 
## Blonde Kisses

### Smashwords Edition

### Copyright © 2018 Tom Odyssey

### If you enjoy this story, remember to tell your friends about it and suggest they check it out too. Since this is provided for free, you are more than welcome to share it with others directly, but it would be even nicer if you could ask them to download a copy of their own to show support for my work. Thank you.

### Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Contact

Chapter 2: Ignition

Chapter 3: Bonding at the Mall

Chapter 4: Ascending the Staircase

Chapter 5: On the Beach

Chapter 6: Crunchy, Juicy Chicken

Chapter 7: In the Pool

Chapter 8: My Blonde Angel

Chapter 9: High Heels, Jeans, and Simple Things

Chapter 10: I'll Be Right There

Chapter 11: Bright-Red Fingernails

Chapter 12: An Eventful Day

Chapter 13: Sneak Peek

Chapter 14: Back to Work

Chapter 15: Is This Your Hottest Fantasy

Chapter 16: I Love You More

Chapter 17: I'll Always Be Yours

### Chapter 1

Contact

_What could that dream possibly mean?_ I ask myself. I sit up in my bed and attempt to recall all of the details—or at least as many as I can while I still remember most of them anyway. The more I brood over it, the more confused I get. My sequence of thoughts is broken when, suddenly, I hear my phone ring. I see that my friend Andy is calling me, so I decide I'll answer. He has, understandably, not spoken to me in some time because he's been away on vacation. Still sleepy, I lazily reach over to my smartphone and tap the button on the screen to accept the incoming call.

"Hello," I say in my tired voice.

"Hey, what's up? How are you, buddy?" he answers.

"Pretty good, I guess."

"What've you been up to lately?" he asks me.

"Nothing much. You?" I answer.

"I was thinking about maybe going somewhere later tonight. Would you like to join me perhaps?" he offers.

"Hmmm..." I think about it momentarily. "We'll see. I'll consider it."

"Sounds good. I'm going to this night club later at around 7 PM, and if you'd like to join me, then let me know so I can pick you up. It's totally up to you."

"Okay, thanks. I guess I'll see you later then maybe," I reply.

"Yeah, see ya later, bro."

I push the button to end the call and go back to thinking about my unusual dream. I was playing by myself at a bowling alley when an attractive blonde woman showed up and began playing in the lane next to mine. After a few minutes of silence, she greeted me with a "hi," and we talked a little bit while playing in our separate lanes. She seemed friendly, but then, without warning, she left. I said, "Wait, I forgot to ask what your name is!" but the only thing I could hear from her was a response too quiet to be heard through the glass doors. When I looked around outside, there was no trace of her. I still don't know what any of that nonsense is supposed to mean or if it's even supposed to mean anything at all; dream interpretation is beyond me.

Should I accept Andy's offer of going to a night club? I've never even been to a place like that before, and I'm not sure if I'd really like that sort of atmosphere. A part of me wants to try going somewhere new, but another part of me wonders whether it's really such a good idea. I'm in a real pickle here, or maybe I'm just making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. I wouldn't be surprised if it does end up being the latter, since it usually is. I get up and make myself something to eat for lunch as I think further about the matter. One thing is for sure: I'm going to have to tell Andy "yes" or "no" eventually.

* * * * *

Later in the evening, after taking a shower, I get my phone and dial Andy's number—though not without some hesitation.

"Sup," he greets me.

"Hey, I've decided to take you up on that offer of joining you on your outing tonight," I speak with a false confidence.

"Great! I'm glad you decided to come around. I'll be there to pick you up soon."

"Alright, I'll catch you then," I say shortly before ending the very brief call.

I await his arrival outdoors with great anticipation. I know it's Andy approaching when I see the nearly blindingly bright headlights of his black Mercedes and hear the familiar sound of tires grinding against the concrete road and slowing down near me. I open the door, sit down on the comfortable leather seat, and close the door. Andy and I exchange greetings, and then we're off.

"So what's the name of this place we're going to anyway?" I ask a few minutes later.

"This is one I haven't been to before, but I heard they have good music, drinks, and billiards," he says before telling me the name.

"Playing pool _does_ sound like a lot of fun. I used to be good at it, but I'm not sure if I am anymore, since I haven't played in forever."

We continue to converse along the way to our destination. When we get there, about twenty minutes later, Andy finds a parking spot and announces that we've arrived. Feeling somewhat uncertain of what exactly to expect inside, my hands remain in my pockets as we enter through the glass doors. I stay near Andy to be sure I don't lose him in this dense crowd of people. The song "Everytime We Touch" is playing through the loudspeakers, and on the dance floor, bright lights flash in all sorts of colors, including cyan, magenta, yellow, and green. Deciding what our first activity should be, Andy and I note that people are already playing billiards on most of the pool tables.

"There's an available one over there," I say, pointing to its location.

We get a set of cue sticks and set up a game of eight-ball. Once we agree that I'll be starting this round, I give the cue some chalk and line up my opening shot. I strike the white ball with considerable force into the cluster of colored spheres arranged in a triangle, making the characteristic _smack_ that billiard balls make when they hit each other.

"Impressive! You got three in," Andy compliments my break.

"I guess I _can_ still play this after all."

For the next shot, I aim below the center of the cue ball, causing it to pull back after hitting the object ball and into the line of my next shot. Out of the very corner of my eye, I can see that I caught the attention of a very attractive-looking blonde woman. How can I not notice her when her light-blonde hair shines from all the way across the room like that? When I glance over to her, she seems to cover her mouth and giggle, whispering something to her equally attractive friend. I get that butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling as she continues watching me play from a distance—but not with the annoyed and disinterested look that I've come to expect from attractive women. I try my best to convince myself that I'm just imagining things; why would a woman like that ever be impressed by anything I'm doing? I shift my focus back to the game and make another shot, sinking another ball.

"Alright, looks like I'm solids, and you're stripes," I announce.

I'm unable to pocket the next ball, so it's Andy's turn. He picks up his cue, chalks up, and makes his shot.

"You're not too bad at this yourself," I comment as he sinks a ball of his own from a difficult angle.

On the last shot of the game, I find myself in a tricky situation: All of the solids have been pocketed, and only the eight ball remains for me to sink, but a cluster of spread-out striped balls are directly blocking my route to it. There's also another ball blocking any possibility of using the rail, so the only way I'll be able to get the eight ball into the corner pocket is by performing a massé shot—something I haven't attempted in years. I figure it's at least still worth a try though. I remember that the ball, after curving, will ultimately travel into a line parallel to that made by the ball's initial resting point and the place where the cue tip is aimed. With the back end of the stick elevated, I strike the cue ball at an off-center spot and watch as it curves, hitting the eight ball into the hole and winning me the first game. I can't believe that actually worked. We play another three rounds of eight-ball, one of which Andy wins, and the other two I win. We then play a match of nine-ball once, which subsequently he wins, proving himself a formidable opponent.

"Well, that was cool! Let's go get something to drink now," Andy suggests.

We find a pair of empty seats and claim them, after which we both order ourselves an ice-cold root beer and talk about various things. He asks me what I've been doing lately, and I explain to him that I haven't been doing much of anything on account of lacking energy.

"I mostly just sleep and watch television these days," I tell him.

"That's too bad. Good thing you at least decided to come here with me today."

"Have you managed to get your computer fixed yet? I remember you complaining before about it acting funny," I say, shifting the topic.

"Yep, I just got it back from the repair technician yesterday, and it seems to be working fine so far," Andy answers.

"That's nice then. Hopefully it didn't cost too much to fix it though."

"It wasn't too bad, I'd say." He glances to our right and says, "I think that babe over there is checking you out!"

"Don't be so ridiculous. You should know enough about me to know that isn't possible," I say back to him.

"Well, whatever you say," he replies, simply shrugging his shoulders. A second later, he adds, "I'll be right back. I have to go use the bathroom. Be sure to save my seat."

Andy then gets up and makes his way toward the sign pointing to the restrooms. While I'm in the middle of waiting, I hear a female voice coming from next to me say something.

"Hey!"

"Hi..." I say quietly without even lifting my head and turning to take a look at whom this greeting is coming from.

"I saw you playing pool earlier over there with your friend. You're really good!" she says, her voice sweet like honey.

When I finally turn to get a look at her, I'm instantly stunned by how dazzling she is. She's got straight light-blonde hair that goes down to a little past her shoulders. At the top of her head, some of the strands look darker, which I find adorable. Her dark-brown eyes sparkle like the most beautiful gemstones, and her lips are a soft shade of pink, matching the color of the shirt she's wearing. Her ear is peeking out just a little from behind her hair as though she wants me to tell her something. When our eyes first make contact, she tilts her head slightly and smiles at me. She twirls her hair in her fingers and bats her eyelashes at me whilst asking what my name is. I tell it to her and then ask for hers.

"I'm Misty. Nice to meet you!" she says cheerfully as she reaches her hand out toward me. She even has cute hands, her fingernails painted with silvery-white nail polish. When we shake hands, hers feels pretty small in mine. I hold it for a little while longer than I probably should, yet she doesn't seem to mind that I don't want to let her hand go for those few extra seconds. We spend a few more minutes exchanging basic details about one another—how often we go to this club, where we're from, and that sort of thing.

"You sound fun. Do you wanna hang out sometime?" Misty asks.

"Sure, I'd be down for that," I respond.

"I'll give you my phone number," she offers.

"Okay, you can add me as a contact on my cell phone," I suggest, trusting her enough to hand it to her so that she can type the digits in.

"There you go," she says, returning it to me.

"I'll see you soon then."

"Alright, take care!" she says before standing up and walking away, waving her hand to me and smiling.

A minute later, Andy returns from his restroom break.

"You'll never believe what just happened to me!" I say to him as he approaches.

### Chapter 2

Ignition

It's the middle of the second day since Misty gave me her phone number, and I decide that now is when I'll finally call her. I just hope she didn't change her mind about wanting to do something with me. With my phone in hand, I look at the screen, with her contact information displayed on it. Even though she was so nice when we met, I still wonder whether I should really go for it. Keeping my finger above the green symbol with the phone icon, I think about what I should even say. I bite my upper lip, the heat and crushing pressure feeling like that of the sun's core.

I move my finger toward the _call_ button, closing the distance. The phone connects the call and begins playing the standard ringing sound. It feels as though time has slowed down significantly as my muscles become tighter. I pick up a pen on the nearby desk and start fidgeting with it to calm myself. Several seconds later, a high-pitched voice comes in through the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey... Is this Misty?"

"Yeah, who is it?"

"It's the guy you met the other night. You gave me your number, so I figured I'd call to see what's up," I explain anxiously, hoping she hasn't completely forgotten who I am.

"Ohhh! Hey there! Yes, I remember now. So how are you?" she asks in a lively tone.

"Not bad, I'd say. And you?" I ask in return. I begin feeling much more at ease now that she seems glad I called her.

"I'm doing pretty good."

"Are you just chilling right now? I was thinkin'... Would you like to go to the park with me? It's such a nice day outside today."

"Sure, I'm free right now," she answers.

"I'll ask my friend Andy to bring me over to your place soon, since I don't drive, and then we can take it from there. What's the address?"

Shortly after she tells me the street address, we end the call and agree to meet each other very soon at her house.

I message Andy, asking if he's available to give me a ride. I feel somewhat bad about asking him to drive me somewhere for my own purposes, but he's fine with it and is more than happy to help. He comes by half an hour later and takes me to the requested location.

"Thanks for driving me out here. I really appreciate it," I tell Andy.

"No problem, buddy. Hope you have a good time."

"See you later."

"Take care," he says, rolling up the window before driving off.

I watch the car's angular diameter shrink into the distance until it becomes nothing more than a black speck and disappears around the bend. I turn to face Misty's house and take a good look around. It's a very nice-looking house; it doesn't appear excessively big, but it's not overly small either. Everything seems to be in great condition. The sun shines down onto the neatly trimmed cubic bushes and the lime-green blades of the grass on the lawn. In front of the bushes, there's a nice little garden with some beautiful flowers, including sunflowers, golden yellow like citrine, and tulips that are bright pink like spinel.

I walk along the stone path leading up to the door, ringing the doorbell. With some slight lingering uneasiness, I tap my fingers on my sides as I await her approach. When Misty opens the door, she greets me with a friendly smile.

"Hey! Come on in. We'll go in a minute. I just need to grab a few things real quick," she says.

"No problem," I reply, stepping in and closing the door behind me.

On the inside, the house looks just as nice as it does on the outside; it's decorated with cushy leather furniture and has clean white carpet flooring with gray tiling in the kitchen, in addition to a glass dining table.

"Really nice place you have here," I comment.

"Thank you!" she says, adding, "You can sit down anywhere you like. Make yourself at home. I'm just going to get my purse."

"Can I have a cup of water? I had best drink some before going out because it's really hot outside," I ask as I sit down on the beige couch opposite the TV in the living room.

"Oh, yeah—I can get you one," Misty says kindly.

She goes off to the kitchen and fills a glass with water, returning to hand it to me. It has a very clean taste—much more so than the tap water I normally drink. I take a peek and see that she has one of those water filtration devices for her tap, which is what I could've probably guessed. Just when I'm about finished drinking the water, Misty returns with her needed items in hand.

"I'm ready. Let's go!" she says excitedly.

I hand her the glass so she can put it back on its rack, and we head for the door. We step outside, she locks the front door, and then we make our way toward her car. Sitting in the passenger's seat right next to her, I watch as Misty puts the key in the ignition.

* * * * *

The drive to the nearest park doesn't take very long, only about fifteen minutes or so. In the car, we make occasional small talk so we can get to know each other better. For one thing, I find out that Misty is two years older than I am.

"So what do you do for a living?" I ask her.

"I'm a fashion designer. What about you?" she answers and returns the question.

"I have an online job where I transcribe audio files," I reply.

"Oh, that's interesting," she says. "Well, it doesn't look like there are many people here right now," Misty comments as we begin to near the park.

When we get out of the car, she takes out a pair of sunglasses from her purse and puts them on to shield her eyes from the blinding sun and its ultraviolet rays. Something about seeing a sexy blonde wearing sunglasses always says _summertime_ to me, and Misty couldn't fit that image more perfectly.

We begin walking along the concrete path and looking at our surroundings. Lush trees line some parts of it as well as being scattered all throughout parts of the grassy fields. A small lake is located in the center of the park, and around it, there's even more vegetation, with flowers in a variety of colors.

"So what do you like to do in your spare time?" Misty asks me.

"Usually, I watch TV or spend time on the Internet. I also like watching videos on YouTube, and Vsauce is one of my favorite channels; he's pretty cool," I explain to her.

"You watch Vsauce too? So do I! He _is_ very cool. What is your favorite video that he's done?"

"That's a tough question because so many of them are great. I like 'How To Count Past Infinity.' That one blows my mind like no other."

"Yeah, that's definitely an interesting one. I'd say my favorite videos are the ones related to language."

"Those are awesome too," I reply.

Misty then does something that catches me somewhat off guard—she reaches her hand out and holds mine, squeezing it lightly. With my thumb, I gently rub the smooth surface of her palm and along her fingers up to her beautifully painted, shiny nails. It's like we're speaking to one another, yet no actual words are being said by either of us.

While we're taking a sitting break, a beautiful little purple-and-orange butterfly lands on our table briefly before fluttering away. Soon after we start walking again, we come across a tennis court.

"Ooo, I have an idea: Would you like to try playing tennis with me? I haven't played in sooo long," Misty says nostalgically.

"Hmmm... I've never really played tennis before. I doubt I'd be any good at it."

"You don't have to be good at it to enjoy it. Besides, it's easy to learn, and I'll show you how!"

"Well, alright—I guess it wouldn't hurt to at least try."

"I should have some tennis rackets and a ball in my trunk, so let's go back and grab them, and then we can come back here and get started."

We begin our somewhat long backtrack to Misty's car to retrieve the needed equipment. She looks extremely cute when she puts her hair in a ponytail and wears her tennis cap. When we get back to the tennis court, she begins instructing me on how to play the game. She hands me a racquet and stands close behind me, guiding me through, with her hands on mine, the motion of how to swing it properly. I could likely figure it out if she explained it with words, but she obviously wants to touch me and be close to me anyway; I certainly can't complain about that.

"Just relax. Hold it with a gentle grip and swing with the speed that you feel comfortable. Let the racquet do the work for you. Stand from behind the baseline, throw the ball in the air, and hit it to get it over the net onto the other side," Misty explains with her gentle voice.

She then stands back a little as I attempt the action, and I manage to complete the serve successfully.

"Cool, I did it!"

"Great job!" she cheers. "Now I'm going to stand on the other side and we can try playing a full game. If the ball bounces twice on your side or you don't get it over the net, then the other player scores a point. Oh, and also, the person serving the ball switches each round. Ready to try it now?"

"Sure, seems pretty straightforward."

She runs to the other side and makes the opening move. I'm able to hit the ball back to her twice before I miss it and it flies out of bounds on my side. Misty is clearly very experienced at this, so there's hardly a time when I can score a point.

