Sunset, Sunrise

Pt. 1

He steered the black jeep into the first available spot. He looked over at the beautiful woman seated next to him. She looked so angelic while she slept that he didn’t want to wake her, but he knew if they were gonna do this he had to wake her. His fingers brushed lightly across her check. She didn’t stir. He kept stroking her cheek until she turned towards his hand. His fingertips grazed her soft full lips.

“Hey, lil’mama. You need to wake up or we won’t make it.” She kissed his fingertips before he could move them away and slowly opened her eyes.

“Hey,” she says with a smile.

“Hey, yourself.” He moved one of her braids out of her face. “We gotta go.” She looked out the window and then turned back to connect with his light blue eyes.

“But the sun it still so bright,” she complained.

“That’s the whole point remember? To be here when the sun sets.” He unhooked his seatbelt and opened his door. She let’s out a tired groan as he makes his way to the back of the jeep before doing the same.

“That’s was not my idea,” she grabbed the bag that contained the blanket and their jackets.

“No, but I thought that this would be more romantic than just watching from the house.” He reached for his guitar after getting the basket out that had their dinner in it. He made sure the instrument was securely attached to his body before they made their way to the sand. His girlfriend of four months, Niki, was heading back home the next day after spending a month with him. This would be their last sunset together for awhile. He wanted to make it one to remember.

They found a place to put their stuff down. There were still a few couples around, so the beach wasn’t crowded they ate and finished their dinner at just the right time. As if on cue, the sun started to make it’s descent in the sky. Niki leaned back into the familiar comfort of his body. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Mmm…beautiful,” he murmured into her hair. She turned and looked at him.

“Are you talkin’ about me or the sunset?”

“The sunset of course.” He gives her cheesiest smile. She jabs him in the side with her elbow. “Ow! What?” He was already rubbing his side.

“You don’t think I’m beautiful?” she questioned with much attitude and a pout on her face.

He guarded both sides of himself before answering, “Of course not, baby.” Her elbows were ready, but he wrapped his arms around her before she could attack again. “You are amazingly beautiful,” he whispered in ear before kissing her neck. Niki let out a giggle. ‘Gets her every time,’ he thought.

“Josh, stop,” she giggled again. “Please stop. I just ate.” When he didn’t stop, she knew she would have to use her secret weapon. She grabbed a hold of his hand and squeezed. “STOP IT NOW, JOSHUA!” His fingers immediately froze and the smile disappeared from his face as one appeared on hers.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He rubbed his stomach. ‘She only calls me Joshua when she’s upset. Just like mom. The guys don’t even call me that.’ “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” she cut him off. She lifted one of his hands up to her lips and kissed it. He pulled her back against him.

“Good. Now, let’s finish watching the sunset.”

Sunset, Sunrise

Pt. 2

They could have sat there in each others arms for hours watching that sunset. Too bad it only lasted twenty minutes. Josh sat on the blanket strumming away on his guitar, while Niki danced around the small fire they had made. She danced herself dizzy before she sat down on the blanket with him. She watched as he played a few notes. She started humming her own song.

“Strumming my pain with his fingers,” she softly sang, “singing my life with his words.” He looked up from his guitar. “Killing me softly with his song. Killing me softly…with his song. Telling my whole life with his words. Killing me softly with his song.” Josh fell in love with her voice before he physically saw her.

~Flashback~

He had a few minutes to kill before heading to the venue for sound check, so he sat in a dark corner of the lobby. He heard the ding of the elevator and kept his head down in the fear of being recognized. That’s when he heard this beautiful sound. The voice of a soulful angel. By the time he looked up to see who it was coming from, all he saw was his bodyguard, Lonnie, standing in front of him.
“Did you see her, man?” He stood up looking around the large man.
“Who you talkin’ ‘bout, C?” Lonnie waited for him to look up at him, but he never did.
“The one that was just singing. Dude, I need to find her.” He finally looked up at the guard.
“Oh, you mean the girl in the green and white zip up sweater.” JC shrugged. “Yeah, she was heading outside.”
“Thanks.” He tried to go around the rather large man, but stooped.
“Whoa there, man. Where do you think you’re going? Not out that door.” Lonnie pointed towards the main door. “I don’t think so.”
“But I need to find her. Will you please find her for me,” he asked with pleading eyes.
The guard put a hand on JC’s shoulder and said, “Yeah, C. I’ll find her for you.”

