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Grow Up!
Author's Note – Another story where I have fun with the chapter titles… Ah, anyway, it's a het story, kind of longish. Some characters are thinly veiled versions of people I know. There are some gay characters, but not the main characters. Hope you enjoy the story.
This chapter has a lot of characters, and I apologize if it's a little confusing at first to separate them. The later chapters won't have as many people at once.
"Happy Birthday!" My sister, Starla, greeted me with a hug, and then I took a step back to look at her. My younger sister had always been more comfortable in her skin than I was. Today, she was dressed in a black top, black and pink plaid skirt, pink knee socks, black boots, and completed the look with her short, electric pink hair. She could wear that stuff, though, because she was so thin that anything looked good on her. Me, on the other hand, settled for anything that minimized my waistline – today, that consisted of blue jeans and a green and white baseball shirt.
"You gonna let me in?" she asked, handing me a package wrapped in black paper, with a neon-green bow. I took it and showed her into the apartment. Though turning twenty-four wasn't a big deal, the fact that I was finally settled into my own apartment was, and I was having a birthday party, combining old friends from high school and my newer friends from work.
"So, what're we eatin'?" Starla asked, poking around the kitchen. I set her gift down on the coffee table in the living room, next to the birthday cards and the present Mom had sent that I hadn't opened yet, and headed into the kitchen to make sure that Starla didn't start picking at my leftovers, since food was coming soon.
"I ordered pizza," I said, "Stephanie's bringing drinks. Dirk said he was gonna bring some snacks." I shrugged. "You want to pick some music?" I asked, "I'm just gonna finish cleaning up in my room. If the door rings, answer it."
I left Starla in charge of the stereo - which probably wasn't the best idea, considering some of her musical tastes. But I wanted to clean my room up, since the drinks that Stephanie was bringing were going to be mostly alcoholic, and I didn't want anyone driving home drunk. My apartment wasn't huge, but between the bedroom and the living room (and the fold-out couch Mom had given me for a housewarming gift), there would be enough room for almost everyone to sleep it off.
I finished tucking my dirty laundry into the closet and plumped the pillows on my bed one more time before heading back into the main part of the apartment. Starla had selected some Fall Out Boy to play on the stereo, but she'd kept it at a reasonable volume.
She was joined by my three high school friends – Stephanie, Noah, and Jenny. Stephanie had not disappointed when it came to the drinks. Besides the Coke and Sprite, she'd also brought some Smirnoff Ice and Magic Hat beer, all of it packed into a cooler to keep cold, though in the December weather, that wasn't totally necessary.
Noah and Jenny had found the couch, and were sitting together on it. Noah and I had gone out in high school, but broke up when we realized that we made better friends. He'd met Jenny in college, and now they were engaged to be married. Noah was tall, with thick brown hair and bright blues. He had the boy-next-door look about him, especially when he wore his favorite button-down shirts and khakis. Jenny was what I would look like if I was attractive and twenty pounds lighter. She had long blond hair and, like my sister, looked good in anything.
"So, I want to know more about these other people that are coming," Stephanie said, making herself comfortable on the easy chair. She was wearing a denim skirt and a tight black t-shirt, her blonde-brown hair tied back in a loose braid.
"They're just friends from work. I mean, Frankie and I usually work the night shift together, and Dirk is…"
"Wait." Stephanie cut me off, "You know guys?"
"I'm a guy!" Noah said, raising his hand. Jenny nodded.
"Definitely a guy," she said, putting her hand on his arm.
"Yeah, but I meant, like, other guys." Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Other guys that I didn't introduce her to."
"It's a lot easier to be friends with guys when you're not interested in them romantically," I said. Starla nodded. I got up and popped open a Smirnoff, taking a long sip. Then a knock came at the door, and I went to answer it, wondering who would show up next.
It was the guy with the pizza. I paid him and grabbed the pizza boxes, setting them on the table. The smell reminded me of how hungry I actually was.
"Ooh, pizza!" Starla exclaimed, lifting the lid of one of the boxes. I slapped her hand away, closing the box back up. I pushed her in the direction of the living room, hoping she would get the hint to stay away from the food for now. For a skinny girl, Starla could eat quite a bit. She was just really good at burning it off afterwards.
"When are we going to eat?" Noah called from the other room, "I'm starving!"