We play for several hours, but it ends up being so much fun that it feels like far less than that. It's the kind of fun I wouldn't ever have on my own; I can only do it with Misty on the other side of that court. As it gets late and the sun begins to set, we decide to call it a day and head back so that she can drive me home.

"You're very good at tennis," I compliment her.

"Thanks! I actually used to play competitively in high school. I have a few trophies I could show you sometime if you'd like."

"Also, before I forget, I don't think I ever gave you my number. You can call me too whenever you want to do something," I say.

I make sure to enter my contact information into her phone shortly before I exit the car.

"I had a really great time today. I'd like to go somewhere with you again soon," Misty says to me, looking straight at me with her dazzling eyes that still shimmer in the night.

### Chapter 3

Bonding at the Mall

The day following the park outing, with the sun still low in the sky—much earlier than my normal wake-up time—my phone begins to ring, and at the top of the display, the caller ID informs me that it's Misty. She wasn't kidding when she said that she wanted to see me soon. I answer the call and am greeted by a familiar friendly voice.

"Hey! How are you?" she asks.

"Not bad. I just woke up," I answer in a tired voice.

"Oh, sorry for waking you up. I was just wondering if you'd maybe like to go to the mall with me."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. I'm actually kind of glad you did that because, otherwise, I'd just end up sleeping until the afternoon, which is never a good thing. And yes, I'd be glad to go to the mall with you."

"Awesome! I'll come by and pick you up soon then."

"See you soon," I say once I've given her my address.

After pushing the _end call_ button, I take some time to get ready, and shortly after I'm done with that, I wait for Misty outside. Before she's on her way, she sends me a text message to give me an estimate of when she'll arrive. At around the expected time, I see a silver car pull up right in front of me.

"Hey there!" she says in her usual excited expression, clearly happy to see me again.

Once I'm comfortably seated in her car, we're off to the mall.

* * * * *

We arrive after a relatively lengthy drive, but it'll hopefully be worth it. We enter through the large glass doors, which open for us automatically when we approach them. Neither of us has ever been to this mall before, and we're both surprised by how spacious it is. The rhythmic _tap_ of Misty's high heels striking the marble-tile floor reverberates throughout the large, open hallways with each step. Looking at it more closely, the floor also has glittery silver bits ingrained into it that sparkle with the sunlight coming in from the high-up ceiling windows. Misty's beautiful, reflective blonde hair also shines in the rays of light with a beautiful golden luster.

For our first stop, I suggest we give the electronics store a visit. We acquire a paper map and orient ourselves. I'm not particularly good at that sort of thing, so all I can really do is stare at the thing without making much sense of it. I'd definitely spend three times as much effort wandering around and looking for where to go if I was by myself, but Misty seems to figure it out quickly.

Once we enter, we're met with a flashy display of various pieces of technology. I heard from Andy that an interesting new smartphone was released last week, and I'm curious to see it in person. I have an old one from a few years ago and am beginning to get tired of it. We walk over to one of the tables, and I pick up the phone to begin demoing it. It feels spectacular in the hand, with smooth curves all around its glass body on the back and a glossy display on the front to match. It's very clear that this manufacturer knows how to produce a high-quality handset. I press a button on the bottom to take me to the main interface and flick through the pages of icons. The screen's output is just as nice as the body of the device.

"This is really cool. I'd get it now if it weren't so expensive," I remark to Misty.

We walk around and look at some of the other gadgets briefly before we leave the electronics store. Shortly afterward, out of the corner of my eye, I see an ice cream shop.

"I could really go for some ice cream right now," I declare.

"Yeah, let's go get some!"

"Out of curiosity, what's your favorite flavor?"

"That's a hard choice. Hmmm... I like strawberry, chocolate, or cookies and cream."

"Cookies and cream is a great one. That might actually be my favorite as well."

We get two cookies-and-cream-flavored ice cream cones and then find an empty table to sit at. The most enjoyable part, besides for the delicious ice cream, is the sight of Misty's eyes looking back at me from across the table.

Once we're done eating, we begin walking around, and eventually, a store with stuffed animals displayed at the front gets Misty's attention.

"Ooo, I want to see those plushy toys!" she says excitedly.

Even though it's probably not somewhere I'd actively decide to go on my own, I'm willing to do so with Misty. Besides the plush animals, there are various other small toys here, the most interesting of which, to me, are the twisty puzzles of various shapes, including cubes, pyramids, and octahedrons. They have a three-by-three cube on display, and I can easily see that it doesn't have the ordinary solid-colored stickers that peel after a week; instead, it uses nice-looking tiles. I haven't played with one in several years, but I used to be able to solve these in around thirty seconds. I pick the puzzle cube up off of its stand, giving it a few turns. Unlike some that tend to grind and lock up with every turn, this one is smooth as butter. Because it's been played with, it's in an unsolved position, so I try to solve it.

"I haven't done one of these in a while," I remark to Misty. "Let's see if I still can."

Misty watches in awe, and it's done after a minute and a half.

"Wow, that was amazing!" she cheers.

Misty then goes to admire the aforementioned stuffed toys sitting on the shelves that line the walls. She picks up a fluffy, round penguin and hugs it. Seeing that makes me wish I were that stuffed penguin right now, but I still feel very lucky to even be at the mall with such a dreamy woman. I zone out for a bit but regain my focus when Misty says something.

"Awww, this is such an adorable teddy bear."

She squeezes and holds it for a few seconds before putting it back on the shelf. I can see why she likes it so much. The white fur is soft, and it's holding a pink heart between its front paws, which are themselves composed of little red hearts with three ovals above them. It also has a big nose on its round muzzle that's flanked by two large eyes.

We stay for a few more minutes, looking at some other things, such as a tiny billiard table, before leaving the shop. For the next item on our agenda, Misty wants to visit a clothing store. As we walk, we stay close together and hold hands. When we enter, she begins browsing through the various articles of clothing around. After picking up and holding out a few items in front of her by a mirror, she chooses a navy-blue button-down shirt, and in another section of the store, she finds a pair of jeans to match it.

"I'm going to go try these on in the dressing room," she says. I stand outside, waiting for her to change. When she emerges, she asks, "How do I look?" and spins around for me to show off the outfit from different angles.

"You look very cute in those," I compliment her.

"Awww, thanks, babe!"

The way she says that line and smiles at me makes me feel very warm inside. She picks two more outfits, which include a light-yellow and an emerald-green shirt-and-shorts combination that perfectly match her light-blonde hair and dark-brown eyes, respectively. I don't know a thing about fashion, yet she still seems to pick out things according to my taste—like she's choosing them because she wants to look beautiful just for me.

She goes to the cash register with the items, and her face takes on a sad expression when she sees the relatively expensive total.

"I'm not sure if I want to spend that much," she says glumly.

"Hey, I could buy them for you if you'd like," I offer.

"Oh, no—you really don't have to do that."

"Don't be silly. I think you should have them."

"Well... Okay, I guess. That's so kind of you. I appreciate it a lot!"

The sum is paid, and the items are put into a bag for her. After we exit the store, she comes up close to me, putting her arms around me. She thanks me sincerely as I also put my arms around her in response. While we remain in our embrace, I forget about everything else around us and become lost in the moment. Bonding at the mall some more, we continue to walk, visiting other places all around. When we come across a large fountain that shoots water up nearly to the ceiling, we sit down together on a nearby bench to watch it.

### Chapter 4

Ascending the Staircase

After our adventure at the mall, Misty offers to give me a tour of her house when I casually ask her a few questions about it mid-conversation, such as how many rooms it has. Once we arrive, she begins to show me around the place. She leads me to the living room, which I've already had a glimpse of previously. The blinds of the large window on the left wall are open, allowing light from the sun to enter inside and illuminate the room.

"That's quite a nice television set you have there," I comment as I point to the forty-inch flat-screen TV.

"Yep! I rarely watch it though, but maybe that's something we can do later on."

Next, she leads me to the kitchen. Being that it's connected to the living room, I've seen it also earlier in the day. There are pots and pans and cutlery and various other things that belong in a kitchen all lined up neatly. Connected to the kitchen is a small room that branches off in two ways: a door on the left and a hallway to the right. Beyond the door is the entrance to the garage, which houses Misty's parked car. We go down the hallway and turn left at the bathroom door, continuing until we reach yet another door.

"This is the spare bedroom," Misty says as we walk in, turning the light on.

During our brief visit to the room, I take a good look and absorb the pristine surroundings. The air in this room has a very fresh smell, like that of newly cleaned laundry. In the center of the room, there's a white bed and a nightstand next to it with a lamp standing on it. There's a window on the right side, through which rays from the sun enter and bathe the room with the glow of white light. On the same side the doorway is on, there's a different set of doors, presumably leading to a closet. A wooden cabinet with a mirror on top of it is pushed up against the wall on the left side.

"I'll show you my room next," Misty says.

She leads me back through the kitchen, through the living room, and up a set of stairs. I wasn't expecting to get to see her personal room, and it makes me feel as though I'm being allowed into an exclusive club where we're the only two members. After ascending the staircase, we keep going, and soon, we're at the entryway to Misty's room.

"Come on in! You can take a seat," she calls to me, sitting down on her bed and tapping twice on the spot next to her.

I walk in and stand nearby for a few seconds before plopping myself down onto the bed. I look around, noting that the layout of this room is similar to the spare room, only the walls here are painted bright pink, with hot-pink bed sheets to compliment them. She stares at me with her dreamy eyes as I anticipate her next words.

"That was really generous—the way you bought those clothes for me today."

She moves herself closer to me, puts her arms around me, and gives me a little kiss on the cheek.

"You're very welcome, cutie," I say to Misty, with her arms still around my waist.

"If you'd like, I can put on one of those outfits for you. Which one do you like more?" she asks as she temporarily pulls away.

"You can choose one; that way, it'll be a little surprise."

Retrieving the light-yellow shirt and pair of shorts, she steps off to the side to change and emerges shortly afterward wearing them.

"This one matches your blonde hair perfectly, baby," I compliment her and the outfit.

"Awww, you're so sweet!"

At the back of my mind, I wonder whether it's too soon to be calling her that, but it just comes out naturally. She sits next to me once again and inches her way closer and closer to me. For several minutes, we sit like that, her arm around my side and mine around hers.

"If you want, we can try to see if there's anything good on TV right now," Misty suggests.

We make our way back downstairs to the living room and take a seat on the couch together. Reaching over, she picks up the remote lying on a small table next to the couch and then turns the television on. The large display is as bright and colorful as I would've imagined. After flipping through several channels, she stops at one which is showing an episode of something that looks interesting.

"Oh, I love this show. I used to watch it all the time," I say.

"I like this one too actually, so let's watch!"

The episode only began a few minutes ago, so we still have plenty of it left to enjoy. After that program ends, we continue watching several shows that follow on the same channel. Before we know it, several hours pass, and it's starting to get late. The TV is very entertaining, but hours of sitting always manages to wear me out anyway. The more tired I get, the more difficult it becomes to even keep my eyes open.

"Are you getting sleepy?" Misty asks in a caring tone as she gently nudges my side, her voice suddenly awakening me.

"Yeah, I guess I am. It's probably time for me to get some rest," I admit to her.

"Since you're really sleepy, I'm sure you don't want to wait for me to drive you back, so you can stay in the guest bedroom if you'd like."

I'm a bit surprised that she'd let me do that, but being that she's always so kind, it may as well not be so unexpected.

"That's fine by me if it's okay with you."

"Of course! Besides, I'm getting a little tired myself, so I don't want to drive," she says before letting out an adorable yawn.

Misty stands up and waits for me to get up off of the couch before escorting me to the spare bedroom. Once we get there, I lie down on the bed and let out an exhausted sigh.

"Is it comfortable for you?" she asks me.

"It's perfect. Thanks for letting me stay here tonight."

"It's the least I could do after the kindness you showed me today. If you need anything else, then you know where to find me," Misty says to me from behind the doorway.

"Okay, good night."

"Good night. Sleep well," she replies, quietly closing the door before making her way to her room.

I fall asleep within minutes, only wishing that I could stay here every night.

### Chapter 5

On the Beach

"Wake up, sweetie," a soft voice calls to me as I begin to open my eyes. I look to see that it's Misty, who lightly nudges my side.

"Good morning. What time is it?" I ask in a tired voice.

"Hey there, sleepy head! It's 8 o'clock in the morning," she informs me.

This is far earlier than I normally wake up when I don't have anything particular in mind that I want to do.

"I can tell you're making breakfast," I comment, noticing the appetizing scent of something cooking downstairs in the kitchen.

"Yep, I'm making pancakes and waffles with syrup. Come have some!"

"I'll be down soon. Just give me a few minutes."

"Alright, I'm still finishing them anyway, so I should probably get back to it," she replies before exiting the room.

I take a look out the window over to my left, noting that the sun is shining brightly onto the grass, the sidewalk, and everything around them. After about three minutes, I lift the covers off of myself, get out of bed, and proceed to ready myself. Once I'm done, I go downstairs to join Misty for our morning meal. I don't ordinarily eat much for breakfast, but I can tell this is certainly not going to be an ordinary day.

"Hey, you're just in time!" Misty says when I arrive at the kitchen table and see that there's a place being set for me.

She puts a plate on my spot of the most delicious-looking pancakes and waffles covered in syrup I've ever seen. As soon as we're both seated, I take my fork and grab the first pancake from atop the stack.

"Well, how are they?" Misty asks me shortly after I take a bite of it.

"These are just as delicious as they look. You did a great job making them," I compliment her fantastic cooking.

"Thanks! I'm glad you think so," she says, smiling at my kind response. "Pancakes have got to be one of my favorite breakfast foods," Misty declares when she tries one herself.

"The waffles are very tasty as well. They have a nice crunch to them, and the syrup just makes them even better," I comment after trying one of the waffles on my plate shortly after finishing my first pancake.

Misty then also tries one of her own waffles and agrees that they came out tasting very good. While we're eating, she stares into my eyes, and I stare back into hers; our eyes convey far more emotion than any words could.

"I checked the weather this morning, and it says it'll be sunny all day today, so I was thinking... Would you like to go to the beach with me?" Misty suddenly asks in an even more excited voice than usual once we're both nearly finished with our meal.

"Sure! That sounds like fun actually. I've never been to a beach before," I answer her without needing to think for very long before deciding.

When we both finish eating, Misty picks up her plate and walks over to me, asking if I'm finished with mine. I tell her that I am indeed done and offer to help out by cleaning it. We go to the kitchen sink to wash them, and she puts the now-clean plates neatly onto the rack next to the sink. Misty then goes back to her room to retrieve a few things.

"Are you ready? Let's go!" she says to me energetically when she returns with her purse, a towel, and her bikini.

I confirm that I have everything I need, so we both head for the door.

* * * * *

We begin to approach the beach after about a thirty-minute drive. Usually, I'd fall asleep from such a lengthy car ride, especially being that I woke up early today, but of course, talking to Misty is always enough to keep me alert. To our surprise, we find that there aren't as many people here as we expected. We reckon there will be more later on in the day, but there must not be very many now because of how early in the day it still is. We're both fine with that because it means that the two of us, more or less, have the beach to ourselves and can easily relax.

We park beside a tree, where there's plenty of shade so that the car does not become overly hot when we return. Shortly after I step out into the sunlight, Misty gets out of her car and approaches me as I stand, admiring its rays.

"You were right. It _is_ really nice outside today."

"It really is beautiful out here, isn't it?" she replies as she gives me a smile that's just as warm as the sun above us. "I'll be right back. I'm going to change into my bikini," Misty says when we approach the restrooms after walking for a little bit.

I can't wait to see what she looks like in that bikini. Although I knew she'd look hot, nothing could've prepared me for how sexy she is when I actually see her come out. The bra and panties are both bright pink and look great together with her narrow waist in the middle. The perfection that is her figure would be difficult to describe accurately with words.

"Wow, I see you're a sexy beach-ready babe," I can't help but say as Misty approaches me.

"Awww, thanks, hon. You're too kind."

We return briefly to Misty's car so that she can leave her regular clothes there. She puts on a pair of sunglasses, making her look like an exquisite, gorgeous model that I might see on the cover of a magazine, only she isn't exactly like those models—she's so much better.

Misty takes my hand and holds it in hers when we start walking toward the ocean on the sand. The deep blue and brilliant tan both shimmer in the light, just like Misty's beautiful blonde hair does. I'm very fortunate to be here and experience this day with her.

We choose a spot at random that isn't too far from the ocean but far enough that the waves won't disturb us. After we both apply sunscreen, I watch Misty unroll the towel and place it down onto the warm sand below. I join her in lying down on it, and we both enjoy sunbathing in the summer light. Whenever I look over to Misty, I see her lying there, so relaxed in her mesmerizing beauty.

An idea hits me while I scan the area around us and see the way the rays of sunlight beat down on the sand. I reach over to pick a handful of it up and let it run through my fingers.

"Hey, we could build a sandcastle," I suggest, looking over at Misty.

"That sounds like fun actually! I think I may have some buckets and shovels in my car. I'll go check and see what I have," she says before standing up.

It's not that long of a walk, so there ends up being no issue with returning and getting stuff if needed. When Misty comes back shortly afterward, she's carrying a green plastic bucket with her.

