”Are you doing your thing and doing it well?” Roni linked her arm though Lily’s and sang along with the concert. “Are they looking at you, saying oohh….”

Lily laughed and bumped hips with Roni. “Do your thing, thing, yeah.”

The two friends finally sat at the end of the concert. They both knew the parking lot would be full of cars wanting to leave fast so they sat and waited for a lot of the crowd to leave. Lily sighed and patted Roni’s knee.

”So Chris doesn’t know you’re here?”

Roni shook her head. “Nope. My stuff is at Joey’s right now. Is it all right if I stay with you two?”

”Why wouldn’t you stay with Chris?”

”Doesn’t his girlfriend live with him? What’s her name?”

”It’s Mari and it’s about to become fiancée.”

”What?!?” Roni sat up straight and stared at the older girl. “How? When?”

”Well,” Lily cracked her neck, “tonight’s supposed to be the night. She doesn’t know though. I went ring shopping with him last week.”

”And you didn’t tell me?”

”Chris asked me not to. He was afraid you’d try to talk him out of it.”

”Why? Because he’s only known her for about three months?”

”Roni, calm down. It’s been at least three and a half months.” She threw a small smile toward the glowering Roni. “Sometimes you just know when you find the right person.”

”But after three and a half months?”

”Ever heard of love at first sight?”

”Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Roni crossed her arms and leaned back.

”You’ve never even met her. She’s really nice. Actually, she’s coming this way as we speak.”

Roni looked up and assessed the woman walking toward them. She was pretty. Her jet-black hair was up in a messy bun. Mari was wearing a pair of overalls and a green long sleeve t-shirt underneath. Roni remembered she was part of the stage crew. The woman had sneakers and mismatched socks on.

”Thank god you’re still here, Lily.”

”Hey, Mari,” Lily stood, “Whatcha need?”

”Well, I was wondering if you could give me a ride to party tonight. See, I came with the guys and they had to leave right away but Joey said you’d probably stay here until the crowd thins.”

”No problem.” She looked around. “It’s starting to thin out, but not enough for my taste. How much time do you need?”

”Oh,” Mari looked at her watch, “about 15 or so minutes. I need to quickly shower and change. Why don’t you two come backstage. Sorry for being rude,” she raised her hand to shake Roni’s. “I’m Mari.”

Roni smiled and shook the offered hand. This Mari character seemed nice. “I’m Roni.”

Mari nodded and turned to say something to Lily, but faced Roni again. “Roni? As in Chris’ Roni?”

”I guess you could call me that. It’s usually just Roni though.” She laughed. “And I can tell by that look on your face you’re shocked to see me. Chris doesn’t know I’m here so, no, he didn’t forget to tell you anything. I know he is forgetful.”

Mari laughed. “That he can be. Well, I’m glad you’re here.” She surprised Roni by hugging her. “We’re going to have to talk later. He says you know everything about him and I want to know some of the dirt.”

Roni laughed. “That should be fun.” She turned to Lily. “Let’s go backstage with her and leave from there.”

Lily nodded and the three women left the seating area.

~~~~~~

Chris put a hand on his knee to stop it from bouncing. Justin sighed.

”Chris, your knee always bounces. Why are you trying to stop it now?”

Chris took a deep breath. “I guess it just seems to be bouncing more or something.” He tied his shoe. “I’m allowed to be nervous here. I’m about to propose to the woman I love.”

Justin shook his head and sat next to his friend. “When are you going to tell Roni?”

”After Mari accepts. Why is everyone asking me about when I’m telling Roni?”

”Because, Chris, you tell her everything. You two have always been close,” Justin paused, not sure how Chris would take his next words, “and you’ve been closer since her mom died.”

”What does that mean, young one?”

Justin sighed. “It just means that when her mom died she was older than before and you had to treat her like she was older.”

”Huh?”

”Chris you two just have been closer since Lydia died. That’s it. There’s no hidden meaning in anything I said.” Justin looked up as the bus stopped. “We’re at the party. Have any clue how you’re going to pop the question?”

”Huh?” Chris asked again, voice full of confusion. “Roni’s not even going to be here.”

”Chris, man, I meant have you decided how or when you’re going to ask Mari to marry you.”

”Oh.” Chris looked at his hands. “Not exactly. I have a few ideas, but none of them feel right.”

Justin left the bus as Chris pulled a small box from his pocket and tossed it a few times.

~~~~~~

”So Ron,” Mari sat forward in the middle of Lily’s back seat, “Why didn’t you tell Chris you were coming? Is it all right if I call you Ron? It’s what Chris always calls you and I guess I got used to it.”

