I looked up from staring at my feet to see Shmoe standing in front of me, breathing heavy with his hands on his hips. "Hey Ryan." I smiled brightly. "Sup?" he grinned and jerked his head up slightly. "Just studying." "That's always fun." he chuckled, "Mind if I sit down?" "Not at all . . . sorry about that." I giggled and started to move my legs out of the way. "It's all good . . . I'll just have to sit on ya." We laughed, then he started to sit down, but waited until I moved my legs to plop down onto the cushion. "So, what are you up to?" I asked. "Taking my daily jog through campus . . . it's great. I love this place . . . it's beautiful." I just nodded in agreement. "This might sound like an awfully odd question, but is there something wrong?" I looked over at him, trying not to look surprised that he could tell . . . especially when I wasn't even thinking about my situation until then. "Nope . . . nothing at all . . . why would you think that?" I lied with a giggle. "I don't know . . . it's just . . . I don't know." he chuckled and shook his head slowly. We sat in silence for a few seconds. "I'm done with my jog, so I was wondering . . . if you're not too busy . . . would you like to go to lunch with me?" Shmoe broke the silence. "Well, I just ate with Dawn, but I'll keep ya company." "Great . . . you could always order a drink or dessert or something." he smiled.
I had a great time with him again, and he seemed to have been having fun too. Some of the things that Shmoe did, reminded me so much of Lance that I wanted to smack him! . . . but I controlled myself.
"We have to get this all straightened out before the concert tonight because otherwise, I won't be able to concentrate." Lance sighed as he buried his face in his hands. "Dude, just call her." Chris urged. "She'll just hang up on me . . . I should go up to the campus to talk to her." "You can't do that! You'll never make it back in time!" Chris laughed. "I don't care." "Call her." Chris held Lance's cell phone out to him. "Maybe you should try first . . ." "Call." Chris demanded. Lance sighed, took the phone, and dialed the number.
After Shmoe and I went our separate ways, I got back to studying. Just as I reopened my book, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway. "Hello?" "Turstle!" the voice exclaimed. "Steph!" I exclaimed back. "Hey honey, what's going on with you and the boys?" "Nothing, why?" "There's something going on." " . . . How did you find out?" "Dawnie called me, after Ashley called her, after Justin called her." I laughed, then explained all my thoughts on the matter. "Honey, they wouldn't do something like that to you. You're beautiful, and they know it!" "Thanks Steph, but . . ." "No, there are no buts about it! I love you, Ashley, Dawn, and Amber love you, and those five guys love you too! We could all see that at the meet-n-greet!" Everything was silent for a minute. "Time's up." I heard a man's voice on Stephanie's side of the connection. "Ok, I have to go now." "Alright . . . thanks a lot Steph . . . and I love ya too." I giggled. 'Maybe I should call them . . .'
"Busy signal." Lance sighed. Just then, the phone in his hand rang. "Hello?" "Um . . . hey." I said nervously. "I'm so glad you called!" "I just wanted to apologize for jumping to conclusions and getting mad and everything." "Hey, it's alright, I understand . . . and I . . . WE, are truly sorry that you can't come along . . . we really really wanted you to." "It's all good . . . it's just that my summer is gonna be sooo incredibly boring now." I giggled. He chuckled, relieved that everything was sorted out. We talked for a little while longer until I had to go to class and he had to practice.
April 21, 2003
Woo hoo! My birthday! Yeah . . . I got a call and a serenade from my men, NSYNC, Shmoe took me to dinner and a movie AND sang to me, and Ashley and Amber surprised me with cake and ice cream at their house, so I had fun.
May 4, 2003
Woo hoo! Lance's birthday! The best I could do was send him a card and give him a call . . . but he said that it made him very happy that I remembered, so that made me feel good.
