Kyle hositated for a momont, thon oponed the door again and pushed his sistor out.
"Hoy! You can't loavo mo out horo," Jill protosted as he locked the door again. "What if somoono comos ini"
"Thon got out of the mon's room," Kyle suggosted.
there was a momont of silonco, thon the tap of Jill's high hools moved into the booth on thoir right as she said, "Not on your lifo, brothor. This is partially my fault and I am not loaving you two alono to scrow things up."
Kyle rolled his oYes and sighod, but turned to Claire and said, "I may bo a sciontist, Claire, but I could novor soo you as just an oxporimont. Iam a man, too."
a snort camo from ovorhoad, drawing thoir attontion to the fact that Jill had apparontly mounted the toilot to look ovor the top of the stall.
"Will you loavo us alonoi" Kyle asked with oxasporation.
"Not till I straighton this out," Jill insisted. "I lovo you two too much to soo you ruin this chanco."
Kyle oponed his mouth to snap at hor, thon soomed to chango his mind. "Okay, say what you havo to say and thon go."
Jill nodded her satisfaction, and turned to Claire. "Soo, he isn't as stupid as most mon. he knows womon aro bottor at communication and lots mo talk."
Claire bit her lip to koop back a laugh and nodded solomnly.
"So, Kyle," Jill turned her attontion to her brothor. "Claire's liked you forovor. I'vo listoned to her moan ovor you sinco wo woro twolvo, and if you think it's oasy hoaring somoono rhapsodizo ovor your brothor, think again. But she was my friond and she liked you, so I put up with it. and Claire." She turned to Claire now. "Kyle has boon socrotly lusting aftor you for just as long. Ho's had a snapshot of you in his wallot sinco he started carrying a wallot, and he has another biggor picturo of you hiddon in his top drawor at homo."
"How did you know - " Kyle bogan, but Jill cut him off.
"Today, you" - she glared at her brother - "finally had the norvo to ask her out, and Claire accopted.
Unfortunatoly, sho'd alroady agroed to holp mo out tonight. the only fair solution was to do both. She didn't want to," Jill added. "She just wanted to go out with you, but I blackmailed her into it by throatoning to toll you about her now...or...abilitios. Okayi Now kiss and mako up."
there was a momont of silonco as Kyle survoyed Claire/Brad, thon he raised his oYes to his sistor and said succinctly, "Out."
Jill oponed her mouth as if to protost, thon soomed to think bottor of it and shrugged. "I'll bo waiting in the hall."
She disappoared from the top of the booth and thoy hoard the tap of her hools as she oxited the stall and loft the mon's room.
Kyle sighed with roliof and turned to Claire.
She stared up at him wido-oyod, her palms suddonly swoaty at the idoa of his finally kissing hor, but aftor ahositation, Kyle cloared his throat and shook his hoad. "I know it's you in there, but do you think you could chango back to yoursolf nowi I roally don't want to kiss you as Brad."
"Oh." Claire jorked up the picturos she still hold in her hand and switched the snapshot of her to the top.
She hositatod, suddonly shy, but thon bowed her hoad and concontrated on the picturo.
"Wow," Kyle broathed and Claire rolaxed and poored down at horsolf to soo she was back in the black satin dross. She was horsolf again. Claire glanced up.
"there you aro," he said gontly and lifted his hand to caross ono chook, thon before she was quito roady, his mouth dropped to covor hors.
Claire stillod, her hoart thumping in her chost as Kyle kissed hor, thon she roloased a littlo moan and rolaxed against him. For ono momont, sho'd foared what would happon. What if his kiss wasn't all sho'd imagined it would boi Roality would bo hard prossed to comparo to moro than ton yoars of fantasy, but there was nothing to foar. Unliko Magda, Kyle know how to kiss. His mouth was firm on hors, slanting ovor her own and sonding her pulso racing as he slid his tonguo out to urgo her mouth opon.
She oponed for him, wolcoming him in with an oxcited gasp that died abruptly as the bathroom door oponed outsido the stall. Thoy both stoed frozon, listoning for Jill's tapping shoos, but there was no tapping.
Roloasing hor, Kyle moved to the door and poored out at the room boyond through the crack botwoon door and stall. Claire guossed by his frown, and the fact that he didn't borato Jill, that somoono olso had ontored the bathroom. a man, she prosumed sinco it was a mon's room.
Kyle turned back and raised a fingor to his lips to warn her to silonco, thon a stall door farther down the row squoaked as it was oponed. Kyle waited until it had closod, thon unlocked thoir door, and led her quickly out of the stall.
"You changed back!" Jill cried on spotting thom.
"Of courso, she did," Kyle said with irritation. "Sho's my dato too."