"I found this bucket, but I haven't got any shovels," she announces as she approaches, showing me the item she retrieved.

"That's alright, since we can just dig with our hands. But if you don't want to ruin your nails, you can leave the digging to me," I somewhat subtly compliment her shiny, glittery pink fingernails that have a lovely sparkle in this outdoor light.

"Nah, it's alright. I'll be fine."

We relocate ourselves and our things to a spot several feet away, where the sand is wet and thus able to stick together better. Misty then sets the bucket down, and we begin filling it. As we're performing this task, Misty's hands and mine often touch; I like the sensation of her sand-covered hands touching me as well as the occasional accidental pokes from her fingernails. Once we fill it to the top, I turn the bucket over swiftly and then carefully lift it up to reveal a freshly made, basic sand tower.

"That's pretty good," I say, admiring the structure, which is holding its shape nicely.

"Let's make another one here right next to it," Misty suggests, pointing to a spot near the object we just made.

We repeat this process four times, creating a square, with the upside-down bucket-shaped structures acting as the vertices.

"Maybe we can carefully make some cylinders on top of these," I suggest after considering for a moment what we can add next.

"Yeah, we can try that. Hopefully the whole thing will still stay up."

We make the cylinders short to ensure that they will not collapse and ruin the rest of the sand castle with their added weight. Once that's finished, Misty and I decide to also place a small sphere on top of each of the four cylinders and some more all around the entire structure for further decoration. Using a few sticks, we then carefully carve out some designs into the four main bucket-shaped towers. I enjoy watching the gentle movement of Misty's hand as she carefully works on those. Now we've finished and are very pleased with what we've made.

"This came out looking really cool," I comment as we sit back, admiring the sand castle.

"That was some great teamwork!" Misty replies as she moves closer to me. A moment later, she asks, "Do you wanna go for a walk now?"

"Good idea. I need to move around after all that sitting."

We stand up, leaving our creation and other things behind for the time being. We probably don't have to worry too much about having our stuff taken or the sand castle being ruined, since there's hardly anyone around. Misty and I hold hands but don't speak for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sunlight, the cooling breeze, and the view of the ocean that extends out as far as the eye can see. The sounds of seagulls and tides rolling and tumbling beside us are also very therapeutic.

"Mmm... I love the salty air; it makes my skin so soft," Misty breaks the silence.

"Yeah, I can even detect the saltiness by smell. This is what I like the most about California—the sun and the beaches."

I reach out to touch Misty's waist to see just how soft she really is. I gently run my hand along her side, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. Her skin is incredibly smooth and, indeed, does feel slightly damp to the touch from the moisture content in the air.

"Ooo!" she moans lightly.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you're soft!" I tell her, looking her in the eyes.

"You're flattering me, babe!" she replies, giggling.

She puts her arms around me, kissing me on my cheek. We stare into each other's eyes for a moment before we continue walking along. After twenty-five minutes, we decide to head back to our previous location.

"I just remembered that I have a beach ball. Let's play something!" Misty says joyfully as we near our spot.

I've always thought that beach balls are fun because of just how colorful they are. Whenever I see one, it always reminds me of summer and makes me want to go to the beach or swimming pool. Misty retrieves the deflated ball from her car and comes back, inflating it and tossing it to me. It's very large, so I have to use both of my hands when I catch it and toss it right back to her. We play a little game in which we hit the ball back and forth to each other, seeing how long we're able to keep it up in the air. Not only is it very fun, but it's also perhaps the best exercise I've gotten in a long time, and luckily, it's still early enough in the day that it isn't too hot to prevent any physical activity.

After a while, we become tired and decide to lie down for a little while to rest before heading out and going back to Misty's place. It's the middle of the afternoon when we leave, and right before we do, we decide to knock down our sandcastle just for fun, since someone or something else is going to eventually anyway. When we arrive at her house, we both plop down onto the beige couch together and reminisce about our exciting day.

"That was so much fun! I'm really glad we went to the beach today," Misty says to me.

"I really enjoyed myself too. That was definitely something special," I reply.

"Do you wanna go out somewhere for dinner tonight?" she turns to me and asks a few minutes later, twirling a few strands of her hair in her fingers.

"Sure, that sounds like a great idea," I reply.

### Chapter 6

Crunchy, Juicy Chicken

"Babe, wake up—we're going out for dinner soon," I hear that familiar voice awaken me from my brief nap.

"Oh, hey! I'm just about ready, but before we go to the restaurant, I think we should stop by my apartment so I can change into something else."

Realizing that I've been wearing these same clothes since I got to Misty's house, I decide I want to wear something a little bit nicer for this occasion. I partially open my eyes and get up into a sitting position. With my eyes only half open, I turn to look at Misty, who's already seated on the edge of the bed. It then also occurs to me that we've not yet decided which restaurant we'll be eating at.

"Did you have a particular place in mind that you wanted to go to?" I ask her.

"Not really. What do you like to eat?" she replies.

"I'd say chicken is probably my favorite food, especially fried chicken or chicken strips," I answer after thinking about it for a moment.

"Mmm... Chicken sounds good. I like it a lot too. I think I may know where we can go."

"Awesome then. I guess I'll just take some time to wake myself up a bit, and then we can head out."

Once I get my bearings and make my way to the living room, I find Misty sitting and reading a fashion magazine whilst waiting for me.

* * * * *

We arrive at my apartment, and I step inside to find some clean, fresh, and nicer-looking clothes to put on before leaving and hopping back into Misty's car. Once I have my seat belt on, we're off to our next destination.

"You look nice," Misty compliments my blue-and-red plaid shirt.

"Thanks. Oh, and I forgot to ask—what restaurant did you decide on?"

"I thought that KFC would be nice, since we both agreed that we like chicken."

I'm delighted that Misty chose KFC, being that it's one of my favorite places to eat at. I've been to KFC many times with Andy, but we always ordered our meals to go and enjoyed them either at his house or my apartment. During the brief drive, I stare out the window, watching street lights and car headlights flash by on the road, and soon, we arrive at our local KFC. I have my arm around Misty as we make our way toward the entrance. As we walk inside, I can smell the characteristic aroma of fried chicken coming from the kitchen almost instantly. My mind has been so preoccupied with the gorgeous Misty right next to me that I haven't even thought about what I'd like to order. We're greeted by a friendly individual standing behind the counter.

"Hello, what can I get for you two today?"

"Do you think we should get an eight-piece bucket of extra-crispy fried chicken?" Misty turns to me and asks for my input.

"That sounds fine to me," I reply.

"Would you like that as a meal?" the person taking our order asks.

"What does the meal come with?" I answer with a follow-up question.

"It comes with two large sides and four biscuits," he explains.

"Alright, let's do that then. I'll have the potato wedges for my side," I respond.

"I'll have mashed potatoes for the second side," Misty chimes in.

"I'd also like a medium drink with that," I add.

"You know what? I think I'll have a medium drink as well," Misty decides.

The man at the register asks if that'll be all for us, and when we confirm that it is, he announces the total, and Misty reaches into her purse, handing him her debit card. Misty's card is then handed back to her after being swiped through the reader.

"Alright, your order will be ready soon," he says, handing us drink cups in the size we requested.

We both decide to fill our cups with Coca-Cola at the drink-filling station nearby. We then find an empty table near a window and sit down across from each other as we wait for our food to be brought out to us.

"So what do you like to do in your free time?" I make conversation with Misty, curious to learn more about her.

"Hmmm... I'd say my favorite thing to do is draw. Other than that, I like shopping for new clothes, and I also occasionally do yoga," she replies, taking a sip of her delicious, ice-cold Coca-Cola.

"Drawing is pretty cool. I admire people who can do that, even though I'm not that good at it myself. I should've figured you're good at it—the way you made those neat decorations on our sandcastle."

"My job as a fashion designer involves a lot of drawing, which is the main reason I decided to go into that field."

"That makes sense. I'd be interested if you showed me how you draw at some point," I suggest.

"Sure, we can totally do that sometime."

We chat about out mutual interest in pencil drawing for a few more minutes before our meal is ready and brought to our table. It looks very fresh, and steam is rising from the top of the paper bucket containing the crispy chicken.

"It's pretty hot. We should probably wait a few minutes for the chicken to cool down," Misty says after placing the bucket in the center of the table.

"Of course. In the meantime, though, these potato wedges are really tasty," I remark as we begin to dig into the other things in the meal.

"Mmm... And these mashed potatoes are great too," she comments.

"Potatoes are just awesome in general, aren't they?"

"Yep, they definitely are!"

In a few minutes, once the chicken cools down to a reasonable level, we begin eating it too.

"This is really good!" I say as soon as I take a bite of that crunchy, juicy chicken.

"I agree—sooo good!" Misty says, looking right at me.

We each get through three pieces of chicken, two biscuits, and our respective sides before neither of us can eat another bite.

"I guess we should take the last two pieces of chicken to go. You can put them in your fridge and eat them later, or we can share them," I suggest.

"Good idea. We can heat them up again next time I invite you to my place," Misty replies.

We ask for a to-go box so that Misty can save the chicken for next time, and then she drives me back to my apartment. Once we're there, she escorts me to my front door, and we stand in front of it, with her staring into my eyes. Even though it's dark outside at this hour, there's enough lighting around that I can see her pretty face, especially the reflection coming off the brightest part of her eyes.

"That was really nice of you to pay for dinner tonight," I thank Misty.

"Oh, it was nothing really. I've had such an amazing time with you these last few days, and we'll get together again real soon. I promise," she says, wrapping her arms around me.

I, likewise, put my arms around Misty, pulling her close to me, and she rests her head on my shoulder; I could hold her like this forever. The delicate fragrance of shampoo in her hair smells so lovely. I gently rub her back for a few minutes, and she kisses me on the cheek several times with her soft pink lips, leaving a few faint lipstick marks, before she has to go. From the driver's seat of her car, she waves and blows me another kiss before going off into the distance.

### Chapter 7

In the Pool

It's the middle of the afternoon on the day after my KFC outing with Misty, and I decide to give her a call because I keep remembering how much I've enjoyed spending the last few days with her. Since I'm now starting to feel like a part of Misty's life, I'm sure she won't mind and won't feel like I'm interrupting any of her daily activities. With that in mind, I pick up my phone and dial her number with confidence.

"Oh, hey there! How are you doing today?" she answers in a happy tone.

"I'm doing pretty good. I've just been thinkin' about you and how much fun we had together, especially yesterday at the beach and then with dinner at KFC."

"I know—I had a great time too! Hey, I have an idea: Do you want to go to the swimming pool? The weather is really nice right now."

"That sounds like a splendid idea."

"Great! Then I'll come by and pick you up real soon. I just want to finish doing my laundry here," Misty explains.

"Yeah, that's fine. Looking forward to seeing you soon."

* * * * *

About forty minutes after our conversation on the phone, I hear the sound of Misty's car nearing.

"So... What've you been up to today?" I make small talk as I take a seat.

"Not a whole lot. I went out to buy some groceries early this morning. Later, I went to the gym, and of course, as you know, I just did my laundry. What about you?"

"Yeah, I haven't done a whole lot today either. Right before I decided to call you, I was playing some Quake co-op in my favorite online server. It automatically downloads a new, random map for me to play when I finish one, which is always a good thing."

We talk some more about each of our days, and I begin to realize how boring everything seems when Misty isn't around with me. From the description of her day, I can tell she's in a similar situation as well.

"Is it okay if we stop by Target first?" Misty asks. "I have to run an errand to get a few things. It won't be too long," she adds.

"No problem. Go for it."

While at the store, I see something that could make our pool trip even more fun.

"Hey, we should get one of these inflatable inner-tube things. It looks kind of cool," I suggest, pointing at a box with a picture of one on it.

"The transparent yellow one looks pretty," Misty says.

"Yeah, I also like that one. Speaking of colors, which one is your favorite? Mine is definitely orange."

"Hmmm... I'd have to say my favorite color is probably purple, but I also like sky blue and hot pink. Hard to say—I love colorful things in general!" she answers after thinking about it for a few seconds.

"I like colorful things also. I think the transparent yellow material of that inner tube would look awesome on the blue of the pool water."

We get the inner tube, and Misty finishes acquiring the other things she needs before we leave Target.

* * * * *

When we arrive at the pool, we find that there's nobody else around, meaning we can be alone together. I always enjoy spending time with Misty when we're by ourselves and there's peace and quiet. The scent of chlorine from the aquamarine-blue swimming pool, together with white sunlight reflections that move with the water, perfectly capture the essence of summer.

"I'm going to change into my swimsuit. Be back in a minute," Misty says.

"Okay, go ahead. I'll start by opening and inflating this inner tube."

I sit down on one of the lawn chairs and begin opening the box of the pool toy. I'm impressed by how neatly the item is folded up into a little square out of the package; it's definitely one of those sorts of things that you'd never be able to figure out how to get back to its original state once you undo it. As soon as I start handling it, I can tell it's made of vinyl plastic by its smooth, rubbery, shiny texture.

While I'm in the middle of inflating the inner tube, Misty comes back, and my attention shifts to her mesmerizing attractiveness. She's wearing a lovely light-purple bikini that has dark-purple sparkly beads in it.

"Whoa, you look really... hot!" are the only words I can muster.

"Awww, thanks, sweetie!" Misty responds, smiling and giggling.

She takes a seat next to me, and I remember that I'm still holding a half-inflated inner tube. Once I finish inflating it, I roll it on its side into the swimming pool, and it makes a small splash when it falls in. I like the way the vibrant blue of the swimming pool and the bright yellow of the torus combine to make a deep shade of emerald green.

"Let's sit by the pool for a little," Misty suggests.

She walks over to the pool, dips her toe into the water, and then sits down on the edge, waiting for me to join her. I'm already wearing my swimming shorts, so all I have left to do now is take my shirt off, which I place next to the towels on the lawn chair.

"Hey, can you apply some sunscreen onto my back?" Misty requests.

"Sure thing. I'll go get it."

I retrieve the item, which is sitting on the lawn chair near the towels, and sit down behind Misty. I squirt some out into my hand and begin slowly rubbing it onto Misty's smooth back. She moans lightly as I continue to massage her, applying the cream in circular motions until there's a nice, even coating all over her back.

"Can you also put some on my front?" she asks kindly.

"Anything for you, sexy," I oblige.

I squirt out more sunblock into my hand and begin spreading it around Misty's sides and front.

"The way you touch me feels so good, baby," she says as I rub her belly.

"There we go. I'd say that's a pretty good amount," I declare when I'm all finished with the sunscreen. I put it back on the lawn chair and return to the poolside, sitting down next to Misty once again.

"Do you wanna try kissing?" she suddenly asks in a playful tone, her eyes half closed.

Although Misty has kissed me a few times before on the cheek, I've never taken the initiative to give her a kiss myself. She leans toward me, closes her eyes, and puckers her lips. At first, with some caution, I slowly move closer to her. My worries all but disappear as soon as I press my lips onto her soft, juicy, shiny, plump pink lips, and we share a wonderful quick kiss.

"Whoa, your lips taste like strawberries," I say in a trance, my face only an inch away from Misty's.

There's no way I can resist those delicious lips right in front of me now, so I go in for another kiss. The passion intensifies into a full-blown make-out session at the poolside as I move my hands down to Misty's waist and she moans in approval. She presses her hands up against my chest, and we indulge in our oral delight for another minute before our lips separate.

"Mmm... That was magical, baby," Misty says, looking at me with a dreamy expression.

We continue sitting by the pool for a little while longer and watch the sun's reflections shifting and warping on the water's surface.

Misty splashes her sexy legs in the pool, and I notice that she has very pretty feet and little toes that are painted light pink, matching her fingernails and her lipstick.

"Let's get in the pool now!" Misty says with excitement before hopping into the water. I watch as she submerges her head in the pool for a second, making her hair dripping wet, and then I join her as well.

"The water is really nice," I remark.

"It feels sooo good against my skin in the sun's heat," Misty says.

I swim toward the doughnut-shaped pool toy, which I've almost completely forgotten about up until this point, and poke my head through the object's central hole, entertaining myself by using it to float.

"Any room in there for me?" Misty asks in a silly tone.

"Of course, beautiful—there's always room for you wherever I am."

She then joins me in the pool toy, which has just enough space for the both of us to share it. The two of us are so close together in there that her whole body is pressed up against mine, and I can also smell the sweet fragrance of shampoo coming from Misty's hair.

"I bet you I can roll this thing from one end of the pool and make it come up to the ground on the other end, all while standing in the water," I say, suddenly getting an idea.

I grab the inner tube and, standing inside the pool near the very edge, try to roll it like a wheel. It barely makes it half of the way across the pool before falling over.

"Hey, let me try that. I bet I can do it better than you!" Misty says playfully.

When she tries to do the same, she gets it about three-fourths of the way across the pool—better than I did, but that's still not making it all the way to the other side, as per the original goal.

"First one to roll it completely across wins the game. My turn now!" I say, retrieving the toy.

We continue with that for about another thirty-five minutes before either of us gets it right. It turns out to be much more difficult than we could've anticipated. In several of my attempts, I had the inner tube hit the edge of the pool, but it didn't quite come up and out of the water. Eventually, Misty is the first to do it successfully, and shortly afterward, we decide to get out of the pool. We lounge on the lawn chairs for a little while before drying ourselves off with the towels and heading out. I deflate the transparent light-yellow torus and do the best I can to stuff it back into the box for safe keeping.

