Stasia spun around for Dani. They had spent the entire morning at the spa, they had their hair and nails done, Stasia had her make-up done and she had just stepped into the gown that had been chosen for her to wear to the Oscars. Dani was amazed at how beautiful Stasia looked. She had been very beautiful when they went to the Grammys, but this blew that away.

This dress was more Stasia’s style, when Stasia had told her she was going to wear navy blue, Dani had laughed, but she looked like a dream. Her hair was swept up, softly, it looked very romantic. The strapless, navy ball gown, was cut straight across the top, fit tightly to the waist, where it gently fell into a very full, floor length skirt. There was nothing on this dress, that was the beauty of the whole thing, it didn’t compete with Stasia, it just complimented her classic beauty. She wore a simple string of pearls with pearl and diamond drop earrings.

“I swear, you look like Audrey Hepburn, something out of an old movie. Stasia you look...you look...perfect.”

Stasia blushed and smiled warmly at Dani, “Thanks. I feel like a princess. This dress makes me feel regal.”

“I’m telling you, you are made for formal wear.”

“Sure I am...face it, this dress could make a sack of potatoes look good.” She smoothed the front of her skirt and twirled around again, “Now explain to me again why we have to be dressed and ready to go at 2:30 in the afternoon?”

“It’s a live broadcast, we’re on the West coast, it’s airing in prime time on the East coast, so...we have to be dressed and ready at this ridiculous hour. Think of it this way, you get to be a princess longer this way.” Dani twirled around, her red gown catching the light as she spun.

“Chris is going to die. He hasn’t seen this dress yet has he?”

“No way! This is going to be a total surprise for him.”

There was a knock on their door and they both started to giggle. “I feel like we are 16 going to our first prom.” Dani giggled again.

They had booked a suite, so they could get ready together, so it was the natural place for everyone to meet. Dani practically glided to the door. She pulled the double doors open to find Chris and Lance standing there looking wonderful.

Chris grabbed Dani’s arm and pulled her against his chest. He whispered something in her ear, she giggled and blushed, then took his hand and led him into the living room. Stasia walked forward towards Lance. His breath caught in his throat.

“Millie...I’m speechless. There are no words to describe how beautiful you are.”

“Harry, you didn’t need them, but you just got a truck load of brownie points.” She ran her fingertips over the lapel of his suit and then over his navy tie. “You look incredible.”

“Blue hair and all?” He tipped his head down so she could get a good look at the blue tips on his hair.

She touched one of the blue tips and giggled, “Blue hair and all.” Lance shut the doors and they walked into the room together. He cleared his throat when they found Chris and Dani were kissing near the window.

“Hey Harry, did you ever find out who JC asked to come with him? I talked to Lyn the other day and she was really upset that she couldn’t come. She missed the Grammys now she’s missing this, she was in tears. I assume he’s bringing Heather?”

“I’m not sure, he mentioned Heather, then he said he had a brilliant idea, and he couldn’t elaborate on it.” Lance shrugged.

The doors burst open and in walked Joey, with his friend Angela on his arm, “I hope you’re all decent, ‘cause here we come!” Stasia was so happy to see Angela there she ran over and hugged both of them. “Stasia, you look killer!”

“You don’t look so bad yourself!”

There was a knock on the open door, and everyone turned to see Justin and Morgan. Justin was beaming, it had taken a lot of effort to not only get Morgan to California, but to get her to talk to him so he could invite her. In the end, all it took was a phone call from Stasia, who had walked away from Justin, while she talked to Morgan, the two girls had been on the phone for a long time, when Stasia walked back over to Justin and simply said, “She’ll be there.” She had walked away, and never let him thank her.

He walked over, scooped her up into his arms, spun her around and set her down. He whispered into her ear, “Thank you for giving me Morgan back.”

She kissed his cheek. “Don’t let her get away again.” He shook his head and grinned.

Stasia took Morgan’s hand, then took Angela’s in her other hand and pulled them into the room. Dani ran up to the other women and all of the guys had to laugh when they started chattering and spinning, touching fabrics, and hair dos...they compared jewelry and shoes. These were not four women who were girly girls...until that moment in time, where all four of them had been transformed at the same time.