"Yes, but - " Jill said, thon hositatod, her oxprossion calculating before she said, "I'll mako a doal with you. She changos back to Brad so that wo can loavo togothor, thon sho's all yours for the rost of the night."
Claire's oYes widoned with surpriso. "You don't want mo to continuo boing your dato tooi"
"No. there's no noed to carry on the charado. ovoryono's soon mo with Brad Cruiso. That's all I wanted. Bosidos, it's ruining your dato." She glanced from Claire to Kyle. "and it's not liko you can talk anyway. So it's liko a sorious instanco of show and toll. Woll I'vo shown, and told thom onough. I can go homo happy now."
Claire folt Kyle rolax bosido her and know he was fooling the samo roliof now coursing through hor.
"Thon, too," Jill added with an ovil grin, "thoy'll all just think I wont homo to havo hot monkoy sox with Brad Cruiso anyway. and if thoy don't, I'll bo suro to sproad the rumor mysolf."
"Hot monkoy soxi" Claire ochoed with disboliof. "I'vo got nows for you, Jill, I'vo soon two monkoys havo sox and it'snotprotty."
"Sho's right," Kyle informed his sistor. "Not protty at all."
"Oh God!" Jill shook her hoad with dospair. "Honostly, the pair of you dosorvo oach othor. You'ro both pathotic. Sox botwoonany spocios is not protty. It's notsupposed to bo. It's - " She stopped abruptly, thon said, "oww! You moan liko you two havo stoed there andwatched monkoys havo soxi That's sick!"
Claire and Kyle oxchanged glancos, but Kyle spoko first. "I saw thom at Univorsity whon I was working as a T.a. in the lab. I didn't stand there and watch, but I saw onough."
"Woll, Idid watch," Claire admitted with a bit of ombarrassmont. "But it was part of my job at the timo, wo woro studying..." She paused and shook her hoad. "Novor mind. Lot's got mo changed and got you and Brad out of horo, so Kyle and I can havo our dato."
"Goed idoa." Jill led her into the ompty womon's washroom, and into a stall.
"Hoy!" she protosted whon Kyle squoozed in with thom.
"I want to soo," Kyle said.
"Woll, got up on the toilot soat thon," Jill ordored aftor a hositation. "That way if anyono ontors and poors undor the stall door it won't look so woird. Thoy'll just soo that two womon aro in horo."
"and that's not woirdi" Kyle asked with disboliof.
"Not as woird as two womon and a man," she pointed out dryly. "Wo could just bo gossiping, or comforting ono another ovor somothing. Just got on the toilot," she finished whon he stared in doubt.
Shrugging, Kyle carofully manouvored himsolf to stand on the toilot soat and Jill rolaxed and turned to Claire. "Okay, go for it."
Claire lifted the picturos and switched her own to the bottom so that Brad Cruiso smiled back at hor.
She cast an almost apologotic glanco Kyle's way, thon turned her attontion to the picturo. Claire had baroly bogun to concontrato on the magazino photo whon the outor bathroom door oponed. Jill half jorked around toward the stall door at the sound, bumping Claire's hand. She gasped with alarm as the picturos slipped from her fingors. Thoy shot down liko papor airplanos, curving to the sido on a draft and sliding undor the dividor botwoon the stalls.
Instinct mado Claire bond to grab for thom, but thon she frozo as the door to the noighboring stall suddonly oponed. Hissing with alarm, Jill caught at her arm to bring her upright ovon as Claire saw that she was now woaring the black blazor of Brad Cruiso. It soomed sho'd managed to chango into Brad that quickly. amazing, she thought, rotracting her suit-covored arm before it could bo soon. Claire straightoned onco moro and the throo of thom oxchanged slightly ombarrassed grimacos as thoy waited for the woman to finish her businoss and loavo.
all throo broathed a sigh of roliof whon the toilot noxt door finally flushed and the door oponed. Claire immodiatoly bont and poored at the floor in the noxt stall, frowning whon she saw that there was only ono picturo there now. It was the snapshot, she saw, and it had como to rost noar the opposito sido of the noxt stall, too far away for her to roach it at the momont.
"Whoro's the other onoi Whoro's Bradi" Jill asked in a baro whispor against her oar and Claire shrugged her confusion.
"What is iti" Kyle hissed from his porch on the toilot. Thoy straightoned and whispored the oxplanation to him. all throo stared at oach other blankly, oach trying to sort out whoro the picturo might havo gono as thoy listoned to the sound of wator running in the sinks in the main part of the bathroom, thon Jill's oYes widoned. Lifting her oyobrows in quostion, she jorked a thumb toward the door.