"Do you want to come back to my place so we can have some lunch? I can heat up that chicken we saved from last night," Misty offers.

"That sounds like a plan to me. I _am_ getting kind of hungry, now that you mention it," I reply.

* * * * *

Once we arrive at Misty's house, she places her purse and other belongings on the table next to the couch and begins microwaving the chicken after removing it from the refrigerator. I set myself down onto the couch, and then Misty joins me as we wait for our food to heat up. I put my right arm around her and pull her close to me.

"I really like having someone so adorable to squeeze and keep close to me," I say quietly into her ear.

"Awww, you're just so sweet," she says softly, resting her head on my chest.

We relax in our embrace for three more minutes before the microwave makes several loud beeps, letting us know that our chicken is ready. We sit at the table in the kitchen and start eating.

"This is still pretty good," I remark. "Though it's not nearly as good as it was fresh out of the bucket at KFC," I add.

"I know—that chicken was just something else when it was at KFC," Misty reminisces.

"The only problem is that I think I'll still be hungry after just one piece of chicken," I say.

"Do you wanna make some peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches together?" Misty asks.

"Great idea! PB&J sounds fantastic right about now."

When we're done with the chicken, Misty brings out all of the supplies needed for the sandwiches: fresh white bread, creamy peanut butter, and a jar of jelly. Misty and I both take four slices of bread, enough for each of us to make two sandwiches, and we get to work spreading as much peanut butter and jelly onto the bread as we desire.

"Yum!" Misty says as she bites into one of her sandwiches.

"Peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches are so simple, but yet they just work so well," I say.

We then drink a glass of water, agreeing that we're now full, and retreat to the couch once again. I put one of my arms around Misty's slim waist and hold her hand in the other, feeling the smooth surface of her fingernails.

"I really appreciate you sharing your food with me like that," I say, looking Misty in her eyes.

"Awww, there's no need to thank me. I'm always willing to share with you, hon. What would be the point of having nice things if there was no one special around to share the delight with?"

"You have an excellent point there; success means nothing if you have nobody to share it with," I add.

"So what do you wanna do now?" I ask once our stomachs begin settling down and not feeling so full anymore.

"Hmmm..." Misty says, thinking about it for a moment. "We could play a computer game. Didn't you say you like playing Quake or something?"

"You'd be willing to play that with me? Not many people usually are."

"Well, first-person shooters aren't really my thing, but I'd be more than happy to play with you."

We go upstairs to Misty's room, where her computer is, and I gather all of the necessary files before installing the game and showing her how the controls work. I sit nearby on her bed and start a local server on my phone for Misty to join from her PC.

"Which difficulty do you want to play on?" I ask when we both enter the starting map.

Misty walks directly forward from the start, stepping into the hallway that prints, _This hall selects normal skill._

"Let's do the normal difficulty. That way it won't be too easy or boring."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Whenever you're ready, just turn to the left and enter the slipgate. That'll start the first episode for us."

We enter E1M1 and begin navigating the game's dark hallways together.

"Ooo, this game is spooky," Misty comments while we're in the middle of the level.

"It definitely is, but my favorite thing is the ability to explore and look around the levels."

After about forty-five minutes, we get through eight levels—the first full episode—of Quake together.

"That was cool. We should play more of this some other time," Misty says once we've been teleported back to the episode-selection map.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, babe," I say as Misty comes by to sit next to me on her bed.

"Do you wanna go out for ice cream a little later?" she asks, looking at me.

"Ice cream would be perfect on a hot day like this. I think I'd like to take a little afternoon nap first though. Just wake me up in about an hour."

"Okay, hon. You can rest here if you'd like," she offers me her bed just as I'm about to stand up and go to the guest bedroom.

As soon as I lie down, Misty massages my back with her slow and soothing touch.

"That feels really good, baby," I tell her quietly.

### Chapter 8

My Blonde Angel

I'm woken up by the sound of light kisses; it's Misty, and she's planting them repeatedly on my cheek.

"Ready for ice cream?" she asks quietly once she sees my eyes open.

"Can we go to Baskin-Robbins?" I answer in a somewhat sleepy voice as I get up and stretch.

"Awesome, I was going to suggest Baskin-Robbins too! I'll grab my things and we can go."

After a ten-minute drive, we arrive at our local ice cream parlor of choice and begin looking at the menu, thinking about what to order.

"All of this stuff looks so good that I'm having trouble deciding," I comment.

"I know—everything looks really yummy!"

"Are you two ready to order?" a woman coming up to the register asks us after about a minute of thinking.

"Yeah, I'll have the Made with M&M's Soft Serve Parfait," Misty replies once she and I agree that we've decided.

"And for you, sir?" she asks after pushing a few buttons on the computer, presumably adding the order to a queue.

"I'd like an OREO Layered Sundae," I respond.

She pushes a few more buttons, the total is paid, and we're informed that our order will be brought out to us shortly. Misty and I sit at an empty table near a window, and she starts a conversation by asking me a question.

"Do you like doing arts-and-crafts projects of any kind?"

"I guess I don't do stuff like that too often, but I _have_ actually been working on a pretty cool spiral lanyard made of sixteen strings lately," I answer.

"Oh, lanyards—those are the keychain things made of plastic strings, right? I think I've made one of those before."

"Yeah, pretty much. Making one out of that many strings is exceptionally difficult though, so it's not an ordinary lanyard."

"You'll have to show it to me sometime then," Misty says with an intrigued look.

"I should actually invite you to my apartment at some point later on," I suggest.

Misty starts playing with her hair, twirling a few strands of it in her fingers; I always find it so adorable whenever she does that. About three minutes later, the ice cream arrives at our table. The treats look just as delicious as I would've expected from the menu images. I take a hefty scoop of my OREO Layered Sundae and eat it. The crunchy OREO bits are the perfect complement to the cold, smooth ice cream on this hot summer day.

"Wow, this is very good! How is yours?" I ask Misty.

"It's so delicious! Yours also looks really good. Can I try a bite?"

"Go ahead. And can I also try your M&M thing?"

"Mmm... I love yours too!" Misty says after we temporarily switch ice cream with each other.

"I really like the M&M's mixed into yours also."

Once we've had a taste of each other's ice cream, we return to eating our own. Whenever I look at Misty, it makes me feel good inside seeing her happy and enjoying herself like this.

A few minutes later, I see Andy walk into the store and spot us; he also must want something cold to eat on this hot day, and I certainly can't blame him for that.

"Hey there! Didn't expect to see you here," he greets me.

"Nice to see you too. What's up, buddy?" I reply to him. "Come join us at our table," I offer.

Andy orders himself a simple vanilla ice cream cone and then takes a seat next to me.

"Who's this lovely lady?" he asks.

"Remember Misty from the night club?" I answer.

"Oh, yeah—that's right! You told me about her. I remember now," he says. "Well, since we're all together today, maybe we could do something," Andy suggests once he and Misty have exchanged introductions.

"Sure, I'm down to go somewhere," I reply.

"What did you have in mind?" Misty asks him.

"Perhaps we could go bowling," Andy responds once he's thought about it for a few seconds.

"Bowling would be nice. What about you, Misty? Does that idea sound good to you?" I ask her.

"Sounds like fun! I haven't been bowling in a while, now that I think about it," she answers.

"I haven't either, so I might not be very good at it, but that's alright," I say.

All three of us finish our ice cream treats before we drive to the bowling alley. I go with Misty in her car, and Andy goes by himself in his car.

* * * * *

When we arrive, Andy agrees to pay for everyone. The person behind the counter asks us how many games we'd you like to play, and we decide amongst ourselves that two games should be enough. After we state the sizes for our bowling shoes, we try them on, and upon being satisfied with their fit, we each then move on to pick a bowling ball. Misty and I both choose lighter balls, and Andy gets himself a heavier one.

"I wonder if using a heavier ball will make it easier to knock more of the pins down," Andy questions.

Maybe he has a point there, but even the lightest ball seems relatively heavy to me. I figure they've all been designed to be plenty heavy and equally effective, so I mostly focus on color instead. I get a lime-green ball, Misty a turquoise-blue one, and Andy a dark-red one. The three colors we choose are all really vibrant, and I think they look very nice together.

Once all of that business is out of the way, we make our way over to the main attraction: the bowling lanes, which are more brightly lit than the previous few areas. There is, however, one more thing to take care of before we can begin the game proper: entering our names into a computer in order to keep track of our scores. The bowling order is determined by the order in which the names are entered on the computer.

"Alright, looks like I'm going first," Andy declares.

He walks up to the lane and rolls the ball, knocking down seven pins. Then, for his second turn, he knocks down two additional pins, almost earning a spare.

"Not bad!" Misty comments.

After that, it's Misty's turn to roll the ball twice, and she ends up getting six pins down on her first roll and then two on the second. Now, since it's my turn, I retrieve my bowling ball from the machine and do as the others have, making an effort to keep the ball in the center and away from the gutters. It veers off course to the side, almost rolling into the gutter, but it prevails, so I still manage to get four pins down as well as three more the second time.

Now that each of us has taken a turn, the first frame is completed, and the next one begins. We continue with this cycle until both of our bowling games are completed, taking a short break in between the two to grab something from the soda machine. We thoroughly enjoy ourselves, and nobody cares too much about what the final scores are at the end. We may not be especially good at bowling, but we did the very best we could, and that's all anyone can really ever ask of us.

"Hey, can you take a picture of the two of us on my phone?" Misty asks, referring to herself and me, shortly before we're all about to leave.

We stand side by side, with our arms around each other, and Andy snaps a photo using Misty's cell phone.

"I like the way our first picture together came out. Can you send it to me also?" I request.

Misty transfers the photograph to me using the Bluetooth radios in our devices, and then we head out the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Misty. Well, alright—I'll see you guys later," Andy says to us before making his way to his car.

* * * * *

Misty and I decide to go back to her house, and she says that she'll show me some of her drawings. When we arrive, I take a seat on the beige couch as Misty goes to retrieve the items she wants me to see, returning with a folder which appears to be full of paper. She begins going through the collection and showing me her favorite pieces.

"Oh, here's one I did just last week," she says, showing me a pencil drawing of a forest.

"Wow! That's very impressive, and it's even done in full color."

"Thanks!" Misty responds, moving on to another item.

"I actually like this one a lot too," she says about the next drawing she pulls out, which is a self-portrait.

"Even in black and white and on an eight-by-eleven sheet of paper, you still look so beautiful, baby," I compliment her and the picture, holding it carefully to inspect the lines more closely.

"Awww, thank you," she replies, a faint pink blush becoming visible on her cheeks.

In the drawing, she looks seductively at the viewer whilst lying on a sandy beach. It's so realistic that it almost looks like a photograph, reminding me of when we went to the beach the other day. I never really could understand how some people can manage to create drawings that are so realistic.

"Can you show me how you draw? I'm curious to see the process," I say to Misty.

"Sure! What do you want me to draw?"

"Hmmm... Can you draw a car? That sounds like something that'd be really tough to do accurately," I answer after thinking about it for a moment.

She picks up a mechanical pencil that's lying on the table and gets a blank sheet of paper. I watch as Misty first begins loosely sketching the basic outline of the vehicle. The movements of her hands are very gentle and graceful but also extremely precise. I take note of the fact that she isn't using any sort of reference, such as a photograph; she's relying on her own memory and imagination.

"What type of car is this going to be?" I ask.

"I think we'll make it a Lamborghini."

I continue looking on as Misty starts rendering some of the more specific details, like the windshield, fenders, and wheels.

"Oh, yeah—I was going to ask you this before: What type of car is yours?" I ask her.

"Mine? It's a Mercedes-Benz."

"Cool, I think Andy has a Mercedes also," I respond, finding the coincidence kind of funny.

For the next step of the drawing, after she builds up some more details, she begins shading what will become the darkest parts of the image.

"I find it easier to do the shading by starting with the darkest tones and then adding in the lighter ones," she explains.

After adding additional details, shading some more, and giving it a shadow, the drawing is ready.

"There you go. Maybe it's not perfect, but I think it turned out pretty good," Misty says as she holds up the completed drawing for me.

"I have no idea what you mean by 'not perfect.' I think it looks awesome!" I cheer.

"Here—you can have it if you'd like then," she offers in a friendly tone, signing her name in the corner.

"Alright, thanks! Leave it here for time being, and I'll be sure to take it with me later on."

She sets it down on the table, and then we look at a few more of her other drawings together. Afterward, once we're done, she puts the folder containing them back into storage and suggests we relax by watching some television.

I get excited when I see that my favorite show—King of the Hill—is on. Tonight's episode is called "Old Glory," which also happens to be one of my all-time favorites. Only a few seconds into the program, the sound of thunder booms outside, followed by light rain. Because Misty is close to me, I can feel that she's a little bit startled by how loud it is.

"I'm surprised it's raining at all today because it was so sunny this morning. I guess that's just the way it is sometimes," Misty comments.

"It's probably going to be raining for a while, so maybe I should stay here tonight," I suggest.

"You're more than welcome to do so, hon," Misty agrees warmly.

"Wouldn't want to be walking or driving in this type of weather," I remark as I hear the sound of rain pelting the ground outside more vigorously.

About two minutes into the program, I begin laughing about something I see on the screen.

"What's so funny?" Misty asks, on the verge of joining me in laughter herself.

"That blonde character kind of looks like an animated version of you!"

"I think you're right actually—she kind of does!"

Once it starts getting late, Misty suggests we turn in for the night. We make our way to her room, and she changes into her pajamas, which are a relaxing shade of bright purple and are covered in white polka dots. I put on something lighter as well and lie down on the bed, waiting for her. Misty gets in and sets the lamp, located on her side, to a dimmer setting, but it's still bright enough in the room that we can see around. She moves closer to me, and I wrap my arms around her. Now we're close enough that both of us can hear the sound of each other's breathing.

After a while, I can see that Misty is very tired and can barely keep her eyes open. While she's staring at me, with her eyes already three-fourths closed, an exceedingly loud lightning noise roars outside, and the window lights up like the flash from a camera. Misty lets out a tiny gasp in surprise, and I squeeze her even closer to me. She closes her eyes and rests her head on my chest, a few strands of her blonde hair tickling my neck. As I start slowly rubbing her back through the soft fabric of her pajamas, she lets out a little moan of pleasure. Soon, I begin getting sleepy myself.

"Good night, my blonde angel," I tell Misty, lightly kissing the top of her head.

That's when I notice that she's already asleep in my arms.

### Chapter 9

High Heels, Jeans, and Simple Things

Upon waking up, I notice that it's still dark outside. The thunderstorm from last night has largely subsided, but I can hear the tapping of light rain. Misty is still pressed up against me, sleeping soundly. I check my phone to see what time it is, being careful not to wake the angel next to me. As it turns out, it's only 6 AM, so I decide to continue resting for a while longer.

When I awaken the next time around, it's 8 AM, and Misty is already up and now in the restroom, where she's about to start putting on makeup.

"Good morning, babe," she says when she notices that I'm no longer sleeping.

"Hey, sweet pea. I see you're looking gorgeous, even without any makeup on," I compliment her whilst leaning myself against the wall next to the bathroom door.

"Awww, thanks!" she replies. "Oh, hey—my friend Cindy and I are going to Victoria's Secret at the mall. Do you wanna come with us?" Misty offers.

"With another woman? I'm not so sure about that," I reply, taking a seat on the edge of the bed that's adjacent to the door.

"Oh, come on—Cindy is _really n_ ice, and I think you two could also be friends."

"Maybe so, but wouldn't it be weird going to a place like Victoria's Secret with some strange woman?" I ask.

"Cindy isn't a stranger to me," Misty assures me.

"Well, okay then. I guess I'll come with you two if you think it's a good idea."

"I think it'll be lots of fun," she says.

Misty has finished applying her makeup and comes over to me. She's wearing sunglasses, shiny black high heels, and tight jeans that perfectly hug the lovely curves of her legs. Her blue T-shirt shows off her inviting midsection, so I put my hands around her slender waist and give her a light squeeze. She moans softly in response and starts slowly swaying her hips from side to side as I continue holding her. Leaning toward me, she plants a kiss on my cheek, marking me as her own with a faint pink lipstick smudge.

"Does this mean I'll get to help you pick out bras and undies?"

"Mmm... Yeah, I wanna be your sexy bikini model," Misty responds seductively.

"You're sexier than any model I've ever seen," I reply, pulling her closer to me.

She places her hands around my face, and we share a passionate kiss.

"Let's go downstairs and have some breakfast," Misty suggests after we pull our lips apart with a _mwah_.

"Good idea. Do you have cereal of any kind?"

"Yes, I should have some Honeycombs," she answers.

We make our way downstairs to the kitchen, and I take a seat at the table. Misty brings out two bowls, two spoons, the box of Honeycombs cereal, and a gallon of milk, setting one of the bowls down in front of me. I take one of the spoons and watch as she pours some cereal for herself and then adds some milk. She passes the cereal box to me and I do the same. A few minutes later, when we're both finished eating breakfast, we wash our bowls in the sink, and Misty puts them and the cereal box back where they were.

