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May I Suggest A Tan?

Archive Fic
by Mandylynn (me) and Mandy Leigh

mayisuggestatanbanner.jpg

 

May I suggest a tan?

Mandy Lynn sleepily rolled over in her bed to turn off the alarm clock.  It was 6:35 on a Thursday morning and she was actually happy to be getting up.  She clicked the alarm to sleep, kissed Philip on the forehead, and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. 

 

"It's too early to get up on spring break," moaned Philip as Mandy flipped on the overhead light.

 

"No it's not!  Not when we're going shopping!she chirped back.  Philip groaned into the pillows and put his hands over his ears.

 

An hour later, Mandy Lynn was dragging Philip down the driveway to her car, humming happily.  She turned up the radio, rolled down the windows, and phoned Mandy Leigh on her cell phone.

 

"Good morning, Mandy!" she sang into the phone.

 

"You are way to chipper this morning.  Are you gonna be late or something?Mandy Leigh asked, knowing from experience that Mandy Lynn was often late.

 

"Nope!  I'm already driving around!  We'll be there in ten to fifteen!"

 

"We?"

 

"Philip and I.  Angel's coming, right?"

 

"Yeah.  See you in a few!"

 

~*~

 

A loud knock sounded on the wooden door at exactly 8:00.  Angel growled as he reached for the door, intent on flinging it open, but was stopped when Mandy Leigh raced past him and plastered herself against the door.  Sticking a finger in his chest, she glared at him while issuing him her warning.

 

"Remember what I said."

 

Rolling his eyes and nodding his head he replied exasperatedly, "I know, I know.  I have to be nice to the little twerp, otherwise..."

 

"Otherwise, no more KFC," she chuckled as he groaned.

 

With that said, Mandy Leigh flung open the door and greeted her friend with a smile.  "You ready to go?"

 

"Of course!  Are we taking your SUV or my car?" Mandy Lynn asked.

 

""I think we'll take mine.  It's got tinted windows.  And we'll be able to keep some distance between the boys...if you know what I mean," she whispered.

 

Mandy Lynn nodded knowingly.  She looked up at the overcast sky and thanked God that Angel could leave the house today.  He would be able to come with them on the trip and accompany the girls shopping.  He always made both Mandys feel safe.  They gathered their things and packed the SUV, complete with the Pepsis that Mandy Lynn had brought to "liven the bunch up.Before the clock even read 8:15, they were on their way.

 

~*~

 

"Is this country?" Mandy Leigh scowled at the radio.

 

"I think so," Philip replied from the backseat, all the while watching Angel intently. 

 

"I feel like we should be heading back west when we listen to this shit," Mandy Lynn giggled.  She turned the stations and looked out at the scenery.  "Wow!  Trees!  Green plant life!  Hills!" she exclaimed, a grin plastered on her face.

 

Mandy Leigh began laughing.  "I don't see a single cow!"

 

Philip's eyes darted around the SUV.  "Cow?  Where?"

 

Angel, who was dozing softly in his seat, opened one eye and glared at Philip.  "There is no cow."

 

"How do you know?" Phil inquired, slowly backing up against the door. 

 

Angel re-closed his eye and shifted a little.  "I can't smell one," he replied calmly.

 

"Huh?  Smell one?  What are you talking about?Philip gave him a quizzical look.

 

Mandy Lynn glanced back at the guys.  "What are you two talking about?"

 

"Nothing," Philip sang.

 

Angel, eyes still closed, whispered, "You moron.  If there was a cow nearby, I would be able to smell the blood coursing through its veins.  And I would be able to hear its heartbeat."

Philip made a gagging noise and turned toward the window.  "That was too much information."

 

"Well you asked."

 

~*~

 

"Oh shit!" Mandy Leigh exclaimed about half-way into their trip.

 

"What's wrong?Mandy Lynn looked over at her companion.

 

"Get into my purse for a minute," she instructed.  Mandy Lynn reached over the seat and snatched the purse from under Angel's feet.  "Find my wallet and see if there's any money in there."