~End of Flashback~

“Josh, baby, are you alright?” She her hand over his knee.

“Huh?” He snapped out of his daze.

“You look like you were somewhere else.” She moved closer to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was just thinking about…” He turned and looked at her the same way he did the very first time. He smiled inwardly just as he did then.

“What were you thinking about?”

He simply answered, “The first time I saw you.”

“I remember that.”

“Well, it was only like four or five months ago.” He put down his guitar and motioned her closer to him. “Come here, you.”

She made her way into his arms where she could feel the warmth. “Mmm…that feels nice,” she said.

“Hey, you’re freezing.” He rubbed his hands over her arms in an attempt to warm them.

“I’ll be fine. I wanna hear about when you first saw me.” She looked up at him. “I wanna know what you were thinking when you saw me that first time.”

Josh pulled the blanket up around them and kissed Niki’s temple. She snuggled in as close as she could to him. He took a deep breathe and closed his eyes. He envisioned when he saw her singing the underlay during ‘100 Ways’ with her friend. He knew it was her by the description that Lonnie gave him.

“Well, you know it was in Chicago, but you don’t know when, right?” He felt her head when she nodded. “During the first show and ‘100 Ways’, I was directly in front of you and your friend when I did the underlay instead of the part that everyone knows. The whole place was surprisingly quiet. I looked into the crowd, that when I saw the two of you still keeping up with me. Work for word.”

“It was funny to look up and see the look on your face.” She giggled. “Your eyes got wide and you looked tongue-tied. It was cute.” She shivered against him.

“You’re still cold?”

“Don’t go changing the subject. Besides, I’m fine. I wanna hear more.”

“Maybe we should head home.” He prepares himself to stand and to pull her up with him.

“No. I said I’m fine. And this is suppose to be romantic remember?” She winked at him. “Now, if you will get on with it, please”

“Okay. Okay.” He took a deep breathe before continuing. He closed his eyes and saw her outline in the extremely dim light of the Foundation Room. “The next time I saw you was during the meet and greet. You were standing next to Q trying to explain something to him. Your friend made her way to me. I signed her ticket stub quickly. My eyes led me back to you.”

“Oh yeah. Camera problems that night,” she got out just before a yawn. She was exhausted. They both were. He decided that if she shivered, yawned, or a combination of the two, they were packing it up and going home. He didn’t tell her this of course. Didn’t want to argue on her last night.

“Ok,” he continued. “You walked right over to me and stuck out your hand before saying, ’hey’ in that soft voice of yours. I looked at you and was like, ‘WOW!’.” She giggled. He rubbed her arms. “I put my arm around your shoulder and leaned into you. I wanted to tell you that you smelled wonderful, but as soon as the flash went off, you moved.”

“I told you that I brought my own pen and you said that I was smart for doing that,” she laughed.

“Hey,” he breathed into her neck. “Who’s telling this? Me or you?” His warmth tickled the hairs on her neck making her squirm in his grasp. “That’s what I thought.” He kissed down her neck and back up her jaw line before making contact with her lips. He was the first to break the kiss when he glimpse of something zipping through the sky. “Did you see that, baby? A shooting star! Make a wish!”

Niki closed her eyes and started the chant, “Starlight, Star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may. I wish I might have to wish I wish for tonight.”

"You are too cute, you know that?” He lightly kissed her again. “So what did you wish for?”

She turned and looked at him, and then said, “I can’t tell you my wish, silly. If I do that, it might not come true.”

“I knew that.” The cheesy grin spread across his face. All she could do was laugh. “Now, where was I?” He paused. “That’s right…the pen thing. Well, you were smart, girl. Not everyone brings a pen. You handed me the cd liner. My fingers brushed across yours sending out an electric shock. Did you feel it? It was that moment that I knew it was meant to be.” He intertwined his fingers with hers bringing them up to his lips and kissed the back of his hand.

She let out a sigh before replying, “To be honest, I thought it was my imagination.”

“Is it still your imagination?”

