Hi Tim, Hey TamiaTim was just leaving the kitchen when he noticed his brother's keys on the counter. Not wanting to have to stay downstairs and wait for him to knock, Tim decided to deliver them.
Clad in a sky blue T-shirt, red track pants, and white sneakers, Tim strolled to the house at the end of his block. The door was answered by a girl whom he never met.
The girl wore a blue tank top with matching shorts. Her black hair flowed just past her shoulders. Big, brown eyes focused on Tim's and a smile came to her face.
Tim was surprised. Not just from having the door opened by a girl he never seen before, but he was stunned by how cute she was. He checked the number on the side of the house�this was the right place.
"Um," Tim fished the keys out of his pocket, "my brother, Kevon, left his keys at home."
A heavy-set woman peeked out from a doorway several yards away.
"Hey, Tim! Come on in!" The girl moved aside to let him in. He entered a living room. "I see you met Tamia."
Tim watched as Tamia sat down beside her. "Hey, Lauren, hey, Tamia."
"Hi, Tim," she greeted with a wave.
Lauren looked at Tim. Then Tamia, then back at Tim. The attraction was obvious.
"Tamia is my niece." She put an arm around the girl. "She'll be staying here for the weekend." She pulled her niece closer and asked, "Isn't she cute?"
Tim slowly looked down to hide a growing smile. "Yeah."
Tamia beamed at him.
"So what brings you here?"
"Kevon forgot his keys, and I wanted to give them to him"
"He's upstairs with Gloria."
Tim nodded and went upstairs. He came back and went home.
"Who was that, Aunt Lauren?" Tamia wanted to know.
"Tim lives a few houses down. He's the brother of Gloria's boyfriend." Lauren looked at her niece with a smile. "You like him, don't you?"
Shyly, Tamia looked over Lauren's shoulder. "Yeah. I do."
"I thought you might. You could go to his house and get to know him better. How's that sound?"
Tamia's grin widened. "That sounds great, Auntie."
�Invite him here for dinner, if you want.�
Minutes later, Tamia was knocking on Tim's door. The boy answered, looking surprised.
"Hi, Tim," she smiled.
�Hey, Tamia,� Tim greeted, leaning on the door.
�Can I hang out with you for a while?�
�Sure.�
He let her in and they went to his room. The kids discussed likes and dislikes. She told him she had never visited this neighborhood before. He promised to show her the cool spots over the weekend. Starting with the playground.
The kids were both fans of soccer, so Tim brought his soccer ball and they went to the grassy field. Neither of them were particularly skillful, but they had a good time. They spent hours together, just talking and playing. And Tamia did invite her new friend to dinner.
Later that day, Tim stood by his brother's ajar door. Upon confirming that he was there, he waltzed into the messy bedroom.
"Kevon?"
"Yeah?" The teen looked at his brother's reflection while fixing his white t-shirt. He was much sharper than the boy who wore clothes that told the story of hours of roughhousing in a playground.
"How did you meet Gloria, again?"
Kevon sat on the bed and put on his white sneakers. "I met her at the bus stop."
"How did you know she liked you?"
"Why are you so interested all of a sudden?" He paused when a revelation came to mind. "Wait." He turned to look at Tim. "You like Gloria"s cousin, don't you?" The child barely got a nod out before being tickled and made to lay on his back by an "oohing" young man. "Aw, my baby brother's all grown up."
"G-g-get off... of... me!" Tim giggled, trying to block the tickle attacks.
Kevon let up. He then went on to tell about the basics of girls. The do's and don'ts. How to be a gentleman. He answered every question Tim had. Satisfied, Tim left his brother's room.
But not without taking a bottle of cologne when its owner wasn't looking.
Tim knocked on Lauren's door. Almost instantly, the door opened. Tamia stood there wearing a green shirt, a black skirt, and a smile.
"Hi, Tim. Thanks for coming," she said, looking him up and down.
Tim was wearing a green shirt with black shorts, along with white sneakers.
Little did either of them know, Kevon reported his brother's outfit to Gloria. The girl then casually suggested what colors Tamia should wear for the �date.�
"Hey, Tamia." He followed her into the dining room.
Dinner was all set. Tim's attendance was the final piece. He, Tamia, and Lauren sat down and helped themselves.
"Doesn't Tamia look lovely tonight, Tim?" Lauren asked over dinner.
"Yeah," Tim replied with a smile, though he was surprised at the question. "She does."
"Thank you, Tim." The girl took a sip of her Pepsi while thinking of something to say. "You're really cute, too. And you smell good."
"That's it?" Lauren blurted out, causing the kids to laugh. "I know there's something else you'd love to say, Tamia."
Tamia grinned down at the white table cloth. "I... I like you, Tim. I like you a lot."
Tim looked at her in awe. Both she and her aunt were looking back at him, all smiles. The girl he liked actually liked him back!
"I like you a lot, too, Tamia."
With that, the kids stared at one another in silence.
"I'll leave you two alone," Lauren announced after a moment of silence. "I have to get the clothes out of the dryer." With that, she left the dining room.
"Why do I get the feeling your aunt set us up?" Tim asked with a mock thoughtful pose.
"I don't know," Tamia replied with a laugh and a shrug. She smiled for a moment, then announced, "I do like you, though."
"Same here."
For a moment, the pair smiled at each other. The ice was broken and the secrets were out. Only one thing left to do.
"Would you be mad at me if I kissed you?"
A pink tint appeared on Tim's face. "Nuh-uh." He glanced at the doorway, then back to Tamia.
Slowly, she leaned forth. He bit his lip in anticipation. Their lips touched briefly before Tim pulled back. Faces now inches apart, the kids looked at each other in wonder. It was Tim who initiated the next kiss. Their lips pressed together as their heads tilted in opposite directions. This was a much longer, more passionate kiss.