"Oh, you poor baby," Jenny said, mocking him.
"I don't want to start until Frankie and Dirk get here," I said, reentering the living room "That wouldn't be fair." As if on cue, a knock came at the door. I got up to answer it, knowing who it was going to be this time, since there was no one left.
Dirk and Frankie happened to share an apartment as well as a place of work, but they couldn't be more different - at least physically. Frankie was tall and thin, looking very much like a nerd with his glasses and short hair cut. Dirk was a little shorter, but more broad-shouldered and resembled a football player. He also happened to have a tattoo on his neck, which he liked to show off for the ladies. Or anyone who happened to be around.
"We heard there was a party," Frankie said when I answered the door. He handed me a large box wrapped in red and green paper. One thing that sucks about December birthdays – they're very close to Christmas and no one is very creative about wrapping paper.
"Yeah, way to go for being almost a quarter of a century old," Dirk said, and held out his hand for a high five. I shifted the box Frankie had handed me and returned his high five. Then Dirk held out a gift bag, also Christmas-colored. I took it and led the two boys into the living room, setting the gifts down on the table with the others.
"All right, quick introductions, and then pizza, before Noah starves," I said, and made the introductions. I saw how Stephanie's eyes lingered on Dirk and knew, immediately, that she was attracted to him. I knew she would be; he was just her type. I wasn't sure what to think of it, especially since I couldn't tell if Dirk was also attracted to her. Dirk wasn't as easy to read as Stephanie was.
Everyone took turns in the kitchen, filling their plates with pizza and chips, and we all settled back into the living room. Noah, Jenny, and Starla sat on the couch. Stephanie and Dirk took the two arm chairs, and I sat on the floor. Frankie sat down next to me, crossing his legs Indian style and popping open his beer.
"So, since you guys have known her longer, you must know some of Regan's deep, dark past, huh?" Dirk asked, glancing at Noah and then at Stephanie.
"What kind of deep, dark secrets are you looking for?" Noah asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, just detentions, ex-boyfriends, things like that," Dirk replied with a grin. Stephanie giggled, but when she tried to cover it up, she just ended up snorting.
"Ex-boyfriend number one right here," Noah said, raising his hand, "I think I'm the first and last so far, huh?" He looked to me for confirmation.
"Second if you count Steve," Stephanie corrected.
"Steve was only for like, four hours. That doesn't count," I said, "And this is a really weird topic of conversation. Could we try a different topic?" I asked, hoping that I wouldn't start blushing like I was known to do when people started talking about me.
"How long did you guys date?" Dirk asked, looking at Noah. Apparently he hadn't heard my request, or he was purposefully choosing to ignore it.
"Almost two years, I think," Noah said. Stephanie nodded. I concentrated on picking the onions off of my slice of pizza. Frankie nudged me with his elbow.
"I'll eat those if you don't want 'em," he said, gesturing to the onions. I scraped them onto his plate for him. He scooped the onions up with his fingers and swallowed them, washing them down with the remainder of his beer.
"I'll tell you one thing, though," Noah said, leaning towards Dirk like he was about to reveal a big secret. Was he going to start talking about how I kissed? Oh god, that would be really embarrassing. "Probably the worst thing she's ever done is skip class. And that was only one time."
"Yeah, she's the least trouble-making person I know," Stephanie added, nodding. Starla nodded as well.
"That's obvious," Frankie said, "She's so quiet at work that you hardly even know she's there." No one said anything for a while, instead focusing on eating their pizza and snacks. I was glad, at least, that we had finished with the conversation about me. Frankie got up from his spot on the ground and took my paper plate with his.
"Another drink?" he asked. I nodded, and stretched my legs while he went to get the drinks.
"When are you gonna open your presents?" Starla said, "Because I can't wait for you to see what Mom got you." I shrugged.
"I don't know. Later." I liked making people wait, and I always felt awkward opening presents when I was the only one doing so. Frankie came back into the room and handed me another Smirnoff, also holding a beer for himself. He sat back down.
"You know, Michael likes you," he said. I glanced at him.
"No, he doesn't," I replied, shaking my head. I twisted the top off my drink and took a long sip.
"Who's Michael?" Stephanie asked, looking interested.
