There was a knock on the door and Kayla yelled in response, “Come in!”
Joey opened the door and bounced in with Chris while JC and Lance strolled in after them. Kayla smiled warmly at them as they made themselves comfortable on the beds.
Kayla brushed through her hair once more and grabbed her purse, “Ok ready.”
“I think that’s a record for a girl getting ready...we were expecting at least another 20 minutes to the half hour we gave you,” Chris grinned.
Kayla smiled sweetly, “Well thank you for thinking so highly of me...now let’s eat before I start chewing on my purse strap.”
They all laughed and stood up, heading for the door. JC left first, then Chris while Joey waited for Kayla and Lance to follow close behind. Chris and JC were walking ahead of the three of them when Chris yelled Joey’s name.
“Joe...come here!”
Joey gave a curious look and shrugged his shoulders, jogging to catch up with JC and Chris.
“What is it? I was talking to someone you know,” he replied.
“I KNOW...that’s the problem...what are we trying to do here?” Chris asked staring at Joey.
Joey thought about it for awhile, then his eyes widened, “Ohhhh yeeeeaahh...get Kayla and Lancey boy together!”
Chris nodded his head, “Riiiiiigggghhhhhttttt...and your NOT helping when you keep hitting on Kayla!”
“She brushes off all my best lines anyway...” Joey mumbled.
Chris and JC laughed. “I wonder why.”
Joey shot them a look and they continued walking towards the elevator in their own conversation.
“You know...if you didn’t want me to come to dinner with you guys you could have just told me...no need to drag me out of my room and then leave me in the dust!” Kayla said loudly, trying to hint to the three guys walking at a quick pace ahead of her.
Lance walked beside her and chuckled, “Their hungry.”
“So am I,” she shot back. “Then again...I know how their like when their hungry, so I guess I should be expecting this.”
Lance smiled and nodded his head. He watched Kayla smile and he couldn’t help feel a little giddy inside. Lately, he found himself looking forward to seeing her, when the guys told him to go ask her to dinner he had no problem being sent on that particular task.
Kayla couldn’t bring herself to look over at Lance. She knew he was staring because she could see his gaze fixed on her in the corner of her eye, but she feared if she looked at him he would either stop looking or she would trip and make a fool out of herself. She was content knowing that he noticed her and she knew she had definitely noticed him.
She looked up to the three guys who were already standing in the elevator, waiting for the other two to catch up. She quicken her pace and noticed Lance keeping his own. She stopped and turned around, grabbing his hand and pulling him gently towards the elevator.
“Come on, if we keep them hungry any longer they might just leave without us,” she urged.
Lance grinned and quickened his pace, looking down at her hand wrapped around his. He smiled to himself and followed obediently. They finally climbed onto the elevator and JC let the door shut, pressing the lobby floor button.
They stepped off the elevator when they reached the lobby and walked out the spinning doors of the hotel. They climbed into Lance’s car and drove off to find a restaurant to eat. Dinner sped by with good laughs and practical jokes, along with stories of the past and just an all around good time.
They were heading back to the car when Chris yawned, “Man...is it 9 already?”
Joey looked at him strangely and JC raised an eyebrow.
Chris yawned again, this time stretching his arms in the air, “I think it’s time for me to hit the sac.”
He stared at Joey and JC as if waiting for them to react. He nudged JC and widened his eyes, trying to tell him something.
JC finally caught Chris’ hints, “OH! Yeah...*YAWN*...me too, man I’m tired.”
Joey looked at both of them curiously before he was elbowed by both JC and Chris at the same time.
“Huh? OH! Yeah...wow I just realized how tired I am!” he said shrugging his shoulders at both of them.
“You guys want to head back to the hotel?” Lance asked, giving them a weird look.
All three of them nodded their heads in unison.
“Well then let’s go back...if you guys are tired--” Kayla started.
“NO!” they shouted together.
Kayla looked at them strangely, “Are you guys ok? Did you eat something bad?”
