Chapter 4 4

Saturday morning, he came down to breakfast and heard his mom mumbling about the 'goddamned van.' That was funny because his mother never cursed.

"What's going on?" Xander asked innocently.

"Your father wants to redo the van. I have to make cushions for the back row."

One of his mother's talents was sewing. She'd made most of the drapes for their new home. Creating cushions wouldn't be much of a challenge.

"Did Dad show you his plans?" Xander asked.

"They're on the counter," his mom said, pointing.

Xander quickly checked over the design. He was fine with most of it, but wanted one addition: a lockable drawer under the seat. That way, Xander would have a place to store stuff he didn't want anyone else to see. His little sister knew no boundaries, and the last time around, she made it her mission to find his condoms, which would suddenly be in his mother's possession. That was fun ... NOT!

"Go get your sister. Your grandparents are taking us to breakfast."

He turned to yell for Izzy, which earned him the death glower. Xander actually felt the heat on the back of his neck.

"Be right back," he said as he darted upstairs to get his sister.

He found her at the head of the stairs, all decked out in Western wear, right down to the cowboy hat.

"That's an interesting look for Arkansas."

"Go change," Izzy ordered.

This might not be his day for interacting with the women in his household.

"Yes, ma'am," Xander said solemnly.

He stepped into his bedroom and changed into his 'cowboy' clothes. Xander wasn't proud of it, but he actually owned three cowboy hats. His favorite of them-a black leather one that had seen better days-he'd gotten for free at a garage sale. The older lady saw him looking at it and encouraged him to try it. When he put it on, it was too big, so she gave it to him.

"That was my husband's first hat. I have some oil I can give you to make it look good as new," she'd said.

It was still a touch too big, but he put it on anyway. If he tilted it back slightly, it wouldn't fall down and cover his eyes.

He came downstairs to find his grandparents drinking coffee with his mom.

"Aren't they both adorable?" Grandma Davidson asked.

"Looks like they're already set for Halloween," Grandpa Davidson quipped.

"Mister, am I going to have to draw down on you?" Xander drawled.

Izzy giggled, which was his and his grandpa's goal.

"Before this gets out of hand, let's go eat," his mom said.

They drove to the Three Birds Café, which was packed and had a line to get in. He spotted Pam there with her family. She saw him and came over, and they decided it would be best to take a stroll so his sister wouldn't eavesdrop.

"What's the big occasion?" Pam asked, giving him the once-over.

"My sister decided she wanted to dress up in our cowboy gear."

"What a good big brother," Pam said and moved a half step closer to him.

Jill Flint, Kelly's mother, had been talked into taking her daughter to town to buy a new dress for the upcoming middle school dance. Until now, Kelly hadn't shown any interest in boys, so dances weren't a big deal. It seemed their neighbor, John Tyler, had asked Kelly to meet him at the dance, so her daughter now wanted to look her best. Before shopping, they stopped at the Three Birds Café because it offered vegan options.

As they walked to the front door, Kelly suddenly stopped with her mouth agape.

"Mom! Look at Pam! She's kissing a cowboy!" exclaimed Kelly.

Jill looked at where Kelly was staring to see what caused such astonishment in her daughter. Pam was kissing an incredibly handsome, rugged young man who looked like a cowboy. As far as Jill knew, Pam had never even been on an actual date. Pam was like her daughter in that neither of them had shown any interest in boys. Jill had to admit to being almost as shocked as Kelly.

Jill thought it might be time for 'the talk.' And she needed to give Brenda, Pam's mom, a heads-up. Their little girls were growing up, and way too soon.

Kelly recovered from her initial surprise and started toward her best friend, with Jill following closely. Jill felt it was her duty to figure out who this hunk was kissing Pam, and whether she would report it to Brenda.

The couple must have heard the crunch of their shoes on the gravel as they approached because they parted. For a boy his age, he had a nice, slim figure and an incredible smile. What caught her full attention was the intensity of his steel-blue eyes.

