Nick stirred awake, surprised to feel Ben’s arm still slung over his waist. They hadn’t moved all night apparently. Emotionally, physically exhausted. Both of them. Whoever would have told him a year ago that he’d be regularly waking up with a 13 year old kid in his bed would have been laughed off the planet. Now…he actually missed the twerp when he wasn’t there.

He slid out of bed, replacing his body with a pillow so Ben could continue to sleep undisturbed. The kid was totally dead to the world. Probably the best thing for him…a good night’s sleep and just a day to chill out. What a horrible few days he’d had to go through. What a complete fuck up Steve was…

Nick dug out a pair of sweats and a shirt from his bag and headed into the kitchen. Coffee. Cereal. Back deck. He loved November in Florida. All the humidity from past months had lessened and the mornings just felt fresh. This morning it was very welcome after the emotional maelstrom of the night before.

As he finished up his breakfast, Ben came out, toting his own huge bowlful of the breakfast of champions, shivering in the chilled morning breeze. He nudged Nick in the head with what felt like his elbow, but when Nick moved, something slid out of his hair.

“What the…” It was a Fruit Loop. “I don’t have Fruit Loops anymore…”

“It fell out of your cabinet. You’re still cleaning that shit up.”

“My god…like finding Christmas tinsel on Easter morning.”

“Yep, exactly…” Ben sat down and pulled his legs up into his chest, trying to eat around himself. It wasn’t easy. “Damn, I forgot it was November. Didn’t pack any sweats.”

“I might have some of Aaron’s here somewhere…lemme go look.”

Nick came back and had to laugh at Ben…he was shaking like a leaf and dripping milk everywhere. “You know, dweeb…you could just go inside. Here…” He handed Ben a pair of blue sweats and one of his old sweatshirts.

“Thanks…you sure this is okay?”

“Yeah, they probably don’t fit him anymore anyway…just keep ‘em.”

As Ben disappeared to change, Nick sat back and tried to digest all that Ben had told him the night before. He figured he’d better kick his security up a notch or two while he was gone just in case. Steve would find a way to do what he wanted with or without Ben’s help. Either that or he’d change his plans and do more damage elsewhere. The kid had to be stopped this time. Nick found himself daring Steve to try something…because this time, he’d hang him.

Ben came back fidgeting with the long sleeves on the shirt and tripping over the length of the pants. Chuckling at the site, Nick shook his head and took his final sip of coffee.

“What!? I like the shirt! It’s just…” he flailed his arms, making the sleeves flap beyond his hands, “…a bit big.”

Ben flopped down on the chair, covering his knees with the shirt and looked out onto the gulf, forgetting the size of his clothes, remembering all that had happened lately. At times, he still couldn’t believe it. He regretted not one moment. Well, there was that moment he let Steve and Ron in here, but otherwise…it was good.

“Then keep it, dweeb. You could fit two people in there…might be kinda fun.”

Ben chuckled and rested his head on his knees again. “Wish it could be Erin.”

“I know…so what happened with her?”

“I dunno. I mean, I told her everything, but…I think she thinks I was doing it to cover my ass.”

“You were, weren’t you?”

Ben sighed and stuck out his tongue…brat. “I just thought it’d be better coming from me and not Steve.”

“She thinkin’ you were just trying to get her away from him or something?”

“She shouldn’t. Every time she asked about him, I told her that she needed to talk to him about what he’s done in his life. It’s not for me to say.”

“Damn…I’d have spilled.”

“What good would that do? It’d definitely look like I was just talking so she’d come back to me.”

“But isn’t that what you want?”

“Yeah…but really…I just wanted her to know me…from me. Not from the sick shit Steve would fill her with.”

“I still can’t figure out why she’s with him at all. He’s just such an ass.”

“I can’t figure that part out either. She seems afraid of him.”

“You think he’s holding something over her head?”

“Possibly, but I dunno what it’d be. All I know is, I thought it’d help, but I’m not so sure now.”

