Dani bounced down the hall to the front door and Stasia yelled behind her, PLEASE TELL ME THAT’S NOT LANCE! I’m not ready!”
“It’s not Lance, it’s Chris. Hey Babe! What are you doing here?”
“I’ve decided if Lance and Stasia can have a real date, so can we. Would you like to go to dinner with me?”
“I’d love to.” She kissed him then said, “I have to change, I’ll be right back.” She ran back to Stasia’s room. “Now what am I going to wear?” She was giggling.
“You pick out my clothes, I pick out yours...is that what’s happening here?”
“I need your help, Chris hasn’t asked me out on a real date in forever...”
Stasia fastened her earring on the way to Dani’s room. “With your wardrobe, this should be easy.” She pulled open the closet door and stepped inside. She emerged a few seconds later with an outfit for Dani, who was standing in front of the mirror, holding her hair up.
“Up or down?”
“Up, you don’t wear it up much and this is a special occasion, not to mention, if you wear it up, he can see your neck, which is always a good thing.” They both giggled.
“Good point! Up it is.” Dani grabbed the clothes Stasia was holding out for her and ran into her bathroom. “What time is it?”
Stasia glanced at the clock on Dani’s nightstand, “It’s 4:15. Should I attempt to wear make-up?”
“No, just some lip gloss and mascara. Part of the reason you are so pretty is the fact that you don’t cover your entire face with make-up.”
“OK...that was really sweet of you. Lip gloss...mascara...got it.” She went back into her own room.
Stasia brushed through her long hair and curled just the ends under. She applied her lip gloss and mascara, threw the lip gloss into the purse Dani had chosen for her. She smiled at her own image in the mirror, Dani had picked out a simple black dress with spaghetti straps, it was fitted and ended just above her knees. She tied the powder blue cardigan sweater around her shoulders.
Dani walked in, “Will you zip me please?” The red strapless, knee length dress looked perfect on her. She had pinned her hair up and applied fresh make-up.
Stasia eyed her, “You need something.” She dug through her jewelry box and pulled out a necklace. She fastened the clasp and then walked to here own closet and came back with a black silk cardigan sweater. “Perfect.”
“You seriously have a sweater for every occasion don’t you?”
“Yes, I am always cold, so I always have a sweater with me...it’s chilly tonight, so you will need one too.”
“Thanks MOM!” Dani draped the sweater over her arm, and gently touched the necklace Stasia had put on her. “Where did you find this...it’s beautiful.”
“It was Nik’s...her coloring was exactly like yours. She wore that to her wedding shower.”
“Stasia! I can’t wear this!”
“Why not? It looks great on you, and Nik was the first person to share her stuff. Don’t be silly...wear it and have fun. Now go get that guys sitting in the living room.” She said as she sprayed herself with perfume.
They walked out of the room together and Stasia flipped off the lights. The TV in the living room was on, and Ron was sitting in a chair near the door wall, with Jake curled up in his lap, they were both snoring quietly. Chris was on one of the couches, his head was back and he was making a strange whistling sound. Dani and Stasia looked at one another and both covered their mouths to muffle their laughs.
“Lonnie...are you sure I don’t look like a total geek?” Lance glanced up in the rear view mirror, and straightened his tie.
“I have told you a dozen times, that you look fine. When you take a beautiful woman on a date like this, you wear a tie...its just good manners. Of all the woman in the world, Stasia will appreciate the effort more than anyone. Now stop asking me if you look stupid, or I’ll smack you up side the head.”
“Are the flowers wilting?” Lance looked over at the flowers he had forced Lonnie to hold for him.
“Dude, I have seen you less nervous in front of 80,000 people. Why are you freaking out about one date with Stasia, who you already know loves you.”
“She may think that this plan is a little over the top.” He pulled at his tie again. “I have never done anything like this before, it’s not exactly like I’m just taking her around the corner for a quick bite to eat.”
“Lance, stop asking me questions. We are going to go the rest of the way in silence...RIGHT?”
“Yeah..right...silence.” The rest of the trip was quiet, and as he pulled up to the gate, Chad waved to him and raised the gate immediately. “Guess Stasia took care of him.” He laughed.
He pulled through the gate surrounding Dani and Stasia’s small yard. He grabbed his jacket out of the backseat of the car. He slid into the jacket and adjusted the lapels and his tie. He pulled the cuff down and adjusted the button.
He reached out and took the flowers from Lonnie. Who rolled his eyes, reached out and fixed his tie. “You screwed around with it so many time, you messed it up. Don’t touch it again.” Lance walked to the door and Lonnie followed mumbling under his breath, “Boy can sing and dance in front of millions...one pretty girl and he loses his head.” He shook his head and stood behind Lance as he knocked lightly on the door.
Dani pulled the door open and smiled brightly, “Nice...very nice...flowers...tie...nice touch.” She stepped back and made a grand sweeping motion with her arm. “Please come in gentlemen, but try not to wake up the sleeping beauties.”
Lance lightly touched her arm, “You look very pretty.”
“Thanks.” She blushed.
“Are you all set with Jake?”
“Yes sir!” She saluted him.
“Thanks Dani...I appreciate your help. Does she have any idea what we are doing?”
“No, but if she asks me one more time, I may break down and tell her.”
“Then I better get her out of her, before you blab.”
Lance walked around the corner into the living room, “Hi...” His breath caught at the sight of her. She looked beautiful. He loved it when she wore her hair down, he was already fighting the urge to run his fingers through it. “...Millie.” He held out the flowers for her to take.
“Hi Harry.” She was awed. He was wearing a black suit, with a crisp white shirt, and a dark emerald green tie, which made his eyes look like the same dark, shining green. He had a slightly crooked grin on his face.
“You look...you look beautiful.” He crossed the distance between them, and when she took the flowers from his hands, he pulled her into a hug and lightly kissed her lips. Her knees almost buckled. Just that slight contact set her senses on fire.
“You look wonderful too...LOVE the tie.”
