Kassidy and Kevin were off on their honeymoon. Kevin had taken Nick showing up really well. The wedding had been great and just the way they had planned. The couple was heading to Gatlinburg, TN for their honeymoon. Grace was house-sitting while on winter break. AJ had decided to hang around and keep her company. He had a few days until the start of the final leg of the US Tour.

Mid-week, Grace wasn't sure how it had started, but suddenly she found herself in an argument with AJ. He had been giving her a hard time about going to school in Iowa. He said it was the middle of nowhere. He again offered to pay her tuition to go somewhere else. She told him no. He then started quizzing her on the guys she was seeing. There had only been the one guy, but still AJ was being all protective. Grace sat quietly, trying to not argue with him, but he kept pushing until she finally snapped.

"AJ you have no say in who I see."

"Yes I do. You're my Pooh and I look out for my Pooh. You don't know guys. I'm one, so I know guys."

"Not all guys are like you!"

AJ stopped short and asked, "what's that suppose to mean?"

Grace was past the point of caring about his feelings so she answered honestly. "It means not every guy is going to always keep it causal. You're too scared to let anyone in."

"And you're not?"

"Yes I am," she yelled. "But I don't use people to make myself feel better."

"You don't know how to feel better. You always have you nose stuck in a book. You're hiding from the world Grace! Grow up and stop hiding then maybe someone can love you!"

The color drained from Grace's face as she whispered, "Get out."

"What?"

"GET OUT," she screamed. "Get out of my face. Get out of this house. Get out of my life!"

"Fine I will. See ya!"

AJ stormed out of the house. Grace knees buckled and she curled up on the floor crying. He confirmed every fear she ever had. No one could love her. She would always be alone and now she had lost AJ too. What was she going to do?

After lying on the floor for awhile, she got up and went to the bathroom to get a Kleenex. Blowing her nose, she looked in the mirror. She hated how she looked when she cried. Her face got as red as a tomato.

She wandered into the living room and lay on the couch flipping through channels. She stopped on the Disney Channel. She almost laughed when she saw "Backstreet Boys In Concert" was on. Isn't that how life always happens? The one thing you don't want to see or hear is the one thing that comes barreling into your space. She watched the guys bowling. She laughed at AJ. He was so excited he won. He didn't even realize Brian let him win. Or maybe he did, but didn't care. The tears were flowing again.

A knock at the door brought her around. Blowing her nose quickly, she attempted to straighten herself up. She looked out and saw it was AJ. He was holding flowers. She opened the door.

AJ held the flowers out, saying, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

"Am I forgiven for being an ass?"

"Yes."

"Pooh?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I come back in."

Grace giggled and let him in. AJ pulled her into a hug. He inhaled her scent. She always smelled sweet. When they pulled apart, he kissed her gently on the lips, before tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She took the flowers and went into the kitchen. AJ followed and helped her locate a vase. After the flowers were in the vase, they walked back into the living room. The concert was over. Grace turned off the TV.

"AJ do you really think no one could love me?"

"Grace listen to me. You nailed me on some of my behavior so I lashed out. I was wrong."

"But still."

AJ interrupted, "Grace don't you realize how loved you are? You are so loved by your family, your friends, all the guys, Kassidy, and who knows who else."

"I guess."

"Wrong. Know it. Besides," he started, as he placed her hand on his heart. "You know you got mine. You are my Pooh."

Grace looked at her hand against his chest. She could feel the material against her skin, but she could also feel the warmth of his body. The warmth stayed with her even after she moved her hand. Now if only she had his heart like he had hers.

They talked awhile then went to bed. Grace had been sleeping in Kevin and Kassidy's room while AJ took the guestroom. This night, he came in and slept with Grace. She laughed at his smiley face boxers. He thought she looked cute in her wife-beater and boxers. He crawled into bed and pulled her close to him. She tangled her legs with his and he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

As Grace drifted off to sleep, she whispered, "Love you AJ."

AJ whispered back, "Love you too Pooh."

The next day they did one of AJ's favorite things - shopping. They worked their way through the biggest mall in Nashville. AJ made Grace try on a very un-Grace outfit. It was tight, black, leather pants with a halter type top that was bare in the back except for the ties. It was glittery silver material. He liked the way she looked so he bought it for her. She protested but he won. He also bought her boots to complete the outfit.

That evening they went out to dinner then dancing. There were certain advantages to being with AJ McLean; the bouncer never even questioned Grace about her age. They went in and danced all night. Girls kept asking AJ to dance, but he politely turned them all down. Grace felt like she was in a dream. She kept reminding herself this was just AJ making up for the fight and she didn't truly have his heart.

The last dance of the evening was a song that was a year old. It was "I Want To Be With You" by Mandy Moore. To Grace the words of the song were meant for them. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him move her body as she got lost in the music...

I try but I can't seem to get myself to think of anything but you
Your breath on my face your warm, gentle kiss I taste the truth, I taste the truth
We know what I came here for
So I won't ask for more
I wanna be with you
If only for a night
To be the one who's in your arms to hold you tight
I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way
I wanna be with you

So I'll hold you tonight like I would if you were mine to hold forever more
And I'll savor each touch that I've wanted so much to feel before, to feel before
How beautiful it is
Just to be like this

I wanna be with you
If only for a night
To be the one who's in your arms to hold you tight
I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way
I wanna be with you

Oh, baby
I can't fight this feeling anymore(anymore)
Drives me crazy when I try to
So call my name and take my hand
Can you make my wish, baby, your command(command)?
Yeah

I wanna be with you
If only for a night
To be the one who's in your arms to hold you tight
I wanna be with you
There's nothing more to say
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way
I wanna be with you
Oh yeah
I wanna be with you
Wanna be with you, ooo, yeah
I wanna be, I wanna be

Grace hadn't realized she had whispered the last line. Her warm breath tickled AJ's ear. AJ pulled back and looked at Grace. She smiled up at him before she turned to walk off the dance floor. AJ's eyes dropped to her bottom. He realized he had never really checked out her ass. He also realized he had been missing something. She had cute butt and the leather was hugging it nicely. He followed her off the dance floor and out the door.

On the drive home, he held her hand. When they got to the house. She changed into her wife-beater and boxers. AJ was already in bed when she walked out of the bathroom. AJ watched her move. When she was relaxed, like now, she moved with such...well...grace. She lay down facing him. He stared in her eyes.

It was what he saw in those eyes that made him wake up and realize he couldn't do what he had intended. He had wanted her since leaving the club and made up his mind that he was going to have her that night. Her eyes changed his plans, for when he looked in them he saw complete trust. If he were to do this tonight, he would loose her forever. He made a promise to himself that he would never be causal with Grace or her feelings. After kissing her tenderly, he had her turn over so he could pull her body back against his. She snuggled up against him and he softly sang her to sleep.

They enjoyed the rest of their time together and at the end of the week welcomed Kassidy and Kevin home. Their goodbye was emotional, because they really had become best friends. They got on their separate planes and went back to their separate lives.