Chapter One

7 PM, Friday Evening.

"Hold on. You're doing what?"

Carmela rolled her eyes. "Look, mi hermano," she said dryly. "Me, papa, and mama are going up to Maine for Lisa's graduation. We are gonna leave you here for the weekend so, if Nita needs you, you're here."

Kit rolled his eyes as he caught the double meaning of the phrase. "Look," he patiently explained. "There is absolutely nothing between us. It's a nice, platonic relationship for wizardry only. Besides," he lied. "She's not my type."

His older sister snorted. "Yeah, yeah, it's all cool. Now, say that in the Speech."

Kit flinched. It was a very, very bad idea to lie in the Speech, as the consequences could and would be dire. Tom, Manhattan's Area Senior, had done it once when he was young. The runaway Peterbilt semi and loaded trailer had narrowly missed him three days later.

Carmela looked at him triumphantly. "So there is something between you and her…" she crooned, her eyes sparkling.

"No, Carmela, it's not like that…"

"Ah. Say it in the Speech."

"But 'Mela, it-"

"In the Speech."

"But-"

"Nope. In. The. Speech."

Kit gave up and stomped out of the living room, retreating to his bedroom and locking the door behind him. He dived facefirst onto his bed, not wanting to think about the exchange that had just taken place between him and Carmela. Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that the best way to remember something was to try and forget about it. It quickly came back to haunt him.

What if there is something between us, and I've just been too stupid to notice it?

Kit thought back to the last time he had talked with Nita. It had been a while… what… June? Yeah, mid June, the last day of school. She had been looking at him strangely that day… but that was because of the smear of tomato sauce on his chin. But she had kept sneaking glances at him even after the sauce was gone…

"Aaaaaaughhhh…"

He buried his face in the pillow, lost in thought.

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Half a block away

"Wait, wait, wait. You're abandoning me for how long?"

Harry Callahan shrugged. "Look, it's only a flight out to Los Angeles and back. We shouldn't be more than three days."

Nita rolled her eyes. "Yeah… well…"

Her father looked sternly at her over the top of his reading glasses. "You want to argue?"

She wisely shut her mouth before she could cause any damage.

"Now. We're leaving you here in case Kit needs you… for whatever reason."

Nita was so immersed in her own disappointment, she didn't even catch the double meaning. She heaved a sigh and nodded. "All right."

Her father checked his watch. "Shoot. We gotta get going. The plane leaves for LAX in an hour… DAIRINE!"

Nita's younger sister tumbled downstairs, suitcase in hand, and stood grinning impudently at her elder sister.

"Now, Nita, don't go giving out free public displays of affection to everyone who passes our house…"

Nita flushed. "Look, I don't think of him that way," she hissed. "It's only for wizardry, nothing else."

Dairine shot a long-suffering glance at her father. "She still doesn't get it."

Her dad shrugged. "Oh well. Don't tease your sister like that. Anyways… well, see you Monday, Neets."

"Yeah… have fun at the convention," Nita glumly replied, her mind suddenly on Kit.

Her younger sister suddenly looked up at her, then smiled wickedly.

Nita blushed and blocked her thoughts as Dairine and her father shuffled out the door.

The oak-paneled door closed, leaving a ringing silence in the Callahan household as Nita went to go flop down on the sofa.

I don't think about Kit that way, she thought determinedly as she listened to the truck's engine start up, then pull away from the curb.

I don't.

Do I?

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Kit sighed as he heard the front door slam, kicking off what looked to be the start of a very lonely weekend.

"Oh, God, help me get through this weekend," he moaned.

With a groan of reluctance, he slipped downstairs to go start his Fairly OddParents marathon. Might as well get it over with now.

The weekend had officially started.

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Strangely enough, halfway through the first episode, Kit was already thinking about Nita. The way she always smelled like a Napa Valley vineyard on a warm summer day… the way her hair fell to her shoulders in beautiful reddish-gold waves in the afternoon sunlight… the way her tears made him want to change the world so it didn't hurt her any more…

Oh my God… am I really crushing on her…?