 

"Uh...there's nothing in here, Mandy."

 

"Shit!  I bet I left it in my other jeans!"

 

Angel snickered from the backseat.  Philip jumped at the sound, head snapping around to watch the man sharing his seat.

 

"Did you leave your shopping money at home?" Mandy Lynn asked quickly.

 

"No, but that was our toll money!"

 

"Do they take exact change, or can they take big bills?"

 

"Ummm...I don't know.  Angel, what do you know about the Interstate tolling operations?"

 

Angel smiled and leaned forward in his seat.  "Well, tolling actually first began in the B.C. eras, when people who owned land decided to charge people for trespassing.  When the Interstate was built, in 1956, large quantities of people and goods could pass from one state to another.  However, taxes were different in each state, so the government created toll roads to keep taxes on products equalized on either side of state borders."

 

Philip rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.  "See why I don't like going anywhere with him?  He's like a living, breathing history book."

 

Angel turned sharply, glaring harshly at the sandy-haired boy next to him.  "At least I'm not a living, breathing poster child for tanning salons!"

 

"At least I have a tan!  You're as pasty as Elmer's Glue.  And you have some real issues with your front canine teeth.  May I suggest a good dental hygienist who can file those God-awful things down?"

 

Mandy Leigh whipped her head around from the front seat.  "Philip," she said in a deadly quiet voice.  "I suggest you shut your trap now before my vampire uses those God-awful canine teeth on you!"

 

Philip looked from Mandy Leigh to Angel, whose teeth were bared and ready to bite.  Turning her head back around, she peered in her rear-view mirror.  "Angel, I may not be able to see your reflection, but don't make me pull this car over and get nasty.  I think the sun's starting to come out."

 

"Angel's gonna go poof!Mandy Lynn said in a sing-song voice.

 

There was a low growl from the backseat as Angel sank back into his chair.  Philip stared out the window, hands wound tightly around his own neck.  "I don't have to bite you on the neck," Angel whispered.  "There are other major veins and arteries I can chew on."

 

With a whimper, Philip hugged closer to the door and curled his knees up to his chest.  Mandy Lynn looked back at him before sighing.  "So, does the toll booth take exact change, or what?"

 

"No, they'll take large bills," Angel replied.

 

~*~

 

Philip whined incessantly from the backseat, "I wanna see it!  I wanna see it!  Lemme see it!  Everybody else got to see it!"

 

Angel grunted and hurled the ticket across the seat.  Philip scrambled to pick it up while avoiding Angel's side of the seat.  Angel's canines had retreated back into his gums, but there was a glint of hostility and hunger that remained.  Philip scanned the ticket. 

 

"How do you read this thing?  I mean, how much do you pay when you get to the next booth?he pondered aloud.  "I can't figure it out.  How many axles does this SUV have?  Do we pay the price under 2 or 4?  How's come where we just came from is marked all black?  Where's the price for where we just were?"

 

Mandy Lynn rolled her eyes.  Mandy Leigh let out a sigh.  Angel leaned forward, whispered something in her ear, and turned back to Philip.  With a strained, screwed-on smile, he replied, "They'll tell you how much to pay at the booth when we get there, you twit.  There are people who are paid to read those things.  Don't strain yourself."

 

"Speaking of toll booths, I thinking we're coming upon one now," Mandy Lynn said.

 

"Yep.  There's the sign."  Mandy Leigh stated matter-of-factly, pointing out the window.  A large, dark green sign stood on the road that read "Toll Plaza Ahead."

 

The SUV pulled into the lane that said Cash/K-Tag.  Mandy Leigh frantically scanned the other lanes and signs above them.  "Angel," she shrieked.  "Where's the ticket?"

 

Angel snatched the ticket out of Philip's hand, a low growl emulating from his throat at his girlfriend's distress.  Mandy Leigh turned to Mandy Lynn, "I think we're in the wrong lane!"

