Jennifer and Kathy were running around upstairs, looking for shoes, makeup, and other items for that evening.  Just before six o’clock, they heard the doorbell ring.

“Who could that be?” Jennifer wondered aloud, rummaging in the bathroom drawers for her lipstick.

Kathy checked the clock.  “It must be the guys; they said they’d be back around six, remember?”

“Oh, yeah…aha!” Jennifer triumphantly held up a small black tube.  “I knew it was in here!”

Kathy could only shake her head at her friend.  “I guess I’ll go get the door, then.”  She walked downstairs towards the front door, and the bell rang again.  “I’m coming!” she called.

She found Derrick, Justin, Joey, and Chris standing on the other side.  “Hey, guys,” she greeted them.  “Come on in.”  Moving to the side so they could enter, she asked, “Where’s JC and Lance?”

“Well, JC said he has some ‘errands’ to run, and Lance decided to go with him,” Joey explained.

“Okay.  I guess you guys can take it easy for a while.  Jen is upstairs getting ready,” Kathy said.

“Kathy!” Jennifer cried from upstairs.  “Who was at the door?”

“Some of the guys,” Kathy replied, her voice raised.

“Hi, guys!” Jennifer yelled.  The guys laughed and yelled back upstairs.  They could hear Jennifer laugh at the jumble of voices from the living room.  “Hey, Kathy, could you run into my bathroom and grab my lotion, powder, hairbrush, and hair pins?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Thanks!”

Kathy rolled her eyes at the four men sitting on the couches in the living room.  “It never ends!” she joked.  As everyone laughed, Kathy collected Jennifer’s requested items and walked back upstairs.

Derrick breathed deeply and settled back to relax.  “Okay, we have an hour to kill,” he said to the others.  “How do we want to waste the time?”

“Well, we need about twenty minutes to get ready to go out,” Joey stated.

“Unless you’re Justin, who needs three hours to get ready,” Chris teased.

Justin picked up a pillow from the couch and heaved it at his friend.  “Very funny, Chris.”

Chris put a serious look on his face.  “Who was joking?  We timed you once.  It took you three hours, two minutes, and fifty-seven seconds to get ready.”

Derrick and Joey laughed at the expression of surprise on Justin’s face.  “You can’t be serious, Chris,” Justin said, not knowing whether or not to believe it.

Chris tried to hold his laughter back, but it didn’t work.  He burst out laughing, holding his stomach.  “Oh, man, you believed me!”

“No, I didn’t,” Justin replied, still unsure of himself.

“Oh, yes, you did,” Joey said between laughing fits.  “You should have seen your face!”

Justin picked up two more pillows and threw them at Joey and Chris, hitting them each in the head.  Even so, they continued to laugh.  Justin gave up and began laughing himself.

Kathy came back downstairs to find the guys cracking up.  Jennifer had asked her to find a pair of stockings in her dresser.  “What’s so funny?” Kathy asked the group.

“Oh, nothing,” Derrick said as the laughter died down.  “Just making fun of Justin, that’s all.”

“You guys are making fun of Justin?  Why didn’t you call me so I could join in?” Kathy joked.

“Oh, like I don’t get enough from them,” Justin replied sarcastically.

Kathy just laughed and shook her head.  “Y’all are too weird for me.”  She walked away to get Jennifer’s stockings.

Derrick switched on the radio.  One of ‘N Sync’s songs came on, so Justin, Joey, and Chris started singing along.  Soon, the trio jumped up and started doing their choreographed dance moves to the music.  Derrick just watched with a grin on his face.

Not long after Justin, Joey, and Chris began their impromptu performance, JC and Lance walked in.  Entering the living room, they saw the three singing and dancing to the radio.  Grinning, they took their “places” and picked up the beat.  Kathy came downstairs, hearing the commotion, and took a seat next to Derrick to watch the show.

“It’s tearin’ up my heart when I’m with you, but when we are apart, I feel it, too…and no matter what I do, I feel the pain, with or without you…”

When the song finished, Kathy and Derrick burst into applause.  JC, Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris took their bows, then laughed and dropped onto the couches.

Jennifer heard the noise and walked over to the balcony that overlooked the living room.  “What’s going on down there?” she called out.

“Hi, honey, I’m home!” JC replied jokingly.

“Hi, sweetheart!  I’m almost ready.  Now what’s going on down there?”

“Oh, just the guys practicing,” Kathy answered.  She stood and headed for the stairs.  I should probably start getting ready myself.  She hurried upstairs, grabbed Jennifer’s arm, and dragged her friend back into the bedroom.  “Come on, Jen, you have to finish changing!”

“I know, I was just wondering if JC had anything he was going to bring on our date tonight…”

“Oh, I see…you’re getting nosy again, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Jennifer admitted with a grin.  “Can you blame me?”

Kathy laughed.  “No, I guess not.”  They giggled and began talking about how Jennifer was going to wear her hair that night.

