“Nothing important.” He had his hands over mine and was rubbing his thumbs over my hands in a circular motion. It was soothing.
“Justin?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you,” I said quietly.
Justin turned his head around so he was looking at me. “I love you too. But where did that come from?”
I shrugged my shoulders and stood up. “I felt it so I said it.”
I stood up and started to walk away when I felt a hand on my shoulder stopping me. “Soph, wait. I know you’re upset because I said we’re not doing anything special tomorrow. But what you don’t see is that any time I spend with you is special. You’re special. All I want to do tomorrow is be with you.”
I turned around and looked him square in the eye. I could see in his eyes that he was sincere. I hugged him. “Justin, that was so sweet!”
“I meant every word of it.”
“I know you did.” We stood there and just held each other for a long time. I finally pulled away. “We should probably be heading back. Everyone’s going to start to wonder where we are.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” He took my hand and we walked up to the room. When we got there I was surprised to find Bri sitting on the couch with JC.
When she saw me she jumped up and hugged me. I let go of Justin’s hand and hugged her back. I started to pull away but she held on to me. After a long time she finally let me go. “Soph, I’m so sorry!”
“About what?” I asked completely confused.
“About the whole Brooke thing.”
I looked at JC. “Yeah well I guess it’s all for the best. I was going to tell you in my own way but I guess someone beat me to it.”
JC looked down. “Guess who’s going to be your roommate tonight and tomorrow night?” Bri asked. I looked at Justin. “No silly! ME! I’m staying with you!” Bri was so excited she didn’t see the look Justin and I shared. “Aren’t you excited?”
I faked enthusiasm. “Yeah! I’m really excited!”
“Let’s go sort everything out.” She pulled me towards my room.
As I shut the door behind me I heard Justin start talking. “Man this sucks!”
“What sucks?” JC asked.
“My last 2 nights with Sophie and I don’t even get to sleep in the same room as her.”
“Oh. I didn’t even think about that.”
“I mean I know I have to get used to it but I don’t want to.”
“Don’t worry, Justin. Everything will work out.”
“JC, I hope you’re right.”
I stood and watched Bri running around jabbering about how much fun this was going to be. “Bri, chill down! Please!”
“What?”
“You’re acting like a 12 year-old.” I sat down on my bed.
“Sophie, I know you’re not being mean on purpose so tell me what’s wrong.”
I put my head in my hands. “Nothing.”
She sat down next to me and put her arm around me. “Girl, I know you better than that so tell me what’s wrong.”
“Tomorrow the guy’s are leaving and I won’t see them for 5 months. I don’t want them to leave. I don’t want Justin to leave.” I broke down and started crying.
“Sophie, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. Hey how about Justin and I switch rooms. Who is he sharing with?
“JC. I think.”
Bri got a gleam in her eye. “That’ll work.”
“You like him don’t you?”
She blushed. “Yeah I guess I do.”
“Well then why are we sitting in here when they’re right out there?”
“I don’t know.” She stood up then pulled me up. “Let’s go.” When we walked out we saw Justin and JC staring at the TV. Their eyes were glued to the TV. They didn’t even look up when we walked in. I sat down next to Justin on the couch and Bri sat on the floor next to JC’s legs.
Justin didn’t even look at me. “Justin, what’s wrong?”
He finally looked at me. “Oh, it’s nothing.” He shut off the TV.
“Justin, something’s wrong. Please tell me what it is.”
“I’ll tell ya later,” he whispered.
“So where are the other guys?” Bri asked.
“They went out to a club,” JC answered.
“Why didn’t you guys go with then?” I asked.
“Because we wanted to spend the evening with you lovely ladies,” Justin said putting his arm around me. I saw Bri blush when JC slid out of his chair to sit beside her on the floor.
“So what are we going to do?” I asked.
“How about we watch movies?” Everyone said yes. We all settled in and watched movies until the rest of the guys came home. They sat down and watched some with us.
The next morning I was the first one up. Justin was lying next to me. Next to him were Lance, Joey, and Chris. JC was next to Chris with Bri in his arms. I smiled. Those two made a great couple. I got up and went to my room. I took a shower and got dressed. Everyone was still asleep so I decided to start packing. I didn’t want to have to waste time doing it tomorrow. I packed everything except my pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow. Everyone was still asleep. I decided to take a walk. I wrote a note so everyone would know where I was. I went to the mall and did some window-shopping. When I got back everyone was up. I walked in and smelled food; so I headed for the kitchen. There I found Joey and Lance make breakfast. “Hi, guys.”
“Hi Sophie!” Joey said.
“Where have you been? Justin started freaking out when you weren’t here,” Lance said.
“I went for a walk. I left a note.”
“Yeah, we got it, but Justin still freaked out,” Joey said.
“Well where is he so I can calm him down?”
“I think he went to take a shower.”
“Thanks.” I went to my room and opened the door figuring Justin would be in the shower. When I opened the door there stood Justin with just a towel around his waist. His hair was soaking wet and dripping on the floor. “Hey, you’re dripping on my floor.” He turned around and saw me. He started for me. “Don’t even think you’re going to touch me.”