“Oh, SURE! Start with out us.” Lance watched Stasia react to the sound of her best friend’s voice. Her head snapped up and her eyes locked on Lance’s when he nodded his head slightly, she turned to face the door, where Jess was standing, on JC’s arm. “Why are you standing there, staring at me like I’m a ghost. If you don’t come hug me...I’m leaving this fine looking man standing here, and I’m going home.” She put her hand on her hip and huffed.

Stasia ran over and hugged her friend, “God Jess! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming...we talked this morning! Where were you?” Stasia was still holding her friend tightly.

“OK...let me breath! Come on...loosen the death grip here...OK, when I called you, I was next door, having my hair done.”

“YOU SUCK! When did you get here?”

“Last night, they snuck me in when you took Jake out.” She spun around, “Don’t I look fabulous?”

“You always look fabulous.”

Jess kissed Stasia’s cheek, “Spoken like a true best friend! Which one of these studs are you going with tonight?”

“Lance is the unlucky fellow who has to put up with me tonight.” She turned to JC, “I bet you thought you dodged the bullet when you didn’t have to take me, but I hate to break it to you...she’s ten times worse than me.” She hugged him, “You’re looking handsome.”

“Thanks, you look amazing.” Stasia stepped in between Jess and JC, link one of her arms through each of theirs, and brought them into the room.

Lance held out his hand to her, and she let go of Jess and JC, to place her hand in his. He pulled her arm through his, placed her hand on his sleeve and gave it a pat. “You look happy.”

She looked around at the faces surrounding her and took a deep breath, “It just dawned on me how lucky I am to be surrounded by people I care so deeply about. It has been a long time since I’ve been able to say that.” Lance looked from Stasia, to Jess, who was fighting back tears. Stasia looked at Jess and tried to make her laugh, “Well...Garret was always there...NO ONE cared about him.” Jess laughed and the tears stopped.

Lonnie walked in the door and said, “I have never seen ten better looking young people. You guys ready?”

They loaded into three limos, the first carrying most of the security team, the second had Justin, Morgan, Joey, Angela, Chris and Dani in it. Lance, Stasia, JC and Jess were in the third car with Lonnie and Ron. When they pulled up in front of the theater, Stasia got nervous, suddenly she noticed the number of people milling around. She and Jess looked at one another, then at their dates. Lonnie and Ron stepped out of the car, and secured the area for them, when they felt good about the security, Lonnie gave Lance a signal, and he climbed out of the limo. He held out his hand for Stasia.

She placed her trembling hand in his, and stepped out into the bright sunlight, she squinted a little, and took in the scene around her. Lance pulled her right arm through his left, and covered her hand where it rested on his sleeve. As JC and Jess were getting out of the car, Lance looked down at her face, she had a sweet smile on her face, but her eyes were showing the terror of being surrounded by so many screaming people, there were flashes going off in every direction, people screaming out his name. He squeezed her hand a little, “Millie, you’re fine, you look beautiful, Ron and Lonnie are right here, and I will not let go of you.” He looked straight into her eyes and then leaned in closer to her ear, “I promise you.”

He felt her relax a little and the terror in her eyes lessened. “I’ll be fine.” She swallowed hard, stood up a little straighter and squeezed his arm a bit.

He put a finger under her chin, “I know you will be.”

Jess elbowed JC, who grinned happily down at her. “Soon.” He said confidentially. She nodded.

They began the long walk to the building. Lance waved to fans, but always returned his hand to hers, where it still rested on his arm. He introduced her to every reporter that interviewed the group. They were nearing the end of the red carpet, when they were motioned over to the area where Joan Rivers was grilling people on who designed their clothes, where they got their jewelry and who did their hair. The guys stepped forward, and she was asking them about their suits, Lance asked if it was OK to wear black and blue together and Joan smiled brightly at him.

“You look great, the black and blue are working for you. But how could they not, with the beautiful accessory you have on your arm there. Come here sweetie.” Joan extended her hand and when Stasia took it, Joan pulled her in front of Lance who moved his arm to her waist. “And who is this?”

“This is Stasia Blake, from Free Lance Entertainment Group.” Lance Smiled broadly as he introduced them.

“Well hello Stasia, who did your gown?”

“It was made by Ralph Lauren.” The crowd shifted a little and Lance was pushed forward against her back, his hand slid around to her flat stomach and he held her up, making sure she wasn’t knocked over.

“Well you two look perfect together, I love it when couples are coordinated.” She then moved down the line to JC and Jess.