"We're going to Cindy's house to pick her up now," she explains.

I change into some fresh clothes, and we're on our way to Cindy's house, whom I'll be seeing for the very first time.

"I hope Cindy is nice," I say to Misty somewhat anxiously.

"I'm sure you two will get along fine," she reassures me.

* * * * *

As it turns out, Cindy doesn't live very far away, so we arrive in a relatively short amount of time. Once we get out of the car, Misty encourages me to come along by motioning to me with her hand. We walk to the front door together, where Misty rings the doorbell. When she does so, I step behind her and "hide." For about fifteen seconds, we wait, even though it feels like more than that. A strikingly attractive, tall blue-eyed blonde woman answers the door and comes out.

"Hey, Misty!" Cindy greets her longtime friend.

The two are a perfectly matching pair; Cindy looks similar to Misty, except Cindy's golden-blonde hair is a little bit longer, and she's wearing bright-red lipstick, along with large circular earrings.

"Come on in. I'm still getting ready," she says before looking in my direction, adding, "And who's this?"

"Come here and say 'hi'—Cindy won't bite you!" Misty coaxes, stepping to the side so that Cindy can get a better look at me.

"Hello," I say softly, looking at the ground.

"Awww, you're sooo adorable! You're not used to meeting attractive women, are you?" Cindy teases, she and Misty both giggling together playfully.

Her joke lightens the mood, and I feel much more at ease knowing that Cindy is very friendly. The three of us head inside, and Cindy leads Misty and me to the living room so that we can sit on the couch during our brief wait. The hint of citrus-scented air freshener makes the room smell very nice and clean.

"Take a seat. I'll be back in a few minutes," Cindy tells us before walking off toward another room.

Misty and I relax on the black leather couch as we wait for Cindy to finish getting ready. In front of this sectional couch, there's a coffee table sitting atop the carpet flooring. On the ceiling, a large fan spins above us, and I can spot a chandelier in the room across from the one we're in currently. There are several bookcases lining the wall leading to the kitchen, which is itself connected to this room.

"Cindy has a very nice house," I comment after a few minutes of looking around.

"Yep, she certainly does!" Misty says.

Another minute or so passes before Cindy calls out "I'm ready!" from across the hallway, the tapping sound of her high heels becoming more audible as she approaches us. We all exit through the front door and get into Misty's car.

"Mind if I turn on some music?" Misty asks along the way.

"Not at all. Go for it," I reply, having no objection to it.

Misty turns on her car's built-in radio to a station playing country music, more specifically, a song called "My Eyes."

"Oh, hey—this is a pretty good one. You two listen to country also?" I ask, being a fan of that genre myself.

"Yeah, I'd say it's one of my favorite kinds of music," Cindy answers.

"I like it a lot as well," Misty chimes in.

"I'm actually originally from Texas, where this is very popular," Cindy explains.

"That's pretty cool," I say before asking her, "So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a substitute English teacher, though I've been away for three years while earning my master's degree."

"You have a master's degree? That's pretty impressive," I reply.

"Yeah, Cindy is one smart babe!" Misty adds.

"That definitely appears to be the case!" I say, laughing.

"Oh, you two are so kind," Cindy responds, blushing a little and giggling.

* * * * *

After a while, we arrive at the mall. Misty and I walk with our hands together and our fingers interlocked as the three of us make our way toward the entrance and then further back to the section where all of the various clothing stores are. Although I've never been inside a Victoria's Secret store before, I roughly know what to expect.

As we walk inside, I look around at the dazzling array of bras and panties, among other items, which are all arranged neatly on hot-pink tables. The smooth, glittery floor is a shade of deep red and resonates with each _tap_ of Misty's and Cindy's high heels as the two begin by viewing bras. Maybe it's crazy, but I'm so lucky to be here with two sexy women like this. These are the types of things I like seeing—high heels, jeans, and simple things.

"I bet these would look perfect on you," I remark to Misty, referring to a shiny red bra-and-panties set.

"Hey, I think you could be right! If you like these, I might just have to get them," she replies, looking at what I'm pointing to.

"I wanna see you model that sexy shiny red bikini for me later," I say playfully as I put my arms around Misty and give her a hug from behind.

"Ooo, baby!" she responds, giggling.

"You two are so adorable together!" Cindy comments.

"Can you take a picture of us?" Misty asks her.

Cindy gets her phone out and opens the camera application on it. Misty faces me, puts her hands on my shoulders, and poses with one of her legs kicked up in the air. I put my arms around her waist, and we stare into each other's eyes.

"Got it!" Cindy declares after snapping a photo.

"So cute!" Misty says when she shows us the picture.

"I can text it to both of you," Cindy offers us.

Cindy sends the image to Misty and then requests my phone number so that she can do the same for me as well.

"I wish I had someone to hold me like that..." Cindy confesses.

"How's it possible that such a beautiful woman like yourself doesn't have anyone to do that with?" I ask, surprised.

"To be honest, I guess I don't really know why. But awww, Misty was right—you _are_ so sweet."

Misty and Cindy continue looking at some other items while I tag along. I notice Cindy picking up a lacy purple bra.

"I bet that'd look really hot on you," I suggest.

"You have a good eye!" Misty says, turning to also look at the thing in question. "Now let's find some panties to go with that."

"How about these?" I ask once I find a matching pair of lacy purple panties.

"Hmmm..." Cindy thinks about it. "Yeah, I think these will look good together," she replies.

The three of us look around the store casually for a little while longer before leaving.

"Well, now that both of you have found something perfect, why don't we go grab some hot dogs? I think I'm getting kind of hungry," I announce.

Misty and Cindy both agree that they'd like to eat something as well, so we exit Victoria's Secret after paying for the items and make our way to the food court. We order three hot dogs with ketchup and mustard on them, one for each of us, and then we find an empty table to sit at. As we're eating, I make casual conversation with Cindy.

"So... Since you have a master's degree in English, I take it you're really into writing?" I ask her.

"Of course! I even enjoy writing stories in my spare time," she responds, making eye contact with me.

"I do also actually. It's fun being able to imagine doing things that I can't in reality," I say.

"Sometimes, I think about what it might be like if _we_ were characters in someone's story," Cindy wonders.

"It's really funny to think about that! But yeah, it's pretty cool how both you and Misty like doing creative things—Misty with her drawing skills and you with your writing. You two are very talented, and I admire that a lot."

"You know what I don't like? How some people think that blondes aren't smart," Misty chimes in.

"Yeah, definitely. It's really, really annoying," Cindy adds, rolling her eyes.

"We appreciate that at least you take us seriously, and that's what really counts," Misty says to me.

"Any good friend of Misty's is a friend of mine too," Cindy declares.

### Chapter 10

I'll Be Right There

Misty and I have been sending each other text messages over our cell phones for the last few days. She doesn't know it yet, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather, and today I feel somewhat worse even. I'm not sure exactly what it is that I have or where I could've picked it up, but I suspect that it's probably a cold. During the middle of the afternoon, right as I decide to shut my eyes and rest for a little while, I hear my phone ring.

"Hello," I answer in a somewhat sleepy voice.

"Hey, baby!" Misty greets me enthusiastically after two days of not hearing each other's voices.

After a few minutes of conversation in which we update each other about all the things we did recently—or did not do, as the case may be—Misty asks me if I want to go somewhere with her. As of this point, I haven't yet told her about feeling ill just because I didn't think that much of it, but now I realize that I won't be able to actually go anywhere in my current condition.

"I can't, unfortunately. I'm actually feeling kind of sick," I explain to her.

"Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that," Misty responds.

"Yeah, it really sucks..."

"If you want, I can come over and make you some chicken noodle soup or something," she offers.

"Some soup sure would be nice right now," I tell her without hesitation.

"Okay, I'll be right there and bring some soup mix with me."

"Alright, see you soon. Also, you don't have to knock on the door; I don't like sudden noises anyway."

Once the call is over, like I was going to earlier, I shut my eyes and doze off. Not too long after, I hear Misty opening the front door. She arrives so quickly that I haven't even fallen asleep fully yet. I'm in that sort of weird half-awake, half-asleep state. She enters my bedroom, and I shift from my side onto my back so I can see her. As much as I want some hot soup, the only thing I really need right now is to see Misty.

"Hey there. You sure got here fast!"

"How are you feeling?" Misty asks with concern in her voice.

"Not too great," I sigh. "I have a slight headache, my throat is sore, and my muscles feel achy," I complain.

Misty sets her purse down and, still holding the soup mix in her hand, comes to my side. I also notice that, in addition to the soup mix, she brought a few other items, which she has placed near her purse.

"I see you brought more food other than soup," I comment, pointing to the items, wanting to find out what exactly they are.

"Oh, yeah—I brought mashed-potato mix and a bag of frozen tater tots," Misty explains after looking over to where I'm pointing. "Do you have an upset stomach?" she asks as she starts slowly and gently rubbing the area in question with the palm of her hand.

"Actually, yeah, a little bit. Your touch is really soothing though."

"Wow, you're burning up, baby!" she says when she places the back of her hand onto my forehead.

"It's weird because I also feel cold at the same time," I reply.

"Well, I'm gonna prepare this chicken noodle soup for you right away. I'll be back real soon." Right before exiting the room, she also remembers one thing: "Oh, I should put these tater tots in the freezer."

I lie down on my side, shut my eyes, and rest while waiting for Misty to come back. After several minutes, Misty returns carrying two steaming bowls of delicious-smelling soup.

"I decided to make myself some too because it just looked so good," she tells me shortly before I'm about to ask about that second bowl.

"Well, I sure can't blame you for that. It _smells_ good as well."

In addition to this, I notice that she also brought with her a pack of something tasty to supplement the soup.

"Oh, mini croutons! Good thinking," I say.

She sets one of the bowls down onto the nightstand next to me as well as a coaster underneath it.

"Be careful: It's really hot," she cautions me.

"Yeah, we should probably wait a few minutes," I suggest. "I really appreciate you coming over here so fast to help me like this," I thank her sincerely while we're waiting for the soup to cool down.

"Awww, it's no trouble, hon—I care about you."

From her purse, she takes out a maroon-colored netbook and begins to do things on it while the soup is still too hot to eat.

"Oh, you have one of those tiny laptops. That's pretty cool. I haven't seen one of those in a while," I comment.

"Yeah, it's pretty convenient. It even fits in my purse, so I can take it with me and use it to do things that my phone can't."

Another five minutes pass before I decide to try a spoonful of the soup. Even though it's still fairly hot and steam continues rising from the bowl, I figure it's cool enough by now. The first thing I do is pour some of the croutons into my soup. I then stir through it to get a look at its contents. When I inspect it, I see that the soup contains plenty of noodles and decent-sized pieces of chicken. I take a spoonful of broth and some noodles, blowing on it a few times.

"This is pretty awesome soup," I tell Misty after eating the first spoonful.

She puts her computer away and starts eating as well, likewise adding croutons to her soup beforehand.

"I like chicken noodle soup a lot, even when I'm not sick," she declares.

In a matter of minutes, we both finish eating, and Misty takes the bowls back to wash them.

While we're resting and letting the soup settle in our stomachs, I glance over to Misty's beige purse, noting its lustrous pearly shine.

"I really like your purse; it's very pretty," I say.

"Thanks! It's one of my favorites too," she responds.

In bed and without a whole lot to do, I pick up the lanyard I've been making for the last two months and continue working through the massive spider web of plastic strips.

"Remember the sixteen-string eight-by-eight lanyard I told you about? Here it is," I say, showing it to Misty.

"Wow, this is so cool! I've never seen anything like it before," she says with fascination whilst holding the enormous corkscrew-shaped structure.

"I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to make a larger one containing eighteen strings or more. That would be extraordinarily difficult—if it's even possible at all. I'd actually really like to see something like that, especially a ten-by-ten," I add.

She hands it back to me, and I begin assembling the next stitch, a process which will take at least twenty minutes.

* * * * *

"Is your throat feeling any better now?" Misty asks after some time passes.

"The hot soup did help a lot with that, but I still have a lingering headache," I answer.

"Do you want me to bring you an ice pack?"

"An ice pack would definitely be nice right now, yes."

She brings me the requested item, setting it down gently onto my forehead.

"Thank you. Ah, that's much better," I say as the coolness spreads through, dampening the pulsating pain of my headache.

"Maybe you should take a nap and get some sleep," Misty says.

"Now that you mention it, a nap does sound good. You're right—I need the rest anyway."

"Alright, sweetie. I'll be here when you wake up if you need anything,"

Misty rubs my back and hums a tune with her sweet voice, causing me to fall asleep rapidly. When I wake up, I look to my right to see that Misty is, as she promised, still right here on the other side of the bed, using her netbook.

"Oh, hey!" she says, turning to look at me, noticing that I'm awake. "Is your head still hurting?" she asks.

Right as she's mentioning it, I realize that my head doesn't seem to be bothering me as much as it did before the nap.

"It's definitely a lot better now. That ice pack was extremely helpful," I answer.

"Are you hungry?" she asks.

"Hmmm... I could eat. What time is it, for that matter?"

"It's 7 PM," Misty informs me.

"Oh, so I guess that means I've pretty much been sleeping all day, haven't I?"

"Well, yeah, but it's very important that you get plenty of rest."

"That's true, though I still feel bad whenever I have to lie in bed and not do anything for an extended period of time, since I'd much rather spend my time going outside and doing something exciting."

"Don't worry too much about that. There will always be another day for us to have fun," Misty assures me. "Now, you wait here while I go and make some of those tater tots." After a little while, Misty returns with two steaming bowls of tater tots and announces, "Dinner's ready!"

"These look delicious!" I say as we both grab our forks and start digging in. "I guess the nice thing about being sick is the luxury of getting to eat in bed," I add with a hint of laughter.

I take one of the golden, crispy tater tots with my fork and eat it. The outer surface is crunchy, yet the inside is delicately fluffy.

"Mmm... These are great!" Misty comments.

"I know—I was just about to say the same thing."

We both consume all of the tater tots within a matter of minutes, and Misty takes the bowls and forks back to clean them, as per usual.

"Phew, I'm really full now," I declare while we're lying down and resting.

"Me too," Misty says, letting out a cute little yawn. "I think I'm about ready to go to bed. How about you?"

"I should probably sleep. Like you said earlier, I need my rest. However, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to because of my long daytime nap..." I reply.

"Just lie down, and see if you can fall asleep. If not, then it's okay."

Misty gets up to turn the lights off before returning to bed next to me. After trying and trying for nearly thirty minutes to fall asleep, tossing and turning erratically, I conclude that it probably isn't going to happen.

"I can't sleep. I feel cold and restless and my mattress is just so uncomfortable," I groan.

"Let's huddle together; that might help with the cold," Misty offers.

"Well, you certainly are hot, both literally and figuratively," I say jokingly.

"Now try to get some rest, hon, and sleep tight. _I love you_."

"I love you too, baby. Good night."

* * * * *

In the morning, I wake up to the sound of Misty talking on the phone. Upon listening closer to the audio coming from the other end, I can tell that she's talking to Cindy.

"Yeah, he's sick, so I'm taking care of him," I hear Misty say as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

I can see the light-blue sky and bright sunlight through the window. My head doesn't hurt anymore, and my throat hurts to a much lesser extent. I'm still not quite at a hundred percent just yet, but nonetheless, feeling even a little bit better after feeling awful is one of the best feelings there are. Misty is sitting on the edge of the bed and notices that I've gotten up.

"Oh, speaking of which, he woke up just now," she tells Cindy through the phone. She then turns to me and says, "Good morning, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Much better—because of you. If you weren't around to help me, I definitely wouldn't be feeling better this fast," I answer.

"Good! I'm glad you're doing better. Oh, and Cindy says 'hi' and also hopes you get well soon."

Misty holds the phone out closer to me and turns the volume up so that I can hear Cindy's voice through the speaker.

"Hi! Hope you feel better soon," she echoes Misty's words.

I'm not sure if I'm imagining things, but I think I also just heard her blow me a big kiss through the phone.

"Thank you very much, Cindy!" I respond.

"Alright, well, I think I'll call you again later. I'm going to cook breakfast for us here," Misty says, placing the phone back next to her ear.

"Sounds good. Bye bye," Cindy replies.

"You look so hot today. I'd kiss you, but I don't want to risk having you catch what I have if it's contagious," I say to Misty.

"Maybe we can rub our noses together instead; that can be our secret little way of saying 'I love you,'" she suggests in a sensual voice, bringing herself closer to me.

"Awww, come here, adorable," I say as we lightly press our noses together.

"Ooo, I can't help it. I wanna give you a kiss," she says, lightly planting one on my nose. "What would you like for breakfast, babe?" Misty then asks.

"I remember you brought some mashed potatoes with you when you came here, so I think I'd like to try those."

"Oh, yeah—good idea. I'm gonna go ahead and get started on those."

"I think I'm feeling well enough now that I can sit at the table when I eat, but I'll still lie down here while you're making them. Just let me know when they're done," I tell Misty.