“Haha...funny Kayla,” Chris said nervously. “Good one.”
Kayla narrowed her eyebrows and studied him, “Your serious.”
Chris nodded his head, “When am I NOT?”
Kayla laughed and rolled her eyes.
Chris blushed, “Don’t answer that.”
“But really we’re gonna head back, you guys stay out...have fun,” JC jumped in.
“It’s not problem really, we can go back--” Kayla tried again.
“NO!” Joey yelled out. He cleared his throat, “I mean...no...we’ll catch a cab.”
“I don’t think that’s safe...” Lance started.
“Stop worrying about us Poofoo, we’re big boys and if anyone threatens us we’ll just give them tickets and backstage passes to our next concert,” Chris joked. “Let’s go guys...have fun you two and don’t stay out TOO late.”
All three of them waved and walked away quickly, holding their hand up for a cab. A yellow cab pulled up by them and they hopped in, waving once more before driving off.
Lance turned towards Kayla, “Well...that was interesting...”
Kayla laughed, “Yeah...though I don’t think interesting exactly describes that last scene.”
Lance chuckled, “Well what would you like to do now Miss Kayla?”
“Actually I’d like to just take a quiet walk...I need to burn off some calories from dinner anyway,” she joked.
“I’m with you,” Lance said, motioning for her to go first.
She giggled and started walking, while he walked beside her.
Kayla swung her arms gently by her side while Lance walked casually beside her. They found themselves walking in a comfortable silence, while gazing at the setting around them. Kayla didn’t know what to say, but liked the peaceful silence they were sharing.
She smiled and glanced over at Lance. He looked exceptionally good that night, not that he didn’t all the time. He was dressed in a pair of dark khakis and a dark blue sweater with a khaki stripe across the chest, matching the khaki color his pants were. He had dark brown boots on and his hair was spiked in a messy sort of way, very sexy looking. He looked tired, but great at the same time.
Her hand accidentally smacked against his arm and she blushed deeply, “Sorry...”
He smiled warmly and didn’t say a word. They reached a corner and Lance took her hand gently, “Let’s go this way.”
Kayla felt a chill crawl up her spine from the sudden touch and he noticed her shiver.
“Are you cold?” he asked in concern.
“Huh? Oh...no...not at all...” she mumbled quietly.
He pulled her down the street and towards a small park where no one was around. When they started making their way towards the park entrance, Kayla noticed he never let go of her hand. She smiled to herself and slipped her fingers between his.
Lance felt her soft fingers slide in between his and he smiled. He tightened his grip on her hand slightly and continued leading her down the dark street. The only light that was shining was the dim street lights and the bright moon.
They reached the park entrance and found a soft grassy spot to sit down. They sat down together, not letting go of each others hands, still in a peaceful silence.
When they sat down and got comfortable, Lance finally broke the silence. “Wow, the stars are unbelievable tonight.”
Kayla smiled and tilted her head back to look at the brightly lit sky. She closed her eyes and mumbled something to herself, “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
Lance looked over at her with a soft smile and a questioned expression on his face. Kayla kept her eyes tightly shut and finally opened them to find Lance studying her.
She blushed and grinned, “A little rhyme my mom always recited to me when I was little.”
“That’s sweet,” he replied. “Do you still talk to your mom a lot?”
Kayla’s posture stiffened up and she shook her head, staring at the grass, “Not really.”
He gave a concerned look when he noticed how she tightened up with the mention of her mother. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Kayla sighed and shook her head, “No big deal really.”
Lance kept staring at her, not believing what she was telling him. He would usually accept any answer she gave him and step back so as not to bother her, but tonight he wanted to know what she was hiding. Why she became so tense whenever her parents were mentioned, why she was so hesitant to let anyone talk about or see her outside life from JIVE.
“Tell me,” he urged softly. “Please.”