Lance whispered, “Are you OK? I didn’t mean to grab you like that.”

“No, I’m fine, thanks for keeping me on my feet. You didn’t grab, you held...big difference.” Rather then linking arms again, he took her hand in his and they were led forward to the last interviewer.

The ceremony was great, the guys sounded fantastic and Lance introduced Stasia to Gloria Estefan and soon as she approached the group. She was sweet and very gracious, it was easy for Stasia to see why the guys liked her so much.

They arrived at the after party, and one of the first people she saw was Carson Daly. He walked over and said, “You look very pretty, will you save me a dance.”

“I don’t know if I can allow that.” Lance joked. “The way she looks tonight, I may be keeping right next to me.” His arm slid around her waist.

Across the room Jess poked JC on the arm. “Did you see that? He’s getting all protective. I LOVE IT!”

“Yeah I saw it. Lance and Carson got along really well, until Carson started trying to flirt with Stasia, now our boy is a little...cool to Carson.” He handed her the drink he had just brought from the bar. “Does Stasia need a nudge, or is she going to figure out she’s falling for him on her own?”

“If I know her, she knows it’s happening, and she’s fighting it every step of the way.” She grinned evilly, “She hates losing control of a situation, she will be able to maintain her composure until they kiss, for her...that’s when the control will be gone, she’s not the kind of person that can just kiss anyone, there has to be emotion there, or she won’t do it.”

“Well then, we just need to get them to kiss. That should be easy enough.” JC rolled his eyes. “How, may I ask, are we going to get them to kiss?”

She shrugged, took a sip of her drink, “I can’t think of everything.” He laughed and they went to find the rest of the group. They found Chris, Dani, Morgan and Justin sitting at a table laughing and talking. Jess and JC joined them. Jess whispered something to JC, he turned to look at what she was talking about and Dani followed his line of sight. She whispered to Chris who looked up and smiled.

Dani finally spoke, “Look at the dance floor.” Everyone turned to see Lance twirling Stasia around, they were both beaming. He pulled her against him and they moved in perfect unison, laughing at a comment Stasia made. “They really do look perfect together.” Dani squeezed Chris’s hand, and he nodded at her.

Jess looked at Dani and raised an eyebrow, Dani smirked and they realized were thinking the same thing. Jess looked back at Stasia on the dance floor, she could tell her friend cared very deeply about her dance partner, they way the looked at one another, the way they touched one another, the way they were holding one another, she could tell that the feelings were not one sided. “I haven’t seen her look this happy or relaxed, since before Noah and Nik died.” She looked around the table at the happy faces and said, “Thank you for bringing my best friend back. You people have been better for her than I could have ever been.”

“That’s not true. She lights up when she talks to you, or when she’s talking about you.” JC placed his hand on her arm. “Let’s go spy.” He stood and offered his hand to her.

Chris jumped up, “Wait for us! We want in on this action!”

Justin was happy, he had Morgan back, it looked like Lance and Stasia were heading in an unexpected direction, and their album was breaking records like crazy. He couldn’t be happier at that moment. He stood, pulled Morgan to her feet, kissed the top of her head, and led the way to the dance floor. “You can count Morgan and I in on this too!”

Joey and Angela appeared on the dance floor out of nowhere. Stasia glanced at them and then nudged Lance, “Look at those two.” He looked over and had to swallow his laugh. Joey and Angela both had flushed cheeks, she had just recently reapplied her lipstick, and Joe’s lips red and swollen. “Where do you think they were?”

“We probably don’t want to know. SURE they’re just friends.”

She smiled knowingly at him, “I hope not.”

He looked a little shocked, “Is that what all of those late night talks are all about?”

“Among other things.” Her eyes were twinkling mischievously.

“At some other point in time, very soon, we are going to have a little chat about those late night talks, something dawned on me the other day, and I’d like your opinion.” When she looked at him with concern, he placed his palm on her cheek. “No need for that look, you’ve just made me realize I may need to pay closer attention to my friends.”

“I think we can all pay closer attention to our friends, look at me, I didn’t even know Jess was coming out for this.”

“That’s different, it was a surprise.”

“I know, but I used to be able to tell if she was hiding something by the way she picked up the phone. I guess I’m just out of practice.”

