CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

        The diner was starting to calm down. After a hectic morning, Kelly was ready 
for it. She slowly walked to a group of tables in her section. Every second 
seemed to last forever. It was the same old routine, even though that day was 
very different from all of the others. It was the different moments that made 
that morning special.
        Two other waitresses walked together from their stations nearby. "Guess who 
has a new boyfriend?" one of the waitresses said.
        "Who?" the other waitress asked.
        "Kelly?" the first waitress stated.
        "He's not my boyfriend!" Kelly explained angered.
        "Uh, huh," Janet answered in total disbelief.
        "He's not even my type."
        "Yeah, sure."
        "Who asked you anyway?" Lizzy said. 
        Kelly thought about everything for a moment, and said, "My type is sweet and 
cute and shy and smart and cute and -"  
        "Luitentent Calavicci is none of the none of the above, but - wow - is he hot," 
she interrupted.        
        Kelly rolled her eyes. She looked over at him seated at the table near the 
window. *He is kind of hot in a Elvis or James Dean sort of way. Certainly, he 
is not cute like Paul McCarthy or a teddy bear, like Sammy Beckett. Looks 
should not be the main reason why I should fall in love. Sammy was the only guy 
I was ever in love with, because he was special. Nobody could ever be as sweet 
as Sammy, even if he really did what he did. If I ever fall in love again, it 
will be with somebody as nice as Sammy, and it would not be with a wild and 
loud guy, like Albert - and it will certainly will not be with Albert 
Calavicci.*
        "Kelly, you have a boyfriend already?" Lizzy asked interested.
        "I said he's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend. That's it!"
        "Well, the two of you seemed to be getting really friendly all morning," Janet 
stated, "and knowing him, you probably got a whole lot friendlier last night."
        Kelly's mouth opened outraged. "How did -"
        "You were the one to make up the definition of 'friendly,'" Lizzy said 
insulting Janet coming to Kelly's rescue.
        "Lizzy-" Janet started.
        "Hey, sugar," a male customer called from Janet's area. "More coffee."
        "Yes, sir," Janet smiled sweetly as she walked towards the counter.
        Lizzy turned towards her best friend. "Don't let what Janet says bother you," 
Lizzy told her.
        "Do you believe me?"
        "I did see you and what's-his-name necking before, and I really know you," she 
stated. "I would give you a 'no,' if you didn't tell me otherwise. To tell the 
truth, I don't know."
        *I don't really know either,* Kelly thought. *I really don't know.*

