Kathy pulled her car into a parking space at the video store.  She, along with Lance and Joey, got out and entered the store.

“So, what movies should we rent?” Lance asked.

“Let’s get a comedy and an action,” Joey suggested.  “That way, everyone’s happy.”

“Works for me,” Kathy agreed.  “Joey, why don’t you get the action movie, and Lance and I will get the comedy?”

“Okay.”  Joey walked to the opposite side of the store as Kathy and Lance moved to the comedy section.

“Well, Lance, I guess it’s up to us to find a good movie,” Kathy said.

“Why?  Joey’s picking a movie, too,” Lance replied, confused.

“Oh, please.  Do you really think Joey can pick a good movie?” she joked.

Lance laughed.  Kathy smiled at him.  Good Lord, he’s adorable when he laughs.

“So, anyway,” Lance began as his laughing died down, “what should we rent?”

“How about ‘Sleepless in Seattle’?  I haven’t seen it in a while…have you ever seen it?”

“Seen it?” Lance feigned shock.  “I have it!  Meg Ryan is my favorite actress!”

“You mean you like those kind of movies?” Kathy asked incredulously.

“What do you mean, ‘those kind of movies’?”

“Oh, you know, the romantic movies…the ones you take your dates to…” Kathy trailed off.

“Oh, well, I like to think of myself as a sensitive kind of guy,” Lance admitted, a little shy.  I hope she likes sensitive guys.

“Sensitive is good,” she replied, sending him a small smile.  Lance grinned back, happy he was right about her liking sensitive men.  They moved closer to each other, each gaining confidence in the possibility of a new relationship.

Joey walked towards them, a movie in each hand.  He couldn’t decide which one to pick, so he thought he could ask Kathy and Lance for their opinions.  “Hey, you two…” he started, but then he noticed how close they were standing.  He stood silently for a couple of minutes, watching Kathy and Lance talk quietly.  Lance leaned down and whispered something in Kathy’s ear, and she smiled up at him in response.

Hmm, Joey thought to himself, now isn’t this interesting.  Could Kathy and Lance be starting something?  He grinned.  I’m going to have to ask Jennifer about this…she put them together for that “date.”

“Oh, hey, Joey.”  Turning, Lance greeted his friend.  “Did you pick a movie?”

“Uh, yeah.  Are you guys ready to go?”

Kathy nodded.  “Let’s get the pizza and go home.”  She and Lance walked toward the counter, leaving Joey to stare after them and think, Oh, yeah, they’re definitely starting something.

**

An hour and fifteen minutes had passed when Kathy, Lance, and Joey returned home.  They walked into the house to find Jennifer, JC, Justin, Chris, and Derrick waiting in the living room.  As the trio entered, Justin stretched out on the floor and pretended he was dying.

“Please, please, I need food,” Justin gasped.

Chris kneeled beside him, pretending to check Justin’s pulse.  “This man is dying!” he announced loudly.  “Derrick, get me 500 grams of grease, stat!”

Derrick jumped up and grabbed the pizza from Joey.  “Right here, Dr. Kirkpatrick.”

“Okay, open box on three…one…two…three.”  Chris and Derrick opened the box.  Chris took one piece out.  “Derrick, please open the patient’s mouth…hurry!”

Derrick followed his “orders” as Jennifer and JC tried not to laugh.

“Okay, clear!” Chris yelled.  He placed the pizza near Justin’s open mouth.  Justin took a bite and chewed, keeping his eyes closed.  Chris checked Justin’s pulse again.  “I think he might pull through.”

Justin finished his bite of pizza, then opened his eyes slowly.  “What…what’s going on?” he asked, feigning disorientation.

“Sir, you fainted from hunger.  You were very close to passing on, but you pulled through.  You’re going to be fine,” Chris explained.

“I was?  Oh, thank you, thank you, Doctor!” Justin replied.  By this time, everyone was laughing except for Kathy, who had narrowed her eyes at the jokers on the floor.

“You guys watch too much ‘ER,’ you know,” she commented sarcastically.  She picked up the pizza and brought it into the kitchen.

Lance followed her through the door.  “Kathy?”

She spun around, not knowing anyone was in the kitchen with her.  “Oh, Lance.  Did you need something?”

“Well,” he began hesitantly.  “I was just thinking…you remember the date we’re supposed to go on?  The one Jennifer told us to have after she won that pool game?”

