Chatper 13

Shannon didn't wait to see if Jon was following her. All she heard was 2 am and she freaked. She'd never stayed out this late and especially without calling. Mel was gonna have a shit fit. She fumbled in her purse for her house key and quickly unlocked the door; As the door opened and she stepped through, she called out "I’m so sorry Mel I'm......." and stopped dead in her tracks. On the floor between the TV and the couch was her sister, at least she thought it was her sister, and Richie. Her shirt was off, bra pushed up with Richie leaning over her, bare to the waist, his head covering one breast, her hands twisting into his hair as if she was holding him there.

Shannon’s mouth dropped to the floor as the scene registered. She temporarily lost her cool. "Melanie Jo Daniels!! What the hell are you doing?" she shouted in a voice that sounded so scarily close to her mother’s; it was as if Vivian had been suddenly reincarnated.

He slipped from the car and moved towards the flash heading into the house. Damn if she wasn't something else. He knew she expected him to just go off and forget her, but shit it was too nice to have someone tell him no and mean it. At her yell his head jerked up and he rushed to the door unable to restrain the laugh as he looked inside. Shannon looked like she’d been electrocuted and the pair on the floor were either dazed or in shock. Typical King, full action so quick, with the nun no less. He leaned into Shannon and snorted, "Thought you said she was a nun." He shook his head as Mel’s hands slid along Richie’s back to his hips.

The voice washed over her like acid, and she froze, hands on Richie's ass, lips on his, her eyes twisting to see her sister standing there in shock. Her sister? Oh shit. She pushed at Richie and tried to slither out from under him, her hand reaching for anything to cover herself. She hissed as she tried to escape the hold he had. "MOVE dammit!"

"Wha..." Richie heard the commotion but it took a moment to register. He peeked back over his shoulder, eyes going wide. "Shit!" He rolled off Mel and quickly grabbed his shirt tossing it to her. His hand slid to his zipper and breathed a sigh of relief that it was still fastened. Mel had been toying with that area just seconds before.

She pulled the shirt over her head, reveling for just that instant in the smell of him on the cloth as it brushed her nose. Standing she turned to her sister and growled. "What the hell are you doing home so early?"

Shannon stood, hands on hips, foot tapping. God it sounded so eerily familiar, only backwards. Her reply too, felt the same. "Early?? Its 2 am Mel! What's HE still doing here?"

Mel blushed to the roots of her hair, instinctively backing up from the seeming anger of her sister, and backed right into Richie's chest. She fought for composure and stumbled out, "Me and Dork ? Watching TV."

"With your clothes off," she snorted, then glared at Richie. It was his fault dammit, he’d done something to Mel. He’d made her all weird or hell she didn’t know but it had to be him, Mellie just didn’t entertain guys, she never ever had.

Richie cleared his throat, his arms instinctively protectively going around Mel’s waist."We were just uh... watching TV and waiting for you and uh... talking about old times..." He paused, "Hey wait a minute, where were YOU until 2 am? huh Squirt?"

"Don't call me squirt!"

Jon stepped forward and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. It didn't surprise him overly much, Rich was always screwing some woman. His brow arched as the two in front of him stammered and flushed. Him being all out of sorts over it was new though."Must have been interesting old times King?"

"Uh .. yeah, ya know... high school and all... " He eyed Jon and Shannon closely noticing how Shannon instinctively leaned back towards Jon when he touched her shoulder. Well that was interesting, he just hoped Jon had behaved himself. Richie turned towards the couch and sat, taking Mel by the hand pulling her down next to him. No way would he apologize for the scene they'd witnessed, no way. He was a grown man and Mel was an adult too. Shannon would get over it. "So where'd you two run off to hmm?"

Mel watched Shannon's lips flap soundlessly; the confusion in her eyes was so bright it could have lit a city. "I... " Her shoulders went square as Richie pulled her down onto the couch. "I'm an adult Shan, I can do what I want dammit.” That didn’t explain anything, but hell she couldn’t explain it. Fuck he’d done it again, gotten her going, made her forget good sense. He could always talk her into anything, but he hadn’t been talking this time, he had only…. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts, tried to pull herself into the moment as she heard Richie ask Jon what they’d been doing.

Jon shrugged, "Just out and around, went to eat dinner man."

Shannon huffed before stepping to the love seat. Flouncing down she turned to Mel, glaring at how out of sorts she seemed. "Right, adults can do what they want... I'll remember that."

She turned her eyes on Shannon, the deep amber flashing dangerously, "Remember that when your twenty-seven ok?" She frowned as Shannon glared at her harder. "What?"

"I get it now... do as I say not as I do Shannon... right?"

She tensed at the censure in her voice, "That's not fair sis." She pulled away from Richie and stood, her slender body shaking, "not fair at all, when have I ever ...." Her lips snapped shut before she let everyone know how little she ever did anything and beat a hasty retreat to her bedroom, the door slamming behind her.

Shannon stood up, her head shaking and turned to Richie "What the HELL did you do to her??" She almost yelled before she too turned and made for her bedroom. One more door slammed soundly leaving both men standing in bewildered silence.

Jon roared, the look on Richie's face was a cross between confusion and frustration. "Man when you pick 'em, you really really pick 'em." He strolled in and plopped down in an easy chair, his legs going up to prop on the end table. "So you never told me about this Melanie girl."

"I forgot," he offered lamely. He was torn between going to Mel and just leaving it for now. He had a feeling if he so much as knocked on that door once in her current state she'd most likely be back to berating him again. And just when I’d almost broken through to her.

Jon's head tilted, "Yeah, you forgot that just about like you forget how to play that axe. Man, don’t lie to me." He sat forward his feet hitting the floor. "I gotta admit, she didn't seem like a nun to me though."

"A nun? Where'd ya get that idea??"

Jon jerked his head towards Shannon's door. "Her sister, man she don’t date, or do anything, not even movies. Total boredom city. Work, eat sleep and drive Shannon crazy with her over protective strictness. She’s just a quiet boring home person ya know? Nothing like what you usually go for man."

Richie looked at Jon as if he'd sprouted another head "Boring? Mellie?" Richie laughed. "Maybe Shannon's the one on drugs!" he mumbled "Dude... I'm tellin' ya there ain’t nothing boring about Mel, and I damn sure know she ain’t a nun! I made sure of that myself YEARS ago."