“Thanks. Are you ready? We should get going if we are be there on time.”
Dani ran over to Stasia, “I’ll put these in water for you.”
“Thanks Dani.” She hugged her friend tightly. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Oh! Lance, I have that stuff Chris borrowed from you. She handed him a bag.”
He grinned at her. “Um...thanks Dani.” He offered his hand to Stasia and she took it, she picked up her purse with her other hand. Lance smacked Chris’s head.
“Wha...Oh hey Lance.” He yawned and stretched. “Have fun children. Are you finally ready Babe?”
“I’ve been ready for twenty-five minutes. You on the other hand, have been sleeping.”
Lance and Stasia laughed and walked out the door while Lonnie woke up his brother. They stopped just outside the door and he pulled her tightly against his chest, “I don’t know how I could have missed it...how I could have been so stupid.”
“What did you miss?” She was looking deeply into his eyes. When she laid her palm against his cheek. His eyes closed with the pleasure of her touch.
“I don’t know how I missed seeing how unbelievably beautiful you are.” His eyes flew open. “Not that I thought you weren’t pretty...I’m an idiot.” He rested his forehead on the top of her head.
“You are not an idiot. You’re just really...really...really slow.”
“Oh thank you. That was a big help.”
“Stop it Harry. I don’t exactly do much to myself. The personality is the selling point!” She leaned back in the circle of his arms. “I’m well aware of the fact that I am a very...ah...plain person.”
“But you’re not. You have this unbelievable beauty...your eyes...God you have the most remarkable eyes...your hair...your lips...” He reached up and brushed her cheek. “...your cheeks...your neck...your shoulders...” He ran his hands over her shoulders, and slowly down her arms, “...your arms...your wrists...” He laced his fingers through hers, “...your hands...your little waist.” He finally rested his hands on her waist. “Anastasia...there is nothing about you that isn’t beautiful. You are the brightest, most intelligent most together person I have ever met. You are funny, and I have never been with anyone as smart as you are. You are always a step ahead of me.”
“No.” She rested her hands on his chest. “I’m always right next to you. We are in this...we are in everything together.” She shook her head and laughed, “How cheesy was that?”
“Pretty cheesy.” He kissed her forehead, “Another reason I love you.”
Dani, Lonnie, Ron and Chris were all standing Just inside the door, watching through the window next to the door. “How long are we going to wait before we go out there?” Chris whined.
“We are going to stay here, until we know they are done with this conversation. We are not going to interrupt ANYTHING...do you understand that Christopher?”
“Shh...I’m trying to hear.”
“You are not going to eavesdrop on them either.” Dani covered his ears with her hands.
Ron was leaning over Chris head, trying to see better. Lonnie was leaning over Dani, pushing his brother’s head out of his line of sight. “When did you’re head get so fat Ron?”
“Shut up...Momma would smack you for a crack like that.”
Lonnie looked at his watch, “Actually, we have to break up this love fest if we are going to be on time.”
Dani let go of Chris’s ears, and grabbed Lonnie’s wrist to see what time it was. Chris quickly pressed his ear against the window.
Lance caught the motion out of the corner of his eye. He cupped her chin and turned her face to see Chris’s ear pressed against the window. She covered her mouth with her hand, and then with the other handed rapped very hard on the window, exactly where his ear was. They heard Chris scream out in pain. “STAY-A! THAT WAS NOT NICE!” He was rubbing his ear as the four of them walked out the door together.
“Sorry Chris, but you deserved it. She kissed his ear quickly.” As she reached back for Lance’s hand. Lance laced his fingers through hers and pulled her back toward his chest.
“Hey...hey..hey...no extra curricular kissing!” He kissed her neck softly.
“Oh...oh...that’s the neck thing...no extra curricular kissing...you have SO got it!”
Lonnie pointed at his watch and Lance nodded, “I know...we have got to go! Millie...say good-bye to Chris and Dani.” He started walking away, pulling her behind him.
“Bye guys! See you after dinner!” She waved, and let herself be pulled to the car. Chris and Dani just nodded and waved.
Lance opened her door for her and smiled when she sat then swung her legs in, always the lady...except when she was attacking one of them. He threw the bag Dani had given him in the back seat between Lonnie and Ron and then got into the car. “Everyone buckled up? We’re running late!”
“Don’t you get us all killed in a big rush they’ll hold the...”
“SHUT UP LONNIE!” Lance shot him a very dirty look in the rearview mirror.
“Hey little man! You watch that mouth of yours! I wasn’t going to say where we are going...just that you don’t have to be in such a rush. I am not speaking to you anymore...you are on my list.”
“I don’t care what list I’m on if it will keep that big mouth of yours SHUT!”
“Boys...boys...I will not have you arguing all night! I swear, I feel like a mother around here some days.” Stasia rolled her eyes, but couldn’t completely hide her giggle when she glanced over her shoulder and noticed the huge man in the backseat, with his arms crossed and his bottom lip jutting out in defiance. “Hey Lon, did Justin teach you that?”
“Don’t you start with me too...you don’t want on this list.”
“I’m not starting anything...just asking...sorry.”
She knew she had been on this road before, but she still wasn’t familiar with Orlando at all, so she couldn’t remember when it had been. She was racking her brain to remember when she had been in this area, she had an odd feeling they had been driving in the other direction the last time. She shifted in her seat, so she could look at the scenery going in the opposite direction.
“Stop trying to figure it out, just enjoy the ride, we’re almost there.” Lance was watching her out of the corner of his eye.
“I wasn’t trying to figure anything out.” She looked down at her hands sheepishly, and there was a chorus of coughs from the backseat. “Feeling OK boys?” She turned and stuck her tongue out at them.
Lance laughed, “OK, now I guess I’m the parent...Millie, keep your tongue in your mouth.”
“OK...but just remember you told me to.” She raised her eyebrows in challenge.
Now Lance began coughing, and turned beat red, “Umm...what I should have said is...don’t stick your tongue out at Lonnie and Ron...while...we...oh forget it...do whatever you want to do!”
