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What happens if at Chelsey’s party its Zeke that finds Tina instead of Sam?
Tina had been looking forward to this party all month, Chelsea may be terrifying but unlike Tammy she didn’t exclude anyone, everyone in the eighth grade was not only invited but extremely excited for her birthday party. Turns out even the birthday girls parents were scared of her, so she’d convinced them to stay upstairs the whole night, for an unchaperoned dance party, and rumour had it that the party was the perfect time for UB. Yup, thats right, upper butt. You know that Tina was over the moon, she’d spent an entire weekend shopping to find the perfect outfit, a purple skit with a matching halter top, it was exactly what she’d been searching for, she felt like a grownup cool lady ready to let her hands wander where they will.
The only thing that could prevent her from getting some of that UB was some ill timed sweat, just as the first slow song comes on she feels it, the unmistakable tingle of beaded sweat rolling down her back. So she makes a tactical retreat to the laundry room, fortunately for her the room was unoccupied and the drier empty, there where even towels for her to wear while she tossed her skirt in to dry. She hates to miss any of the fun but having a dry skirt was more important than missing the first slow song, there were two more coming up, so she would have two more chances to slow dance with Jimmy jr. The dancer had been sick all week, but he’d been well enough to make it tonight, and all the girl wanted in the world was to get her hands on those perfect cheeks of his.
She’s only been in the room a few minutes when someone wanders in. “Oh, Tina girl, sorry thought this was the bathroom.”
She turns at the unmistakable southern drawl of non other than Zeke. “Oh, uh, hi, yeah, no this is the uh laundry room.” Tina feels even more awkward than normal, being in an inclosed space with her kinda friend without her skirt, she suddenly feels very exposed.
Zeke notices the towel and raises a brow. “T-bird, whats with the towel? Everything alright girl?” He gently closes the door behind him and steps into the room proper.
Tina grips the towel around her waist tighter and looks at the floor. “I’m alright Zeke, you should go back to the party.”
Zeke stops a foot or so away from her, she can see his beat up old sneakers, but he doesn’t say anything for a few moments. “Tina girl, what happened?”
She finally looks up at him, he’s got maybe an inch on her, but right now she feels so small that that difference in height mights as well be a mile, but the look on his face is so soft with concern that she can’t help but tell him. “My skirt got wet, it’s just so hot out there that I started sweating, and I couldn’t slow dance with a damp skirt, I mean what would Jimmy Jr think if he felt my UB and felt sweat? I mean he’d never dance with me again, no one would, boys don’t like sweaty girls, so I had to dry my skirt, now it’s uh, well it’s drying, and uh, well now you’re here, and now you probably think I’m sweaty and gross too.” She looks away from his surprised face feeling all the embarrassment flood her again.
“UB?” Zeke asks.
Tina blushes and shrugs her shoulders. “Upper butt.” She mutters.
“Ooooh, right. I heard Tammy and Joslin going on bout that.” He looks his friend up and down. “You don’t look gross, sides, everyone is sweaty out there, it’s a dance party, if you ain’t sweating you ain’t dancing.”
Tina looks up at him again. “But I can’t be sweaty and slow dance.” She protests.
He shrugs his shoulders. “Says who?”
“Tamy?” She says uncertainty.
Zekes just laughs. “Miss Farty pants? Tammy already had a few blamies out there, she ain’t one to talk bout nobody, specially not you girl. I mean any guy would be lucky to slow dance with you, sweat or no sweat.” He gives her one of his lopsided grins and she can’t help but return it.
“You really think so?” She asks hopefully.
“T-bird, a guy would have to be blind to not want to dance with you.”
She flushes happily, before remembering last month, it had been a very warm spring, and it had been nearly 70 the last week of march, and she hadn’t gotten out her spring and summer clothes yet, so she’d been a hot sweaty mess, and Jimmy had told her it was gross. “Jimmy doesn’t like when I sweat.” She says with a defeated tone.
Zeke crosses his arms and frowns. “Well, J-Ju is, don’t get me wrong, he’s by best friend and all, but he doesn’t treat you right girl.”
That catches Tina off guard. “What do you mean.”
Zeke frowns and looks away from her. “He treats you like an option, and one that he’s not all that invested in, not less someone else is considering you. You deserve better, you aren’t an option T, you’re someone amazing, someone important, someone who deserves to be treated as the precious incredible human that you are. I mean really, Jimmy could be with the most interesting and beautiful girl in the whole school, stead he takes you for granted and makes you feel bad bout yourself. I mean for gosh shakes, he sweats all the time, he is basically a greased pig after wrestling, it’s like he’s just stepped out the pool by the time he’s done dancing.” He grumbles the last part, but with only the two of them in the room she still heard.