He smiled. “I just want to hug my beautiful girlfriend.”
“No, you just want to get me all wet. I’ve already showered and I don’t need another one. Thanks anyway.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Whatever. Now get dressed so we can eat.” I left him there to get dressed and went back to the kitchen. I started eating some pancakes and bacon.
A few minutes later Justin came out and stole a piece of my bacon. “I thought you were going to wait for me.”
“I never said that.”
Justin laughed. “So where did you go this morning?”
“Like I said in the note, I went for a walk.”
“Where to?”
“Around.”
Fortunately Justin let it drop. “Do you have any plans for the evening my fair lady?”
I looked at him strangely. “Not that I know of.”
“Well would you escort me to dinner tonight?”
“I would love to.” Just then JC, Chris, and Bri came running in. JC and Chris collapsed in chairs around the table. “I see Bri took you on her little run.”
They just nodded their heads. “Where did you go this morning, Soph?”
I was getting mad. “For a walk. Can’t you people read?” I stormed out of the room.
Justin got up to follow me, but Bri stopped him. “I’ll go.” She found me lying on my bed. She sat down beside me. “Soph, I’m sorry. Knowing how upset you were yesterday I thought it might have been more than a walk.”
“It’s ok. You’re right it was more than a walk, but not quite in the way you think.”
“What did you do?”
“At first it was just to clear my head, but I ended up getting Justin this.” I took the gold ring I bought Justin out of my purse. “I walked by the jewelry store and saw this in the window. I couldn’t resist. Plus I guess it was a little bit selfish on my part.”
“How is that?” She was staring at the ring in her hand.
“I guess I wanted him to have something to remember me by so he wouldn’t forget me and find someone else.”
Bri got up and hugged me. “He won’t do that and you know it.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t mean he does.” There was a knock on the door. “Just a second.” I took the ring from Bri and put it back in my purse. “Come in.”
Justin came in with a concerned look on his face. “I’ll leave you two alone,” Bri said and left.
“Are you ok?” Justin asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know why I acted like that. I’m not normally like that.”
“It’s ok.” We stood in silence. It was the first uncomfortable moment we’d had. “Oh, did I tell you we’re taking you home tomorrow?”
“No. That’s wonderful.”
“The other guys, and I’m guessing Bri, are going swimming. Do you want to go or stay here?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I would like to stay here so we can spend some time alone.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Ok. I’ll go tell the guys.”
Half an hour later everyone but Justin and I were standing in the living area in their swimsuits. “Have fun,” I said.
“We will,” Chris said as they left.
“I’ve got a surprise for you tomorrow,” Justin said.
I lifted my head off his chest. “What?”
“Well it was going to be a surprise, but I’m going to tell you now.”
“What?!”
“Well since you go back to school tomorrow and I don’t want you to miss any school for me. I’m going to escort you to your first class. The other guys wanted to come, but I want to do this myself.” I didn’t know what to say. I was stunned. “Sophie, if you don’t want me to then I won’t.”
“No, Justin, that’s not it. I think that is the sweetest thing anyone has done for me.” I looked deep into his eyes and found nothing but love and happiness. I hugged him. When we parted, we watched TV. We watched and talked all day. It was a wonderful day. At about 4:00 everyone came back. “Hi, guys!”
“Hey! Did you two have fun today?” JC asked.
I looked at Justin. “Yeah, we did,” he answered.
“Oh, what time are we leaving?” I asked.
“About 5:30. We have a 6:00 reservation.”
“Soph, we’ve got to start getting ready,” Bri said pulling me off the couch away from Justin.
“Bri, slow down! We have an hour and a half.”
“I know, but I have to take a shower and everything.”
“Ok, you go take your shower. I’ll take mine when you’re done.” While Bri was in the shower, I dug out my cds. I listened to the Backstreet Boys. About 45 minutes later Bri came out of the bathroom. “I’m glad we got started early. I didn’t know it took you 45 minutes in the shower!”
“See I know what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m going to go take me shower now.” Fifteen minutes later I got out. “See Bri. Some of us actually take a normal amount of time in the shower.” I put on a simple black dress and put my hair in a French twist with little tendrils of hair hanging around my face. At exactly 5:30 Bri and I walked out to the living area. There was a note on the door. It said Meet us downstairs in the lobby when you’re ready.
“What does it say?” Bri asked.
“We’re supposed to met them downstairs.”
“What! Why?”
“They’ve got a surprise planned. You’ll learn soon enough these guys are full of surprises.”
When we walked downstairs, the guys were nowhere in sight. “I wonder were they are?” Bri asked.
“Let’s ask the desk if they’ve seen them.” I walked up to the desk and asked the lady if she had seen them. She handed me a note. I read it. “We’re supposed to meet them outside.”
“I wish they would just show up. I’m getting tired of the whole note thing,” Bri said.
“They will. Hopefully it’ll be sooner than later.” We walked outside and saw two limos. “No they didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?”
