"Umm…hello," a short blonde guy said in surprise as he flung the door open. "How are ya?" he asked.
Catlyn giggled. "You must be Brian," she said.
He looked over at her and grinned. "How'd ya guess?" he asked.
"Well, for one, the eyes. Can't mistake those. And secondly, no one could ever say 'hello' the way you do it," she grinned.
Brian blushed. "Caught me," he grinned. "Yes, I'm Brian, but ya'll can call me BRok. That's what everyone else calls me."
Catlyn smiled. "I'm Catlyn Andrews and this is Kyndall Laine. We're friends of -"
"AJ and Howie. Of course," he said ushering them inside. "They're right outside, down this hall and to the right. I'll be right back. Just gotta run to my car," he waved as he ran off.
"Loopy," Kyndall said as her head stopped spinning from Brian's hyperness.
Catlyn nodded. "Well, I guess this is it," she smiled as they walked down the hall. Looking at the walls, she noted the artwork that hung there. "Wow," she said softly. "These are really good," she murmured. Kyndall had made her way outside, chatting away with Howie.
"Like those?" a soft male voice said behind her.
"Huh?" she jumped. Turning around, she came face to face with a chest. Looking up slowly, her eyes locked with a pair of deep blue ones. "Umm…hi," she said.
"Heya," he smiled. Nodding towards the pictures, he asked. "I see you're admiring those."
"Umm…yeah. They're really good," she commented.
"I did those," he stated.
"Really?" she asked nodding in approval. "Impressive."
He chuckled. "I'm Nick. You must be Catlyn," he said holding out his hand.
"Why yes I am," she smiled.
"Nicky," a high-pitched female voice called from the other end of the hall.
"Her highness calls," he grumbled. "It was nice meeting you," he waved as he walked off.
"Nice meeting you, too," Catlyn sighed watching him walk off. Turning back towards the pictures, she continued gazing as she walked towards the door.
"Kyndall," Howie greeted her with a hug. "How are ya sweetie?" he asked.
"Oh. I'm doing okay. You?"
He shrugged. "Can't complain." Looking around behind her, he frowned. "Didn't Catlyn come with you?"
Kyndall smiled. "Yeah, she's checking out the artwork in the hallway. One of her favorite things to do."
"Ahh. Nick's drawings," he nodded. "So, are you two getting along?"
"Well…we didn't kill each other on the way down here," she grinned.
Howie chuckled. "Well, come on. I suppose we should introduce you to the rest of the group," he said putting his arm around her waist. They walked towards the group of people sitting around the pool. "Hey guys," he greeted them.
"Howie!" AJ exclaimed. He noticed Kyndall and his smile got even wider. "Kyndall, how nice of you to join us. This certainly is a surprise," he said hugging her.
Howie glanced over at Miranda who was eyeing Kyndall suspiciously. His brow furrowed in worry at what was going through Miranda's mind. Placing his hand on the small of Kyndall's back, he slowly moved her away from AJ. "Kyn, this is Miranda, AJ's girlfriend. The blonde one is Leighanne; she's Brian's fiancée. That over there is Shawna, Kevin's girlfriend. Kevin is over by the grill. Brian is somewhere," he said looking around.
"Catlyn and I ran into him as we were coming in," Kyndall said smiling at the group.
"Hello," Leighanne smiled at Kyndall. "Howie's been telling us so much about you. It's wonderful to finally meet you."
Kevin walked over, sitting down next to Shawna. "So this is the infamous Kyndall, eh D?"
"Infamous?" Kyndall asked, her eyebrow raised slightly.
"He's talked about you non-stop this last two weeks," Kevin grinned.
"I have not," Howie blushed.
"Yes you have," Shawna smiled. "Nice to meet you," she said to Kyndall.
"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Kyndall said looking over at the door as a tall blonde guy came out with a petite brunette attached to his side. She narrowed her eyes recognizing Nick and Crystal.
"Nicky!" Howie greeted him. "Come over here and meet Kyndall," he said inviting him over.
"Hey D," Nick said walking up. "Nice to meet you Kyndall. I'm Nick and this is my girlfriend Crystal," he said smiling down at the girl beside him.
"Hi there," Crystal said smiling at Kyndall. "You here with Howie?"
"Something like that," Howie said. Blinking in confusion at the noise that suddenly came from the driveway, he looked at Kyndall.
"I have no idea," she shrugged.
Walking over to the fence, Howie peeked through it. It was kind of a difficult feat, being that it was a privacy fence, but somehow he managed to see what was going on. He chuckled, turning back to the group. "It's only BRok and Catlyn. They're playing basketball."
