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Once inside, Barbie covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

- WHAT DID I JUST DO?!

- What did you just do? - Skipper, coming out of the kitchen, was already there to beat the answer out of her sister, - Come on!

- I kissed Ke... NO ONE! - the blonde clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing that she had blabbed it to the sister who was still Cupid, - I didn't kiss anyone!

- WHAT DID YOU DO? - for a second, Barbie thought that the brown-haired woman's eyes would roll out of her head, - DID YOU KISS KEN?!

- NO! - the girl blushed, trying to get around her sister, who stood in the middle of the aisle, blocking it, - Skipper, let me pass!

- Oh, no, my dear, you won't let go of me until you tell me! - the younger one grabbed her sister's arm, dragging her into her room, - Let's go!

- Skip! - the blonde with the red face followed her sister, making sure that no one saw them, - At least be quiet!

DJ wanted to tease her sister, turning to her, but seeing her murderous look and completely pink cheeks, abruptly changed her mind.

When they were in the room, the younger one sat her sister down on the bed, looking at her expectantly. The older one stared at her hands, not knowing what to say.

- Well? - Skipper gave her a little shove on the shoulder, - Go ahead, Barbie!

- I... I ... uh... - the blonde suddenly shyly-indignantly stared at her sister, - Skipper, what are you trying to torture me at all!?

Laughing from the expression on Barbie's face, the brown-haired woman almost choked, trying to speak.

- You.. You'd be yourself... Seen... - laughing, she patted her on the shoulder, - So there was definitely something!

Confused, the blonde turned away, hiding her face. She panted as she got out of bed and went to the closet. After changing into her home clothes, she calmed down a little as she looked at her sister. Skipper was still looking at her expectantly, not even bothering to hide her snide smile.

Unable to stand it, the girl broke down.

- Yes, I kissed him, okay?! - she turned away angrily, looking out of the window, - On the cheek, but kissed!

Stunned, Skipper didn't have time to say a word as the blonde sat down on the bed with her back to her, hugging her knees and burying her forehead in them. A second later, the brown-haired woman heard her sister sniffling.

Barbie didn't want to cry, but the tears rolled out of her eyes. It seems to have been brought to a boil. Almost everyone in her family knew she had a crush on Ken, at least Skipper did, and they were always pushing her to answer awkward questions. The girl burst into tears, burying her nose in her lap.

For the first time, the brown-haired woman did not know what to do. She immediately lost all her passion, trying to think of a way to calm the older one down. She sat down next to her and put her arm around her shoulders.

- Barbie, I'm sorry... I went too far... - DJ lightly patted her back, looking at her with remorse, - Don't cry, please...

- I am... I want to be alone...  - the elder Roberts sniffed in frustration as she picked up Taffy, who was now scratching at the bed with her paws, asking for her help, - Come back in the morning, okay?

- All right...  - the brown-haired woman nodded softly to her as she left the room, - aren't you going to dinner?

- No, I'm not hungry, - she lay down on the bed, hugging the dog, - Good night.

- Sweet dreams...

The girl closed the door, retreating. Her sister's reaction to the words about Ken was firmly planted in her head, and the brown-haired woman decided not to try her luck anymore, unnerving the blonde.

                              ***

Ken, who had already come home, was lying on the bed, confused and happy. Lying on his back, he covered his face with his hands, trying to calm himself. The parents were in their room, so the guy's arrival home went unnoticed.

Feeling his agitated state, into which he was introduced by the blonde with a single touch, the guy tried to distract himself, trying not to think about what happened half an hour ago. However, his thoughts apparently did not agree with him, because they persistently shoved even more pleasant images into his head.

Yes, his thoughts had crossed all boundaries.

Feeling his cheeks burn, the guy tried to calm down once again, getting out of bed. Hell, this was even more embarrassing than the mistletoe thing. After all, she had been forced to kiss him then, and this time she had done it herself.