 

"Uh...I think you can pay with cash or K-tag actually."

 

"Are you sure?  I don't have a K-tag!  I think I'm in the wrong lane!"

 

Mandy Leigh worriedly watched as the car in front of them handed a K-tag out the window to the toll booth operator.  "Oh, I'm so in the wrong lane!  Shit!"

 

Mandy Lynn looked behind them.  "Well, you're here now.  There's a big ugly truck behind you.  Can't back up.  Just tell them we didn't know.  Besides, this stuff probably happens all the time."

 

Mandy Leigh took the twenty dollar bill from Mandy Lynn's hand and rolled down her window.  "I think I'm in the wrong lane," she squeaked at the toll booth operator.  He leaned down and took her ticket. 

 

"One eighty-five, please," he smiled, unaware that she had said anything to him.  She handed him the cash, relieved that she wasn't in the wrong lane and scowled when Mandy Lynn informed her that she told her so.  After receiving her change, she pulled away from the booth and onto the busy interstate once again.

 

~*~

 

As the SUV happily buzzed along the Interstate, the four settled back into their quiet relaxing drive - well, for the most part.  Mandy Leigh contentedly changed radio stations as they approached Kansas City, to get better stations.  She settled upon a mix station with R&B and rap.  Bouncing to the rhythm, she watched as the other Mandy began memorizing exit numbers. 

 

"What are you doing?"

"We have to get off at I-435 next," Mandy Lynn muttered.  "I'm just reminding you so that you will know ahead of time.  So we're not cutting through four lanes of traffic trying to get on an off-ramp at the last second, okay?"

 

"Whatever.  I-435 next?"

 

"Yep."

 

As they zipped down the road, it split into four lanes of off and on ramps.  Mandy Leigh changed lanes to let a slow-moving car enter the merging lane, staying closely behind a semi-truck. 

 

Mandy Lynn leaned forward to look at the signs that hung over the road.  "I hate when you're behind semis.  You can never see your exit until they've passed the sign," she observed, straining to see past the truck. 

 

"I-435 south, right?Mandy Leigh asked.

 

"Uh, huh."

 

Both Mandys' heads turned as they watched the I-435 south off-ramp speed past them.  "Ohmigod!  That was so our exit!" Mandy Lynn cried, face pressed against the glass in fear.

 

"Shit!"

 

"We're going the wrong way!  We have to turn around.  We're gonna get lost.  I knew this was going to happen!  Oh God, we're lost in this big city with all this traffic and we don't know how to get back!"

 

"Shut up!  We just have to turn around.  I'll get off on another exit, turn around, and get on I-435 north.  We're fine.  And we're not lost," Mandy Leigh snapped.

 

Mandy Lynn whimpered as she watched dozens of cars entering and exiting the merge lane.  The small confines of the SUV were making her claustrophobic and speeding along the road made it that much scarier.  She tossed the paper with directions in the backseat and began whimpering about being lost.

 

Mandy Leigh tried to contain her irritation as she merged over into the far right hand lane, and exited on I-435 north.  Driving down the road, she scanned, looking for a place to turn around.  She heard Mandy Lynn continuously mutter about being lost, and made a decision.

 

"That's it.  We're pulling in here," she motioned towards the racetrack exit.  "And when we stop, you're getting your happy ass out of the front seat.  You're driving me nuts!"

 

They stopped on the dirt entrance to the track.  Angel pushed open his door and helped Mandy Lynn to the backseat, where she clung to Philip, still whimpering.  With Angel in the front seat, Mandy Leigh sighed happily and pulled back onto I-435 now going in the right direction.

 

~*~

 

Finally, after another long ten minutes, the SUV pulled into the Oak Park Mall parking lot.  "I have to pee really badly!Mandy Lynn exclaimed, hopping out of the car and bouncing from one foot to another.

 

"Me, too!" Philip said, joining his girlfriend in the gotta-pee-dance. 