”No problem. I haven’t told Chris I’m here because just yesterday I found out I could come. I was on the phone with Joey,” she nodded to Lily, “and I got a beep. It was my boss. It seems there were cut backs at work and the internship I was doing was one of the cutbacks.”

”Oh, I’m sorry, Roni. I guess it’s our gain. I cannot wait to see Chris’ face when he sees you. He’s been grumpy the last few days.”

”Well…” Lily started.

”It’s okay, Lily.” Mari patted her arm. “You don’t have to explain for Chris. I can take what he gives me. Especially if he is going to propose to me tonight.”

”What?” Lily’s head whipped around.

Mari pointed forward. “Watch the road. Yes, I know he’s planning on doing that. He’s basically told everyone but me and I can’t help if I’m in the rafters and can’t stop a conversation quickly enough to not find out about it. Then I figured not to say anything because Chris would then feel pressured.”

”Smart girl.” Roni took her seatbelt off and opened the passenger door.

”I guess.” Lily stepped out of the car and locked the doors before slamming her door shut. “He’s really nervous about it.”

The three women walked to the front door. Roni noticed her shoe was untied and bent to tie it as Lily and Mari entered the party. Mari bee-lined to Chris and Lily followed. Lily smiled as the couple kissed.

”Hey, what about me?”

Chris smiled and wrapped an arm around Mari’s waist. “What about you? You have your own man around here somewhere.” He looked around the room and found Joey coming toward them. “And there he is now.”

”Hey, hun.” Joey kissed Lily’s cheek. “Where’s Ron?”

”Are you cheating on him, Lily?” Chris asked playfully. “And with a guy named Ron?”

”Actually,” a female voice came over Chris’ shoulder, shocking him, “you know as well as I do that she’d never cheat on Joe. I’d have to kick her ass if she even considered it. Secondly, Ron is not a guy.”

”Roni?” Chris’ eyes widened as he turned and saw his friend smiling behind him. He smiled brightly and grabbed her to him. “Ron.”

Roni laughed and returned the hug. She was happy but something felt wrong. She saw Mari smiling over Chris’ shoulder as he kissed her cheek and hugged her close again. She closed her eyes and swallowed thickly before pushing him away. She looked at Joey. ”How about a dance, gorgeous?”

Joey looked between Chris and Roni. “Me?”

”And who else would I call gorgeous?”

”Me,” Roni heard a familiar voice answer as a pair of arms encircled her waist and spun her in a circle.

”Put me down,” she demanded as she hit her attacker’s arms.

”Nice to see you too, Roni,” JC told her as he put her down and hugged her from behind. “Now who did you call gorgeous if you weren’t talking about me?”

Lily wrapped her arms around Joey’s neck. “She was talking about my man.”

”Yup.” Joey pulled both females to him. “I’ve got them trained well.”

Roni rolled her eyes and pulled on Joey’s arm. “Come on, studman.”

Joey kissed Lily’s cheek before following Roni to the dance floor. He put a hand on her hip and danced with her for a minute before asking his question. “What’s wrong, Ron?”

”Nothing’s wrong,” she told him as she placed a hand on his arm as they turned. Involuntarily her face tightened.

Joey followed her eyesight and groaned. I can’t believe this. He backed out of her reach. “So, what do you think of Mari?”

”She’s really nice. Chris used his good taste this time.”

”Yeah.” Joey nodded. “So how do you feel knowing she will be the one Chris will turn to with everything for the rest of his life?”

”What?” Roni whipped her head up as his words set in. She wouldn’t be Chris’ confidant for stuff he didn’t want the guys to know. She wouldn’t be the one he’d call when something, good or bad, happened to him. She wouldn’t be the one he’d search for in a room. She wouldn’t be the only one Chris would cook his cookies for. And she wouldn’t be the one he sang to sleep. This thought hit her hard. She shook her head and left Joey standing on the dance floor. As she pushed blindly through the crowd a hand grabbed her wrist.

Chris had seen Roni storm away from Joey. He had started to pull away from Mari but JC stopped him. So far Chris had made no moves to propose so JC went to find Roni and Lily left to join her frustrated fiancée on the dance floor. JC caught up with Roni at the edge of the floor.

”Hey. What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t talk so she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. She felt his hand brace her head and stepped closer to him. She sighed as he ran his hand over her hair and offered words of comfort.

”Just let it out, Ron. Come on.” He rearranged their arms and started swaying to the slow music playing. He looked at where Chris was sitting with Mari, but staring at him and Roni. He cursed and whispered under his breath, “Damn fool. Doesn’t deserve her.” He looked at the woman in his arms. “Doesn’t know what he has either.”