“Nope, this is a dream come true.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear.” He felt her body fighting to hold back a yawn, but it escaped. “How about we finish the talk on the way home?" He gently rubbed her arms. “Come on, baby. Let’s go”

“No. I want you to finish out here under the stars.”

“Under the stars? What?”

“Yeah, I’m starting to see the romance in it all.”

“Okay, but if you fall asleep,” he warned. “You may wake up regretting it.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“Fall asleep and you’ll find out,” he replied with a wicked grin.

“Whatever. Just get back to it already.” She was getting tired, but didn’t want to fall asleep just yet.

“Fine. Just remember what I said, okay?” She nodded. “Umm…okay. I signed the liner, but I could feel your eyes on me the whole time. When I looked up, my vision was locked on your soft brown eyes. I’ve been mesmerized by them ever since.”

“Aww…Josh, that’s so sweet.”

“Mmm hmm…” was all that came from him as he nibbled on her earlobe.

“Ooo…that feels good, baby, but,” she got out. “Focus on the story for right now. Please.”

“Sorry, but your ear just got in the way of my mouth,” he chuckled.

“Yeah right.” She slapped at his leg before rubbing the very spot she had just hit. “Now, go on.” She inched away from his month a bit so he could actually talk.

“We must have zoned out ‘cause all I remember after that was hearing Lonnie holler, ‘NEXT TWO!’.” He giggled. “I handed you back the liner. You were able to say thank you just as your friend grabbed you by the arm and handed you the camera. I wondered if I would ever see you again. It all happened too fast.” He let out a sigh.

“Yeah, I remember telling my friend that Lonnie rushed the sistas,” she laughed. “We looked at the picture just after we went through the door. I didn’t look at the liner ‘til a couple of days later. Okay, so maybe it was a week later. The point is I looked, right?” She looked up at him from her reclined position against his chest with love in her eyes.

“Yeah, and I’m glad you looked too,” he smiled. “I’m not gonna let you just walk out of my life again.” He held her tight as he listened to the waves of the ocean and she stared at the stars in the sky.

~Flashback~

“Dude, why’d you do that?” said a half dazed JC.
“What are you talkin’ about, C?” Lonnie said without looking over his shoulder at him.
“You know what I’m talkin’ about,” he paused. “The girl. Why did you rush her out?”
“Man, you were standing there in a daze, and you still had another twenty people to go.” The guard lead him to the elevator that would lead him to the backstage area. “I didn’t want to make you look anymore obvious than you already were, C.”
“Thanks I guess. I just hope she looked at the liner,” he mumbled.
“What did you put in the liner?” Lonnie looked over at JC when he didn’t answer right away. “C?”
“Well, I…umm,” he stumbled over his words as he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck. “I wrote my cell number in it.”
“Way to go, C. Just pray she doesn’t lose it. Okay?” Lonnie lightly chuckled.

~End of Flashback~

He felt Niki relax against him more. That brought him back to reality. He knew that she had fallen asleep. He moved from behind her and gently laid her on the blanket. He gathered their belongings up and took them to the jeep. He came back with a bottle of water to put the fire out with. After discarding the bottle, he looked down at his sleeping girlfriend. She had not changed positions since he moved from behind her. He bent down and scooped her up, blanket and all. Somehow, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Where are we going?” she asked in her sleep.

We’re going home, angel.” He kissed her right above the eye. “Now go back to sleep.”

“But I wanna see the sunrise,” she mumbled.

“Shh…it hasn’t come out yet.” When she didn’t answer, he knew that she was once again asleep. He had already planned on staying ‘til sunrise, but didn’t tell Niki. When he came to the truck before, he adjusted the backseat and folded down the front passenger seat over to put his feet on. When he reached the truck, he put the sleeping beauty on the backseat. He, then, went around to the driver’s side and climbed in the back with her locking the door once he was settled. He covered himself with the extra blanket from the back before pulling Niki down on his lap. She pulled her legs up on the seat just like she did at his house. He knew she was now comfortable and not waking up anytime soon. He pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and slides a hand under the blanket and onto her back which he rubbed until he fell asleep.

Sunset, Sunrise

Pt. 3

Beep. Beep! BEEP!

Niki woke up almost instantly when she heard the sound of the alarm on JC’s cell phone. She found it on the floor of the jeep. It was then that she realized she woke up in the back of the jeep wrapped in JC’s arms. She didn’t want to wake him, so Niki let the alarm shut itself off. She relaxed back into his arms and watched as the sun started to show its face.