August 6, 2003
Shmoe and I became better and better friends after that chilly day in January when he asked me to lunch. One day, we were feeding the ducks and fish at the [Spring Dam] in Roaring Spring, when Lance called my cell phone. He and the guys were going to have a week off and wanted me to go visit them again. This time it would be at JC's house, since they were going to be in California for that week. I agreed to it immediately and figured out all the arrangements. "Who was that?" Shmoe asked after I hung up the phone. I decided to finally explain the whole ‘meeting NSYNC' story to him. "You know, they could hook you up with a record deal . . . Lance has his own record company and I know he'd agree with me that you have some awesome talent. You could be the next Usher!" I giggled. "Hmm . . . thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stick to being a preacher . . . I'd be too stage-shy to be a singer." "Really? I thought you were always so confident on-stage . . . and you have to be in front of people to be a preacher!" "Yeah, but that's for God . . . when I'm singing a song about God on stage, I get so into it, I don't even know there are other people around. Any other time I'm on-stage, my shy side comes out. You're the one that should be a singer . . . you've got a beautiful voice." "Can't . . . people don't like fat singers." I giggled. "Oh, shut thy mouth." I giggled at his facial expression. "Besides, I suck." "Someday Crystal . . . someday." he sighed, then stood up and walked away slowly. Confused, I shrugged then followed him. We walked laps around the dam for hours, just talking, throwing bread into the water for the ducks and fish, and chasing squirrels. The sun finally started to sink behind the horizon, creating a rosy glow to the entire sky. "The sky is so beautiful." He smiled then laid down in the grass, looking up at the sky. "Yeah . . . I love watching the sunset." I agreed and sat down beside him. "So, are you dating any of the NSYNC guys?" he asked after a few moments of silence. "Um . . . well . . . not really." I answered unsurely. "Not really?" he chuckled, "So that's a no?" "I'm not really sure." I sighed, "I think I should get going now . . . my parents might be wondering where I am." I stood up and started to walk away. "Uh . . . ok . . . I'll call you tomorrow then." he replied sounding confused. "Bye!" I exclaimed, and picked up my pace.
August 8, 2003
"Are you SURE you don't wanna go along? You could always get a record deal to sing Christian music . . . " I pleaded with Shmoe. "I'm sure! Now get your butt moving before I make you stay here!" he chuckled. "I'll call you later, so be home!" "I won't have anything else to do without you, so I'll be home the whole week." "Aw . . . maybe I shouldn't go then . . ." "No! Get outta here!" he laughed, pushing me gently toward the walkway to the plane. "See you in a week then Ry." I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek then headed toward the plane entrance. I stopped and twirled back around quickly. "Later, love ya, kay-gotta-go-bye, and all that shutff!" we exclaimed in unison. " . . . for Hollywood, now departing." I could hear over the speakers the second Shmoe and I were done shouting. "Bye!" I exclaimed one last time, then jogged through the plane entrance.
I found my seat, threw my carry-on (my duffel bag; the only luggage I took with me) at my feet, and got comfortable for the ride. I began to close my eyes to take a little nap and the next thing I heard was, "Please enjoy your stay here, in Hollywood, California!" 'Wow . . . that was quick.' I yawned, stretched, grabbed my bag, and followed the other travelers through the short walkway, out into the terminal. I meandered through the crowds and finally got out the front doors. I looked for the limo the guys were supposed to send for me, but I didn't see any, so I stood at the edge of the sidewalk. A few minutes had passed when the limo pulled up in front of me and the back door opened. "Crystal!" Chris exclaimed as he jumped out of the back. "Chris!" He gave me a big hug as the rest of the guys quickly crawled out. "I didn't know you guys were gonna pick me up! I thought you were just sending the limo!" I squealed as I gave each of them a hug. "Well, surprise then." Lance chuckled.
We all got caught up on the way to JC's house, seeing that they hardly had any time to call me while they were touring. Even when they did get to call, it wasn't for very long because they were always so tired. They gave me the most interesting highlights from the tour, including the news on Lance's dancer. She was thinking about quitting because she hated being away from her fiancee so much. I told them about how Shmoe and I became great friends and . . . that's basically all that had happened so far that summer with me. 'Please don't be jealous, Lance.' "What about Ash? Why don't you hang out with her?" Lance asked. "She's always working." Justin answered for me with a sigh. "What about Amber, Dawn, Steph, and Rachel?" "Work and school, work and school, NAVY, and Rach disappeared. She doesn't talk to me anymore and I think she found a boyfriend, so I'm ancient history. Sheesh . . . I introduce them to their musical idols and then they all ditch me . . . how convenient." I giggled. "Oh . . ." Lance replied. "Well, that sucks!" Chris exclaimed. "Oh well . . . at least I have Ry to hang out and have fun with." I smiled. 'AUGH! Stupid, stupid, stupid!' I looked at Lance to check his reaction, but he looked like he was ok with it . . . especially when he saw that I was looking at him and he smiled at me.