Another fit of coughing from the backseat, “Wuss.” Followed by more coughs...sounding remarkably like laughing.
“Damn straight I’m a wuss. You haven’t had the pleasure of ki...oh never mind! I stand by my last statement...Millie does whatever she wants!”
“They haven’t had the pleasure of ki...Harry...how were you going to finish that statement?”
Once again, Lance was a deep red, “Well...I...ah...I was going to say...” He looked over at her and laughed, “You know exactly what I was going to say...It’s not nice to make me squirm.”
“It may not be nice, but it’s A LOT of fun.” She smiled sweetly.
“You are such a handful.” He smiled as he turned into a driveway.
“Umm...Harry...we’re...” She was so confused at this point, her eyebrows were drawn together and she was looking around in every direction.
“I know where we are. Make sure you have your sweater.” He got out of the car, walked around to her door, opened it and offered her his hand.
She carefully slipped out of the car. “But...what are we doing here?” Lance tightened his grip on her hand and led her forward. He looked back at Lonnie and Ron, who both smiled and nodded.
“I asked you to go on a date, you said yes, are you changing your mind now?” He was grinning, it was so much fun to spoil her, because she was normally the one spoiling the people around her. He could tell she was slightly uncomfortable, but very excited.
“NO! I still want to go, I just want to know where we are going!” There was a definite whining tone to her voice now. “Come on! I already know that this is a more...elaborate plan than I ever imagined.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her. “Anastasia...please just let me do this for you...I just want you to have fun.”
“Anastasia, huh? OK...I see that you are very serious about this...can I have a little hint?”
“OK...one hint...THAT’S IT!” He looked firm, and she nodded her head slowly. “We are going to my favorite place.” He started walking again.
“That’s it?” When she saw the look on his face, she shut up. “OK...that’s enough...good hint.”
They walked into the small building, and an older man rushed forward. “Mr. Bass! It’s wonderful to see you again!”
“Thanks Aaron. It’s good to see you again as well.” Lance extended his hand and Aaron shook it vigorously.
“If you will follow me, we’re ready for you.”Aaron walked quickly through a set of double doors, with Lance, Stasia, Lonnie and Ron behind him.
Stasia beamed when she saw the man standing on the other side of the doors. “Captain Elkins!”
“I should have known it was going to be you Ms. Blake.” He laughed and shook her hand warmly.
“Stasia! Please call me Stasia. Do you remember Lance, Ron and Lonnie?” She motioned to the men walking with her.
“Sure I remember them.” He shook all of their hands. “Are you all ready to hit the skies? We’ve got clear skies, and it should be a quick, smooth flight, so let’s climb aboard.” He led the way onto the plane, Stasia was becoming familiar with.
They all buckled their seatbelts, and the plane was soon moving down the runway. Lance was watching her face very closely. She was trying hard not to show her excitement. She was never going to figure this out.
The plane was in the air for about an hour and a half, when they started their decent, it was already getting a little dusky, but the airport was in a beautiful area. Stasia’s eyes were locked on the window behind her.
She had a childlike twinkle in her eye now, she was fidgeting, and drumming her fingers on her lap. Lance gently covered her hands with one of his, “Sorry. I’m excited.” She turned her eyes to his, “You have spent a fortune...for one evening...why?”
“Because, we are not going to have much of an opportunity to do normal couple stuff, we are about to go on the road, I want our first official date to be able to hold you over until we can have our second official date.”
“OH! So this is what normal couples do now? And as for not being able to have normal dates...our situation is better, I get to see you every day. We get to sit in gardens in the middle of the night and talk. We get to curl up in your bunk to sleep. We get to kiss on private jets.”
“When did we kiss on a private jet?” She slid her hand behind his neck and kissed him softly on the lips. She leaned back and smiled at him. “Oh...yeah...kissing on jets...I should buy a jet.”
Captain Elkins walked into the cabin. “Well folks. Enjoy your time here. I’ll see you for the return flight.”
The air was warm, and there was a slight breeze as they climbed down the steps of the plane. Her hair blew back and the dusky light made Stasia glow. Lance’s breath caught as he watched her glide down the stairs. Somehow, the pale blue sweat tied around her shoulders, made her eyes appear a light bluish gray.
When she saw him pulling keys out of his pocket, she was once again confused. “How do you...”
“Are you starting with the questions again? I thought we had a deal...you got your hint, now you are just going to enjoy yourself.”
“Oh, yeah, that. Sorry.” She reached out and slipped her hand into his, he looked at their hands and smiled. He was fascinated by the way they just seem to fit so perfectly. Her hand was small, and completely consumed by his. When he held her, her head tucked perfectly under his chin. When she was against his chest, his arms completely enveloped her, he felt as if he could protect her from anything. He WANTED to protect her from anything that could possibly hurt her.
When they got to the parking lot, her eyes grew wide. “We’re in Mississippi? You brought me home?” They all approached his car. Lonnie and Ron got in the back seat.
He looked at her curiously, “You don’t think of Michigan as home anymore?”
She sighed and looked around her. “Home isn’t a place for me anymore, it’s a feeling. The feeling of belonging. I haven’t felt this way in a very long time.”
“I’ve never seen a better fit, it’s like...like they fit.”
“Do you think that she realizes that he’s the one giving her the feeling? It doesn’t have anything to do with this state.”
“I don’t know...what do you think?”
“I’m done trying to figure out what they know. I thought they were going to be to stubborn to ever really get together, man was I wrong.” Lonnie shook his head.
“Nothing new there.”
“Shut up Ronnie.”
Lance drove for a while before Stasia realized where they were. He punched in a security code, and the gate in front of the car opened. They drove up the long winding drive and the car stopped in front of the house. He looked back at Lonnie who tossed him the bag from Dani. “Thanks.”
“You won’t even know we’re here.”
