*Kelly*
Later that evening AJ came by to take me to meet his mom, Denise.
“Angel of Mine” by Monica blared through the speakers of AJ’s convertible as the wind blew swiftly through my golden locks. I closed my eyes and breathed in the sweet, salty smell of the nearby ocean. I could hear AJ’s deep, soulful voice softly bellowing out the tunes along with Monica.
“Kel??” his voice broke through my thoughts.
I opened my eyes and turned to look at him. He smiled at me and took my left hand into his as we pulled into his mom’s driveway. He must’ve sensed that I was a bit nervous. I followed close behind him up the winding sidewalk. His mom opened the door almost before we even knocked.
She gave AJ a quick kiss on the cheek and welcome me with a hug.
“So you’re the lovely Kelly, huh? You are all AJ has talked about since he’s been on tour. Please come in,” she said, opening the door wider.
I blushed a bit as AJ led me into the house with his arm firmly placed around my waist.
“Mom we can’t stay long,” AJ said as Denise motioned for us to have a seat. “We have reservations at uh…the um, restaurant place downtown,” AJ lied.
I looked over at him surprised and we laughed a bit.
“Oh, ok AJ. I can take a hint. I know when you don’t want your ol’ mom around,” Denise laughed.
“I just wanted to bring Kelly by to meet you and for you to see how wonderful she is,” AJ explained to his mom, while tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
I looked over at Denise to find her looking at us smiling adoringly.
“Alright, enough….you two get out of her and have fun!” AJ’s mom said, practically pushing us out the door.
We left and got back into AJ’s car.
“Why did you lie to her? I wouldn’t have minded staying there for a while,” I said watching him carefully back out of the driveway.
“I just wanted to spend some time alone with you,” he said emphasizing the word alone.
“That’s sweet, “ I smiled. “So what do you have in mind??”
“How does a nice long drive along the coast sound?” AJ asked me, sliding in an old Boyz II Men CD.
“Sounds great!” I said, scooting over closer to him, snuggling against him. I felt the warmth of his body beside mine, as the cool, crisp air swept across our faces and the tunes of “On Bended Knee” filled our ears.
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*Gail*
I was rushing around my room frantically. I was really, really nervous about meeting Nick’s family and he was going to be there any second! I slid on a pair of clogs to go with my teal sausalito dress just as the doorbell rang. I flew down the stairs to find Nick greeting me with a bouquet of flowers.
“Please don’t squish them this time!” he joked.
I laughed and set them on the table and followed him back to his Corvette.
“You’re not nervous are you?” Nick said as he punched in the code of the security gate. I swallowed the big lump in my throat and shook my head vigorously. Nick drove through the gate and parked then turned to me.
“Gail, please just be yourself. Don’t be nervous. They’re gonna love you, just like I do,” he reassured.
I walked shakily up the walk, hand in hand with Nick. We walked in to find all of the Carters sitting in the living room. They all practically jumped up to greet us. Nick and I took a seat in the center of the couch with all of his brothers and sisters sitting around us.
“Everyone this is my girlfriend, Gail. The one from the lodge that I told you about,” Nick introduced me.
I smiled and said my hellos to each of them as Nick slid his arm around my shoulders.
“Dinner’s ready!” Jane called from the kitchen.
“Can I sit beside you?” Aaron’s voice called as he gently tugged on my dress.
“Of course you can!” I exclaimed, pulling out his chair for him.
“But I thought you were gonna sit by me…” Nick pouted.
I rolled my eyes and answered, “I do have two sides, ya know? You on one side. Aaron on the other, ok?”
“Haha! Nick’s jealous cuz his girlfriend wants to sit beside ME!” Aaron taunted.
“Oh hush, little man!” Nick playfully hit Aaron on the top of the head.
“Owwww!” Aaron scowled.
“Boys! Cut that nonsense out! We do have a guest…” Jane reprimanded, setting the table.
The rest of dinner went smoothly. I talked to all of Nick’s family. They were such wonderful people. I loved them already!