As they walked up, he smiled and said, "You must be Kelly's mom. Pam never told me how beautiful you are. I'm Xander Thornwood."

She was taken aback because he hadn't acted like a typical teen boy who would've been mortified at being seen kissing a girl in public-especially by a mom.

Pam's phone buzzed with a new message.

"We're being seated. Do you want to join us?" Pam asked.

"You bet we do," Kelly announced.

Xander just smiled as he walked Pam back to her parents. On the way, he introduced his mom, sister, and grandparents to Jill and Kelly. Then he announced that Pam had agreed to be his date for the dance, which perked up his little sister.

"We need to go," Pam said to get everyone moving.

As they walked to the table, Jill asked, "Are any of your other friends meeting guys at the dance?"

"All of them," Kelly proudly announced.

'Oh, shit,' Jill thought. It seemed like a 'girls' night out' was needed to discuss what was going on. She also planned to invite Xander's mother and figure out who the other boys were, then invite their moms as well.

After breakfast, Xander did the chores his dad had left him, then walked to the job site and continued to deal with the giant pile of cut-down trees. He was feeding limbs through the chipper when a hand touched his back. It was his mom.

"Why has Jill Flint insisted I attend a 'girls' night out'?"

Xander was afraid that something like that might happen. After all, this was a small town, and parents insisted they needed to be in your business.

"That might be because of me."

"I figured as much. Why have I been summoned?" his mom asked.

If this had been his dad, the conversation would've started with the accusation, 'What have you done!?' That would be followed up with him being yelled at because he'd embarrassed the family or some other nonsense.

"I asked Pam Wilder to meet me at the dance as my date," Xander began.

He then told his mom how he'd been talking to the guys and showed them how to ask a girl out.

"Why are you meeting them at the dance instead of picking them up?" his mom asked.

"I don't have a car, and someone mentioned it was uncool for their mommy to drive them. I figured this was the best solution."

"Were you really kissing Pam in the parking lot?" his mom asked.

"I was."

"It's time for 'the talk,'" his mom decided, talking to herself.

Picking up on the cue, Xander replied, "I don't know why. I mean, Pam and I are too young to do anything more than a quick kiss and dancing. There'll be chaperones at the dance to keep an eye on things. You and the other mothers have nothing to worry about."

His mom chuckled.

"I see what you mean. When I was thirteen, I started to have crushes, but I had no idea what to do with them. I wish someone had asked me to go to a dance at that age. It would've been so much better than standing around all night, worried none of the guys liked me."

"Trust me, the guys liked you," Xander said, making his mom blush.

"It still might be time for the talk."

"We had a class for that," Xander said, letting his mom off the hook.

"Okay, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"I have lots of questions," Xander said eagerly.

His mom gave him her death glower, which caused them to laugh.

"I need to finish this," Xander said, ending the conversation ... for the moment.

Thankfully, his dad had gone to Dallas to empty his tool shed. He'd rented storage space in West Fork to use until he had time to build a shed at the house. That meant Xander's dad wasn't around when his mom came home after the girls' night.

Apparently, drinking too much wine was part of the festivities. Thankfully, Izzy was already in bed when his mother returned and found him watching a movie in the den. She plopped down on the couch right next to him.

"It's official: you're a bad influence."

"How so?"

"By putting impure thoughts into the little preciouses of West Fork."

That made him laugh.

"Please. Those women are delusional if they think their children are as innocent as they seem to believe," Xander said.

"I pointed that out. I think the moms all realize it, but the party line is your big-city ways are infecting this town. It won't be long before we have a rash of pregnancies," his mom said and giggled. "The best part was when Jill admitted that at least they'd be pretty babies if you were the father."

Even his older self was taken aback by that comment. Xander had never thought of himself as good-looking. It had never crossed his mind at any time.