With that said, she goes off to prepare our meal. Some time passes, and then she calls out to me from the kitchen.

"Mashed potatoes are ready!"

"Be right there!" I shout back.

Getting out of bed, I enter the kitchen and sit at the table. I find that two bowls of mashed potatoes are already set. Misty is only getting the spoons and pouring glasses of water to go along. As soon as I have the utensil in my hand, I commence eating. Instantly, I'm surprised by how tasty these mashed potatoes are.

"I think these may very well be the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. They're so perfectly creamy and buttery," I compliment her cooking.

"I made them with love just for you," Misty says.

"This reminds me of when, a number of years back, I had a TV dinner with mashed potatoes just like these in it. The other things in there, namely the corn and chicken, were pretty good, but those mashed potatoes were the best I can remember," I relate to her as I relive the memory.

Once we both finish eating, we clear the table and, agreeing that we're both full, go lie down and relax once again.

"I think I'm going to take a nap for a while. Maybe by tomorrow I'll be feeling well enough that we can finally go out somewhere," I say, still feeling some fatigue from my sickness.

"Alright, get some rest, love."

While I lie on my side, Misty gives me a little good-night kiss on the cheek. At some point before I'm fully asleep, she calls Cindy and starts talking with her on the phone.

"Oh, sorry for waking you," Misty apologizes to me, thinking that she's interrupted my nap.

"It may seem counterintuitive, but I actually _want_ you two to keep talking nearby; both of your voices are so soft and comforting," I explain, knowing that Cindy can hear me on the other end of the line.

Misty and Cindy continue talking quietly on the phone nearby, and I fall asleep to the sound of their voices in the background.

* * * * *

When I wake up the next day, I feel very refreshed and ready to go out and do something. The sunlight shines its rays through the window, and it looks like it's going to be a wonderful day today.

"Are you feeling better, love bug?" Misty asks.

Without saying anything, I come up to her, take her in my arms, and kiss her with extremely hot passion.

"Does that answer your question?" I finally say once our lips separate, still hugging her.

"Mmm... baby. Well, I can see you're not feeling sick anymore!"

"Yep, and it's only possible because I have someone like you to take care of me."

"Awww, it was my pleasure!" Misty responds, beaming me a gorgeous smile.

### Chapter 11

Bright-Red Fingernails

"Now that you're feeling better, do you want to go out somewhere?" Misty asks.

"Hmmm... Well, since it's very hot outside today, we could go to a water park. Nothing too extreme—I think I'd like to float in the lazy river, just so I can be outside. Maybe we can even get something to eat afterward," I answer once I've thought about it for a few moments.

"That's a great idea! I'll need to stop by my place to get my swimsuit first though," she remembers.

"That's fine," I say. Then, suddenly, I remember someone else: "Hey, maybe we can also invite Cindy to come with us. I feel kind of sad for her because she seems a little lonely."

"Awww, that's really kind of you. Okay, I'll call her and ask right now," Misty says.

She gets her cell phone and dials Cindy's number. The ringing sound plays for a few seconds before she picks up.

"Hey, Misty. How's it going?"

"The two of us were just thinking of going to the water park to cool off. Would you like to come along with us? We were pretty much just going to go to the lazy river," Misty replies.

She mentions me and notes to Cindy that it was my idea to invite her.

"Sure, I'm not doing anything right now, so I can chill with you two. It'd be appropriate anyway, being that it's sooo hot today," Cindy responds.

"That's exactly what I also said a minute ago," I speak loud enough to make sure the phone picks it up.

"Alright, great! We'll come by to pick you up soon then. I'll text you when I'm there," Misty says.

She grabs her purse, and we get into her car, making our way to Cindy's house. Once we're there, as promised, Misty sends Cindy a message, letting her know that we've arrived. A minute later, Cindy emerges and joins us.

"I still need to make another stop so I can grab my swimsuit," Misty tells her.

"Oh, yeah—I made sure to bring mine with me," Cindy comments.

The only thing left to do now is for Misty to retrieve that necessary item. Once we're at her house, Cindy and I wait in the car for a minute while she grabs her swimsuit and comes back.

"Alright, now we're all set," Misty announces as she sits back down in the driver's seat.

* * * * *

We get to the water park and notice that there are a considerable number of people here. They must've all had the same idea that we did, and I wouldn't blame them one bit.

"We'll go change into our swimsuits real quick now," Misty informs me.

I sit on a nearby bench as I wait for the pair to return. Misty comes back wearing a bright-yellow bikini. I haven't seen Cindy in a bikini yet, and she's wearing a light-blue one with dark-blue polka-dot decorations on it. They are both unquestionably stunning.

"How do we look?" Misty asks playfully, knowing how sexy I think she is.

"You two are _definitely_ the hottest babes around here!" I tell Misty and Cindy, with the two responding in laughter along with me.

"Awww, thanks, love. You always have the sweetest compliments," Misty replies.

"No one's ever told me something like that before..." Cindy says, a cute blush becoming visible on her cheeks.

"Really? No one's ever told you that you're hot?" I respond, surprised. "Now let's find where the lazy river is at," I suggest.

After some walking around and exploring our surroundings, we find the ride we're seeking. There are inner tubes lying all around near the perimeter of the pool, and each of the three of us takes one. They're all translucent and available in a multitude of colors. I find an orange one, Misty finds a pink one, and Cindy finds a red one.

"I like the way orange, pink, and red look together," I comment.

"Definitely!" Misty says.

"I agree—they're all very vibrant," Cindy echoes.

Before we get in, we also remember that we should apply sunscreen—very important in this heat. That's when Misty and I realize that we both forgot to bring ours.

"That's okay. I brought mine, so you two can use some of it," Cindy offers Misty and me when we tell her.

"Good thing you came prepared," I remark.

"Cindy to the rescue!" Misty says, giggling.

Once we're finished with that, we're finally ready to get in. We enter the ride's current by placing the inner tubes onto the surface and riding on top of them. It's very relaxing being pulled along at a leisurely pace by the pool, with the sun shining above and the scenery of the water park all around. However, one challenge, as we soon discover, is staying together and not getting separated gradually by the current. After enjoying ourselves silently for a while, we begin having a conversation.

"Hey, have you guys heard of the phone coming out that's going to have a night-vision camera built in?" Cindy asks.

"Oh, that sounds really cool. I didn't know about that actually," Misty replies.

"I've been saying for years that they should do that," I say. "Also, another thing that phones have been missing is a decent battery. Even now, as far as those things have come, the batteries are still pitiful," I add.

"Yeah, I definitely hear you on that one. I used to have a phone that I had to charge twice every day—that's how bad the battery life was on it. The current phone I have needs to be charged once a day, which isn't that much better," Cindy responds.

"It's so annoying to have to be near a charger all the time," Misty comments.

The three of us continue talking for a while about all of the good and bad things about current technology. Once we've made several full revolutions around the lazy river, we decide that we're bored of it and proceed to get out, drying ourselves off.

"I'm kinda hungry... Do you guys wanna get some tacos?" Misty asks.

"Tacos sound good," I answer.

"I'm actually also a little hungry, now that you mention it. I could go for some tacos," Cindy says.

Misty and Cindy return to their normal clothing of T-shirts and shorts before we all get into Misty's car and head out to grab our lunch, arriving at the taco place in just a few minutes. Misty agrees to order the tacos for us so that Cindy and I can find a table to sit at. Luckily for us, there aren't so many people to the point where finding a vacant spot is an issue. We choose to sit near a window so that we can admire the sunlit view outside.

"So... I heard you were sick recently," Cindy says to me while we're in the middle of waiting.

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling well; I had a cold or something like that," I respond.

"How are you feeling now?" she asks sympathetically.

As I'm about to begin answering the question, Misty approaches carrying our tacos, which look and smell appetizing.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better today, thanks to Misty's care," I answer.

"Yeah, I could tell he was feeling pretty bad at first," Misty jumps in. She turns to me and adds, "I'm glad you're feeling well enough to go somewhere with me today though—Cindy too."

"I really appreciate you inviting me to come along like this," Cindy thanks me sincerely.

"Hey, that's just what good friends do for each other."

At this point, we begin eating. We have six crunchy tacos—two for each of the three of us. As I bite into the crunchy shell of one of my tacos, a little bit of the ground beef, lettuce, and cheddar cheese spill out. Delicious as these things are, they sure are kind of messy. At least that stuff landed on the plastic tray in front of me instead of my shirt. In addition to the tacos, Misty also got a medium-sized drink cup for each of us to fill with our beverage of choice. I decide to get Pepsi, Misty gets Coca-Cola, and Cindy gets Sprite.

Our meal is finished once our tacos are consumed and our cups are empty. We stay for a little while longer and chat some more about the events of these last few days before leaving. Misty then drives Cindy back to her home, dropping her off there.

"Bye! See you later," Cindy says, waving to us.

I'm not sure if I'm imagining things again, but I think I also just saw Cindy blow a kiss for me when I looked at her.

"I think I'd like to stay with you tonight. Would that be okay?" I ask Misty as the car begins moving.

"Sure, hon!" she says excitedly. After a few seconds, she adds, "I have this new pasta recipe I've been meaning to try for dinner sometime, but I'll need to go to the grocery store tomorrow to get a few ingredients I need for that."

"Sounds great. If it's anything like your mashed potatoes, then I'm sure it'll be delicious," I say in anticipation.

* * * * *

Once we get back to Misty's house, I take a seat on the couch, and Misty joins me shortly afterward. I wrap my arms around her, and she rests her head lovingly on my shoulder. I hold both of her hands in mine and rub her palms with my thumbs.

"I had a such a great time with you today at the water park, sweetie," she says.

"It was really nice just being out in the sun with you, floating along on the lazy river, talking about anything." She gives me a tiny kiss on the cheek, to which I say, "Awww, babe—that was such an adorable little kiss."

"I will _always_ have a special kiss just for you," Misty replies.

I pull her even closer to me, and we stay in our relaxing embrace for several minutes.

"I think I'm gonna do my nails now, and then maybe we can watch some TV together," Misty says.

"Ooo, I have an idea: Can I help you paint those pretty fingernails of yours?" I ask, looking into her eyes.

"That'd be fun! I can show you how to do it," she responds, smiling at me.

Misty takes me by the hand into the kitchen, and I sit down at the table while she gets her box of nail polish from within a pull-out drawer. After looking at it for a moment, she calls me over.

"Come help me choose a nice color, baby."

I stand up and come over to her. With the lid still on, I peer through the transparent plastic box and see a variety of colors—mostly various shades of red, pink, and purple, along with a few standard colors, like white and silver.

"Well, let's bring the box over here and take a closer look," I suggest.

Misty brings it over to the big table and takes the lid off, giving a better overview of the available options. I scan through all of them, briefly picking up a few potential colors to see them better before setting them back down. Ultimately, I decide on one of the shades of red that has extra glitter added to it.

"This bright red would be perfect for a glamorous beauty like you," I declare.

"I like that one too!"

Ready to begin showing me how to apply the nail polish, Misty sets the box to the side so that it doesn't get in our way, loosely placing the lid over it. She takes the polish and rolls the container back and forth in her hands, holding it vertically.

"First, I'm rolling it like this to make sure there won't be any air bubbles in it," she explains to me.

Next, I observe as she opens the bottle, dips the brush into it, and begins applying a thin coat onto the nail of her index finger.

"You want to get a nice bead of polish on the brush so that it can spread out over the nail more easily for you." I watch as she demonstrates the motion of swiping the brush left, right, and then down the center of the nail, finishing with, "Just like that. Now you try!"

"I'll give it a shot," I say as Misty hands me the brush and bottle.

I move my chair closer to hers and take her hand. Working carefully, I do my best to repeat the process, just like she showed me, on the nail of her thumb.

"You're doing great. Keep going!" Misty encourages me as I finish painting another fingernail.

Once I'm finished with all of the fingers on one hand, I move on to the other, and after a few minutes, I finish painting all of Misty's fingernails.

"There we go, beautiful. All done. Do you like the way it looks?" I ask, kissing the back of her hand.

"It's perfect. You did a wonderful job!" she replies. Misty closes the nail-polish bottle and stores it back in the box, resealing the container with the lid. "Now what I usually like to do is run some cold water over my hands to help it dry faster."

At the sink, she turns the cold-water knob and places her hands under the running stream. I come up to Misty and hug her from behind. I feel her shiver slightly because of the water's temperature. I reach out, my hands joining hers as I start playing with her fingers.

"Mmm... I love you, baby," Misty says, giggling and turning her head slightly toward me, looking at me with the corner of her eye.

"I love you too, adorable," I reply, planting a light kiss on her cheek.

Once she's finished using the sink, she twists the knob clockwise to shut the water off and then turns around completely so that we're facing each other, our eyes now fully able to meet. Her bright-red fingernails glistening with freshly applied nail polish, she presses her hands right up against my chest.

### Chapter 12

An Eventful Day

On the very next day, I wake up, with Misty still asleep next to me. I decide to check my phone to see what time it is, and I find out that it's 8:30 in the morning. Noticing what appears to be the sound of rain tapping on the window, I also decide to check the weather application. Indeed, it is significantly cooler today and, as expected, the program displays an image of a gray rain cloud. I play a few games for a while before Misty wakes up as well, which I notice when she turns to me and looks at me with her adorable sleepy eyes.

"Hey, sweet pea," I say.

"Good morning, love. What time is it?" she asks in her tired voice.

"It's nine in the morning," I answer when I look at the clock at the top of my phone's display.

"Hmmm... I think I'd like to sleep in a little today," Misty says after thinking about it for a moment.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I might just browse the Web or play a few games—or maybe I'll continue sleeping too, depending on how I feel."

"Is it raining outside?" Misty asks, glancing over to the window.

"Yeah, it seems to be drizzling right now," I reply.

"Well, alright—I'm gonna sleep some more now. Night night."

"Okay, baby. Enjoy your rest."

Misty moves closer to me while still allowing me the ability to use both my hands for controlling my smartphone. I make sure the volume is set to silent so that it doesn't disturb her. After some time, I get bored and decide to join Misty in sleeping. I gently run my fingers through her soft blonde hair, giving her a little kiss on the nose. The rain is also is very peaceful and relaxing, so I fall asleep relatively quickly.

* * * * *

The second time I wake up, Misty is already sitting up in bed and using her silver laptop, but she's still in her pajamas.

"Good morning, babe. I see you're already up. What time is it?" I ask her.

"Oh, hey there! It's now about 10 o'clock in the morning," she answers.

"Ah, so it's still pretty early. I think I've had enough sleep though. So... What are our plans for today?"

Right as I'm asking that question, I notice that it's still raining a little bit outside, just like it was before.

"I think I'm just going to go to the grocery store—not too exciting, but you're more than welcome to come with me if you'd like. Otherwise, I thought we could just stay in today," Misty responds.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Today just feels like a lazy day."

"I couldn't agree more. I just wanna chill indoors," she declares.

"Also, we should probably make sure to bring an umbrella for when we go to the store," I say.

"Definitely. It says it's going to be raining all day," Misty adds.

"Maybe we should stop by the grocery store now while it's not raining that hard because, you never know, it could start pouring later on," I suggest.

"I'm pretty much ready to go whenever you are, or if you want to, we can eat breakfast first," she offers.

"It's fine. I'm not really hungry right now. Let's eat when we get back, especially since we're going to be shopping for food anyway."

"Alright, I'll just change out of these pajamas real quick and we can go," Misty says.

She shuts her laptop, and we both spend the next few minutes getting ready. Misty grabs the umbrella, and we walk swiftly to the warmth and comfort of her car.

At the grocery store, the first category we decide to look into is that of fresh produce. For fruit, we get some bananas, peaches, apples, and grapes. For vegetables, we select carrots, corn, tomatoes, and potatoes.

"I have just a few more things I'd like to grab. I'm not really wanting to buy too many things today because I don't want to carry a lot of stuff in this rain," Misty explains once we're finished looking at fruits and vegetables.

"Yeah, I definitely agree with you there. I'll help you carry the groceries inside though, so don't worry."

"Thanks. I know I can always count on you!" Misty responds with a smile. Next, we swing by the pasta aisle. Looking around at the options, she asks for my input: "Hmmm... Which pasta do you like?"

After browsing for a minute, we decide to get the corkscrew-shaped pasta as well as some sauce to go along with it. I'm already getting hungry anticipating today's dinner; judging by the ingredients, it's going to be a really good one.

"Now that we've got dinner covered, we should also get something for breakfast," I say.

"Yes, that's right. I didn't forget about it. We'll do that one next, and then I think that'll be the last thing I get here today," Misty replies.

At our next destination, the cereal aisle, we're met with a wide variety of choices for breakfast items.

"I feel like having oatmeal today. What about you?" I ask Misty.

"Oatmeal would be great. Let's pick a flavor," she answers.

Most of the flavors look alright, but one catches my attention in particular: Dinosaur Eggs Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal. After pointing out that oatmeal to Misty, she picks up a box of it to get a closer look.

"This looks sort of interesting. I've never had this one before!" she says, intrigued. She then places it in the plastic basket, which is starting to get pretty heavy and full. "Well, now that we've got everything, let's go to the checkout." While we're walking there, Misty adds, "Let's do self-checkout so we can save some time."

