More Than Friendship Material Pt. 12

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Mary elbowed her in the ribs and Liz laughed, punching her arm playfully.

***

Hollie finished organizing her thoughts as she circled the Wally World parking lot looking for both a good spot, and Todd's car. As luck would have it, she found them in nearly the same location. Hollie pulled Liz's hatchback into the parking space across from Todd's sedan. Hopping out, she noticed a worker pushing shopping carts staring at her. Giving him her biggest cheerleader smile, she sashayed to the store entrance with an extra emphasis on the sway of her hips.

Meanwhile, Todd was pacing at the front of the store and in a far darker mood than his former girlfriend. Shopping, cooking, and, lord help him, a hayride were not the ways he wanted to spend the evening. Hollie's latest text had said she was close, so he scanned the dual entrances of the store waiting for her, rather than going ahead and grabbing the stuff he needed to buy.

Still, though, his mind drifted to the call from earlier that afternoon, to the passionate sounds he'd heard, to the female voice calling Liz's name. His Liz. The one woman, other than his mom, who he thought he knew what to expect from, or at least had before the past few days. This booty shaking, Allen kissing, girl fun, utterly sexual version was not the same sensible, retiring Liz that he had spent more than a decade getting to know. It was exciting, scary, and maddening all at once.

"BOO!" Todd's thoughts were interrupted by Hollie's exuberant voice as she smacked him on the ass. "You look like you were a thousand miles away, Todd," she said, "Now put a smile on your face and grab a cart. We have aisles to peruse and things to talk about."

Hollie dragged Todd over to the shopping carts. Todd grabbed the handle of one, but the cart was stuck and he swore loud enough that a mother and her young daughter heard and quickened their pace to move past him. Hollie casually took the reins of another cart from a middle aged man leaving the store, flashing him a smile that would quicken a pace too, just heart rate not footsteps.

"Relax Mr. Caveman, I've got it," Hollie told Todd. "Come on, grumpy butt."

The pair made their way up the grocery aisle, turning right to the produce. "So what all are we getting, Todd?" Hollie asked.

"Onion, sausage, peppers, wine, beans, and some dessert," Todd answered. "We might ought to get cheese too. Let's make it quick OK?"

"Not too quick, sunshine," Hollie replied. "I'm not taking you back there in this sour ass mood."

"Why do you give a shit about my mood? It's none of your business."

"It most certainly is my business. A) You're my defacto date for scary forest; B) you would be terrible company for all of us; C) you're my friend and I care about you: and D) I think I know what's pissing you off. You think you heard something to do with Liz, and you're not coping."

"OK, Miss Know-It-All, so what did I hear?" Todd asked curtly.

Hollie smiled. "I'm guessing that a lot of it was moans and squeals."

"OH. MY. GOD. It was you?" Todd's face reddened. "You turned her lesbian!" His allegation was again louder than it needed to be, and the same mother he had shocked before turned equally as red.

"Would you just keep it down before you get us thrown out, Todd." Hollie whispered loudly. "Good Lord, and no, thank you very much, it wasn't me with her that you heard."

'Who was it, then? Mary? No, wait, that tennis chick."

"It doesn't matter who it was, you freaking idiot," Hollie said directly, "because I was trying to turn her lesbian last night."

Todd's face turned assorted shades of red, finally settling on one close to purple. "You...she...what..." he stammered.

"Oh Jesus! Relax before you have a freaking stroke," Hollie said as she continued shopping and made Todd follow. "I was just using your stupid phrase. Liz is no more a lesbian than me or Mary, and you already knew about us. That didn't seem to bother you when we were dating."

Todd grimaced. "But Liz isn't like you or Mary. She's..."

Hollie cut him off mid sentence. "She's what? Pure? Innocent? Better than us? Sorry to burst your little virgin fantasy, big boy, but she's none of the above."

"I know that, and I didn't mean to insult you guys either," Todd answered. "But this is way out of character, and I'm afraid that you may be pushing her into things she's not comfortable with. You know that stripper number you three did wasn't her idea, Hollie."

"No, it wasn't her idea, but she was a willing participant then, a willing participant today, and a more than willing participant last night."

"I just don't understand why you're sexing her up all of a sudden."

