Lemming 9: A Good Time

Justin Keilani

     Jenny and I age up. I'm bummed because we didn't have a party. Jenny's just happy to be a teen finally.

     One day, I caught her talking...to the lamp. At first, I thought she was joking around, but when she saw me laughing at her, she glared like she was being completely serious. 

     She's always been a lot like Mom, but now we see just how close the similarity is.

     We get our own rooms! Jenny gets the room that used to belong to Zoe, and I get the one that used to belong to J. I don't know what we're going to do with our old room. Right now, it's staying like it is.

     In some ways, I miss sharing a room with my twin sister, but it does make sense since we're getting older. Plus, she really is getting weird with talking to the furniture--if she's not talking to herself.

     "So...," she asks me one morning while we study together, "did you see the new guy that moved in across the street? I think he's hot...in a brainiac sort of way." It takes me a second to realize that she actually is talking to me and not the flowers in front of us.

     "No, I haven't, but we've had plenty of new neighbors lately," I answer, thinking of another family, another family with a girl our age--that I couldn't help but notice. I'd watched her as she talked on her phone while simultaneously directing the movers where to put her things. She had jet black hair that actually glistened in the sunlight when she turned. When she'd turned to face the direction of our house, I watched from my bedroom window as she spoke on her phone, and a devious smile popped up on her face that had me instantly curious.

     I hope she wasn't talking to her boyfriend. Maybe it's a long-distance relationship. Those never work out. I don't feel the least bit guilty that I hope it doesn't.

    I only now realize that Jenny has been chatting away, apparently unaware of my wandering thoughts. I catch her talking about the new guy across the street's glasses and how she thinks they're adorable.

    "Well?" she asks me expectantly.

     "Uh... sorry. What?" I ask, and she rolls her eyes.

     "Should I go over there this afternoon? You know, to be...neighborly." She smiles a smile that makes her really look just like Mom.

     Neighborly...yeah! "Yeah. We could make cookies or something and take them over there."

     Her smile vanishes, and she gives me a look like she thinks I'm nuts. "I don't want you going with me. That would really suck! You two'd probably sit there and talk computers all afternoon, and he'd never so much as notice me."

    "Huh?" I ask, then I realize she's still talking about that guy. "Oh! No no. There's another family that moved next door to them." It's really weird how all of a sudden those houses got occupied. "I could...go there...instead."

    She gives me a knowing glance-over and asks, "The one with the prissy-looking girl?"

    "I don't think she's prissy-looking."

    "Puh-lease! She has 'princess' written all over her." She pauses as I disagree with her. "Yeah. You do that. Stay away from my future boyfriend. You can become friends after I land him."

    "After you what?" I ask and crack up laughing. She childishly sticks her tongue out at me and closes up her homework. It's time we got to school anyway.

     That afternoon, I go along with my sister's plan and go to the new girl's house with a plate of cookies. Her mother gushes about how sweet I am and immediately invites me inside. They'd just made some grilled cheese sandwiches, and, after watching the dad take a picture of his food before eating it, I accept the plate the mom pushes in my direction.

     I sit down on the couch, and the girl comes and sits on the chair near me. She smiles that mysteriously devious smile at me and says, "Hi, I'm Annalise."

     I try to swallow the bite I took while she openly looks me up and down like a piece of meat. Annalise? I never would've guessed her name was that. She strikes me more of a 'Raven' or a 'Meredith' or a 'Regan' maybe. Annalise makes me think of blondes for some reason.

    "Hi," I say and clear my throat. "My name's Justin."
    An awkward silents starts to grow, and my right knee starts bouncing up and down.

    "And where are you from, Justin?" she asks.

    "Uh...here. Well, not here here as in this house, but, uh, yeah, over there." I point in the direction of my house. Does she think I moved in next door? I'm not the other newbie on the block. Maybe she thought she'd have something to talk about with me since she thought we were both new.