**

Derrick had left for home so he could change his clothes.  Lance, Justin, Chris, and Joey had already changed their clothes to suit their respective plans and were now sitting in the living room, watching JC pace the floor.

“JC, settle down,” Justin said, “or you’ll put a rut in the carpet.”

“Huh?”  JC looked down at his feet, then grinned sheepishly at the rest of the guys.  “Sorry, I’m just kinda nervous about tonight, you know?”

“Sure, we understand, it’s not every night you get to go on a date with your girlfriend,” Chris joked.  Then, imitating JC’s voice perfectly, he said, “‘Oh, no, it’s our first date in six months, I hope she still likes me.’”

JC shook his head while Joey, Justin, and Lance laughed at Chris’s teasing.  “Come on, Chris, you know what I mean.  Like I said before, I just want everything to be perfect.”

“And it will be,” Lance said, jumping up to lay a hand on JC’s shoulder to calm him down.  “Why don’t you go get dressed?”

“Oh, yes,” Chris said in a high voice, then walked over to Joey.  “Look, dear, our little boy is growing up.”

Joey played along.  “Of course,” he replied in a very deep voice.  “Our boy’s becoming a man right before our very eyes.”

Justin and Lance started acting like little boys.  “Hey, JC,” Justin began, jumping up and down, hanging on JC’s arm, “are you going to kiss her?”

“Yeah, are you going to slobber all over her?” Lance asked in a teasing voice.

“Oh, honey, I must get my camera!” Chris said in his high voice.  He ran to his room, and then returned holding two different cameras.  “Now we’ll have to send one to Grandpa Joe, and one to Aunt Betty, and…oh, who else, dear?” he asked Joey.

“Oh, we must send one to Uncle Fred,” he answered.

JC took a slow look at his friends, who were laughing while still keeping up their roles.  “I don’t know any of you people,” he muttered good-naturedly.  He then turned to go to Jennifer’s room to change.

As JC walked away, Justin, Lance, Chris, and Joey fell onto the couches and floor, laughing hard.  Kathy came back downstairs and found them scattered around the living room.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking around.

Lance stopped laughing first, so he began to explain.  “Well, JC was pacing around down here, all nervous and everything, so…”

“So we thought we should make fun of him,” Justin finished.

“Oh, you should have been down here, Kathy,” Chris added.  “You should have seen JC’s face…” he stopped talking and began laughing again with the others.

Oh, Lord, Kathy thought, looking at the four laughing men.  We’ve let maniacs into our house.  Dazed, she walked to Jennifer’s bedroom door.  Noticing it was closed, she thought, JC must be inside changing.  She knocked lightly on the door.  “JC?”

“Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s Kathy.  I need to get something for Jennifer.”

“Okay, just a minute.”  A few seconds later, JC opened the door wearing formal black pants and a white dress shirt.  “Hey, Kathy…so what does my girlfriend need now?”

“She needs her hairspray.  For some reason, she can’t use mine.”  Kathy shrugged as JC grinned.

“Okay, come on in.”  JC opened the door all the way, letting Kathy through.  She walked quickly to the bathroom and grabbed a bottle by the sink.  “So is she almost ready?” JC asked, slipping on a black vest.

“Yeah,” Kathy replied, coming back into the room.  She looked over JC and smiled.  “Well, well, you clean up nicely, don’t you?” she kidded him.

“It’s all for Jennifer,” he said simply.

“You know, she doesn’t look half bad herself,” Kathy returned.

“Oh, yeah?”  JC’s interest was now hooked.  “Care to tell me anything?”

“Um…no.”  Kathy turned to face JC and grinned.  “You’ll just have to wait and see.”  With that, she turned back towards the door and walked out.

Don’t want to say, huh? he thought.  Okay, we’ll see who’s more impressed when you get down here, Jennifer.  He put on his jacket and walked back to the living room.

As soon as he set foot in the room, two flashes went off in his face.  Blinking, JC shielded his face.  “What in the world are you guys doing?”

“Oh, look, dear, doesn’t our little boy look stunning in a tuxedo?” Chris gushed in his high voice, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

“Give it a rest, Chris,” JC retorted, walking into the hallway to get the flowers he bought for Jennifer.  While he was in the hallway, the doorbell rang.  He opened it and found Derrick waiting on the front porch.  “Hey, Derrick,” he welcomed.  “Come on in.”

“Hey, JC,” Derrick replied as he walked inside.  “You look good.”

“Thanks.”  They walked back down the hallway to the living room.  Again, flashes went off as JC stepped into the room.  “Damn, guys, could you please not do that anymore?” he pleaded, trying to get his sight back by blinking.

“Oops, sorry,” Joey apologized, lowering his camera.  “Got a little too worked up over that, you know?”

“Yeah, whatever.  Now where are the girls?” JC wondered aloud, checking his watch.