Kayla’s eyes started to burn from the oncoming tears. Her eyes welled up and she took a deep breath, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t reveal any of her personal life or past, but right now she was feeling vulnerable and tired, tired of hiding everything. She felt like curling up into a little ball and crying. She wanted to cry until she couldn’t anymore, get out all the emotions bottled inside of her and all the secrets and the hidden life she kept silent. She was tired of taking care of other people and no one taking care of her anymore.
“My parents...my mom and dad...they...” she began. She took another deep breath and sighed, “They died.”
Lance held his breath and his heart seemed to ache for her. He watched Kayla’s expression turn from uptight to hurt and scared. “I’m sorry...”
Kayla sat there and stared at the grass, “They died in a car accident two years ago.”
Lance’s eyes fell sympathetically on her and his expression turned to concerned. He wasn’t sure what to say or what was appropriate in this situation. So instead he kept the silence and pulled her into a hug.
Kayla resisted at first, not wanting anyone to pity her, especially him. But when Lance gently pulled her into his grasp, she couldn’t fight back any longer. She fell into his arms and let him hold her tightly, comfortingly. He rocked her back and forth gently and rubbed her back. Kayla felt a tear roll down her cheek and onto his shirt, soaking into the material. She finally wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Lance’s eyes opened from her sudden hug, but he smiled, he had finally made a connection with her.
So this was the Kayla no one knew about, this was the vulnerable and scared girl on the inside. The girl who came to work with her head held high, fooling everyone around her. This is the girl who has a past that will always haunt her and an unforgettable ending to always remember.
Kayla let another tear fall, then another, letting herself cry silently. She hadn’t cried in so long about this, it was a relief to be in someone’s arms and let out all her emotions without needing to explain them.
Lance pulled away and looked into Kayla’s eyes. His green eyes glowed magically in the soft moonlight and they showed true concern. He cupped her face and took his thumbs, running them across her cheek gently, wiping the tears away. Kayla sniffled and shivered.
“I think we should head back to the hotel, your shaking,” Lance said softly.
Kayla nodded her head in response and smiled weakly. Lance stood up and helped Kayla up after him. Instead of taking her hand, he wrapped his arm around her protectively and led her towards the car.
The car ride hope was silent, while Lance refused to let go of her hand, squeezing it gently every now and then as if to assure her that he was there. Kayla gazed out the window and tried to put her thoughts in order. She just let something go that only one other person knew about, Bryce. She was ashamed that she told Lance, but at the same time it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
They got back to the hotel and Lance parked the car. He opened Kayla’s door for her and she climbed out, automatically placing her hand into his. They walked to the lobby, hand in hand. When they finally reached Kayla’s hotel room, she didn’t want him to leave.
“Don’t go yet, please,” she pleaded helplessly.
“I’ll stay as long as you want,” he replied softly.
They walked into her hotel room and she kicked her shoes off, placing her purse on the floor. She turned a dim light on and walked over to her bed. She was to tired to even think about changing into pajamas and she didn’t even care. She laid on her bed and curled up into a little ball, shivering again. Lance walked over and laid next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She snuggled into him, feeling like she couldn’t get close enough. He laid still and rubbed her arm in a rhythmic motion, soothing her nerves. A few minutes later, the room was quiet and all you could hear was two separate breaths, they had both fallen asleep.
Justin and Alyissa walked down the hall, giggling quietly. They reached Alyissa’s room and stood outside together. Justin brought Alyissa into his arms and smiled.
“I had a great time,” she whispered.
“Me too,” he whispered in return.
Alyissa wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He leaned his head down and their lips met.
“Justin? Alyissa? Is that you?” a voice whispered loudly.
They both broke away from their kiss with annoyed expressions on their faces.
“Yes it’s us, what do you want?” Justin replied in a harsh whisper.
“Is Lance or Kayla with you?”
“NO!” Justin whispered in return. “Why?” he asked curiously.
Chris stepped out of his hotel room and grinned broadly, “Well the last we saw of them, they were together and Lance hasn’t shown up since.”
Alyissa glared at them, “Didn’t I make you promise you wouldn’t interfere with their relationship?”
