"Mikey's Weekend"

Chapter Four
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         I could never beat the fifth level. My thumbs ached from the effort, but my spaceship was never able to avoid that damned mega-cannon on the boss's shoulder. Heat seeking missiles? It wasn't fair. Nothing in life seemed fair. I guess I shouldn't have expected video games to be any different. Still, my unfair game console helped me through the afternoon. The day went slowly. I made myself some fried rice for lunch. Drank a few grape sodas. Played video games. Thought about Beth. I almost got Trisha out of my head, too. I still felt weird about that.
         The light was going away. Nighttime was almost upon me, and I felt wide awake. The sunset cast eerie golden shadows across the room. I switched on a few lights to chase them away. Killing time is something I hate to do. I like being productive. Wasting time makes me feel like a heel. I wondered where my brother was. I didn't want to think about what he was doing. Or, rather, whom he might be doing. Damn it all, but Trisha came into my mind again. I replaced her imaginary image with that of Beth's. I wished she was here. I looked at my cell phone. Her number was right there. I could call her. Please, God. Give me a sign if I should call her. Would she even pick up her phone? Was she busy? I had no idea where she even was. All I knew was that she wasn't home. She was probably far away right now, not even remembering me. If she did remember me, I'm sure she just thought of me as that "Mikey" kid who drops avocados. God. How humiliating. I looked back up from my cell phone just in time to see lights flash in front of the windows. 
         A car drove by. It seemed like it had parked next door. Was it Beth? With a surprising amount of energy surging through my body, I leapt up from the couch and ran over to the front door. I peeked around the window just in time to see the figure of a woman emerging from her car next door. It was her. She was back. I watched her, undetected, as she strode from her car and into her house. Walking half illuminated in the twilight with her soft russet tail gliding behind her, she seemed even more beautiful than I had last remembered her. She cast a spell on me. I was completely enchanted and enraptured by her. She must have been at least a decade older than I was, though. There was no way anything could happen between us. Dejected, I slumped away from the window and went back into the living room. I waited as I sat on the couch. I tried to find some reason to call her. Any reason. But why? What was I craving anyway? She's an adult. I'm just a kid. No... I'm not a kid anymore. I'm almost an adult. I'm more mature than my brother, whom society claims is an "adult." Didn't that count for anything?
         Rational thought and reason abandoned my mind as I looked once again at the name "Beth" in my cell phone's address book. My thumb was resting over the green button which, if pressed, would let me talk to her. Not that I was sure she'd even answer. She didn't know my phone number. People usually don't answer their phones unless they recognize the caller I.D. My mind quickly entertained the idea of sending her a text message. No. She's not a teenager. She's a woman. Beth wouldn't like that... would she? I didn't know. The sun was now under the horizon. I had spent half an hour just debating the pros and cons of calling her in my mind. I had wasted time. Precious time. Time that I could have used to talk with Beth, if I just had the fucking nerve to do so. I was furious with myself. What was I afraid of? 
         My thumb acted on its own. The green button had been pressed, and now, there was no turning back. I had no idea what I was going to say, but I called her. With terror building inside, I heard the "brrreep, brrrreeep," of my cell phone, signaling to me that her phone was ringing. It mocked me. The sounds seemed to say "Here you go. You wanted to talk to her? Be my guest. What are you gonna say? Why would she want to listen to you? You're a nobody. You're short. You've got no friends."
It said a lot for a little cell phone.
         My heart leapt as I heard a voice reply on the other end. It was a sweet voice. A voice that rang in my ears.
         "Hello?" said the lovely voice of Beth. I swallowed hard to choke back fear. What the hell was I afraid of, anyway?
         "Hi..."
         "Um... may I ask who is calling?" Stupid! I was so stupid.
         "It's Mikey." Damn it! Michael! Call yourself Michael. Why did I say Mikey?
         "Oh, my new neighbor, right? Hi Mikey, how are you doing?" She sounded so cheerful. God, she sounded just like the California sunshine. It was so different from me. I was the rain. She was the sun. For the first time, I felt a lot of fondness for sunshine. For a moment, I wished it wasn't dark out. I missed the sun when I heard her voice.
         "I'm doing fine Beth, thanks. How are you?"
         "I'm all right. Got home from work about half an hour ago, and decided to relax in the bathtub." My cock woke up. I chased away images of her wonderful body soaking wet with bubbles sliding down her legs.
         "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you..." She laughed a sweet laugh.
         "No, it's fine darling! I just got out of the bath a few moments ago. I'm barely dry, but I'm not busy. You're not disturbing me." Oh my God. She was "barely dry?" My heart started pounding, and there was a ringing in my ears. Was she "barely dressed" too? Focus Michael, focus. Just talk to her.
         "Sorry you had to work on a Saturday."
         "My job pays extra for that, so I don't mind. Thanks though."
         "Okay, that's good. Was... uh... was your bath nice?" I cringed as I heard the words come out of my mouth. Fuck. What the hell kind of question was that?"
         "Um, it was good. Ha ha!" She thought I was funny. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She kept on talking and asked a question that struck fear into my heart. "Wait, your father told me earlier he would give you my number in case of an emergency. Is everything okay over there?" I felt guilty for calling her now.
         "No, everything is fine... It's just..." I couldn't think of what to say next.
         "...what's wrong, Mikey?" I felt an overwhelming need to open up to her and tell her everything. I really needed someone to talk to. I didn't know what to tell her. Against my better judgment, I decided to tell her the truth.
         "I'm just lonely. I'm sorry."
         "What? Oh, you poor little guy. You're alone over there?" I tried to shrug it off. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I realized she felt sorry for me.
         "Nah, it's okay. I'm used to being alone."
         "Your father told me that you'd have your brother to take care of you. Isn't he there with you?" Then I remembered Ray. I thought about how much I hated his guts. I thought about him and Trisha. I remembered how I briefly thought Trisha was sexy. Now, speaking with Beth, no other woman in the world seemed attractive to me. I wasn't jealous of my brother anymore. I pitied him. Then my mind snapped back to attention.
         "My brother, is... well, he's gone. I don't know where he is. He went out with his girlfriend. He told me not to tell my parents about it or he'd kill me. He'll be gone until tomorrow, so now I'm just stuck here by myself."
         "Oh, that's too bad. He won't be back until tomorrow?"
         "Probably not. I don't really care. I don't like him very much."
         "You sound upset."
         "No, I'm okay. Don't worry about me Beth. You go ahead and relax. I've probably taken up too much of your time already... no, I just wanted to say hello." I was feeling more and more depressed by the second as I spoke. I wished I could have talked to her in person. Her response sent my heart leaping into my throat.
         "Do you want me to come over for a bit?" My mouth went dry. I forced myself to respond. It took a lot of effort.
         "Uh... y...yeah, sure... I'd love that!" Too eager! Too eager, damn it! Pull it back! "I mean... if you'd like to come over, I don't mind. It's nice of you to offer." I'm not sure how, but I think I could hear her smile on the other end.
         "All right, it's settled. I'll be over soon! You shouldn't have to be alone over there tonight."
         "Aww, it's ok. Thanks, Beth."
         "Of course, Mikey! You're welcome. Listen, just sit tight and I'll be over in a minute. I just need to throw on some clothes, haha!" My eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She was naked?
         "Heh... yeah, those are... those are helpful!" Good God. I blushed fiercely.
         "I'll be over soon. Bye-bye!" and with a click of her phone, she was gone. I held the phone in my paw as my mind raced.