“Wow,” she said quietly as she watched the colors of the sky change from purple to a reddish orange. “That right there makes me not even wanna go home.”

“Then don’t go,” her boyfriend whispered in her ear. She rolled around to look at him.

“When did you wake up?”

“A few minutes ago.” He kissed her left temple. “I mean it, Niki. Don’t go back.”

“You know I have to go home, Josh.” She sighed. “Besides I don’t have a job out here.”

“I can help you find a school out here to work at. I’ll do whatever it takes to have you right here by my side.” She looked over at him again only to find that irreplaceable cheesy grin beaming back at her.

“You are so cheesy, but I still love you.” She gives him a peck on the cheek.

“Yeah…I know.” He squeezed Niki tight. “Come on. Let’s go home. We can talk about you moving here on the way home.”

“Or not,” she said while climbing into the front seat.

“But…,” he tried to protest before a pout came on his face.

She leaned over in front of him and kissed him before finishing his sentence. “But I will think about it,” she whispered. She settled back in her seat and strapped on the seatbelt. He just stared at her,

“Damn, woman. You can seduce me any time you want.”

“Yeah…I know. Now put this baby in gear, and let’s be on,” She snapped her fingers. “…our way,” she giggled. Josh let out a laugh as well. He has been so happy with Niki being in the same city as him. Maybe he did speak too soon when he made his suggestion, but he wasn’t ready to go back to the phone calls, emails, and IMing.

“Look, Niki. I’m sorry about earlier. Take as long as you want to think…” He looked over at her. “…about it.” She didn’t hear a word he said. She had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the ride home. Seeing that they still had another 45 minutes to go, he let her sleep. He popped in his favorite eighties compilation cd and enjoyed the drive.

A few hours later…

Niki rolled over. The first thing she noticed was the warmth of the blanket around her. Then there was the pillow that her braided head lay on. She loved the way it felt. She knew some how she was taking one from Josh’s bed home with her. She let out a deep groan as she took her “wake up” stretch. She turned her head towards the door before opening her eyes.

“You watching me sleep again?” She opened her eyes to see Josh’s body leaning against the doorway.

“How’d you know?” he blushed.

“Ancient Niki secret. Now get over here and give me some lovin’.”

A smile spread over his face as he walked across the room. He laid on the bed beside her and wrapped one arm around her. Resting a hand on her waistline, he used the other one to move the small amount of braids from her neck. He gently planted butterfly kisses on her caramel colored skin. Nikki let out a soft moan.

“I’m gonna miss you, angel.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, Josh. I’m gonna treasure this moment.” Josh nibbles at her earlobe. “Josh?”

“Hmm…”

“Can you please just hold me for a little while?” she said as sleep lingered in her voice.

“Don’t worry, mami. I’m never letting go.” Niki snuggled against Josh. Soon she heard his breathing even out and knew he was asleep. She soon followed suit.

Sunset, Sunrise

Pt. 4

Niki woke up a few hours later to find that she was still wrapped in Josh’s arms. She quietly and easily slipped out of his hold. Apparently not smooth enough though.

“Where ya’ going?”

“I still have some packing to do.” She walked towards the door.

“But it’s not even noon,” he frowned. “Your flight doesn’t live ‘til like five something.”

“5:46 to be exact.” She turned back towards him. “That means we need to leave here by 2:30 in order to make it to the bottom of this huge hill you live on. LA traffic sucks, but I need to be at LAX by 4, baby, if I wanna make my flight.”

“…or you could just stay.”

“Joshua…I do believe you said I could take as long as I want to think about that,” she smiled. “Or was I dreaming?” Niki added a wink.

“WHOA!!! How’d you do that?”

“Ancient Niki secret.”

“But you were sleep.”

“Exactly,” she smirked.

“Then how…”

“Now now. If I told you, Joshua son, then it wouldn’t be a secret now would it?” She turned and headed out the door.

After they had both showered, Josh went down to the kitchen to prepare a light lunch while Niki finished packing. Josh headed back to the guest room where she was still putting the last of her belongings in her carry-on. He watched from the doorway as she picked up a photo of them.

