Love of a Lifetime

When she first assaulted him with her lips, his body had tensed involuntarily at her taking him completely off guard; but, she soon began to feel his body yield to her mouth, his arms wrapping around her back, his fingers digging into her flesh, his tongue possessing her mouth. His passion was like a balmy, Southern night, a stifling, sticky wet heat that leaves your clothes clinging to your body and your mind reeling with lightheadedness.

Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair, which was pure chocolate silk. The stubble on his face tickled her neck as he nuzzled her, nipping and sucking at her sweet spot. Others backstage stopped in mid-conversation, drawn to the display of passion, unable to turn away, speak, or move. His hands began to roam her body, reaching down to cup her buttocks in his hands, pulling her further into him. Someone loudly clearing their throat -- it turned out to be Brian -- broke the magic, both in that moment, as well as in Destina’s recollection of it.

Her cheeks enflamed with passion, a slow heat burning between her legs, Destina shuddered on the bed as a wave of orgasm overtook her.

‘This can’t have really happened.’ she thought to herself, her mind reeling once again. She quickly closed the book, slamming it back into the box, determined to push the craziness from her thoughts. The entire way to the store she fought the recollections of the “dream” -- to no avail. She ran over every word, every bit of conversation that had passed between them, in her mind, looking for clues to prove that it really was all a dream. There had to be a logical explanation.

Remembering the end of their conversation, Destina decided to let fate prove or disprove the telling of this strange occurrence ...

“Have dinner with me.” Howie near-pleaded, his voice thick with want.

Laughing at the incredibly adorable look upon his face, she could only answer “Yes. Name the time and the place and I’ll be there. Wherever and whenever.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, Howie, I promise.”

**********************************************

A few weeks passed since her incredible dream. She was sure now that it all had been a dream, even though she still couldn’t explain how there were now typed words on the pages of the book.

‘The pages must’ve been stuck together or something.’ she thought, trying to convince herself that her thoughts were fact. As for the sketch of her and Howie ... well, she decided that the woman just must be a look-alike or something and her imagination just ran away with her.

For the first two weeks, she checked the box every single day, to see if there were new words or something extra within the box; and, for the first two weeks, there was nothing.

After that, she checked the box less and less frequently; and, she found herself experiencing a mix of sadness and disappointment whenever she opened the box and found that nothing had changed. She even made excuses that, back in 2001, the Backstreet Boys were in the middle of a tour and Howie was obviously very busy.

The day after her dream, she’d discovered that Howie had slipped into a coma at Johns Hopkins and, while his REM activity was off the charts, he showed no signs of coming around anytime soon. Luckily, his vitals were strong and the doctors were optimistic as to his recovery, declaring that it was simply a matter of waiting.

It had been three-and-a-half weeks since her dream, and almost a full week since she’d last checked the box. Coming home from the store exhausted and spent, the urge struck her to look into the box once again. Her heart waged a war with her mind, one hopeful, the other fighting against disappointment.

Hope won out; and, as she sat on the bed with her hair wrapped up in a towel, she pulled the box out from under her bed, nestling it in her lap. She now wore the key on a chain around her neck, which she removed, placing the key at the lock, when -- this time -- the lid popped up of its own accord. Destina’s heart began to race as she instinctively knew that tonight she’d find a surprise within the confines of the box.

And she did ... nestled within, atop the brown leather of the book, lay a brilliant blood red rose in full bloom. She lifted the rose, bringing it to her nose, inhaling the sweet scent of it, before placing it on the bed. A smile on her lips, she removed the book, turning the pages until her eyes fell upon a small white folded note ...

Destina,

Dinner. Tonight. 8:00 p.m. Sharp. Miliano’s. I can’t wait to see you again. Please come. I’ll be waiting. Please accept this small token as my way of apologizing for taking so long to be with you again.

Love,
Howie

Placing the book on the bed, she saw a small velvet box inside the larger one. A gasp escaped her lips as she opened the lid, revealing a pair of exquisite diamond and amethyst earrings.

Seeing that it was already 6:45, she flew off the bed to the closet, dressing as quickly as she could, in a deep purple tea-length silk dress, which clung to her athletic build in all the right places, putting on her makeup and brushing her hair until it shone brilliantly. She put the earrings on, delighting in the way that they sparkled in the light.

Her attire complete, she took one last look in the mirror before laying on the bed and closed her eyes ... to wait

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