They all got out of the car, Lonnie and Ron began to walk along the wall surrounding Lance’s property. Lance led Stasia up the front steps and into the house. He threw his key on the table next to the door, and set her bag on the bottom step as they walked by. As they got closer to the kitchen, she could smell something cooking. “It smells Heavenly in here!”
“I cheated...Momma and Stacy cooked...all I have to do is serve.” He led her out onto the deck, which overlooked the small lake. There was a table for two set on the deck, with candles set up all around it. “They can do a good job when they put their minds to it.”
“This is...breathtaking.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe you did all of this.” The emotion in her voice was thick. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“Why not?” He ran his hands up and down her arms. He smiled at her, then pulled her into his chest, “I love you.”
“I keep thinking you are going to wake up, and change your mind. I want to give you everything you want in a relationship...I want to love you the way you should be loved.”
“Stasia, it’s me...Lance.” He cupped her chin and forced her eyes to meet with his. “I am NOT Garret, I am not going to treat you that way.”
“I know you aren’t Garret. I’m just so...completely terrified, in the most incredibly exciting way. I realize that makes no sense...but...”
“That makes all the sense in the world. You have been hurt before...and you are afraid of being hurt again. Anastasia...Stasia...MILLIE! I can’t make you any promises, but I can tell you this, I have NEVER felt this way before. I feel...whole...you complete me. When I drop you off, or walk you to your room...I’m not as happy as I was when you were with me. We don’t even have to be talking, or touching...it’s just knowing that you’re there...knowing WE are there. You have shown me what it’s supposed to feel like when you’re in love.” Her eyes closed tightly and she took a deep steadying breath. “Did I go to far with that?” He was searching her face for an answer.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and there were tear glistening in their steely depths. “I don’t know what I did, or how this happened,” She put her head down, and he cupped her chin again. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. When we kissed, I felt like I had found a piece of myself, that I hadn’t known was missing. I feel like I am better...because I am with you.”
He leaned his head down and kissed her, “We are a couple of saps.” She nodded her head slowly.
“We are going to make people sick.”
“Millie, we already do.” He laughed. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved! What’s for dinner?” She followed him back into the kitchen.
He opened the oven and smiled at her, “Momma’s famous lemon chicken, green beans, some sort of rice deal and there is a chocolate raspberry cake thing for dessert.”
“Oh Lord! I’m going to die if we don’t eat soon! This looks amazing.”
Lance placed two plates on the counter, and two more at the kitchen table. “Would you mind finding Lonnie and Ron? I’ll get all of this ready so we can eat.”
“I’d be happy to!” She practically bounced out of the kitchen. She pulled open the front door, and looked around. She didn’t see the guys anywhere, but it was very dark. She looked for a light switch near the door for the outside lights. “HARRY! WHERE IS THE LIGHT SWITCH?”
“In the closet....don’t ask me why, because I have no clue.”
As she pulled open the closet door, she was laughing. She quickly found the switch and flipped it on, Lance’s entire yard was illuminated.
The first time she was there, there had been so many people, she hadn’t really had a chance to look around. She grinned, the yard could use some flowers, but it was so pretty. She stepped out of the house and onto the front porch. She ran her hand over the top of the neatly trimmed bush near the door. There were three steps leading down to a winding path that split, and went in two directions.
The first path led to the driveway, the lawn rolled away from the path, and down to the fence surrounding the property. The landscaper had planted some sort of ivy all along the fence to help it blend into the scenery. The ivy created the feeling that wall that had to be built to protect Lance from his fame, had been there forever.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had noticed crickets chirping, but here in Lance’s little corner of the world, they were sounding like a tiny little choir. The sound of the crickets, blending with the sound of the wind gently moving the spring leaves, was like music. Stasia had never rally noticed the music of nature before she’d met the guys. To them, everything was music. Now, walking in the most peaceful place she could ever remember being, she understood.
She had made her way around the side of the house when she finally saw the two huge men, standing near the lake, skipping rocks across the still surface of the water. She carefully made her way down to the men and when she was a few feet away she called out to them, “Hi boys!”
“Feisty? What are you doing down here? Shouldn’t you be up in the house getting all romantic?” Ron teased her.
“Funny. VERY funny! I came to tell you dinner is ready, but if you don’t want to eat...more for me!” She started to walk back to the house, and Lonnie scooped her up in his arms.
“You stay away from my food girl! You should know better by now.” He jogged up the hill to the house carrying Stasia. They climbed up onto the deck, where Lance was lighting candles. “I found this wandering around, and though you’d like it returned.” Lonnie dumped her into a deck chair. “All this for Ron and I...you shouldn’t have.”
Lance laughed as he watched Stasia try to straighten the sweater around her shoulders and pull down the hem of her skirt. “I didn’t...and if you want to have a candle light dinner with your brother...you’ve got issues I don’t want to begin to deal with.”
Stasia finally pushed herself into a standing position, and walked over to Lance. “If they want to be alone...we can go to my house.”
“Hush girl! Point me to my food!” Ron was looking through the door.
“Kitchen table, there’s more in the oven...Lon...you know where the TV and stuff is when your through...or whatever, my house is your house.”
“Even the pinball machine?”
“Break it and die...but, yeah...feel free.” He pulled out Stasia’s chair for her, she sat and looked around herself.
“You have found the most incredible place to live. I love it here...what do you have planned after we eat?”
“Nothing major. Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking it would be nice to take a walk. I’d like to look around a little.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” He disappeared into the house, and materialized moments later carrying two plates. He set one in front of her, and one across. He settled into his chair and placed his napkin on his lap.
His eyes roamed over her face, the candlelight, and the light of the stars was reflecting in her eyes. Her skin had a golden glow, and the smile on her kips had not wavered since they arrived at the house. This was the first chance they had to be alone since a few nights before in Washington, when they had finally talked about their feelings.
He watched the way she held her fork and knife, lightly, like a lady. There were so many little things she did that made her such a feminine creature. The way she tossed her head back when she was laughing, revealing the long column of her neck. The way she spoke gracefully with her hands. The way she could soften her voice when she was speaking to him. They way she walked, a smile slid across his face...the way she walked.