“In the long run it will…”

“How do you figure?”

“Because you’re not giving Steve what he wants. So, he thinks he has the upper hand and when he goes to tell her everything, it’ll backfire. Just give it time.”

“I suck at waiting.”

“I totally understand.” Nick’s mind went to Solana…sitting on her front porch, her hair blowing in the slight breeze, eyes dancing as they laughed about some stupid joke or some ridiculous thing Rosalie had said. Yep, waiting sucked. He was sick of waiting…but he had to. “Speaking of Solana…”

“Uh…we were?” Ben smirked and unfolded himself from his sweatshirt ball, picking up their bowls and heading toward the door. “Inside…I’m still cold.”

“Wimp…we gotta get you to some real winter weather…toughen you up.”

“Can you believe…I’ve never seen snow?”

“No way…” Nick held the door open for Ben and giggled. The shirt was down to his kneecaps.

“Nope. Not once. Anyway, speaking of Solana???”

“Oh yeah…does Steve know where she lives?”

Ben stopped walking and dropped the bowls onto the counter, spinning around to look Nick in the eye.

“You don’t think…”

“I have no idea, Ben…but if he hurts her…”

“He’s dead. That mother fucker is dead.”

An excuse to see Solana was always a welcome thing. So, with Nick’s new concerns, the boys showered and made their way to her house. Nick hoped she wouldn’t see his worries as grandstanding, but as something to really keep forefront in her mind. Nothing was beyond this kid, obviously…using people seemed almost second nature to him.

Ben and Nick were busy tormenting one another as they got up to her front door and haphazardly knocked, not paying much attention to anything. Then, they heard it.

Music.

Loud music.

Nick knew she’d have never heard them. He opened the screen door and pressed his ear to the hard wood and started giggling.

“It’s that Elvis remix…oh god, you KNOW they’re in there dancing around.”

“Oh yeah, baby. We gotta see this. See if she left it unlocked.”

Nick tentatively turned the doorknob and smiled victoriously as it gave to his touch. “Oh yeah…” He creaked the door open, hoping he’d not be seen before he got an eyeful and slowly walked inside, motioning Ben to quietly follow. “Shh…in the kitchen…look.”

“Oh…my…god. Look at them.”

Which, of course, Nick was already doing, trying not to laugh and praying to the gods of comedy that Rosalie and Solana wouldn’t turn in such a way to see their intruders.

Nick had been right. Elvis. Loud. Raucous. Obviously, the girls had been cleaning, as both were wearing bandanas, schlumpy t-shirts and jeans, and using cleaning supplies as their microphones for their pretend performance.

Solana was Elvis…with a spray bottle of cleaner as her microphone while Rosalie was her back-up group, using a feather duster for hers. They were singing and dancing and having the party of their lives in the total privacy of their home. Well, except for these two guys standing in their foyer.

Who were about to give themselves ulcers from trying to stifle their laughter. It was obvious, the girls had done this before. It was well rehearsed. Solana sang the chorus:

A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me

And Rosalie would echo:

Satisfy me

Solana would bring it to a finish before the verse:

Satisfy me, baby.

At the second or third go ‘round of the verses and chorus, Nick started to take off his shoes.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ben was having trouble keeping his voice to a whisper because his burgeoning giggles would threaten to take over.

“Shh…socks skid, dude…I’m goin’ in.”

“She’s gonna kill you.”

“No she won’t. Come with me.”

“No way…I can’t do that.”

“Chicken shit.”

“Cluck. Cluck.”

Nick shook his head and slowly started tip toeing into the kitchen as the song built up to a climax of yet another run of the chorus.

Come on baby I'm tired of talking

Rosalie would sashay her hips in time to the rhythm, pretending to play the saxophone. Nick almost blew his cover laughing at that one. Oh yeah, they were rehearsed alright.

