One week later...
The knocking on the hotel room door surprised Cait as she was brushing her hair. Howie was at a meeting with the other Boys and Anna wasn't due to pick her up for an hour.
"Who could that be?" She wondered aloud. She put down her brush, walked to the door and opened it.
"Howie?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting."
"We got finished early. Besides, I had somewhere more important to be."
"And where would that be?" Cait smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Right here." He whispered, lowering his head and capturing her lips in a soft, intense kiss.
"Mmmm, I missed you." She ran her hand down his cheek.
"I missed you, too. He said, taking a hand from behind his back to reveal a perfect white rose. "Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to dinner this evening, Miss Scott?" He asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Of course, Mr. Dorough." She grinned, standing on tip-toe and kissing him tenderly.
Later that day Cait sat in the hotel coffee shop with Anna, killing time before she had to go back upstairs to get ready for dinner with Howie.
"Cait, what's up? I know you've got something on your mind." Anna gave her a pointed look. Cait sighed.
"You're right. I am kinda preoccupied." Cait admitted. "It's our six month anniversary tonight."
"Omigod! I totally forgot!" Anna slapped herself in the forehead. "So, what's wrong?"
"Well, I'm...thinking that..." Cait took a deep breath. "I'm ready. I want to make love to Howie."
"Are you totally sure?" Anna asked, her eyes wide. "You have to be sure."
"I am. I love him more than anything in the world, Ann." Cait gripped her glass of Pepsi. "I wanted to wait until I was with the guy I wanted to marry and Howie's the one. I think about it and I know that life without him would be empty. So, I know it's right."
"Just so long as you're sure." Anna smiled. "Are you nervous? Is that what this is about?"
"Well, yeah... I've obviously never done this before and I'm not sure... what to expect." Cait clasped and unclasped her hands. "When you and AJ... did it hurt?"
"It's your first time... it's going to hurt some. But Howie will do everything he can to make sure there's no unnecessary pain for you."
"Thanks, Ann." Cait visibly relaxed. "I just needed to hear it from someone."
"Holy! It's three o'clock! When's Howie picking you up?" Anna exclaimed.
"Six o'clock! Shoot! We better get going."
"Yeah, we better. Howie's getting ready in our room, so you don't have to worry about getting ready fast."
"Whoa, Cait, you look awesome! Howie's eyes are going to pop out of his head."
Cait was wearing a royal blue, empire waist, spaghetti strap, knee length dress and high heeled silver sandals. Anna had somehow managed put all of her hair up into a simple updo with a few curls hanging loose.
"Okay, calming down." Cait took a deep breath. "Well, it's almost six, Howie should be here any minute."
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Cait looked at Anna for reassurance, grabbed her purse and opened the door. Howie stood there, his arms full of red and white roses.
"Wow." He breathed. "You look so beautiful."
"You look... incredible." Cait said, blushing.
Howie was wearing a dark grey suit, white silk shirt and black tie. His hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail.
He held out the roses to her. "Happy Anniversary, Cait." He said softly. She took the roses and handed them to Anna.
"Happy Anniversary, Howie." She melted into his arms and kissed him softly.
"Ready to go?" He asked when he found his voice.
"Lead on, sir." Her eyes twinkled.
He smiled and held out his hand.