He snorted aloud. Yeah… even if I am… it's not like she'd like me back…

Kit shook his head and turned his attention back to the TV screen.

With a faint smile, he realized this was the same episode they had watched together on a snowy winter day much like this… the family out (stuck in traffic), siblings with the parents, only the two of them together. And the heater had broken.

So, with a jacket each, they had snuggled together for warmth. Kit had been surprised at how warm her body was, even in twenty degree weather.

And then Carmela had burst in and ruined everything.

With a frown this time, Kit wondered if that was the reason he'd found himself watching The Fairly OddParents more and more. Because it reminded him of Nita?

Okay, that was just wrong.

Looking disgusted, Kit flipped the channel to TNT, and Top Gun. Ah, finally, a good movie.

He was just settling back to enjoy a Corvette commercial that had interrupted the movie when the phone rang.

Uttering a groan of reluctance, he got to his feet and walked over to the phone.

"Hello, Rodriguez residence."

"Um… hi. Can I speak to Kit?"

Nita.

Kit's heart skipped a beat as he thought hard about what to say.

"Hey, Neets. It's me."

"Kit? Whoa… you sound different… more… I dunno… mature. Not like your old self."

"Are you saying that I was, before, an immature idiot?"

"Well… not so much immature… but, yeah, sometimes you were an idiot…"

Kit smiled affectionately. "You were, too."

She laughed. "Tell me about it. Where've you been all summer? It's the middle of August!"

"At home, vegetating and being bored. What's up?"

"Nothing much… you?"

She was skirting a question. And Kit thought he knew what it was.

"Same. Folks are driving up to Maine for Lisa's grad. Look, I know what you called for. Wanna come over?"

"Sure." She sounded relieved. "How did you know?"

"I know you too well."

He caught the faint mental imprint of a grin from Nita. "I'll be there in about ten minutes. I'm gonna walk… need the exercise."

Kit laughed. "Nita, you're a stick. You don't need exercise."

"Huh. You're a guy. What do you know about girls?"

"I know a lot… more than you might think, Neets."

She laughed. "See you in a few."

"Uh-huh."

She hung up, and Kit slowly dropped the phone onto its cradle.

Heaving a sigh, he returned to the movie to wait for Nita.

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Twelve minutes and fifty-two seconds later, a knock sounded on the door.

"Kit, open up. It's me… I know you're in there…"

A grin spreading unbidden across his face, Kit opened the door.

Nita grinned at him from the doorstep, the sinking sun turning her normally auburn hair into a shimmering ocean the color of autumn leaves. Her gray eyes sparkled as she hugged Kit. "Long time no see!" she chirped, holding him at arm's length, looking him over. "Man… you've grown a bit. I thought I was taller than you…?"

"You never were, Neets."

She laughed and gave him a good shove as she slipped past him into the house. Kit shut the door behind her as she bounced happily into the kitchen, dropping her purse onto the table before turning back to her partner in wizardry.

"So, besides generally growing a mold coat and gathering dust on the couch, what've you been up to this summer?"

Thinking about you…

"Nothing much. What about you?"

Dreaming of you, Kit…

"Reading through the manual… going to the library…" And looking for advice on relationships…

"That all?"

"Just about."

Kit grinned. "Can I get you anything to eat, drink…?"

"Anything that isn't white and fuzzy and that doesn't twitch of its own accord when you look at it," she retorted, a grin forming on her face.

Kit's laugh echoed around the inside of the fridge as he carefully removed a large ceramic dish.

"Mama's killer Arriz con Pollo."

Nita did her best not to drool as Kit removed the lid, filling the kitchen with a savory aroma.

"Ooooooh, Kit! I'm starving…"

Kit wafted the fumes toward Nita, who gently slapped him. He grinned. popped the dish into the microwave, punched a few buttons, and joined Nita in front of the TV.