Grab your coat and let's start walking

Nick looked back to Ben for encouragement, but all he got was a teenager bent in half trying not to laugh out loud. A lot of help he was!

Come on, come on

Rosalie didn’t miss her cue:

Come on, come on

Nick got closer to the kitchen, ducking behind the counter as Solana continued.

Come on, come on
Come on, come on
Come on, come on

And as the song built and Solana spit out all of the words and Rosalie “ah’d” her way to the build up, Nick stood up full, took a few running steps…

Don't procrastinate, don't articulate
Girl it's getting late, gettin' upset waitin' around

And slid into the kitchen, into the scene and started singing right on cue.

A little less conversation, a little more action please

Solana’s eyes popped out of her head and Rosalie cheered. Without missing a beat, she searched her kitchen for a microphone and handed Nick a plantain. When he looked at it questioningly but kept singing, she shouted over the music.

“Microphone, Elvis!”

All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me

Nodding and smiling, he slid his arm around her waist and used the plantain as it was meant to be used…as a microphone, of course.

A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me

Solana joined Rosalie as Nick’s back-up singers now, flirting with her eyes as they sang the echo.

Satisfy me
Satisfy me baby.

They danced wildly during the instrumental break and Nick finally caught Ben’s eye…hiding behind Miss Romero’s camera.

“Get over here, Chicken! Rosalie needs a partner.”

“Yeah, Ben…I need a man!”

How could he resist? Still keeping his cool demeanor, he rolled his eyes and put her camera back on the table, but took off his shoes in spite of himself. He was going to sing and dance to Elvis. Weirder things could happen, couldn’t they?

Just like Nick, Ben waited for the climactic build in the verse while they all sang and motioned, “Come on, come on”. He slid in right on cue, with a whoop and a holler from his band mates.

Nick handed Ben a wooden spoon and they took the song home, Ben picking up Rosalie and dancing around, singing Elvis’ part with Nick, and the girls happily being led by ‘their men’ singing back up and forgetting all about dust bunnies, grimy shower doors and laundry.

The song finally ended and the four friends huffed and puffed at their wild song and dance, giggling and holding each other up. “You know…”

“Yes, Elvis?” Solana pulled the bandana off her head and fluffed out her hair, causing Nick to almost forget what he was going to say.

“You need some ripe bananas.”

Solana, Rosalie and Ben all started to crack up, Solana yanking the plantain from Nick’s hand, shaking her head in disgust.

“What!?”

“That’s a platano, not a banana.”

“Huh? It looks like a big ole hard green banana to me!”

Rosalie smacked Nick’s leg and laughed. “It supposed to be big and hard, Nicky!”

Ben failed at stifling his laughter this time, gleaning a glare from Solana and Nick. Not a glare anyone could take seriously, but it was a serious attempt anyway. “Ahem. Sorry.” He straightened up and grabbed his girl’s hand. “Hey Rosalie…what say you and I go dance some more in the room? I think they wanna, uh…talk.”

“Okay…”

Nick yanked the plantain away from Solana again, shaking it in her face. “It’s supposed to be big and hard?” He plunked it into its basket and leaned back against the counter, wiping his brow from their mini party. “Why do I feel like I’ve been trapped?”

“Trapped how? You’ve traveled all around the world and you don’t know the difference between a platano and a banana???”

“Obviously not.”

“I need to cook for you, Gringo. That’s sad. It’s a staple in my cooking.” Grabbing the fruit back out of its basket, she stroked it lovingly, teasing him with her eyes. “Big…hard…and sweet…they’re my favorite.” She winked at him and put the fruit back, walking away a bit to keep a nice, comfortable distance. Bastard was not supposed to have this effect on her. “Now, what are you doing in town, Elvis?”

Nice segue. He could barely breathe. “We, uh…sorta had an emergency.”

Solana hiked herself up onto the counter, shoving Ben’s wooden spoon to Nick so he could put it away. “Oh yeah? Ben did?”