"And you aren't? Get this through your thick skull Todd. You're right when you say that Liz isn't like Mary and me. She's not used to attention, wasn't comfortable with her body, afraid to let go. God, you saw how she dressed. Not that there's anything wrong with being a little shy, but that made her a target for wolves like Kevin. He thought he could use that vulnerability. We're just boosting her confidence and showing her that being sexy is fun and not something to avoid, especially after the crap that went down with Kevin and the goon squad."

Todd sighed heavily. "OK, I get all that. It's just that things are changing so f'ing fast. With me..with Liz. I'm afraid that this new Liz won't need me. I'll just be a phase on the road to wherever she's going, right when it seemed like we were going somewhere together."

Hollie breathed a sigh of her own as she price-checked some day old desserts from the bakery. "It's not fair that just when I get mad at you, you come up with those romantic gems. Stop trying to make me regret giving you to Liz."

"Oh God, Hollie. That's not what I'm trying to do. You know that."

"Yes, Todd. I know that, and honestly, last night was another instance of me trying to make things easier on the two of you."

"Yeah right," Todd said sarcastically. "I'm sure your playing Melissa Etheridge with Liz was all about our relationship, whatever that is, now."

"Good God, you're pissy today, Todd," Hollie snapped back. "OK hotshot, I admit it wasn't all about your little love for the ages. Liz and I have chemistry too, damn it, and we've had it for a lot longer than just the past couple of days. If you don't believe it, ask her."

Todd sighed, as he tossed a discounted lemon pound cake into the cart. "I don't have to ask. I know you two do, but still it's hard for me to see how you and her together had one damn thing to do with me."

"Then let me break it down for you. You get released from the doctor when? Tomorrow?"


"Yeah," Todd answered. "Barring some other catastrophe I should. Things seem back to normal."

"OK," Hollie continued, " so presumably you and Liz have your magical moment scheduled for tomorrow, or at least some point soon thereafter, right?"

Todd blushed a little. 'Yeah."

"But, where were you and your previously normal "things" a couple of weeks ago?" Hollie asked.

"Not sure I follow."

"Think long and hard, Todd" Hollie directed. "Because I sure remember something being long and hard."

Todd blushed even more. "Oh God. Yeah, of course I remember, Hollie."

"Good, because Liz remembers too. You were a player, Todd. You were with a lot of girls, and then you were with me, before you were with her. No matter how friendly I got with her, that would always be in the back of her mind. I would always be a comparison, a competitor, a threat. I like both of you, maybe even love both of you, and I sure as hell didn't want that hanging over us. So, I tried to even the playing field. I was with you first, and I wanted to be with her first."

Todd stopped in the aisle and just looked at Hollie. Her eyes flashed a hint of righteous indignation, but there was no sign of jealousy or pride. As hard as it was to fathom, what she had said made sense.

"Earth to Todd?" You still there?' Hollie asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "I am, and I feel like an idiot."

Hollie smiled. "Go with your feelings. It's not like anything happened, anyway, 'cause she turned me down. I must be losing my touch."

Todd returned her smile and picked the little blonde up in a bear hug. With her in his arms, he leaned in, kissed her cheek, then set her back to the floor as shoppers stared at them.

"You're causing a scene, Todd," Hollie said with a grin.

"It's OK," he replied. "I don't care. Hollie, I love you. I really do. It takes a really special person to do all you've done for us, especially under the circumstances."

Hollie beamed at him. "Aw shucks. Tweren't nothin'. Now, let's go pay for this stuff. The gang must be starving."

"Must be," Todd said with a laugh. " I heard someone working up quite an appetite today."

"We sure were," Hollie said with a leer. "Want to hear the details? I never told you which one of us was doing what?"

Little Todd leapt to attention now that the stress had subsided, but Todd ignored his pleas as they made their way to the check-out lane. "No, I said before I didn't want details of your girls night. I'll stick by that. Just as long as y'all are still sticking with our team."

"No one's switching teams," Hollie said, "but Tammy's usually in a different league. Hope you're OK with that."

A sly smile came over Todd's face, as he paid for the food, and he began chuckling to himself as they left the store. "Yeah, that's cool, Hollie. Actually, it works out very well for tonight."

Now Hollie looked confused. "Why's that?"