"Maybe Mrs. Flint would be willing to teach me what I need to know to make that happen."

His mom just giggled.

"I got the feeling she just might."

That floored him. His mom must really be drunk.

"I think we should get you to bed," Xander announced.

"Help me up."

Xander did and walked his mom to her room.

"Drink some water and take an aspirin," Xander suggested.

His mom stopped and looked at him.

"How do you know what to do to prevent a hangover?"

'Oops.'

"Well, it's what they show people doing in movies."

"Good advice," his mom said as he closed her bedroom door.

Xander went to bed, wondering if being the town's bad boy was that bad a rep.

Xander got up Sunday morning and stripped off. Each Sunday, he took pictures of his body to track his development. As yet, the transformation hadn't been pronounced; he'd grown an inch taller and looked to be firming up. And Xander was no longer just a stick: he'd gained ten pounds of what appeared to be muscle.

Hair had started to come in under his arms and down below. He realized it would be years before he gained any chest hair. Combine that with being blond, and it never really amounted to much, anyway.

He'd talked to the guys, and they agreed to lift weights with him in the mornings. They worked out a rotation of whose mother would take them each day. Coach Carlton said he'd come in early to help them get started.

Xander had also found that learning better study habits made a difference in school. Not that middle school was hard because anyone who paid even half attention could pass without studying. He'd been a prime example of that last time. Now, he was easily handling the quizzes and tests.

Xander was also beginning to grow his savings account and planned to increase it even more. His grandfather let it slip that he played poker at a rotating game. The following weekend, it would be at his house. Xander was working on his grandfather to let him play. Xander had no doubt he could clean out all the old codgers. Once he'd built a big enough stake, he would use some of the knowledge from his past life to make even more.

The goal was never to ask his dad for anything in the future. Whatever he got had serious strings attached that Xander would not submit to this time around.

It was almost time for Donnie to transfer in. While Xander didn't want him as an enemy, he didn't plan on them being best friends, either. This time, Xander made good friends before Donnie showed up. He was sure Donnie had recognized Xander's lack of a social network, making him an easy target. Xander was sure his nemesis would find someone else to pick on this time.

Xander got dressed and walked downstairs. Izzy sat at the kitchen table, looking out the window.

"Mom's sleeping in. Do you want me to make you breakfast?"

She looked up and smiled.

"Pancakes, please."

He opened the fridge and looked over his shoulder.

"Mom bought fresh blueberries. You want those or chocolate chips in your pancakes?"

"Could you make blueberry syrup over chocolate chip pancakes?" Izzy asked hopefully.

His mom stumbled in.

"And coffee," she said as she lay her head on the table. She glanced up at Izzy and said, "Never mix alcohol, or you end up like this."

Xander bit his tongue to keep himself from making a smart comment. That was something he'd learned the hard way ... more than once.

He put the coffee on first, then stepped into the pantry and grabbed the corn syrup. The ratio was 2 to 1, blueberries to corn syrup. He put that in a pot to bring to a simmer to break down the fresh berries, then started the pancakes.

His mom requested dry toast instead of pancakes. She commented that Izzy would bounce off the walls from all the sugar she'd just consumed. Xander talked his sister into a bike ride to help burn off her energy and allow his mom to go back to bed.

On Monday morning, Xander found his nemesis in his homeroom. Donnie even had to give a brief introduction to the class, something Xander avoided because he'd started at the beginning of the semester.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Donnie Wilson, and I'm from Little Rock. My parents and I just moved here because they're opening a pharmacy over on Van Buren. I'm hoping to make a lot of new friends."

It was so heartwarming and original that it almost brought a tear to Xander's eye ... not!

Xander's next unpleasant surprise was finding his mother walking the halls before lunch.

"Is there something I need to know?" Xander asked.

"Lucky me, I've been volunteered to be a chaperone for your dance on Friday."

From her tone, his mom had her sarcasm dial set at eleven.

