Chris and Felesia sat on the sandy bay of a beach enjoying the salty mist of the ocean being carried to them by the soft ginger breeze. The sunset was rich with diferent shades of pinks, purples and oranges and the only sound they could hear was the water lapping against the shore and a few distant birds. Normally Felesia would have enjoyed the settings immensely, but the guilt tugging at her heart wouldn’t allow her to.

"Chris..." She said with a sigh as she turned around to face her loving boyfriend.

"Yeah, baby?" He asked as he reached out for her hand. She pulled it back just as he reached her. He gave her a puzzled, hurt look.

"Chris, I can’t see you anymore..." She said with a sigh.

"What? Why?" Chris asked not expecting the blow at all.

"Chris I never get to see you anymore. Every time you go on tour it’s like I’m saying bye to you forever. I don’t know if you’re going to fall in love with some girl you meet on the road...and I am always so sad and depressed while you’re gone. I need you here. With me. But in order for that to happen you would have to give up your dream. That’s not fair to you. I can’t do this anymore, Chris. I love you and I always will but we can’t be together. I’m sorry." She said sorrowfully before standing up.

"Baby no..." He said as he stood up and grabbed her arm. "Don’t go. Please don’t go."

"Chris, I have to...don’t make this harder than it already is..." Felesia said as a tear rolled down her cheek. He tenderly placed his hands around her face and wiped the tear away.

"Gypsie..." He called her by her nickname. He always thought she looked like Esmerelda off of the Disney version of the Hunchback Of Notre Dame. "...we were supposed to be together... forever... remember?"

"I have to go...." She said after a minute of thinking. She gave him one last kiss before turning and walking off into the distance, her hair blowing in the breeze.

"Fine!" He called angrily after her. "Get out of here! I don’t need you! You never loved me anyways! All of the sudden you just throw my career in my face? Or are you just jealous because I HAVE a career?" She stopped and turned around for one last look, then kept on going. He fell to his knees in the sand and burried his face in his hand.

Felicia jerked the door of her rust bucket car open and sat blindly inside, still crying. Her mind drifted back over the years they had been together. It would be three years this August.

Flashback

"FESHA! Push me!" six-year-old Jamal screamed gleefully, running to the small swingset Felicia had worked up the funding for. She quickly tyed the shoe of another child she was in charge of at the small daycare she worked at and pat him his behind to send him off running to his mother, who had just come to pick him up. Jamal was all that was left.

"Wait until I get over there, Jamal. Did Mommy say anyyhing about being late tonight when she dropped you off this morning?" Felicia simled warmly after checking her watch and getting up to join Jamal by the swings before he died from anticipation.

"No. Help me up in the swing!" Jamal answered then changed the subject, holding one of the long chains of the swing still.

"Yes, Master. What have I told you about ordering everyone around?" she scolded, helping the small boy into the seat and strapping the safety bar into place around him.

"Don't do it. Okay. I'm sorry, ma'am," he immediately backed down.

"That's what I thought," Felesia smiled warmly, pushing the child higher into the wind and wishing his mother would hurry up. Twenty minutes later, Jamal's mother, Mrs. Marlowe, drove up. Jamal was so excited that he didn't wait for Felesia to slow the swing down, much less stop it before taking a giant leap from it to the ground, a sand pit. This was a giant mistake. Rolling onto his back and holding his knee, Jamal hollered in agony and began crying. Immediately Felesia was at his side. Felesia carried a small package of First Aid supplies for such an emergency.

"Make it stop! I want my Mommy!" Jamal sobbed, tears streaming down his face. Without saying anything, Felesia patched up Jamal's scraped knee and hugged the boy.

"There we go. Your mom's coming, Little Man," Felesia soothed the now hiccuping child until his mother was able to run over and collect Jamal to leave. Felesia was left alone in the Playground, or so she thought.