“What are you smiling about?” Her eyes were dancing.
“Oh...sorry...nothing...I was just thinking.” He cleared his throat and looked down at his plate. “Real food, this is such a nice change. We eat out so much, I forget what it’s like to eat off of my own plates...I’d forgotten I bought these.”
“How long have you had the house?”
“Umm...about a year I guess...but I tore the place apart before I moved in, so I haven’t actually lived here very long at all.” He put some chicken in his mouth and sighed. “GOD! I miss Momma’s cooking.”
“This is amazing. You have no idea how much a home cooked, made by a mom, meal means to me.” She pushed some green beans around plate. She was smiling as she placed a fork full in her mouth.
“What’s your favorite home cooked meal?” He could tell she was reliving a memory.
“My mom made a chicken dish...no one makes anything similar, I think that’s why I’m so obsessed with chicken. Who knows? Nik came close a few times...it was Noah’s favorite too, so Nik used to make an attempt at least once a month. She got close, but it was never quite the same. I’ve given up trying...maybe I’ll give it another shot.” She shrugged.
“You should. It would be a nice connection, between you and your mom if one day you mastered it.” His eyes were shining, and hopeful.
She laughed, “Are you just trying to get me to cook for you?”
“Not at all, I...”
“I’m kidding, I would love it if I could figure out what she did...are you prepared to eat A LOT of chicken?”
“I promise you, if you cook it...I’ll eat it. You can cook...right?”
“Shut up Harry! Of course I can cook. Actually, I’m good at all of the domestic stuff. Cleaning is like therapy for me. I got that from my mom, when she was upset or confused or angry or happy or sad, she cleaned. I do exactly the same thing. I think that even though I was only fourteen when she died, I have a lot of my mother in me.”
“I wish I could have met her. I wish I could have known Noah and Nik too, but in some way, I feel like I do know Noah, a little. Reading his journal gave me a little insight into the type of person he was.” He looked down at his empty plate and then looked back up at her and tilted his head in question. “Why did you let me read it?”
“Honestly, I just knew I should. The moment you offered to read it, I just knew in my heart, that I wanted you to.”
“Thank you. I have never been honored that way.” He looked at her empty plate. “Are you still hungry? I’ll get desert.”
“Do we have time to wait on desert? It looks amazing and I want to enjoy it, I’m very full right now.”
“Well then, let’s take that walk we were talking about.” He stood, straightened his jacket and tie, then offered her his hand. She stood and he ran his hands lovingly down her arms. “You’re cold! You need to put this sweater on.” He untied it from her shoulders and held it for her to slip into.
“Thanks dad.” She laughed as she slid her arms into the sleeves. “That’s much better, I hadn’t even noticed I was cold.”
They walked hand in hand down to the lake. She sighed, “This is beautiful.”
“I’m glad, I had this thing dug out. It was a huge mess, but I really wanted water. I love to jet ski, did I ever tell you that?”
“No. You never mentioned it. I’ve always loved the water.” She laughed quietly, “We really do have a lot in common don’t we?”
“Yes we do.” His head dipped and his lips met hers.
There was and odd rustling sound and they both looked around. Stasia saw it first. There was a King She must have jumped six feet in the air, and the scream she let out was enough to bring Lonnie and Ron running out of the house, tripping over one another. They were crashing down the stairs, and running full speed toward the long scream.
Stasia was literally hanging from Lance’s neck, when she had leapt at him, he’d caught her legs under the knees in one arm, and his other arm was wrapped around her back. When Lonnie and Ron reached the lake, they thought both Lance and Stasia were crying.
Stasia was screaming into his shoulder, and his body was shaking. “What’s going on down here?” Ron was panting. “WHAT’S WRONG?”
When Lance turned to face them, they realized he was laughing, so hard that he could barely breath. “She saw a snake.”
“What do you mean she saw a snake? The way she was screaming, I thought she saw her own ghost.”
Stasia pulled her head off of his shoulder. “I have never seen anything so horrible in my life. I have never seen a snake that big outside of the zoo!”
The three men were laughing. “This is not funny! Where did it go? Is it still around? If I get bitten...you are all in so much trouble!”
“Darlin...it is not a poisonous snake, yes it’s big, but it can’t hurt you. You’re fine.” He kissed her temple. “Shall I carry you back up to the house?”
She stiffened, “Oh! Put me down! I can’t believe you!” She turned and stomped to the house.
Lance shook his head and laughed once more with Lonnie and Ron, before turning and chasing after Stasia. “Darlin, stop! I’m sorry.” He caught up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He turned her to face him and he could see she was fighting a smile. “I had no idea you were afraid of snakes. I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure it’s not poisonous?”She smiled sheepishly.
“Positive, it’s a speckled kingsnake. It looks much worse than it is.” He kissed her cheek. “Are you ready for desert now?”
“Uh huh.” She buried her head in his chest again. “You don’t have to mention that little phobia to everyone else.”
“Never. Your secret is safe with me. You better talk to Lonnie and Ron...I can’t make any promises for them.”
They went into the house and Lance cut the cake and handed a plate to Stasia. They walked together into the living room, and Lance took off his jacket and threw it over the back of a chair.
Stasia put a fork full of cake and moaned. “Can your Momma come back with us? This is so good!” She closed her eyes and let the chocolate and raspberry overtake her senses.
“I wish we could.” He smiled gently.
She looked around the room and smiled, the last time she had been there, the room had been full of people, she hadn’t been able to see much of the room. Lance had pictures of his family and friends everywhere. On every tabletop, there was a framed picture of someone he loved. She set her plate on the coffee table, and picked up the frame sitting directly in front of her. She ran her fingertips over the images smiling up at her. She tilted it for him to look at, and raised one eyebrow. “Hmmm?”
