Chapter Seven


    Justin took his first bite of the tuna sandwhich and made a satasfying sound at the back of his throat.  "Wow," he said with a mouthful.  "You do make a killer tuna sandwhich."
    She smiled as she spread some tuna on her bread.  "Secret ingredient," she said and then placed the bread together and took a healthy bite.  "Damn, I'm good," she said.
    Justin chuckled and then sat up on the counter.  He was still shirtless, and his towel was wrapped around his waist and covered his trunks. "So, what next?"
    "Hmm, well my uncle has a game room," she said and also had her towel wrapped around her waist.
    His eyes widened.  "NOW you're talkin," he said as he jumped off the counter. "What does he have."
    "Uhh, don't know, never been in it."
    "WHAT?!  You have a game room, and you have NEVER stepped foot in it."
    "Well, I know he has a pool table," she told him.  "And some pinball machines. But I suck at pool so...."
        "Well, you're about to get a lesson," he said and then popped the last part of his sandwhich in his mouth.
    "Are ya kidding?" she asked.  "I don't think so, I'm a loss cause."
    "Come on, Mist," he pleaded.  "It'll be funny...er...I mean fun."
    She crossed her arms.  "Uh-huh."
    He chuckled.  "Come on, I've seen my share of sucky players, you won't be any different."
    "Gee...thanks," she said dryly.
    He poked out his lower lip.  "Puhleeeze," he begged her.
    She sighed and then let out a laugh.  "All right," she gave in.  "Let me just clean the kitchen."
    "I'll help," he said and then they both cleaned up the kitchen until every crumb was wiped away and all the dishes were away.  "Okay, you ready?"
    "Yeah.  What time is it?" she asked as she threw the dishtowel at the sink.
    "Quarter to four."
    "So, how many hours left?"
    He grinned and then shrugged.  "Dunno, lost count."
    The corner of her mouth lifted.  "Me too."
    Justin followed Misty out of the kitchen and they made their way to the basement door that led to the gameroom.  She opened the door and switched on the light that showed the path down the stairs.  Justin whistled in amazement when he saw the room.  This was heaven, he thought.  Gavin had about ten different video games lined up on either sides of the wall, and a couple of pinball machines of course.  A game room is not complete without a pinball machine.
    The pool table was in the middle of the room, between to the ping pong table and the air hockey table.  "All right," he said as he pulled out the triangle and plopped it on the table.  "I'll rack, cuz that's kind of hard."
    "Okay," she said as she watched him position the balls in the triangle.  "Why are you fiddling with them?  Does it matter where they go?"
    Justin looked up and grinned.  "Yeah, it does."
    "Oh," she said as scrunched her face up.  "Why?"
    "Well, you line the triangle with every other...a stripe, solid, stripe solid, and so forth.  You put the eight ball in the middle."
    "Oh, okay," she said as she nodded.  "To kind of seperate them so they won't be cluttered?"
    "Yeah, pretty much," he said and then lifted the triangle.  He picked up a cue and then walked to the other side of the table.
    Misty couldn't help but notice the way he does things so gracefully.  Even when he is playing pool, he makes it seem so easy.  When he leaned over the table and positioned himself, she could see his well defined muscles move under his skin. She always thought it was sexy when men played pool.  And it was even more sexy when they played it shirtless, she thought.
    Justin struck the white ball with the tip of his cue and a loud crack echoed through the room as the balls scattered.  Justin got two solids in and grinned. "Okay, so that means I'm solids."
    "Okay, my turn."
    "I don't think so," he laughed.  "I keep going till I miss."
    "Oh," she pouted.
    Justin sunk two more in, before finally missing the third.  "Okay," he said and handed her the cue.  "Your turn."
    Misty took the cue from him and studied the colorful balls to at least pretend to know what she was doing.  "I'm stripes?"
    "Yeah."
    "Well, what do I do?" she asked as seh looked at him for help.
    "Hmm, I guess we should have a practice round first," he said and then motioned for her to come by him, before he positioned the white ball and a stripe ball for it to be an easy shot.  He grabbed the cue from her and talked to her as he showed her the correct form.  "Okay, now you try."
    "Okay," she said and then folder her body over the table, and copied his position as best as she could.  "How's that?"
    "You're kind of holding it funky," he said as he slipped behind her and then wrapped one arm around her and placed his hands over hers.  "Now, just tilt it down a bit," he said softly in her ear.
    She could barely concentrate with him this close, she thought as she tried to focus on the white ball.  "Okay," she managed to say.  "How's that?"
    "Good," he said.  "Now hit it, but not too hard."
    "Okay," she said and then hit the tip of her cue with the white ball and watched it travel across the green carpet until it hit the ball and it dropped in the pocket.  "I DID IT!"
    Justin chuckled softly, still leaning over from behind.  "You sure did, you're a natural."
    She turned her head toward her and they were so close that their noses slighty bumped.  She cocked her head back a bit and smiled.  "Thank you."
    "You're welcome," he said huskily.  "You think your ready for a real game?"
    "I guess," she laughed.  "You're gonna win anyway."
    "True," he bosted.  "But it'll still be fun."
    "Then I'm ready," she said with a wink.