         I ran over a few facts in my head as I sat back on the couch. One, I just talked with Beth. Two, apparently she was naked the entire time I was talking to her. Three, she asked to come over. Four... I was alone. No parents. No stupid moron of a brother. Nobody but me and a gorgeous vixen. My heart was still racing. She was coming over because she didn't want me to be alone. She felt bad for me. She was putting on clothes right now just so she could come over. Wait, what? Shit. I looked like shit. Total shit. I raced to my room and tried to find some decent clothes. I found a pair of khakis. Sometimes I wear these when I have to look nice. My parents encouraged me to wear them more often. I pulled off my pants and slipped into the khakis. The problem was, I had a massive boner visibly sticking out. The khakis offered no resistance to my growth. How humiliating. I found a pair of blue jeans. I took off the khakis and quickly slid on the jeans. They helped hide the bulge in my crotch a little better. I had to make due. I was already wearing a clean white tee shirt, but that didn't quite feel right. I put on an extra shirt over that one. A classy gray shirt that I could button up. I buttoned it as fast as I could and raced back out of my room and through the hallway to my living room. I was just thankful that I had showered earlier today. At least I smelled okay.
         Beth hadn't arrived yet. It seemed like it was taking a long time for her to just come over from next door. A few scary possibilities evilly crossed into my head. Maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she decided it would look bad if she came over. What if she really was a nut-case like my mother feared? Which reminded me: my mom didn't like Beth for some reason. Why? I wished I had known why she didn't trust her. The slight streak of fear that bolted through my stomach only helped to strengthen the excitement I felt as I awaited her arrival. I tried to think of how I could impress her. There was only one thing I was good at doing. I could cook.
         Of course! That's perfect. I went to the kitchen and looked for something tasty I could make for her as a thank-you for coming over. I looked and looked but couldn't find much. I did see a bottle of red wine sitting on the counter. Should I open it? My parents would know. Maybe I could say Ray and Trisha opened it. I wasn't sure if I could lie that well. Shit. Another fear crossed my mind. I'm a terrible liar. What would my parents do if they found out about this? I hadn't committed a crime. I hadn't done anything wrong. She was just coming over for a while... what harm was there in that? Still, I couldn't help but think my parents wouldn't understand. I hoped they would never find out.
         Then I heard it. A knocking on the door.
         
         Beth was here.