The duo reluctantly broke the kiss. Tim leaned back in his chair, pressing his teeth together in an effort to stop smiling. Tamia exhaled dreamily with a hand over her rapidly beating heart.
"Awwwwww."
Lauren was now standing in the doorway. The kids burst out laughing at getting caught.
The next morning, Tamia was standing on her cousin's bed, looking in a tall mirror. Her reflection stared back in frustration. The girl pressed down the sides of her sundress. It was the only one she had packed, and in her mind, it was not good enough for her first official date. She watched the door open behind her, followed by the appearance of a teenaged girl.
�Hey, cuz, what's wrong?�
"Gloria, do you have an old dress in my size?"
"What's wrong with that yellow one you're wearing?"
"It sucks!" Tamia said in exasperation, causing the teen to laugh. "This is my very first date. I wanna look hot for Tim."
"Kiddo, you do look hot. And if he's good enough for you, he'll like you no matter what you're wearing."
"Tamia!" Lauren's voice yelled from downstairs.
"Sounds like your man is here, Tammy."
The girls went downstairs.
"Look who's here, Tamia!" Lauren said, pointing her foot at the boy sitting across from her.
Tim wore a red shirt with white track pants that had a red stripe on the sides. He smiled when he saw her.
"Hey, Tamia," he smiled.
"Hi, Tim. You look nice today."
The boy stood and hugged her. "You, too. I like your hair. It's really awesome."
"Thanks." She played with the left braid. "I'm really glad you think so."
Gloria smiled as Tamia seemed to have lost all doubts of Tim not liking her outfit.
�So what movie are you going to see this afternoon?� Lauren asked.
�Osmosis Jones,� Tamia answered.
Tim led Tamia to the movie theater several blocks away. He bought a big bucket of popcorn and two sodas. They sat in one of the farthest rows.
When the popcorn was all gone, Tim put his arm around her. Tamia put her head on his shoulder. He let her stay there a while. Then he kissed the top of her head.
Grinning, Tamia looked up at him and kissed his cheek. She stared at the boy, expecting him to do it again. When Tim only smiled back, she rested against him.
Then he kissed the top of her head.
The girl snickered and kissed his lips. Another staring contest ensued. This time, he did kiss her back. Or rather, they kissed each other. Their lips lingered for a moment before they returned to the movie.
�That movie was funny,� Tamia said when they got outside. �I liked the part where Osmosis and Thrax fought on top of the girl's eyelash.�
�That was smart. For Osmosis to trick him into stabbing the fake eyelash.�
Tamia took his hand as they crossed the street. Not for safety, of course.
�I liked kissing you,� Tamia admitted. �Kissing is so much fun.�
�Yeah,� Tim said in a distant tone while moving toward her. Their lips touched for a brief moment.
"Yeeeaaaaaah, get you some of that, Tamia."
The kids swiftly broke the kiss and saw Kevon standing there with a Pathmark bag in one hand. "Don't let me stop you. That was good, though. But next time, put a little more feeling in it." The teen laughed at himself.
Red-faced, Tim looked at Tamia, who was also smiling. He leaned into the side of her face with his lips pursed.
"Let's try to lose him," he whispered. She nodded and they looked at Kevon. "One, two, RUN!"
Tim and Tamia turned and bolted to the far end of the block. Several times, they looked back to see the teenager leaning against a wall, laughing at them. They turned a corner and stopped. Tamia rested against a brick building while Tim sat on a fire hydrant. They laughed their heads off while catching their breath.
The kids then spent the rest of the day together. Tim walked Tamia home that evening, giving her a short kiss on the lips. Practically glowing in the dark, she turned and entered the house. Her radiant joy didn't go unnoticed by her cousin or aunt.
But it might just save your liiiiiife
That's the power of love
Tim jolted awake and hit the floor when he heard music blasting in his ear. He looked up to see his brother holding a boom box.
"What's wrong, Tim?" Kevon asked the glaring child. "Can't you feel the power of loooove?"
"Get out," Tim moaned as he sat up.
"Not until you feel the power of looove."
"Shut up." He opened the door and pushed his brother out.
"Feel the power of looooooove."
Tim slammed the door behind him and began his day.
"You drive me craaaaazy," Tamia sang into a purple hairbrush. "I just can't sleep."
She danced around her cousin's room, singing to the song blaring from the speakers. Lost in the rhythm, she jumped on the bed, tumbled about, got on the floor, and spun around.
At the end of one twirl, she noticed her cousin standing in the doorway with a smirk. She froze with a mixture of shock and amusement on her face. After 5 seconds of standing perfectly still with open arms, she leapt backwards and landed on the bed. Dramatically, she sighed and kicked her pink pajama-clad legs up and brought them back down.
Gloria laughed and sat on the side of the bed. Tamia laughed along with her.
"My little cousin is all grown up now," Gloria commented while brushing hair out of the child's eyes. "Found herself a little boyfriend."
"Yes! I love Tim! We kissed at the movies and in front of the house!"
"How many times are you gonna tell me?"
"Well, we did."
"I'm happy for you, Tamia. If you have any questions about boys, you can ask me."
"Thanks, cuz."
"Do you know how to tongue-kiss?" Tamia asked.
"I think so. I saw my brother and your cousin do it a jillion times."
"Ever did it before?"
"Nope. Did you?"
"No.� She smiled. �But I want to try it."
"Okay. Just... um, do what I do."
Tim leaned toward his girlfriend's smiling face. Both sets of lips pressed together softly and parted. They both closed their eyes. He stuck his tongue into her mouth.
|