“Oh...well, Stacy used to think I was one of her toys. That day she was the cowgirl, and I was the Indian.” Stasia smiled at his little face, marked with lipstick war paint. He had a headband, with one crooked feather in it. Stacy had tied him to a tree, and was standing by, smiling a broad smile, which was a few teeth short. She was wearing a little red cowboy hat, a denim vest, and brown cowboy boots. Her little hip was cocked to the side and she was holding the end of the rope holding little Lance tightly against the tree.
“I think I may have a similar picture of Noah and I. It was funny, because when we were younger, he always wanted a little brother, but the older we got, the more I think he liked the idea of having a little sister.”
“The journal we read, was that the only one he kept? It started what when you graduated from Michigan State, right?”
“He kept a journal as long as I can remember, the rest of them are in one of the boxes I haven’t opened yet. The box we went through was from his library.”
“I see.” He moved to sit next to her on the sofa, and she kicked off her shoes, then tucked her legs up under her.
“When we are home again, will you read them with me?” She looked at him with apprehension.
“I have a better idea. Let’s go get one...or all of them...whatever you think, and we’ll go through them together. We can take one with us, each time we leave. How does that sound?”
“You are the most incredible man on the face of the Earth. I love you.”
He jumped up, grabbed his jacket and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Yes now. Do you have your keys?”
“Sure I have my keys...but how soon do we have to leave?”
A slow, evil smile slid across his face.
“What? Why do you have that purely evil look on your face?” She narrowed her eyes at him as he pulled her to the door.
“I may have neglected to mention something to you.”
She was trying to slip her shoe on as she hopped on one foot behind him. “What did you neglect to mention?”
The temperature had dropped even further, so instead of putting his jacket on, he put it around her shoulders. “Thanks. WHAT did you neglect to mention?”
“We’re not going home until tomorrow morning...well really early...we leave here at 5:30. I wanted you all to myself for a while.” He wasn’t sure how she was going to react. “Umm. You can stay at your house if you want, but I’d like it a lot if you’d stay in my guestroom. I’d like to have breakfast with you too.”
She was very quiet for a moment. “I’ll grab a change of clothes while we’re at my house. It should be a quick trip.”
“You don’t need a change of clothes. Dani packed for you.”
“Remind me to thank the meddler.” She smiled at him, “Are we moving too quickly? Should we be thinking more and feeling less? Have we jumped in too soon?”
“I don’t know. I have been letting my heart take the lead with you. There is something about you, that makes me constantly want more. You and I are somehow connected in my heart. If you want to, or need to slow down, then we will slow down.”
“I’ll get back to you on that. Tonight, I’m enjoying the fast track.” She smiled as her house came into sight. “I so excited to see my house. I am surprised I’m this excited.”
She hopped out of the car and jogged up to the door as soon as the car stopped moving. Lance laughed and chased her up the walk. She was opening the door as he caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder as she unlocked the door.
She flipped on the lights and took a deep breath. The sight of her own belongings, she ran her hand over the back of her favorite chair, the one she had chosen because it was exactly the right size for her to curl up in with Jake to read. Over the back of the chair, was the quilt her mother had made for her when she was a baby. It was blue and white, like almost every thing she chose. The chair was blue and white stripe. The sofa she and Nik had picked out together was blue. Everything in Stasia’s living room was crisp clean, blue and white.
He followed her into her bedroom. And he smiled. “This is unbelievable.” Her room was completely decorated in red and white. She had left the cozy little house neat and tidy. Her bed, with it’s red and white stripped dust ruffle, the crisp white comforter, the red and white checked sheets was neatly made. There was a red and white quilt laying across the end of the bed and the pillow shams were white all of the throw pillows were red strips or red and white floral. There was a big overstuffed chair in the corner of the room, cover in a large red and white check fabric. There was a small white pillow on the chair with a phrase stitched onto it in red. Lance slowly walked over and picked up the pillow.
Take time to be friendly-
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream-
It is hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to love and be loved-
It is the privilege of the gods.
Take time to look around-
It is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to laugh-
It is the music of the soul.
Old English Prayer
“You live by this don’t you?” He ran his hand over the stitches.
“That’s why I made it.” She smiled at him as she pulled open the closet door.
“You made this? You stitched this, on this pillow, by hand...by yourself?” He was still carrying it with her as he followed her into the walk in closet.
“I stitched the prayer onto fabric, then I made the pillow.” She turned on the light.
“You made the entire pillow? You MADE this?” He finally looked up and started laughing.
Her closet was neat and tidy. One wall was covered with shelves, where a rainbow of sweaters was neatly folded, and arranged by color. The back wall was covered by another set of shelves, where her shoes were lined up by type. There was a shelf of heels, one of loafers, there was one for sandals, one for sneakers, one for boots. The third was lined by hanging clothes, pants grouped together, hanging by color. Skirts, suits, dresses, blouses all arranged by length and color. Stasia’s closet was perfectly organized. Not one article of clothing was out of place.
“Yep. Made the pillow. Why are you laughing?” She put her hands on her hips.
He walked over and hugged her tightly. “This is SO you.”
“What is so me?” She kissed his neck, and he moaned. “Oh, so you like that too huh?” She whispered against his throat. She was answered with another moan.
She slid her arms around his neck, and her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. His head tilted back to allow her easier access to the area she was assaulting with light kisses. His arms tightened behind her back and one of his hands tangled in her soft hair. She giggled and whispered against his neck, “What is so me?”
“Your closet...” She started kissing his neck again. “...being so organized...” She worked her way around to the area where his shirt met his throat. “Oh wow, you don’t ever have to stop that.”
“OK...I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.” Her voice was deep with emotion as she kissed up to his jaw, and his head quickly dropped as his lips hungrily met hers.
His hands spread across her back, trying to pull her closer. She was leaning up on her toes, his head was bent down. Their breathing was getting heavy and her head was spinning. She could feel the heat of his body through the fabric of his shirt.
She wasn’t sure when it happened, but they were sinking to the floor. He eased her gently onto her back and lowered himself down next to her. He smoothed her hair back away from her face. She loosened his tie some and pulled his shoulders down toward her. He was supporting his weight on his elbows, over her. She was clutching at him.
