Spy School: A New Beginning

Welcome Back

Ben's POV

As we disembarked from the plane, a wave of humidity enveloped us, reminiscent of the tropical air we had left behind in Central America. Waiting for us were Cyrus, Trixie, and another woman roughly Cyrus' age. Trixie, barely containing her excitement, stepped forward, With a beaming smile, she introduced us to her grandmother. "Mike, Ben, Zoe, this is Mary Hale." Trixie shifted from one foot to the other, barely able to contain herself. Eventually, she couldn't hold back any longer and darted forward, launching herself into Mike's awaiting arms. Mike lifted her off the ground and twirled her around.

Eventually, Mike put her down and scanned the surroundings, finally registering the disapproving glances from Catherine, Erica, Mary, Cyrus, and even Alexander. Both Mike and Trixie blushed sheepishly. Cyrus, ever the grump, broke the silence with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Are you two finished?" They nodded.

Stepping forward, I extended my hand towards Mary, whose gaze bore into mine with a curious intensity, as though trying to unravel some mystery. Despite her reliance on a walking stick, her handshake was shockingly firm, and I couldn't help but notice the bulge of a gun at her hip. Her war, voice cut through the air as she addressed me. "Hello Ben, I am delighted to finally meet the young man my eldest daughter speaks so highly of." My attention turned towards Erica, whose cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment

Cyrus, always the one who kept us on track looked at all of us with his eyes raised. "Are we just going to stand here or are we going to do something," he asked grumpily. "Maybe you all will finally realize that we are spies and actually have things to do?" Now in hindsight, I realize it was probably because he didn't want his granddaughter blushing because of me, but nevertheless, we all hurried towards the cars, not wanting to face the possible wrath of Cyrus. Catherine said, "Cyrus, I'll take Ben, Erica, and Trixie, while you can take Alexander, Mike, Zoe and Mary, ok?" Cyrus grunted in approval and we walked towards our vehicles.

I stepped into the back next to Erica. Trixie got into the front with Catherine. We started driving and the GPS told us that we would be there in the next half hour. No one spoke for a minute. Then, Catherine broke the silence saying, "So Trixie, tell me about Mike." Trixie made a noise of embarrassment, but eventually complied. She started talking. "Mom, Mike is the best! He's so down to earth and kind. Everything with him makes me happy!" Hoping that Catherine didn't ask me the same question, I fell asleep, wiped out from the mission, and desperate to avoid Catherine's questions. I woke up to our car parked in a garage. Catherine pleasantly said, "We're here!"

Everyone got out of the car, and Erica and I walked in, hand in hand. I gasped. It was one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. However, looks can be deceiving and what looks to be a nice, rustic home is most definitely one of the most high-tech houses ever. I took my shoes off, and looked to the high ceilings where portraits all the Hales were. "Now now, off to bed you two. We have a busy day tomorrow," Catherine said. "You two are sharing a room, and I best not need to remind you that there are separate beds and that there should be do funny business. Go to bed as soon as you get to Erica's room." We agreed hastily, and walked into Erica's room.

While small, it was surprisingly filled with character. Pinks, purples, and baby blues filled the rooms, and the room looked surprisingly human. I even noticed a teddy bear. While I had expected cold walls, lined with books and spy gear, it looked more like a dollhouse than a room. Erica immediately said, "get changed in here, while I brush my teeth, then we'll switch and go to bed." Without commenting on her room, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I changed into shorts, and a clean, white T-shirt, then knocked on the door. "Come in," she said. I walked in to find her brushing her teeth. Once she finished, she took her hair out from her ponytail. I started brushing my teeth, and she changed clothes. 5-minutes later, I walked into her bedroom to find the most surprising thing I had ever seen.

Erica lay on top of her bed with a black tank top and baby blue shorts. While normally, you couldn't see any of Erica's skin in her tight, spy gear, now it was completely different, and she looked like how most teenage girls did out in public. It was surprising for me. My jaw dropped. She was even more stunning that she normally was. She smiled, saying "is it really that good?" I wasn't sure, but I though I saw her blush. I didn't even respond to her question. She took that as a yes, and I sat down on her bed.

Erica's POV
He looked at me, and his jaw dropped. Looking at him in an amused manner, I said, "is it really that good?" He didn't 't respond, which I knew meant yes. I blushed a little and hoped that he didn't see it. He sat down on my bed, and I looked into his brown eyes. They seemed to show me everything that I wanted to see. Shadows danced in his eyes masking his intentions. He moved closer to me, and I felt my body explode in a flurry of butterflies. He smelled like his Irish Spring bodywash and breath mints. We were now only a few inches apart from each other, and it felt like electricity was coursing between us.  I could feel his warm breath on my neck, coating me like a blanket. I wanted to give up. To surrender myself to him. To lay down in his arms and just be loved. He looked at me, and told me "Do you truly know how beautiful you actually are?"  He moved his hands towards me , one touching my cheek, making my spine tingle, and the other gently holding my waist. That was it. It felt like my body was on fire. I was hoping, maybe, just maybe he would...

Ben's POV
And I kissed her. I used my hands to pull her closer to me. To my surprise, she kissed me back. I groaned a little (Not in a dirty way) and deepened our kiss, as I brought her down onto the bed. She wrapped her hands around my neck, and I used my legs to wrap around her, like I was scared to let her go since I wanted this to last forever. Every hug, kiss and touch seemed to pale in comparison to just how long awaited this was. I couldn't tell right from wrong, or what was up and what was down. Everything was so foreign but familiar and the same time and the sensations I was feeling were unlike anything I had ever experienced. I thought, "I'm actually kissing Erica Hale!" As much as I wanted to continue, I was scared about someone seeing us, so I stopped. Erica looked at me in surprise and smiled.

As I made my way to the cozy little couch bed, Erica suddenly sprang towards me, her eyes sparkling with playful mischief, and gently pushed me to the floor. Our lips met once more, but this time with a deeper, more passionate intensity as we lay entwined on the soft carpet. My heart soared with joy, knowing that Erica had finally embraced her feelings. The moment was every bit as magical as our first kiss. Everything was perfect, until...