Chapter 16

"Later, dudes," he waved to his friends.

"You sure you don't wanna go for a burger, Jase?"

"Nah. Later," he replied, as he slung his skates over his shoulder and gathered his gear.

"By the way, loved the makeup, bro," chuckled his departing friend.

Jason answered with a good-natured snort and his middle finger. He gave his cheek another swipe, before he headed off in the opposite direction through the dirty snow. He'd forgotten his hat this morning, and his mom would probably get on him about it. He shrugged. Whatever. Shivering, he used his free hand to pull up his collar. After the sun went down, temperatures plummeted toward freezing. So, he stuck his gloved hands in his pockets and trudged on.

He'd been scrimping and saving for his own set of wheels. He had his eye on an old pickup at the downtown used car lot. Maybe with his "A" from auto-shop class and Shawn's help, Jason would have a working car by summer. Heck, maybe Phil could even help paint and wax it. Considering his buddy's car repair skills, the exterior was the safest place for his mechanically challenged friend. Not like Phil needed to ever worry about such things, like affording a new car, much less repairing one. K-Man could just walk into his fifty-car garage and take his pick. Man, thought Jason. To be that loaded.

His heavy boots thudded up his front steps. Pulling off his glove with his teeth, he rummaged through his pockets to find keys. Finally, he managed to open the door and set down his hockey stick and bookbag. Relieved to be warm again, he'd unzipped his jacket halfway, when he heard shouting from the kitchen.

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me-"

"I work day in and day out and all I get is-"

Porcelain angrily clanged against the sink. "You think you're the only one making sacrifices? What do you think I do all day at the hospital? I'm putting just as much into-"

"Whatever. I'm tired of hearing this. I come home dead tired, just wanting some peace-"

"All I'm asking for-"

Jaw clenched, Jason rezipped his jacket and snuck out of the house. He ran his hands through his damp hair, looking right then left. He just walked. He kept his eyes to the sidewalk and walked and walked. Shivering. His stomach signaled empty, but he ignored it. He reached another intersection. He looked right then left. He turned left. The first shy flakes flitted their way from the evening sky. He quickened his pace and finally slowed, as he neared the walkway lined with still newly planted bushes. He stopped under an evergreen tree stretched over the sidewalk for cover. The same pretty curtains. He looked to the upper windows, wondering. Then, an excited series of yips came from within the house, followed by a young boy's laughter. Something shattered.

"Floppy!" she screamed, "You come back here with Daddy's shoe! You think the pound is a nice place?"

The little boy still laughed and laughed.

"Be quiet, Conner! You're encouraging him…" More barking. "For the last time, give me that shoe!" The sound of scuffling faded to the back of the house.

A stubborn snowflake fell on his nose. After brushing it away with his sleeve, Jason took one last look at those pretty curtains. Then, he started his way back home.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" greeted a huge fragrant bouquet of roses.

Chloe laughed, "Philip!" She nudged the blossoms aside to hug him. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"I figure you'll have to get used to people throwing flowers at you," he grinned, before he kissed her.

"Wait," she said, blushing, "I have something for you, too." Then, she turned to reach into her locker.

"Chloe, I thought that we were gonna exchange presents tonight…" His dimples flashed, when he saw the big red paper heart.

She handed it to him shyly. "Belle and I got creative…"

He opened the handmade card and inside was attached a small bag of Valentine's heart-shaped candies and in feminine cursive, "To Philip, my first and only Valentine. Love, Chloe."

Some indescribable emotion gripped his heart then, realizing what a milestone this moment was. From the day they first met. To the dance. To their first kiss. To now. For Philip Kiriakis and for Chloe Lane, a year of amazing change.

He looked up to meet those blue eyes that had captivated him from the beginning. "Thanks, beautiful," he said softly, before he drew her into his arms and nuzzled her neck.

"Ahem."

The couple looked up to find Shawn and Belle smirking at them. Chloe and Philip only smirked in return, noticing Shawn grinning like a fool and a radiant Belle clutching an insanely huge sunflower in one hand and a red heart balloon floating within a translucent pink balloon in the other.

"Hey, guys," greeted Philip, "What's up?"

They all turned at the sound of a gasp.

"Mimi?" called out Belle. Semi-obscured behind her locker door, Mimi seemed awestruck by something inside her locker. "Mimi?" repeated Belle, as everyone gravitated toward to Mimi's locker to see what all the hubbub was about. "Are you ok?"