JC's house is absolutely HUGE! I think it might be a little bit bigger than Lance's, but both houses are awesome. After I got settled in a guest room, Lance came in as I was shoving my duffle bag under the bed. "There's that cute butt again." he smiled and playfully smacked my butt with the back of his hand. I jumped up, startled at first, then turned to see him smiling. I giggled and gave him a hug. He immediately pulled me in to kiss him. "Wow, I've missed getting to do that." he smiled after we broke the kiss. "Me too." I smiled back, "Oh . . . I have something for you." "You do?" I opened the drawer in my night stand and pulled out two of my senior pictures. "I just thought I'd give these to you, since I have a million pictures of you and the rest of the guys from magazines and what-not and all you guys have of me are those goofy ones from the bowling alley." I giggled. "I like those pictures! They're cute." he chuckled, "Thanks for these though." He looked down, staring at the [top picture] for a minute, then looked back up at me. He repeated the process a few more times until I couldn't take it anymore. "What?" I giggled. "I don't know . . . you look . . . different." "Uh, yeah . . . that's because in the picture, I'm wearing make-up and contacts, my hair is fixed and down, and it's most likely airbrushed." "Well, you're beautiful either way, inside and out." he smiled, looking into my eyes. My face probably turned bright red . . . that's what it felt like anyway. "Thank-you." I giggled quietly. That's when he looked at the [second picture]. "Oh my gosh!" He cracked up laughing. "That was, surprisingly, my mother's idea." I giggled. I had an NSYNC pillow and mom had the idea that I should have my picture taken while holding it . . . so yeah, we got wallets of it because it turned out fairly well. "Very cute . . . you should give one to each of the other guys." he chuckled. I reached for the night stand drawer and pulled out four duplicates of each of the pictures I had just given Lance. We both laughed. "Chris will definitely get a kick out of that . . . and speaking of . . . I'm supposed to give you a message from him. ‘Put your bathing suit on and get your NSYNC lovin' butt down to the swimming pool.' . . . I think those were his exact words." He chuckled. "Alrighty." I giggled. "You mean . . . you're gonna swim with us?!" he exclaimed, surprised that I agreed to it right away. "Sure . . . it's not gonna kill me, right?" "Exactly!" He gave me a quick kiss then ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him. 'I guess that means I'm supposed to meet him down at the pool . . . if I can find it.' I giggled. After I had my bathing suit on and wrapped my towel around me, there was a knock at the door. "Hey, you ready?" Lance's voice came from the hall. I opened the door and smiled. He smiled back. "You know, you should wear shirts less often." I smiled as I looked down at his bare abs then giggled at my statement. "Thanks." he chuckled. "SEE! It's all your fault! When I start getting comfortable around people, they start to think I'm weird because that's when my true personality comes out." "You're not weird! . . . Ok, you ARE, but it's a GOOD kinda weird . . . the kind that I like." he grinned. I laughed, then followed him down stairs to the pool.
"Cannon ball!" Joey exclaimed as Lance and I walked down the concrete steps to reach the patio. "Tidal wave!" Chris shrieked, as he tried to run out of Joey's way, the water hindering his movement. "Did I splash you?!" Joey asked excitedly when he surfaced from the jump. Chris just glared at him as water trickled down his face. I walked up to the pool quickly, crouching down so I could reach the water, and splashed Chris. He turned around quickly, glaring in the general direction that the water came from. As soon as he saw that it was me, he smiled. "Crystal! Dork boy said that you probably wouldn't come swimming with us!" he exclaimed. "We told you she would!" JC said triumphantly. "Dork boy?" Lance laughed. I straightened back up and just stood there, taking in the surroundings. 'Great backyard you've got here Jace. It's complete with a barbeque and bar, volleyball slash tennis court, and an awesome swimming pool with a sliding board and diving board.' "Something wrong?" Justin asked as he approached me. "Nope, nothing at all . . . just looking around." I smiled. "Alright, good." Justin grinned slyly. He grabbed the top of my towel in the back and pulled on it as he pushed me with his other hand, sending me flailing into the water. As I surfaced, I was laughing and could hear the guys were doing the same. "That was mean!" I exclaimed with a giggle. "I can't believe you just did that, you jerk!" Lance scolded. He grabbed my towel out of Justin's hand and threw it on the ground, then shoved Justin into the water with all his strength. Justin did a front flip as he flew to the middle of the pool and landed on his back, splashing Chris and Joey. Everyone laughed again. I swam over to the edge, looking up at Lance. I held my hands up, making him think that I wanted help getting out. He reached down and gripped my hands. I immediately pulled him into the water, almost making him do a belly flop. "Yeah!" Chris exclaimed as he held his hand up for me