Chris shrank back, “I didn’t do anything! It was the other two culprits!”
She glared at Justin.
Justin held up his hands innocently, “I didn’t do anything! I was with you the whole night remember?”
Alyissa sighed and shook her head, “What’d you do Chris?”
“I’m telling you...I didn’t do anything...it was the other two.”
“WHAT other two?”
Chris grinned and shrugged.
Alyissa grabbed Chris’ ear and Justin’s wrist, dragging them both into Chris’ hotel room. She pushed Chris and let go of Justin’s wrist.
JC and Joey looked up, “Chris are they....” they trailed off.
Alyissa crossed her arms, “Ok who would like to explain this to me?”
“It was his idea,” they all said in unison, pointing at Chris.
Chris gave a shocked look, “My?...Nu-uh!...” he protested. “Traitors,” he mumbled.
They all grinned and shrugged their shoulders, “It’s your ass, not ours.”
Chris rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed.
“So what’d you do?” Alyissa asked, tapping her foot. She spun around to Justin, “Did you have any part in this?”
“Not tonight...they were all on their own,” he said defensively.
“We just went out to dinner,” Chris said casually.
“And?”
“And...we got tired so we came back here, but Lance and Kayla wanted to stay out a little longer.”
“What time did you come back from dinner?” Alyissa asked.
“Nine,” JC mumbled.
“NINE? Oh please! I know you people, your one night off and you came in at NINE?”
They nodded their heads.
“Why did you pull THEM into it?” Alyissa asked Chris, pointing at Joey and JC.
“You never said THEY couldn’t do anything...just me and J weren’t aloud to do anything,” Chris grinned.
Alyissa sighed and rolled her eyes. They all waited for her to explode when she did something they didn’t expect. She walked over to the bed and sat down, “So how’d it go?”
They all let out a sigh of relief, “Well I think...they haven’t come back yet and if they have, Lance hasn’t returned to his room.”
Alyissa stood up and walked towards the door, “Stay here I’ll go check if Kayla’s back yet.”
She walked across the hall and opened the door to her hotel room quietly. She noticed a dim light on and found Lance and Kayla sleeping peacefully. She crept into the room and took off her shoes, placing them in the corner. She took a blanket off her bed and laid it over them carefully. She turned out the light and tip toed out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her. She walked into the room where all the guys were waiting patiently for her.
“Damn guys...your good,” she commented.
They all gave her hopeful looks, “They in there together?”
Alyissa nodded her head, “You even got them into bed together,” she grinned slyly.
“What!?! Poofoo and Kayla? DAMN! Already? We just wanted them to spend time alone together!” Chris laughed.
Alyissa rolled her eyes, “THAT, right there just proves your mind is in the gutter.”
Chris stopped celebrating and looked over at Alyissa, “Huh?”
“I meant their in bed together...sleeping...not doing what YOUR dirty mind is thinking.”
Chris grinned and blushed, “Well you would have thought the same thing if you heard it the way I did!”
Alyissa shook her head, “Nu-uh.”
She walked over to the bed and sat down. Justin walked back into the room, changed into boxers and a wife beater. Alyissa whistled playfully and winked.
“Break me off a piece of that!” she joked.
Justin grinned and flexed, laughing.
Chris made a gagging sound and rolled his eyes.
“Well it’s your fault that you got them together, now I have to spend the night in here,” Alyissa said shrugging her shoulders.
Justin grinned and jumped on the bed she was sitting on. “Alyissa’s my bed buddy!”
“First go get me pajamas...I’m not sleeping in this dress and ruining it.”
Justin obediently got her boxers and a t-shirt, handing them to her and letting her change in the bathroom. Alyissa came back out, changed and comfortable. She walked over to the bed and laid down, crawling under the covers. Justin started to join her when she gave him a look of wonder.
“Uh-uh big guy, your sleeping on the floor tonight!” Justin gave a look of hurt and Alyissa handed him a pillow and blanket. “This bed is NOT big enough for the both of us and you know it.”