"I'm sorry," was the only response that came to his mind.

"The moms decided that since you're the ringleader on the dating front, I should be there to make sure you don't do anything 'out of bounds.'"

"Who said I might do something out of bounds?" Xander asked.

"I probably shouldn't say."

"Fair enough. Just promise me that you won't act like you know me at the dance," Xander tried.

"That's not happening."

He'd given it a shot.

"Fine. I'm late for lunch."

"Maybe you can take your mommy to lunch as a reward," his mom said, twisting the knife.

"I'd love to have you accompany me," Xander chirped.

His mom gave him the death glower.

"Monday is mystery meat day. Last week's winner was armadillo. The brown liquid on top almost makes it edible."

"I'll pass," his mom decided.

She couldn't leave without pulling him in for a big hug and goodbye. That was when Donnie showed up.

"You must be Xander's mom. I'm new here. Donnie Wilson," he said with an extended hand.

"Careful, Mom. He's a teen boy, and you have no idea where that hand has been," Xander warned.

"Nice to meet you, Donnie."

Xander noted she didn't shake his hand.

"I'll leave you to the mystery meat. I have leftover chocolate chip pancakes waiting for me at home."

Xander mentally flipped his mom off and then turned and walked to the cafeteria. He noted Donnie had fallen into step beside him.

"What's your deal?" Xander asked.

"I figured you have friends, so I was hoping you'd introduce them to me. I understand you're new here, too."

Xander used his mom's witty line: "I'll pass."

Donnie stopped as Xander continued to walk. It was all he could do not to turn back to see the confusion on the boy's face. He hoped that nipped things in the bud.

He went through the line, and it was bacon cheeseburger casserole day, just a step below pizza day in the lunch pecking order. Donnie was right behind him when he reached his table, and he tried to sit next to Xander.

"Sorry, that seat's taken," Xander said.

The guys all gave him a funny look, but Kevin backed him up.

"Yeah, sorry, man. We have one more coming."

"Uh ... okay," Donnie said, got up, and left.

"What was all that about?" Jake asked.

"Let's just say I've heard rumors about that guy. All I'll say is if they are true, you'll want to keep him away from your dates Friday night."

"Speaking of Friday night, what did you do to have all of our moms get together on Saturday?" Mike asked.

"Kelly and her mom caught Pam kissing me."

Questions started flying.

Xander held up his hand to slow the guys down.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound like a bunch of girls."

"Fuck you, too. Now, spill the tea," KJ said.

Hearing KJ say that made Xander smile because he was the smallest guy in the group. KJ had to be five feet nothing and might weigh ninety pounds. The only thing that gave him street cred was being Black. Even so, Xander was not shaking in his boots.

He assumed Kelly was telling the girls, so it wouldn't be long until everyone at school knew. Xander folded like he held a poker hand of seven, two, to a board of king, queen, jack, and a big bet. He even told them his mommy would chaperone the dance. He predicted he'd be hearing about all this for years to come, but everyone found it funny ... so it could've been worse.

The dance was held in the cafeteria. The lunch tables had all been folded up and put against the wall. There was a table with some weak-ass punch. It tasted like a premix that had been mixed with too much water-basically, colored water with a weird, bitter aftertaste.

The DJ was Coach Carlton, who had a playlist on his phone. Even in Dallas, a middle school dance wouldn't have that many country songs, and it was like the coach hadn't listened to anything released in the last ten years.

That being said, they tried to make the best of it.

Since the guys had never been to a dance where actual dancing took place, it created an uncomfortable atmosphere that was almost comical. The guys danced from foot to foot, trying their best to maintain some semblance of dignity. Their herky-jerky gyrations caused them to glance around and realize how ridiculous they looked. It made Xander aware he needed to show them how not to make fools of themselves.

"Time out and gather around!" Xander called out.

All the Princesses and his guys formed a circle around Xander and Pam.