"Good call. I was just about to suggest that also," I say.

We scan our food, placing it in grocery bags, and when we're done, Misty opens the umbrella once again so that we can carry the bags to her car and put them in the trunk. After that's done, we rush back inside the car and drive back home.

* * * * *

In total, there are four grocery bags, so each of us carries two. Even though we aren't directly in the rain for that long, Misty and I both still end up getting soaked from it.

"I think I'll take my shoes off at this point because they're a little bit dirty from the muddy ground," I declare shortly after we enter.

After leaving my shoes near the front door, Misty then also decides to do the same because hers are in a similar condition.

"Whew, I'm glad we're done with that!" Misty breathes a sigh of relief once we take a seat at the kitchen table.

"Me too. I'm just glad that we're back inside again."

"So... Shall we start breakfast?" she suggests a minute later.

"Oh, that's right. We haven't eaten anything yet today," I respond.

We decide to each have two packets of oatmeal. Misty empties their contents into microwavable bowls and mixes some water in with them before heating them up. As we're sitting and waiting for the oatmeal to cool down, I notice that I have an ache in my shoulder.

"That's weird... My shoulder seems to be hurting. Maybe I slept wrong last night or something," I tell Misty, rubbing the affected muscle.

"Hmmm... Probably. Later on, I can show you some yoga stretching exercises that might help," she offers me.

After a few minutes, our breakfast has cooled down enough for us to begin eating.

"This is actually pretty good oatmeal," Misty comments after having a few spoonfuls.

"It definitely is. The dinosaur eggs add a nice touch to the whole thing."

The sugary candy dinosaur eggs consist of a white "egg" with a colored "dinosaur" inside. The intent is for the heat of the oatmeal, when stirred, to melt the outer layer away, revealing the dinosaur within. After a few minutes, we're finished eating and clean the bowls, putting them back neatly.

For our next activity, while allowing the food to settle, Misty and I decide to relax and play some classic Doom—more specifically, The Plutonia Experiment—multiplayer together using a source port called ZDoom.

"I remember playing this game so many years ago," Misty remarks.

I help Misty install and configure ZDoom, and then we're ready to begin a network game. Hosting a server for us, I tell Misty the command to connect to it. The game begins, and the first thing Misty does is change her in-game username to _BlondeKisses_.

"Do you like my username?" she asks, giggling.

"That name suits you perfectly!" I reply with laughter.

I have my Bluetooth mouse with me, but just for fun and as a challenge, I try to play using my laptop's trackpad instead of the mouse. Although we think it's just funny at first, I'm able to play surprisingly well with that configuration, as it turns out. The background noise of rain outside intensifies, with thunder also becoming audible at about the time we're on the fourth level, which is an hour since we got back from the grocery store.

"Wow, it's really raining now!" I comment.

"It's a good thing we managed to get back in time," Misty adds.

* * * * *

We reach the eighth level of Plutonia, stopping there because we become bored of playing the game.

"My shoulder is still kinda sore, so I think I'm ready to try those yoga poses you were talking about earlier," I say.

"Right, I didn't forget about that. Let me just change into some lighter pants first," she responds. Misty comes back wearing white yoga pants which highlight the sexy curves of her long legs. "Ready? Let's go to the living room because there's more carpet space there."

We relocate ourselves to there from Misty's bedroom, where we were playing Doom a minute ago.

"While standing, try to reach down and touch your toes with your hands as best you can," Misty begins with the first stretch.

She demonstrates the action, and I attempt to repeat it. Misty, being as flexible as she is, is able to do it fully, and although I'm not, my hands reach to within only a few inches of the ground, hovering in that position.

"There. That's about as far as I can go."

"Great!" Misty cheers. "Now we'll do something very similar, only this time, sit down and extend your legs in front of you. Like last time, try to reach out as far as possible."

Already, even after just these two simple stretches, the pain in my shoulder decreases slightly. After holding this position for several seconds, we move on to the next one.

"Alright, what's next?" I ask eagerly.

"Lie down flat on your stomach, with your hands in front of you, palms facing down, and lift your chest up," Misty instructs.

Once again, like before, she shows me how to do it, and I try my best to replicate the action. After several more exercises like this, I begin to feel my shoulder muscle loosen up considerably.

"Hey, can you do the splits?" I ask Misty, curious after seeing her show off how flexible she is.

After a quick "mm-hmm," she gets right down there with ease and her legs form a perfectly straight line lying flat against the carpet.

"Wow, you're really flexible, aren't you?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I've just been doing this for a long time," Misty explains, giggling a little at my compliment.

We continue with our yoga session, and I eventually notice something else when Misty does one pose in particular that draws attention to her bottom.

"Hey, I didn't know you have such an awesome butt!"

On the floor, she gets into a sexy pose, with her bottom in the air, and then, utilizing the couch to support her upper body, she wiggles it from side to side for me. I watch her from up close without blinking even once. Misty reaches with one of her hands to squeeze her own butt and then playfully slaps it, inviting me to come a little closer and fondle her.

"Mmm... Do you like it, baby?" Misty asks in a sensual voice.

"Wow... It's so big, round, and squishy. It's perfect. I love it," I reply with fascination.

"I take it your shoulder isn't hurting anymore now?" Misty asks.

"Oh, yeah—it's definitely much better actually," I answer.

"I can also give you a massage if you'd like," she offers.

"That'd be really nice too."

I sit down on the couch angled to the side, giving Misty access to my back while she sits next to me. She begins the massage by gently rubbing my shoulders before making her way down to my back. Misty clearly knows exactly what she's doing when it comes to giving massages and isn't just making up random motions on the fly. I've had her rub my back prior to this but never anything on this scale. Her careful touch sends shivers along my spine and all over my back.

"That feels so good!" are the only words I can muster.

After our yoga exercises and the relaxing massage, we decide to engage in one of our favorite activities—watching television together. By this point, it's still raining outside as well as thundering, though the thunder is less frequent and intense compared with earlier.

"Hey, do you happen to have snacks of any kind?" I ask Misty while we're both facing the television screen.

"I think I may have a few bags of microwave popcorn lying around somewhere. Let me go check," Misty says, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

I hear several drawers and cabinet doors open and close from the kitchen. Eventually, she calls out, "Found it!" I then hear the short beeps of her pushing buttons on the microwave oven before she comes back and plops herself down onto the couch once again.

"It'll be ready in just a few minutes," she tells me.

The popping sound of the popcorn cooking is audible even from this distance. Two minutes later, as expected, the microwave signals that it's finished with the sound of three long beeps.

"I'll go get it so that you don't have to stand up a bunch of times," I offer.

"Thanks, sweetie. I appreciate it."

I bring back the now-inflated bag with popcorn rustling around inside. I sit down and open it from the end that has _Caution: Contents will be hot._ _Handle from this side only_ written on it. As soon as I begin eating, I can tell immediately that this is an extra-buttery type of popcorn, reminding me somewhat of Misty's mashed potatoes from the other day.

We continue watching the TV, adding to the air the sound of our munching and crunching. The best part of eating popcorn with Misty is when we both reach into the bag at the same time and our hands touch.

* * * * *

"What should we have for lunch, babe?" I ask towards the middle of the afternoon.

"We could make ourselves some grilled-cheese sandwiches," Misty suggests. "Would you like that?"

"That's a great idea actually. Since the weather doesn't permit, we can't really easily go out and buy something—and we don't have to because we can make grilled cheese using things we have right here."

"Yep, that's pretty much what I was thinking."

With that said, we enter the kitchen to begin preparing the sandwiches. First, Misty brings out the whole-grain bread and a packet of sliced Colby-Jack cheese. As it so happens, we both reach into the bag containing the bread at the same time—much like what happened with the popcorn bag earlier. We each add however many slices of cheese we wish and then repeat this procedure one more time to produce two sandwiches. Next, Misty recommends we spread some butter onto both sides before placing them on the skillet, explaining that the sandwiches will taste better that way. She stores the bread and cheese away and brings out the cylindrical container of butter. We layer on as much butter as desired, and then Misty returns it to storage as well. The last step is to use the skillet to actually put the _grilled_ into our grilled-cheese sandwiches, and soon afterward, they're ready.

"Hey, I have an idea for something we could do while it's still summer," Misty announces once we're sitting down at the table and eating.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" I ask, curious.

"We should go on a cruise!"

"That _would_ be very nice, but aren't those usually really expensive?"

"Well, if we look around online, maybe we can find a good deal," she replies.

After lunch, Misty retrieves her laptop from her room, and we sit very close to each other so that we're both able to see the screen comfortably.

"The first thing is figuring out what our destination should be," Misty says as we begin checking out cruises on the Web.

"Good question. I'm not really sure I have any specific preference," I respond.

We look at a list of some of the possibilities, and Misty reads them out loud.

"Is there such a thing as a cruise to nowhere? Would that be an option?" I ask.

"They have that too, yes. Do you think that's a good one to try?"

"Truthfully, all I really want out of a getaway like this is to have fun, relax, and so forth; I don't need to go anywhere in particular. So yeah, that one's fine by me if it's okay with you."

"I'm totally down with that. I mostly just want to enjoy all the activities they offer on the ship," Misty replies.

"Same. I also think that just being out in the middle of the ocean would be something special." A few seconds after, I append to my previous statement, "But of course, the most important thing is that I'm together with you, honey."

"Awww, you are just the sweetest, aren't you?" she responds as I lean in and plant a kiss right on her soft lips.

Now that we've agreed on the general type of cruise we're looking for, Misty and I research various websites to find the best deal possible. After some time and effort, we finally end up booking a three-day cruise to nowhere at a relatively reasonable price.

* * * * *

Later on, once it's time for dinner, I join Misty in the kitchen to watch her prepare this pasta recipe that she's been mentioning. First, she adds a little salt to a pot of water, placing it on the stove so it can be used to prepare the pasta. While that's happening, nearby, she cooks some ground meat and onions in a skillet for some time before adding the sauce in there. As the oven is preheating, Misty spreads a bit of grease onto a baking dish, explaining to me that this is necessary to prevent the food from sticking to the tray. Everything starts coming together as Misty begins to combine the other things onto the baking dish in layers: pasta, thinly sliced cheese, sour cream, some of the sauce mixture, more pasta, a different type of cheese that's shredded, and more of the sauce mixture. The finishing touch is to sprinkle on yet another kind of cheese, grated this time.

"Now we wait for it to bake for about thirty minutes in the oven, and that's it," Misty informs me.

While we wait for dinner to finish cooking, Misty and I find a mobile game called Crash Drive 2, which has an online multiplayer mode that we can use to play together. After the required amount of time elapses, our meal is finally ready, so we sit down at the table to enjoy it. As expected from the ingredients put into it, the dish is very cheesy—definitely not a bad thing in this case. During our initial bites, we both laugh as we watch each other separate the mess of thin cheesy strings that keep forming themselves between our mouths and the plate. Dinner is so delicious that we manage to gobble up our portions in a span of just ten minutes or so.

"Even though we mostly stayed inside today, it still feels like it was such an eventful day. If regular activities are this exciting whenever I share them with you, I can't wait to find out what a _cruise_ will be like!" I declare in anticipation while we're cleaning up after dinner.

### Chapter 13

Sneak Peek

A few days before we are to set sail for our cruise, Misty and I decide to begin packing everything that we'll be bringing along with us. From the start, we both agree that it's best not to pack too much stuff.

"We don't want to be spending a lot of time messing around with luggage," Misty says.

"Yeah, and the cruise is only three days, after all, so we shouldn't need to take that much anyway," I add.

She brings out a medium-sized black suitcase—large enough to pack all the things that both of us will need but still light enough to carry around easily. It also has wheels and an extendable handle to aid in the latter task.

"It's very dusty, I know; I haven't really gone on a vacation like this in a very long time," Misty explains.

"I haven't either. I can't even remember the last time I went anywhere like this, if ever. Anyways, I'll help you clean it up. No problem."

We use a couple of paper towels to clean up the dust on top of and inside the suitcase. Once we have it in tip-top shape, we begin actually putting things inside of it, starting with some of Misty's clothes.

"I still have a few other things that I want to pack, but I'll need to wash them first," she tells me.

"If you're doing laundry, might as well also throw in some of the stuff I have before I pack it away too," I suggest.

Misty and I decide that we're both packing several changes of clothing and that, when in doubt, it's better to pack a few too many items, within reason, than to accidentally leave too much out that might be needed.

"If we take too much, we can just avoid unpacking the extras, but—" I start.

"If we realize we forgot something once we leave, we won't be able to go back and take it," Misty finishes my thought.

Misty and I devise a simple system in which each of us gets half of the suitcase to fill up with whatever we desire. She also explains that it'll be more efficient and help prevent creasing if we roll up our clothing into long, narrow cylinders. There are also various pockets and compartments around the suitcase, which can be used to hold any other miscellaneous things that are needed.

* * * * *

Later on in the day, I decide to see what Misty is up to. In the downstairs area, I first check in the kitchen. Nope, she's not in there. I then go upstairs and check her room. Nope, she's not there either. While I'm in this general area, however, I can hear something coming from the laundry room, so I decide to check there. There she is! Misty appears to be unloading laundry from the washing machine that'll be packed in preparation for our cruise. She must not have heard me approaching, since the carpet flooring has a tendency to absorb walking sounds. Her back is turned to me, and she still doesn't notice that I'm standing there. She's wearing a high-cut T-shirt with red and white horizontal stripes that shows off her belly, tempting me to give her a squeeze. The floor in the laundry room is made of tile, so I have to be slower to approach her quietly.

"Sneak attack!" I say as I put my hands around her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Baby!" she responds, letting out a little gasp of surprise. She turns her head in my direction slightly and says, "What's up?"

"Not much. Just wanted to see what you were doing. Need some help with the laundry?" I offer.

While I'm asking that, I reach out in front of her and pick up a random article of clothing. As it so happens, it's a pair of Misty's lacy panties.

"Awww, you're always so helpful around the house! I really appreciate that. You can help me sort through this stuff and choose which outfits I should pack for our trip," Misty answers.

"I'd be glad to," I respond. "Mmm... You smell so good today. Are you wearing that peachy perfume you know I love?" I ask a few seconds later, with my arms still around Misty.

"Maybe..." she replies, giggling.

I help Misty carry some of the now-clean clothes downstairs. We sort through all of the items according to whom they belong and figure out, for the both of us, which ones to pack away to wear on our cruise.

Once we're finished packing the clothes we want to and putting away the clothes we aren't, we start to think about what else we'll need to bring. Sunscreen is a must—after all, we'll be sure to spend plenty of time outdoors in the hot summer sun. Bathing suits are also important for similar reasons. Toiletries such as shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, and toothpaste are essential by default as well. Even though we plan on using it extremely sparingly, Misty and I also decide to pack one computer, more specifically, her netbook. We figure that if we ever want to have some downtime from all of the excitement, we could use it for a bit then. A digital camera is also included on our packing list, but Misty and I decide that we probably won't be taking an excess of pictures so as to focus on experiencing the vacation and not spend the whole time behind a lens. We also agree not to bring our cell phones because they'll only serve as a distraction on a trip like this; we won't be able to acquire a phone signal on the ship anyway. In their stead, we'll be getting a pair of small walkie-talkies to be used in the event that we get separated on the ship.

"While we're buying those, maybe we should also look into getting a protective case for that netbook," I suggest.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea actually. Wouldn't want it to get scratches," Misty replies.

Once we're at the store, we decide to see what computers they have on display just for fun. The specifications are a little bit better than what I remember them being last I checked.

"This one's very pretty," Misty remarks, calling me over to get a closer look at a beautifully designed, bright-red, shiny laptop.

I briefly close and open the laptop's lid so that I can see both the inside and outside of it better.

"I like it. I think it definitely matches your personality," I comment.

"The next time I'm looking to buy a new computer, I'll have to consider getting this one or something similar to it," she says.

After we're done looking at the new computers, we get to business and find the section of the store where they sell walkie-talkies. We end up going with something relatively simple and inexpensive, since we don't need super-high-end radios for our purposes.

To attend to the next item on our list, a carrying case for Misty's netbook, we only have to go two aisles over. Unlike with the previous item, there's a huge variety of protective cases to choose from. Misty picks one out that'll fit according to the dimensions of the gadget's screen. With that, all of the tasks we intended to complete are now done, so we pay for the items and go back home to resume planning the trip.

The other major thing we want to prepare is a general knowledge of the activities that are available on the cruise ship as well as where things are located. For the latter requirement, we can easily download a copy of the ship's layout, which is available on the cruise line's website, and get a sneak peak together. Also on that website, there exists a laundry list of exciting things we can do on the ship.

During lunch, we discuss what we want to do and compose a sort of basic itinerary in our heads. There's no reason to plan ahead too much though because going in with the intention of sticking to a rigid schedule will probably result in disappointment when it doesn't turn out that way, and it almost certainly won't. On the other hand, not planning anything at all isn't a good idea either, since then you'll have no idea where to even begin at all.

* * * * *

On the morning of the first day of the cruise, we have an alarm set to wake us up well before we actually need to be up—a few hours before the embarkation time. I wake up before Misty does and swiftly shut off the loud blare of the alarm.