 

"You wouldn't have to pee so badly if you hadn't drank those damn Pepsis the first twenty minutes of the trip," Mandy Leigh grunted. 

 

She dialed her home phone number on her cell and held it up to her ear.  It rang four times before the answering machine picked up.  Sighing, she clicked her phone off.  "Where're my parents?  I could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere and they wouldn't care!" she grumbled.

 

Angel chuckled as he watched Mandy Lynn and Philip hop towards the heavy double doors to JCPenney's.  He took the disgruntled Mandy Leigh by the hand and led her into the building.  Mandy Lynn hopped through the double doors of JCPenney's, but stopped abruptly when she got inside.  So abruptly that Philip ran into her, Mandy Leigh ran into Philip, and Angel ran into Mandy Leigh, causing a domino effect of people on the floor.

 

"Uh, guys...this store is huge!  How're gonna find the bathrooms?  I bet we have to walk across the mall to get to one!"

 

Mandy Leigh, still trying to recover from the added weight of her boyfriend, moved out of the line of dominoes and sighed exasperatedly.  "Find the elevators, and you'll find a bathroom.She took the lead and started looking for the elevators.  Sure enough, five minutes later, they were standing in front of a sign pointing straight ahead to the elevators and restrooms. 

 

"There is a God!" Mandy Lynn cried, and headed into the door with a small painted woman on the front.  The other Mandy followed, with the boys entering the appropriate door. 

 

Mandy Lynn quickly slammed into a stall, locking it and sitting as fast as she could.  "Ahhh...thank you, Lord!" she sighed, unaware of the other customers in the bathroom.

 

Mandy Leigh stood at the sink and fixed her hair.  The wind had somehow made it fluffy and tangled, so she combed at it with her fingers.  Finally pleased with her appearance, she washed her hands.  A small girl stood, looking for paper towels, with her hands dripping wet.  Mandy Leigh helped her get a few, then wiped off her own.  Then, she entered the stall next to Mandy Lynn's.

 

After she was done, she left the stall while Mandy Lynn was just flushing the toilet.  "I just now got finished peeing!Mandy Lynn giggled.  "That whole 12 oz can of Pepsi just emptied itself out of my bladder!  I mean it!"

 

Mandy Leigh rolled her eyes and followed her out of the bathroom. 

 

~*~

 

Two hours later, the four shoppers came across a store called The Rave.  There were many sale racks that lined the front windows, and the girls couldn't resist a sale.  They bopped into the store, leading a pair of weary, sniveling boys behind them. 

 

"Ooo...look at these cute PJ's!Mandy Lynn squealed, plucking a pair of light yellow monkey printed shorts off a sale rack. 

 

"Those are cute!  You should buy them.  They're only ten bucks!Mandy Leigh encouraged.

 

"Yeah!  Buy them," Philip said, perking up a bit.  "I think they'd be cute on."

 

The girls sent him a knowing look before heading farther into the store.  "That looks like the shirt you've been looking for doesn't it, Mandy?Mandy Lynn pointed out.

 

"I don't know..."

 

Mandy Lynn snatched the white peasant top off the wall and held it up to Mandy Leigh's chest.  "It sure does look like the one you've been wanting.  I think it'd be cute on."

 

"I really don't know about this."

 

"Sure you don't...now.  But if you hold onto it for a bit while we walk around the store, maybe you'll decide.  So here," Mandy Lynn shoved the hanger into Mandy Leigh's hand.  "You hold on to it...I think you'll learn to love it."

 

They cruised around the store, thoughtfully stopping at different racks, holding up shirts, skirts, and jeans, discarding them, or holding on to them.  Soon they had made their way to the back of the store.  Mandy Leigh squealed in delight.  "Maybe I should get a duster like these!"

 

"Go ahead!  I think you'd look cute in it!Mandy Lynn egged on.

 

"I don't need it though."

 

"Do it!  Buy something that you don't need and won't wear just because it's on sale or because it's cute on the hanger.  Impulse buy!  I do it all the time!"

