Life is a Soap Opera Act 01

"Do you know why the four of us were together at the Outback before prom?"

Gabe shook his head, but she could tell that he knew the answer.

"Because no one would ask me to go to the dance." Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Her voice shook. "April and Kimmy and Morgan passed up dates because they felt sorry for me!"

It was Gabe's turn to squeeze Bailey's hands. She looked up at him and choked back sobs. "And there you were. A handsome guy who picked up our dinner. Who was nice to us all and called me 'pretty'. I didn't know who you were until Kimmy recognised you. And even then, I didn't care. I just hoped you liked me. I wanted—"

"Oh, God, Bailey," Gabe breathed. In an instant, he was around the table and took her in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and held on.

She felt so safe in his strong arms. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing things in her ear.

"Do you know how many dates I've been on?" she asked, gasping for breath. He shook his head. "One. And that includes tonight. I'm not a gold digger who's after your money and I'm not infatuated with my mom's TV boyfriend. I want you to like me, too."

He pulled back. She expected to see pity in his eyes, but he smiled instead. She sensed that they were more alike that either had suspected.

"I do like you, Bailey," Gabe said, not letting go. "And that scares me."

"Why?"

"Because despite all the reasons for you and I to not work," he paused to take a deep breath. "I could fall in love with you."

Her heart skipped a beat and she could only smile.

"Oh, Gabe . . . I—" Whatever else she had to say was stopped by his lips pressing against hers.

They held on to each other desperately.

She ran her hands through his hair. He pulled her tight, his hands around her waist.

I'm going to jump him right here, she thought to herself. She was about to make her move when Gabe stopped.

"Come on, Bailey." A shiver ran through her body at the sound of her name. "Let's get you home."

"I could stay," she said quickly. He smiled and she could see a flash on indecision on his face.

"No . . . not tonight." Gabe brushed the hair out of her eyes before answering her unspoken question. "I promised your dad I'd have you home by eleven and we're just barely going to make it. Besides, I've got to give you a reason to go out with me again. I don't want you to think I'm easy."

Through the tears, laughter danced in both their eyes.

He took her hand and led her to the garage. They got in his car and he drove her home. Neither spoke much.

Bailey curled up in the seat, their fingers intertwined. Her other hand gently caressed his arm. She noticed him eyeing her as he drove. She smiled to herself and blushed, suddenly feeling sexy.

Gabe pulled into her driveway and the motion sensor activated the porch light. He led her to the door. She could tell by the light coming through the blinds that the television in the living room was on.

"I had a wonderful time tonight," she said quietly, maneuvering Gabe so that they couldn't be seen by anyone inside the house.

"Me, too," he replied. "May I call on you again?"

"Of course," she said wrapping her arms around his neck. "You can call me any time."

"Good night, Bailey Crawford," he whispered and then leaned in for one last kiss.

She didn't want to let go, but knew she couldn't spend all night with a boy on her front porch. Her parents and sister were going to give her a hard enough time as it was. "Good night, Gabe MacKenzie. Miss me."

It might have been her imagination, but she heard him whisper, "I already do."

He turned and went back to his car. She waited until he was backing out of the driveway before opening the front door and stepping in to her house.

Both her parents and April were up. It was three minutes past eleven.

"Did you have a good time tonight, Pumpkin?" her dad asked.

"Yes, I had a wonderful time," she said dreamily. Her mom and sister giggled, but that didn't bother Bailey.

She gave each of her parents a kiss then seemed to float into her room along with the flowers Gabe had given her.

Bailey was lost on Cloud Nine with no signs of coming down any time soon.

*********************

Gabe woke up the next morning feeling different. He hummed a tune and sang along with his iPod as he did half an hour on the Bowflex and another half hour on the elliptical. At about nine o'clock, he dialed Bailey's cell phone. It rolled into her voice mail. He left a short message, then went outside to do some work out in the yard.

At about noon, he was pulling weeds out in the flower garden. He was sweating under the August sun and didn't hear the girls until they had walked around the house.

"Hey, there!" Bailey called.

He blushed, realising that he was wearing only a ratty pair of shorts and some sunglasses. Bailey and April stood there along with Morgan. The girls giggled and stared admiringly at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, wiping his brow.