Looking around to make sure nobody had left any coats in the playground, Felesia spotted a small jean jacket, near the giant slide, that belonged to one of the girls in her program. Laughing to herself, she quickly walked over and picked it up. Standing back up, she noticed a dark figure a few feet from where she stood. 'Where'd that freak come from?' she thought, watching him, watching her. He had a pathetic diguise on, a long black beard, dark glasses, and a ankle length brown trench coat. 'I better chase him away. Can't have him hanging around and maybe scaring the kids,' she continued in her head, straightening her back, squaring her shoulders and approaching the man. "Can I help you? This is private property, you know," she began as she came closer to him. Despite the beard and glasses and trenchcoat, Felesia could tell this guy was a few years younger than her, mid or late twenties. He was average height, not very spectacular at all.

"I certainly hope you can help me. I'm new around here and I was looking for a place to send my daughter," the strange man in the disguise seemed to come up with this excuse too easily. He started to approach Felesia and seeing as she thought they were alone and she was getting a weird vibe from this guy, she attacked him when he was close enough. He didn't hit back or anything just held on to his disguise to shield his identity from her. "Hey! You can stop hitting now, Psycho," he laughed through the berage of fists flying at him.

"I'm the psycho? Who's the one making up lies about a daughter and wearing disguises, lurking around a playground full of little kids?" she continued to rain punches down on him. His beard and hat finally fell as he stood and wrapped his arms around her to control her. She was at least four inches taller than him. This made for a comical sight.

As he turned her to look at him when she calmed down, four accomplises came out of hiding. "Chris, you can't have this one to yourself! She's too tall for you anyway," one of the voices called. Once again, Felesia was alarmed. As they came closer, she got her first good look at the man behind the disquises.

Looking around at the gathering group of young men, Felesia had had enough. "Look, whoever you are, whatever sick notions you have... you can just forget them. And I'm not too tall for him. I'm only 6'0!" she snapped at the man with the red hair who had made both comments. The man, who's name was aparently 'Chris' was about 5'9 and handsome as the devil, seemed to perk up with her last words. He had removed his arms from around her... She was greatly disappointed by this but hoped she didn't show it.

End Flashback

Chris walked inside slowly and sat down heavily onto the couch. He couldn’t believe that she was gone. Wanting to get her off his mind and with nothingelse to do, he grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV on.

"Okay never mind...TV’s out..." He said angrily as he noticed that the only thing that was on other than late night cooking shows and infomircials were romance shows. He walked back to his room and thudded down on his beautiful water bed. His eyes were wondering around his room when as a tear re-formed in his eye, he saw the teddy bear that she gave him for Valentines Day.

Flashback

"Okay...what else...I got her roses...chocolate...a card....a heart shaped pillow...what else?" Chris asked himself nervously as he paced around his room. He had had many Valentine's before, but none meant as much to him as Felesia. He gave a sideways glance at the clock and saw that she would be there any minute. His heart began to race. The doorbell rang and he jumped with start. He quickly ran to the door, quickly giving himself one last look-over in the full-sized mirror before opening the door with a smile.

"Hey baby..." She said with a smile. She was holding a brown stuffed bear that was holding a sliky, red heart with lace around the edges. "This is for you..."

"Thank you...but you didn’t have to get me this..." He said with a smile. None of his other valentine's had. "Why did you?"

"Because..." She said with a smile as she grabbed his hand in hers. "I love you." That was the first time those words left her lips. They hadn’t told each other their feelings yet and neither one had been more sure about it than then.

"I love you, too."

"So...I went to the grocery store and got groceries so we can make cookies..." she said after what seemed like an eternity of silence as they lovingly stared into each other’s eyes. He moved to the side so that she could get into his house and shut the door after her.

"Oh, wait before we start..." He said as she sat the groceries on the counter. "I’ll be right back..." And with that, he ran into the hallway and out of sight.

"Okay..." She said as she lifted her eyebrow and sat down on the cough. Within moments, Chris was walking into the living room to her with a armload of Valentines gifts. "Oh... my... God, Chris..." She said, smiling.

"I wasn’t sure what else to get..."

