Around five o'clock, they headed back to the house to shower and dress for dinner that night. It wasn't going to be all dressy like it was the first night, so everyone was going to keep it casual. The girls decided on capri pants and spaghetti strap tube tops as they rode back to the barn.
Lance walked Elaine to her door and gave her a kiss promising to see her shortly and then hurried into his room and out onto the balcony. He slipped over by Elaine's door so he could hopefully look in without being seen. He wanted to see the look on her face when she found her surprise.
Elaine had pushed her bedroom door closed and leaned her forehead against the door and smiled to herself at what a wonderful man he was. He was so incredibly gentle and yet was ALL MAN. When he touched her, it was like her skin was on fire wherever he touched. Just looking into those discerning green eyes made her catch her breath. The man was sent from heaven, she was sure of it. Suddenly, a fragrance that she knew only too well reached her nose and a smile came to her face. She slowly turned around to search the room and as her eyes darted about, she inhaled the delicate fragrance of lavender roses.
There they were by her bed on a reading table. She quickly rushed over to the table and leaned over to inhale even more of the heavenly fragrance that only these delicate blooms could produce. As she relished in this special treat, she closed her eyes and thought how sweet Lance was. The card had not even been read yet and she knew they were from him. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked for the card. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the card from the envelope and read.
"Sugar Bear, my life was dark and lonely until you came back into it. You are my sunshine, my ray of hope, my lifeline. There are no words to convey to you what you mean to me and how much I care for you. One day soon, you will know. One day soon I will be able to let you know just what you mean to me. I want our last night to be special, so wear your dancin' shoes, I'm not letting you out of my arms tonight, This I Promise You. Yours always, Lance."
She stood there looking at the card and the she counted and there were eighteen roses. She reached over and pulled one of the roses out of the vase and brought it to her nose to inhale the fragrance even deeper. Something caught her eye outside her door and she quickly glanced up to see Lance standing there watching her. Quickly, she ran to the doors to the balcony and opened them wide and jumped into Lance's arms giving him the biggest hug ever. "I love the flowers, Lance. Thank you so much and I can't wait for THAT day." With that, she gave him a kiss and held ever so tightly to him, not wanting to ever let go.
He just stood there and held her. She felt so good in his arms. She felt so RIGHT. As he held her, he closed his eyes and remembered the first night they were there, how he held her as they danced. "Oh God, let her be the one You want for me. Let her be the one to make my life complete. Let her be the one to share my tears and my laughter. Oh Lord, please let her be the one to share my life with me," he silently prayed.
Her arms held him so tight. She had never felt safer in her whole life and no one had ever made her feel the way that he did. In urgency, she silently offered her prayer to God. "Lord, he's perfect, or at least as perfect as you can get down here. I've prayed for him for five years. He makes me feel whole, like there is nothing missing in my life. And he loves You, Lord. Please, help me keep it together. Help me to love him the way I should." Slowly, they let go of one another and gazed into each other's eyes. The gold specks in his green eyes seemed to shimmer and as he started leaning toward her again, he slowly closed his eyes waiting for contact with her lips. Her lips were slightly parted so his tongue found easy access. The kiss became more and more passionate and he pulled her closer. Elaine felt as though she were flying.
Suddenly, Lance could hear his Mom's voice, "She's not even eighteen, yet". As much as he hated to, he pulled back from the kiss. He had to exercise some restraint, at least for a couple more weeks. When he looked into her eyes, he could see it was difficult for her, too. They both just held one another as their breathing returned to normal.
"We better get cleaned up for dinner and I will wear my dancin' shoes," Elaine grinned as she went back to her room and he went to his.
He flipped on his computer to check his email. There were the emails he had been waiting on from Stacy. She was helping to renegotiate Meredith Edward's contract and it looked like she had finally succeeded in getting what they wanted. As he read, he picked up his phone to call his sister.
"Hello?"
"Ford, is my sweet sister around?"
"Lance buddy. Yeah man, she just got home from the office, here she is. You take care now."
"Lance, is that you? Where you at baby brother?"
"We're still at the retreat. I just checked my emails and see that we got Meredith resigned. Did you have any problems?"
Stacy filled Lance in on the negotiations and while they talked he worked on clearing his other mail. Just as he was about to shut down the computer, he received an IM from YrMyn4Eva again.
YrMyn4Eva: Hello Lance!
ImPooFu95: Hey
YrMyn4Eva: Haven't seen you online all day.
ImPooFu95: Been busy.
YrMyn4Eva: Business busy or fun busy?
ImPooFu95: A little of both.
YrMyn4Eva: Alone?
Lance stopped and looked at the screen. Who is this? They're getting a little personal.
ImPooFu95: Maybe, maybe not. Why do you want to know?
YrMyn4Eva: Just want to know if you're okay and having fun.
ImPooFu95: Well, I am having a blast and I haven't felt this good in years. GTG get ready for dinner. Bye X 3.
Lance shut down the computer as soon as the message was sent and went to take a shower. He thought, "There are some crazy people in this world" as he closed the door to the bathroom.
The weather was cooperating beautifully and they were eating in the gazebo again tonight. Lance took a long, hot shower as he had some muscles that cramped up on him from riding.
Elaine was ready and had come to the balcony door that was open. She heard the water running and went to knock on the bathroom door. "Lance? May I use your computer for a moment?"