to give him a high five. I smiled and dunked him instead. The rest of the guys laughed hysterically. I just smiled innocently. "Hey, where's Jace?" I barely got the question out when I saw movement from the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see JC flying down the slide and plunging into the water. I turned back away quickly enough to not get splashed in the face by JC's impact with the water. Chris then suggested water tag and the guys agreed, so I, of course, was dragged into it against my will. My signature move for the game was if I saw the person who was ‘it', swimming over to me, I would dive under the water, swim down to the bottom, and reemerge on the opposite side of the pool . . . and it worked great, because I was only tagged once . . . by Lance . . . and that's only because I didn't know who was ‘it', so I swam up behind Lance. "Who's it?" I whispered. He turned around quickly, startled. "Well, Crystal . . . " he whispered back, putting his hands on my shoulders, " . . . you are now." he grinned. It took me a second to figure it out. "That's not fair!" I whined with a giggle. He laughed and swam away quickly.
After things calmed down a little, I decided to take advantage of the whole situation and just be myself. My parents, and the rest of my family, always told me that I should have been a fish because when I went swimming all they ever saw of me was my feet. I would do handstands, flips, spins, and swim laps underwater, holding my breath as long as I could. Ok, so I can ACTUALLY say that I'm good at something!
"You act like you were born in water!" JC chuckled as everyone filed out of the pool. "Thanks . . . I think." I giggled as I wrapped my towel around me, "Swimming is the one thing that I can do well." "There's more than that." Joey retorted. "You're an awesome singer and a great listener." Lance stated. "You're great at that racing game." Chris smirked. "More importantly, you're good at being a friend." Justin smiled. "And we could keep naming things if you'd like." Lance grinned with a wink. "Thanks guys . . . but ya'll need to stop spoiling me!" I giggled. "That's just the thing . . . we WANT to spoil you!" Chris exclaimed. We all laughed and dropped the subject as we made our way back in to the house.
After I changed and brushed my wet hair, I grabbed something from my night stand. When I opened the door, JC was standing there with his fist in the air and his eyes wide. "You caught me mid-knock." he chuckled. "I just wanted to let you know that we're gonna have a little cook-out for my birthday and you're not invited, so you have to stay in here." JC stated solemnly then turned to leave. I was a little shocked at first but by the time he turned back around laughing, I had already realized he was joking. "Oh, well it looks like you just won't get this birthday card then." I shrugged, acting disappointed, and started to close the door. "Crystal! I was just kidding!" JC laughed. "I know . . . jerk." I giggled and smacked him with the envelope I had taken off my night stand. He took the card, thanked me, and started to open it, but I pulled him into the room and shut the door. "Ok, now go ahead." I smiled. He smiled back and pulled the card out. He immediately cracked up laughing. I had bought him a blank NSYNC card and wrote inside it. "Hey Jace, before you start reading, you have to promise me that you won't show anyone, ok?" He looked up to see that I was being serious. "I promise." he smiled then started reading. I had filled both sides of the card completely. I wrote something to the effect of ‘thanks for being an awesome first boyfriend', ‘you're one of the greatest guys I've ever met', ‘I hope we can stay friends for the rest of our lives', ‘watch out for the backwards flying bowling balls . . . shut up! hehe', ‘love ya bunches' . . . that kind of thing. By the time he was finished reading, he had a big, bright grin spread across his lips. He put the card down and gave me a big, long hug. JC let go and backed away with the same smile plastered on his handsome face. "Sorry I didn't get you a present . . . one, I don't have the money and two, what could I buy the guy who has everything?" I giggled and he chuckled along. "Not everything . . . there's ONE thing I would like from you for my birthday." "What's that?" I asked cautiously. He reached up and gently brushed a wet strand of hair from my cheek, tucking it behind my ear. "One . . . single . . . solitary . . . kiss." My heart skipped a beat. 'Uh . . . um . . . er . . . heh . . . Lance and I aren't official yet and it IS what Jace wants for his birthday . . . I guess it wouldn't hurt . . .' I just smiled in response. He smiled back then gently pressed his lips to mine. Well . . . wow . . . JC wins the award for best kisser! 'You sure you only wanted ONE kiss?' I thought, my heart pounding in my ears. Not saying a word, JC put his birthday card in his back pocket, smiled, then walked out the door. "Whooooo buddy!" I sighed, plopping down on the bed. I pursed my lips, still rather stunned by the kiss. 'What the . . .?' I pursed my lips again. 'I don't remember putting chap stick on . . .' I thought to myself, then giggled. 