, as soon as we were ready. We sped out of the driveway and down the street before my mom could say something.

“Do you actually want to go to the Farmer's Market? We can squeak it in.” Skinner asked.

“Sure.” I accepted, looking at my list. “Yup. I'm gonna make this super delicious salad.” He looked at me with concerned eyes. “I'm gonna make chicken, too. Don't worry your pretty head.” He looked over at me and mocked happiness.

“You think I'm pretty?” he asked, in a girly voice, fluttering his eyelashes. I laughed.

“Of course. My Skinny-poo is so pretty.” I said, pinching his cheeks. He laughed, and then sighed. “What's wrong, Jeff?” He seemed a little off. Maybe he was still so shaken up from the kiss. Why the hell did I do that, again? God, I'm so damn stupid.

“I'm fine.” he said, in a flat voice. He put on a fake smile.

“No you're not." I pointed out, clearly.

"Olive," he said, looking at me. He mustered out a fake laugh. "I'm fine."

“I don't believe you.” I stately plainly, staring ahead. I put on the radio and sighed, not saying anything. I saw him look over at me, but I said nothing.

“Hey.” he said, as we stopped at a red light. I cocked an eyebrow.

“You ready to confess yet?” I asked.

“Hey.” he repeated. He put his hand around my chin and forced me to look at him. His brown eyes stared right at me. He flashed me his beautiful smile. “I'm fine. I promise.”

I almost believed him.

“Looks like they are still cleaning up from the race.” Skinner observed as we pulled into the arena parking lot. There were workers cleaning up the cups and trash from the race everywhere in the parking lot. I could see Stormy talking to one of the Storm Squad girls and helping them deflate the slide that they had up.

“Naw shit, Sherlock. Did you need Dr. Watson for that one?” I said, sarcastically. He stuck his tongue out at me and I returned the favor. He drove around to where we saw my car parked.

“Thank you for the ride, but I really must be going.” I joked, unbuckling my seat belt. I took all of my junk out of his car and leaned on the open car door.

“Very funny.” he replied. “You wanna just follow me?”

“Yeah. That's fine.” I said. My jacket vibrated. “Oh shit.” I took my phone out and stared at it. It was my loving mother, ready to ask a million questions about everything.

“Well, it doesn't answer itself.”

“What do I say?”

“You left your bag at Ally's house. You had to go pick that up too.”

“You are a really good liar, Mr. Skinner.” I complimented, answering.

My mom fell for it. Which was good because I was really tired of wearing my yoga pants. So, before we left, I decided to do a bit of a quick change in the back of Skinner's car. He had more room and tinted windows, so it made more sense. I unzipped my jacket and kicked off my flip flops. I took out the clothes I was going to change into and made it as fast as possible. I took off the white tank that I was wearing and replaced it with a black one. As I slipped off my yoga pants, I instinctively looked up, to see Skinner staring at me. I slapped him and laughed, unbuttoning the jeans I brought. He turned around in his seat. I honestly didn't care if he saw me. I mean, I had undies on. I'm sure he's been to a pool or beach before in his life. It's the same coverage, if not more, than my bathing suit.
“Please tell me that that are Captain America underwear.” he said, gesturing towards my crotch.

“Oh. You know it.” I said, looking down the pair I was wearing. “I love the shield.” I did a little dance to get into my jeans and some how buttoned them, while hunched over in the Tahoe. I put on a belt and my boots. I shoved all my clothes into the bag and dug out my jacket, which I slipped over my shoulders. I took my hair out of the temporary ponytail that restricted it and shook it. I got out of the car, going over to my car, and throwing my shit in the backseat.

“Alright. See you at the farmer's market, yeah?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

♂

I was glad that she wasn't riding with me. Because if she were, she would see the massive boner that had decided to join the party. I loved a girl that was comfortable in her own skin. I loved them even more if they wore my underwear. And it was even better if she owned her own Captain America underwear. The way her hip bones stretched out the tight elastic waistband that was pulled down dangerously low drove me crazy. And I loved the way her small, but prominent hips advertized the red and blue fabric like no other person could. And I would love to see those underwear on my floor.