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,,chapter two,,
That night at the Hotel
Miami where they were staying while they recorded their album...
“Tay, where are my overalls?” Zac whined.
“Which overalls? Red, black, denim, mauve, plaid, khaki, leopard
skin...”
“No! The yellow fluoro ones! Duh!”
“You mean Jessica’s?” asked Tay, referring to their 9 year-old
sister.
“Yeah.”
“They’re in Ike’s suitcase.”
“I’d better get them out before they start to smell, then,” Zac
remarked.
He fished around in the dank, murky blackness of his eldest brother’s
suitcase, holding his nose. From the very bottom Zac pulled out the
overalls. He pulled them on over his blue boxers and fastened them at his
shoulders. He slipped his feet into some open sandals, buckling them above
his ankles. Diana, the boys' mother, had put his hair into tons of little
braids all over his head earlier, so he was all dressed and ready to go on
his first date. He sat down at the table in the room and started to doodle
on a pad of paper with Hotel Miami printed in green at the top of each
page.
He looked down at what he had been drawing. Little cartoons of girls in
bikinis, all the girls bearing a striking resemblance to Thayet. He
couldn't believe how lucky he was to be going on a date with her. She was
so pretty, and only nine years older than him. Zac didn't really know much
about her as a person (whether she was nice or not), but he knew she was
the granddaughter of the stage manager, and Bill was so nice that his
granddaughter just had to be, too.
Zac looked at his watch. Thayet would be here soon. She was picking them
up in her car and then they were going to the Shark Cafe restaurant for
dinner.
“Tay, are you ready yet?” He yelled. “Thayet’ll be here soon.”
“Yep, all done,” Taylor called back, walking into the room. “How do
I look?” Zac scrutinised him.
Tay was wearing black docs, shiny silver pants, the practically skin tight
red T-shirt that made all the girls go crazy, and his necklaces. His long
golden hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
Zac admitted to himself that Tay looked good, but there was no way he was
going to let Taylor knew he thought that. Zac frowned.
“Wow! I look that good?” Tay laughed. “A frown’s a compliment,
coming from you!” Zac might have pursued the matter further, perhaps
getting physical, but a knock on the door stopped him. Both boys froze.
“I’ll get it,” Zac exclaimed, jumping up before Taylor could do
anything. He raced to the door and yanked it open, revealing Thayet
standing there. Zac’s mouth dropped open. She looked fantastic. Thayet
was wearing the shortest, tightest, black miniskirt he had ever seen,
coupled with a clinging white T-shirt, leaving her midriff and black lace
bra clearly visible. Six-inch red sparkly heels completed the outfit,
making her normally small 5’2” frame now four inches taller than
Zac’s 5’4”. This didn’t bother Zac. Nor did it bother Thayet, who
was staring at Zac just as hard as he was staring at her. She couldn't
believe how good he looked. Those sandals really turned her on. And he was
only 12!
Tay watched them with interest. He’d never seen his younger brother act
like this before. He didnŐt even notice how good Thayet looked, though.
At the moment he could only see beauty in Belinda. That reminded Tay. He
glanced at his watch.
“Zac! Thayet! We’ve gotta go! It’s a quarter to eight! We hafta pick
up Bel!” The other two came out of their trance and all three made their
way downstairs, pausing on the way to let Diana know they were leaving.
Taylor noticed that Zac and Thayet were already holding hands. Wow! He
moves fast, Tay thought, amazed at his younger brother. Taylor himself had
never held a girl’s hand before.
Thayet had a really cool car. It was a shiny red convertible. The top was
down, so Tay and Zac could see the black leather interior.
“Groovy car,” Zac remarked.
“I try to keep it looking good,” Thayet replied, and gestured for them
to climb in. Zac took the front seat, next to Thayet, leaving Taylor by
himself in the back. That was fine by Tay. He wanted to think. He needed
to find a way to really impress Belinda. He liked her so much he just had
to make her like him, too. Suddenly an idea came to him.
“Hey, Thayet! Can I drive?’
“Do you know how to? You’re only 15,” she asked doubtfully.
“‘Course I do.” Taylor silenced Zac with a murderous glare.
“Well... all right,” Thayet allowed reluctantly. She pulled the car
over to the side of the road and switched seats with Taylor. Zac climbed
into the back with her. Tay was pleased. The now empty front seat meant
Belinda could sit next to him.
Once everyone was settled, he started the engine.
There was a pause.
“Um, Thayet,” Taylor murmured.
“Yeah?”
“Which pedal makes it go?”
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