Joe lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Less than an hour had passed since Frank had left, and Joe couldn’t believe how much he was already missing him. With a heavy sigh, Joe got off his bed and went downstairs for something to munch on.

As he jumped down the last step, the phone rang.

“I got it,” Joe yelled out to no one in praticular.”Hello, Hardy residence.”

“Hey Joe! Did Frank get off okay?” said Biff Hooper, Joe’s best friend.

“Hey Biff, yeah he did. I sure hope Frank lets himself have some fun while he’s in New York.”

“I’m sure Callie can persuade him!”

Joe let out a small chuckle. Yeah, Callie could get Frank to do just about anything, he thought.

“Well, within reason, Biff. You know Frank.”

Now it was Biff’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, I called to see if you wanted to play a little one-on-one at the park?”

“Biff, you’re a lifesaver! I’ll meet you in twenty minutes!”

After hanging up, Joe found his mother in the kitchen. Letting her know that he would be at the park with Biff, he left soon afterwards.

*****

Biff and Joe sat under a tree trying to cool off; they had just finished shooting hoops.

“I can’t believe our summer vacation is almost over,” Biff stated a bit sadly.

“Yeah, this will be Frank’s last year, then he’s off to college.”

Biff noted the sadness in Joe’s voice; he reached out and patted his back.

“Sunday will be here soon enough, Joe.”

“I know, but if I’m missing Frank this much when he’s only going to be gone for a few days, how am I going to survive when he leaves for college? Don’t get me wrong, I really hope Frank wins this scholarship. And as much as I want Frank to stay here…”

“You also want him to have a chance at going to the best college,” Biff finished.

Joe could only smile as he sadly agreed with Biff.

“Biff, you don’t think I’m being selfish for wanting Frank to stay in Bayport, do you?”

“No Joe, if Frank were my older brother, I’d want him to stay too.”

The two friends sat quietly for awhile, each lost in his own thoughts. Biff smiled as he saw someone he knew would lift Joe’s spirits.

Vanessa Bender, her long ash-blonde hair blowing softly in the wind, came striding towards the two boys. She was carrying a small plastic grocery bag. Biff nudged Joe and pointed out Vanessa.

“Hello, gorgeous!” Joe said, a big grin on his face.

“Hello, handsome! Thought you two might like a drink.” Vanessa handed out two bottles of water which Joe and Biff took gratefully.

“Oh man, Bender, you are a lifesaver!” Biff took a long swig of his water.

“Thanks, sweetness! How did you know we were here?” Joe gave Vanessa a soft kiss on the lips.

“I called your house and your mom told me. I figured the way you and Biff play you could use some water.” Sitting next to Joe, Vanessa smiled sweetly at him.

“You going to the party Friday, Joe?” Biff asked after taking another drink of water.

“Yeah and I’m taking my favorite girl, too.” Joe put his arm around Vanessa’s shoulders.

“Have you met this guy, what’s his name…John?”

“No, but Phil seems to think he’s pretty cool.”

“I met him once,” replied Vanessa. “Mom and I were out shopping; we bumped into Mrs. Samuels. I thought he seemed kind of shy; he never said a word, just gave us a shy smile.”

Biff stood up to throw away his empty water bottle. “You know, this party is a great way to meet everyone at school. Plus now he won’t be known as ‘that new kid’.”

Joe and Vanessa agreed. Helping Vanessa up from the ground, Joe took her hand as the three teens left the park. Since Joe and Biff had walked to the park, Vanessa dropped Biff off at his home. They would meet later at the mall. Both Joe and Biff wanted to shower and change after their hard basketball game.

When Joe and Vanessa arrived at the Hardy home, they found the house empty. Joe walked into the kitchen to see if his mother had left him a note.

“Looks like Mom and Dad went food shopping. Aunt Gertrude is visiting a sick friend who’s in the hospital.”

Noting Joe’s worried look, Vanessa gently touched his arm.

“What’s wrong, Joe?”

“Well…I was counting on Mom to keep you company while I took a quick shower. I don’t want to leave you alone, but I definitely want to take a shower.”

Vanessa giggled. “Yes, you do reek.”

“Hey! I thought you liked my manly smell.”

Vanessa giggled some more as she pushed Joe towards the stairs.

“Go take your shower, I’ll be fine. I’ll just wait in the living room and watch some television.”

“Okay, it’ll only take me twenty minutes max.”

