Brian and Abby drove down the long driveway to Nick’s house, parking behind AJ’s car. Everyone else was already there making Brian and Abby the last to arrive. Brian took her by the hand as he led her around the large house to the back where everyone was waiting. They saw AJ, Kevin, Howie, and Nick sitting on the patio when they walked up.

“Hey Rok, Abby,” AJ said with a smile.

“Hey guys,” Brian said back.

Sasha came out of the house with a tray of food and sat it in the middle of the table. Kevin, AJ, and Nick automatically dug in.

“Nick, can I talk to you for a minute?” Abby asked.

Nick nodded, wiped his hands on his shorts, and they walked away from the others to have their private conversation. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being a friend. For seeing what Brian and I had before either of us did. For pushing Brian along little by little out of his little shell. We probably wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for you.”

Nick blushed slightly, “Nah, I didn’t do that much.”

“No, Nick you did. You may not realize it, but you did. Brian’s really lucky to have a friend like you.”

Nick grinned and shrugged. “I was just doing my job, looking out for him, ya know? I guess I could thank you too for the same thing. He was headed down a lonely street until you came along. I didn’t know if anything was going to snap him out of it, but you did and that’s great. I’m glad to have the old Brian back.”

Abby pulled Nick into a friendly hug, both gaining a new, mutual respect for each other. Brian gave them both l! ooks as they walked back to the group. “What was that all about?” he asked.

They looked at each other. “Nothing,” Abby said and sat down next to him.

“Yeah, it was nothin’. Just a little chit chat, that’s all,” Nick said, shooing Howie out of his seat and sitting back down next to AJ.

Brian simply shrugged, “Okay, if you say so.”

Kevin put the hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill a little while later, and everyone enjoyed the meal. The evening was filled with laughter from telling jokes, old stories, or just goofing off. Smiles were plastered on everyone’s faces, and they were all real smiles. There was no faking it because there was nothing to fake. The happiness was real, the laughter was real, and the feelings were burning with realism.

None of them wanted the night to end, but slowly it started to. Howie was the first to leave, soon followed by Sasha and Kevin. Nick and AJ went inside to play some games, and Brian took Abby for a walk down the beach.

The moon was shining brightly in the sky surrounded by millions of bright stars. The ocean was calm, and the waves crashed upon the shore with a certain gentleness that fit with the whole evening. Brian held Abby’s hand while they walked in silence for the first few minutes. A cool breeze surrounded them as it blew off of the ocean, but it wasn’t too cold. They eventually stopped walking and faced towards the water. Brian looked up at the sky for a minute before glancing over at Abby.

“It’s a beautiful night, huh?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, it really is.”

“Did you have fun tonight?”

“Oh, I had a blast. It was a lot of fun. I can’t remember a time where I’ve laughed so much for so long.”

Brian smiled. “It’s been awhile for me, too and I’m glad that it was with you. We have many more nights like this ahead of us, you and I.”

“Like this on the beach or with all the laughing?”

“Both..." Brian brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed the top of it. "And sometimes there will be tears, sometimes silence and whatever else there is, but as long as we stay together we’ll survive. I promise you, we’ll survive as long as we believe in each other. I have faith in us, in you. I love you, Abby.”

She turned and they were face to face. “I love you, too.”

Brian smiled slightly before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss. Seconds passed, then minutes went by as they stood there lost in each other, lost in the night.

“I promise you as a lover and a friend I will love you like I’ll never love again with everything I am, you're everything I am…”

End of Story