Title:  I Love you,  Chester B.
Author:  Nubiangeek
Summary:  The Phantom meets his match and his great love.
Rating: PG  - R (I haven't decided)

    Chester B. Kelly, Chet to his friends,  was also known as the Phantom especially to his co-worker John Gage.  In fact, to John Gage Chet was a pure nemesis.  Nothing was out of reach or sacred to the Phantom.  Well,  it was time that the Phantom got his due,  or so everybody thought.
    It all started when the Phantom played a prank on Joe Davis over at eighteen's.  He had his famous sister, known from other pranks, call Joe's wife and make a date.  Chet had received a punch in the nose for his trouble.  So,  the guy's at eighteen's and at fifty-one decided to get together and figure out what to do with Chet.
    "What is something that would really hurt Chet,  not physically of course,  although it did feel good to punch him out."  Joe was sort of rambling,  but the guys knew where he was coming from.
    "Well,  he's sort of self-conscious about his love life,  or the lack of a love life."  Johnny laughed as did a few of the others.  Roy was there,  but only by duress.  Even though Roy had also suffered at the hands of the Phantom,  he didn't want to do any kind of retaliation.
    "It will just make him angry and make him want to get us back."  Which,  in Roy's mind would just start everything all over again.
    "What if we got a girl to make a date with him and not show?"  someone suggested.  Some liked this idea,  some did not.
    "That's not good enough.  We have to make him really care about the girl before we end it."  That sounded a lot better.
    "I know a girl that's an actress.  We can get her to call Chet."  The plan was taking shape and it just might work.  Even though Roy was not part of the plan,  he was sworn to secrecy.
    
    The next shift all at fifty-one waited for the fateful phone call with bated breath.  When the call finally came,  each one had to bite their tongues and hold their mouths to keep from saying anything or laughing.
    Her name was Michelle and she called about two o'clock that afternoon.  She asked for someone who wasn't there and so,  she had the wrong number.  Everyone made sure that Chet was the one that answered the phone.
    "Who is this?"  The girl on the other end asked just as she had been instructed.
    "Uh - my name is Chet."  Chet was a bit annoyed and wanted to get off the phone - at first.
    "Oh,  I was just wondering.  You have a really nice voice."  Chet was surprised and then he turned on the Chet charm.
    "You think I have a nice voice, huh?  Well, you have a nice voice to - uh. . . "  He purposely paused so that she would have to fill in her name.
    "Michelle . . .my name is Michelle.  Say,  would you like to get dinner or something?"  Chet was again surprised.  He rarely got offers like this.
    "Sure,  I'd love to have dinner.  Uh - I'm a fireman so I have really strange hours.  Are you doing anything on Tuesday?"  They kept going through dates.  Of course,  the guys had Chet's schedule,  so it was easy for her to say that she was busy on the very days that he was free.
    "Well,  it looks like we won't be able to get together for a while.  We can talk on the phone though."  Chet was very anxious to meet her now.
    "Wait,  maybe I can get someone to switch.  What's your phone number.  I'll call you back if I can get someone to swap."  Chet got off the phone and immediately went to all of the guys to see if they would switch.  Of course,  the guys all knew that Chet would be doing that,  so they were prepared to say 'no'.  They even coerced Roy into saying 'no'.
      Chet called Michelle back that night.  He was really surprised when she answered the phone.  He had his own doubts about Michelle and thought that it was a trick,  too.
    "I'm sorry,  Michelle.  I tried to get someone to switch with me,  but I didn't have any luck."  He was really sorry,  because he was dying to meet Michelle.
     "Well,  like I said before,  we can talk on the phone until we're able to meet."
     After that,  she and Chet talked on the phone for  nearly an hour.  This really upset the other guys who were all expecting phone call themselves.
     They talked about all kinds of things.  They talked about their likes and dislikes.  He asked her what her job and what her hobbies were. It turned out that Michelle was an actress.  She decided not to lie about that.  She explained to Chet that she was waiting for her big break,  but was trying to be realistic about it.  She took odd jobs,  usually acting jobs while waiting for her big break.
    Of course,  Chet explained about being a fireman.  He explained that he had always wanted to be a fireman since he was a little kid.  He made Michelle laugh and before she knew it,  she was enjoying herself.
    When Captain Stanley finally made him get off the phone,  it seemed as if they knew each other forever.
    Meanwhile,  in the background,  the guys were laughing themselves silly.  This girl was really good,  they whispered to each other.  She was really stringing him along.  They were each looking forward to that magical moment when the trap was sprung.
    "She is one wonderful girl.  She's an actress,  you know.  She's probably gorgeous.  She's talented too."  Chet was just rattling on and on and the guys were loving it.
    "So Chet,  when do you get to meet this girl?"  Johnny thought that it was hilarious and so did the rest of the guys.
    "Well,  we're having trouble with our schedules for the next few weeks."   Johnny snickered.   
    "Oh, that's too bad.  Would be great to meet her."  The other guys were trying really hard not crack up.
     I have to meet her, Chet said to himself.  I just have to.
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    Chet thought about the things that they had talked about.  She was doing a commercial on one of Chet's days off.  Luckily for him,  Michelle was telling the truth.
    So, on his day off,  Chet paid very special attention to what he wore and made sure that his hair and mustache were just right.  Then,  he headed down to the studio where Michelle was filming.
    Michelle had not been told the specifics of what the firemen wanted her to do.  She did know that it had to do with playing a practical joke on someone.  They then told her the specifics like: make sure that she was busy when he wasn't. . . that sort of thing.  What the hey,  it was an acting job.  But,  what she didn't expect was for Chet to show up on the set of her commercial.
