Restless Days and Hidden Nights by Lady Cleo

Summer Days

Edited 10/19/2010

The room was small, cramped full of odds and end, a comfortable habitat for its patron. Hyde lay quietly on his cot, eyes fixed on the roof, foot tapping to some unheard beat. He was waiting, waiting patently for any sign of the morning light to crack into the small room. He could already hear Kitty starting the laundry in the next room, which could only mean a few more hours to wait. Even as he heard his clock tick away, he could envision the sun poking through the small town of Point Place.

Normally Hyde wouldn't have cracked an eye until the break of noon, just like every other summer. But, this year wasn't like any other summer. Foremen wasn't acting like himself; all he'd done was mope about the house moaning about Donna. Normally the rest of them would have compensated, but with both Donna and Kelso gone for the summer that only left Hyde and Fez. Then there was Jackie.

Jackie was an entirely different perplexing matter. Once she got in your head she made you think crazy thoughts. In all honesty, and since no one he knew could read thoughts, Hyde had to admit she'd gotten into his head long ago. Probably the first time she'd ever strutted into the basement and opened her annoying little mouth. He'd spent years denying the emotions like a good Zen master would, and he would keep on denying any deeper emotions that revolved around the little pixie.

She was an addiction; a deep addiction that was going to swallow him. Hyde knew he should stop the addiction, put himself in 'Jackie rehab' by breaking all contact with her. But why stop now, he could quit later. Right now he was comfortable with the addiction, had grown accustomed to the waiting and the sudden highs she managed to bring.

At least he didn't have to worry about Kelso breaking her into little piece. What an Asshole, he didn't even see what a great thing he'd been given. At any rate, she'd gotten over the whole Kelso thing. She could move on to better things, better guys who wouldn't abuse her like Kelso had.

The sun cracked through the small window of his room, spreading its orange rays over the cluttered objects. Hyde let his eyes play across the room, catching the odd patterns of light. Jackie was probably waking up now; just a few more hours to wait. Damn, wasn't this supposed to be frustrating? Wasn't he supposed to be pacing the room like Foreman would be? Yet, he lay comfortably on the cot, eyes tracing random shapes, listening to the constant tick of his clock. Maybe it was because Hyde knew that his waiting would always pay off, that it would end. He would get what he was waiting for.

Hyde closed his eyes, already planning the day, what would happen, where they would go. Hyde, Fez and Jackie; in all rights the three where odd when combined. Hyde was like the controlling force of the threesome: he decided where'd they go, who'd they messed with, how much general mayhem they could cause. Fez was always amusing: a good little buddy who did as told, tagged along and had fun no matter what was happening. Jackie was always doing odd girly stuff, but lately all her little girly touches amused him, whereas they used to piss him off. Somewhere over the summer they had transformed from girly stuff to oddly sexy little things that turned him on. God, how he loved to watch her strut around the mall all dressed up pretty, eager and happy to get something nice.

Hyde's eyes randomly flickered back over to the clock, to find his random thoughts had been rewarding. Pulling himself slowly out of bed, Hyde grabbed some clean clothes and headed towards the shower. Just one more hour and he would get his fix, a fix that surpassed any drug known to the world.

At a quarter to nine Hyde returned to the basement after a large breakfast provided by a cheerful Kitty. Kitty had grown accustomed to seeing Hyde bright and early every morning. She hadn't even questioned the odd new pattern Hyde had gained. All the woman had done was smile a small little secretive smile, making Hyde wonder if her sixth sense had cued in on something. Hyde quickly flipped on the television, his face watching the clock patently. He didn't even bother to look for anything interesting. All that mattered was the on coming fix he was about to get.

Taking his usual seat, Hyde focused in on the door, watching, and waiting. The big hand hit five till, Hyde forced himself to pull his eyes away and focus on the stupid nature program that flickered across the screen.

The door opened. The slow clicking of heels against the hard cement caught his attention. Finally giving into his urges, Hyde let his eyes leave the screen to run across the room and fall on her figure. Jackie was taking her sweet time to cross the room. A sly smile had made its way across her beautiful face. She halted just in front of him, standing there, just waiting for him to make the first move.

Reaching up Hyde gently grabbed her hips, pulling her down to his lap. Jackie's smile turned into a full-fledged grin and she settled down there, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned down slowly, letting her rosy red lips capturing his in a simmering kiss.

The waiting stopped, the thoughts stopped, the fix began as the pure bliss overtook his head.