He pulled her against his chest, and whispered against her cheek “You and Jess have an amazing connection, you can’t lose that, even if you try. You two are joined on a very deep level, that doesn’t go away just because you don’t see one another every day.” His breath made the little wisps of hair framing her face move, one of them tickled his nose so he buried his face in his hand and laughed a little, tickling Stasia in the process. She twisted in his arms giggling, suddenly, his forehead was resting against hers, their eyes were locked, and the room seemed to grow quiet.

Dani and Jess were talking while dancing next to one another, Chris squeezed Dani’s hand a little, “Babe...”

“Shh, I’m trying to talk Jess about Stasia and Lance.” She said quickly.

“But Babe...”

“SHUSH Chris! We are trying to figure this out, don’t you want to see them get together?” She rolled her eyes at Jess who nodded in understanding.

“FINE! JC and I will watch them getting ready to kiss in the middle of the dance floor by ourselves then!” Chris took Dani’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her head to face the couple, whose foreheads were still touching. Stasia had one hand resting on Lance’s chest and the other was on the back of his neck. Lance’s left hand was on the small of her back, holding her small form against his chest, his right hand, which had been covering his face seconds ago, was cupping her cheek, his thumb rubbing along her cheek bone.

Jess and Dani’s jaws dropped in unison. “OH MY GOD!” Jess squealed, JC clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Do you want them to look over here and forget about what they are doing?” Jess shook her head. “If I let go, will you squeal again?” She shook her head again. “OK.” JC let go of her mouth, and she quickly stuck a finger in her mouth, and began chewing on her knuckle.

Justin and Morgan danced over, and he joked, “You guys realize this is a DANCE floor right? The four of you are standing here like fools.” Morgan laughed at his joke. Chris pointed towards Lance and Stasia, where they were gently swaying. “Whoa! What did we miss?”

Dani answered, her eyes still locked on the couple a little ways away. “We have no clue, Chris and JC looked over there, and they were standing like that, it’s like they don’t even realize there is a room full of people around.”

Justin and Morgan began laughing, when they noticed Joey and Angela, just a little further across the room than Lance and Stasia. Joey caught Justin’s attention when he started flailing his arms behind Lance’s back and pointing. Justin held up his hand, for Joe to stop, Joey grabbed Angela’s hand and pulled her over to where the rest of the group was standing. “What the hell is going on over there?”

“We have no clue, but we voted and think that it’s a very good thing.” Chris said, while steering Dani so they could get a better view. The group had started to form a semicircle around Lance and Stasia, and they were all barely dancing.

The music changed, and ‘Bye Bye Bye’ began blaring through the speakers, the DJ said, “This is in honor of a group of guys we are lucky enough to be hanging out with tonight.”

Lance and Stasia were pulled back into reality, by the pounding beat of the very familiar song. They both closed their eyes, then Lance took a very deep breath, and lifted his head from hers. She pulled her hand away from the back of his neck and he opened his eyes again, she still had her eyes closed, her long lashes resting on the flushed apples of her cheeks. He couldn’t help but think that, that must be what she looked like when she was kissing someone. He cleared his throat, and her lashed fluttered open.

They both noticed the sudden flurry of movement of to their side as their friends danced furiously. She looked at him curiously and he shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows? You thirsty? I’m thirsty...I could use something cold.”

“Sounds heavenly.” They started walking toward the bar when Jess snagged her arm. “What the...”

Lance smiled down at her, “Water?”

“Yes please.” She allowed herself to be pulled into the middle of the dancing group of people Jess had suddenly emerged from.

“I’ll be right back to save you Millie.” He called after her retreating form.

Jess grabbed her friend firmly by the shoulders, and held her at arms length in front of her, Dani and Morgan stood on either side of Jess and all of them were grinning like they had just seen the most amazing thing in the world. “What? What did I miss?” Stasia asked excitedly. Looking at each one of them in turn. Her eyes were bright, her smile was huge and Jess pulled her into a tight hug. “Jess? What the devil is up with you?”

“I just love you!”

“I love you too. Are you OK?”

“I’m perfect, I’ve never been happier. I am thrilled.”

“You’re not falling for JC are you?”

“You know very well that I am completely in love with Brent. However, JC could make me forget my morals temporarily.” She grinned.

“I’m not going near that comment. Why did you drag me over here?” They were all still standing on the dance floor, and not dancing. ‘Bye Bye Bye’ ended, and some other dance song started.

