"Been a great week," Aunt Marigold gleamed as she fingered through a crisp bouquet of dollar bills in her hand with a satisfying smile.

"Does that mean we get a raise, Aunt Mari?" Tiyanna asked with eager eyes.

"We have been working hard this summer," Bridget piped in, carrying their lunches under her golded arms to the counter.

"I think I pay you enough for just sitting around," Marigold defended herself chuckling as she began to unpack boxes of raspberry candles.

"Hey, we do a lot of other stuff!" Bridget replied, sitting behind the counter.

"Besides, we're just joshing," Tiyanna replied, unwrapping her Beef & Brocolli.

"Joshing?" Marigold asked, slighlty pausing as she tried to understand. She took the empty boxes to the back room and started on the stock reports.

Bridget and Tiyanna let out a little laugh. They were sitting behind the counter eating their order-in chinese food as a familiar blonde walked in...

"Shane!" Bridget cried with a happy smile. There was Shane, the surfer boy with a gorgeous tan fresh from mid-summer fun. He waved hello shyly. "Where have you been all summer?!" She enquired, jumping from behind the counter and smothering him in a hug.

"I was in Australia for a month, staying with my uncle," he informed her with a slight gasp as Tiyanna strolled from behind the counter, munching on a bag of noodles.

"That's incredable," Bridget gasped, "I wish I can go somewhere exotic like that."

"It was fantastic!" Shane admitted, his eyes lighting up at the thought of it. "I got to surf all day, see all these beautiful animals and plants, check out the hotties. It was so soothing and diverse there."

"I bet it was," Tiyanna commented in awe, tossing the vacant bag into an overflowing garbage can by the front door.

"So how are you two doing?" Shane asked, squatting on the white legde of the vibrant window display.

"Oh you know, shopping, working, boy-hunting, the usual," Tiyanna replied nonchalantly.

"Still haven't landed a guy yet, Ti?" Shane asked in suprise, "You're losing your touch." Tiyanna pasted a sarcastic smile on her face.

"And you?" Shane asked, turning to Bridget. Bridget smiled innocently.

"It happened," Bridget replied, sighing gleefully as she glanced outside the clear window. "Frankie and I have been going out for a month and 1/2."

"That's good," Shane replied with a smile. "I'm glad you finally did something about that."

"Gee, Thanks," Bridget replied, pushing Shane over to Tiyanna. The door creaked open and a certain Italian lover eased his head in as if checking to make sure it was safe. His wandering eyes paused on Bridget and he whistled to her. Bridget turned her head to see Frankie home a day early. Her smile went from happy to estatic as she ran over to his humble presence. He said 'hi' faintly as she pulled his face into hers for an awaiting kiss. He smiled when they were through and turned his attention to Shane. "Oh, Frankie," Bridget gasped at her silliness as she tugged Frankie over to her friends, "This is Shane, my friend from school. Shane, this is Frankie."

"Hey Frankie, you landed yourself a great girl," Shane informed him as he held out his hand to Frankie.

"Thanks, Shane," Frankie replied with an agreeing smile as he shook his hand firmly, "It's good to meet you."

"Well, I better get moving," Shane continued, stuffing his hands into his cargo pockets, "I'll see you soon, Ridge."

"You better," Bridget demanded joyfully as Shane engulfed her in his muscle-bound arms. "Let me know next time you leave the country. I was getting worried."

"Yes, Mother," Shane replied obediently. "See ya later, Ti. We'll hang."

"Of course," Tiyanna replied with a nodd as she tugged her hair behind her. Shane waved goodbye to Frankie and Bridget. Tiyanna paced back to the counter, giving the loveys space as they began to talk hand-in-hand.

"How was Cali?" Bridget implored, walking outside the scentatious store into the bright sunlight.

"Great," Frankie replied, assisting Bridget as she settled on the curb. "The fans were so nice. The shows were always packed. We had this cool interview with kriselen.com. It's a lot different in California..."

"That's cause I wasn't there!" Bridget informed him as she gave him a warm hug.

"Yeah! That's it," Frankie joked. "Listen, I was hoping you could come to our show at Balloon Festival next weekend, the 19th. It's a really important show for us and gonna be lot of fun..."

Bridget thought for a second, scratching the side of her face. "I can't, Frankie," Bridget sighed with a frown, resting her head on her small palms, "That's Bryant's birthday and I've missed a lot of work."

Bridget could tell by the way Frankie looked at her that he was dissapointed. "I really wish I could, Frankie."

"It's no biggie," Frankie replied, directing his eyes to the ground as he stretched his legs across the black pavement.

"You're not a good liar," Bridget informed him, soothingly caressing his right arm.

"Yeah," Frankie agreed with a slight smile, still peering at the ground. "I can't lie to you for some reason."

"I guess that's a plus for me," Bridget smiled as Frankie looked back up. He shook his head in laughter as he wrapped her in his arms. They watched a flock of geese soar over head them in the blue sky. "I wish we could see each other more," Bridget sighed as she softly leaned on his chest. "What's going on this week?"

"I'm not sure, but it's probably busy, with practice and all," Frankie sighed. "I'll call you tomorrow. I'll definatley stop by after the show to see you and Jared."

Bridget nooded in comprehension. "I better...be getting back in," Bridget told Frankie, pointing at the door.

"Yeah, you should," Frankie agreed, helping her off the curb. He tilted his head to hers and left a small kiss on her lucious lips. He waved goodbye as Bridget unwillingly walked back inside.