"Geez what else could you get?" She asked with a smile. "Thank you baby..." she said as she stood up and gave him a passionate kiss. "Okay...so...cookies."

"Right...what kind are we making?" He asked as he followed her over to the kitchen.

"Your favorite. Chocolate Chip." She said as she pulled a bad of Hershey’s Mini Kisses out of the bag.

"Goody!" He said and jumped up and down, clapping his hands like a little boy.

"Alright, Shortcake...let’s get baking..." She said as she started taking the rest of the stuff out of the bag. She called him ‘Shortcake’ as a joking nickname making fun of him for being 3 inches shorter than her. The two began mixing the ingredients when she suggested he put up Valentines day decorations.

"Wait wait wait...you want me to put up frilly hearts in my manly crib?" He asked with a laugh.

"Oh, come on...it’s Valentines day. Pleeeease?" She asked as she stuck her lip out and acted like a 2 year old.

"Not happening babe..." He said as if it were final...but he knew better.

"You are putting up decorations, young man..." She said. She meant for it to be a joke, but she said it very rudely accidently.

"Well maybe YOU’RE the one who needs the decoration..." He said.

"What?" She asked as she turned to face him. Just as she turned her head toward him, a handfull of flour was flying her way. It landed directly on her face and she puffed a cloud of white dust. Chris fell on the floor laughing.

"Gypsie... you... look... hilarious!" He said between laughes, rolling around.

She stood there with her one hand on her hip and the other on the counter, just waiting for him to stop laughing. When he finally did, he lay on his back, looking at her breathing heavily from laughing so hard.

"Think that was funny?" She asked. He nodded, trying not to go into another laughing spurt. Before he knew what was coming, She poured the whole bowl of melted butter on his face and hair. He immediatly got up and she threw a handfull of flour in his face. It stuck to the butter and made a horrible mess. "Now that’s funny..."

A war cry left his throat as he dig his hand in the batter and tangeling it through her hair and smearing it all over her face. Then he grabbed a handfull of partially melted chocolate chips from the heat and shoved them down her shirt.

"Oh MY GOD!" She screamed and jumped on top of him, sending them both to the ground, laughing. She grabbed the batter and whatever she could and brought it down with her. She grabbed a raw egg, put it in his shirt, took her hand out and smooshed it. He screamed because the ooz was so cold from being in the fridge and took revenge by rolling on top of her and throwing sugar all over her. They got into a huge food fight on the floor until there was no food left and they rolled over, laying on their backs, laughing and covered in food.

"Happy Valentine’s day baby..." Chris said as he turned his head so that it faced her. " I love you."

"I love you, too. Forever." She said with a smile as she leaned her head over and gave him a kiss as passionate as the one before.

End Flashback

"Felesia..." Chris said before rolling over in his bed, cuddling into the pillow, crying.

Stepping out of the shower, Felesia's mind was still on Chris. She had stopped crying, for the moment. Slipping on the Steelers Jersey she had stolen from his house a couple months back she recalled her thirty-first birthday.

Flashback

"I can't believe you got the day off! What are we gonna do? Just hang out at my place?" Felesia asked, when he showed up at the school that she was working at that year.

"Neither can I. But I'm not allowing you to sit around and do nothing. I'm showing you off, old woman," he smiled over at her as they exited the school and went to his car. She rode the bus that morning because her lemon of a car was on the fritz again.

"How come that scares me? 'Showing me off'? Chris, I can't do anything to wild. I have to work tomorrow, Shortcake," she tried to weasel out of doing what he had in mind. She had come to realize his ideas were always outlandish.

"Because you know me well. I'll have you back in time for work. You won't have a hang-over -- Scout's Honor," he smirked, approaching her little home on the outskirts of town. He was going to ransack her closets for something for her to wear that night. He parked in her driveway and ran around to the other door for her. Silently, they walked into the small four room Colonial.