"One of the supervisors at work," I answered, "But he's got a girlfriend," I said, more to Frankie than Stephanie.
"Whatever, he still has a big crush on you." Frankie waved his hand dismissively.
"Is he cute?" Stephanie asked. Of course that would be what she wanted to know. I shrugged.
"It doesn't Matter, because he doesn't like me." I rolled my eyes at Frankie and took another swig of my drink.
"Why else would he stare at you all the time?" Frankie asked, "And he shows favoritism to you all the time."
"Yeah!" Dirk exclaimed, "Like how he lets you go on break early, and he always comes to bag for you." He leaned forward like he was excited.
"Look, there's no way Michael would have a crush on me," I said, "I mean, have you even seen Abby?" Abby was his girlfriend, who was tall and thin and blond and beautiful – everything I was not.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Frankie asked.
"It means that how could he possibly have a crush on me if he's got a girlfriend that looks like Abby," I replied, taking another long sip to finish my drink.
"Oh god," Stephanie said, groaning loudly, "You're not still going through that phase, are you?"
"What phase?"
"The one where you think you're ugly." She sighed again, and exchanged a look with Noah. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"What do you mean?" I asked, "All I'm saying is that compared to her, I'm no prize."
"I wouldn't say that," Frankie replied. Both Dirk and I turned to look at Frankie. "I mean, I hear Abby's kind of high maintenance," he added.
"High maintenance? Like what's that supposed to mean? She actually wants her boyfriend to pay attention to her?" I retorted. I didn't really mean to get defensive, but this conversation was getting my hackles up.
"Anyway…" Noah said loudly, "I hate to break up this fun little conversation, but we're going to have to leave soon, and I was hoping to get to opening presents before we had to go...." He grinned disarmingly. I was thankful that he knew when to step in. We cleaned up the dishes and bottles, and switched our seats around. Starla and Stephanie took the arm chair, leaving Noah and Jenny on the floor, and me on the couch between Frankie and Dirk.
"This is from me and Foster," Starla said, handing me the black wrapped gift. Foster was my younger brother, who lived at home with Starla, Mom, and our two other younger sisters.
"Okay! Hold on a second. Your name is Regan, your sister is Starla, and your brother is Foster?" Frankie asked, "Were your parents on something when they named you guys?"
"My mom just likes unique names," I replied, "Wanted to make sure we wouldn't get confused for the eight hundred other Ashleys or Tims." I shrugged, and then turned to the present. I had never been a person to rip right into wrapping paper, so I took my time peeling it off, revealing a small box, wrapped in another layer of paper, on top of the gift. I moved the small box to the side to see what was underneath.
"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, holding up the DVD boxed set of the latest season of South Park. That must have set her back at least $40.
"You like South Park?" Frankie asked, like this was a surprising piece of information.
"Yeah," I replied, putting the boxed set onto the table as I picked up the smaller box.
"That one's from Foster," Starla said with a warning tone. I wondered what he could have possibly gotten me that warranted a warning tone. I unwrapped the box and promptly found out why. I tried to cover the box back up and put it away before anyone saw, but it was too late. Frankie grabbed it out of my hand and held it up.
"Trojans! What do you need condoms for?" he exclaimed.
"Are you serious?" Stephanie exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands, "That's so hilarious!"
"He was convinced that you have guys over every night, now that you have your own place. He wanted to buy them, so…" Starla shrugged.
"So, do you?" Dirk asked, clearly amused. I grabbed the box back from Frankie and set it on the table with Starla's gift, wishing like hell I wouldn't start blushing.
"No, I don't. But at least I have them in case I need them," I replied, "Next gift?" I asked. Dirk handed me the gift bag that he'd brought in. I took it from him and pulled out the tissue paper.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, taking out the fuzzy green frog plushy that was inside, "It's so cute!"
"Your mom said you liked frogs," Dirk said, shrugging. I nodded and put the frog on the table with the other gifts. The next gift I opened was from my mom, and it contained, as I had expected, clothes – khaki pants and a new sweater.
When I opened Frankie's gift, I was a little confused.
"Candles?" I asked, holding them up. There were three vanilla-scented pillar candles in the box.
"Well, the lady at the card store said girls like candles." He shrugged, "Sorry, I didn't really know what to get."