"We came in to town to do some shopping. Our prom date sent us some money for graduation and we thought we'd look for some back to school clothes," Bailey said, for once taking the lead from April. "We were wondering if we could buy you lunch."

"That won't be necessary," Gabe said, knowing that taking him out for a meal, however inexpensive, would be a burden on the girls. Still, it was a nice gesture. "Why don't I get cleaned up and we'll go to the mall together."

He went in and showered leaving the three girls parked on his living room sofa watching television. He scrubbed himself clean and resisted the urge to masturbate in the shower.

All three girls were dressed for summer. It was August, after all. However, it was Bailey who caught his eye. She was wearing a pair of tight—but not too tight—jean shorts and a fitted top that hugged her curves in all the right places. It covered the parts that needed to be covered and drew his eyes to the places he knew his vision shouldn't linger.

April and Morgan were similarly dressed, but his attention was fixed solely on Bailey and her dimpled smile. And her big, round breasts. And her slender waist. And her soft, wide rear end.

Having changed his odor, he threw on a pair of cargo shorts, some sandals and a casual polo shirt. He went back to the living room and the girls gathered up their things. At his insistence, they piled into his car and drove the short distance to the mall.

The place was crawling with people. Despite the faltering economy, the combination of back to school sales and necessity for new clothes had the crowds out in force. The three girls hit many of the vast array of stores that stocked trendy fashions, although a couple of times one of them—usually Bailey—would follow him into a store he wanted to visit just to make conversation.

They stopped for lunch a short time later in the food court. The girls insisted on buying his meal and he eventually relented, making sure to get nothing more than a basic combo meal so not to tax their budget.

Having filled up with carbs, the foursome hit the mall's second level for more shopping. The girls did a number on the bargain and clearance racks. He admired their proficiency in finding the best deals on high quality stuff at low prices. It seemed that despite their youth, all three had good sense when it came to money, and that impressed him.

By late afternoon, the girls's gift cards were all but tapped out. Their arms were full of bags and they were a little worn out from fighting the crowds at the mall.

The four of them drove back to Gabriel's house. The girls were debating what to do next. They weren't going to make it home in time for supper. One of their friends was apparently having a bonfire later that evening.

Gabe invited the girls in as they were trying to plan for the evening.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" he asked. "I'm not much of a cook, but we could order pizza or Chinese or something."

April and Bailey exchanged a worried glance. They had mentioned stopping somewhere for a quick drive-thru combo meal.

"My treat," Gabe sensed the source of their apprehension.

They reluctantly shrugged. He had a local pizzeria on speed dial and they knew him as a generous tipper, so a short time later, two extra large pizzas showed up laden with toppings. The manager had even thrown in a couple of bags of chips and a two-litre of Pepsi for one of their special customers.

The delivery driver, who was one of the three or four who always fought for Gabe's ticket, got a little extra for his trouble when April answered the door. At first the thought he had the wrong house since he had expected a middle-aged guy to greet him. She tried to flirt with him, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her chest.

Gabe got to know April and Morgan a little better. Like the twins, Morgan was attending community college in the fall. She had aspirations of being a network administrator and had completed the A+, Network+ and a couple of CCNA certifications at the Washington County Vo-Tech Center. April had no idea what she wanted to do, so she was going to get her AA and then transfer to a four-year university to finish her bachelor's degree.

He and Bailey tried to maintain their distance in front of her sister and her friend, but several times throughout the night, he found himself wanting to reach out and take her hand or pull her close to him. The three girls kept making excuses to stay "just a little bit longer". After finishing off the pizza, they went downstairs to the basement and played billiards for a while.

The four of them decided to watch a movie on HBO. He fixed some popcorn in the microwave and settled down on the couch next to Bailey, but not obviously close.

"I don't mean to sound like I'm kicking you out," Gabe said as the movie's opening credits started. "But don't you think your parents might be worried about where you are?"

"Are you kicking us out?" Bailey asked, once again batting her eyes at him.

"Yeah," April chimed in. "Couldn't we stay here for the night?"

