Gonna kill me

Kyle stares ahead at the house, brought back by Alice's kiss. He starts to smile, then shakes his head, then starts to laugh. "And I wanted to say no?"

Shaking his head again, he puts the jeep in gear. "If you're intimidated, what do you think I am? I got you along for security, remember?" He tosses Alice a wink, still grinning. Maybe... just maybe things really were going to start looking up...

The doors seemed huge. Really, they weren't all that large, but standing on the wide stone patio in the front, it felt like a castle. The house had three stories, and it was obvious that it spread much farther into the back that couldn't be seen from the driveway. Kyle looks at Alice a little uneasily before finally getting up enough nerve to ring the doorbell. They could hear it chime inside, and Kyle half expected a butler to appear. It's a relief when no butler or maid showed up.

"Hey, you made it!" Kip smiles from ear to ear. It was immediately apparent that though the house was extremely elegant, Kyle and Alice would not be out of place. Kip had jeans on with holes in the knees, an old t-shirt and was running around in his bare feet.

Kyle chuckles. "Yeah... got lost once... or twice, but yeah. I... wasn't expecting this."

"What?"

"Um..." Kyle grins. "Never mind."

Kip motions them in. "Come in, come in, come in. We're out in the back room." Shutting the door behind Kyle and Alice, he then waves to a middle-aged man, dressed in a suit. "Hey, William, bring the pizza back when it comes, would you?"

The man nods. "Sure thing."

Kyle's eyes widen a little. A butler. There was one here. This was unreal. He glances to Alice, feeling like a school kid in a museum for the first time. This was incredibly out of their world... yet it was everyday to the people here. It was interesting Kip was asking things of the butler though. Kyle did wonder about that.

Heading across the grand entrance, Kyle slips his hand into Alice's, giving it a squeeze. This was fun. The ceilings were high and bright, and a chandelier shone way up high, surrounded by a glass dome. And that was just the beginning. A winding staircase was off to the right, by a wide hallway that led who knew where. To the left there was just visible a huge dining room with an incredibly long table. Maybe those closed doors led to the kitchen. They walked down a couple steps then up again, heels clicking on the shiny, tiled floor.

Finally they reach a back sunroom, equipped with glass walls and roof. From here you could see more of the house that wrapped around back, along with a flower garden, just starting to go brown before winter. To the right was a closed glass door that led into a a room with an indoor swimming pool. It took a lot for Kyle to keep his jaw from dropping.

"Kyle! Alice!" Erik is on his feet, greeting them both warmly. "Have a seat. We're just listening to some music and hanging out before the pizza gets here."

"Which should be in..." Kip looks at his watch. "Five minutes."

Kyle feels just a bit awkward, and slowly sits down on the edge of one of the two plush couches, almost pulling Alice down with him. At the moment, she really was his security.

Erik seems to sense the apprehension, and tosses Alice a wink. "Don't worry, guys. We're not that much different than you."

Kyle's face reddens just a little as he looks down sheepishly. "Was it the deer in the headlight look that gave us away?"

Erik chuckles. "Maybe."


Gunner watches Bree go, lifting his eyebrows just a little. "Yeah..." Sighing, he turns to Marge, tempted to show his teeth, but he knew Bree was right... he might be depressed, but he'd learned the hard way what bucking the system meant in a place like this.

Lowering his head, he stuffs his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and shuffles down the hall behind Marge to the office where one of the doctors was waiting.


At first, Jade feels a little annoyed. It seemed Jason had it out for her tonight, even though he was kidding around with her. What was wrong? She shrugs it off for now, figuring it wasn't worth a discussion.

Throwing Dan a grin, she bats her eyes teasingly. "I am the queen of butt whupping."

"Put your money where your mouth is," Clint dares.

It doesn't take too long for the game to finally come to an end. Though all felt as if they could go all night, bodies were getting tired. And the time was getting late. By the time they all pile back into the truck, they would have just enough time to get back to the ranch before anybody started to worry.

Assigned seating was forgotten, and while Jason ended up back behind the wheel, it was Katie and Wendy next to him this time, with Jade between Dan and Clint in the backseat. While Clint was busy elbowing Jade to pick on her, laughter was still going around. Getting onto the back roads, there's suddenly a loud pop and the truck gives as violent jolt. Jason has to grip the steering wheel hard to keep it under control, putting on the breaks slowly and pulling off to the side. Stopping, everyone had gone quiet. Jason lets out a groan. He knew what it was. Opening his door, sure enough, the left rear tire had blown. "Alright, guys... I got a spare in the back. Gonna need your help."

More groans make their rounds.

Be right back. Keep the seat warm.
Jason pulls the collar up on his jacket as he steps out of the truck, motioning for Dan and Clint to follow.

Jade looks out the back window as the spare tire is retrieved. "Ohh... this isn't good. We're gonna be late and Dad is gonna kill me."