Over the gentle hum of the microwave in the background, and a Hyundai ad's claims in front of them, Nita seemed a bit nervous. For one, she kept biting her lip and glancing over at Kit, for another, she was oddly quiet. Lack of her customary cup of tea, perhaps. Or maybe… maybe something else.

Maybe.

The microwave dinged, and Kit got up to grab the dish and dole it out into a pair of bowls.

Nita chose that moment to pose her question.

"Hey, Kit?"

"What's up, Neets?"

She took a breath.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. Kit, do you feel like there's something… between us?"

In the kitchen, Kit froze, one hand on the door of the microwave. His heart pounding, he strove to keep his voice casual.

"Well… yeah, we're friends, right?"

"No… Kit, you know what I mean. Something… something that's… deeper… than 'Just Friends'."

Kit stared at the steaming Arroz con Pollo dish in the microwave, his mind and heart racing.

He was sorely tempted to give her the same answer that he had given Carmela, but something told him it probably wouldn't be good to say that to Nita.

So he answered truthfully.

"Well… a little," he said slowly.

The tension between them deflated like a popped balloon.

"So do I, Kit…" Nita murmured softly.

Kit froze again, one hand on the platter of chicken and rice.

"You… you do?"

"Yeah…"

Kit flushed. "Oh. Okay…"

"That's okay, though… isn't it?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. I guess…"

"Kit, give me a straight answer. Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Okay…"

There was a very uncomfortable silence as Kit spooned the food into the twin bowls, then carried them over to where Nita sat on the carpet and joined her.

Nita, her arms around her knees, her chin resting in the valley between her knees, sighed as she looked at the steam curling up from the bowls.

"I missed you, Kit," she said lightly, as if nothing had happened.

"Same here… missed you, Neets…"

Nita laid her head on his shoulder, and Kit smiled. Somehow, she always found the right spot on his shoulder.

She smelled good, too… like a California vineyard in the middle of summer…

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Somehow, Nita's head ended up in Kit's lap, and Kit contentedly toyed with Nita's auburn hair as she watched the F-15 cruise into the air, the credits for Top Gun rolling in the foreground.

Nita looked from the screen up into Kit's eyes, searching his brown irises for an answer.

"How much is there between us?" she inquired curiously.

Kit looked at her, then leaned down to plant a gentle kiss on the hollow of her neck that took her breath away.

She came back to her senses, and smiled up at Kit, her eyes sparkling. "That much, huh…?"

Kit looked slightly shocked at the fact that their relationship was proceeding so quickly, but mutely nodded and managed a smile back.

In response, Nita leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

She smiled sleepily at him as he blinked, trying to get his mind around the fact that Nita Callahan had just kissed him.

Nita grinned mischievously up at him, her gray eyes sparkling, then turned her attention back to the TV, and American Graffiti, lifting her head up off his lap and settling for snuggling with him as he adjusted to the feel of having kissed his partner in wizardry. It was strange… but it just seemed so… right.

Kit sighed, then placed an arm around Nita.

"So you're okay with this new development then…?"

Nita looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "What d'you think, Sherlock?"

Kit grinned, ruffled her hair, ducked a slap, and snuggled up to her for a comfortable evening of movies and Arriz con Pollo.

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"Ow… Nita… that's my foot you just stepped on…"

"Sorry. Where do I sleep?"

"You can use the guest room."

"Thanks, Kit… tell you what. You can come on over to our place tomorrow… show you what I did to my room…"

Her offer was punctuated by a huge yawn.

"All right. Good night, Kit… talk to you in the morning."

Both teens went to bed with thoughts of their eventful evening buzzing in their heads.

Ah, summer.

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A/N: I don't know how good this was… read and review, please? I'm proud of it… dunno about you all, though.

I know the romance happened a bit quickly… but… well, I dunno.

Napa Valley is in Central/Northern California, and is famed for its vineyards.