Felesia didn't believe her eyes. Apparently, Chris had come by her place after she left. There were Red, White, Pink, and Purple Roses in little trails. Along with Daisies and Blue wildflowers, which were in bowls and pots around the front room. "I'm not gonna ask how you got in my house, Shorty. I love it" she grinned, wrapping her arms around him and surveying the beautiful flowers.

I hoped you would..." He said with a smile. "...but anyway...it’s time to go through your clothes." He said as he walked away from her and down a hallway that lead to her room.

"My clothes?" She asked curiously as she ran to catch up with him. When she got into her room, Chris was already flipping through the items hung in her closet.

"Is this all the clothes you have?" He asked as he looked over at her. She nodded, still confused as to what he was doing. "Well then we have a stop to make..."

"Wow...for once you want to go shopping at the mall with me...this needs to be a national holiday." She said with a smile as they walked into a store that had all sorts of women’s clothing.

"This is a business trip." He said with a smile as he grabbed her hand.

"Really? And what business are we shopping for?" She asked as she began looking through some clothes on the rack that was closest to her.

"Club Boss..." He said with a grin.

"Aha...so we’re going clubbing?" She asked as she began looking through another rack of clothes that contained the conservative clothing she was used to wearing.

"Yeah...and you, missy, are for once going to forget that you’re a pre-school teacher and are going to wear something that makes you feel sexy." He said with a smile as he led her to another rack with less conservative clothing on it.

"Hey Shorty I teach 2nd grade..." She said with a smile. "...and 2nd grade teachers aren’t supposed to feel sexy so give it up."

"Can I help you find anything?" A lady who worked there asked with a smile.

"No, we’re just looking thanks." Felesia answered with a smile. The lady nodded and walked back to the counter.

"Oh come on baby...it’s just one night in the club...one night. It’s not going to kill you to wear something that’s...." Chris said trying to find the right word.

"Slutty?" She volunteered, raising an eyebrow.

"No...just something that’s more...this." He said as he pulled a shirt off of the rack with a smile. It was a red leather tank top with shimmery diamond studs all over it.

"Fine...one time mister but that’s it..." She said as she grabbed his hand and they began looking around for something for her to wear.

"Hey what about this?" He asked as he held up a black leather tube top that was very tiny and a red leather skirt that was no bigger than a belt.

"Two words. Hell no." She said as she shook her head and went back to flipping through the rack. Finally they decided on a bright pink silky tank top that showed her stomach and had "I like boys" written across the chest in diamond studs and a black pleather skirt that went down to her knees, but the bottem was slanted and pink beads dangled at the end. They decided on buying pink, shiny platform shoes and a small, black, fuzzy purse to complete the outfit.

"Wow. Nine already! Well, Hotpants, shall we get this show on the road?" Felesia greeted Chris after getting the outfit he had picked out back on and piled half of her thick curly hair on top of her head, letting the rest down her back. Chris had gone home to get ready, coming back to pick her up. He wore black leather pants and a suede muscle shirt under a blue sport jacket.

"Let's get this party started. You look... wow," he smiled, holding her front door and locking it for her when she was on her porch.

"Thanks. We do clean up nice, don't we? Thanks," she returned, sitting in the passebger side of his car while he held the door for her. Half an hour later, they pulled onto the main strip that the hottest clubs the city had to offer. He parked his car in a parking deck and they walked a block to get to Club Boss.

"You like this. Admit it!" Chris teased, watching Felesia's face light up as she looked around at all the clubs and nightlife she had been missing out on her entire life.

"We'll see, Christopher," she smirked, pinching his arm as they approached the front door and the crowd parted for them when the bouncer let them walk passed the crowd and into the loud, smokey club.

After getting a couple beers and sitting down in VIP room, a familiar song exploded through the speakers. "Hey don't I know this song?... New Kids on the Block or NSYNC or something?" Felesia smiled, setting down her beer and getting up to dance to the remix of It's Gonna Be Me.