“We wanted you to hang out and dance with us.” Dani said quickly.

“Ok, so ....let’s dance.” Morgan, Dani and Jess exchanged looks with Angela, and they all began dancing at once.

Justin, Joey and Chris were walking back to their table, and Chris was grumbling, “WHY, out of all of our songs, did they have to pick “Bye Bye Bye’? NO! They couldn’t have played ‘Music of My Heart’ or God Must Have Spent’ or This I Promise You’ NO! Stupid DJ has to go and screw everything up! Let’s go smack the guy!” He had started stalking off, over to the DJ booth, when Justin caught him by the collar.

“I’m no happier about this than you are, but think about it. Do we really want their first kiss to be in the middle of a crowded dance floor? Come on, we know them, neither one of them really wants something that private to happen in front of eight hundred people.”

“Chris he’s right. I think it’s better that it happened like this, they came close, now they are both gonna think about this. We just have to make sure they think it’s a good thing.” Joey offered.

JC walked up to the bar and stood next to Lance, “Hey.”

Lance looked over, “Hey.” The bartender handed him two glasses. “Thanks.”

“Two waters please.” JC said to the bartender. “So, you having a good time?”

“I am, I’m having a great time.”

“It looks like it.” JC grinned at his younger friend.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” He was frowning now.

“I just meant that you have been laughing and smiling all day, from the moment I walked into Stasia and Dani’s room this afternoon, until now, this is the first time you haven’t been smiling.”

Lance relaxed a little. “Yeah, I have been having a great night, Stasia is a lot of fun.”

“She’s more than fun. I swear she does something totally special every day. You ever notice that?” JC was watching Lance very closely, and the soft smile that touched his lips and the sparkle he got in his eye, were not missed. Lance had been very unhappy in the months following his breakup with Danielle, now there was a huge spark of life back in his eyes.

“Yeah. She reads people really well, she feels stuff really deeply. After everything she’s been through in her life, she has every reason to feel sorry for herself, but she doesn’t.”

JC grabbed his drinks and they walked together toward the dance floor. Lance held out a glass for Stasia who practically ran over to take it from him, “THANK YOU!”

“No problem. How are you holding up?”

“You know what’s strange, I’m not even a little tired. I’m having too much fun.”

They all moved to the table where Justin, Joey and Chris were sitting everyone sat quickly, but they were one chair short. Lance and Stasia were left with one chair. Chris looked at Dani sideways...”Oh, sorry guys, I could have Dani sit on my lap if you want...but my knee is bugging me a little.”

Lance and Stasia said, “No you go ahead.” at the same time, then laughed.

“Lance, why don’t you sit and let Stasia sit on your lap. She weighs, what about four pounds?”

Lance looked at Stasia, “Would you mind...you can have the chair if you want...it doesn’t matter.”

She smiled, “Sit.” Lance sat, and she perched herself lightly in his knees.

“Millie, SIT, don’t hover.”

“What? I am sitting.” Lance moved his foot a little, kicked her feet out from under her, and she feel back into his arms, her weight settling in his lap.

“That’s better.” Her huge skirt settled like a navy cloud around them. She tried to beat it down a little with her hands. “Oh leave it. You are fine, quit fidgeting.” He put his hand on top of hers where she was pulling at the fabric of he skirt.

She settled down. “OK, you win Harry.” Jess and JC exchanged smiles.

Several people came over to talk to them. All of the guys had great connections, and they worked hard to keep those connections. The night was so relaxed, Stasia was surrounded by so many people she cared about, she didn’t want the night to end. Carson walked up to the table. “Hey.” He looked directly at Lance and Stasia, she had settled comfortably against him and his hand was still resting on hers.

JC and Chris looked at one another. “Hey.”

The DJ started a new song and a huge smile slid across Chris’s face. He looked over at Stasia and raised his eyebrows up and down. “Stay-a?”

She turned to Lance, “Be right back!” She held out her hand and Chris took it and they walked quickly to the dance floor.

Carson looked around, “What’s so exciting about ‘Tainted Love’?”

“Nothing, those two have a thing about eighties music in general...I think it’s because they remember it from the first time it was around.” Justin laughed as Chris spun Stasia around and around. He could see she was dizzy by the way her head was flopping. Chris pulled her close and they danced quickly around the entire perimeter of the floor. “Is that what they actually danced like in the eighties?”

