the boy next door • jenzie

17 | I Just Want To Cuddle

Hayden and Johnny stroll down the aisles of the town's convenience store looking for last minute Valentine's Day gifts for the girls. Hayden and Brynn gave up on the holiday years ago, so he wasn't expecting to have to get her anything. Kenzie told Johnny he didn't have to get her anything, and he believed her until his sister told him that it was a trap girls used to see if a guy would still get them stuff.

"I don't get why she's even mad at me," Hayden complains. "I proposed to her almost two months ago, and she said yes! She was ecstatic. Now, she told her dad, and he says he doesn't approve, and she's pissed at me for some reason. Her dad flippin' loves me, so the whole Rumfallo family is just confusing me."

Johnny shrugs. "I don't get girls. If she says she doesn't want anything big for Valentine's, how the hell am I supposed to know that it's a trick? I just do what she says."

"Does she want me to un-propose? Am I supposed to prove to her dad that I'm not a disappointment? I don't understand!" Hayden cries.

"I don't understand anything," Johnny adds. "Life was so simple, and now everything confuses me."

"Dude, you're still in the honeymoon phase. You haven't even reached the hard part," Hayden says.

Johnny's eyes bug out as he grabs a large teddy bear holding a box of chocolates. "There's a harder part?"

"What the hell am I supposed to get her to make up with me? I don't even know what we're fighting about!" Hayden growls.

Johnny scans the aisle they're in looking for a potential gift for Kenzie. "Get her one of those gigantic bears. Lauren says girls love those."

Hayden nods his head and walks over to the bin where bears that must be at least six feet long are stacked. He grabs one, tosses it over his shoulder, and returns to Johnny. "Okay, I'm ready to pay."

~~~

Kenzie opens the door as soon as Johnny knocks, not even bothering to wait a second to make him think she wasn't sitting there in anticipation. He steps inside quickly in order to escape the cruel Midwestern February. As soon as he hangs his coat, she grabs his hand and tugs him down the hallway to her room. She makes sure to leave the door open to please her stepfather.

"This is for you," Johnny says, handing her the stuffed bear.

Reaching over to her bedside table, she retrieves a bag and hands it to him. "For you."

Sunny, now much larger than she was when Kenzie first brought her home, jumps up onto the bed and lays down next to the couple, pawing at the wrapping paper Johnny just pulled out of the gift bag.

Johnny holds up a CD questioningly. "Please tell me you did not make me a mixed CD."

Kenzie giggles and begins to lean in towards him. "I could tell you that, but then I'd be lying."

He shakes his head. "Are we in the eighties or something?"

She pulls back from him and slaps his chest. "Don't make fun of me! I put songs that remind me of us on it. I thought it was cute."

He leans forward and kisses her. "It's very cute, Kenz."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "I know you're making fun of me, so if you don't want to play it tonight like I'd planned, then we won't. I purposefully put upbeat songs at the start for when we talk and eat the pizza I ordered and slow songs at the end for when we..."

She leans in and presses her lips against his, softly prying his mouth open to deepen the kiss. "But, I mean, if you don't like the CD, then..."

"This is the best present I have ever received," Johnny says, correcting his answer from before.

She smiles and begins to kiss him again, pulling herself into his lap.

"Johnny, I'm really getting tired of finding out you've snuck into my home to kiss my daughter," Greg says from the doorway.

Kenzie groans. "First off, I'm not your daughter. Second, he came in through the front door, so he technically didn't sneak in."

Melissa pops up next to Greg, preventing any type of argument between her husband and daughter from breaking out. "We are going to drop Taylor off at her friend Lauren's house to sleepover on our way to dinner. We'll be home in a couple of hours, so you two have fun before Mr. Buzzkill here gets home."

"See you later, Mom," Kenzie says. Melissa grabs Greg's hand and pulls him away from the room.

~ ~ ~

After finishing the pizza and talking through the fast songs on Kenzie's CD, the slower songs expertly placed play out through the living room's speaker system.

"I guess it's time," Kenzie says with a giggle as Johnny slides her closer to him. He swiftly connects their lips and leans back against the arm of the couch, pulling her down on top of him.

Their lips move together slowly and softly. It's not a rushed, sex-crazed hook up session. It's sweet, and although it's definitely a make out, it's romantic. They break apart every once in a while to smile or whisper a short message before returning to the kiss. At some point, Johnny's hand slides down from her waist onto her butt, which Kenzie makes sure to tease him for.

"I think the CD's over," Kenzie says after realizing her house is silent.

Johnny smiles. "I don't mind if you don't."

She smacks his chest playfully. "First you're grabbing my ass, and now you want to make out even more after we already have been for two hours. When did you get so horny?"

"As if you weren't hoping I would," he teases. "It ain't like you don't want to keep kissing too."

"You." She kisses him. "Are." Another kiss. "So." Kiss. "Right."

They keep going for at least another hour until they hear a key enter the lock in the front door. Johnny pulls his lips away from hers and begins to sit up as soon as he hears it, not wanting to get caught by Greg again.

Kenzie groans and looks at the door in annoyance as her mother and stepfather walk in. She turns her attention back to Johnny after only a few seconds and runs her fingers through his hair to fix the parts that had been messed throughout the night.

Melissa walks into the living room and pats both Kenzie and Johnny on the head before dropping her purse on the kitchen counter. "Did you two have a good night?"

Kenzie looks at Johnny and smiles at him. "Yeah, it was pretty perfect. How about you crazy kids?"

Melissa shrugs. "It was nice."

"Johnny, it's time for you to go home," Greg announces.

"What?" Kenzie asks. "Why? I was thinking we would watch a movie first."

"It would be too late when the movie is over," he says matter-of-factly.

"Honey, he lives right next door," Melissa interjects. "I don't think it would be too much of a problem for him to stay a few more hours."

Johnny presses his forehead against Kenzie's. "I don't want to start another fight, so I'm going to go."

He stands up and pulls Kenzie up with him. She groans and follows him to the door reluctantly.

"Goodnight, Johnny!" Melissa calls from the kitchen.

"I don't want you to leave," Kenzie whines.

He laughs and kisses her. "You'll see me tomorrow, Kenz."

She looks over her shoulder to make sure Greg isn't nearby before whispering, "In, like, an hour, come to my window, and I'll let you in."

His eyes widen. "Greg will kill us."

"I just want to cuddle," she says. "Please?"

He bites down on his lip in consideration, but when he looks at Kenzie's pleading eyes, he agrees. "You better let me in quickly because it's cold out there."