Just then the dryer dings. “Oh, uh, well thanks, thats real sweet of you to say all that Zeke, but you don’t have to. I should get my skirt, could you uh, turn around?”
“Oh! Sure, no problem T-bird.” His cheeks flush and he turns around. She tries to open the dryer only for it to be locked shut. She tries pulling on it a few times, the only thing she succeeds in doing is banging the door. “Hey T, whats the hold up, everything ok back there?”
“Uh no, not really. UGH! This damned stupid door is stuck!” She says in frustration, she’s been in here twenty minutes so far, the next slow song is gonna start any minute, and even if she’s not sure what to think after Zeke’s little speech she still wants to get her hands on some UB.
“Mind if I take a crack at it?” He asks still facing the wall.
She turns back to him then the dryer. “Uh ok.” She says hesitantly.
“Would you rather I go get Chelsey or her parents?” He asks still not turning round.
Tina thinks it over a moment before shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to be the person who brings Chelsey’s parents down, that would make everyone sad, also I know you might not be scared of her, but I’m kinda terrified of Chelsey, so maybe we should leave her alone.”
“Can I take a crack at it then?” He asks.
She nods before realising he still isn’t looking at her. “Oh, yeah, yes please.” She steps aside and let him have a try.
Zeke gives the door a pull, making a grunting sound. “Damn, this thing is stuck better than a chicken on a spit.” He stands up and looks at all the buttons. “Is this even in English? What kind of magic machine do they have here, you’re meant to dry clothes not eat them.” He tries hitting the top of the machine to get the latch to release, Fonzie it at it were, but to no avail.
Tina sits against the wall with a little wail, she putts her head in her hands. This might be one of the more embarrassing experiences of her young life, and that is saying a lot considering she’s the girl that read her erotic friend fiction out loud in front of the whole school. “It’s no use, I’m just going to have to live in here for ever, I suppose there are worst places to hide out, its warm and theres towels I can sleep on, and when I get hungry and can just eat dryer lint or something.”
Zeke sits down beside her and pats her shoulder. “T don’t be like that. You won’t like eating dryer lint, trust me it’s bad.” He gives her a goofy grin and gets a chuckle out of her.
She sighs and pulls her legs to her chest. “What do I do Zeke? I can’t stay in here all night, this might be my only chance for a UB slow dance, at least until my wedding, and I don’t think I can wait that long, I mean it’s UB Zeke! UB!”
He nods sympathetically. “I could give you my pants, they may be to big on you girl, but at least then you could leave this room.”
She shakes her head. “No, then you’d be trapped in here, wait, why are you still here? You should be out there enjoying the party.” She is suddenly worried that this kind sweet boy is here instead of dancing.
He just chuckles. “Who says I’m not enjoying the party girl?”
She raises her brows. “I mean you’re hiding out here with me, you know instead of being out at the best party of our middle school careers. How aren’t you having less fun in here with me and my skirt drama instead of dancing up a storm?”
He laughs and shakes his head, giving her another sinfully soft look. “Being with you is better than any party ever could be.”
“Why are yo so nice to me?” She asks.
He tilts his head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She looks away and plays with her fingers nervously. “I haven’t always been that nice to you, sometimes I have been down right rude, yet you’re here, being so nice to me, I don’t know, I just don’t really get it.”
He rest an elbow on his knee and watches her for a minute, before he grabs her hand to get her to stop picking at her nails. “Do you really not know T girl?”
She looks up into his eyes, they’re big, a warm hazel brown with flecks of grey, and his lashes are unusually long, she’s never noticed how nice his eyer are before. “Know what?”
He stands up and extends a hand down to her. “Dance with me T.”
She looks from his hand to his face back to his hand, she tenthly reaches out to let him help her up. “But I’m in a towel, I don’t think I can really dance.”
The music is muffled from the door, but she hears as it changes to a slow song, something romantic with a soft lilting rhythm. “No worries girl, I won’t let you fall.” He pulls her closer, putting his hands firmly on her waist to keep her makeshift skirt in place, she in turns put her hands on his shoulders, and allows him to gently lead her into a swaying motion.
“This is actually pretty nice.” She says into the quite music.
He smiles at her brightly. “I’m glad, I know I’m not the one you wanted to dance with, but I’m happy that you’re here with me tonight T.”
She shakes her head. “I’m happy you’re the one I’m with, frankly this is probably better than anything I imagined would happen out there.
He chuckles. “You’re something else T, you really know how to keep a guy on his toes.”
“Is that a good thing?” She asks confused by what he could mean.
“Definitely.” The song ended a while ago, but they just kept right on swaying together.
“Thanks.” Tina says after a while.
“What for?” Zeke asks.
She shrugs. “For everything. I mean you gave up your night to keep me company, and then you danced with me, I mean you basically brought the party to me since I couldn’t leave, it’s just, well thank.”