Carson laughed, “I’m afraid so.”

The pair returned to the table laughing and breathing heavily. Lance shifted a little to offer her easier access to his lap, because Carson had moved a step closer to him. Without thinking twice, she flopped down on his lap and threw her arm around his shoulders, “You should have come with us.”

“I can’t keep up with the two of you, Millie.”

“OK, I have to know what that’s all about. Why do you call one another Millie and Harry?” Carson asked, sounding a little annoyed.

They both laughed, “I think you had to be there to really understand. We met an old couple named Mildred and Harold at the laundry mat, and...well it started out as a joke, and it just stuck.”

Lonnie and Ron walked up, “Guys, we need to get going.”

“Stasia, do you have time for a quick dance?”

“Oh Carson, I’m sorry, but it looks like my date and my ride are leaving. I’ll take a rain check though.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

They gathered their suit coats and purses from the table, and started toward the door, when Chris said, “OH! I forgot something!” He ran back to the table, and pulled a chair out from under the long cloth. He laughed to himself, then ran to catch up with the group.

The limos pulled up to the front of the hotel, where there were a lot of fans still gathered. They walked as a big group toward the doors stopping to sign autographs as they went, Jess who was walking next to Stasia was shocked to see that not only did N Sync’s fans know Stasia’s name, they wanted her autograph as well. Ron stayed right next to her as she took time to sign each autograph she was asked for. Jess also noticed that Lance never let Stasia out of his sight.

When they finally entered the lobby, Lance touched her arm gently. “Want to go for a walk with me?”

“Sure, I don’t think I could sleep now anyway.” She hugged Jess good night and told Justin and JC she expected to see them at 6:00 to run in the morning.

Lonnie walked out onto the patio and checked out whether or not it was safe for them to walk outside. Ron kept his distance, following Lance and Stasia. When Lonnie was confident that they would be safe, he and Ron positioned themselves at opposite ends of the patio area, there was a huge garden, with a fountain lit up in the center of it. They quietly walked in that direction looking up at the stars. He looked down at her face and smiled, there was starlight reflecting in the steely depths of her eyes. A slight breeze blew the loose strands of hair around her face. He was starting to realize that he had been a total fool to not notice how absolutely beautiful she was. “What are you thinking about?”

“How unbelievably lucky I am. I guess it helps having three guardian angels.” She smiled skyward.

“Why are you feeling so lucky tonight?” He pointed to a bench near the fountain, it was surround by rose bushes, and the air smelled sweet.

“If you would have asked me a year ago, what I would be doing Oscar night, I would have told you, ‘I’ll be sitting on the couch, eating popcorn with Jess, making fun of the clothes the stars are wearing.’ I would not have told you, ‘Well. First I’m going to the spa, then I’m going to put on the most amazing dress I’ve ever seen, after that, I think my pop star date will pick me up, make me feel like a queen, we will dance the night away, and end up in the middle of a rose garden, looking at the stars.’”

“You felt like a queen?”

She nodded and looked straight into his eyes, he felt like she was looking straight into his soul. “You have made this the most unforgettable night of my life. I can’t remember the last time I have been this happy. It must have been Noah and Nik’s wedding.” She placed her hand on his, and her little hand closed around his much larger one. “Thank you Harry.”

“I should be thanking you. I haven’t felt this alive in a very long time. My life seems to fly by so quickly that I don’t normally get to enjoy it, I have enjoyed it so much more since you came into my life, our lives. We all love you.” She could see the sincerity in his eyes, there was a lot of emotion behind his word, he wanted her to know that she was one of them and that she belonged with them. “I’m not sure what we did without you, I’m not sure what I did without you.” She knew she couldn’t read into those words, she knew he was talking about work, but the way he said it, the look in his eyes, made her want so badly for it to mean more.

“I’m not sure what I did without you either, without all of you.” She looked down at his leg where their hands were resting, his hand turned over under hers, his thumb began stroking the top of her hand.

“Are you cold?” Her looked at her bare shoulders and arms. The moonlight and the lights in the fountain were making her skin practically glow. She shook her head and he was somewhat relieved, because he was enjoying watching the light reflect off of her shoulders.

“Did Carson seem...weird to you?” She grinned a little, “He’s a nice guy, but sometimes he makes me feel...weird.”