"Uh," replied Mimi, as she shook herself to attention and turned around, clutching her history book to her chest. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Is everything alright?" asked Belle, "You look kinda…"

"Oh, I'm fine," she interjected, "Uh, are those from Shawn?" She pointed to the flower and balloon.

"Yeah," piped a beaming Belle and gave her boyfriend another appreciative peck on the cheek. Her Tough Boy blushed.

The warning bell rang.

"I guess we'd better head to class," said Philip, tucking the big red heart under one arm and throwing the other over Chloe's shoulders. American History was the one class that they all had together.

The teens filed into the classroom. As was her habit, Chloe chose her seat in the front row. Another student had just reached the adjacent desk and fled, when Philip shot him a bullish look and took the desk for himself. One row back, Shawn and Belle took their usual seats beside one another. Meanwhile, Mimi plunked herself down in a seat nearby. Noting her friends were happily floating in Valentine's Day magic, she stealthily pulled the small sheet of parchment from inside her textbook and reread today's note. Her eyes devoured every word. Who is he? her mind shouted.

The bell rang once more. Then, hearty male chuckles announced the arrival of the jocks. Jason and his teammates plopped down across the back row. Mimi stole a glance behind her, then narrowed her eyes, when Jason accepted a small stack of Valentines and chocolates from random female classmates. He only grinned and winked in thanks to his giggling admirers.

Philip let out a great big yawn. Stripped down to his boxers, he gave his arms a wide stretch, sending lean muscles rippling.

"Yeah, come in," he yawned again, when a soft knock came to his bedroom door.

The door opened and in came Henderson with a garment bag hung dutifully from his fingers. "Master Philip, ready to turn in for the night?"

"Yeah," he replied, working the kinks out of his shoulders and back.

"Well, your costume is all pressed and ready for Friday," informed Henderson, who respectfully kept the chuckles to himself. And to the rest of the staff minutes before in the kitchen.

Philip nearly shuddered. "I can't believe I let her talk me into that," he muttered.

The servant gave the boy's shoulder an encouraging and sympathetic squeeze. "Enchanting creatures. Women. You know, Master Philip, during my young days in Paris, I happened upon a rather fetching young lady weeping along the river. In my broken French, I asked what was the matter. She pointed to the water, where her grandmother's scarf had fallen."

Philip smirked and had a feeling where the story was going. "So…"

Henderson smiled. "So, I politely asked, if she would be so kind as to hold my coat. Then, I jumped into the Seine and retrieved it for her."

Philip shook his head in disbelief. "And I bet she was plenty grateful."

The servant only smiled. "Good night, Master Philip."

"Whoa, Henderson," said Philip, following him to the door, "So, did you get the girl or not?"

Henderson only smiled and then closed the door behind him.

Philip grinned. Oh yeah, he got her.

Absently scratching his belly, he indulged in another yawn and crawled into bed. Then, he smelled it. The delicate scent of lavender carried on a breeze. He turned over to look at the white teddy bear sitting on the pillow beside him. Chloe's gift. He reached for it and plopped the bright blue-eyed toy on his chest. In its fluffy paws was a small heart-shaped pillow. "Only you," it read. He smiled and rotated the bear to the back and there grew two little white wings.

At first, after he ripped through layers of pretty wrapping paper, he laughed. Angel wings. His Victoria's Secret fantasy reincarnated in plush. He didn't expect such a silly, romantic gift from intellectual and somewhat cynical Chloe. But then, he'd seen the embroidered message on the heart and the look in her eyes, waiting to see his reaction. She'd looked so breathtaking then. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her, until they were both breathless. He nuzzled her neck to take in that sweet lavender scent.

"Philip," she'd whispered, drawing his hand to place over her heart, "There's only you."

In his bed now, he took a torturous sniff of the bear's fur. If he thought he had problems sleeping before, this definitely wasn't going to help.

He sighed. His angel. He wondered, when Chloe would be ready. Every time he was alone with her now, every gland in his body went haywire. How else does a healthy heterosexual male body react to a bombshell female body that, quite simply, was made for sex? He sighed again, as his muscles twitched and tensed just by the thought of her.

He'd just have to do more laps in the pool, take plenty of cold showers, and change his own sheets, he told himself. Because even though she loved him and knew he loved her, she wasn't ready. Although her body might be ready, her mind wasn't. He didn't quite understand such a plight, when he rarely encountered dissonance between the two. Frankly, he was used to just doing what felt good. And for him, sex felt damn good.