“I have a feeling that those limos are for us.” Just then JC stepped out of one and Justin stepped out of the other. “I knew it.”
Justin walked up to me. “My lady. Your limo awaits.” He took my hand and led me to the limo.
JC walked up to Bri. “I believe this limo is for you.” He held out his arm for her and she took it.
When I got in the limo I found Chris and Joey in there. “Hi guys.”
“Hi, Soph,” Chris said.
Justin got in beside me. He saw the look on my face. “Don’t worry we’re dropping them off at a club,” he whispered into my ear. I nodded my head. We drove for about a half an hour then dropped Chris and Joey off.
Then we started driving again. “Ok, Justin. Where are we going and why did you rent a limo?”
“Well I rented the limo for my special lady. I wanted everything to be perfect tonight. And where we’re going is a surprise.”
“Another surprise? You have a thing about surprises don’t you?”
“You know me.”
“Yeah, I do and I love you.” I kissed Justin softly on the lips. We sat and talked about unimportant stuff like the weather for about an hour. When we finally stopped I had no clue where we were.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Justin said then got out. About 10 minutes later he opened the door and held his hand out to help me. I stepped out and found out we were at a beach. A very beautiful beach.
It was breathtaking. “Justin, it’s beautiful. How did you find out about this place?”
“That’s my secret.”
“Well it’s wonderful.” Then I spotted a towel with food laid out on it.
Justin saw me looking at the towel. “It’s our little picnic. Let’s go.” We walked hand in hand to the blanket. We sat down and ate, talking about anything and everything. When we were done we decided to go for a walk. I took my shoes off and walked barefoot. It was wonderful to feel the sand between my toes.
“Justin, this is wonderful. I will always remember this. Thank you.”
Justin stopped and turned towards me. He took both my hands in his. “Sophie, I love you very much. I want you to know I will always be here for you. Always, no matter where I am in the world I will always be here.” He pointed to my heart. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “I got you this so you can see and remember how much I love you.”
I took the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful god necklace. It had a tiny gold chain. The pendant was a heart with a diamond in the middle. “Justin, I love it. It’s so beautiful. I love you so much.” I hugged him tightly never wanting to let go.
JC and Bri got in the other limo. They were alone. “So where are we going?”
“That’s a surprise.”
“Oh another surprise.”
“You don’t like surprises?”
“No, I do. I’m just not used to having so many at once.”
“Well as you’ll soon find out we love surprises.”
“Sophie said something like that.”
“Did she?”
“Yup.” They talked about themselves, the other guys, and Sophie during the ride.
When the limo stopped Bri was surprised to find herself at an amusement park. “JC, I’m too dressed up to go in here.”
“Don’t worry. It’s after hours. There’s no one here.”
“JC, don’t tell me you rented this just for me.”
“No, a friend of mine who works with the company owed me a favor. I’m just collecting. Come on let’s go.” He helped her out of the limo and they walked into the park. All the rides were going and all the booths were open. JC and Bri rode every ride and played all the games. JC won Bri a huge teddy bear.
Soon they were both tired and decided to leave. “Thanks for the bear, JC. I love it. Thanks for the whole evening. It’s a night I will never forget.”
“It was my pleasure. I had fun.”
“Me too. Do you want to go back to the hotel?”
“I don’t know. What do you feel like doing?”
“Well I know this lovely stretch of beach. It’s a lovely night for a walk. That is if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. It sounds wonderful.” Bri gave the driver instructions to the beach and they were on their way.
Justin and I were still hugging each other. We just stood there and held each other swaying to our own beat. I pulled back a little and looked into his amazing blue eyes. I just stared into them getting lost. Justin brought me out of my trance. “Do you see something there?” he asked.
“What?”
“It looked like you were looking for something in my eyes. Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yeah. I found all the love and happiness I’ll ever need.”
“Sophie, I love you so much. I know this is going to be difficult, but it’ll be worth it. I know it.”
“I feel the same way.” We walked back to the blanket, sat down and watched the ocean. Justin sat behind me with his arms wrapped around me. At the moment I felt so loved. I knew I was in the place I was supposed to be; I was in the arms of the man I loved and who loved me back.
When JC and Bri got to the beach they decided to take a walk. When they had walked for about half an hour they decided to sit down and watch the ocean. After they had been sitting in silence for a few minutes, JC took Bri’s hand in his own. Bri looked up at him shocked. Then she smiled. “Bri, can we talk?”
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“About us.”
“Ok.”
“If you couldn’t tell I like you. I think you are great. You’re smart, funny, sweet, and just fun to be around. I know this is really, really bad timing with me leaving tomorrow, but I want to give us a shot.”
Bri thought for a few minutes. “JC, I like you too. But you’re right it’s bad timing. You’re leaving and I’m in school and working. I don’t know how it would work.” JC nodded his head then looked out at the ocean. “But I’m willing to give it a shot if you are.” JC looked up with a shocked expression on his face.
“Bri, I do. I really do. I just don’t want to……” Bri silenced him by putting her finger up to his lips. Then she leaned in and kissed him softly.
To Be Continued…