"You're so not good at that. This is how it goes, amateuer," Chris chuckled, getting up to dance beside her, taking his beer with him. Pretty soon the Choreography he had been trying to teach her was forgotten as they became wrapped up in the moment. His eyes burned into her soul, it seemed, as they drifted closer together and began dancing in an almost lewd fashion.

With the song coming to a close, Felesia was bent backwards with him holding her by the waist so she stood up right and took his beer from him, taking a swig and moving back to their table. "I never had the nerve to dance at all in public, let alone like that... Do you like what you bring out of me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're a natural at this," he returned, finishing her beer.

Three hours later at one in the morning, Chris made Felesia leave. "What happened to 'I got work tomorrow, young lady?" he scolded, ushering her out the door and to his car.

"You're right. And, yes, before you make me say it, I had lot of fun tonight. You make me feel like a kid again. Not some thirty-one year old nobody. Thanks," she conceded, resting her hand on his knee and watching the world go by as he drove her home.

"Gypsie... Hey, girl. Do you plan to live in my car? We're here, Sleepy. Wake up,"Chris gently shook her shoulder to rouse her sleeping form. She was slouched against her door, sound asleep. Giving up, he left his seat and opened her door for her, catching her by the shoulders before she fell to the ground.

"Wha?... Hey, Chris. Sorry. I'm awake now," She mumbled, waking up as he turned to carry her on his back.

"I'm carrying you now so ya might as well get comfy. Don't get used to it," he teased, approaching her front steps.

"Ah. Come on. You don't like being a slave?" Felesia smiled, ruffling his hair then wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. He set her on her feet when they got to her steps.

"That might not be a bad thing with you as a master... I'm going to stop now before my mind takes me too far into the gutter," his face darkened at the thought, his eyes twinkling evilly. Felesia smiled slightly then tried her best to look stern, pretending she were about to scold one of her students, but ended up letting a throaty laugh escape her lips and punching him lightly in the chest. They stood close together, neither wanting to leave. He took her hand in his and held it to his heart. "Did you really have a good time tonight or were you just trying to make me feel better?" he asked in an basrely audible whisper.

"Shut up and kiss me," she answered, bringing her face down to his. Her arms were still around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Yes, Ma'am," he smiled, leaning up, less than an inch from her mouth.

"This is weird," she tried not to laugh, but didn't succeed.

Groaning, he stepped backward on to the third step from the bottom, took her in his arms, asking "Is this better?"

"Even weirder," she apologized, pulling him off the step and looking deep into his eyes. She saw more love than she ever thought could exist in anyone. He finally kissed her. They stood at her door for what seemed like an eternity.

End Flashback

Felesia's eyes were brimming with tears. Her lips still felt and tasted his kiss. Felesia woke herself out of her memories. She looked up into the mirror, began brushing her hair, and broke down into sobs that wracked her body.

With a yawn and a stretch, Chris woke up and looked out his bedroom window. It was a beautiful, sunny summer day and he couldn’t wait to get outside. Smiling, he rolled over in his bed onto his side expecting to see his beautiful girlfriend sleeping next to him, but she wasn’t. Pain rushed to his heart as he completely woke up and reality sunk in. He rolled back over onto his back and looked out the window again. Suddenly it didn’t seem so nice out to him. He sighed and hugged his pillow as he remembered their first night together.

Flashback

"That was good..." Felesia said with a smile as she got off of the couch from sitting next to him to rewind the movie.

"How would you know? When did we actually watch it?" Chris asked with a laugh as he stood up and joined her.

"Who said I was talking about the movie?" She asked with a smile as he put his arms around her waste. He smiled back and leaned in for a kiss.

"So..." He said after their kiss ended. "What do you want to do now?"

"Well...I have yet to kick your ass at Twister..." She said with a smile as she glanced over at the box with the Twister cover in it.

"You’re going down..." He said as he took his hands off of her waste and ran over to get out the box. She laughed and joined them. "...but it doesn’t work when one of us has to try to spin it and keep balanced...what should we do about that set-back?" Chris asked. She thought for a minute before answering.

