JC walked Nicole to her car, carrying a sound-asleep Adrienne. The little girl sighed, and snuggled against his chest.
“Thanks Josh, for a really great day, and holding Addie.” Nicole said, in a hushed tone. She and JC had been in charge of picking the wedding cake and making sure the flowers would match the dresses that the bridesmaids wore. They had an amazing time, feeding each other and Adrienne cake and making a mess.
“It’s my pleasure Nikki. I had a great time, too. And as for this one, I could hold her all day,” he replied, equally quiet. Nicole unlocked the doors to the car, and JC opened the one closest to Adrienne’s car seat. He was strapping her in, when she stirred and opened her eyes.
“JC?”
“Yeah Addie-baby?”
“Will you be my daddy?” Adrienne asked, looking up at him with her large brown eyes, the same eyes as her mother.
Nicole gasped as she heard his response. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Adrienne smiled and closed her eyes again, content with the answer.
Nicole found her voice as he looked up at her. “You shouldn’t get her hopes up, Josh.” ‘Or mine.’
JC’s grin just got larger as he walked around the car and stood in front of Nicole. He had tried, very hard, to distance himself emotionally from this woman. She had so much in her past and so much responsibility, and he figured a relationship with her would be too hard to handle. But, he had failed, miserably. He had been falling for her since the second he saw her, and he was too far-gone to stop himself now. Much to his surprise, he had fallen in love with Adrienne just as deep and just as quickly. He wanted to be her father, to take care of her for the rest of her life. He wanted to be with the both of them more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. “I wasn’t trying to get her hopes up Nicole.”
“Well, now she thinks you want to be her daddy. How am I supposed to explain to her that you were just joking? That’s a lot of shit to put on me JC.” She turned from his gaze and began furiously wiping tears from her eyes. She loved him, that was a given. But, he could never want someone like her. She was too complicated. He deserved someone without all of the baggage that she carried. He had enough to deal with, as it was.
“I’m not joking.”
Nicole turned again, and was met with his piercing blue eyes and warm smile. “W-what do you mean?”
JC took a deep breath, preparing himself to let his feelings flow. He took one of her small hands in both of his. “Nicole, I…I would like to be Adrienne’s father. What I mean is…I would like to watch her grow up, and spend time with her, and be there for her.”
“Oh, I see.” Nicole tried very hard not to cry anymore. JC loved Adrienne. How could he not? She was the sweetest little girl in the world, and he was a caring and compassionate man. But, he only loved Adrienne. There was no hope for her. “You can always be part of her life Josh. She loves being with you. And I cherish our friendship.”
JC silenced her with his finger. “Shhh, there’s more.” He removed his finger and replaced it with his lips. Nicole sighed against his mouth, memorizing the feeling. He pulled away and looked at her expectantly. When she didn’t say anything, he continued softly. “Nikki, I’m in love with you. I want to be with you. And I want to be Adrienne’s father.”
Nicole was still reeling from the kiss, but the words he said made her think. ‘He wants to be with me, and be Adrienne’s father? Is he…’ “Joshua, are you asking me to marry you?” she blurted out.
For the first time he realized that that was exactly what he was doing. “It’s kind of informal, I guess, because I don’t have a ring, but…” he was cut off by Nicole initiating another kiss. As they slowly backed away from each other’s mouths, he said “I’ll take that as a yes?”
“God yes. I am so in love with you Josh. And I can’t think of a better person to be Adrienne’s father.”
They kissed again, sealing the promise.
Lance and Krysti had left about a half-hour before the rest of the group. Lance said he had a surprise for Krysti and she practically dragged him out of Terri’s apartment, yelling her good-byes.
They hopped into Lance’s car, and headed across town to his apartment.
“So, what’s the surprise?” Krysti asked, batting her eyes at Lance.
“Nope, you aren’t getting it out of me that easily.”
She sighed and sat back against the seat, her arms folded across her chest.