“He’s trying to flirt with you...not Joey flirt...really flirt. But it seems you aren’t exactly flirting back.” His heart sped up a little and he couldn’t quite figure out why.

“I have no romantic interest in Carson. Like I said, he’s a nice guy, but not at all my type.” His heart resumed its normal rhythm.

“So what is your type, let me guess...Justin.”

“RIGHT! Justin! Ha...you are SO funny Harry. I don’t know, my type is thoughtful, not hearts and flowers thoughtful, but he has to think about the people around him. He has to be smart, and sensitive, and caring and loving, and willing to be loved. I guess that’s about it.”

“Tall, dark and handsome?”

“I’ve never really pictured myself with tall, dark and handsome...that’s what Garret was, so I don’t think that is the direction I want to go in.”

“What about you, what’s your type? Tall, leggy and blonde?”

He laughed, “No, I don’t want to date my sister. I’ve always been drawn more to an attitude than a look. You know, someone independent, that still needs me, someone I can talk to, and be quiet with, someone who laughs easily and feels things deeply.”

“So basically we want the same things, just opposite sexes.”

“Pretty much.”

“If that’s what we’re looking for, how did we end up with the people we were with before?”

“Maybe we were with them so, when we find the right person, we’ll know. It’s like that song...the one you love...about, we all have a place in our heart, where we heal the wounds from people we loved, but you have to be willing to open up and give someone your heart again...you have to give them your heart, and know it’s possible that it will get broken again, but trust that it won’t.”

“And So It Goes.”

“‘And you’re the only one who knows.’ That’s the lyric right?”

“Yeah it is. It’s the perfect song for both of us isn’t it?”

“When I was with Garret, I thought if I loved him the right way, that he would love me the way I needed t be loved, but he didn’t want to love me that way. Not to mention, there were no fireworks, and no tingly feeling.”

“Tingly feeling?”

“Oh YEAH! The feeling you get when you kiss the right person...the one where you feel like your body has been electrified.”

“Not familiar with that one.”

“WHAT?” She stared at him in shock, “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve never had that, excited, stomach flipping feeling?”

“No I guess not. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had nice kisses, but stomach flipping tingly feelings...not so much.”

“You poor thing. How could you get to this point in your life without having that amazing kiss? You NEED IT!”

He laughed, “I’ve lived this long. I’m not worried.”

“Well I am! I’ve only had one of those kisses, but I know enough to know that, THAT is what we are all really looking for, that’s how you know you fit...you both have the fireworks!”

“No fireworks with Garret?”

“Nope, not one...not even a sparkler. How about Danielle?”

“No...no fireworks.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on your face after you’ve gotten the firework kiss...I’ll just nod and tell you ‘I told you so.’”

“I bet you will. Are you ready for bed now?”

“Yeah, I need a little sleep, because I’m making Justin and JC run tomorrow,, if it kills me.

They walked back to the patio, where Lonnie and Ron were sitting, looking miserable. “Ready for bed boys?” They stood and followed Lance and Stasia into the building.

Ron and Lonnie went straight to their rooms, and their doors both slammed when the pushed them closed. Lance walked her to her door. “Thank you for tonight, as weird as it sounds, I felt normal tonight, like we were just hanging out...even though we were all dressed up, and in the middle of a huge crowd.”

“I don’t think it sounds weird at all. I feel the same way. I’m really glad I went with you, I think this all worked out for the best.”

“Without a doubt.” He realized that they were both avoiding saying goodnight, neither one of them wanted this night to end. “We really need to go to bed...I almost forgot, you are going to have both Dani and Jess on the bus with you tomorrow.”

“Great! That should be fun.” She didn’t want to go into her room, she was willing to just stay in the hall. “So, I guess we should go now.”

He took her hands in his, leaned down, and softly kissed her cheek, she kissed his cheek, and then they hugged. “Goodnight Millie.” It was whispered into her hair and his voice was husky.

“Goodnight Harry.” She kissed his cheek again. He bent, kissed the top of her head and took a step back, he knew if he didn’t walk away right then, that he was going to do something she might not forgive him for. For a moment, he thought he saw disappointment in her eyes, but she closed her eyes quickly, then opened them and smiled softly at him. She opened her door and walked into the room.