"What would your parents say?" Gabe asked. "And wouldn't you rather be hanging out with your friends? A bonfire sounds a lot more exciting than me."

"You don't know our friends," Bailey said, and there was something odd in her tone. "On a Saturday night most of them are probably drinking too much and having sex they're going to regret on Monday."

"That's all there is to do out in the boonies," Morgan said with a resigned sigh.

"And that kind of leaves us out since we don't really drink and we're all virgins," April said.

"Sis!" Bailey shot her the I'm-about-to-smack-you look.

"What?" her sister said sounding mildly annoyed. "What's wrong with saving yourself for the right guy? It's not like you think the world of Tiffany Sias or any of those other girls who will jump in the sack with any guy who gives her a beer."

"There's nothing wrong with saving yourself for the right person," Gabe said, not daring to look Bailey in the eyes.

"Did you save yourself for the right person, Gabe?" Morgan chimed in.

"I thought so at the time," he replied.

"Who was she?" April asked curiously.

Gabe saw Bailey blush. "That's none of your business. Now are you going to call your folks or what? You're welcome to stay here, but this is about all the excitement I'm good for."

"Any TV with ten HBO's on it is good for us," April smiled and reached for her phone.

"If we get bored, we could always play Dance Dance Revolution on your Playstation," Bailey giggled.

"What's so funny?" Gabe asked.

"You just don't strike me as the DDR type." Her eyes twinkled.

"It's a great cardio workout," he replied, feigning defensiveness. "Even though I suck at anything past expert level."

Bailey started to say something more, but was interrupted by April. "Hi, Mom? . . . No, we're fine . . . We're at Mr. MacKenzie's . . . Yeah, he took us to the mall . . . No . . . No . . . Morgan is still with us . . . Listen, can we spend the night here? . . . No . . . Mom! No! . . . Okay . . . Okay . . . She wants to talk to you."

Gabe took the cell phone from the girl. "Hello, Joanne?"

"Are you going to be okay with the three girls?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied gently, trying to sound like a friendly neighbour, not a creepy old man. "We just sat down to watch a movie."

"And there won't be anything going on that the girls shouldn't be in to?" she asked in her parental voice.

"No," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "They're stuck with boring old me."

"I'm sure one of the girls will be especially happy tonight," Joanne said and he could sense the wink in her voice.

"I think so," Gabe glanced over at Bailey, who was fidgeting nervously.

Joanne paused for a second. "I guess it will be fine tonight. I'll call Morgan's folks. It would probably be best if they heard this from me. Let me talk to April again."

"Okay, thanks, Joanne," Gabe said before handing the phone back to Bailey's sister.

He broke into a wide smile and the other two girls breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um-hmm . . . Yes . . . Okay . . . Okay . . . Yes, Mom! I heard you the first time . . . No . . . Okay . . . Yeah, right! . . . Thanks, Mom . . . Love you, too." She closed the flip phone and smiled triumphantly. "Mom says no drinking and no drugs. Morgan, she's gonna call your parents."

The movie started and a few minutes later, Morgan's phone rang. She had pretty much the same conversation with her parents and Gabe talked to them, too. With that business out of the way, the four of them got into the movie.

Gabe turned on his home theater with the surround sound and flipped out the lights. About halfway through, he jumped slightly at Bailey's touch. Her hand brushed against his leg. He looked over at the other two girls who were paying more attention to the big screen than they were to him.

Bailey's fingers wrapped around his and they spent the rest of the movie holding hands. He felt giddy, like he was fourteen again.

When the movie ended, the girls flipped over to one of the other HBOs and started a second one. He got up from the couch and went looking for some blankets.

Hunting through the closet, he didn't hear April approach.

"Gabe?" she said tentatively.

"Holy crap, April! You scared me!"

"Sorry," she blushed. "Listen . . . I shouldn't be saying anything to you about this but . . . Bailey really likes you."

"I like her, too."

"Good. I just don't want to see her get hurt."

"Me, neither," he said.

"And it's okay if you put your arm around her in front of us," she said with a smirk. "She told us about your date."

Gabe's mouth fell open. He was speechless.

April smiled and then disappeared to go back downstairs. Gabe gathered up a few blankets and pillows. He picked up some soda out of the fridge and a couple of bags of chips.