Justin grinned, “A guy can hope can’t he?”
“He can hope...that’s about it,” she grinned back.
The other guys laughed while JC and Joey stood up. “We’re going to bed, if anything happens, wake us up.”
Chris nodded his head, not really acknowledging them. They left through the connecting door and headed to bed. Chris was watching TV with all the lights out. Alyissa and Justin fell asleep automatically while Chris let himself doze off to the flashing colors of the late night shows and the dull sound of faint voices and laughter.
(The Next Morning)
Kayla stirred in her sleep and tried rolling over. She felt herself caught in something and tried to squirm her way out, still half asleep. She opened her eyes slightly and found herself wrapped in Lance’s arms. Her mind raced back to the night before and looked down at herself, finding herself still fully dressed. She let her head fall back on the pillow and sighed in relief. She stared at the ceiling and tried to put her thoughts into some sort of order that made sense to her.
Here she was, on one of the greatest vacations of her life, having the time of her life she never got to experience, with five great guys and a new found friend. Still she felt guilty for leaving Bryce and Casey home alone, plus she didn’t like the fact of Casey beginning to think of Bryce as her daddy, Kayla knew she wasn’t going to stay with Bryce forever and she didn’t like breaking Casey’s heart at such a young age. Bryce was a great guy, but not someone Kayla loved.
Kayla turned on her side carefully to face Lance. She studied his face and smiled to herself, this was someone she could learn how to love. She shook her head from her thoughts. “Get real, we're not gonna fall in love,” she thought to herself. But there was always the little light of hope that was deep inside of her.
She debated on if she would continue telling Lance parts of her life. Last night she was angry at herself for revealing a part of herself, but when she started to cry and he held her in his arms, she felt like a part of her was set free. A part that held her down profusely. She felt excited to have shared something with this caring and loving guy, even a little shy about it, but as of right that moment, she didn’t regret a thing.
She only had one more week on their tour, she hoped that week would bring even more fun and laughs, but she hoped even more that it would give her a chance to get closer to this man she was sleeping next to.
Her eyes ran over his smooth skin and his soft looking lips. She noticed the relaxed wrinkles in his forehead while he dreamed and his eyes moving around slowly under his eyelids. She wished his eyes were open so she could stare into them and get lost in the breathtaking color, but she liked watching him sleep just as much. She smiled to herself and snuggled herself deeper into his grasp. She buried her face into his shirt and inhaled deeply, trying to capture all points and views of the magical moment she was having. Lance’s arms tightened around her in his sleep and Kayla sighed, feeling secure and safe for once in her life.
“’Liss...’LLLLLiiiiiissssss...” a voice whispered.
Alyissa rolled over and threw her pillow on the direction of the voice. “Go away,” she mumbled.
“Man...I’m glad I don’t have to share a room with you all the time...you would have probably killed me by now.”
Alyissa lifted her head up weakly and looked around to find the person who had stated that last comment. She tried to open her eyes, still halfway shut from sleep. She pushed pieces of hair out of her face and finally let her eyes focus on the figure standing in front of her. Her vision cleared up and she found Justin standing there with a bright smile on his face.
“Hey beautiful, time to wake up,” he said softly.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Almost 8...we let you sleep in,” he grinned.
“Eight?...what the hell are you doing waking me up? I don’t get up until the numbers on the hours DOUBLE!”
Justin chuckled softly, “Uh-uh honey, you have to get up and get ready for breakfast, I’ll be gone all day and you won’t see me until tonight so you have to join us for breakfast.”
Alyissa groaned and shoved her face into the mattress, trying to block all incoming sunlight. She searched around blindly for her pillow to cover her head when she heard Justin laugh lightly.
“You threw it at me...remember?”
Alyissa groaned again and rolled over on her back. She sighed once again and pushed all the hair out of her face. She sat up quickly and looked around the room. Justin sat on the end of her bed, Alyissa was about to drop backwards when Justin caught her.
