"Heyhey," Howie smiled, kissing Kyndall on the cheek as she greeted him at the door.
"You're late," she pouted.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Something came up and I had to deal with it before I left. I feel awful," he shook his head.
"It's okay," Kyndall smiled at him. "Want to come in, or are we leaving right away?"
"Well," he said looking at his watch. "We really should be going. I don't want to miss anything."
"So where are we going anyway?" she asked grabbing her purse, shutting and locking the door behind her.
They walked to his black corvette parked by Catlyn's Mustang. "There is a carnival type thingy down on the boardwalk. I thought we'd go take a gander, mosey around, see what's going on," he said in a really bad southern drawl, opening the passenger door for her.
"Remind me to never take you to Oklahoma," she teased as he shut the door and walked around, climbing into the driver's side.
"Aww, why not?" he smiled at her. "So, where's Catlyn?" he asked nodding towards her car.
"Oh, she and Nick took off to Orlando early this morning," Kyndall waved.
"Hmm," Howie mused. "Without Crystal?"
Kyndall nodded. Noticing the look on Howie's face, she laughed. "Stop worrying. She's not going to do anything. She doesn't want a boyfriend. Trust me. That is the LAST thing on her mind."
They talked about random subjects for the short ride to the pier. Howie maneuvered his car through the crowded streets on beach side, grumbling at the ignorance of the tourists. "I understand they are visitors, but they could at least DRIVE LIKE HUMANS instead of ALIENS."
"Temper temper," Kyndall giggled. "Road rage isn't healthy Howie darling. Raises the blood pressure," she teased.
He looked over at her and smiled. "Oh be quiet." He finally found a parking place, albeit not very close to the boardwalk. "Hope you don't mind walking," he sighed, flashing an apologetic grin in her direction before climbing out of the car. Walking around and opening her door, he held his hand out to her. "Mi'Lady," he said chivalrously.
"Good sir," she giggled, taking his hand and stepping out of the car. Hooking her arm through his, they walked the short distance to the boardwalk. The whole boardwalk, normally just an empty span of cement sidewalk with shops on one side, the ocean on the other was transformed into a bizarre. Down farther was the stone fountain with a huge grandfather clock on it, but it was now lit up brightly with multicolored lights. There were game booths, arts and crafts booths, and food booths set up all around. A Ferris wheel was set up in the middle, and a couple of other small rides were scattered here and there. "Wow," she gasped, gazing at the now unrecognizable boardwalk. "This is so cool."
"Yeah. Definitely different," he smiled. They walked around for a while, checking out the different booths, watching the people, and chatting about different subjects as they came up. As they stood looking at a booth with hand-painted drama masks on display, Howie was distracted by something he had seen to his left. "I'll…I'll be right back," he said placing his hand on her arm and then walking away.
"Oookay," Kyndall said softly watching him walk away for a brief moment, before returning her gaze to the masks. Picking up a solid black one with pink, purple and silver markings, she looked at the owner. "How much is this one?" she asked.
"$150," the lady replied glancing up and then back down at her current project.
"Ohch," Kyndall whispered. Sighing, she put it back down with the others.
Suddenly someone grabbed it and said, "I would like to purchase this."
Kyndall looked over and gasped. "AJ! What are you doing here?"
"Browsing," he grinned. He pulled out his wallet and handed the lady a couple of bills.
"What are you doing?" Kyndall asked looking from him to the mask and then back at him.
"You wanted it didn't you?" he smiled. "Thanks," he said as the lady handed him his change.
"I didn't want you to buy it for me," she shook her head.
"I wanted to," he smiled at her. Taking the box that the lady had placed the mask in, he handed it to Kyndall. "From me to you."
"Th-thank you," she said softly.
"No problem," he said walking next to her as she continued browsing the booths. "Here by yourself?"
"Umm…no," she smiled. "I'm here with Howie actually. I just," she looked around trying to see him, "have no idea where he ran off to."
"Hmm. He's good at that," AJ said clasping his hands behind his back. "Do uh…do ya mind if I walk around with you?" he asked.
Kyndall looked at him, considering his offer. Watching his expression change from hopeful to expectation and then to disappointment the longer she took, she started laughing. "Of course I don't mind, ya freak."