'Jace wears orange flavored chap stick . . . it made his lips really soft . . . and very kissable . . .' A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "It's open." I spoke up. Lance peeked his head in. "Hey." he smiled. "Hi! Come on in." I smiled back. He walked over to me and plopped down on the bed, lying on his back. "So, are you doing the cooking for the barbeque?" "Yup . . . Joey did the shopping, Justin's busy talking to Ash, it's FOR JC, and Chris can't cook or barbeque worth crap." I smiled, moving to lay on my side, then draped my arm over his chest and rested my head on his shoulder. I'm not the kind of girl to snuggle up to guys . . . it just felt right at the time. I turned my face upward to check Lance's reaction . . . he just smiled, so I smiled back. He put a finger gently under my chin, bringing my face toward his . . . he was going to kiss me . . . 'Whoa! Hold up!' I stopped and tensed up for a second. "Something wrong?" he asked with an adorably confused look on his face. 'Hello?! For one thing, I can't kiss you right now because then I'd be comparing your kissing to Jace's unsurpassable expertise and for another thing, it'd be like YOU kissing Jace because of me just kissing him and having HIS chap stick on my lips! That would just be wrong!' "Um . . . I think I may be coming down with a cold or something." I lied, then sniffled and lightly cleared my throat. "Oh, I understand." He smiled and kissed my forehead instead.
Later that evening, Lance and Joey cooked and barbequed for us six and the surprise guests: JC's mom and dad. JC was all excited that he got to see his parents and thanked the rest of the guys for flying them in. When the guys dispersed to finish preparing things, JC, of course, introduced me to his parents and lied to them, saying how great I was and everything. "So, this is your girlfriend?" Karen asked happily as she shook my hand in greeting. JC smiled nervously. "You didn't tell her, did you Jace?" I giggled. "Tell me what, Joshua?" his mother asked. "Tell you that . . . uh . . . um . . ." he searched for an answer, almost frantically. "That . . . I . . . got Crystal a promise ring!" He stuttered, then rambled quickly. His mother's eyes widened slightly and then she smiled brightly. "That's wonderful!" she cooed, "May I see it?" I looked at J.C., extremely confused. He grinned at me nervously and jerked his head toward his mother slightly, as if saying ‘Help me out here!'. Giving up on trying to figure out what was going on, I held up my left hand, showing her my ring finger on which I wore a gold ring with an emerald and diamonds that I had gotten from my mother for my sixteenth birthday. She asked all kinds of questions, like how we had met, what we did for our first date, and other details.
When JC's parents left, he and I sat on the living room couch to watch TV after taking a quick dip in the pool, as the rest of the guys continued to swim. I suddenly smacked him in the arm during a commercial. "Ow! What was that for?!" He rubbed his arm. "The thing with your mother!" "Oh . . . I'm really sorry about that. If I would have known she was coming, I would have given you a heads up. My mom has this obsession with hooking me up and telling her that we broke it off would send her on a girl hunt for me." "Does she really think that one of the best looking, most well-mannered men on earth . . . her son . . . YOU . . . would need help finding a great girl?" JC raised an eyebrow at me, then gave a sexy crooked smile. 'Jace, don't smile like that . . . steady girl, steady . . .' "Crystal . . . can we give us another try? I'm ready for it now." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear as he leaned toward me. 'AUGH! NO! Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance . . .' He pressed his soft, orange flavored lips against mine, before I could react . . . so I kissed him back. I wanted to share just one last amazing kiss with him. For that kiss, amazing was an understatement. As soon as I deciphered why it was even better than the first, I quickly pulled away. "I love Lance." I blurted out, frantically. He frowned and looked hurt. 'Why does he seem sad? Why isn't he happy that someone like him doesn't have to be stuck with someone like me?' "What I meant to say is that I love all of you guys. It's just that it's a different kind with Lance. I'm not good at this kind of thing. I've never even had a boyfriend before you and definitely have never had two guys want to date me at the same time. I don't know what . . ." "Crystal." JC interrupted my rambling and chuckled lightly, "It's ok." "This is all so new to me," I sighed, "I'm dating Lance now, Jace, and . . ." 'And I don't want to break his heart . . . well, THAT wouldn't happen . . . but it would break mine.' "I understand." "You do?" I asked hopefully. "Yeah." He chuckled then suddenly became serious again. He hesitated for a moment as if contemplating whether or not he should speak. "No matter what, Crystal, you'll always have a place in my heart." He reached for my hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart. I tensed . . . whether it was from the firmness of his muscles or the fact that it was a rather intimate gesture, I'm still not sure to this day. I couldn't get my voice to work. I jumped up and got out of there as quickly as possible, not looking back.