”What did you say, Jace?”

JC shook his head and looked into Roni’s tear-filled eyes. “Nothing. It just seems we’re both in love with someone we can’t have.”

”What? Who are you…” Roni trailed off as she followed JC’s eyes to Chris and Mari. “You’re in love with her.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.

JC nodded. “From the first minute I saw her I was smitten. I was so nervous when I actually decided to ask her out. When I walked up to her to ask her she was smiling so I asked her what made her so happy. Chris had just asked her out.”

”Oh, JC, I’m so sorry. So you backed off like a good friend.”

He nodded, not being able to take his eyes off Mari. “And now he’s going to propose. If they’re happy I’m happy for them, but I know he’s proposing for all the wrong reasons.”

”Why is he proposing to her? Does he feel like he hit the single age limit, once as you hit 30 you must be married?”

”That’s part of it.” JC sighed and looked at the woman in his arms. “Another part is one of the same reasons why he asked her out. He doesn’t think he can get the girl he wants, the girl he needs.”

Roni cocked an eyebrow and was about to ask who this mystery woman was when she was pulled away from JC and sandwiched between two people. She groaned as the two people grabbed hands and skipped in a circle around her. “How old are we? Four and six?”

Justin laughed. “She got one thing right, Lance. We are two years apart in age.”

”Yup.” Lance hugged her. “Why didn’t we know you were coming? I thought Chris didn’t want you here when he proposed to Mari.”

”You two didn’t know either. I just told Joey not to tell Chris. He told you, right, JC?” JC nodded. “I came out here to surprise Chris and I got a surprise for myself. Joey didn’t tell me about the supposed proposal.”

”You weren’t going to be told until after it happened. For some reason Chris wanted this kept from you.” Lance shook his head sadly at the look on her face. He tugged on her arm. “How about a Roni sandwich on the dance floor with two *N SYNC members? You up for it, J?”

”With Ron? Always. Come on, girl. You’re going to boogey like you’ve never boogied before.”

”Help,” Roni called back to a laughing JC as she was pulled into the center of the floor.

JC shook his head and walked to where Chris and Mari, and now Joey and Lily, were sitting. He sat beside Chris, watching Mari out of the corner of his eyes.

”So, ‘C,” Chris started, “Roni looks like she’s doing better.”

”Yeah, she is. She just had an ugly thought in her head.”

”About what?” Chris studied Roni as she tried to push Lance and Justin away from her.

JC looked at Joey. “Love.”

”Huh? Roni hasn’t told me about being in love with anyone. Has she mentioned something to you, Joey?”

”No, she hasn’t said anything. It’s the kind of love you don’t talk about, the kind of love where the rightness of it feels so wrong. Understand?”

Chris bent his head, finally taking his gaze off Roni, and ran a hand down the back of his neck. “Yes. Yes I do. I just can’t believe she hasn’t told me anything about it. She tells me everything.”

”Well, Chris,” JC stood, “I think there’s one thing our little Roni has been keeping from you. I think she’ll keep this one forever if she needs to.”

”But she tells me everything. I know everything about her past.”

”No you don’t,” Joey mumbled.

”Joey,” Chris paused, “Roni told me about Europe.”

Joey’s eyes snapped open. “She what? When? How?”

”What happened in Europe?”

”Nothing,” Chris, Joey and Lily answered JC’s question.

”She knows?” Chris pointed to Lily with his head.

”Yeah, I had to tell her.” Joey took Lily’s hand and kissed her palm. “She wanted to know and I had to tell her. I’m surprised Roni told you though. We kinda promised we wouldn’t tell you.”

”About that. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.”

JC looked at Joey’s relieved face and Chris’ smiling one before turning to Mari. “Mari, are you about as curious about this as I am?”

”Probably.”

”Don’t worry about it.” Chris kissed Mari’s temple as he stood. “I’m going to go rescue Roni from Justin and Lance. God knows what those two are saying to her to make her laugh like that.”

Even though Chris had rolled his eyes the others knew he was joking. Chris smiled and laughed as Roni blushed. JC saw Roni see Chris and shook his head sadly as the opening to the next song began.

”What a perfect song for those two.”

”Ironic, isn’t it?” Joey asked. He and JC shared and unreadable look before Joey stood and lowered his hand for Lily. “Care to dance?”

Lily nodded and took his hand. Joey led her to where Chris and Roni were beginning to dance. Lily let Joey put her hands behind his neck and pressed her body against his. She put her head against his chest and closed her eyes but reopened them when Joey moved his arm to get Roni’s attention.