Morgan and April threw the pillows down on the floor and got comfortable. Gabe sat on the couch, and Bailey moved in next to him. A little closer this time.

The movie had already begun, and the four binged on junk food and soda. Not waiting for Bailey to make the first move, Gabe reached over and took her hand.

She beamed and cuddled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

When the second movie ended, Morgan was out like a light. April lazily flipped channels, finally settling on a re-run of Saturday Night Live. Neither Gabe nor Bailey had moved.

By the time SNL was over, April was also asleep and Bailey was nodding off. Gabe's eyelids were heavy, too.

He tapped Bailey on the shoulder and excused himself to use the bathroom. When he returned, she was laying across the couch, snoring softly. He pulled a blanket over each of the girls.

Gabe smiled to himself and turned the volume down, but left the TV on in case the girls woke up later and wanted to watch something else. His eyes fixed on Bailey. She seemed so sweet and innocent. And young.

He brushed the hair out of her face. He caressed the soft skin of her cheek and bent over to kiss her softly. "Good night, sweetheart."

Moving as quietly as he could, Gabe went back up stairs and set the alarm, which would rouse the whole block if anyone tried to leave or enter the house. He brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face.

Then he went into the guest suite—his room—and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of workout shorts, then crawled into bed.

He fell asleep, the memory of Bailey's gentle touch leaving a smile on his lips.

It was still dark when Gabe felt someone stirring against him. He sat up quickly, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"Shhhhh," Bailey whispered. She slipped under the sheets into his bed.

"What are you doing?" Gabe asked, reaching for the light on the nightstand.

Bailey tugged at his arm, staying his hand. The room remained dark. He started to say something else, but she silenced him with a kiss. She gently pushed him back into the pillows.

She leaned over and pressed her body against him. It took a second for his body to respond to the commands his mind sent it.

His arms wrapped around her. He was very conscious of her breasts pushing against him.

"Go back to sleep," Bailey said softly and a part of him wondered if this was just a dream. She pulled back and rolled over on her side. Her hand took Gabe's and she draped his arm around her waist.

Still dazed, he spooned up behind her and the two held each other until dawn.

Gabe was dreaming of a wife and baby when Bailey woke herself, kissed him gently on the lips and then went back downstairs, lest her sister and best friend realise where she had really spent the night.

**************

Everyone woke the next morning right where they were supposed to be. Of the girls, Bailey was up first. She heard the shower upstairs running. She took a quick drink of flat Pepsi to wash away the stale taste of Doritos and pizza.

Bailey smiled at the memory of the previous night. Holding hands with her beau. Falling asleep in his bed with his arms wrapped around her. Everything felt so . . . so . . . right.

Morgan and April stirred few minutes later. The girls trudged up the steps wearing the same clothes from the day before. Their hair was a mess. Their make-up had long since rubbed off. They hadn't brushed their teeth in over twenty-four hours.

They found Gabe in the kitchen. He was reading the directions on a box of hashed brown potatoes. A carton of eggs, some milk and a package of bacon sat on the counter. He was obviously lost.

"Good morning, girls," he said with a broad smile that Bailey sensed was meant especially for her. "Are you guys hungry?"

He was trying to be a good host, but it seemed that the kitchen was not his element. As politely as possible, Bailey and April pushed him aside and took over. Growing up on a farm, they knew how to cook; their mother and grandmothers had seen to that.

What amazed them was how nice Gabe's kitchen was. He had high-end fixtures, marble countertops and enough space to feed an army. It was a far cry from the cramped quarters and often-broken appliances they were used to. The girls cooked up a hearty country breakfast with fresh home-fried potatoes, eggs and bacon. Gabe busied himself slicing up some fruit and appearing to be helpful.

They sat at his kitchen table and enjoyed the meal together. He cleaned up the mess while the girls freshened up in the bathrooms. Bailey wanted to stay a little longer, and it seemed to her that Gabe wanted them to stay, too, but they knew they had to be getting home. April had to work that afternoon and both girls had weekend chores that needed to be done.

Gabe helped them load up the clothes and things they bought at the mall the day before.