 

Mandy Leigh sighed and picked out a black duster off the rack.  She folded it over her arm and held the peasant top to her chest again.  "What do you think, Angel?"

 

Angel snapped his head around to look at his girlfriend.  He had been drifting off, trying to shield his eyes from the bright fluorescent lights above, and had only known to turn around because his name was said.  "I like it," he said automatically. 

 

Mandy Leigh frowned at him.  "What do you like about it?" she asked, challenging him to think.

 

He looked it over once more, fingers touching the soft cotton.  They stopped at the bow under the breasts where a slit took over the rest of the shirt.  He envisioned it on her, showing ample amounts of skin whenever she lifted her arms or moved to one side or the other.  A small sexy smile crept upon his lips.  "I like that it shows your belly button...among other things," he replied coolly, eyes poring into hers.

 

She stared at him deeply.  They moved in to touch their lips to one another's but Mandy Lynn's happy outburst at finding a pink top in her size interrupted their moment.  Mandy Leigh shot a look of disappointment in her direction before gathering her things to pay.

 

~*~

 

Heading back to the car, Mandy Leigh expressed her feelings, rather colorfully, about Mandy Lynn sitting up front.  Angel grasped Mandy Leigh's neck in his hands and began rubbing her rather tense muscles.  He leaned down and whispered something in her ear eliciting a slight smile from the brown-eyed girl.  He opened the back door, ushering Mandy Lynn in first, followed by Philip, who jumped into the backseat rather quickly in his rush to get away from the vampire. 

Once everyone was settled in the vehicle, they made their way out of Kansas City, backtracking from the way they came.   Unbeknownst to Mandy Leigh, the other Mandy still had the directions in her hand.  And she was calling out exit numbers from the backseat of the SUV.  Fifteen minutes and several death threats later, Angel had decided that to calm all occupants of the vehicle, they would take Highway 56 home instead of Interstate. 

 

Pulling onto the highway, Mandy Leigh began to hear whispering from the backseat.  "What are you two whispering about?she demanded, on her last straw.

 

"Well," Mandy Lynn began.  "We were just thinking that none of this stuff looks familiar.  I mean, we're on a two lane highway, there are houses along the road, and I think I may have even seen a cow."

 

Mandy Leigh gritted her teeth.  "We decided to take another route."

 

"I know, but things should look familiar soon, I think.  I mean, can't we get lost out here without proper signs and road markings?"

 

Angel turned around and spoke in a gravely calm voice.  "Mandy Lynn, if you don't stop talking about familiar things, and road signs, and being lost, and COWS, I'm going to..." he looked around for inspiration.  Seeing a United Parcel Services headquarters, he growled, "I'm going to cut your boyfriend up into little tiny pieces and send him to you via UPS.  I mean it.  Now shut up.  We're not lost, we're not going to be lost, and that's final."

 

Mandy Lynn withered back into her seat properly chased.  Glancing fearfully from the UPS headquarters to Philip, she quickly snapped her open mouth shut and stared at the new scenery. 

 

Mandy Leigh breathed a sigh of relief.  Now that Angel had sufficiently quieted the yapping from the backseat, she could relax and take in the scenery.  A cute, two-story farmhouse with a porch that encompassed three sides immediately caught her attention. 

 

"That house is so cute!  I love it!she exclaimed, pointing at it.

 

Mandy Lynn, forgetting that she had just been reprimanded, agreed profusely.  "I like it, too!  The porch is awesome!  I would love to live in a cute little house like that!"

 

Ignoring Mandy Lynn's outburst, Angel took Mandy Leigh's right hand in his.  "I have a house similar to that in South Carolina.  But it faces the beach.  We could move there if you wanted."

 

Philip, feeling left out, glanced over at the two story that both Mandys had fallen in love with.  "That house?" he asked, pointing to what was possibly the only house within a fifteen mile radius. 

 

Mandy Lynn nodded enthusiastically.  "Don't you just love it?" she asked in a sing-song voice.

