Zac could not believe how nervous he was as he walked up the steps to Emma's apartment. It was only her mother. But he was nervous, he didn't want Emma's mom to give her a hard time for being out with him after work. He knocked lightly on the door and waited. Emma opened it, smiling. She looked so beautiful she took his breath away. Her hair was loose to her shoulders, in soft-looking ringlets that he wanted to run his fingers through and she was wearing that soft pink lip gloss, that tasted like strawberry candy. She had on a pair of blue denim hip huggers, a pair of black, square heeled shoes, a wide, black leather belt to match and an emerald green baby t-shirt, that made her eyes sparkle an even brighter green. "Hi Zac. Come on in.." she said and gave his arm a squeeze as he did so. She closed the door behind him and then tiptoed up to kiss his cheek. "Hi..." he smiled softly down at her and kissed her cheek in return. "You look amazing.." he told her and she blushed. Before they could begin any kind of conversation, Emma's mother came into the room. "Hello. You must be Zac.." her mother began. "Yes, ma'am.." he said and immediately pulled off his ballcap. "Zac Hanson?" Emma's mother was amazed to suddenly to see this famous musician standing in her living room. Zac chuckled, "That would be me..Emma? You should have warned her.." he said. "How was I supposed to know? I didn't know she had any idea who the BAND HANSON was.." she giggled and looked at her mother. "How did you know, Mom? I didn't think you listened to the radio much.." "Well, what do I look like? A cavewoman?" her mother laughed. "Your mother must be feeding you miracle gro, Zac. You're one TALL young man. I'm Carolyn." she stuck her hand out to shake Zac's. "It's nice to finally meet you." he smiled. They stayed a few minutes and talked, then Emma urged Zac out the door, before her mother could change moods suddenly and say something Emma would regret. They said their goodbyes, Carolyn fixing Emma with an 'i-want-the-WHOLE-story-ASAP' stare as she preceeded Zac out the front door. "Bye, Mom. Don't wait up.." she giggled. "Nice meeting you Carolyn." Zac smiled and pulled his ballcap back on, then closed the door behind them. "Emma, how come you didn't tell her that...?" Zac trailed off, looking at Emma like she'd lost her mind. Emma was giggling hysterically and gripping Zac's shoulder. "I-I'm sorry.." she managed between laughs. "Zac.." she pressed her lips together and tried to control her laughter, "I..didn't..think about it.." she explained. "I didn't think she even KNEW who HANSON was...you're just Zac to me baby..." she managed to control herself. "I'm sorry Zac. The LOOK on her face.." she giggled all over again as Zac looked at her and folded his arms across her chest. "Okay. Okay. I'm done...I promise.." she chuckled and took his hand, letting him lead her down the steps. They repeated much the same process at Zacs' house, but Emma could tell that Zac was much more relaxed now that everybody had met. When Taylor entered the room, she held her breath. But Tay only fixed her with an undecipherable look, then gave her a wide, genuinely warm smile and it was only then that Emma let herself breathe again. But she did mke a mental note to make sure she and Taylor talked alone, SOON. Emma was enchanted with Zac's younger brother and sisters, who were just as friendly and easy going as Taylor, Isaac and Zac were. She almost wanted to stay there for the evening, but that would mean she'd have to bite her tongue when Tay was in the room, and she sensed that HE was just as eager to speak to her, out of Zac's earshot. She wanted out of there before Zac sensed it. Taylor knew where he could find her, she was sure he would. She hoped she'd know what to say when he did.

Zac had no idea what they should do, he just knew that he wanted to be with Emma, alone. He held her hand as they rode in silence, the radio blaring. He smiled when he heard her singing with it and gave her hand another squeeze. She smiled in return, still singing. When the song was over, Zac tured the volume down and asked her what she wanted to do. She looked at him and grinned, confused. "You mean you didn't have anything in mind?" she asked. "Nope." he grinned back, "I just knew I wanted to see you before I have to go out of town." "Zac..." Emma was equally stumped, she'd have liked to bring him home, but she couldn't be sure that her mom would stay cool until she figured out what to do about her situation. And as sweet as Zac's family was, there was absolutely no chance fo any kind of privacy, even just to talk. Not in a household of NINE. "What are you thinking, Em?" he asked her. "In case you haven't figured it out, Zac.." she began with a grin, "if you leave it to me there is only one place we'd wind up."  Zac smiled and reached over to stroke her hair. "The beach.." he told her. "Hey, don't give me that 'here-we-go-again-grin' Hanson. It's perfect. Nobody bothers you if you don't wanna be bothered, most beaches aren't crowded this time of year, and it's THE OCEAN...I dunno, there's just something about it...I'm a true So Cal native I guess.." she shrugged her shoulders. "I like the beach too, Em. I dunno know if I could LIVE on one, but it's getting to the point where I can see you living in a grass hut somewhere on a tropical island. You are the only girl I've ever met that doesn't worry about the effects of sun and sand on her appearance. How do you feel about salt water?" he chuckled. "You tryin' to imply that I.." she pointed to her chest, "I am AFRAID to go in the water? Is that it?" she giggled. "Well are you? It's warm enough...and it IS the beach.." he offered. "You ever been surfin', Zac?" she gave him a wicked grin. "You surf?" he asked. "I did grow up here.." she rolled her eyes jokingly "...DO YOU?" she asked again. "I could.." he grinned, "But in street clothes?" "Don't you worry about that..." she smiled, "Just drive, Zac." "Okay..." he took a deep breath and grinned, "Where to?" Emma laughed and then gave him directions to a small beach town, where she knew there was a small surf shop that rented boards to beginners or tourists, along with wetsuits. She sighed softly then, still kind of bummed that she had to sell her board soon after her father took off. It was that or no hot water in the apartment. She kept meaning to buy a new one, but with school and work she seldom had time to spend a whole day at the beach. Zac was right, if she didn't have to take care of her mother also, she could easily live on the beach.

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