"No, it's nice," I said. I put them down and reached for the last gift, the small box from Stephanie, Noah, and Jenny. But when I opened it, I could not believe my eyes.
"You didn't!" I exclaimed.
"An iPod?" Frankie exclaimed, "Man, you have the best friends." But it wasn't just any iPod. It was an iPod Touch. The one I'd been wanting forever. I got up and hugged Stephanie, and then Noah and Jenny, too, for good measure.
"Seriously, you guys are awesome!" I hadn't ever gotten great gifts like this, and I was really glad that my friends had come to be with me on my birthday. It was really making it that much better. I got up to clean up the excess wrapping paper, and a couple people got up to get more drinks. Frankie was starting on his third – or maybe fourth – beer, but I decided not to comment because as long as he wasn't driving home it didn't matter. After grabbing myself a diet Coke, I headed back into the other room with everyone else.
"So," Frankie said, after we'd settled back into our seats – Noah, Jenny, and Stephanie had once again claimed the couch, this time with Dirk and Starla on the chairs and Frankie and I on the floor.
"So what?"
"I know how to sew!" Jenny injected. "Oh, wait, we weren't talking about that, huh?"
"If Michael's not your type, then what is?" Frankie asked, smoothly pretending like no one else had spoken. He swirled his beer in his hand and glanced at me.
"I dunno," I said, "I don't think I have a type."
"Who does?" Jenny asked, "I mean, how do you know what you're looking for until you've found it?" She gave Noah's hand a little squeeze.
"I have a type," Stephanie put in, "I like guys that are tall and muscular and also very funny."
"Yeah, but what if you miss out on a really great guy because he's not your 'type'?" Jenny asked, "I mean, Noah wasn't my type, but I'm glad I gave him the chance, because now we're engaged." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, but doesn't having a type just mean that you're narrowing down your potential partners to a more manageable list?" Starla asked.
"She's got a point," Dirk said, "I mean, if I'm not attracted to girls who smoke, then I'm never going to be."
"Okay," Jenny said, "But smoking is more of a moral issue. But liking someone based on their hair color is a little ridiculous."
"Are you saying that attraction is pointless?" Frankie asked, stretching his legs out in front of him, "Because I think attraction is a good start to a relationship. You get all that passion and everything, and then you can find out what your shared interests are later, and see if the relationship develops from there." He shrugged, and I glanced over at him.
"Yeah, maybe if all you wanna do is have sex," Noah said.
"What's wrong with sex?" Frankie asked.
"Nothing, but there's more to a relationship than that," Dirk said, "You can't just screw all the time." He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with Frankie's way of thinking. Of course he had to put up with the guy all the time. It wasn't that I didn't agree with Frankie's line of thought. Passion was an important part of a relationship. But I also agree with Dirk and Noah that there needed to be more than that.
Not that I had ever had an opportunity to really experience passion in a relationship. Noah and I had been more friendly than romantic.
"Ah, whatever," Frankie said, waving his hand dismissively. The conversation died, and for a minute, no one spoke. The clock ticked and the music played in the background.
Finally, Noah stretched his hands and looked over at the clock and then at Jenny.
"I think we should probably head home," he said, and then glanced at Stephanie, "We've got a long drive ahead of us before we get back to the apartment."
"Aw, I don't want to go home yet!" Stephanie exclaimed, glancing over at Dirk.
"I can't stay," Jenny said, "I've got work tomorrow morning. And Noah has his doctor's appointment."
"I could bring her home," Starla said, "I'm going that way anyway."
"Ah, I guess that would work," Noah said, sighing a little bit. He stood up from the couch and stretched again. He and Jenny gathered their things and I thanked them.
After they left, I took a moment to clean up the kitchen, putting the leftover pizza and chips away, before heading back into the living room.
"We should play strip poker," Stephanie suggested, when I sat back down on the couch. I rolled my eyes.
"Or not," I said. I wasn't very good at poker anyway, but I didn't want to be taking my clothes off in front of the guys.
"That sounds like fun," Frankie said with a raised eyebrow.
"Poker?" Starla asked, "Hell yeah!" It looked like I was the only one who was objecting to this, and I didn't want to be a prude.
"All right, fine," I said, sighing. I grabbed a deck of cards out of the side-table and passed them to Stephanie. Frankie and I moved the coffee table off to the side. The five of us sat down on the floor while Stephanie shuffled and passed out the cards.