 

Philip, not to be outdone by Angel, remarked, "Well, I don't have a house like that, but with my money, I could by you two or three."

 

Angel, from the front seat, chuckled at Philip's exaggerated boast.  Mandy Leigh sensed a fight brewing, and her decision was made.  She pulled up to a four-way stop and decided that come hell or high water, she was going to make it back to I-70.  There was no way that she was spending any more time than necessary with these people. 

 

~*~

 

Two hours later, the crew arrived at Mandy Leigh's house.  Mandy Leigh slammed the gear shift into park, and fastening her seat belt, she hopped from the SUV.  "Finally," she breathed a sigh of relief. 

 

"Where are we going to eat?" Mandy Lynn chirped, herself hopping from the SUV.

 

Philip joined her on the lawn, taking her hand in his.  They pulled parcel after parcel out of the hatchback and emptied them into her trunk.  Then, they started after Angel and Mandy Leigh, who carried their findings into the house. 

 

"Uh...I don't care.  You decide," Mandy Leigh groaned, flopping onto the sofa. 

 

Philip cleared his throat and offered, "How about Chile's?  Mandy Lynn likes pasta, there's burgers, steaks, salads, whatever...except blood."

 

He glanced sideways at Angel who gave him a look of disgust.  "I can eat real food, you imbecile.  Besides, I have to keep up my 'human' appearance so I can fit in around you guys.Angel turned his head and snickered into the wingback chair.  Being human sounded so hypocritical now.

 

"Okay, whatever you want to do.  But you're driving," Mandy Leigh told Mandy Lynn.

 

~*~

 

They entered the crowded restaurant, their eyes scanning over the other customers already seated and eating.  "I so did not realize how hungry I was," Mandy Leigh exclaimed.  Meanwhile, the waiter showed them a table for four, handing out menus before he left.  The girls peered at the menu, their indecisiveness apparent as they perused the menu.  Philip didn't bother opening his menu and simply reached under the table to squeeze Mandy Lynn's hand. 

 

"What are you getting, Mr. I-Know-Exactly-What-I-Want-As-Soon-As-I-Sit-Down?" Mandy Leigh asked defensively.

 

"You'll just have to find out when it gets here," he smirked.  "Order anything you want, honey.  Money is no object."

 

He grinned at Mandy Lynn, who blushed and re-scanned her menu.  Finally, she decided and shut her menu.  Angel and Mandy Leigh chose to share a plate because Angel didn't feel much like chewing for no nutritional value.  So, when the waiter returned to the table, they ordered quickly and were left to sit uncomfortably around each other.

 

Philip played with the gold band around Mandy Lynn's left ring finger.  The small diamond jutted out just enough to show off, and he smiled softly.  It was far from the diamond he'd wanted to buy her, but she was a modest girl and she loved it anyway. 

 

Angel ran his hands through his hair before excusing himself to go to the restroom.  When he returned, he had a daisy tucked in his large hand.  He offered it and a kiss on the hand to his lady before re-seating himself. 

 

The food arrived shortly thereafter, an appetizer of salsa and chips for all of them, a chicken pasta dish for Mandy Lynn, a pita for Angel and Mandy Leigh, and a steak for Philip - rare.  Angel's eyes widened as the steak sat steaming across from him.  It had been placed on the grill for probably only 30 seconds on each side, enough to brown the edges, but not the inside.  As Philip's knife cut into the meat, Angel was forced to close his lips tightly around his growing canine teeth.

 

Mandy Leigh's foot felt around below the table until she found Philip's shin.  Then she eased back slowly and kicked him with as much force as she could muster. 

 

"Ow!  What the hell was that for?" Philip shrieked, dropping his knife to rub the growing knot he knew was emerging on his shin.

 

"Now, Philip.  You know what that was for.  And it wasn't very nice," Mandy Lynn cooed.

 

Impatiently, Angel shifted and brought his hand to his mouth.  "I think we need to leave, and soon," he whispered to Mandy Leigh.