~Flashback~

“I hope she’s here,” JC said louder than he thought.

“Who’s that, C?” Lonnie asked him from his seat in the limo.

JC looked away from the window to his guard and friend. He knew Lonnie knew who he was talking about. He probably just wanted to hear him say it out loud.

“Ah, come on, dude. You know who. Nicole. I haven’t seen her since the show in Chicago.”

“I know. I just wanted to hear you say it,” the bodyguard let out a low chuckle. “So what makes you think she’s coming out here?”

“I talked to her a few days ago and IMed her last night. Both times, she said she would be here.” The car came to a stop and Lonnie opened the door.

“Guess we’ll find out soon, man. Come on. Let’s go.”

JC followed him through the yard where he saw dozens of young fans. He scanned over the faces, but he didn’t find the one that belonged to her. He waved at the fans as he continued to make his way to the beach house.

~End of Flashback~

Josh knocked on the door to get Niki’s attention. She put the framed photo down on the night table.

“Hey, sweetie. Lunch is ready.”

“Okay. I’ll be down in a sec,” she whispered.

“Hey, you okay?” Josh walked up behind her just as she turned to face him.

“Yeah. This is the picture I gave you that day at the beach house?” Josh nodded. “I didn’t expect you to put it in a frame. Wow!”

“It’s the only one I had of you. Displaying it in a frame was my only way of seeing you everyday. Now, come on. Let’s go eat lunch.”

He lead her down to the kitchen where they ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he made for lunch.

“Tell me you didn’t frame the letter too,” Niki said between bites. Josh tried to give her an innocent look, but she read right through it. “You didn’t,” she sighed.

“Well, yes and no.”

“Explain.”

“Okay.” He sipped his milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s in the same frame as the picture and still in the same cute envelope too.”

“The pink Hello Kitty one?!”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“No.” He nodded as he took another bite of his sandwich.

~Flashback~

“Dude, did you see her?” JC smiled.

“Umm…no. There were like three sistas there, but I didn’t see her.”

“She gave me a letter. She was right behind the two girls that wanted me to sign their whole notebook.” He reach in his pocket and pulled out an envelope with a bight, hot pink flap and Hello Kitty on it. “Here it is.” He carefully opened it and pulled out the letter. A black and white photo fell from the folded paper. JC picked it up and stared at it.

“What ya’ got, man?” asked Lonnie.

“It’s a picture of us. Nicole and me.” He smiled and handed the picture over.

“I didn’t see this girl there.” Lonnie paused. “You sure it’s the same girl?” he joked.

Yeah, I’m sure. Dude, she had on a two-tone blue polo and some dark blue low rise jeans.”

“Must have been her younger sister ‘cause the girl that gave you this looked no older than sixteen.” He handed the photo back to JC.

“It was her!” JC exclaimed. “Hold on. I’ll prove it.” He pulled out his phone, dialed the now familiar number, and waited for an answer.

“Hi, Nicole.” He paused. “I didn’t read it yet, but I did see the picture. Lonnie doesn’t believe it was you that gave it to me.”

“Aww, come on, man. You are so wrong for that,” Lonnie whined.

“Yeah, that’s why I called. Will you tell him what you were wearing?” He listened. “Okay. Hold on.” JC gave the guard the phone. “Now, listen carefully and repeat what she says.”

“Fine.” He put the phone up to his ear. “Hey, lil’ lady. Okay, I’m listening.” His mouth fell open as he as he listened.

“Spit it out, man,” JC chuckled. “Am I right?”

“Two-tone blue polo with a white collar, dark blue low rise jeans, and her hair was up in a curly ponytail.” He looked to JC again. “Well, damn. You sure fooled me. Okay. Here’s C. Bye.” Lonnie handed the phone back to JC who was still giggling. “I don’t wanna hear it.” He pulled out his phone while JC spoke into his.

“Okay, I’m back.”

~End of Flashback~

Josh just giggled as he cleared the table.

“Hey, Niki. Are you just about ready?” They had about twenty minutes to go in order to still be on schedule.

“Yeah. Give me ten minutes,” she yelled from upstairs.