I had never been that bad at poker, but I had forgotten how good Starla was at the game. So, about forty-five minutes later, when Dirk and Frankie were undressed down to their boxers, Stephanie was down to her bra and underpants, and I was down to my bra and pants, Starla had only lost her socks and shoes.
"All right, last round," I said, shuffling the cards for one last deal. It was getting really late, now, and I wanted to go to bed. There was also the fact that I didn't want to see anyone take their underwear off. Especially not me.
I dealt out the hand. I ended up with a six, a five, a ten, and two jacks. Frankie seemed to have a good hand, judging by the way his eyebrows went straight up. Everyone got rid of some cards and I dealt out the extras. I ended up with another six, a seven, and a queen. Still, a pair of jacks weren't bad. Frankie's eyebrows rose up a little more with his new cards, and he covered his mouth with his hand.
"Okay, show," I said, putting down my cards.
"Nice try," Stephanie said, showing her hand of two queens. Dirk had a hand of ten high. Frankie waved his cards in the air before setting them down – a full house.
"Beat that!" he challenged Starla. My sister's face showed nothing. The clock ticked loudly as she waited. Finally, she set down her cards. It took a moment, but then I realized that she had four aces. Not a very common hand. And that she'd won, yet again.
"All right!" Frankie exclaimed, standing up. He hadn't won, but he was still excited, and then I realized why, as he reached for the waistband of his boxers like he was going to pull them down. It was weird seeing him nearly naked. He wasn't as skinny as he looked; instead, he was muscular, with a flat stomach and a trail of hair leading down into his white boxers.
"Frankie, you're drunk," Dirk said, grabbing Frankie's arm. Frankie looked at me and raised his eyebrow. I gathered the cards together and put them back in the drawer, pretending like I wasn't flustered by the look he was giving me.
"Starla, why don't you set up the sleeping bags in my bedroom while I get the fold-out couch ready?" I said. Starla nodded and she and Stephanie went down the hall to my bedroom to set it up for them. I pulled my shirt back on, and set to work.
"Oh, you gonna take me home tonight!" Frankie sang, flopping down on the chair, his legs dangling over the side. He was singing along with the stereo, albeit loudly and very off-key. Dirk rolled his eyes and helped me unfold the couch.
"Fat bottomed girls you make the rocking world go 'round!"
The sheet and blankets were already on the bed from the last time I'd used it, so I just straightened them out, and everything was set to go. Frankie got up from his chair and collapsed on the bed instead, still dressed only in boxers. I tried not to stare, even as he stretched his arms above his head.
"I'm just gonna use the bathroom," Dirk said, grabbing his clothes off the floor. He went down the hall and I went over to the table to pick up my presents. I didn't even make it halfway over when Frankie grabbed my hand and pulled me down on the bed on top of him.
A moment later, he was kissing me, his warm tongue sliding into my mouth like it belonged there. The first thing I noticed was that he tasted like beer. But I didn't care. I hadn't been kissed in nearly eight years, and this was much better than anything I'd remembered, especially with his hand on the small of my back and his hard body underneath me.
I broke apart for a breath and he looked up at me, eyes at half mast. I couldn't believe that he'd actually kissed me. I wouldn't have believed it if my lips weren't still tingling from the kiss.
"Let's put those condoms to use," Frankie suggested, his hand sliding down to cup my butt. I rolled off and pulled away from him, trying my best to manage a serious look instead of the one I was really feeling. Like the fact that his offer sounded like a nice idea. That I was actually considering it.
"You're drunk," I said, "How many beers have you had? Five, six?" I asked. He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me towards him again.
"What does that matter?" he asked, slipping his other hand up my shirt, rubbing my stomach. He was warm and strong and I wanted what he was offering, but...
"I just don't think that now is the right time." I pulled his hand off of my body.
"Oh, you're so boring," Frankie said, flopping back down.
"It's not that I don't like you, Frankie. I just don't want to move this quickly. And not while my sister is in the house. That's just awkward." I shrugged, and rolled over to look at Frankie again. His eyes were closed. I poked him.