     Her parents have quickly finished their grilled cheese and have decided that now is a good time to make out on the other side of the lamp from me. Annalise doesn't look bothered by it.
     "Yeah, I know where you live. I saw you gawking at me from the window as I told the movers what to do."
     "Uh..." She has good eyes. I thought I was standing far enough back from the window. I quickly think back to the other day and remember that I probably got closer and closer to the window as I'd watched her. "Well, I..."
     "I get it. You were curious and didn't want to get in the way of the movers."
     I decide to own up to it. "Yeah. You, uh, looked busy, so I thought I'd give it a few days." I work at controlling the heat from creeping too far up into my cheeks. I can't believe she caught me watching her!

      Her parents continue to act as if we're not sitting here.
      "Well that's good of you," she says and takes a bite of her sandwich. "I was wondering if I was going to have to be the one to go to your house."
      "Then why were you asking me where I'm from?" I ask.
      She shrugs a bit sheepishly. "It was something to talk about, I guess. And I kept waiting for you to ask me." She decides to tell me the information anyway. "I'm from Starlight Shores."
      My knee wants to start shaking again as I ask, "I'll bet it was hard on your boyfriend that you had to move." Maybe that wasn't as smooth as I thought it'd be. The bit of sandwich I've eaten starts sitting like a lump of lead in the bottom of my stomach.
     She smiles knowingly at me and says, "Turns out it didn't matter. We had a major fight a month before I was supposed to move, and we both decided not to work it out since I was leaving anyway."
     We talk about a few other things, like the weather when she asks about how it is here, and finish our sandwiches. Her parents continue to only have eyes for each other.

     We get up and go put our plates in the sink. Her parents thank me again for the cookies before they claim they need to do a little 'unpacking' in their room.
     "So...maybe I could show you around your new town," I offer.
     "A tour would be nice," she agrees.
     "Friday night?" I barely get the words out.
     "Yeah, that's good for me too." She smiles a sweet smile at me while my inner self starts jumping up and down like a kid that just got a new bike.

      Friday night feels like it'll never arrive. I see Annalise at school. She makes friends easily, so she's always surrounded by other girls. She always gives me a smile and a finger-wiggling wave as we pass each other in the hallway.
      We don't have the same lunchtime, so I continue to sit with my sister and a few of our friends. Jenny has been acting in a slump the past few days. When I ask her what's wrong, she says 'nothing' like I should stop asking her. Nothing our friends and I can do can get her to perk up. At home, she disappears into her room as soon as we get there. I usually go to my room or work on the computer in Dad's. His room has been empty most afternoons because he's been spending a lot of time with his new girlfriend. I'm happy for him.
      Does Annalise think of me as her boyfriend? We've hardly spoken since I asked her out. Wait...did she even know that's what I was doing? What if she doesn't think it's a date?

     FINALLY, Friday night gets here, and I take Annalise to get some burgers before going to the park. After pointing out some stuff, I gently tug on her shoulder to get her to turn around. Then, I bravely reach down and get her hands. Maybe this way she won't slap me for being stupid and presuming this is a date.

       "Annalise, I..." I can't finish it.
       She looks at me strangely and asks, "What's up?"
       My heart rate. My body temperature. "Well, I, um, I mean...did you just want...a tour? I was kinda wondering if this could be a..." I feel like such a geek! "date."

     "You're taking me to the park as our first date," she states, not really questioning so much as mentioning it.
     First?! It gets somewhat easier to breathe as I catch that word and hang onto it for dear life.
     I let my thumbs play across her soft hands. "If that's what you want..." I let the statement hang.
     "Justin, you are so cute!" she says in a higher pitch, somewhat laughing at me, but I don't think it's bad laughing.
      I cut my eyes up at her from where I'd been staring at her hands. "That's good, right?" A smile breaks out on my face, mirroring hers.
      "To be honest, I was starting to wonder if you meant it to be a date. When you first asked me, that's what I assumed it was, but then you never came by again or called me or anything. Sure, you'd smile at me in the hallway, but how was I to know you weren't just being friendly?" she says in a mile-a-minute kind of way.
      "I... Sorry, I guess I should've made it more obvious."
      "Well, I mean, you were staring holes into me the day I moved in. I thought you liked what you saw. I liked the attention. But then it took you days to finally get up the nerve to come visit me even though I'd seen you at school. I got worried I'd misinterpreted everything. But now I see it was just you being nervous, and yes, that's cute." She actually does laugh now, gets her hands free, and wraps her arms around my neck.
      Wow, I think simply as very un-simple sensations shoot through me like bolts of lightning when she presses her very curvy form into me. Oh, wow, I think when I wrap my arms around her.