When the doorbell rang Lance growled. “Who in the hell is that?”
“No one knows we’re here. I didn’t even know I’d be here. What time is it anyway?”
He looked at the watch on his wrist, laying next to her head. “It’s 10:00 Orlando time, which means 9:00 here. Who the devil is ringing the doorbell at 9:00?”
“I guess I have to get up off of my closet floor and find out.” He rolled off of her and got up, he offered her his hands and helped her to her feet.
He walked quickly beside her. “I just realized, we left without telling Lonnie and Ron, we don’t have security. I don’t know how I got to be this stupid.”
“I hadn’t thought about it. Oh great, now I’m nervous.”
They got to the door and Stasia looked through the peephole in the door. “OH LORD! What is she doing here now?” She quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Ms. Myrtle! What are you doing here at this hour?” She hugged the older woman.
“I could ask you kids the same question.” She hugged Lance.
“Hello Ms. Myrtle.”
“I thought you were going to be gone for another three weeks before you came home for the show in Biloxi.”
Lance laughed, Myrtle always kept up with NSYNC news. “We are just home for the night, actually we have to fly out at 5:30.”
She took each of them by the hand. “I saw on the TV that there is some news about you two. I saw you on that show with the young man asking you questions that weren’t any of his business. But those nice boys you sing with, they were perfect gentlemen, as usual. You both looked wonderful, and I can tell by looking at you that you are very much in love. It warms my heart to see that.”
Lance looked down at Stasia, who beamed up at him. “Thank you Ms. Myrtle, we’re still getting used to the whole idea, but it helps to have the support of friends like you. The reporters haven’t been bothering you have they?”
“No sweetie. They drove by the first day, I don’t think they know which house is Stasia’s, after all, she hasn’t been living here long enough for the locals to know where she’s living, and I’m not about to tell them anything.”
“We can’t thank you enough. It means a lot to both of us that we have people like you protecting us here at home.” Stasia squeezed Myrtle’s hand.
“It’s hard enough being young and in love without having those crazy people following you all over the world. I could not believe that boy had the nerve to ask you about your relationship, and then to show those pictures and play that tape.” She hung her head and slowly shook it back and forth.
Lance smiled, “Oh, don’t be so hard on Carson, he’s a very good friend to us. He actually was helping us out with that interview, he didn’t want anyone else from the network to do it.” He leaned in close to Myrtle, “He has a crush on Stasia.”
“Well it’s no wonder! I should be going, I just wanted to be sure everything was OK over here, I wasn’t expecting to see the light on.” She stood.
Lance quickly jumped to his feet, “Millie, I’m going to walk Ms. Myrtle home. I’ll be right back.”
“That’s a very good idea. You take care of yourself. I’ll be sure to call you and let you know when we’ll be home next. It shouldn’t be until the tour starts, but if anything else comes up, I’ll let you know.” She hugged Myrtle tightly. “Thanks for keeping an eye on me.”
“Don’t you thank me. I’m happy to have someone to keep an eye on.”
Lance held the door for Myrtle, and Stasia closed it behind them after waving to Myrtle as they walked to the corner of the block.
Stasia walked back to the bedroom, into the closet, where she pushed back the hanging clothes, to reveal the entrance to the small storage closet. She opened the door to the storage space, where Noah and Nik’s boxes were neatly lining one wall, she turned on the light and smiled. She opened one box, and looked in. She found old bills, report cards, and many of Stasia’s old art projects. She laughed at an elephant she had drawn in second grade...at least that’s what she thought it was supposed to be. She turned the paper and cocked her head to the side. “Yep, elephant.”
“Are you sure about that?” Lance’s voice was full of laughter.
“Of course I’m sure!” She turned the paper one more time. “OK...maybe I’m not positive.”
“I happen to think it’s a masterpiece.” He had an odd coughing fit, then kissed the top of her head before kneeling down next to her.
“Oh SHUSH! Help me find Ark’s journals.”
“Ark?”
“Wow, I did say Ark didn’t I? I was the only person who called Noah, Ark. He hated it, which is why I did it. I don’t think I’ve said that name out loud since he died”
“Which is exactly why I call Stacy, Spacey. Lord she hates that! What did he call you?”
“He called me Stay. I was a lot more original.” She pointed at a box, and he obediently opened it and began digging through.
“Are you sure you want me to rummage through these before you? I don’t want this to upset you.”
“Actually, I’m feeling good about this. I like the idea of taking them with me, this way, I can go through them at my own pace, I won’t feel rushed.”
“I think I hit pay dirt.” His hand was resting on a stack of books. “You think these are all of them?”
“As far as I know, he always dated them, if we check the dates, that should tell us if this is it.”
“I’m ONLY going to look at the dates, we can put them in order, then you can decide how you want to go about reading them.”
“OK, I’m going to pull out the last one as well, I think I should keep them together.” She dug into the box she and Lance had gone through the night things had changed between then. She immediately found the journal and hugged it to her chest. “I don’t think he realized I would be reading these.” She laughed, “You may have to read over the journals from high school, and edit out anything a younger sister should not read.”
“Millie! You don’t know that he’d write about THAT in these journals.” He laughed.
“Well...we’ll see.” She looked at the neatly stacked books sitting on the floor beside Lance. “Do you think they are all here?”
“Yes, I think this is it. He started this when you were born, did you know that?” He smiled.
“No, I didn’t. That’s most likely when his stress level went up.” She giggled, “I was...sort of a handful.”
“YOU? You’re kidding!”
She ignored him, and found a smaller box, that just held all of Noah’s journals. She set it on the floor between them and the loaded the journals in neatly. “That should do it. I don’t need anything else do I? You said Dani packed for me.”
“She promised you would have everything you’d need.”
“Well then, I think we are ready to go back to your house.” He carried the box out of the closet, and set it on the kitchen counter, he walked back into the bedroom, and watched as Stasia shut the door to the storage space, and pushed her clothes back into place.