Ten minutes later, Josh was on his way down the stairs with one of his girlfriend’s oversized suitcases. He almost tripped down the stairs it was so big. How can a woman so small have such huge luggage. Niki was right behind him pulling the anther piece of baggage with her.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna leave some of this here? I mean, you’re gonna come back eventually, right?” said an out of breathe JC.

“What if I want to wear something and it’s all the way out here? That would not be good. And yes. I will be coming back. Sooner than you think.” She answered with a wink.

“Well, let’s get you to the airport. The sooner you get there, the sooner you get back, right?” He smiled.

“This is true. Let’s go. We have traffic to beat and I wanna give you a proper airport goodbye.” They put the luggage in the Jeep and headed down the winding Hollywood Hills road.

Sunset, Sunrise

Pt. 5

“Great. So much for leaving earlier,” Niki mumbled as she watched traffic crawl down Sunset.

“Hey. Don’t worry. This is nothing. Believe me.” Josh looked at her while waiting for the light to change. He put his hand over hers. “I’ll get you there in plenty of time.” He lifted her hand and kissed it just as traffic started to move again.

They drove in silence for a few blocks until Niki spotted the restaurant she went to a few times. “Hey, I’ve been there.” Josh glanced to the right spotting the colorful sign of The Rainbow Bar & Grill.

“When did you do there?”

“Back in February, during a girls’ weekend trip. Ashley and I ate there two nights in a row.” Niki told him about her long weekend trip as they rode through the busy streets of LA.

For once, she didn’t fall asleep. She was awake to see the first sign for LAX, stating that the airport was five miles away. Josh prepped for his airport goodbye by reaching for Niki’s small hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. He then brought their hands up to his lips planting a gentle kiss on the back of hers. A single tear fell from hers eyes as she watched him. Josh kept his eyes on the road as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Angel, I’m gonna miss you more than you will ever know. You have brought so much joy into my life. This past month that you’ve been here with me has helped my love grow stronger for you everyday.”

“Stop it. You’re gonna make me cry.” Niki looked out the window at a plane that was taking off.

“Well we can’t have that now can we?” Josh followed the short term parking signs.

“Where’re you going?”

“I’m parking the truck.” He turned into a parking space. Niki just stared at him. “What!?! You thought I was just gonna drop you off and keep going?”

“Umm…yeah.” Now she was confused.

“Umm…no.” He turned off the truck and unlocked the doors. “That would not be a proper send off.” He gave her a wink before getting out of the jeep. Before Niki could open her door, it was already open and a hand was there to help her out. “I’m not gonna be able to do this for a while.” She placed her hand in his and jumped to the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I’m gonna miss you, Scotty.” Niki kissed him before he could respond to the new name. No one had ever called him that before. He was the first to break the kiss.

“I’m gonna miss you too, mama. Come on.” Josh walked her to the back of the jeep. “We better get going.” Together, they got Niki’s oversized suitcases out along with her favorite purple backpack and matching messenger bag that container her iBook, a birthday gift from Josh. He put the backpack on his back while she slung the other bag over her shoulder. They both grabbed a handle and made their way to the elevator holding hands.

“Where did Scotty come from?” Josh asked while waiting for the elevator.

“Huh?” Niki thought for a second. “Oh that. It slipped out. Sorry.”

“No it’s okay , baby. Actually, I like it. I like it a lot. Feel free to call me Scotty anytime.”

The elevator arrived to take them to the departure terminal. While they rode in silence, Niki prayed that the line was shorter that the one she stood in earlier that year. They finally made their way to the curbside check-in. Niki let out at sigh of relief.

“What was that for?”

“Take a look, Scotty. The line’s not long,” she sang. She heard a sad sound come from next to her. “Wha’s the matter?”

“I was hoping for a long line. That way I would have a least a few more minutes with you.”

She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. “Aww, baby. You know I’ll be back soon.” A tear rolled down her own cheek. “You can come see me too. I won’t mind that.”

“Be careful what you say. I just might come a knockin’ at your door.” He rubbed her shoulders while they moved up in line. She leaned against him when she got restless.

“Next in line please!” came form the check-in desk.

“Well, I guess that me,” Niki softly said.

“Yeah, I guess so.” They both pulled the luggage to the counter.

“Ticket and ID please.”

“Here ya’ go.” Niki handed the items to the agent.

“And what about you, sir?”