"Keep it simple. Elbows are at the side, and you rock from foot to foot. Let your girl be the star," Xander said as he demonstrated.

He saw looks of relief in the guys' eyes. They could do that. From there, everyone started having a good time.

He and Pam decided to take a break when Coach put on a tractor song that made no sense, driving everyone off the dance floor. Pam pulled Xander into a corner and kissed him.

"We should slow down. People are watching," Xander said.

He felt the death glower from across the room.

"I don't care. I want to learn everything," Pam said.

While he liked the thought of that, he did something his old self would've never done.

"The first part of a new relationship has to be patience. The most significant problem people have when it comes to ... erm ... sex ... is that they rush things. We guys usually have a one-track mind in that regard, but girls are just as guilty. So be patient; take your time. Enjoy getting to know me.

"When you're ready, I'll be there to help you every step of the way. But I bet if you asked just about anyone who's done stuff, they would almost all tell you that they wished they'd waited," Xander said.

"Does that mean I can't kiss you anymore?" Pam asked.

"Hell, no," Xander said, slipping his hand around Pam's waist and pulling her to him.

He leaned down and gave her a tender kiss.

"Young man," his mom warned.

"Yes, Mother," Xander said as he gazed into Pam's eyes.

"Perhaps you can find somewhere more private. People are watching, and I don't want to be fired from my chaperone job."

Pam giggled because it sounded like his mom had given them permission to go make out, but to find a better place to do it-preferably one without people watching.

"Since you asked so nicely..." Xander said to his mom as he grabbed Pam's hand and led her out of the cafeteria.

Pam led him into an empty classroom. Xander decided he would show her some stuff, and the first thing he taught her was how to French kiss. She proved to be a quick learner, and his jeans tightened in the front.

He let her push him up against a wall as Pam pressed her crotch against his left thigh while his hands roamed up and down her sides and her back. He'd not been bold enough to grab her butt yet, though that didn't mean he was done with his lessons.

Xander turned his head and kissed Pam's neck. She liked that, so he kissed his way to her earlobe and sucked it into his mouth and nipped it.

"Hey!" Pam complained.

She then mimicked what he'd just done.

"I wondered where you'd gotten off to," Donnie said from the door with a smirk. "I call next."

"Excuse me a moment," Xander said to Pam, then strode over to Donnie and punched him in the mouth.

A girl screamed in the hall as the two boys fought. Luckily, they were two scrawny kids, so they hadn't done much damage when Coach Carlton rushed over to break it up.

Donnie looked sneaky, like he'd gotten the better of Xander, until Pam approached him and slapped his vile words out of his mouth. Everyone stood in stunned silence as Donnie's eyes bugged out.

"You ever say something like that again, and it won't just be Xander kicking your ass: every guy in this school will be there. Do you understand me?" Pam hissed.

Donnie nodded.

"Come on, Xander. Let's see if your mom will give us a ride home," Pam said.

Everyone erupted. Donnie had pissed off the wrong girl. Pam Wilder was the queen bee of West Fork Middle School. If she had a say, he'd be lucky to get a date before he left for college.

Pam stopped to share with the Princesses what Donnie said. They, in turn, told their dates, who now looked ready to kick Donnie's ass. Xander had to gather the guys around and tell them he had this, or that wouldn't have been Donnie's last fight of the night.

That was how his mommy came to drive them home. His mom left them on the front porch while she stepped inside and talked to Pam's parents. Xander gave Pam a goodnight kiss.

"Would it be okay if we became boyfriend and girlfriend?" Xander asked.

He had no idea how that would work, but he could tell it was what Pam wanted to hear. He was sure it was because it gave Pam status in her group as the first to get asked to a dance and now the first to have a boyfriend.

She left him on the doorstep and rushed in to tell her mom. Five minutes later, his mom came out to the car, shaking her head.

"Yep, you're getting the talk when we get home."

Xander just smiled.