But he had little choice at this point. He was hopelessly in love with her. The very thought of touching someone else made him sick. And with everything they'd been through - the bet, those dreams, and Brady, to lose her was unthinkable. Especially, because of his raging hormones.

So, he'd wait and pray her brain would take pity on him. Sighing, he stretched out across his bed. He fingered the bear's angelic wings. Then, he grinned. In the meantime, he'd make sure her body was on his side. He clicked off the bedside lamp, pulled the bear to his side, and let himself dream.

"Oh, God. What was I thinking?" Shawn took another look in the mirror. Maybe he could persuade Belle to forget the party and go somewhere very private and very dark and just make out. God, he'd never live this down.

"Shawn! Philip's here!" his mother called from downstairs.

"Ok, Mom!" answered Shawn. He pulled on his long thick coat and wrapped his scarf securely around his neck. He may have to dangle himself from it, before the night was over. Giving himself a pep talk, he rolled his shoulders and shook himself, like a boxer preparing to enter the ring. He exhaled and headed down the steps as casually as he could.

"Hey, Phil. What's up?" His friend also wore a long wool coat and an agonized expression.

"Uh…" His buddy's brows rose, when he took in the obscenely gelled hair and the bright red boots poking out beneath Shawn's coat.

Shawn only tilted his head in mock, as he looked down to see Phil's knee-high riding boots. Phil returned a dirty look. His opinion of parties was not improving.

"Well, guys," began Shawn's father with an undeniable sparkle in his eyes, "You better get moving."

The boys grumbled in response and headed out the door to Phil's car. Once the door closed behind them, howls of laughter came from inside. The boys sighed in self-pity. This was going to be a very, very, very long night.

With horrific images of embarrassment plaguing them, Philip and Shawn remained silent on the ride over to the Wesley house. As usual, their girlfriends found it necessary to savor together dressing up and their boyfriends' torture. Well, the less people who see them, the better. What was I thinking? each thought to himself, as they rang the doorbell.

"Gentlemen," nodded Dr. Wesley, sweeping his arm to welcome them inside, all the while with a sadistic smirk on his face.

The boys resisted another sigh.

"Ladies," called Chloe's stepfather up the stairs, "Your escorts are here."

Nancy appeared first, coming down the steps and nearly popping out of her skin in excitement. "Oh, Craig! They look so beautiful!"

Dr. Wesley pulled her to his side and grinned with pride toward the upstairs landing.

Giggles erupted from above. Next came an audible calming breath.

Then, Shawn felt every brain cell short-circuit, as Belle emerged on the landing. Blushing, she gracefully descended, the sheer powder blue silk floating with each step she took. Her pale blond hair was swept up in a sleepy twist, leaving her neck and shoulders bare and heartstoppingly visible through the translucent wrap.

Philip jabbed his speechless friend in the ribs.

"Belle, y-you look…" Shawn managed, his eyes still wide and drooling, as the room heated.

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

Then, Mrs. Wesley whispered, "Oh, Chloe."

But Philip's eyes were already riveted. Her eyes locked with his, as her skirts rustled with each step. The clear stones sparkled against the cream of the medieval fabric, which hugged her bust, then fell long and fluid to her glass slippers. With shoulders bare and endless hair piled regally upon her head, her eyes - speckled with glitter-dazzled him. Her only jewelry was a white gold diamond heart locket. Philip's gift. He remembered her reaction, when she opened the locket to find their pictures in it.

Then, as she drew closer, he saw something flutter behind her. His heart stopped. Angel wings. So delicate that they were nearly transparent. His angel. Their surroundings faded off into oblivion, as his hand gently cupped her cheek.

"Beautiful," he said softly.

She smiled.

"Ahem. Well," began Craig, puffing his chest in pride, "Ladies, you look lovely."

"Oh!" said Nancy, as she grabbed the two backpacks from the floor and shoved them into the boys' hands, "Here are their overnight bags. Have fun at Mimi's. Oh," she squealed and hugged Chloe, taking care to avoid the wings, "My baby."

Her daughter smiled, flying high.

"You kids have a good time," said Craig, after Shawn helped Belle into her coat and Philip helped Chloe into her heavy hooded cloak. The stepfather shared a particularly significant look with Philip. The boy nodded. Warning taken.

"See you tomorrow!" waved Nancy, as the teens walked toward Philip's car. "Have fun!"

Everyone settled into their seats and buckled up. The car started.

Then, Philip looked over to Chloe and raised her hand to his lips. She smiled.

The night had only begun.