“Nope,” he said. “Up, up, up.”
“No!” she protested tiredly. “Sleep, sleep, sleep!”
Justin picked her up and carried her off the bed. He walked towards the door to head back to Alyissa’s room.
“You can’t go down to breakfast like that, people will suspect things since your in MY pajamas.”
Alyissa mumbled something and clung onto Justin’s neck.
“Now come on, I’m gonna wait for you in your room until you get ready because I know you’ll try to go back to bed,” he said turning the knob and hip bumping the door open.
He walked in and over to the bathroom, placing Alyissa back down on her feet and giving her a small push into the bathroom.
“Your not supposed to be a morning person, why are you even talking? You haven’t gotten your cereal yet,” Alyissa complained.
“Oh but I have, I always have a stash in my bag...tsk...I would think you would know that by now baby, go shower.”
Alyissa was too tired to protest so she decided to let Justin boss her around for once, it was a nice change of pace. Alyissa smiled to herself and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
When the door shut Justin spun around on his heels and found Kayla asleep in Lance’s arms. A definite Kodak moment in Justin’s opinion, but he had promised not to do anything and he always respected Alyissa’s wishes.
He walked over to Lance’s side of the bed and shook him gently. “Yo Lance.”
Lance moaned softly and rolled over a little to try and open his eyes. He blinked a few times to wake himself up and finally recognized Justin’s face.
“Huh?...oh hey...umm...” he trailed off, staring around the room. “This isn’t my room.”
Justin laughed quietly so as not to wake Kayla, “Your pretty quick in the morning, your in bed with Kayla...which wouldn’t go well with a lot of people I know...people think things you know.”
Lance blushed and looked over at Kayla who had a peaceful look on her face. He smiled softly and watched her rhythmic breathing for a few minutes before Justin broke his gaze.
“Dude get up, we gotta go get breakfast and then we’re out,” he said nudging him.
Lance nodded his head, “All right...who’s in the shower?”
“My date from last night, I needed to get her out of the hotel before ‘Liss wakes up,” Justin said in a low tone.
Lance’s eyes widened, “What?”
Justin stared at him with a serious expression before breaking into laughter. The shower turned off and you could hear someone moving around. Alyissa opened the door and stepped out in a robe and hair wrapped in a towel. She handed Justin his boxers and t-shirt then walked over to her suitcase.
Lance glared at Justin who had a thoroughly amused look on his face.
“I had to...” Justin laughed.
Lance rolled his eyes and turned to Kayla, nudging her gently. “Time to get up,” he whispered softly.
Kayla groaned and opened her eyes to find Lance hovering over her, something she didn’t mind waking up to. She rubbed her eyes and noticed other people in the room. Justin and Alyissa were staring at her with smiles on their faces. Kayla blushed and Lance got off the bed, stretching slowly. Kayla sat up and brushed all the hair out of her face.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Damn ‘Liss I think you’ve hung around her TOO much,” Justin joked.
Alyissa rolled her eyes, “Almost 8:30.”
Kayla’s eyes widened, “Why are we up so early?”
“Curly over here wanted us to go to breakfast,” Alyissa said pointing to Justin with a smug look on her face.
“We’re gonna be gone all day,” Justin explained. “I’m sorry for wanting to spend time with my girlfriend.”
Alyissa’s face fell and she immediately felt bad, “It’s sweet...really early...but sweet.”
Justin grinned and winked at Alyissa. Alyissa shut the bathroom door to change and Lance headed for the door.
“I need to shower and change, see you in a few,” he said with a small wave.
Kayla watched him leave and gave a small wave in return, though he didn’t see it because he had already shut the door. Kayla swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up. She walked over to her suitcase and searched through her clothes to find an outfit for the day. She found a pair of shorts and simple tank top to wear, at least for breakfast. She waited for Alyissa to finish using the bathroom, while still trying to wake up.