“Sorry. Unfortunately, I’m only here for the curbside assistance. Just the little lady will be flying out today.” Niki looked up at him with a warm smile, but a sad look in her eye. “Hey, why so sad?”

“You ‘re all set, Ms. Thomas,” the agent said before Niki could answer Josh. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Niki looked at her ticket.

“Yes. Just one question. Is this an aisle or window seat?”

“Oh…that’s a window seat. Is that alright?”

"Oh that’s perfect. Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome. Have a safe flight, Ms. Thomas.” The agent summoned the next person in line as Niki gave her a wave. Josh grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it to get her attention.

“Hey, you never answered my question. Why the sad face?” Niki adjusted the bag’s strap single handedly before finally giving him her answer.

“I don’t wanna go.”

“Whoa!!” Josh stopped them just before entering the airport. He turned Niki so that she was facing him. “Okay. Now back up and say that one more time. Not sure I heard you right.”

She took a deep breathe before looking him in the eye. “I said I don’t wanna go, but I…” She paused to wipe away a tear and to take hold of Josh’s hand. “But I know what I have to do first.”

“But…” Niki put her small index finger up to his lips.

“Shh…don’t worry. I’m going home for now. But I’m gonna do everything I can to get myself back here with you for good. I love you. You love me and together, we can make this,” she held up their laced hands. “Last for a long time.”

All Josh could do was stand there and look at her. “Oh. I’m sorry. You were gonna say something. Go ‘head. I’ll shut up now.”

“Well, I was, but after that the beautifully long unscripted speech, I forgot what I was gonna say.” He smiled. “Just kidding, but it was a beautiful speech, baby.”

“Thanks …I think.”

He walked her inside the building in silence. They stopped in front of the sign that read “TICKETED PASSENGERS ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT”.

“Well, I guess this is where we say our goodbyes.” Niki looked down at her feet.

“Nope. Not goodbye.” Josh took a finger to her chin and lifted her head up. This is see you later because I know I will. You were right. Yes, we can make this last a long time. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure oh that. I love you too much to let you go now. The past three months, we could only love each other from a far, but not anymore.” Niki closed her eyes.

~Flashback~

JC spotted Niki while leaning over the railing in VIP. She was there with three of her friends just like she said she would be. From where he was standing, he saw her small frame in a strapless brown, form fitting dress. She looked amazing.

“Good Lord!” was all he could say. Lonnie heard him and came to see what was up. He followed JC’s gaze to the main floor.

“See something you like, C?”

“Yep. Brown strapless dress.” He never took his eyes off her. Lonnie spotted the woman that caught JC eye.

“Damn, C! What would Niki say if she knew you were up here drooling over someone else?” JC look at his friend and guard before speaking.

“Man, that is Niki. That’s my girt in that little brown dress.”

“Are you sure about that?” the guard looked a little harder. “That can’t be her.”

“Dude, I think I know what my girl looks like.” He looked back at Niki. She and her friends were heading towards the dance floor. “Come on. You can see for yourself.”

“I swear, every time I see her, she looks like a different person,” Lonnie said as he lead the way to the stairs.

“Come on. Let’s go to the dance floor,” Niki heard her friend shot over the loud music. Being the smallest in the group, another friend grabbed hold of her while trying to make their way through the thick crowd. Niki saw Lonnie coming towards her. That could only mean one thing. JC was very close. The closer Lonnie got to her the faster her heart beat. Finally, he as right in front of her, but she still didn’t see JC. Lonnie gave Niki a wink, and then looked over his shoulder as he walked by her. That’s when she saw JC for the first time. His right hand was planted in the middle of Lonnie’s back with a strong hand wrapped around his wrist.

“OMG!!! He looks…damn good,” Niki thought to herself. He had on a white bandana under his cocked hat, a white wife beater, and what looked like an army shirt with the sleeves cut off.

Somehow, he found her hand while giving anyone watching a super Velveeta smile. Niki gave her friend’s hand a gentle tug to signal for them to stop. JC had managed to slip a small note in her hand before being pulled away by Lonnie. Niki had no choice but to follow her friends to the edge of the dance floor. It was there she was able to read the note from JC. It read, “I’ll me you by the dance floor.”