“Want more dessert?” Nick’s dad, Bob offered, cutting himself another brownie.
I rubbed my tummy and refused, “No, thanks! I’m stuffed! That was a wonderful meal. Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome. We’re so glad Nick brought you by to meet us,” Jane said.
I helped Jane, and Nick’s sisters BJ, Leslie, and Angel put away the dishes.
“Hey Gail, wanna play some Mario Kart with me?” Aaron yelled from the den.
“No, Aaron, she doesn’t want to play. I’m taking her home,” Nick answered for me.
“Sooooory!” Aaron said sarcastically, returning to his game.
I laughed and told them all goodbye. Nick drove me home and promised he would call the next morning.
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*Claudi*
Brian and I decided to spend a casual night out at the local pizza station.
“Man, I haven’t had a night out like this in a while,” Brian commented as the sounds of the video game that we were playing blasted throughout the restaurant.
“I’m undefeatable!” Brian exclaimed, raising his arms in the air as a sign of triumph.
“Ugh!! Whatever” You might be better at this, but you can’t beat me at b-ball…” I teased.
“There’s just no winning with you, is there?” Brian contended.
“Nope!” I crossed my arms and smiled.
“Come on, let’s go eat our pizza,” Brian said, tugging me along by my hand.
We shared a quiet little booth in the back of the parlor, just in case someone did recognize him as one of the renowned Backstreet Boys.
We attempted to be romantic and feed each other pizza, but Brian ended up with sauce splattered across his t-shirt and me with bit of cheese in my lap. So much for that attempt….
It was nearly 11 o’clock and I was beat, so Brian took me home in his jeep and walked me to the door of my apartment.
“Call me tomorrow?” I questioned, straightening his t-shirt and smiling at the sauce stains.
“Yeah of course. Actually, the guys and I have something we wanna ask all of you, so um…we’ll discuss it tomorrow, ok?” Brian informed me, his blue eyes glistening in the moonlight.
“Oh no, baby, I wanna know now,” I said, attempting to coax him.
“Nope! It’s a surprise and I don’t want to spoil it for everyone. I’ll call you tomorrow. Goodnight!”
“Night, lover you,” I said, kissing him lightly before he turned to walk away. I wonder what those guys had planned………
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*Vic*
Kevin and I decided to just relax and chill a bit, so we rented “There’s Something About Mary” and “Ever After”. We popped some popcorn and watched “There’s Something About Mary” first. We couldn’t eat for laughing!
Now we were watching “Ever After”. Kevin and I were lying across my couch. He had his arms tightly wrapped around me as we snuggled under my blanket. I was so tired that I fell asleep, but I woke up briefly to realize the movie had cut off.
“Kev??” I called groggily. There was no answer.
“Kev babe?” I called again as I turned slightly to find him sound asleep beside me. He must’ve been worn out from the flight.
I didn’t feel like walking all the way up the stairs to my cold bed, so I pulled the blanket over both of us, kissed him goodnight, and fell back asleep. I could feel the heat of the fireplace on my face and the warmth of Kevin’s love in my heart.
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*Theresa*
Howie and I arrived at his family’s house and I was sooo nervous. He helped me out of the car, and I straightened out my dress. It was a halter top, black and white horizontal striped dress, with a slit up the side. It was really slinky and showed off my summer tan just perfectly. I was wearing my new platform sneaker Keds.
“Theresa, you look beautiful. Can we please go in, now??” Howie questioned, leading me up the walk.
“Yeah…you sure they’ll like me?” I asked.
“Yes, now stop worrying. They’re gonna love you,” he reassured.
Howie opened the front door and walked in. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen.
“Awww….so this is your bride-to-be?!” Howie’s mom gushed, hugging me.
I could already feel the love of this family and all of my fears and worries quickly vanished.
Howie introduced me to everyone as Theresa, his fiance, or the future Mrs. Howard Dorough. It was really cute because he was so pround to announce me as his bride-to-be. I was really excited myself. I couldn’t wait until the day that I could say I do.