“Yeah.”

“I was wondering, would you like to go out on Friday?”

“Sure!” Kathy answered, a little too quickly.  “I mean, sure,” she repeated, more casually.  I’d love to.”

Lance grinned.  “Great.  So where would you like to go?”

“Wherever you want to go is fine with me.”  He asked me out! she thought excitedly.  This is incredible!

“How about the amusement park near the pier?”  She said yes!  This is great!

“That’s perfect.”

“So is seven o’clock okay?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, then, Friday night, seven o’clock, amusement park,” Lance confirmed.  They grinned at each other, both excited for the next evening.

**

Meanwhile, back in the living room, everyone was recovering from Justin and Chris’s dramatic performance.  As Justin stood, Jennifer, JC, Joey, and Derrick applauded the actors.

Justin and Chris bowed.  “Thank you, thank you,” Justin said.

“I’ll be expecting an award soon,” Chris joked.

“You guys are too much,” JC stated, chuckling.  “Come on, let’s go have dinner.”

Justin, Chris, and Derrick rushed into the kitchen like starving men.  JC and Jennifer were about to follow them, but were stopped by Joey.

“Hey, Jen?” Joey called to her.  “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, Joey,” she replied, then turned to JC.  “I’ll meet you inside.”  They shared a quick kiss, then JC continued into the kitchen.  Jennifer walked back and sat down on the couch next to Joey.  “What’s up?”

“I need to ask you about Kathy and Lance,” he began.

Jennifer’s interest rose upon hearing the two names.  “What about them?” she prompted.

“Well, when we were at the video store, I kinda noticed something…” he trailed off.

“Yes?”

“They seemed to be pretty close and all, and they were smiling at each other a lot, like they were sharing secrets or something.”

Jennifer smiled.  I see the little couple is progressing quite nicely.  “So what do you think is going on?  Do you think there’s some kind of problem?”

“No, it’s not that…I was just wondering if you knew of anything going on between them.  I mean, you did set them up on a date after you won that bet last night.”

“Now, Joey, if I knew anything, I wouldn’t tell you…it’s their own business.”

“I’m not trying to pry or anything…” Joey defended himself.

“I know you’re not,” she said, “but even if you aren’t, let’s let them do their own thing, okay?”  Well, I’ve got them together to a point, now I’ve got to keep them together.

“Okay, Jen.  I won’t ask anymore.”

“Good, and don’t say anything to anyone, all right?”

“Come on, Jen, I may say the wrong things sometimes, but I never talk about anyone else’s personal business.”

“I know,” Jennifer replied with a grin, “but I’m just reminding you.”  The two friends smiled at each other.  “Now let’s go have some dinner.”

**

After dinner, everyone split up to do their own activities.  Derrick, JC, and Lance went downstairs to play some pool.  Justin, Chris, and Joey decided to go for a night swim in the backyard and went to their rooms to change.  Jennifer and Kathy chose to relax in the living room and talk.

“So,” Jennifer began as the two stretched out on the couches, “have you and Lance decided where and when your date will be?”

“Oh, yeah!  I was going to tell you, we’re going out tomorrow night!” Kathy declared, excited.

“That’s great, Kat!  Where are you going?”

“We’re going to that amusement park on the pier.”

Jennifer smiled, happy for her friend.  “That sounds like fun.”

“Girl, we could watch paint dry and I would have fun, as long as Lance and I were together!”

Jennifer laughed lightly.  “You really like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Kathy admitted with a dreamy look on her face.

“Good…Lance is a wonderful guy.”

“Yes, he is…”

“And he’s kinda cute, too.”

“Definitely!”  Kathy grinned, then looked over at the door to the stairs leading to the basement.  “Speaking of cute guys and dates…what does your boyfriend have in store for yours?”

“You know, he hasn’t said anything at all.  I don’t even know how to dress!”

“He hasn’t said a word to you about anything?”

“No!  I’m getting really curious now.  I mean, it’s not like he forgot or anything…”

“Of course not.”

“I guess I could ask him tonight,” Jennifer pondered.

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Jennifer sank into silence, thinking about her date with JC.

**

Downstairs, JC, Lance, and Derrick were trying to replicate some of the shots they had seen Jennifer and Kathy perform the night before.

“I don’t get it,” JC said, frustrated.  “How did they make that shot?”