Alyissa walked out and Kayla automatically walked in. Alyissa threw her hair up and looked at Justin.
She knocked on the door, “Kayla?”
“Yeah?” she replied.
“Justin and I are gonna head downstairs, do you want us to wait for you?”
“No, I’ll be fine...I’ll see you down there in 15 minutes,” she yelled over the running water.
“All right,” Alyissa said.
Justin walked towards the door and Alyissa followed, heading towards the dining room.
A knock on the door caused Kayla to look up. “Come in!”
The door opened and Lance walked in with a smile on his face. “I thought you’d still be here.”
“Yeah everyone was too hungry to wait I guess,” Kayla laughed.
“Are you almost ready?” Lance asked.
Kayla nodded her head and walked over to the door, grabbing her room keys first.
Lance stood in the doorway and paused, “Kayla...”
She looked up, “Yes?”
“I just...about last night...” he stuttered.
She took a deep breath and expected the worse. Maybe he got scared or he just felt bad all together and didn’t really want a relationship now. Who knows if he even wanted one in the beginning. It was always nice to dream though.
“Thank you,” he finally said.
Kayla’s eyes were filled with wonder, “For...what?”
“For...for showing me that part of you,” he said softly. “It meant a lot to me and I hope you know you can trust me...”
Kayla’s face relaxed and a smile crept across her face, “I know I can trust you...and you know the biggest secret of my life,” she said.
Her thoughts raced back to Casey and Bryce and decided against telling Lance about them. He might really be chased away after finding out about them and besides, he thought they were her roommates anyway. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“I’m here for you,” he said gently. “Remember that.”
Kayla smiled and took a deep breath, “I don’t know what I’m about to do, but to me it feels right.”
Lance studied her with a curious expression. “Huh?”
Kayla stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head towards her. She closed her eyes and covered his lips with hers. Lance’s eyes widened from the surprise kiss, but quickly fell shut to fall into it. Kayla ran her fingers on the back of his head, in his hair. Grabbing him and pulling him closer and closer. Lance wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled her in, pressing his lips harder on his. Kayla felt like she couldn’t get close enough to him, she kept pulling at him, trying to get closer.
Kayla was the first person to pull away, but only for the reason to breath. They pulled away from each other and tried to catch their breaths. Lance looked into Kayla’s eyes and they stared at each other for what seemed like eternity.
Lance finally spoke, “...Wow.”
Kayla giggled softly and brushed a piece of hair out of her face, “Sorry I don’t know what--”
Lance placed a finger on her lips to hush her, “Don’t apologize...if you didn’t do it I would have.”
Kayla blushed and flashed a shy smile. She licked her lips and sighed, “Well...we’ve kept everyone downstairs long enough...I think we should go eat.”
Lance smiled and nodded, taking Kayla’s hand in his, “After you.”
Kayla stepped out into the hallway with a new feeling running through her blood, a happy one.
“Damn their still not down here?” Chris asked, looking at the entrance of the dining room. “You said you woke them up?” he asked Justin.
Justin nodded his head, “Lance walked back to his room to shower and change...I know they were up...”
Alyissa sat quietly and watched everyone talk. Just then she smiled and waved. All four guys turned their heads to see Lance and Kayla stroll in, hand in hand, laughing about something. Kayla spotted everyone at their table and waved, walking over to them.
“Well, well, well,” Chris smirked.
“Good morning to you too Chris,” Kayla smiled innocently.
“Kayla what happened to you? We thought Poofoo kidnapped you!” Justin exclaimed.
“I wouldn’t have minded that,” Kayla giggled.
They all turned around and stared, mouths open, to the two standing there grinning at each other.
“What?” Kayla asked, catching everyone’s stares. “It was a joke...comment...I’ve made a lot of them like that before...what are those looks for?”
Lance pulled out a chair for her and Kayla thanked him while she sat down. He found a seat on the other side of the table and looked at all the food. Alyissa nudged Kayla and grinned knowingly.