    "Dammit!" Misty cursed as Justin sunk in the eight ball.  "I was SURE I had that one!"
    Justin chuckled.  "Uh-huh, you got three whole balls in, Mist...it was a close one."
    "Oh, you shut up," she scowled and then tossed her cue on the table.  "I give up."
    "Sore loser," he teased and she just replied by sticking out her tongue.  "And a kid at heart I still see."
    "Yeah, yeah," she said and then sighed.  "So now what?"
    "What do you want to do?"
    "Why do I have to think of everything?"
    "This is YOUR day, remember?" he asked with a wink.
    "It wasn't my idea," she reminded him.
    "True," he said.  "Ohhh, wait...I know where we can go."
    "Where?" she asked.
    He grinned.  "Go upstairs and get dressed, it's a surprise."
    "Funny, Justin," she said as they walked up the stairs.  "Where are you taking me?"
    "The sooner you shut up and go get ready, the sooner you'll find out."
    "Justin," she pleaded.
    "Mind if I take a shower?" he asked,  ignoring her plea.
    She groaned and gave up.  "Sure, whatever," she said and then walked up the stairs and Justin followed her.
    "Use the one in the guest bedroom," she said as they reached the top of the stairs.  "Third door on your left."
    "Got it.  Meet me downstairs in thirty minutes."
    "Yes sir," she sighed and then went in her room.
    At exactly thirty minutes later, Misty walked down the stairs to see Justin waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.  "Ready?" he asked.
    "Now will you tell me?" she asked.
    "Nope," he said and then opened the door for her.
    "You're no fun."
    "I know," he said and then they both hopped in the limo.
    As the limo drove down the freeway, Justin reached in his pocket and pulled out a bandanna.  "Come here," he told her with a crook of his finger.
    "Just what do you think your doing," she asked warily.
    "Just shut up and come here," he said with the roll of his eyes.
    She rolled her own eyes and scooted off her seat and sat next to Justin.  "Now what."
    He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around and when he pulled the bandanna in front of her she leaned her head back.  "No, no, no," she protested.
    "Come on, Mist," he said as he pulled the bandanna over her eyes.  "Humor me."
    After a few more minutes of protesting, she finally gave in and he tied it over her eyes.  "Dammit, Justin, not so tight."
    "Soorry," he said and just to make her mad gave her another tug.
    "Smartass," she mumbled and Justin just chuckled.
    The limo pulled to a stop and she heard the door open.  "Okay," he said softly and grabbed her hand.  "Let's go."
    He carefully helped her out of the limo and then turned to face her.  "No peeking," he said.
    "I'm not," she laughed.
    He smiled and then put a arm half around her and held her hand as he led her up the sidewalk.  "Okay, there's about three steps here," he told her.  "There you go...okay lemme get the door, don't move."
    She stood still and she heard the sound of the door creak slightly as it opened.  He grabbed her hand and led her through the doorway and the into the air conditioned building.  "You're freaking me out here," she laughed when she heard something beep and the elevators slid open.
    "Dont' worry you'll love it," he said as they walked in.  They were silent as the rode the elevator to the third floor and she heard it bing again and the doors open.  He took her down a hallway and into a room.  "Okay stay right here," he said.
    "Like I can go anywhere," she mumbled and then stood where she was.  She heard him rummage through something and then heard a click and light filled the room.
    She felt Justin near her and he walked behind her and loosened the blindfold. "Surprise."
    She squinted at the bright lights and rubbed her eyes.  She looked around the room and then her eyes widened.  "This is a studio," she said and then turned around to see him grinning.  "Why are you taking me here."
    "Lilly, told me you could sing," he said and then led her to the sound booth. "I want to hear you."
    "Hear me?" she asked as she circled around to take in the studiio.  "You...you want me to sing?"
    He grinned.  "Uh huh."
    "I....Justin I've never done this before and...."
    "There's a first for everything, Misty," he said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her in the sound booth.
    "But...but..."
    "You know you want to," he said and then positioned her next to the microphone. "What's your favorite song?"
    "Um....I don't know I...."
    "Come on, Mist...no one is gonna hear this but me, its not a audition or anything."
    She sighed.  "Okay, fine," she said and then walked closer to the microphone. "What should I sing?"
    "You're call," he said and then walked out of the booth and into the recording booth.
    "Are you gonna record me?" she asked nervously.
    "No, no," he lied as he sat down.  "I can hear better in here."
    Since she didn't have a clue about studios she just nodded and played along. "Okay."
    "So," he said as he spinned back and forth in his chair.  "What ja gonna sing?"
    She licked her lips and then cleared her throat.   "A song that my mom always use to sing to me whenever I was sad or upset."
    He nodded.  "Okay, start whenever," he said and then started recording without her knowing.
    She cleared her throat and then walked up to the microphone and started singing.