Still grinning like an idiot, the happy guy headed down to the kitchen, just because he remembered that he was kind of hungry. Shaking his head, the blond man soon went down to the kitchen, starting to rummage in the refrigerator. He found some macaroni and meat and warmed them up for dinner.

When the food was finished, the surfer washed the dishes after himself, then put them away. His thoughts were no longer such a huge fountain, and so he managed to sort them out somehow, no longer looking like a lovesick idiot, although he still was.

Going back up to his room, the blond man sat down at his desk, pulling out his sketchbook. Yes, there was a case, Ken was interested in drawing, and quite a long time ago. Opening a blank page, he picked up a pencil and an eraser, and began to quickly draw straight lines on the paper.

He spent a couple of hours at this activity, constantly changing his location: he drew both lying on the bed, and sitting on the bed, and sitting in the chair, and sitting on the chair, and sitting on the table, and at the table, and on the floor, and on the windowsill. In short, he wandered around the room as best he could. During this time, he got a good portrait of Barbie.

Satisfied with his work, the blond man closed the sketchbook and put it on the table, undressing himself and remaining in his boxers. He flopped down on the bed and picked up his phone from the nightstand, opening it and starting to search the Internet.

Remembering that he had promised to write to his girlfriend, he went to Instagram, immediately seeing a new photo on the page of his beloved. There were pictures of her and Barbie laughing and arguing with each other, their heads almost colliding, Nikki slapping her forehead, and Renee taking a selfie in front of them. This was after he and the blonde had argued about whether she should have taken a white printed T-shirt. Smiling, Ken wondered when the Asian woman had managed to take a picture of them without them noticing. When he read the caption, he blushed.

"Best time with the best boy".

And at the end were two little hearts.

The heart of the guy was flooded with aching tenderness and he opened a dialogue with his girlfriend, starting to type a message.

                                 ***

Barbie, who was lying on the bed with Taffy in her arms, had long since calmed down, looking at the night sky outside the window. Then the phone screen lit up brightly, giving a short beep of notification of a new message.

Reaching out, she picked up the phone, giving the dozing Taffy a gentle peck on the top of her head.
Sitting up on the bed, leaning back against the wall, she pulled the blanket higher, covering her knees. After unlocking her phone, she went into a conversation with a friend.

11:14. Ken: Hi. Are you awake?

She smiled as she started typing her answer.

11:14. Barbie: No. And you? 😂

11:15. Ken: Well, as you can see, hahaha

11:15. Barbie: Hahahahaa. How are you feeling?"

11:15. Ken: Great. And yours?

11:16. Barbie: And me.

11:16. Ken: Hey, do you want to go for a walk?

11:16. Barbie: Why?.. Sounds great! I'm in~

11:16. Barbie: Meet me at the porch?

11:17. Ken: Yes, come on.

Quietly getting out of bed, so as not to disturb the sleeping dog, the girl went to the closet, thinking about changing, and then picked up the phone again.

11:22. Barbie: Look, I don't really want to dress up. It's still night. I'll go in my pajamas, no one will see me anyway.

11:24. Ken: Ahahhh, then so am I.

Smiling, she put the phone down on the nightstand, deciding not to take it. Chuckling softly, the girl opened the door from the room, but immediately heard the sleepy voices of her parents and hid back. Realizing that they would not approve of her sudden late-night "date", the girl went out on the balcony.

The guy was already waiting for her downstairs.

- Ken! - she called softly, hoping he would hear her, - My parents are awake, I can't get through!

The blonde, hearing his name, looked up, noticing a disheveled, but incredibly cute friend.

- Then jump! - He held out his hands to her, - I'll catch you.

- Are you kidding? - Roberts batted her lashes at her friend, - You're not kidding...

- Come on, it's not that high up here, - he looked at her with a smile, - Don't be afraid!

- Carson, I'm going to kill you someday, - she said, climbing over the balcony railing, almost shaking with excitement, - Oh, my God, what am I doing!

The guy intemperately snorted into his fist at her threat, after a moment already being ready to catch his beloved.

- Come on!