    We float our way over to a park bench to just sit and talk. She thinks I'm cute. I can't help but ask, "You think I'm cute?"
     I freeze solid when she reaches over to brush my hair out of my face. "Yes. I was surprised when I asked Courtney at school if you had a girlfriend and she told me no."
     "I thought you might've been talking to a boyfriend on the phone the day you moved in. I was hoping you weren't. Or...at least, that if you were, it wouldn't last being long-distance and all."
     Her mouth drops open. "You were going to try and convince me to break up with my boyfriend?"
     "Oh, well, uh, not exactly. I hadn't thought that far actually. I was just...hoping." I grin sheepishly and shrug my shoulders. She kisses my cheek, and I really, really like it.
      We're sitting too far apart.

     Yeah, I really did just do that.
     She laughs quietly while looking down at her lap. I wish she'd turn her face up towards me instead. "Real smooth, Justin," she says mockingly.
     "Hey, can't blame a guy for trying." I move my fingers around on her soft shoulder and start wondering if she's this soft everywhere. I grin as she laughs again. "We were...sitting too far apart anyway," I bravely finish.

     "And this is better," she says.
     "Yes," I answer since I think what she said was almost a question. She finally turns her face my way. I want to kiss her. I liked it when she kissed my cheek a minute ago, and I want more. Leaning in, I inch our faces closer...

    ...and she lays her head on my shoulder suddenly.
    "You're right. This is better," she happily agrees.
    Even though my attempt to kiss her was thwarted, I still like the feel of her in my arms, so I hold her tightly to me. She lets me.
     I didn't know it could be like this. It happened so fast even if it felt like ages. This incredibly hot girl thinks I'm cute, whatever that actually means. Oh well, as long as she likes me.
     Is she my girlfriend now? She wondered if I liked her before; I don't want her wondering about this.

    Since we're sims, we have to stand up to have me ask her to be my girlfriend. I die inside while I wait for her answer.

     "Justin, what did you think I was going to say? Of course."
     I can't help my happy dance.

    Then I kiss her on the cheek. She turns her head like she's going to say something...

     ...but I stop her. I mis-aim at first, but then our lips finally meet.

       "Well, that was unexpected," she says breathily when I pull back.
       "It was?" I ask, curious. Then, I remember watching J do something with Zoe one time out near the pool. "Then this will be too."

     I grab her before lunging forward, taking her with me. She makes a muffled, surprised noise, but I don't let that stop me. I just wrap my arm tighter around her and stick my tongue in her mouth, finding hers.

     She makes a defeated grunt noise before kissing me back. I've never really kissed a girl, so I'm only going on what I've seen and heard about. But I learn fast from what she does. She's already been kissed. She already knows what she's doing. I want to be better than any of the rest of them.
     I love this!
     Her hand occasionally comes up to try and hold onto my shoulder before she whimpers and goes limp in my arms again. I'm determined to give this girl the best kiss of her life. I must stand out in her mind.
     Well, maybe I could stand her back up now. My arms are getting tired.

      When I do, the alarm on my phone goes off. I'd promised her dad I'd have her back by eleven, a ridiculously-early curfew in my opinion, but I appreciate that he cares. I don't have a curfew on the weekends when I stay with Mom and Blaze.
     I try to pull away to turn off the bleeping of my phone, but she acts like she doesn't want to let me.
     I say into her lips, "I have to get you home. I don't want to make your dad hate me."
     She whines an incredibly-cute, feminine sound of complaint.
     "I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask to placate her. I'd actually planned on fixing up a mod I've been working on, but I can change my plans.
     "Yes," she says, having to stop kissing me to say it.

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really cute picture:

Also, yes, I realize I've been misspelling Mitchell's last name. Oh well. I like this spelling.