”Ron?”

Roni faced them and smiled. “Hey, guys.”

Joey smiled back and looked in her eyes. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about before.”

”I’ll be fine, Joe. Don’t worry.”

Joey nodded and led Lily away as Roni turned her attention back to Chris. She smiled as the lyrics began.

Chris looked distracted. Roni tried to nudge his arm lightly to get his attention, but he didn’t notice. She finally moved one hand down his neck and started to tickle him. She smiled as he shot her a dirty look.

”What was that for, Ron?”

”You were a million miles away, Chris.”

”You didn’t have to tickle me.”

”I didn’t feel like screaming your name so I got your attention nonverbally.”

”I’m sorry, Ron.” He pulled her closer. “Anyway, how are you doing? Really.”

”I’m doing better. If people knew how really amazing you guys are. Really know how to make a girl feel special.”

”That’s my job, Ron. Make you feel special.”

”Don’t you mean it’s your job to make Mari feel special?”

Chris opened his mouth to reply and found he couldn’t. She was right.

Roni studied Chris. It was clear he didn’t want to talk and she abided by that. She didn’t feel much like talking either, especially about Mari. She liked the other woman, but the thought of her and Chris bothered Roni. Roni had hoped that she would show up and find Chris’ girlfriend to be just a fling. She came and found out how meaningful the relationship was, not meaningless. Chris was ready to propose, tonight.

Roni stared into the distance and sighed. Joey’s words earlier made her think. She was glad for the distraction JC, Justin and Lance provided, but now she had more time to think about her conversation with Joey. She never gave serious consideration to Chris being married. She knew one day it would happen, but never really let it enter her brain. Now she knew why she never wanted to think about it. Tonight she realized many things about herself. She realized the confusing feelings she had been having about Chris being in a relationship wasn’t confusion at all. It was jealousy. She wasn’t confused at all. She was in love. Too bad she could never tell Chris.

Chris felt Roni sigh and looked down at her. She was staring over his shoulder and he could tell she was thinking. He studied her face and smiled. He thought it was cute how her eyes shifted from side to side when she was in deep thought. He laughed to himself as she bit her lip and moved her mouth, as if talking to herself. Chris’ attention stayed at her mouth. He found it impossible to look anywhere else. To stop the insanity in his head Chris closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers. Now he let himself understand something Joey told him years ago. Roni had a kissable mouth, it asked you to kiss her.

Mari watched Chris and Roni dance. She shook her head when she saw Chris stare at Roni. She stood and put her jacket on. “JC?”

”Yeah?” He looked up and his eyes widened. “You going somewhere?”

”Home, if you’ll take me.”

JC looked at her in confusion. He followed her eyes to Chris and Roni. He cursed to himself. That guy really didn’t know what he had- JC looked back at Mari- and what he was losing. JC nodded. He followed Mari out of the party.

Chris slowly pulled away from Roni. Chris gazed into her eyes before giving her a lingering kiss on the forehead. He looked around the room, confused. Chris took Roni’s hand and led her to the table, where Lance was now sitting. “Where did Mari go?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw her leave with JC a minute ago. Don’t know where they went though.”

”Oh, okay.” Chris looked at his watch. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon then.”

During the next half hour Chris checked his watch every three minutes. He sighed as he watched Roni dance with Joey, Lance, Justin, Wade and once she and Lily ignored the guys and danced by themselves. Chris looked to his side as someone bumped his shoulder and tried to smile.

”Still not back?”

Chris shook his head and Roni wrapped an arm around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Hey, is your phone ringing?”

Chris took his phone out of his pocket and placed it near his ear. He heard it ring and nodded. He stood and made his way to a quieter corner of the party, Roni followed him.

”Hello?”

”Chris, it’s Mari.”

”Where are you?”

”You mean you actually missed me?”

Chris frowned at the accusation in her voice. “Of course I missed you. I came back from dancing with Roni and found you nowhere. Lance said you went outside with JC and I was about to go outside because I was worried.”

”After a half hour you were worried?”

”Mari,” Chris sighed and Roni slid her hand into his, “I thought you went somewhere to talk with JC. I didn’t want to interrupt you. When you hadn’t come back I was going to look for you.”

”Okay. Well, I did leave and I have been talking to JC. Right now I’m at his house and I’m spending the night. He’s too tired to drive and I don’t feel much like being in the same house with you.”

”Why?”

She sighed heavily. “Chris, I’ll be home in the morning and we’ll talk. Enjoy your time with Roni.”