She waited until she heard his door close down the hall, and she ran out the door again. She knocked lightly on the door next to hers. “It’s open.” She pushed the door open and ran in.

She stopped short when she realized Jess was not alone in her room, everyone else, with the exception of Lance, was sitting around. They guys all had their jackets and ties off, and the women had kicked off their heels, but the were all still in formal wear, and they all looked like they had been caught doing something wrong. “What’s going on?”

“Um...they were just asking me what you were like before they met you...I told them that you were nowhere near this cool.” Jess grinned evilly.

“Well at least I don’t have to horn in on YOUR famous friends.” Stasia shot back.

Jess looked around the room, “Told you she’s a total smart alec.”

JC and Justin were sitting on one of the beds, leaning against the headboard. Stasia climbed in between them and wiggled around trying to make more room for herself. Her dress was spread across both of their laps and Justin grinned down at her, “Comfy?”

“Yes thank you. What do you think Ralph Lauren would feel about me laying around in a bed with two men while wearing his dress?”

“I think he’d approve.”

She giggled, “So do I.”

“So where did you and Lance go?”

“Oh, we just went down to that garden with the fountain in the middle. It’s really nice out tonight.”

“What did you talk about?” She looked at Joey, a little shocked.

“I don’t know, stuff. He never asks what you and I talk about in the middle of the night.” Joey held up his hands in defeat.

“Down Girl! I was just curious, I mean you could have been out there talking about me.”

“You’re name never came up. So anyone else hungry?”

“I swear, you are as bad as me.” Justin pointed to the empty candy bar wrappers next to him on the nightstand.

“Have anymore?” He handed her a Kit Kat bar. “You are such a stud!”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Hand me the phone.” Justin raised an eyebrow, but handed her the phone. She dialed four numbers then said, “Hi. It’s me, everyone is hanging out in Jess’s room...no sleep for you. OK.” She hung up.

The door opened and Lance walked in, his shirt was untucked, and unbuttoned, showing his clean, white t-shit. His tie was hanging, untied around his neck and he wasn’t wearing any shoes. “Hey, thanks for the invite.”

Chris rolled his eyes, “Don’t blame us, we weren’t exactly invited on the walk, out in the fresh air, under the stars.”

“No you weren’t.” Lance grinned at the older man.

The entire group sat up talking and laughing, until they had to change to load the buses. They all went into their rooms, took quick showers, and met back in the hall thirty minutes later, pulling their luggage behind them. All of the women were struggling with big garment bags that were holding their gowns. Lance walked over to Stasia and offered to carry hers.

They had been on the road, maybe forty-five minutes, when Stasia and settled into her bunk. She was just drifting off to sleep when the bus lurched sharply, throwing her forward in a heap. Jake yelped, Dani and Jess both screamed. “WHAT HAPPENED MIKE?” Stasia rolled out of her bunk.

“I gotta check the wheel, I don’t know what happened.” They only bus behind them was the one holding Lance and Chris, they pulled off behind the bus the women were riding in and Lance and Chris came running onto the bus.

Chris held Dani, “Are you OK Babe?” He smoothed her hair.

“I’m fine.”

Mike climbed back on board, “Bad news, I hit a pot hole and blew an axle, we’re going to have to wait for another bus to get out here.”

Lance turned to him, “Why, just load their stuff onto our bus, they can ride with us and then we can have a bus meet us at the next hotel.”

So they emptied all of the girls' belonging out of their bus and onto the other, the problem was that the compartments under the bus were full, so most of their belongings were crammed into the aisles, and the living room, and everyone wanted to sleep.

Stasia was trying to get Jake to settle down and looking very sleepy. Lance had never seen her in the Adias warm-up pants, sweatshirt and baseball cap she was wearing right now, but the whole sporty-spice thing was working for him. Dani had already fallen asleep in one of the empty bunks, Jess was in the other, Chris was in his bunk, so by the time she had Jake situated, there was nowhere for her to go except the little piece of floor she was sitting on, so she rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. “What are you doing?” She heard Lance whisper.

She opened one eye, “Trying to get a little sleep.”

“There?”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“Sure I do, you can share my bunk with me.” He extended his hand down to help her up, and at this point she was to tired to protest. She took his hand and climbed up into the bunk. “You sleep by the wall, so you don’t fall out.” She very carefully slid over him and laid on her side facing the wall. They were both asleep in a matter of seconds.