Lance laughed. “Now, don’t get mad. We’ll be at my house soon and then you will find out.”
She smiled, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. She was amazed that the shock she got when her lips touched his skin was still there after all this time. “Thanks, PooFoo.”
“No problem Peter.”
She laughed, as she recalled this quirky similarity that they shared. Lance’s first paying job had been playing the oversized dog PooFoo as a favor to his uncle. Krysti’s had been playing the Easter bunny, Peter Rabbit, at the mall. It was just one of those connections they shared. By the time she came out of the thought, they were pulling into his parking space.
“Go up to the roof. I will be up there in a second.” Lance instructed.
Krysti was puzzled, but complied. She climbed the ladder to the roof and walked around, admiring the beautiful cloudless night. She didn’t even hear Lance come up behind her until his arms were around her waist and his head resting on her shoulder. She turned around, and looked at him. “Where’s my surprise?” she asked.
“Man, you have a one track mind. Well, there are actually a few surprises,” he said, his green-yellow eyes sparkling in the starlight.
Krysti smirked. “You definitely have my attention.”
“OK, well first of all…I found this tape in your car the other day. I am assuming that it’s Asylum Star.” He began. When she looked at the tape and nodded he proceeded. “I listened to it for the last 4 days, and it is amazing. Now, I’m not the expert on punk music, but I have never heard anything like this.”
Krysti was beaming. “Thanks, sweetie, that means a lot coming from you.”
Lance continued with a smile. “Krysti, I was wondering if I could manage you guys. I know you’ll have to talk to…” Her shrieking cut off Lance.
“THANK YOU SOO MUCH!” Krysti yelled and encircled his neck with her arms, covering his face in light kisses.
Lance just laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yup! Well, I’ll have to ask Sym, Alex and Tony, but we have never had an opportunity like this before, so I’m sure they will say yes.”
“OK. Now that that is settled, here’s your next surprise.” He said, handing her an envelope.
Krysti continued to grin. “Lance, you have made me so happy already, I don’t know how you are going to top it,” she said, tearing into the envelope. When she read the piece of paper inside, her eyes clouded with tears of joy. “You bought me a star?”
Lance nodded. “It was the most symbolic thing I could think of. I mean, your band is called Asylum Star, and you are destined to be stars.” They both grinned at the cheesiness of his statement. He grew serious again. “And, I realized I was in love with you that night in your bedroom looking up at the stars.”
Krysti gasped in shock. “You…you love me?”
“More than anything.”
“PooFoo, you are such a sentimental.” She laughed, and pulled him close. “That’s just one of the many things I love about you,” she murmured, as they kissed under the stars.
“Hey, Symone, could you come here for a second?” Chris asked, pulling her into Terri’s bedroom without waiting for her response.
“Um, I don’t think I have much of a choice now, do I?” Symone laughed. “What’s up old man?”
Chris smirked. “I’ll let that one slide, but only ‘cause I need a favor.”
“Now I’m scared!” Symone playfully went and hid behind the bed, as Chris laughed. Seconds later, she popped back up. “Just kidding. What do you need, Chris?”
“Terri told me you play the piano, and I was wondering…well, I want to sing this song to her as my vows, but I need someone to play.” He handed her the sheet music, and she looked it over
Symone read the words to the song, letting them sink in. She had heard it before, it was on one of her favorite albums, but the thought of Chris singing it to his one true love made her want to cry. “Yeah, sure Chris, I can play this.” She said, swallowing back her tears.
“Thanks so much Sym!” he replied, picking her up and swinging her around the room.
Symone giggled. “Woah there! I’m gonna be sick!” They both laughed as Chris set her back on the floor.
“Really Symone, you don’t know how much this means to me, to us,” he said. “Just, don’t tell Terri, all right? I want it to be a surprise.”
“It’s not a problem Kirkpatrick,” she said, stepping into his brotherly embrace. “Besides, who am I to deny a dying bachelor his final request?”