True to his word, twenty minutes later Joe came bounding down the stairs. He plopped himself down on the sofa next to Vanessa.

“Ahh! Joe, your hair’s still wet!” Vanessa squeaked.

“First you say I stink, now you tell me I’m all wet! Why you…”

Vanessa let out another scream as Joe began to tickle her. Trying to squirm away from Joe caused Vanessa’s shirt to scrunch up, exposing her stomach. Joe continued to tickle Vanessa, he was playfully hitting her hand away when his hand brushed against her breast. Both Joe and Vanessa let a shocked gasp. That’s when Joe noticed how high Vanessa’s shirt had risen up.

Vanessa stared up at Joe as she tried to catch her breath. She wanted to let Joe know it was okay, accidents happen.

As Joe gazed down at Vanessa, her hair spread out on the sofa, he thought that she had never looked so beautiful.

The room seemed so quiet; the only sound that could be heard was the low murmur of the television and heavy breathing coming from the two teens.

Before they knew what was happening, they kissed.

*****

Fenton and Laura Hardy had just arrived home, when Biff Hooper came walking up the front lawn. Biff hurried over as he saw Mrs. Hardy hand a grocery bag to Mr. Hardy.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, let me help you with those.”

Biff proceeded to grab four bags, holding two bag handles in each hand. It didn’t go by unnoticed by the Hardys that Biff had taken the heaviest bags.

“Thank you, Biff.” Laura Hardy smiled gratefully.

Mumbling a reply with a shy smile, Biff started to walk towards the front door. Next to his mother, Biff had always thought that Laura Hardy was the prettiest mom around.

“I remember when you used to carry four bags at a time, ” Laura said to her husband, with a playful smile.

“Laura, if you’ll notice, I’m not seventeen anymore.”

“True, but you’re also not old and decrepit either,” she replied while gazing appreciatively at Fenton’s still-fit form.

Noting the expression on his wife’s face, Fenton feigned a shocked look.

“Why Mrs. Hardy, are you trying to seduce me?”

Closing the car trunk, Laura smiled slyly. “Maybe.”

As Biff waited at the front door, he wondered what was taking Joe so long. He was about to ring the doorbell again when the door was flung open. Taking in Joe’s appearance, Biff pushed ahead.

“Let me take a couple of those bags, Biff.”

“Later, right now you need to fix your shirt!”

“Fix my shirt? What’s wrong with my shirt?”

“Well for one thing, it’s inside out! Your hair’s a mess and your face is flushed! Just exactly what were you and Vanessa doing?”

Joe looked down and indeed his shirt was turned inside out. He quickly took it off and put it back on the right way.

“Where is Vanessa, anyway? I hope she looks better than you did.”

“She ran to the bathroom. Is my hair really a mess?”

“Hi honey! Where’s your aunt?” Laura gave Joe a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for helping with the groceries, Biff.”

“Joe, is that Vanessa’s car parked out front?” Fenton asked as he set his bags down on the counter.

“Yes, she’s freshening up in the guest bathroom. And Aunt G left a note saying she was visiting a sick friend at the hospital.”

“Oh that’s right, Mrs. Warner; Gertrude told me she was having trouble with her kidneys. Gertrude left a note, you said?”

Joe nodded his head as he took a bite of an apple he had dug out of one the bags. Laura sighed when she saw Joe digging for food.

“Joe, I know you’re a growing boy and you need nourishment. But could you please let this last for at least a day?”

“Oh, sorry Mom.” Joe grinned sheepishly.

“Are you two hungry? I can fix you a snack.”

“No need, Mrs. Hardy. We’re going to the mall to have some pizza at Prito’s.”

Vanessa came into the kitchen; she greeted Mr. and Mrs. Hardy. Biff noticed that her hair was now pulled back and that her cheeks were slightly flushed pink.

As they got into Vanessa’s car, Biff put a hand on their shoulders.

“I hope you two know what you’re getting yourselves into. And I hope you have protection.”

“You told him!” Vanessa squeaked.

“No! I put my shirt on inside out and he guessed,” Joe replied with some embarrassment. “Nothing happened, Biff, we stopped before anything got out of hand. Then a second later you’re ringing the doorbell.”

“Good - and I don’t mean to be lecturing you or anything. I just don’t want you two becoming a statistic.”

Biff gave each shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Smiling wickedly. “Although, I sure would like to know what happened!”

“Joe, throw him out of the car!” Vanessa screamed.

“I don’t kiss and tell.” Joe said.

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.