"Well you know that little board thing that you spin and it tells you what to do?" She asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well we can just spin that a bunch of times and write it down on a piece of paper...then all we have to do is read the paper..." She suggested.

"Good idea Gypsie..." He complimented as he got a pen, some paper and went over to the spin board. They spun it a lot of times and recorded them down then spread out the Twister sheet on her living room floor and got ready to play.

"Okay...left foot blue..." Chris read the paper as they both did that. They had very long and competitive game, but they were both in such dumb positions that they started laughing and fell. Chris landed on top of Felesia. He stopped laughing and locked eyes with her. Her laughing also died down as she looked intensly into his eyes. Chris slowly and cautiously leaned in and brushed his lips across hers briefly. She grabbed the back of his neck and brought his lips back down onto hers and they shared a intense kiss.

It grew progressively more agressive and passionate after his tongue grazed her bottem lip and she opened her mouth, greeting his tongue with hers. He stopped kissing her mouth and moved down, gently kissing her neck, his tongue frequently grazing her soft skin. She grabbed the botten of his shirt and brought it up over his head and threw it to the side. He went back to kissing her neck as he un-did the buttons of her shirt.

He went back to kissing her neck as he un-did the buttons of her shirt. She sat up some so that he could slide her shirt off of her and he moved his kisses back to her mouth. As Chris threw her shirt to the side, she laid back down and her hands slowly trailed down his body to his pants. She unbottened and un-zipped his pants before slowly sliding them down. He broke their kiss and moved off of her to finish taking them off before crawling back on top of her and sucking lightly on her collarbone. His hands roamed down to the buckle of her jeans and he quickly un-did them then slid them slowly off of her body.

"I love you." Felesia said as he threw her jeans to the side and stopped sucking on her collarbone so he could look her in the eye.

"I love you too, baby." He said with a smile. She smiled back before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down for another passionate kiss. His hands slid under her body and he un-did her bra clasp, never breaking their kiss. When their clothes had been discarded the two of them melted into each other and reveled in the warmth from the two bodies joining as one.

End Flashback

Chris angrily moaned as he rolled back over on his side and put a pillow over his head. He couldn’t take it anymore. He missed her so much and he couldn’t live without her. He got up, ran over to the phone and dialed her number. He was disappointed when he heard a busy signal and hung up the phone. He heavily sat down on the couch and stared at the clock. He decided on waiting for 10 minuted then trying again.

Felesia opened her front door and was assaulted with the incessant ringing of her phone in the kitchen. She had been out running to clear her mind and think a lot of things, mainly Chris, over. She went out at eight that morning and it was now eleven. "Chris?"she spoke tiredly after picking up the phone, praying it was him.

"You mean he's not over there? That's a first," JC's warm, friendly voice greeted Felesia. She frowned, her hopes had been slashed when the voice belonged to someone other than Chris.

"I guess you haven't heard... I broke up with him last night. Now, before you say anything mean, let me tell you why. I'm not going to pretend I ever thought it would be easy to be involved with him. I jsut underestimated how much attention I need to keep me hap-" she spoke all this is one breathe so it came out really fast. She wanted to say it without interuption because she knew Josh had a way of talking to her that made sense, which something she didn't need just then. He interupted her just the same.

"Felesia, I thought of all of us you two were supposed to be... Nevermind. How are you holding up?" He started to rub salt in the wound but decided against it.

"Yeah. So did I but... things change," she attempted to laugh, brushing off her feelings.

"Uh huh. If you say so. I know I'm his friend all but if you want to talk ever... I'm here for you," he offered, his voice sounding sincere, hoping she would spill her guts out about what happened but knowing she most likely wouldn't. She had never really let anyone except Chris inside her mind.

"What did you want to talk to Chris for?" she asked, trying to vere him away from this subject before her resolve broke.

"Some stuff came up about the tour. It's nothing urgent. I'll run into him eventually. You know Chris- the tornado," he laughed, wondering how to approach the topic of their relationship again.