“Yeah. Barry didn’t tell you I was here?”

“Nope. Not a word. I’ll remember to lock my doors next time.”

Nick put the spoon away and ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to tell her what was on his mind. He had a feeling she’d resist his idea altogether. “Actually, that’s kind of what I need to talk to you about.”

“Locking my door? Nick, what’s up?”

“Steve. Steve’s what’s up.”

Solana flushed the toilet and closed the lid, standing up straight and groaning as her back rebelled. “I’m too young to feel this old.”

“But you look so cute scrubbing toilets.” Nick reluctantly resisted the urge to rub her lower back where she was stretching to try to massage herself. She needed to stop that stuff.

“I have one left, smarty pants…you wanna take it?” She handed Nick the scrub brush and toilet bowl cleaner, smirking as he leaned away from them like they were diseased.

“S...sure…I can clean toilets.” He smacked on a fake smile and stood to show what a willing volunteer he really was.

“Nick, I’m kidding. You do not need to clean my toilets.”

“I can!” He shoved the brush under one arm and gently pulled the bandana out of her hair, untying it so he could put it on his own head. “I just need the right clothes is all.”

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

Tying it snugly on his head, he looked up smacked her bottom with the brush. “You, my dear…are avoiding our conversation.”

“Yeah, I know…I just don’t want to think about it, Nick.” She grabbed her sponge and cleaner and started into the master bath with Nick following close behind.

“I don’t either, but Lani…”

“I know, I know. You’re worried about us.”

“I am. And so is Ben…” Nick stood in front of the toilet bowl like he’d never cleaned one before. He had…it had just been awhile.

“Lift the lid, squirt the goo, let it sit and brush, Nick. Not real hard.”

“I know, I know…” Nick heaved a sigh and did as told, closing the lid to sit on it while the cleaner worked. He sucked in a quiet breath when he saw Solana bent over the edge of the tub, moving her hips as she scoured away. Why had he avoided cleaning so much all these years…this could be almost enjoyable.

“Barry’s been wanting me to get a security system since we moved in here.”

Nick swallowed deep, hoping to find his voice. She was teasing him, he just knew it. “Why haven’t you done it then?”

Solana leaned back on her haunches and wiped her brow with the back of her wrist, blowing an errant hair out of her face. She wasn’t teasing at all…she was completely oblivious of the effect she was having on him. Which, of course, only made her more endearing. “Because I don’t like to live in fear, Nick.”

“How is protecting you and your daughter living in fear?”

She tossed the sponge into the tub and looked back at him, frustrated at her upcoming response. “I don’t have an answer for that.”

“Because there isn’t one.” He wasn’t budging. Even without the minimal threat of Steve, Nick knew he’d travel with less anxiety knowing they’d be safe. He cared too much about both of them to let this one go.

“Do you really think Steve will target me?”

“I don’t know, Lani…it’s just a feeling. This can’t hurt even if I’m totally off base.”

Seeing another spot in the back of the tub, she picked up the sponge and started scrubbing again, making Nick’s stubbornness on the matter more difficult to stick with. Did she have to move her behind so much?

“How much does something like this cost?”

“Couple hundred.”

“To install, but what about per month…you’re not paying that, Nick. I won’t allow it.”

“Mine’s pretty high, but I think you can get ‘em for under $30.”

Finally happy with the cleanliness of the tub, she rinsed it down, still debating this whole thing. She wasn’t happy, but Nick was right. It couldn’t hurt to keep her and Rosalie safe irregardless of Steve. She dealt with the dregs of society half the time anyway…she was always at risk. “I can afford that.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Only if you let me pay the monthly fee.”

“I don’t mind doing it, Lani.”

“I do…scrub the toilet, Gringo.”

Nick popped up off the commode, lifted the lid and seat and started swirling the brush, giggling when Solana came over to investigate. “Do I pass?”

“Yep…you’d make a good little housewife.”