CHAPTER 5

"So what do you have planned for today?"

"Oh, nothing," Lance replied. "Just something to absolutely knock Ayla's socks off."

Justin chuckled. "I can't imagine what that would be. What'd you do? Buy her a beach?"

"Well, maybe," Lance said, looking up at Justin guiltly.

Justin's eyes widened. "I don't believe you."

"You don't have to. As long as Ayla enjoys it," he paused. "And I'm sure she will."

"Do you think they remember what today is?" Justin asked suddenly.

"Of course they do. They're women." Lance replied. "They're just testing us to see if we remember."

"How could we forget the first day we met them? It was the best night of our lives."

"Yeah," Lance sighed. "You're definetly right about that. What are you doing for Zoe, by the way?"

Justin grinned. "Well, I convinced Ayla to take her shopping for the day, before they came over here....." he trailed off, the grin getting larger across his face.

"You did something to their apartment, didn't you?"

"Maybe..." Justin said, not giving any details. "Are you going to tell her about the tour tonight?"

"No," Lance paused. " Not tonight."

"That's what I was thinking. I don't want anything to ruin tonight."

"Well, I hope it works out for you man," Lance said.

"You too." Justin turned as there was a knock on the door. "Here it goes," Justin sighed, glancing at Lance and taking a deep breath. "Let's do this right."

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"Where on Earth are you taking me, Lance?" Ayla cried. She had been sitting in a pontune boat for about an hour and she was getting kind of restless. "Are we ever getting out of this boat?"

"Yes, darling," Lance said, smiling. "There's just a little farther to go."

They had left the main island of the Florida Keys and headed East. The sun was only going to be up for about another hour and a half and Lance wanted to make sure they had enough time to set up before sunset.

"See that up there?" he called back to Ayla. Ayla stood and walked to the front of the boat to look in the direction Lance was pointing. She saw the dim outline of land.

"What is it?"

"Our stop," Lance grinned, kissing her on the cheek. The boat pulled up to the rickety dock on the island about half an hour later. Lance went down into the hold of the boat and brought out a large covered basket. Ayla watched him curiously.

"Would you mind telling me where we are?"

Lance stepped out of the boat and held his hand out to help Ayla down. "Heaven," he replied, winking suspiciously. "And you are the angel."

Ayla laughed. "You so know how to sweet talk me," she chided playfully as they walked along the beach. She wasn't sure where they were going but she knew she was going to like it.

"I think here is good," Lance said, putting the basket down and twirling Ayla around to kiss her. When they finally separated, Lance laid the basket out in front of her. Unfolding the towel, he displayed a wide variety of food, from breads and wines, to meat and vegetables.

"Where did you get all this?" Ayla cried. "How do you expect us to eat all this?"

"I don't," Lance laughed. "But you can never be to prepared."

Ayla laughed as they began to eat. How did I ever end up with someone so wonderful? She questioned herself. I never want this to end.

She is completely amazing. Lance thought, watching her look around the island. I'm not going to ever let her go.

"So are you ever going to tell me what we're doing here?" Ayla asked as they finished their meal. They still had massive leftovers.

"We are here to celebrate the two month anniversary of the first day we met."

"You remembered!!" Ayla exclaimed.

"Of course," Lance said. "How about we go for a swim?"

"Sounds good to me.

He picked her up and carried her into the ocean, wearing all her clothes. He stood her up and kissed her passionately. A few minutes later, they broke apart. Ayla looked down at her clothes.

"Lance, I'm drenched!" she cried, wringing out the bottom of her shirt.

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry," he shrugged.

They both turned to watch the sun set where the ocean seemed to meet the sky. Oranges, purples, pinks, and reds painted a scene they would remember forever.

Later that night, when the stars had completely covered the heavens, Ayla lay sleeping in Lance's arms, underneath the cover of the boat.

I want to have so many more moments like this, Lance thought to himself. Leaving is going to be the hardest part. "I love you," he whispered, remembering the look on Ayla's face when he had said it earlier. He watched Ayla as she slept, then slowly drifted off, sleeping to the rhythmic beating of her heart.

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"Justin, would you please, please, tell me what the hell is going on?" Zoe pleaded. She was sitting in the passenger seat of Justin's Mercedes with a blindfold tied around her eyes.

"Nope," Justin answered. "Not gonna. It's a suprise."

Zoe groaned. She was starting to feel a little disoriented when the van finally came to a stop.

"Here we are," Justin called, getting out of the van.

"Where is here?" Zoe asked, not really expecting an answer. Justin came around to her side and helped her out of the car. "Are you going to take this thing off me now?"

"No..." Justin said with a laugh. "I will when it's time." He led her through a door and down a hall. Carting her onto an elevator, Zoe's stomach lurched as it slowly started the ascent upward. She fell against Justin to brace herself.

"I hate elevators," Zoe complained as she leaned against him.

"I know," Justin laughed again, as he put his arms around her and pulled her tighter to him. The elevator came to a screeching halt and Justin lead Zoe through another hallway. They came to a stop and Zoe heard the sound of a key in a bolt and a door open. Thank God Ayla let me have her key, Justin thought to himself. He pulled Zoe into the room. Still not being able to see, Zoe relied on her other senses to get a feel for where she was. The room had the strong aroma of a floral shop.

"Justin, where are we?"

"The most wonderful place on Earth," he replied as he pulled her blindfold off. Zoe had to blink a few times to adjust her eyes to the light. Looking around, she realized she was in her own apartment. But the apartment had turned into her own personal Garden of Eden. Everywhere she looked there were different color roses: peach, yellow, lavender, red, white........She didn't know where one rose stopped and another began. Mixed into the roses were bursts of baby's breath and softly lit candles.

"Justin....." Zoe whispered, not knowing what to say. She turned and looked him directly in the eyes. "What on Earth......?"

"Ssshhh," he said, pressing a finger to her lips. "I met you for the first time exactly two months ago today. If I had known then, what I know now, you would've gotten this kind of reception that first night. You have made my world a wonderful place. It's hard for me to think now what it would be like without you. And frankly, I don't want to." He stopped for a moment, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes. "I realize now what I should have said the first time I saw you. I love you." He reached up and wiped the tear that was trickling slowly down Zoe's cheek.

"I love you too," she whispered, kissing him slowly. After they parted, Justin grabbed her hand and led her around the mountains of flowers to a candlelit picnic in her living room.

Coming Around Full Circle