Kayla giggled and blushed, “What?” she whispered.
Alyissa didn’t say another word, just sat with a smile on her face.
“So where’d you two go last night?” Kayla asked Alyissa and Justin.
They looked at each other and smiled. “Justin took me out to dinner.”
“Where’d you do?”
“To a field.”
Kayla raised an eyebrow, “How...romantic?”
Alyissa laughed, “No, no, he had a picnic all set up for us...candles and all.”
Justin nodded his head proudly and grinned.
“It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had,” Alyissa smiled, touching Justin’s hand.
“I try my best,” he said softly.
They sat there, staring into each others eyes affectionately when Joey cut in.
“AAWWWWW...so Lance where were ya last night man?”
They all turned to look at Joey. He shrugged his shoulders, “What? I have a right to know...I share a room with him...I was worried sick! I thought he got jumped or something...then I found my favorite movie on pay-per-view and forgot about it...”
Lance laughed, “Thanks for showing all the concern...now I know how much you really care about our friendship...obviously not as much as Toy Story.”
“NO...that’s not true! I care about you more than that movie...besides that’s not my favorite movie....”
Everyone laughed and Joey grinned playfully.
“I was out with Kayla...after you guys left, we went for a walk and then back to here,” Lance said casually.
“YES...but you never came back to our room...” Joey hinted.
“I fell asleep in Kayla’s room,” Lance said nonchalantly.
Joey opened his mouth when Alyissa shoved a piece of melon in his mouth, “Try this Joe...it’s really good.”
“Mhmpmhphpmpphmhp.”
“Excuse me? Yes I know it’s good...KEEP EATING,” Alyissa said shoving the whole bowl in front of him.
Lance stood up, “We gotta go guys.”
They all nodded their heads and stood up.
Justin kissed Alyissa on the cheek, “See you tonight.”
She smiled, “Ok...stay out of trouble...” she told all of them.
They all gave her sly smiles and nodded their heads innocently. “Yes mommy.”
“If I hear about any of you acting up then your gonna have to answer to me,” she warned.
“Ooohh...I’m SSSOOO scared,” Chris said sarcastically waving his hands in the air.
“Chris...I swear to God I’m gonna...” she said, starting to get up.
“EEP! Keep her away!” he yelped, jumping and running towards the door.
Alyissa laughed and waved again, sitting back down.
“Bye,” Lance whispered in Kayla’s ear.
She blushed and felt a shiver run down her spine from his closeness. “Bye,” she managed to get out.
He smiled and ran after the rest of the guys to catch up.
Alyissa turned to Kayla and scooted her chair in, “Ok...every single last detail...NOW!”
Kayla laughed, “Nothing happened really...except for what he told you guys...we went for a walk and came back here...then we fell asleep.”
“Uh huh...and between that you...”
Kayla stared at her.
“This is where you finish my sentence,” Alyissa urged.
“We...talked.”
“That’s it? Or did you TALK,” Alyissa nudged her.
Kayla laughed again, “No...we really talked...not the kind your thinking about.”
“I swear my mind was clean until I met those guys...they corrupted me.”
Both girls laughed.
“Where’d you get that ring?” Kayla asked, staring at Alyissa’s finger.
“Huh? Oh...Justin gave it to me...last night,” she blushed.
“Ohhhh...?” Kayla grinned.
“It’s a promise ring,” Alyissa said, expression serious. She stared at the ring, getting caught in her own moment. “When he slipped it on my finger he told me he promised me he would always be there for me...no matter if it was in flesh and blood, friend or boyfriend, there won’t ever be a time he won’t be there for me.”
Kayla watched Alyissa talk and noticed the affection and appreciation in her eyes.
“That’s the first promise someone has ever made me...and I trust that he’ll keep it because he gave me a token to show he cares...” she trailed off, mumbling now, turning the ring on her finger. “I can’t help myself...I just love that boy.”
Kayla smiled and hugged Alyissa. “And there’s nothing wrong with that...nothing at all.”
