The guys took the girls on a tour of the retreat. They went horseback riding and had a marvelous time. When they reached the top of the next hill, they dismounted and looked out over the valley. The view was incredible. It looked like you could see all the way to the ocean.
Elaine stood and looked down through the valley. There was a stream that ran through the middle and the water sparkled in the light like diamonds. As she stood there, she suddenly felt two arms slip around her waist from behind and she caught the familiar scent of Lance as he gave her a quick hug.
"What are you looking at so intently?" he asked.
"God's beauty. This is the most incredible view. I was about to thank God for this beautiful day. Would you like to join me?"
"Yes, I would," said Lance as he stepped beside her and took her hand in his and bowed his head.
They stood there in silence for a few moments and then Elaine spoke. "Father, thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for this time to rest and regroup. May we all benefit from this time here. I pray that friendships will be strengthened and renewed. Watch over Chris and Dani and Joey and his family while they are away from us. Please continue to bless Lance, Justin, JC, Chris and Joey as they continue to do the music they love.
Father, I love you and I have tried to live my life as you would have me to. Help me to keep my promises to you. And Lord, be with Lance and me as we venture forward together in a new relationship. Bless us and help us to keep good heads on our shoulders. Thank You for all this beauty around us. Make us ever mindful of Your presence. Amen."
Lance squeezed her hand and spoke, "Lord, I just want to thank you for these few days we have and most of all, thank you for Elaine and my friends. Amen."
Elaine turned to look Lance in the eyes and they said all she needed to know, 'she was special to him'. They were still holding hands when the rest of the crew walked up behind them.
"Hey, what's goin' on Scoop?" asked Justin.
Lance finally broke eye contact with Elaine and looked at Justin and the others, "just admiring God's creations," and then he turned back to Elaine and they walked back to the horses.
Everyone else looked at each other like, "What is going on, what did we miss?"
They had a light picnic lunch and then headed back to the main house. The stable keepers took the horses to rub them down and everyone went to the house and sat on the porch in the rocking chairs. Lance and Elaine chose to sit in one of the double swings so they could sit together and he nonchalantly placed his arm behind Elaine on the swing back.
For over an hour, they laughed and talked and the girls relayed stories of things they pulled on Mr. Dennis during their Senior Year. Some of the things they pulled on him on their Senior Trip were priceless. The guys laughed so hard they had to hold their sides and they laughed so hard, they had tears streaming down their faces. "And we thought that we were pranksters," laughed Justin, "you girls got us beat."
It was so peaceful out on the porch and the breeze was heaven. "What time is dinner?" asked Elaine.
"Cook said it would be served in the gazebo at seven. We will be able to watch the sunset while we eat."
"Well, I am going up and take a shower and wash my hair so I don't smell like horses tonight." With that, she excused herself and went upstairs to her room. She went in and turned on the water in the shower and grabbed a couple of towels. She undressed and stepped in under the hard hitting water. The water massaged her muscles that she had not used since the last time she went horseback riding.
Elaine washed her hair until it was squeaky clean, then she pulled out the new shower gel she bought, just for this trip. It was called DESIRE. She squeezed some on the sponge and rubbed it over her body. As she bathed, she recalled the kiss on the balcony earlier in the day. Some of the feelings she experienced were completely new to her.
Tonight was going to be special, she was sure of that. A nice quiet dinner in the gazebo and then dancing. She couldn't wait to feel Lance's arms around her again. She couldn't wait to be able to nuzzle his neck and sneak kisses on his tender skin and drive him crazy. She had remembered a long time ago during some interview, someone asked him what kind of kisses he liked and he said that kisses on his neck drove him wild. "Sounds like a plan, huh?" she thought.
Elaine stepped out of the shower and wrapped the big towel around herself. She then grabbed the other towel and wrapped it around her head to dry her hair. As she dried her hair, she walked out into the bedroom and over to the balcony doors. The thought of what happened on the balcony earlier went through her mind, again.
She opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. They were miles from prying eyes and everyone else was downstairs. The sun's rays were warm on her freshly bathed skin and the fragrance from the shower gel was multiplied.
Her hair was going to take some time to dry because she didn't want to blow dry it and have it all frizzy for tonight. She bent forward and took the towel and vigorously towel dried it as much as possible, then she took her fingers and combed through her hair. As she was doing all of this, her towel around her came loose. As she raised up, the towel slipped some in back and dropped to just above her waist where she caught it. Quickly, she opened and pulled the towel back around her and tucked in the end tighter. As she turned to go back in her room, she bent to pick up the other towel and as she came up, she thought she saw someone in the doorway of Lance's room. She looked again and saw nothing and just thought she had a rush from coming up so quickly and went on back to her room to get ready for tonight.
Meanwhile, in Lance's room, hidden behind the curtains, stood Lance holding his breath until he heard her go back into her room. "Damn, she almost caught me," he thought. What was wrong with him, anyway? What was he doing standing there watching her on the balcony in her towel? "God, I've turned into a dirty old man, what is wrong with me?"
Lance went and sat in the chair by his bed. His heart was racing ninety miles an hour and the sight of her bare back below her beautiful hair was almost more than he could stand. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the towel drop. "I have got to stop this, it's time for a cold shower," and off he went to his bathroom to shower and shave for tonight.
Justin had told everyone to dress nice for tonight because it was going to be special out at the gazebo. It was going to be like going out to a dinner club with dancing, but without all the hassles of screaming fans and having to have security around. He found himself really looking forward to tonight and he couldn't wait to hold Elaine in his arms again while they danced. Hopefully, there would be a lot of slow dancing so that he could hold her close and smell the freshness of her beautiful hair.
Lance took a long shower and was soon running around his room looking for what he was going to wear. He had some black dress pants and a red V-neck pullover sweater with long sleeves. He wore his black boots and stepped in front of the mirror to inspect himself. He was slim and trim and had managed to keep himself in good shape all of these years. "Not bad for an old guy," he said softly to the mirror.
Then he turned to go out the door and stopped at Elaine's door to see if she was ready. He knocked and he heard a very exasperated Elaine call out, "Who is it?"
"It's me," Lance said. "Just checking to see if you are ready to go down for dinner and if you wanted to go down with me?"
He could hear her fumbling around and then she called out, "No, I'm not ready, in fact, I'm having a devil of a time getting my dress zipped. Could you ask Lynne or Rickii if they could come and help me out?"
"Sure thing. Don't be long," and he turned to go knock on Lynne's door. He conveyed the message to her and went on downstairs and out to the gazebo where Justin and JC were, already.
"Well, Lance is here, where are the girls?" asked Justin.
"Lynne is helping Elaine with her dress and I think Rickii was in the kitchen as I went by on my way out."
"Well, they better hurry or the food is going to be cold," said JC. The guys started talking and were going over some things that had come to mind about the tour. Lance had been sitting with his back to the house and JC and Justin were facing the house. All of a sudden, JC and Justin just shut up and stood up slowly. Their eyes were as big as saucers.
"What's wrong?" asked Lance as he stood and turned in the direction of his friends gaze. "Oh my God" was all that any of them could say.