“Which one?” Lance asked.  “They made a lot of good shots last night.”

“You know, the one where the cue ball curves around others to hit the ball near the pocket.”

“I have no idea.  You’ll have to ask Jennifer.”

JC grinned to himself.  I won’t just ask her, he thought, I’ll have to bargain with her.  If she shows me how to do this, I’ll have to give her something…  His smile widened, thinking of the possibilities.

“Hey, JC,” Derrick called from across the table, interrupting JC’s thoughts.  “Speaking of Jennifer, what do you have planned for your date with your girlfriend, anyway?”

“Oh, I can’t tell anyone,” JC replied mysteriously.  “I want it to be a complete surprise for her, and nothing against you, Derrick, but I don’t want to take the chance of her finding out.”

“You think I would tell her about it after you told me?” Derrick asked, pretending to be mildly shocked.

“Come on, Derrick, think about it.  You two are really close, and you talk about everything…”

“Hey, it’s cool,” Derrick interrupted, chuckling.  “I was just joking with you.  I think it’s cool you want to surprise her.”

“Thanks,” JC said, “but I will tell you this.  We’re not just going anyplace; we’re going somewhere really special.  I’m going to have her dress formally, and we’ll definitely be alone.”

Lance was listening to the conversation between JC and Derrick.  JC’s taking Jen somewhere special?  They’re going to dress in formal wear?  How am I supposed to compete with that?

“That sounds really cool,” Derrick complimented, causing Lance to listen up again.  “Jennifer will love it.”

“I hope so.”

“Sure she will.  Don’t you think she’ll love it, Lance?”  Derrick waited for an answer.

“Uh, sure.  She loves anything you do for her.”  Man, once Jennifer tells Kathy about her date with JC, our date will look plain in comparison.

Derrick stretched and yawned.  “Well, I guess I should be getting home.  Have to get up early for work.”  He put his cue stick away and turned to the stairs.

“G’night, Derrick,” JC said.  “See you tomorrow.”

“See you later, man,” Lance said, obviously distracted.

“Good night, guys.”  Derrick saluted and walked upstairs.

JC watched and waited until Derrick left, then turned to Lance.  “Okay, man,” he started, putting his cue stick down.  “What’s going on?  You seem pretty distracted.”

“It’s nothing.  Come on, I’ll challenge you to a game.”

“Oh, you’re not changing the subject on me, Lance.  What’s up?”

Lance took a deep breath and turned to JC.  “Why do you have to take Jennifer out on some fancy date?  I’m going to look bad!” Lance said forcefully.

“Whoa, where is all this coming from?” JC asked, holding his hands up in surrender.  “Start from the beginning.  You’re going to look bad to whom?”

“Kathy.”

“Wait, wait…are you talking about your date with Kathy?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, tell me everything.”  JC sat on a stool near the wall and waited for Lance to start talking.

“Well, you remember the date Jennifer’s making us go on because she won that pool game?”

“Sure…”

“I asked Kathy about it today.  We’re going out tomorrow night.”

“That’s great, man!  Where are you going?”

“Just to the amusement park.”  Lance looked a little embarrassed at this remark.

“What do you mean, ‘just to the amusement park’?  You two will have a great time!”  JC then thought of something: Lance’s pride.  “Oh, I think I get it now.  You think Kathy’s going to look at your date, then look at my date with Jennifer, and think yours will be lame in comparison, right?”

Lance’s shoulders slumped.  “I can’t compete with you.”

“Lance, it’s not about a competition.  Kathy’s going out with you because you’re you, not to see where you will take her.”

“But I want to impress her!”

“What will really impress her is if you be yourself, not where you take her.”  JC placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.  “She won’t be impressed if you take her somewhere where you’re both uncomfortable, I guarantee you.”

“I guess so…”

“You know I’m right, Lance.  I mean, look at the differences between your relationship with Kathy, and mine with Jennifer.  Jennifer and I have been together for a while now; we’ve moved on from getting to know each other to spending quality time together.  You and Kathy, on the other hand, are just getting started.  Take it slow; get to know each other better.  It’ll all work out in the end.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lance admitted.  He sat up and straightened his shoulders.  “We’re going to have a great time at the amusement park.”

“There you go,” JC said.  “Now, I believe you challenged me to a game of pool, correct?”  Both men laughed as they began to play.