I paced in my bedroom as I listened to Justin's Justified CD. 'Oh Lordy. Why is JC doing this to me?! That kiss was better because he put more feeling into it . . . almost like he thought that it would convince me to date him again . . . more like he loved me . . . no. It's not possible.' I shook the thought from my head. 'Back in my teeny-bopper days, I loved Lance . . . Lance was my favorite. After I became an adult fan, Lance was still my dream man. I mean, of course I think that Justin has a perfect body and JC is absolutely sexy with those chiseled cheeks, beautiful blue eyes . . . I love them all! For some reason, I don't feel I would ever be able to think of Justin, Joey, and Chris as more than friends or brothers. For some reason, I don't feel I would ever be able to consider marrying JC. Why? Crystal, WHY do you feel this way?' "I don't know." I said out loud, "I JUST don't know." I shrugged my shoulders at my own question, then fell backwards onto the bed and sighed heavily. "What don't you know?" I was so startled at the sudden remark that I didn't even recognize the voice. I jerked my head toward the door and saw Lance, standing there dripping wet, still in his swimming trunks. "Good Lord, don't do that!" I giggled as I put my hand over my chest, trying to keep my heart from pounding right through it. He gave me a big, sweet smile. 'Now THAT is a comforting sight.' I simply had to smile back. When he didn't say anything for a minute, I became self-conscious. "So, what brings you here?" I attempted to be funny and it must have worked because he chuckled. "I just came up to see if you wanted to come swimming with us again." "Oh. No thanks." "You sure?" He tilted his head to side ever so slightly and got that ‘pleeeease?' look in his eyes. I fought the urge to ask if JC was going to be swimming and replied with, "Positive." "Is everything ok? You seem . . . I don't know . . . frazzled." 'And the award for the biggest understatement of the year goes to . . .' "All is fine and dandy." I plastered on a fake grin. He smiled back then left. My smile immediately faded as I let out another sigh and buried my face in my pillow. I suddenly yelled into the fluffy jade colored material. Feeling a little more relaxed, I did it again. 'Wow. That method really does work.' "Crystal?" This time I was so startled I fell right off the bed. I quickly got onto my knees and peeked up over the mattress to see Lance standing at the door again, this time with a towel draped over his shoulders. "Holy canoli! You're going to give me a heart attack before I turn twenty!" I laughed as I hoisted myself from the floor. He also cracked up. "Are you sure you're alright? Someone who is fine and dandy doesn't just start yelling into pillows." I blushed. "Um . . . well, when I figure out what the heck is going on, we'll talk about it. Deal?" I giggled. "Deal." He smiled. "I thought you were going swimming?" "And leave you up here all by yourself?" When I was about to protest, he continued. "I thought that I would be romantic and ask if you wanted to play a video game. Just you and me." "You know the way to a girl's heart." I laughed as I approached him. "Only yours." He smiled sweetly and kissed my cheek, making sure not to get up against me because of recently being in the pool. "And I plan to discover even more ways." 'Meeeelting.' "If you weren't wet, I would give you a big hug." I smiled at him adoringly. "Well, then I'll take a rain check on it." He winked. 'He's too cute!' I flashed him a big grin then threw my arms around his neck and gave him a big hug, despite the water. He hugged me back with a slight chuckle. 'Lance, I love you. A little water won't keep me from you . . . nothing will . . . and I mean that in a loving, non-stalker kind of way.'