    "Like the summer wind I'm walking with you warm..."

    The first sound of her soft angelic voice hit his gut like a fist and his breath caught.  It hit him like a ton of bricks and he swore he got chills.

    "Like the bay out on the ocean you can keep me from the storm.
    Now your face shows signs of coming rain,
    Baby what can i do to ease your pain.
    Cuz baby I can't bear to see you cry,
    Baby, wipe the tears out of your eyes.
    Say the word...and I'll make it right
    Baby, you don't need to cry tonight."

    When she sang the last note, she slowly stepped back and stared at Justin through the double glass.  Her insides were shaking and she almost felt alive. When she closed her eyes and started singing, she was no longer with him, she was by herself, in her own world.  Now he was looking at her with those steel blue eyes of his, and her knees almost gave out.
    Justin finally sat up and turned off the recorder.  He kept his eyes on her as he walked out of the recording booth and towards her.  He opened the booth and then shut it behind him.  She was looking at him while she bit her lip and bounced her knee.  "Stop looking at me like that," she said uneasily.
    He grinned.  "Like what?  Like a man who admires a woman who can sing like an angel?"
    Her cheeks colored and she looked down.  "I'm not that good, I just do it for...."
    "You have a lot of talent, Mist," he said and then took a step towards her.
    She smiled shly.  "My mom always sang," she told him.  "I guess I grew up with it."
    "Runs in the family, I guess," he said thinking of Gavin.
    "Did I really sound okay?" she asked, wanting his approval so bad.
    The corner of his mouth lifted.  "You sounded incredible, Misty.  Did you ever think of doing this professionally?"
    She shook her head.  "Nah, never," she said.
    "Liar," he chuckled.
    She gave him a look and then giggled.  "Okay, well maybe, but I just sing for fun."
    "You have the talent to make it," he told her, giving her the confidence she needed.
    She grinned.  "Can I hear you now?"
    "Me?  You know what I sound like."
    "I know, but I want to hear you live."
    "How bout this?" he said as he walked to her.  "Teach me that song, and we can sing together."
    She smiled.  "Okay, it's not a hard song to learn."
    "Yeah, but its special to you, so I want to get it right," he said with a smile.  "How's it go?"



Chapter Eight