        Sam walked back to the table, where the three guys were sitting talking. All 
of the dishes on the table were empty with only the remains of crumbs, maple 
syrup or ketchup as a sign that breakfast was served. 
        "Radar, I was so hungry," Bubba said.
        "You're always hungry, lard bucket," Chip said.
        "I ate your pancakes," Bubba said motioning to Sam's dish.
        "That's ok," Sam said sitting down. "They would have gotten cold anyway."
        Kelly walked over to the guys. "Are you guys finished yet?" she asked. The 
guys agreed.
        Chip dipped his fingers into his glass of water, and started flicking water at 
Kelly. "How about me and you go back to your place, and get you out of those 
wet clothes?" Sam and Bingo gave the young man an annoyed glance. "What? She's 
free now," he told the others. "So, how about it, baby?"
          "Why don't -" She stopped herself. *What's wrong with a little flirting 
anyway?* "I'll go back to my place and get out of my clothes," she said, "but 
only if Bingo is the only one to come with me."
        "Let's go," Bingo said sliding towards her from his seat.
        "You lucky dog!" Chip said amazed that she could turn his line around, so that 
his friend was the one to end up getting lucky.
        Kelly smiled at Bingo as she placed her hands on each of his shoulders. She 
bent over to look at him face-to-face, but right them it was not her face that 
he was interested in. His interest was just a little bit lower, and from his 
seat he had a almost perfect view. "Not now," she told him looking into his 
deep velvet eyes. "Later."
        "When?"
        "I get off in a hour."
        "I'll see you in a hour," he said jumping at the chance of being with her. 
*And I'll hopefully see all of you in a hour,* he thought lustfully as he looked 
down her dress. He kissed her sensuously on her lips. "That's so you won't 
forget."
        After their kiss, she kissed him. "That's so you won't forget." She placed 
their check on the table. "See you in a hour outside the movie theater, 
Albert," she said looked at him, before she walked away.
        *Say something! Say something good!* "Uh,huh," was the only thing he was able 
to say. He propped his arm up on the table, and rested his head in the palm of 
his hand as he watched her leave them and go about her job. He tasted his 
bottom lip where her lips met his moments before. Inside of his body, he felt 
the usual intense surge of passion's adrenalin, which he always got when he 
kissed an attractive woman. This time he felt more than that. He felt that all 
of his innards had turned into overcooked water-down porridge. It was a feeling 
that was both good and scary. It was a feeling that he never felt, until his 
lips met Kelly's the night before.
        "Bingo. Bingo," Bubba said trying to bring his buddy back to reality.
        He heard his buddies calling to him, but he felt like they were a million 
miles away. To him, the world was made as a place for only him and Kelly.
        "Hey, Bingo," Chip said. "Forget it, Bubba, Bingo's dead."
        "Huh? What?" he asked slowly being brought back to the real world.
        "You owe me a buck," Bubba told Bingo.
        Bingo took the money out of his pocket and sild it across the table. The  guys 
got up from the table, and walked over to the door.
        Another waitress around Kelly's age approached the group. She was a very 
skinny girl of average height, who if it was not for her midnight black hair, 
would look something like a Barbie doll. She went straight up to Sam, and 
draped her arms around him from behind him. She pressed her body slightly up 
to his. "Guess who?"
        "Here's a hint," Chip said. "It certainly isn't Venus. Venus probably 
never looked half as good as her."
        "Thanks, Chip," she flirted back.
        "I give up," Sam said. "Who is it?"
        She let go of him, and he turned around to take a look at her. *It sure 
isn't the goddess of love.* Sam looked at the white label on her dress over her 
left brest. *It's only the goddess of every guy's pants in all of Pensacola.* 
"Janet."
        She gave a flirtatious glace at Sam. She traced the outline of Sam's side collar 
with her pencil the rubbery eraser pressing softly against his skin. "David, I 
was wondering, if you're going to take me to the park tonight?" 
        "The park? Tonight?" Sam said feeling very uncomfortible around her. *That's 
probably where the fight happened in the original history. Janet's boyfriend 
found out that David and Janet were fooling around. He and David got into a 
fight, and that's why I leaped in.* Sam figured. *Why I didn't leap out? That's 
the mystery now.*
        "That's what I said."
        "I can't. I have a date already."
        "Break it. I can make you very happy for it," she offered whispering into his 
ear, so it would only be between her and David.
        "I really can't," Sam said pushing her away. 
        "Who's your date with anyway?" she asked.
        "Lizzy," he said pushing her away.
        "Lizzy Grady! That prude! Are you sure, David?"
        "I'm sure."
        Janet broke apart from him displeased. She sensuously sucked on her pencil 
twirling it around in her mouth looking up at Sam for a moment, before walking 
over to Bingo who was a short distance away from the rest of the crowd. She 
looked over at Bingo, and noticed he was looking directly at Kelly. *This is a 
perfect opportunity to check how everything really is between him and little 
Miss Sunshine. If it really is nothing, there's not problem. "Albert?" *If it 
really is something, then that something is going to turn to nothing in about 
two seconds. "Albert, don't you want to take me?"
        He did not respond. 
        "Too bad," Janet said disappointed knowing exactly what his silence meant as 
she walked away from the small group. 
        chip hit Bingo's shoulder. "Hey, what was that for?" Bingo asked annoyed.
        "You know you're really gone on her," Bubba said motioning at Kelly.
        "Well, she's a really gone chick," Bingo stated.
        "Bingo, last night, did you really hit a pop fly and score a home run with 
'Dodger'?"
        *Act cool!* "I scored a home run," Bingo boasted lying. "Trust me, guys, she 
wasn't a virgin. She could probably do somethings that I don't even know are 
possible." *At least, her kisses could.*
        "No wonder you can't take your eyes off of her?" Chip said.
        *I wish that was the reason,* he thought. *I'm not yet sure what the real 
reason is.*
        "That still doesn't explain why you ignored Hot Lips, when she asked you to go 
to the park with her."
        *This is the first I heard of it?!* "She asked me?"
        "Yep, she asked you alright," Bubba said as the group left the diner.
        "It doesn't matter," he shrugged. "I'm already going with Kelly. She's the 
only one who really got what it takes, if you know what I mean." He smiled as 
he traced a woman's torso in midair with his hands. "I'm one happy city boy 
thanks to some good country comfort. All I can say is that thanks to her, there 
are probably a few Midwestern hicks going around with smiles."
        *There's only one, and he's not smiling anymore,* Sam thought grinding his 
teeth.


Monica