Todd grinned. "Because tonight, she can be Liz's date. I know someone else who deserves a date to herself, and I owe her at least that. The hayride is on me."

Hollie smiled at Todd's suggestion. "Alright, deal, so long as you throw in candy apples and hot chocolate. But be careful, Tiger. T's a charmer. Who knows what magic she might work on your girl amidst all that hay."

"I'm willing to risk it," Todd replied with a laugh. Mainly since we'll all be there together, though, he added inwardly. "Tonight ought to be a good time. Our first public outing together as a group. " A thought crossed his mind, and he grinned. "I have an idea that could be fun and kill a couple of birds with one stone. I'll need some help from you though. Interested?"

"Intrigued," Hollie replied. "Tell me more."

***

Locked in the small bathroom, Liz grabbed some q-tips out and smiled as she dabbed one into some makeup remover. "We should have just called it a day and let you two go at it like bunnies."

"That is an idea." Mary laughed, "I could go...again."

Liz flushed, but grinned as she rolled her eyes. "There is no satisfying you, is there?"

"Not true. I can take a few hours for a break and snuggle..." she sniffed and let Liz smooth away the dark tracks and mess with her makeup, touching it up here and there. Mary knew it was just a nervous ploy to get her mind off of Todd and wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist.

Liz quirked a brow, looking all too innocent. "What?"

"Now it's your turn to stop worrying," Mary said. "Todd was shocked, but he'll get over it. You should have seen Ben's face when I first told him I liked playing with girls...priceless. But my face was even more shocked when he said he didn't want to be involved."

"He's one of a kind."

"Yep and I'm an idiot for thinking that my hair color would scare him off."

Liz gave her a quick hug and pushed her dark hair behind one ear. "Yeah...you have your moments of duh, but we still love ya."

Mary gave her ass a smack and Liz shrieked, opening the door to get away as they laughed.

"Can't leave those two alone for two minutes without them acting up," Tammy quipped and grinned as her favorite redhead and now newly favorite brunette came through. "Looks much better."

"Thanks, Liz is a whiz with q-tips." Mary teased and went back over to Ben, wiggling her bottom onto his lap as he reclined, flipping through the channels as if he had nothing better to do.

He grinned and nuzzled her neck, sending a little shiver of pleasure down her spine before he ran his fingers through her hair again. "When can I get you alone again?" He murmured thickly, making Mary grin as she pressed against his growing hard on.

"I dunno...I may have to make you wait after that godawful explanation earlier." She giggled, "Besides, we have guests to entertain and mmmmm...what not." His teeth tugged at her earlobe gently as his fingers teased her tresses and ran down her spine. "But you might could sway me...

***

Todd outlined his idea and the pair conspired as they finished shopping and paid. They loaded up the groceries in Todd's car, then Todd escorted Hollie back to Liz's. He unlocked the door with the spare set he carried and opened the door for her. "Such the gentleman," Hollie noted as she climbed in. You're making a good impression for our last date. See you back at the ranch. Oh, and you may want to call Liz. She's was a little concerned when I left her."

"OK I will," Todd promised. "Be careful driving back. I'll try to follow you, but it's still rush hour and we'll probably get separated."

"Will do. See you soon, sweetie." Waiting for Hollie to buckle up, Todd closed the door and made his way back to his sedan. He pulled out his phone to call Liz, only to find that the battery had died.

"Figures," he mumbled as he got in and started the car. "It's been that kind of day."

Hollie turned on Liz's radio as she exited the parking lot, Todd following close behind. A Katy Perry song was soon blasting away as the cheerleader sang merrily along. This is so much better than that NPR crap Liz had it on, she thought. We're gonna drag that girl out of Nerdville if it kills us.

Figuring that Todd and Liz would be too ensconced in their personal drama to impart any useful knowledge to the rest of the group, Hollie reached into her purse and retrieved her phone. Checking the display, she found two waiting voicemails and several missed calls from her roommate. So she dialed Cindy back. Her roommate answered almost immediately.

"Hollie, where the hell have you been?" Cindy asked in an exasperated tone. "You still live here right?"

"Jeez, Cin, relax I'm fine, "Hollie replied "Just went out with friends and had a little too much to drink. I should be there tonight or tomorrow. What's up?"