"Sure, you know my password, help yourself."
Elaine wanted to get a jump on things before she got back tomorrow. At least if she knew what was coming, she could be prepared. As she checked messages, she received an IM from an unknown screen name to her. Must be a fan that Lance has spoke to online, she thought.
YrMyn4Eva: That was quick.
ImPooFu95: What?
YrMyn4Eva: You said you were getting ready for dinner. You're back real quick.
ImPooFu95: Did you want Lance?
YrMyn4Eva: You're NOT LANCE?!
ImPooFu95: No
YrMyn4Eva: Is this Justin, JC, Joey or Chris?
ImPooFu95: No, not cute enough, talented enough, flirty enough or crazy enough to be one of those guys.
YrMyn4Eva: Then who?
ImPooFu95: A friend.
Elaine was really getting frustrated with this person and really annoyed.
YrMyn4Eva: Male or female?
That did it, she did not answer and shut down the computer. As she was getting up to leave, Lance opened the door to the bathroom. Wrapped in nothing but his towel, he was using a smaller towel to dry his hair. Elaine froze in place and her mouth dropped open. Her gasp for air brought Lance's attention to her standing there. They just stood there and looked at one another. Both had an embarrassed look on their face. Finally, to break the tension, Elaine commented, "You look good in pink," referring to the blush on his cheeks.
"Pink seems to be your color, as well," he added. Their eyes locked on each other and it felt as though the temperature rose 98 degrees in the room. The steam still lingered in the bathroom behind Lance and the moisture that remained on his body gathered and ran down his chest as if in a race to be absorbed by the towel around his trim waist. Elaine chewed on her bottom lip as she took in the site before her. She had seen Lance in shorts and swim trunks many times, but, this was SO different.
"I, ah...I need to...go and let you...get undressed, ah...I mean dressed." What was wrong with her. "Fool, you're in a bedroom with a half naked man, what do you think is wrong, duh?" she thought.
As she went to leave, she had to walk right past him. When she got along side of him, she stopped and thought for a minute, then she leaned close to Lance and whispered in his ear that she wanted him to wear her favorite after shave that he wore, tonight.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him as she started to leave. "And which one would that be?" he whispered close to her ear.
She turned slightly and looked deep into his eyes, then leaned near his ear, and, in a low seductive voice said, "Armani Emporium." With that she kissed his ear and walked out onto the balcony where she went to the railing and held on for dear life to stop the shaking. "Lord, give me strength."
Elaine grabbed her sweater in case it got chilly and went to get the firls. When she got to Lynne's room, Rickii was there so she went in and they talked while they waited for the guys. "And they say women are slow getting ready to go somewhere," Rickii commented. They discussed Lynne and Rickii getting enrolled at UCF and staying in Orlando.
Finally, the guys showed up ready to go down for dinner. Each couple walked hand in hand out to the gazebo. There was on large round table set up and this allowed the couples to be next to each other. Lance leaned near Elaine and allowed her to notice that he had honored her request and worn the after shave she loved so much.
All the way through dinner, Elaine played footsie with Lance under the table. She would sit there so innocent like and play with his leg with her foot. He kept giving her looks and she would look back at him like "what?"
When they were through eating, she walked over to the sound system and put on an old Jessica Andrew's CD, "Heart Shaped World." (HINT: If you have it, start with track #3, "The Riverside") She walked over to Lance and pulled him out on the dance floor, and wrapped her arms around his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder, and they danced, and danced and danced. He was true to his word, he never let her out of his arms.
Everyone had fun and they all agreed to get to bed early so they could get up early and have time for a short prayer time before they hit the road to return to the tour. Justin walked Lynne to her door and kissed her goodnight. Likewise, JC and Rickii.
Lance kept his arm around Elaine as they walked to her door. When they reached it, Elaine opened her door and the fragrance of the roses flooded out at them. A lazy smile came across her face and she turned to look into Lance's eyes. He was looking at her with this incredibly sexy look. "I don't want this night to end. I don't want to go back to the tour, yet. I want to spend more time with you, Elaine. I have cherished this time with you." Lance held her close to him and her fragrance overwhelmed him. His lips kissed the side of her head down to her ear and then to her neck and shoulder.
Elaine's breathing was getting more difficult as she started panting due to the ministrations of Lance's lips. When his lips touched her ear, she could not believe the feelings running through her body. Feelings she had NEVER experienced before overtook her body. She felt as though she were on a wave racing to the shore at break neck speed. By the time Lance's lips reached hers, she was ready to go crazy. His arms pulled her body closer to him and she pulled him in to deepen the kiss.
They each started massaging each other's back and were getting lost in one another when Elaine felt a since of panic and pulled away. "Lance, I'm so sorry, but I can't do this, not now, not like this." She looked at him with so much love in her eyes and so much confusion. "Please forgive me?"
Lance looked into the eyes of this innocent young woman and had a new respect for her. "There is nothing to forgive YOU for. I'M the one who needs YOUR forgiveness. I should NEVER have placed you in a situation such as this. I am so sorry. It's just your perfume and everything was so overwhelming that I just got lost in the moment. please forgive me?"
"Lance, we have to be careful, and yes, I forgive you. After all, your my hero, my Sir Lancelot. You better get to sleep. We're leaving out early."
"Goodnight, Sugar Bear."
"Goodnight Lancelot. Sweet Dreams."