Just as she stuffed the piece of paper into her small purse, she felt someone’s hands on her bare shoulders and a whisper in her ear, “You are the most beautiful woman here. Would you like to dance?” She turned to look up into two inviting seas of blue.

“Umm…not right now. I’m suppose to be meeting my boyfriend right here, but you’re more than welcome to keep me company.” Niki giggled inwardly at JC as he just stood there. She saw Lonnie laugh out loud behind him. “Oh! He’s right behind you. Excuse me,” she squealed as his jaw dropped further. She went around him and gave Lonnie the biggest hug she could.

“Hey, sweetie. You look beautiful.” He gave Niki a hug back. “You know I didn’t recognize you.”

“You never do.” She gave him a wink. She then turned to JC, “You’re in luck. He said you look harmless, so we can dance.”

“Gee thanks, Lonnie.”

~End of Flashback~

When Niki opened her eyes, Josh was still there. “You gonna be okay?” he asked. She nodded.

“Attention ATA passengers, flight 808 to Chicago will begin boarding…”

“That’s my flight., “ Niki sadly said as moisture filled her eyes. Josh rested his forehead against hers.

“Gonna miss you, angel,” he whispered softly to her. He leaned down further and brushed his lips against her soft skin before making his way to her lips. He probed her lips wit his tongue until they parted. Niki wrapped her arms around Josh’s neck as their lounge continued to dance together.

“Attention ATA passengers, this is you final boarding cal for flight 808. All passengers for flight 808, please make you way to gate B5 for boarding.”

Niki let got a soft moan as Josh nibbled on her lower lip. “Scotty, I have to go.” She pulled back a little. “I’ll miss my flight it I don’t.”

“Don’t wancha to go,” he pleaded between butterfly kisses.

“I have to,” she wiggled away from him. “But don’t worry, we have unfinished business to take care of when I get back.”

“And lots of it, mami.” He gave her a hug and one final kiss before grabbing her by the shoulders, spinning her around and pushing her toward the security checkpoint. Niki didn’t have time to protest. She made her way to security and placed all her belonging s on the conveyor belt. She looked back and saw Josh still standing there. He smiled and waved. She gave a sad smile and wave in return before walking to the metal detector.

“That your boyfriend?” the female TSA agent asked. Niki looked over her shoulder once again.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I claim him.” Her lopsided smile appeared as she walked the through detector. She gathered her things quickly and ran to gate B5. She made it to the gate just in time. A flight attendant was preparing to close the door.

“I’m not to late am I?”

“No, ma’am. You still have about ten minutes before departure, but I was just about to close the door.”

“Thank you.” Niki handed over her ticket and made her way down the tunnel to the aircraft. Just as she stepped on the plane, her back left pocket started vibrating. She waited ‘til she was in her seat to check for a message. Seat 5A was waiting for her. Actually, the whole row was empty. She sat in her assigned window seat and pulled out her phone to check on her message.

“1 New Msg” it read. Niki opened her phone to read the message. “1 New Message From Josh”. She pressed the read button.

“I forgot to say I Love You.” That brought a smile on her face. She text him back, “You just did. LOL I love you too.” Niki sent another message, “Thank you for the best sunset and sunrise of my life.” “That’s just a taste of what’s yet to come. ;)” he replied.

“Ladies and gentleman, at this time, we ask that all electronic devices be turned off. This includes cd and mp3 players, video game systems, laptops, and cell phones. Thank you for your cooperation and for choosing ATA.”

Niki had time to send one last text. “I have to turn my phone off now, but know that I love you and will miss you until I see you again.” She keyed into her phone, but before she could send it, the phone began to vibrate. She had another message from Josh. “I love you, angel of mine. Have a safe flight and I’ll talk to you soon. :-*” She went back to the message she was keying in and pressed send. As the tears filled her eyes, she turned off the phone and got comfortable for her 4 hour flight home.

Josh walked back to his Jeep thinking about the woman he put on the plane. He thought about how he didn’t want to see her go and how he wished she had stayed with him in LA. He watched as plane after plane flew over him not knowing which one she was on. “God, I miss you already. Not sure how long I can handle not having you here with me. Come back to me soon if I don’t get to you first.” That was the message he left on Niki’s voicemail as he watched on last plane fly away before driving back to his home in the Hills.