"Well, I was worried, but other than that, they called a mandatory meeting of the entire athletic department for tomorrow, and Coach wanted to make sure you knew to be there."

"Oh crap. Thanks. What time?"

"Eleven in the practice gym. No one is saying what it's about, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't have something to do with that stuff with Kevin."

Hollie cringed. Kevin had played way too much a role in their lives recently, and she hoped Cindy's hunch was wrong. "OK, well, I'll be there for sure and thanks for worrying about me. I appreciate it, hun. Call me if you hear anything else, K?"

"I will," Cindy assured her. "Take care." Hollie ended the call and dialed Mary's cell, but the call went to voice mail. She switched to Todd's home number, and the phone rang three times before someone answered.

With the two love birds necking on the couch, Liz jerked at the sound of the phone and reached over to get it. "Yello!"

"It's Hollie!"

Liz sighed with relief, "Hey, where are you guys?"

"We're on the way. Hasn't Todd called you?"

"No...or sent me a text. Is he still pissed?"

Hollie let out an exasperated sigh. "Men! I told him to call you. Anyway...he's fine. All will be dandy once he gets his hands on you. He's right behind me, so we'll be there soon."

Another sigh followed. "Yeah? Thanks Hollie. I owe you...again."

"We'll take it out in trade, okay?"

Liz giggled, "Perv."

*****

The alarm sounded again, and Allen groaned. He'd already hit the snooze button three times, and he was still tired. "That'll teach me to eat like that before I go to bed," he thought. Still, he had enjoyed the company. Socializing in a group was something he hadn't really done much of since basic training, and he'd never done so with that many women as part of the group.

Rubbing his eyes, he swung his legs to the right and popped up from the bed. His leg still screamed in protest when he did this, but Allen refused to let the injury dictate his routine. His doctor had assured him that the worst thing he could do would be to shy away from using the wounded muscle. It needed to be rehabbed to get back to it's original strength, even if it couldn't recover to the extent where he could run as fast has once had.

Allen continued his daily physical regimen, jumping up and down for ten minutes, two hundred push-ups, ab crunches for five minutes, and thirty minutes of tai-chi for flexibility. The work-out was harder than usual for him. His mouth was dry and cottony, and his concentration was off. Part of that was still the pancakes and bacon, and part was remembering the conversations that morning. The idea of having to get a lawyer pained him, because he hated having to depend on someone other than himself. It was why he had wanted to be a sniper and not part of a regular platoon.

Then there were the girls. Allen was used to getting looks from women, just not attention from so close. Hollie obviously liked him, and he felt drawn to her too. Both concepts were unnerving. She was more than the peppy exterior let on, but that was still a big part of her. Hollie was yin to Allen's yang. She was used to the limelight. He was used to the shadows. Plus, she was just getting out of whatever her deal with Todd was, and being transitional guy was not an appealing prospect. Then there was that new girl, Tammy. She had secrets, he could tell, and like him, she was a part of the group, while still detached. When they had locked eyes, she and Allen had sized one another up, and there was...something, a connection. With Hollie he understood the dynamic, at least. With Tammy, not so much.

Hopping into the shower, he let the hot water relax him while he cleared his mind. When he got back to the bedroom to change, he noticed the message light flashing on his phone. He looked at the number that had dialed, but didn't recognize the number. Accessing the voice mail, he was surprised to hear Tammy's voice. A confused look crossed Allen's face as he listened to the message once, then replayed it. A proposition, he thought. What the hell could she mean by that? He accessed her phone number again, breathed deeply, then hit "connect."

***

Liz had just hung up with Hollie when Tammy's phone rang. She checked the number and grinned, shot Liz a wink and made her way back out onto the small terrace. They all heard her answer before shutting the sliding glass door.

"Allen?"

"Yes. I'm returning your call," he replied.

"That was quick. Liz was right about your being prompt about things. How's it going? Get enough sleep?"

"Fine thanks," Allen said curtly. "What's the proposition?"

Tammy laughed. "You get right to business, don't you. I admire that. OK, yes, there is something I hope you can help me with. Are you available Friday evening?"

"Possibly. Depends on why?"

"I need an escort for an event. You game?"

Allen hesitated before responding. Things were starting to make more sense. "You know about my background?"

"Not everything, but I like what I've seen and heard," Tammy answered playfully.