The girls went up to their rooms to put their bags away. After everything was put away, they gathered in Elaine's room. "I can't believe how well you guys did down there. Thanks for helping me get some time alone with Lance."
"Hey, we WANT to go dancing. You can stay home, if you want. We want to partay," grinned Rickii.
"Well, tonight will give me the perfect opportunity to set "Project Win Lance Bass' Heart" in motion." Elaine walked over to the double doors and opened them to go out on the balcony. She saw the telescope set up and looked at the girls. "Hopefully, we will be looking at more than the stars," she grinned.
JC and Justin came over a couple of hours after the girls got there. Justin had stopped at Blockbuster and picked up some movies for Lance. They decided they would watch one, a guy flick, while Lance and Elaine finished up dinner. They were having a ball in the kitchen fixing a real country dinner, fried chicken with rice and gravy and corn and fried okra and a Big Boy tomato. To top it off, there were biscuits and strawberry preserves.
Dinner was served on the screened in patio and everyone had a ball laughing and talking. JC and Rickii and Justin and Lynne made plans for what they were going to do. Justin had mentioned that there were a couple of clubs in the area that weren't too rowdy and they should be able to have a good time there.
After everyone left, Elaine and Lance were in the kitchen rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. They were laughing and talking and remembering past adventures over the years. When the dishes were loaded, Elaine wanted to go for a walk out back before it got dark. They walked along a path through the garden that Lance had put in to add color to the back area of the house.
"It smells so good out here," said Elaine. "This is almost heaven. I can't believe how much you have enlarged the garden since I last saw it."
"Oh, we work on it a little each year and add something each year. I am trying to find the right lavender rose bush to add to the rose garden."
"Oh, I love lavender roses. By the way, thank you for the beautiful flowers in my room. They smell so good. I could smell them the moment I walked into the room."
"I'm glad you like them. I was hoping they would please you," Lance said as he looked down at the ground.
They finally headed back to the house and went in the kitchen to put everything away that was done in the washer. "I am going up and get a shower and put on something comfortable for watching the movie. I'll see you in a little while. Okay?"
"Sure. Would you like some popcorn with your movie? If I remember correctly, you like buttered popcorn, right?" Lance asked as he pulled the box from the pantry.
"Yes, you remembered. That would be really good." With that, Elaine was off and up the stairs.
Lance decided he would run upstairs and get a quick shower in his room and change for the movie, too. It would only take him a few minutes and he could be back downstairs and pop the popcorn before she was done. He rushed up the stairs and as he rounded the corner, he ran right into Elaine as she came out of her room with only a towel wrapped around her. She almost dropped it in the collision, but recovered it nicely. All Lance could do was stutter as he looked her up and down.
"I was just going down to Lynne's room to get my dryer she borrowed before they went out," Elaine said apologetically. "I didn't think there would be anyone up here."
Lance finally found his voice and managed to squeak out an apology. "I am so sorry I bumped into you. I just thought I would get changed, too, for the evening and then go back down and have things ready when you were done."
"It's okay, Lance. I'm not hurt and for goodness sake, this is your house, you can do whatever you want to do. I'm fine, okay?" She made sure her towel was gathered around her and went down the hall to Lynne's room and came back out with the dryer and disappeared into her room.
Lance was still mesmerized by seeing her in only a towel. He tried to pull himself together and quickly escaped into his room. As he closed the door, he leaned against it for support and worked on slowing his breathing down.
Elaine had done the same thing. She was leaning against her door thinking about the look on his face when he looked her up and down. It was as though his eyes burned right into her.
They both finally got themselves together and headed for their respective showers. Elaine was thinking, "I need a cold shower," and so was Lance. Lance was in and out in no time at all. He threw on a pair of cutoff sweats and a gray wifebeater and padded downstairs to fix snacks for the movies.
Meanwhile, Elaine was having a tougher time pulling herself together. She stood in the shower letting the water beat on her back and she silently prayed, "Lord, help me to keep it together here. I love him so much and I don't want to mess things up with him. I don't want to scare him off or for him to think badly of me. Lord, I have prayed for five years that if it was what You wanted, You would save him for me. He has been in relationships, but they have never worked out, so I'm taking that as a sign that we are meant to be. Help me not to let my feelings get the best of me. Help me to stay true to my promise to You, to wait for marriage."