“One of us is here,” Kathy said as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs.  All six men looked over at her as she entered the living room.

Lance walked over to Kathy, his hands behind his back.  “You look great,” he said quietly, smiling at her.  Then, he pulled his hands out in front of him, exposing a delicate lavender tulip.  “This is for you.”

Kathy inhaled quickly, then beamed at Lance’s face.  “It’s beautiful, thank you.”  She raised up on her toes to kiss his cheek.  Lance blushed as Derrick, Justin, Joey, and Chris ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ playfully.

JC checked his watch again.  “Oh, come on, it’s seven-twenty.  Where is she?” he muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Chill, JC,” Kathy said, “she’s on her way down.  She was having some trouble with her shoe.”

“Hey, maybe while she’s coming down the stairs, she’ll lose her shoe, and then you’ll pick it up, put it on her foot, and you and Jen will live happily ever after,” Chris blurted out.  Everyone looked blankly at him.  “You know, from ‘Cinderella’?” he said.  Everyone continued to stare at him.  “Oh, never mind,” he finished, frustrated.

“I get it, Chris,” a voice called out from the top of the stairs.  “But I’m not about to lose a shoe that I got on sale today.”  Everyone glanced up as Jennifer appeared on the top step.  She was wearing the lilac-colored dress she had bought, and the scarf was draped around her shoulders.  She and Kathy had decided she should wear her hair up, so Jennifer had it pinned up in a French twist with little curled tendrils framing her face.

JC could only stare in silence as Jennifer walked slowly down the stairs to meet him.  His breath backed up in his throat.  Oh, my goodness, he thought in amazement.  She’s absolutely…

Stunning, Justin thought as he watched Jennifer.  He couldn’t remember when he’d ever seen anyone more beautiful.  He just looked on as JC raised a hand to her.  She took it, and he kissed her fingers.  Justin’s heart dropped as he noticed the way Jennifer was beaming at JC.  Why can’t you look at me that way, Jennifer?  Just once, really look at me.

A flash went off from the side, breaking the silence.  “Sorry, that went off by itself,” Chris apologized.

Jennifer smiled at him.  “I know it didn’t, and I’m going to want a copy of that picture.”  She took the last few steps and stopped in front of JC.  “Well?  Is this formal enough for you?”

JC had to swallow twice before he could speak again.  “Good Lord, Jennifer, you are the loveliest woman I have even seen,” he murmured.

Jennifer smiled and kissed his cheek.  “You, my sweetheart, look very handsome,” she said, smoothing out his jacket.  “So…are those for me?” she asked, gesturing to the flowers JC held in his arm.

JC was just staring intently at Jennifer, so he had completely forgotten the flowers.  “Oh!  Right!”  He presented the bouquet to his girlfriend.

“They’re beautiful,” she breathed.  JC had given her a bouquet of a variety of flowers; roses, orchids, lilies, and carnations, with baby’s breath mixed in.  She buried her nose in the flowers, taking in the wonderful scents.

“Well,” Lance began, breaking the spell between Jennifer and JC, “I guess it’s time to go, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Justin agreed.  I don’t think I can’t take much more of this, watching Jennifer and JC together.

“Okay, I drove over,” Derrick said, “so we can take my car.”

“We can take my car to the amusement park, Lance,” Kathy suggested.

As the others figured out their transportation plans, JC took Jennifer’s arm and tucked it into his.  They walked through the doorway together, never taking their eyes off each other.

“Take a picture, Joey,” Kathy whispered.  “They look so happy together.”

“Okay.”  Joey lifted the camera and snapped away.

Jennifer overheard them.  “I’m going to want a copy of that one, too,” she called out, still gazing at JC’s face.

“God, how does she hear everything?” Chris asked.

“Good ears,” Jennifer replied from the front porch.  She and JC were now making their way to the curb, where a limousine was waiting for them.  The driver stood next to the door, waiting for JC’s signal to open it.  “So, everyone have a good time tonight,” Jennifer said to her friends.

“We will,” Lance answered for everyone.  “Kathy and I should be home around midnight or so.”

“And we should be back at about one,” Derrick put in.

“Okay, we’ll be back…” JC began.

“Oh, no, you two can take all the time you need,” Kathy said, smiling at the pair.  “You deserve it.”

“Thanks, Kat,” Jennifer said.  She leaned over to hug her friend, then took JC’s hand again.  “Let’s go, sweetheart,” she whispered into his ear.

JC nodded to the driver, who immediately opened the door.  Jennifer climbed in, then JC followed.  Before they drove away, he opened the window and called out to his friends, “Have fun, y’all!  I know we will!”  Everyone waved after them as they pulled away from the curb.

“Well, let’s get this party started!” Joey declared.

Lance and Kathy got into her car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove off.  Derrick, Justin, Joey, and Chris piled into Derrick’s car and drove in the opposite direction, ready to have fun.