"That’s the 9th time!" Chris yelled as he slammed the phone down onto the reciever. He had been trying to call her over and over again for the last hour. It had been busy every time and he never knew her to talk on the phone that long. Just as he was about to pick up the phone and try again, it rang."Felesia?"

"No, it’s JC." JC said.

"Oh...sorry." He said as he sat down on the couch heavily.

"That’s ok. Felesia thought I was you, too. Is shethere?"

"No, she’s not...I don’t know if you heard yet, but we-"

"Broke up. I know. I called Felesia looking for you and she told me. But I was on the phone with her about an hour ago and she said that she was coming over to your house to apologise...is she there yet?" JC interrupted.

"No, she’s not. I’ve been trying to call her house for about an hour but her phone has been busy." Chris said.

"Oh, yeah... I was on the phone with her for a while and then she felt bad for just walking away last night so she just dropped the phone and left to come and apologise... my guess is that the phone is just still off the hook."JC stated.

"She’s coming over to apologize?" Chris asked, smiling. "So maybe she doesn’t hate me?"

"Nope. I think she was going to try to get backtogether with you...but try to actsuprised when she tells you, ok?"

"No problem... so what time did she get off the phone with you to come overhere?’ Chris wondered.

"About a half an hour or 45 minutes ago...it only takes her a few minutes to getfrom her house to yours though..."

"I wonder why it’s taking her so long?" Chris wondered again.

"She probably stopped on the way to your place at the flower shop to get you some flowers or something... you know she always likes buying you stuff." JC said with a smile.

"Yeah. Well was there anything else you needed?"Chris asked. He wanted to get ready and dressed in some nice clothes for when she got there.

"Nope. I just wanted to see if she was there yet..." JC said.

"...I hope things getpatched up between the two of you... I’ll cya later."

"Oh, they will..." Chris said happily and hung up the phone. He flew to his room all smiles and opened his drawer to get out a shirt. Smiling even brighter, he picked up the small, square, black velvet box and opened it. Inside was the gorgeous gold and diamond ring that he had bought for her. Oh God I hope sheaccepts... he told himself before getting ready. About ten minutes later, Chris was finished getting ready. He had got ready as fast as he could in case Felesia showed up soon. He was standing in front of the full body mirror, spraying on cologne and making sure he looked presentable. "Flowers..." He said out loud. "...I can’t propose without flowers!" He ran to the phone as fast as he could, called the local flowerplace and told them to bring a dozen deep red, long stem roses over as fast as they could. He hung up the phone, ran back to his room, picked up the small velvet box and put it in his pocket. The phone rang. He ran over and picked it up, thinking it was probably the flower shop saying there was a problem with the flower order. "Hello?"

"Hello. Is there a Chris Kirkpatrick there?"

"Yeah, this is Chris may I ask who is calling?" He asked.

"This is the Memorial Hospital."

Chris ran through the entrance doors of the hospital and saw JC sitting down on achair in the waiting room. "JC?" Chris yelled as he ran over.

"Chris!" JC yelled and bolted up off of the chair hewas sitting on.

"What room is she in??" Chris said in a rush.

"She’s in the fourth emergancy room on the right,Chris, but they’re not letting anybody in." JC said and grabbed his friend’s arm.

"I don’t care, JC! I have to see her!" Chris yelled. He freed himself of JC’s grip and ran down the hall. He arrived at the fourth roomon the right and immediatly ran inside. She was lying on the hospital bed in her ownpuddle of blood with nurses and docters all around her.

"What’s he doing here?" The docter yelled. "Get him out!"

"No, I’m her-" But was cut off when two of the menin the room grabbed him bythe arms and started dragging him outside of the room. "No! Let go!" He screamed and fought to get back inside, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t. He watched through the large glass window that was inplace of part of the wall what was happening inside as he calmed down so he could watch.

"Docter, she just flatlined." One of the nurses urgently said.

