I woke up to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand.  As uncomfortable as it was sleeping on the rough, jagged sand, I was in a peaceful state of mind - something I hadn't experienced in a long time.  My eyes scanned the beach and finally came across Colleen.  She was down by the water listlessly running her feet over the coldness. I smiled to myself, thinking how hysterical it would be if I ran up behind her and gave her a good push.  The idea quickly passed as my mind traveled back to last night.  We'd spent half the time going back and forth between kissing and talking.  Eventually we'd fallen asleep here without even realizing where we were. 

"Earth to Nick.  I repeat, earth to Nick."

"Morning sunshine," I smiled, bringing myself to a sitting position.

"Can you believe we slept here?  God only knows how much sand I swallowed last night."

"Yeah, and sand hurts like a bitch when it takes over private parts," I laughed, motioning towards my shorts. 

"Aw, poor baby," she replied rubbing my shoulder.  "Why don't we go home and shower and meet at the diner for some breakfast?"

"Sounds good," I mumbled, my attention engrossed in the baby crab making its way over to us.

"Jeez Nick, you have the attention span of a 2 year old," she giggled, grabbing my face for a kiss.

"Hmm, but I don't think a 2 year old would be shoving his tongue down a girl's throat," I retorted, breaking away from her to stare at the crab once more.

"Hey, you never know with kids these days…"

Brian's View

I tried my hardest to concentrate on the eggs I was making myself, but I couldn't get my mind off of Colleen and Nick.  My talk with AJ last night had helped me a lot but it didn't take anything away from the realization that I would never be truly over her.  It's funny… most people are ecstatic when they realize that they've found their soul mate.  But for me - it was something that I wish I had never become conscious of.  It seemed like me being in love with her had only brought me pain and heartache.  I often wondered what my life would've been like if I had never had such strong feelings… but then I realize that it's pointless to even think about it because I am who I am.  Why try to fight something that's already been done?

My ponderings were interrupted by the doorbell.  I didn't even have to look out the window to know that it was Nick.  His messy blonde hair could be seen from miles away.

"Hey Nick," I greeted him, moving aside to let him in. 

"What's cooking B?" he replied, heading straight for the kitchen.

"Eggs… want some?"

"Nah, I'm meeting Col at the diner in a few minutes," he muttered, as if he didn't really want me to hear.

"Oh, that's cool…" my voice trailed off.  I don't know why that hurt so much, but it did. "So how'd the date go last night?"  I didn't really care to know but I figured asking was the polite thing to do.

He gave me a surprised look, most likely curious to know why I'd even asked him.  "It was good."

I dumped my eggs on a plate and scrubbed the pot in the sink.  The whole time Nick was staring at me… intently watching as if I was about to snap. 

"Nick, why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason.  Dude, can I ask you something?" 

How did I know he was going to say that… "Um, sure go ahead," I replied.

"Alright," he licked his lips nervously as he continued, "well it occurred to me that you and I haven't really talked in a long time. And we're supposed to be best friends and I'm just wondering what's going on."

"I would think you'd already know the answer to that question," I sighed, busying myself with the other dishes in the sink.

"You know, it's really fucked up for you to not wanna be my friend just because of this situation with Colleen."

"Nick this isn't a situation - this is my life.  This thing with Col has been going on for like two years now so don't call it a situation," I snapped.

"You're right, I'm sorry.  Ok look that isn't what I was going to ask you… I'm kinda beating around the bush here."

"Please spit it out because I'm sick of avoiding things."

"Ok then I'm just gonna say it, Bri.  How would you feel about me asking Colleen to marry me?"

His eyes were hopeful as I quickly gripped the sides of the sink to keep myself from falling.  Of all the things in the world he could ask me - this is what came out of his mouth. 

"Brian?"

"I'm not her father, Nick.  You don't need my permission to propose to her…"  Inside I was dying, but Nick didn't need to see it happening. 

"I know, but you're my best friend and I just wanted to know what you thought about me doing that.  And, um, I wanted you to come with me to pick out a ring..."

"How can you ask me to give you an opinion about this?  You know how I feel about her.  How do you think I'm gonna respond?  I thought that it was your whole idea to take things slow… and now you wanna get married?  I'm sorry Nick but you're gonna have to find someone else to help you pick out a ring,"  I was feeling oddly lightheaded as the room spun around me in a crazy, circular motion.

"It's crazy, that I realize.  But I love her and I wanna spend the rest of my life with her.  I'm sorry Bri, I know you love her just as much as I do and this news is probably killing you.  Dammit, I'm so fucking stupid for asking you to come shopping with me.  I'll go…" he replied, showing himself to the door.

"But I have one more thing to ask you…" he said, backing away from the door slightly.

I nodded, not sure I needed anymore bombshells.

"Me and you are pretty much through aren't we?  We're never going to get fixed?"

I shrugged my shoulders, not really sure what to say to that.  He nodded slowly before disappearing outside. 

I dropped myself down on the couch contemplating whether I should cry or scream.  Just when I thought I might be able to handle the idea of them going out… he tells me that he wants to take it a step further.  Colleen would say yes, I had no doubt in my mind about that.  The only thing that might hold her back was me.  She was desperate to keep me in her life and she would check with me first before accepting his proposal.  But what could I say to her?  'No, you can't marry him because you have to be in love with me.'  I could never do that because then I would be responsible for both her and Nick's unhappiness… and who wants that on their shoulders?