His blushes and rubs the back oh his neck before putting his hand on the small of her back, bringing them just a touch closer. “You don’t have to thank me for that Tina girl, I didn’t do anything tonight I didn’t want to do.”
She lets herself step just a little closer so they are almost hugging instead of dancing. “You wanted to dance with me?”
Zeke gulps and nods his head. “I’ve wanted to dance with you a long time T.”
She thinks back on everything he’s done for her, he planed the perfect date when she held him and Jimmy Jr hostage during the water ballon fight, he’d become the mad pooper so she could keep reporting, he’d told her on multiple occasions how Jimmy took her for granted, and he gave up his whole night to keep her company, not to mention that he’d straight up told her that he would marry her one day. Oh. Oh God. She is so dumb sometimes. Before she can say anything a horrific smells envelopes the room, causing the two to gauge. Turns out the litter box is in the room and Chelsey’s cat had just used it.
“Oh, oh god.” Tinna gags.
Zeek lets her go to cover his mouth and noise. “Wow, there is something seriously wrong with that cat!” Zeke says through his own gags.
“We can’t stay in this room with that.” Tina says panicked, it was one thing to be in the laundry room instead of the party, it’s another to be in a room that sticks worse than the cabins bathroom. She'd thought after the summer trip she would never smell anything so horrendous again, yet this tiny little cat managed it.
“You can’t go out there in a towel girl, we gotta get your skirt free.” Zeke points out.
“But how, the door is jammed?” She’s asks desperately.
“What if we try to unplug it, maybe it’s like a computer, and it’ll restart?” He asks unsure.
“It’s worth a try. Tina rushes over to try and reach the plug but her arms just aren’t long enough. “I, can’t, reach.” Tina grunts out trying to stretch her arm the extra inch.
“Let me girl, I might be able to get it.” Zeke says and guide Tina out form behind the dryer with a hand on her waist. He bends over and she notices that his butt is rather nice, she wonders why she hasn’t noticed before, I mean he’s always wrestling people and is a very active guy, and even if he’s heavier than his dancer best friend he is still muscled, and his butt is nothing to sneeze at. “I got it!” He says triumphantly before a little jingle plays on the machine and the door pops open.
“Zeke! You did it, you really did it!” She says excitedly, jumping up and down while clapping. Thankfully she catches her towel before it can fall off. “Oh can you face the wall while I change?”
“Course, no problem T-bird.” He turns and she can see his neck is a bit on the red side.
She changes quickly and checks to make sure she’s decent before she lets Zeke turn around. He finally faces her and give her another smile. “There, all set T, wanna go back out? You probably still have time to dance with Jimmy.”
She feels herself wilt a little at the idea of not hanging out with him the rest of the night. “Oh, I guess I could.” She says with a frown.
“Hey, whats wrong now T?” Zeke reaches for her but doesn’t know what to do with his hands, just sort of hovering over her shoulder.
She shakes her head. “Nothing, it’s just, I kinda wanna stay with you, but I get it if you wanna go hang out with your friends.”
“You don’t wanna dance with J-Ju?” Zeke asks uncertainty.
She meets his eyes, and she sees what she think may be hope, it gives her the courage she needs. “No, I think I’d rather keep dancing with you, just, maybe not in here, cause I think the cat may be dying or something?”
He laughs and takes her hand. “You’re wish is my command, let’s get outta here before we die of the stink.” He leads her out back to the party with the biggest darkest grin she’s ever seen, guiding her into the crowd never letting go of her hand for a minute. They dance together and laugh and he holds her hands and spins her around the room, then the final song of the night comes on, the very last slow song. Sweat love sugar. Six minutes, she has her hands back on his shoulders, and he puts his back on her waist. As the song continues Zeke pulls her closer and closer until they are barely dancing, simply embracing and swaying to the melody, even as the beat picks up Zeke just holds her tight, then she feels it, his hands creeping down ever so slightly. Her face goes beet red and he starts to lift his hand back up, but she reaches behind her to hold his hands in place. His eyes go a little wide but he smiles even with a red face. She wraps her hands around his waist and rests her head in the crook of his neck, letting her own hands move from his back to his UB, as his hands rest of her UB. The song is over far to soon for the couple, but inevitably the last note plays and all the kids start to clap, before they start to trickle out.
Zeke walks her hand in hand out of the party. “I had a lotta fun with you tonight T, would you be up for doing this again sometime?” He asks nervously.
She turns to look at him and his still flushed face. “Like a date?” She asks hopefully.
He nods. “Yeah, exactly like a date.”
She smiles at him and stands on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’d really like that Zeke.”
His grin is ridiculous, and she thinks it might be her new favourite thing.