Barbie closed her eyes, exhaling, and then opened them, immediately jumping off. Her eyelids drooped in fear, and she squeezed them shut, trying not to squeal.

- Well, that's it, - the native voice came right over his ear, searing him with hot breath, - Don't worry.

She opened her eyes, her gaze immediately colliding with the azure pools of her lover. Once in his arms, Barbie relaxed, realizing that she had been caught after all and had not broken anything.

- You know, it was still scary!

- Isn't it scary to climb a palm tree? Or for example, jump from a yacht to a boat? - he reminded her of these situations, still holding her in his arms, - or, for example, flying a cooking show under the ceiling without insurance?

- Ken!
- Okay, okay, - he chuckled, setting her down on the ground, - I get it.

Once on the hard surface, the blonde exhaled, glancing at her friend.

- Are you barefoot?

He snorted, smiling.

- You too.

Barbie rolled her eyes, smiling - it was useless to argue with this idiot. Yes, and there is no need.

- Where are we going?

He shrugged.

- I don't know. Where do you want to go?

- Can we go to the beach, - the blonde came closer, looking shrewdly into his eyes, - take a walk on the sand?

- Come on, - he swallowed nervously, seeing her face so close, - Let's go.

They were in the right place five minutes later. The couple held hands thoughtfully, just slapping their bare feet in the sand. They didn't say anything about it to each other. It was just nice to feel the palm of someone who was close and understood you so well.

They walked calmly along the beach, occasionally kicking each other's feet with giggles. Barbie smiled, suddenly pulling her friend forward, starting to run. The boy followed her, trying to keep up.

- Hey, ahaha, where are you going? -  Ken snorted as a feather suddenly flew into his face, then sneezed into his free hand, - Babs, wait!

- Let's run! - the girl quickly moved her legs, firmly grabbing the blonde by the hand, - Come on, move your buns!

She burst into a peal of laughter, and he caught it, catching her amusement.

Soon they stopped. The blonde was breathing hard, making her chest rise high. And the guy was no different. Both are red, breathless, and happy. The surfer put a hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes.

- So where did we run to?

- Where to? - she laughed, running a hand through his short hair, - Nowhere! I just wanted to run.

He chuckled, snorting. Nearby, music could be heard from the late-night restaurants located on the beach. He took her hands in his, looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

- Do you want to dance?

She smiled happily, nodding and placing her hands on his shoulders.

- I do.

Ken pulled the girl to his waist, starting to gently lead her in a slow dance. She rested her cheek on his collarbone, rocking with him. The lifeguard smiled, sighing in delight - the situation seemed too improbable.

The two of them, at night, on the beach, dancing, her head resting on his shoulder, and his arm around her waist. It seemed to him that it was just a very realistic dream.

So they stayed on the beach for quite a long time. They walked home in high spirits, satisfied and affectionate towards each other. When they reached the girl's house, the guy was about to hug her goodbye, not wanting to impose, but the blonde took his hand and pulled him into the backyard, and he did not dare to resist, surprised and delighted.

They lay down on the hammock that hung in the back yard and Roberts covered them with a blanket, warming up next to each other.

It was a little awkward at first.

- Look, - she pointed at the beautiful starry sky, - it's the Big Dipper, isn't it?

- Yes. And here, - he took her hand in his, moving her index finger slightly, - is the Ursa Minor.

Noticing a few falling stars, he whispered to her.

- Make a wish.

Barbie closed her eyes, mentally asking for something, and the blonde couldn't help but smile sweetly.

- So beautiful... - she sighed, looking up at the sky, then squeezed the guy's hand, - really?

- Really, - Ken said, though he wasn't looking up right now, - And you know what's even more beautiful?

She turned to him with interest, smiling.

- What?

- You, - he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then spoke again, blushing slightly, since it was not visible in the dark, - Your eyes. I see stars in them.

She smiled fondly, nuzzling his chest. He paused for a moment, looking sheepishly at the top of her friend's head, and then he put his arm around her and, meeting no resistance, laid his cheek on the top of Barbie's head.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, and the beautiful starry sky stretched out above them.