Chapter 50

The next week passed quickly. Kevin and I went to my office and gathered my things. I said good bye to some of my friends and made sure that I got their numbers.

The rest of the week we spent our time with the guys. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Lauren and Stacey.

It was Thursday night and Kevin and I were loading everything into the truck.

"That's it," Kevin said as he closed the door.

"Yep, that's everything," I said.

We walked back into the house.

"Come on guys. The movie's starting," Lauren said as she grabbed the popcorn from the microwave.

"Okay, we're coming," Kevin said.

We walked into the living room where everyone else was. They were all sitting on the floor with candy and popcorn in the middle. Kevin and I joined them on the floor and pigged out on junk food.

After the movie was over we went to bed. Kevin and I had to get up early tomorrow so we decided to go to bed. The rest of the guys stayed up watching late night t.v..

In the morning Kevin got up and got dressed. Then he woke up Janel by rubbing her back.

"Mornin' Boo," I said.

"It's time to get up baby," he said.

"Okay," I said.

I got up and changed. Then I packed my p.j.'s into my backpack. I went out to the living room and joined Lauren on the couch.

"You ready to leave?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Come on Pumpkin, let's go," Kevin said as he walked in.

"Stacey! I'm leaving now!" I yelled.

She came flying out of her room. A.J. and Howie slowly followed behind her. Then we walked out to the truck. I told the guys good bye while Kevin said good bye to the girls.

Then I told Stacey good bye.

"Bye Stacey. It's been fun living with you," I said.

"I'm going to miss you. Now who am I going to borrow clothes from?" she asked.

"Lauren's still here," I said.

"No, her clothes aren't fun," she said.

"Well, your movin' in with A.J. soon, maybe he'll let you borrow his credit card," I said.

"Oh, that's a good idea," she said.

I smiled. Then I gave her a big hug.

"Take care," she said as she began to cry.

"Don't go getting all mushy on me," I said. "You're making me cry."

She let go and smiled. Then came Lauren.

She immediately hugged me tightly and began to cry.

"Oh Lauren," I said as I began to cry. "Don't cry."

She let go of me and wiped her tears away.

"It's okay," I said. "I'll be fine."

"I know sweetie, but I'm going to miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you too, but I'm always going to be your sister," I said.

"I know you will," she said.

"I promise to call you all the time. And if not, I'll e-mail you like crazy," I said. "You'll be so sick of hearing from me."

"Never," she said.

I hugged her again. "We have to go now," I said.

"Okay," she said. She kissed my forehead and then let go.

Kevin and I got into the truck.

"Bye," I said as I waved. "I'll call you guys soon."

"Have a safe trip," A.J. said.

"We will," Kevin said. "Bye."

Then we pulled out and drove off.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah. I'm just going to miss them," I said. "But I'm excited to be moving in with you."

"Good," he said.

We drove to the nearest McDonald's and picked up breakfast. Then we took off on our road trip again.

It took us a few days to make it back to Orlando. Once we made it home we were exhausted. Kevin and I left everything in the truck. We walked in and laid down on the couch together.

"It feels good to be home," Kevin said as he held me.

"Finally," I said as I closed my eyes. As I listened to Kevin breathe I fell asleep.

A week later

"Kevin, what about this one?" I asked.

"No, I don't like that one. It's not big enough," he said. "Do you like this one?"

"No. It's tall, but it's skinny," I said.

"Okay," he said.

Kevin and I continued to look at the Christmas trees. We had been there almost an hour looking for the perfect one.

Then we spotted it. It was hiding behind all the other trees.

"This one," we said.

We paid for it and then loaded it in the back of Kevin's truck.

"Good lord. What were we thinking? This thing is heavy," Kevin said.

"Yeah, not to mention enormous," I said. "We're going to have a fun time setting this up in the house."

"I'll call Nick and have him help us," Kevin said.

"Good idea," I said as we got in the truck.

Then Kevin handed me his cell. "Call him for me please."

"Sure. What's his number?" I asked.

"555-3928," he said as I dialed.

"Hello," answered Nick.

"Hey Nick, it's me Janel. What are you up to?"

"Hi Janel," he said. "Tina and I are just packing."

"Oh. Well Kevin and I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Well we just bought a Christmas tree and we need some help getting it into the house."

"Oh sure. I'll be right over."

"Thanks Nick," I said. Then I hung up.

"So he's going to help?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah," I said.

We drove home and found Nick waiting for us.

"Hi Nick," I said as I hopped out of the truck.

"Hi guys," he said. Then he looked at the Christmas tree. "Geez, you guys. Couldn't find a bigger tree?"

"Nope," Kevin said.

I took the keys from Kevin and opened the door. Then I went back out to the truck. Kevin and Nick were beginning to make their way to the door.

"Damn! This tree's heavy!" Nick exclaimed.

"Come on Nick! You've got muscles, use them!" I said smiling.

"Yeah, well I don't see you using your muscles to get this thing in here," Nick said as we walked in the house.

Then they set it down.

"Where do you guys want it?" Nick asked.

"In the living room, right Kevin?" I asked.

"Yeah, that way we can see it more often," he said.

"Okay, let's go," Nick said as they picked up the tree and took it into the living room. Then they set it down in the tree stand.

"There you go," Nick said as he stepped back.

"Thanks man," Kevin said.

"Anytime," Nick said.

"Do you and Tina want to stay and have dinner with us?" I asked.

"We'd love to, but we still have a lot of packing to do," he said.

"Oh okay," I said.

He gave me and Kevin a hug and then left.

"Bye guys!" he said.

"Bye! Have a fun trip!" I said.

Then Kevin and I sat on the couch.

"Now what?" Kevin asked.

"Decorating," I said.

I got up and then helped him up. We got out all the decorations along with the lights. We turned on a Christmas CD and began to decorate the tree.

First we put the Christmas lights on. I held them while Kevin wrapped them around the tree. Then we put the Christmas bulbs on. My favorite one was a glass heart that read Our First Christmas Together. Lastly we put the icicles on it. Then Kevin and I stepped back and admired it.

"Beautiful," I said as the lights faded.

"But we're forgetting one thing," Kevin said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"The star," he said.

He got the star and then climbed on to a chair. He placed it on the top.

"How's that?" he asked.

"Perfect," I said.

He smiled and then got down.

"Our first Christmas together," I said. Then I kissed him.

We moved over to the couch and continued to kiss. Kevin wrapped his arms around my waist. We began to kiss more passionately as we laid on the couch.