"Frankie?" No answer, except a loud, definitely not fake, snore. He'd passed out. I sighed and rolled my eyes, sliding off the bed. So much for that conversation. I wondered if he'd forget what happened in the morning. That would be too bad, because I really enjoyed kissing him.
[ *&* ]
I was having a nice dream about somebody kissing me and running his hand up my stomach and humming a song, when I realized that it wasn't in my dream.
Even through my closed eyes, I could sense that someone was on the bed next to me, a hand on my bare stomach, and definitely humming something. No kissing, though. That part was still a dream.
"You can't fool me. I know you're awake. Your breathing changed." It was Frankie's voice, and I opened my eyes. Without my glasses on, he was a blurry form, but I could tell it was him by his scent and his voice.
"Good morning sunshine!" he said, reaching his hand forward to brush my hair from my eyes. I grabbed my glasses off the counter and slipped them on, sitting up. I glanced over to the floor, where Starla and Stephanie had been sleeping. There was nothing there but bare floor. The sleeping bags were rolled up in the corner of the room.
"Everyone else is awake," Frankie informed me, "Well, I mean, Dirk was sleeping, but Starla and Stephanie were having a heated discussion about horror movies and he's probably awake now." He shrugged. I got up out of bed and realized that I had only worn my t-shirt and underwear to bed, leaving most of my legs bare.
"Nice." His comment made me blush, but he couldn't see my face from where I was standing, and I grabbed a pair of pants out of my dresser and pulled them on.
"I'm ready for breakfast," he said as I zipped up. I nodded, and we left the bedroom to head towards the kitchen. The other three were already there, helping themselves to my Frosted Flakes and milk. I was going to have to pick up some more on my way to work.
"Well, look who's finally up," Starla said, "Have too much to drink last night?" I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and sat down at the table. Stephanie passed me the box of Frosted Flakes and I poured some into my bowl. Frankie sat down next to me, reaching into the cereal box with his hands. I ate the dry cereal from my own bowl.
"I only had two drinks," I said, "Hardly enough for a hangover. Frankie, on the other hand..." I added.
"I've been drinking since I was sixteen," he said, "I can handle my beer." Dirk raised his eyebrow at Frankie.
"Oh yeah. That would explain why you passed out after you ki..." I stopped when I realized that everyone was looking at me and remembered that Frankie and I had been alone during that time. By the way Frankie was looking at me, he might not even have remembered what he'd done.
"When I what?" he asked, looking amused.
"Yeah, when he what?" Starla asked, looking equally amused. Stephanie also had her eyebrow raised and her mouth covered with her hand as she tried to stop laughing.
"Never mind." I grabbed the box back from Frankie. "Don't stick your hands in the box. That's gross." I folded the top up and put it back on the counter.
"So, you're going to have to let Foster know what you think of his present," Starla said, grinning. Stephanie laughed again.
"And maybe you should ask your brother why he felt the need to send you condoms when you clearly have no steady boyfriend," Frankie said, grabbing a handful of cereal from my bowl. I swatted his hand and pulled my bowl out of his reach.
"I don't see why that's any of your business, anyway," I said to Frankie, "Maybe my brother just wanted me to practice safe sex. What's wrong with that?"
"How old is he again?" Dirk asked, raising his eyebrow.
"He's fifteen," Starla said.
"What does a fifteen year old know about sex?" Dirk asked. Stephanie laughed again and Frankie rolled his eyes.
"I knew about sex when I was thirteen," he said.
"Ew," I said, "Thirteen year olds should not be having sex." I didn't think my fifteen year old brother should be having sex, either. Nor Starla, though she was twenty-one. I could hardly picture myself having sex.
"I didn't say I was having sex. I said I knew about sex. Totally different thing." He rolled his eyes and again reached for my cereal. I tried not to notice how close his hand was to my chest. He grabbed a handful and ate it.
"Well that's all fine and dandy, but I think," Starla said, standing up, "That it's about time to go." She looked over at Stephanie, who stood up as well.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Dirk said. "Wouldn't want to overstay our welcome." I wanted to argue and say that yes, you can stay as long as you want. I didn't want everyone to go home and leave me here by myself. But then again, I wanted to clean up, and have some time to myself.
So I didn't argue with them, just sent them home with leftover pizza and snacks, and said goodbye to everyone. After I heard the cars drive away, I sighed and went about tidying up the kitchen.