It's times like these that I wish Nick wasn't around.  He is slowly ruining my life and taking away the one thing I've always wanted.  He could have any girl in the world and this is the one he wants - the one that I've always dreamed of having; the one that I've lived and breathed for. 

I remember the first time Nick met Colleen - I knew he would only cause me trouble when it came to her.  I recall him pulling me aside and whispering 'I'm gonna marry her someday'.  I laughed at him because I knew deep within me that I was going to be the one for her.  Back then I never would've thought that eight years later he'd be asking her to be his wife.  I wasn't ready for something as permanent as marriage to bind them together.  But I guess it doesn't really matter whether or not I'm ready.

Colleen's View

Watching Nick eat was perhaps the most entertaining thing to do.  He could never really focus his attention on anything else once something edible was placed in front of him. 

"What're you smiling at?" he mumbled, shoving another forkful of pancakes in his mouth.  "I'm a hungry man."

"I know you are sweetie," I laughed. "I just love watching you eat."

He gave me a small smile as he gently placed down his glass of orange juice to stare at me. 

"What?" I mumbled uncomfortably.  I always got nervous when he looked at me like that.

"Are me and you a couple?" he replied, picking up his toast and staring at it as though it were the most interesting thing he ever laid eyes on.

"Nick, you know that I would like us to be. I wasn't the one who wanted to take things slow…"

"I know, and I told you that idea was stupid and unrealistic.  I'm ready to speed things up," he answered, grabbing an abandoned piece of toast from my plate.

"Alright then… yeah, we're a couple," I smiled.

"Great, because I can't wait to pin you down," he laughed, sticking his tongue out at me playfully.

He was killing me with those gorgeous blue eyes that seemed to sparkle every time he looked my way. 

"I hope you're not thinking about sex Nickolas," I teased.

"Of course I'm thinking about sex… but not just about that.  I don't have a one-track mind.  I also can't wait to do all the usual couple stuff with you."

"Like what?" I asked, not exactly sure what he meant by 'couple stuff'.

"You know… holding hands, watching television together.  Cute stuff like that.  And, ya know, I get to have someone to take to premieres and awards shows again."

"Well aren't you lucky," I sighed, reaching across the table to grab his hand.  "But what are we going to tell Brian?"

His eyes glazed over at the mention of Brian's name.  "I don't know.  Don't worry about it.  You know no matter which way we tell him he's not going to take it well." 

"You seem so sure of that," I replied, wondering why he was so confident.

"I am," he shrugged, returning to his plate as the conversation about Brian came to an abrupt, uncomfortable end.

AJ's View

"Sophia, check it out baby. I've come up with a few normal names for the baby," I announced excitedly as I entered the living room.  My wife was sprawled out on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a chocolate milkshake in the other. 

"Ugh, so I guess this means I have to sit up?" she whined, trying to pull herself up but failing miserably. 

"Jeez baby, you're only 5 months pregnant and you're having a tough time sitting up.  I can only imagine how horrible you're gonna be once you reach the eighth month."  I shuddered to think.

"Funny, J.  But look - I'm up so sit down and zip it." 

"I see the fifth month includes bitchiness," I mumbled, plopping myself down on the other side of the living room.

"What's that smartass?" she retorted, taking a handful of popcorn. 

"Nothing… dear," I smiled sweetly, reminding myself that I was dealing with a pregnant lady.

"I thought so.  I don't see why you'd want to make a fool of yourself again… but I'll hear the names anyway."

"Ok I'm going to ignore your attitude for the time being because I'm clearly the bigger person."

"Ha, that's a joke," she snickered.

"Right.  Anyway, I have three names for a boy and four for a girl."

"Well then I hope we have a transvestite because I sure as hell don't want you picking out our baby's name."

"If we have a boy," I continued, "the name should be either Joshua, Devon, or Michael."

"Michael? No way, J.  Everybody is named Michael.  Jeez, do you think?" she snapped, gulping down the rest of her milkshake.

"Fine, we don't have to keep the name Michael," I mumbled through gritted teeth.

"You're right we don't have to keep it.  I didn't need your permission on the subject either because I get the final say."

"Moving on… if we have a girl we could name her Emma, Alexandra, or Caitlin."

I stared at her blank expression, waiting for any sudden movements or outbursts.  Instead, she walked over to me and dumped herself on my lap. 

"Are you gonna kill me?" I asked, prepared to ward off her slaps and scratches.

"AJ, I love you," she responded, tears streaming down her face.  "It's just that I'm really emotional right now and I'm taking it out on you and I'm sorry.  It's so cute the way you've been thinking about baby names, and you care so much about me and this child.  Then I come along and act like the only bitch.  I'm sorry," she cried, wiping her nose on my shirt.

"You know I still love you.  But I'm confused… do you like the names or not?"

"I love them," she laughed.  "Believe it or not, I love them."

"You never cease to amaze me Mrs. McLean," I mumbled, pressing my lips to hers.