    "Hi, Michelle.  I'm Chet."  Michelle tried not to react too negatively when she saw him.  The truth was,  Chet had sounded kind of interesting on the phone and she would have loved to meet him,  but that was not part of the job.  But,  here was her chance to meet Chet .  She was really impressed that he had come all the way down here trying to find her.
    "Chet,  it's really great to meet you."  She was beautiful.  She had dark brown curly hair,  a gorgeous smile and eyes,  and a great figure.  Suddenly Chet was tongue-tied.
     "Uh - H-H-Hi I'm Chet. Oh, I said that.  U-m-m-m-m I wanted to see if I could see you today - maybe after you finish shooting your com-m-ercial."  He was very nervous and couldn't get his mouth to work right.  Michelle thought that it was cute.
    "I'd love to.  I'll be finished in just a few more minutes."  What was she doing?  But,  the more she analyzed it,  the more she saw that she wasn't actually breaking the contract.  They didn't actually say that she couldn't go out with him if he came looking for her.  She smiled deviously.
    They went out to dinner,  nothing fancy,  but they weren't really interested in the food.  They sat there for hours it seemed just talking.  It was not joke that Michelle thought that he was cute with his curly hair and mustache.  and once you got to know him,  when he wasn't so nervous,  he was very interesting.  
    When they left,  they walked along the tree-lined street still talking and laughing together.  When he took her back to her apartment that evening,  it suddenly occurred to both of them that they had been with each other since ten o'clock that morning.
     "I-I don't know what to say. . ."  All of the talking an joking was over.   Chet was serious now. He took her into his arms and kissed her before he could back out.  He kissed her deeply as his fingers sifted through her hair.  He smelled her perfume and thought that he was in heaven.  
     Michelle's first thought was that he was a very good kisser.  He put everything he had into that kiss and she could tell.  They slowly parted but continued looking into each other's eyes.
    "Wow!"  She finally said and that was all that was said because Chet couldn't even speak.
    Michelle unlocked the door and they both went inside.  They still couldn't speak,  so they continued kissing.  Chet could feel himself getting lost and started slowing down.  Michelle could feel him stopping and was wondering why he was.
     "What's the matter Chet?"  She asked shakily.  Chet didn't know,  he just knew that if he didn't stop,  he would be totally lost.
     "I just need a minute. . ."  was all he could say. They went into the living room and Chet sat down on the couch.  He kept thinking that things were happening way too fast.
     "Would you like some coffee?"  He nodded.  As Michelle went into the kitchen to get the coffee.  She analyzed her feelings.  She could really fall for this guy,  but something was wrong.  He was holding something back,  but she didn't know what it was.
    When she arrived back from the kitchen with the coffee,  she saw that Chet was lost in thought.
    "Do you want cream or sugar?"  she asked lightly.  Chet held up his hand to refuse both.
     "Chet, what's the matter?  You didn't want to kiss me?"  He could see that there were tears in her eyes and he realized that his actions have led her to believe that there was something wrong with her which was defiantly not his intention.
    "Michelle.  . ."  He took her into his arms and held her.  It felt good.
    "It  wasn't you - it was me.  I got scared of what I was feeling.  It was too soon."  She could see now that he was struggling with his feelings.  She smiled.
    "It's alright.  We'll just take things as they come.  No pressure."  She ran her fingers through his hair which made him shudder.
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      "Good morning,  gentlemen."  Chet was practically singing.  the other guys looked at him strangely.
     "Uh - how was your weekend,  Chet?"  Johnny asked incredulously.  The look on Chet's face told them that he was just waiting for them to ask him that question.
     "I had the most wonderful two days off that I've ever had in my life.  The girl that I met on the phone, Michelle,  we had the most wonderful time. . . "  The guys looked at one another with mouths wide opened.  
     "Are you saying that you went out with Michelle?"  Marco asked in disbelief.
     Chet looked at them suspiciously.  They usually acted strangely when they were jealous,  but this was something different.
      "Yes, I went to her commercial shoot and then we went to dinner and then we spend the night and next day together."  They were still looking at Chet in disbelief.
       Did Chet somehow figure out what they had done,  thought Johnny.  Or,  did Michelle break down and tell him what they had done.  They never actually told her that she couldn't.  Or,  could it be,  that Michelle really did like Chet?  Naw!
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     Michelle Saxon had just been to a modeling gig which was something that she did when there were no acting jobs.  Today's job was for a hand cream.  So, it was for her hands only,  but it was a job.  She didn't see the shadowy figure following down the street.
    She was happy - happier than she had been in a long time.  Chet was a wonderful guy.  He was much different than the guy that the other firemen that hired her had described.  She got the distinct feeling that these men didn't know him as well as they thought.  He was a very thoughtful and caring lover which made it hard for her to believe that he was the Phantom.  Although,  he did admit to being the Phantom,  she just attributed it to having a warped sense of humor.
     On her next date with him,  she would be fixing dinner for him.  She could hardly wait to see him again.  This was really strange for her,  these feelings that she was having.  She was no innocent.  She had had many lovers in the past.  Some were one night stands and others she had relationships with.  But,  Chet was different.  There was something different about him.
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    "Hey Joe,  that girl that you hired,  her and Kelly are going out together.  You said that it wouldn't get that far.  What's going on?"  Joe kind of hung her head and hemmed and hawed around.
     "Well,  she  - uh - quit.  she really does like Chet and doesn't want to hurt his feelings.  She gave us back the money that we gave her."  The others thought that it was really strange that this girl liked Chet.
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    "Hi, honey."  She said when she answered the door.  Chet kissed her.  He had missed her tremendously.  His feelings for her were still scaring him,  but he decided to just let it ride.  He was having too good a time.  
    Michelle wanted to tell him about the trick that his buddies played and how she had bowed out,  but she didn't feel as if it were her place to tell on his friends.  She hoped that it all would be forgotten.