 

She nodded.  "Waiter, check please!she called as the waiter zoomed past their table.  He waved at them to let them know they were next.  Pushing her plate away, Mandy Leigh tended to keeping Angel's mouth busy so that no one would notice his ever-growing teeth.

 

"While we're waiting," Philip said, cutting into his meat again.  He picked up a large morsel and placed it decadently on his tongue.  "Mmmm...this is really good steak!" he exclaimed.  Angel's eyes watched Philip dangerously as he swallowed.

 

The waiter flung the check on the table.  "Oh, sir?  Could I get a doggie bag?"

 

~*~

 

After pulling into the Target parking lot, Mandy Lynn demanded that someone help her put in her new belly ring.  It was a hoop with a dangling star on the end, and after pulling out the old one, she placed it in the holes.  However, the ball wouldn't fit in the edges of the hoop. 

 

"Someone please help me!" she cried, holding the hoop with one hand and the ball with the other.

 

Philip growled wickedly and smiled.  "I'll help you..."

 

Angel grunted.  "Why the hell do we have to deal with this now?  I would like to go home.  I'm hungry and tired and you people are pissing me off."

 

"I don't think you understand, Angel," Philip began.  "...the pure sexiness of body piercing.  Just look at Mandy's stomach.  Doesn't it make you hot?"

 

"No," Angel replied, without glancing at the half-naked Mandy Lynn.  "And if you'd like, since you think body piercings are so sexy, I could give you a few of your own."

 

He leaned forward to flash his fully extended canine teeth, glaring at Philip and throwing a disgusted glance at Mandy Lynn. 

 

"I just have to get the ball on here, and then we can go inside, I promise," Mandy Lynn explained.

 

Philip pushed with all his might, but all it ended up doing was causing Mandy Lynn pain.  So she pushed outwards on the hoop and he pushed inwards with the ball, but to no avail.  While they were struggling with it, Angel watched them with amusement and impatience.  "Can't you just go inside without the ball on it?  We'll only be inside for a few minutes."

 

"No, I'm almost done...There!" Mandy Lynn exclaimed as the ball clicked into place.  "Now we can go inside."

 

"Finally!" Angel yelled, angrier than ever.  The group slammed out of the car and into the store.  "Why did we even come to this store anyway?  We've been shopping all day!"

 

"I need a belt.  I left the other one at the dorm.  I can't walk around in these pants anymore, they're driving me crazy," Mandy Leigh explained, taking him by the arm to calm him down.  She smiled up at him sweetly.  "And a crazy Mandy Leigh isn't a happy Mandy Leigh.  You want me to be happy don't you?" she asked glancing up at him with puppy dog eyes.

 

"Fine," he said defeated.

 

They headed off in the direction of the belts while Mandy Lynn and Philip stuck to the check-out stands for gum.  After purchasing her belt, the group tiredly trudged to the car. 

 

"I'm gonna just put this on for now," Mandy Leigh explained as she ditched her sack and tugged at the tags on the end of the belt.  She pulled on the plastic hook on the end, but it wouldn't budge.  "Help me, Angel," she whimpered softly.

 

He pulled the hook into his teeth and it snapped into two.  "There you are sweet thang," he winked at her. 

 

They piled into the car, Mandy Leigh pulling on her new belt, Mandy Lynn tugging at her new belly ring, Philip playing with the radio stations, and Angel absentmindedly rubbing his canine teeth with his tongue.  As the day was drawn to an embarrassingly long end, they drove off down the road to go to bed.

 

~*~

THE END

 

Notes:  Starting point of trip is Salina, Kansas...that's about 2 1/2 hours from KC.  This is the trip Mandylynn and MJSoltini (Mandy Leigh) took on Thursday, March 21st, 2002, minus the Angel and Philip...darn!  Anyway, we totally disclaim anything in this story that may be copywritten or whateva!  This is written for our pure enjoyment!