He walked into the closet and picked up the pillow he had dropped when she began kissing his neck. He gently brushed it of and smiled at her. “You should put his in your bunk on the bus, as a matter of fact, we need to make your bunk...more yours...you know what I mean? You are about to start spend a ton of time on that bus.” He grinned, “We are about to start spending a lot of time on that bus.”
“I think tonight, we ought to call YOU Feisty.”
He chased her into the living room, and threw her down on the couch, “You may be right.” His head lowered and he kissed her lips softly. He pushed off of the couch and laughed when she looked disappointed. “We have plenty of time for that later. Let’s get some things together for you to make the bus more comfortable, and get out of here. You realize, that is Lonnie and Ron have noticed we’re gone, they are going to kill us.”
“Good point. I have no idea what I should take. What do you have?”
“My own pillow, a blanket, a couple of pictures...nothing major, just stuff to remind me of home.”
Stasia ran into the bedroom, and came out a few minutes later carrying a yellow and white quilt, that was exactly like the blue and white one on the living room, and the red and white one on her bed. She had a pillow, and a photo album. “This should hold me.”
“Did you make the three quilts? They’re all the same aren’t they?”
“No, my mom made them. The blue is mine, the red is Noah’s and the yellow is Nik’s. Noah and I got ours as babies, and Nik got hers as a wedding gift from mom.”
“You have so many cool things from your family.” She handed him a bag, and he held it open for her to place the quilt, pillow and album in. “Thanks. Are we ready now?”
“Yes we are ready to go.” He put his jacket back around her shoulders, placed the bag on top of the box of journals, and picked it up, as he made his way to the door, Stasia turned out all of the lights, and locked the door behind them.
They walked through his front door quietly and she kicked off her shoes and hung Lance’s jacket over the back of a chair. He loosened his tie, and took off his own shoes. They quietly walked into the kitchen, where they noticed a large chunk of cake was missing. When they stuck their heads into the family room, they could hear the TV.
Lance tried not to laugh as he started to speak, “Hey guys...do you know which rooms are yours?”
Lonnie didn’t even turn to face them, “We’ll talk about your little disappearing act tomorrow. Yeah, we know which rooms are ours. Are you two heading up now?”
“Soon...I’m hungry again, anyone else want another piece of cake?” Lance looked down at Stasia with terrified eyes, they both knew they were going to be getting the lecture of a lifetime tomorrow.
She looked pitiful, “Yeah...I’ll join you.” They practically ran into the kitchen. “We’re dead aren’t we?”
“After the lecture in the parking lot earlier, we’ll be lucky if they just kill us.”
They finished two more pieces of cake and Lance grabbed her bag and led her upstairs. He had never shown her the second story of his house, so he gave her a mini tour as her led the way to her room, which was next to his, and connected by an enormous bathroom. They both had french doors that opened onto a balcony that ran along the back of the house facing the lake.
When he turned on the light in her room, her jaw dropped and he laughed, “I know, this is odd isn’t it?” Stasia looked around at the room that was decorated in crisp red and white. Every single item in this room could easily be placed in her room at home.
“I don’t believe this.” She ran her hand over the red and white striped chair next to her. “Good taste.”
“Your’s isn’t bad either.” He slid his hands into his pockets, and rocked back on his heals. “How about, you change, and when you’re done, you can come through the bathroom, and I’ll show you my room.”
“That sounds good. I’ll be right in.” She picked up the bag Dani had packed and walked into the bathroom.
Her small cosmetics bag was on top, she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste. After she’d brushed her teeth. She brushed through her hair. She frowned as she dug deeper into her bag, Dani had picked out a comfortable outfit for the following day, she had remembered everything. There were shoes, clean underwear, a belt, khaki pants and a blue button down shirt. Her frown got larger. That’s when her hand hit a piece of paper.
Stasia,
Don’t bother digging...I didn’t pack pajamas, I was hoping you wouldn’t need them.
You know you love me,
Dani
“I’m going to KILL her!”
“Who are you going to kill?” Lance’s voice came through the bathroom door.
“Dani...she’s a dead woman!” She said as she opened the door to his room, where he was standing, in plaid pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt.
She handed him the note. He turned deep red, “Oh GEEZE! Millie, I didn’t...I mean...we...oh man.”
“I know you didn’t. Do you have a t-shirt or something I could borrow?”
“How about the top to these?” He pulled the top out of the still open drawer.
“Perfect! I’ll be right back.” She ran into the bathroom. When she emerged again, she was wearing his pajama top, and a pair of warm white socks. The top stopped just below the middle of her thigh. Her hair was hanging around her shoulders, and she had a bounce in her step.
“Wow.” He ran his hand over his hair.
“What?” She looked down at herself, and then back up at him.
“I am SO out of line with this, but you look incredible. Keep the shirt.” He pulled her against his chest and kissed her quickly.
“Well, I may wear this a lot.”
“I hope you do. Are you sleepy?” He looked at the clock on his nightstand, “It’s 12:45, we should get some sleep.”
“I am sleepy.” She said against his chest where her cheek was resting.
“I guess we have to go to bed then.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Yeah. I guess so.” She leaned back in his arms. “Harry...”
“Yeah?” He was searching her face as he ran his fingertips over her cheek.
“Oh, never mind. Good night.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him before slowly walking through the bathroom and into her room.
Lance pulled back the covers, pulled the t-shirt over his head, threw it on a chair and slid his legs between the cold sheets. He sighed heavily and smacked his forehead. “Damn.”
Stasia pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, “What am I doing?” She stood up and padded through the darkness into his room.
Lance’s arm was thrown over his eyes, and his breathing was heavy. “Harry?” She barely whispered, if he heard her, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to say, and if he didn’t, so be it.
“Millie?” The arm moved, and his head turned on the pillow to face her.
“I was thinking...well...I thought...maybe we...ah...” He lifted the covers for her and she quickly walked over and slid in next to him.