"Everyone back away..." The docter said. He then gave her a shock. They stared at the moniter, but it was still flat. JC saw him from the end of the hall and ran up. He stood by his friend and watched. The docter gave her another shock, but still no change. He gave her a third shock, but she was still flatlined. The doctor held up his hand fore everybody to leave the body alone and they all stared at the moniter. Everyone was completely silent, though Chris wanted to scream. The docter dropped his hand, looked down and shook his head. He covered her face with the sheet. "No!" Chris screamed and fell down to his knees. By now the two men that were holding him back had left.

JC just stood there for a minute, mouth wide open, before he looked down at Chris. "Chris... it’s okay..." JC soothed his best friend a she sat down next to him.

"No, it isn’t! I never got a chance to propose!" Chris screamed.

"Propose?" JC asked. Chris reached into his pocket and brought out the ring box. He looked it over briefly before handing it to JC.

"She was on her way to see you..."

"And she got in a car crash because she was speeding. I don’t need the details." Chris said as he got to his feet.

"I’ll drive you home..." JC offered as he handed Chris back the ring box.

"I drove here in my car."

"We can come back and pick it up later...come on man." JC said.

Chris peered through the glass and gently brought his hand up to it. He took a deep breath beforeturning around and walking away with JC.

Chris closed his eyes as a cool breeze blew lightly through his hair and listened tothe priest talk. It was Felesia’s funeral. "...5 very close friends of Felesia’s would like tosay goodbye to ger by singing a song." the Priest said.

A tear came to Chris’s eye,but he took a deep breath and blinked it back, remembering the first time she heard it.

Flashback

"Do you want to hear one of our songs that we’re going to put on the album?"Chris asked with a smile.

"Definitely." Felesia said as she sat down with him on the couch and cuddled closer to him. Chris pressed play and let ‘This I Promise You’ play.

"So what do you think?" Chris asked as he looked down at her.

"That is so beautiful." She said with a warm smile.

"Well thank you." Chris said as he gave her a peck on the lips.

"You’re welcome.. you want to know what I think?"

"Yes." Chris said as he put his arm around her.

"I don’t think this is just any song... this should be our song." she suggested. Chris smiled and began kissing her.

End Flashback

"...so, with that said, here is *N Sync preforming her favorite song off of the album, ‘This I Promise You’. Chris took a deep breath to keep himself from crying and brought the mic to his mouth as they started to sing.

When the visions around you
Bring tears to your eyes
And all that surrounds you
Are secrets and lies
I’ll be your strength
I’ll give you hope
Keeping your faith when it’s gone
The one you should call
Was standing here all along

And I will take you in my arms
And hold you right where you belong
Until the day my life is through
This I promise you
This I promise you

I’ve loved you forever
In lifetimes before
And I promise you never
Will you hurt anymore
I give you my word
I give you my heart
This is a battle we’ve won
And with this vow
Forever has now begun

Just close your eyes
Each lovin’ day
And know this feeling
Won’t go away
‘Til the day my life is through
This I promise you
This I promise you

Over and over I fall
When I hear you call
Without you in my life baby
I just wouldn’t be livin’ at all

And I will take you in my arms
And hold you right where you belong
‘Til the day my life is through
This I promise you, baby
Just close your eyes each lovin day
And know this feeling won’t go away
Every word I say is true
This I promise you

Every word I say is true
This I promise you
I promise you

The service ended with everybody going to Felesia’s coffin and saying goodbye. She was wearing a blue silky dress and her make-up was done differently. Suddenly Chris could remember all of the little things he could never remember before... the way she did her make-up, or put her hair up or even walked. Everything. He reached his hand out and slowly brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. He reached into his pocket and brought out the velvet box. He removed the ring from it, then placed the box back in his pocket. He delicately opened her hand and placed the ring in her palm. "I love you, Felesia..." he said as he closed her hand around the ring. He leaned down and kissed her cheek as a silent tear rolled down his cheek. He ran his fingers through her hair one last time before turning and walking away.

Click Here to Return to Chris Stories...

Click here to Return Home...