"Time to wake up, sweetie," I say, turning to Misty.

I hear her rustling from beneath the covers before she peeks out from under there with one half-closed eye. She giggles and makes a funny face at me by sticking her tongue out. I reach out and tickle her belly to make the wake-up process a little easier, and she laughs some more.

"Good morning, love," she says as she sits up.

"Good morning, my little honey bee. Aren't you so silly today!"

"I can't help it—I'm just so excited!" Misty declares. "We should probably have something for breakfast now before we go meet with Andy," she adds.

Andy is very generous and agreed beforehand to drive us to the port the cruise is leaving from, which is very convenient; that way, we can avoid the problem of parking Misty's car in a different city while we're away for several days.

At the terminal, as expected, we have to wait for a considerable amount of time in a line. Foreseeing this, we brought two small bags of Chex Mix with us to eat during this lengthy waiting period. Things begin getting exciting once we receive our cruise cards in addition to a map of the ship and a listing of events happening onboard today. As we ascend the gangway, it feels like there are a thousand slopes to traverse before, finally, we arrive on the ship. Misty and I breathe a sigh of relief, realizing that our vacation is now really ready to begin at last.

Using the elevators this early on is about as pointless as a broken pencil, so we utilize the stairs to access our room. Even though we're fortunate enough to not have to go all that far to get to our room, we're still both somewhat tired when we reach it. We decide to rest for a little bit after these last few hours of traveling. This also gives plenty of time for the massive crowds to disperse more evenly around the ship so that we're able to visit the buffet, which is normally densely packed at this time. We take this opportunity to get an initial look around our cabin to see where everything is. We've already familiarized ourselves with the two beds in the room that we were just relaxing on. Against the wall and between the two beds sits a nightstand with a lamp on it. Aside from the main room, there's a small bathroom as well as some closet space, and that's pretty much it. The closet is not completely empty however, and we spot an electronic safe there, provided for storing valuables. Misty decides that it's best to store her netbook in there, sharing the safe's passcode with me in case I ever want to use it.

"It's a very cozy room. I like it," Misty says to me.

"Yeah, this is pretty nice. It's got everything we need, for sure," I add.

"I think I'm ready to explore _outside_ of the room now though, so let's go!" she says excitedly, standing near the door.

"Oh, wait—can't forget this," I remember, grabbing my copy of map we were given earlier.

"Actually, I'll get mine too," Misty says, backtracking to where she left her own copy as well.

Maps in hand, we casually walk around the cruise ship to survey any activities we may want to do later on. After we do a decent amount of exploring, we decide that it's time to have lunch, so we navigate to the buffet. Once there, we order two Reuben sandwiches, and when they're done preparing them for us, we find a table to sit at.

"The buffet is actually open 24/7, so we can come here anytime we like," Misty informs me as I dig in.

"Oh? I wasn't aware of that. That's pretty awesome," I reply while she's taking her first bite.

"Mmm... This is great!" she comments.

"The food on cruises is always really good, from what I've heard."

When our lunch is consumed, we get ourselves a cup of Coca-Cola from the soft-drink station to wash it down. Meanwhile, we think about what we'd like to do next.

"I think I'm in the mood for going to the swimming pool," Misty declares after about a minute of thinking.

"Which one? There are probably several around," I answer with a question.

Using our handy maps, we look through a list of pools available onboard and select one at random. We then have to make a quick stop at our room to get our bathing suits, but once that's done, we're all set.

Almost as soon as we step inside the pool, Misty playfully splashes a little water on me. I laugh and splash her back, and she responds with laughter too. After some splashing around, Misty takes out a mini beach ball. I didn't even know that she packed it, let alone brought it to the pool with her. She inflates it and tosses it in my direction, so I catch it and toss it back to her. We enjoy ourselves while tossing the ball around before we discover that there's a hot tub adjacent to the pool. We relax in the hot tub for about twenty minutes, talking about what our next action should be.

"What would you like to do after this?" Misty asks me.

"Maybe we can go back to our room and check what sorts of organized activities they're running. There might be a neat show coming up or something like that," I suggest.

"Good thinkin'. If there's nothing interesting going on now, we can always just use the map again to find another activity."

"Actually, I was thinking I'd like to check out the mini-golf course. I'm sure they have one of those here. Is that something you'd like to do with me?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind playing some mini golf," Misty replies.

We head back to our room, change into our normal clothes, and set our swimsuits aside to dry off elsewhere. Sitting next to each other on the edge of one of the beds, we look over a list of upcoming shows together.

"I'm not seeing anything right now, but there's this ice-carving thing that'll be on in about an hour and a half," I say after a few minutes.

"I had my eye on that one too! I guess we can hit up the mini-golf course until then," Misty responds.

We find our destination on the highest deck of the ship. I select a yellow golf ball, Misty chooses a blue one, and we each take a club.

"I'd probably have picked the green one if it wasn't for the fact that it'll blend in with the grass," I say. "Anyways, you can take the first swing," I offer.

"Yeah, I'm hoping mine doesn't blend in with the background," Misty adds.

The first hole is fairly straightforward, simply consisting of a rectangular playing area with a barrier surrounding it and the goal near the other end. She sets the ball down on the starting square and takes a swing. It makes a _clink_ as it bounces off the edge nearest the objective and ends up fairly close to it—a very good shot. I take my turn and, likewise, bring the ball close to that same general area. We both end up reaching the target on our second shots. The next hole is similar, only this time, there are a few additional barrier pieces on the track, preventing the goal from being reached as easily.

As we proceed in a similar fashion through the entire course, it progressively becomes more difficult the further we get. We conclude our mini-golf session with thirty more minutes to spare before the ice-carving show.

"Well, that was fun!" Misty declares.

"I had a great time too. I may have won by a little bit, but you played a really good game," I cheer.

"I certainly did better than I expected," she says. "So... Do you want to go back inside the room to wait for the show to start, or do you think we should wait over by the place where they're doing it?" she asks me.

"I'd prefer waiting nearby just to be sure we don't miss anything. Besides, who wouldn't want to lounge outdoors in this amazing weather?" I answer.

"I couldn't agree more!"

In about thirty minutes, at the scheduled time, the staff brings in a large block of ice, and the artist begins working on it promptly.

"I presume this will be a speed carving or else the thing will melt in this heat," I comment to Misty.

"What do you think it's gonna be?" she asks once it begins taking shape a little bit.

"It's tough to say at this point. Looks like it'll be some sort of animal."

We both watch in amazement as the tools rapidly transform the once-boring block of ice, and the creation gradually begins to take its form.

"Wow! It's a tiger! How cool is that?" Misty marvels as the finishing touches are added.

"Well, I'll be! That's impressive. Do you think we can come over there and get an even closer look before it melts away?" I ask.

Misty and I are standing some ways away from where the action took place, so we try to get an up-close look at the finished creation. This proves to be rather challenging, since many others are just as impressed as we are, so a hefty crowd forms around the completed ice sculpture. Eventually, we manage to make our way through, but by this point, it's already in the early stages of melting. Nonetheless, we're still in awe of the ice tiger when we see it up close, and Misty snaps a few photos of it from various angles.

Before our next meal, we roam around the ship, primarily taking a look at some of the shops they have present onboard. For dinner, we decide that it'll be fun to dress nicely and attend a semi-fancy restaurant. Both of us get minestrone soup as an appetizer and grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes as the main dish. We know that we don't necessarily _have_ to always order the same things on the menu, but there's just something special when we share the experience of eating the same foods.

After dinner, we head back to the room and take a shower after a full day of traveling and exploring. I go first, and once I'm done, Misty hops in, and I take a breather, lying down in bed on my back. I close my eyes and listen to the steady sound of running shower water nearby.

The sound ceases after about fifteen minutes, and a few more minutes following that, Misty comes out and surprises me: She's wearing a sexy sports outfit with the player number sixty-nine written on it, complete with a half-turquoise, half-orange toy football. I've never seen this outfit before.

"Catch!" Misty says playfully, tossing me the toy football. Shortly after I catch it, she hops up on top of me and, whilst giggling, asks, "Do you like it?"

"Mmm... You look so hot tonight, baby."

She extends her hands toward me and presses them onto my chest, looking me in the eyes seductively. She then begins unbuttoning my shirt, and when she gets to about the halfway point, she gently rubs the pads of her fingers on my bare chest, her white-tipped fingernails also lightly grazing me. I reach my hands out, and Misty moves in closer so that I can more easily access her sexy butt. She leans in and whispers something naughty into my ear as I fondle her.

"Whoa, I've never done anything like that before. Are you sure you wanna? I mean... I have a very—" She immediately silences me with an index finger over my mouth.

"Shhh... You don't have to worry about disappointing me. Now just relax." Misty places her index finger on my chest—"Tonight is all about you"—she points it at herself—"and me."

The scent of Misty's perfume only further increases my already strong attraction for her. She moans lovingly as I squeeze her and run my hands all over the soft skin of her tight midsection. I can tell by that sexy smirk on her face that she wants me badly, and I want her just as much too. Misty and I lock lips, the echoes of our intense passion filling the room before we give in to our deepest desires.

* * * * *

We wake up early the next morning to get ready for another fun-filled day of activities and exploration.

"Good morning, my little love doll," I say to Misty.

"Mmm... I love it when you call me that! Wasn't last night so hot?" she replies, with her arms around me.

"It really was, especially the third time!"

"What do you wanna do today, hon?" Misty asks after giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

"I know how we can start our day together: I could brush your beautiful blonde hair for you," I answer.

"Ooo, I like that idea!"

I sit on the side of the bed that has a mirror across from it. Misty hands me her hairbrush, and I invite her to come sit on my lap. I hold it in one hand and use my free arm to securely hold Misty. When I begin, I find that the brush glides effortlessly through her shoulder-length light-blonde hair. I move the brush very slowly, being especially careful around Misty's ears.

Once her hair is all perfectly straight, I set the brush aside so that I can hold her with both of my arms. Misty moans lightly and tilts her head to the side as I plant kisses all along her neck and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. She repositions herself to be sitting next to me and stares at me with a dreamy expression, her eyes half closed. I gently tug on a few strands of her hair and run my fingers through it, the back of my hand softly rubbing up against her cheek while I do so.

"I really appreciate how much effort you spend every day doing your hair, putting on makeup, and choosing your clothes—all because you want to be so sexy just for me. You're the most beautiful woman in the world," I tell her softly.

Misty's only response is to get on top of me on the bed, and we share our deepest, most passionate kiss yet.

### Chapter 14

Back to Work

"That's too bad that you have to go back to work today," I tell Misty.

"Yeah, I know... I really enjoyed my vacation though—especially that cruise. And I'm at least fortunate enough to like my job."

"The cruise was spectacular. That's great that you enjoy your work though," I reply.

"Hey, if you want, you can come to work with me today! I can show you what I do," Misty's eyes light up with an idea.

"Sure! As long as you think your boss will be okay with it."

"I'm sure she won't mind, since she's pretty nice," Misty says. "We should pack something to eat for lunch later on. I usually like to bring a sandwich or some yogurt or something like that," she adds.

"How about a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and one thing of yogurt?" I suggest.

"That works too. I'm pretty sure I still have a few more Yoplait yogurt cups sitting in the fridge," she answers.

While we're getting ready shortly before we leave, Misty and I make ourselves each a sandwich in addition to taking a yogurt cup. The sandwiches are then wrapped in plastic, and we carry both items in simple brown lunch bags.

* * * * *

When we arrive at her workplace, she shows me around her office. As is typical for this sort of place, there's a large desk, which has a computer, pens, paper as well as other supplies on it. The desk has a very organized appearance, perhaps with the exception of a few stray paperclips. Around the sky-blue walls of the room are several paintings that serve as decoration. It's not a very large room, but things are generally out of the way, so it doesn't feel too cramped. Taking a closer look at her desk, something catches my eye.

"Oh, hey—there's the photo that Cindy took of you and me at Victoria's Secret in the mall!"

"Yep! I thought this was such an adorable picture that I got it framed. The three of us should get together and do something fun again sometime soon," she says as she picks it up by its protective wooden frame and looks at it.

Misty puts the photograph back using the frame's built-in stand then takes a seat at her desk, and I sit on a chair near her.

"Overall, pretty nice little area you have here," I comment.

"Yeah, I like it a lot; it's got everything I need," she responds.

"So... What do you do on a daily basis, as a fashion designer?" I ask her.

"Well, essentially, my job is to come up with clothing designs that are used in production," Misty explains. "Here, take a look at these."

She pulls out a folder from a drawer and opens it to show me a few sketches she did before her vacation. Picking up right where she left off on her project, Misty creates a few more drawings, and I watch her work. A few minutes later, Misty's boss enters the room. She welcomes Misty back and begins explaining a bunch of specifications for the next line of clothing that the company is designing as well as loads of other things I don't understand. I feel a little bit nervous and hope that I'm not seen as a distraction.

"I brought along a special visitor today, as you can see. I hope you don't mind," Misty eventually points me out to her boss.

"Not a problem at all. I wish we had _more_ people interested in seeing what we do around here," the boss replies. "Misty is one of our best and most dependable designers; I know I can always count on her to get things done and do them well," she says to me after we exchange greetings.

"Awww, I try my best," Misty says, blushing just a little.

The boss informs Misty that an email has been sent containing additional information related to what they discussed, wishes her luck, and then exits the office.

"She's right, you know—you _are_ the very best," I declare.

"And you're the sweetest!" she responds as we rub our noses together.

When it's time for lunch, we go to the break room to enjoy our sandwiches and yogurt. While there, I even get to meet some of Misty's co-workers, who are all very pleasant. Afterward, she heads back to her office, and before we know it, the work day is over.

"Already?" Misty asks in surprise, checking the time for herself.

"That _did_ go by pretty fast. I guess even at work we managed to enjoy ourselves."

"Because I've been sitting for so long, what I like to do after work is go to the gym. You can join me if you'd like. I think my gym is still running a promotional special where members can bring a guest for a free trial session," she offers.

"Well, since I haven't gone to the gym in quite a while, I probably should."

Misty packs up her things, and we're off to our next destination. At the gym, Misty and I work out using the treadmills, ellipticals, and various other exercise machines. Although the two of us have different levels of activity, we both end up panting and equally exhausted when we're done.

* * * * *

By the time we get home, all we want to do is take a shower and then rest.

"Phew, that was a pretty good workout," Misty comments after a few minutes of lying down.

"All of that exercise has gotten me hungry actually," I declare.

"Me too. I think I have a hankering for a baked potato right now," she says.

"Oh, I love baked potatoes."

"Then let's go make ourselves some!"

In the kitchen, Misty first gets out two fairly large potatoes, which are then covered in aluminum foil and baked in the oven. Once this is complete, the bulk of the cooking is done—simple as that.

"I have butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits for us to put on them," she informs me after that's done.

We cut our potatoes lengthwise to reveal the fluffy part, where we add in all of the other ingredients to our liking.

"I really enjoy cooking stuff with you," I tell Misty.

"I like it when we cook together too, babe," she replies.

"The best part, of course, is getting to eat what we made, so let's have at it!"

We sit at the dining table and wait for the extremely hot potatoes to cool off before eating them. It takes us about ten minutes to do so, and once we're finished, we retreat to the bedroom and browse the Web on our laptops.

"Ow, my feet are kind of sore today for some reason," Misty says, taking off her restrictive footwear. "Actually, while I have my shoes off, I think I'll paint my toes. If you want, you can help me, since I know how much you like painting my nails," she adds a few moments later.

With each of us doing five toes, I assist Misty in applying glittery silver nail polish onto her toenails, and we get the task done in half the time it'd normally take.

"If your feet still hurt, I can give you a foot rub," I offer once we're finished.

"That'd be really nice! I have some lotion that'd feel really good," she answers.

She directs me to the drawer where the lotion is stored. I squirt some out onto my hands and begin working on Misty's feet. She's already moaning as I start rubbing it all over her soles.

"Ooo, that feels sooo good, baby. Just like that," Misty encourages me.

When she spreads out her little toes, I squeeze out some more lotion and rub it in between them.

"You have such lovely, sexy feet," I compliment her.

"Mmm... You always know exactly how to touch me and make me feel so hot," Misty responds in a sultry voice.

She flips herself over onto her belly and takes her shirt and bra off, tossing them aside onto the bed.

"Since you're doing such a great job, can you get my back as well?"

"Anything for you, babe."

Using more lotion than before, I sensually massage Misty's back, starting with her shoulders. I work my way down until I reach her lower back.

"Now I want you to massage my _butt_!" Misty says playfully, particularly emphasizing that last word and reaching behind her, seductively gripping the elastic fabric of her shorts.

### Chapter 15

Is This Your Hottest Fantasy?

"Today's your birthday! Happy birthday!" I hear a voice say excitedly while waking up to find Misty sitting up on top of me.

"Good morning, my little blonde bumblebee. So what are our plans for today?" I ask, placing my hands around her waist.

"I've invited two friends over for a small party tonight. Cindy said she'll come. Andy said he could stop by but not for too long," she answers.

"Sounds exciting! Have you gotten a cake yet?"

"Nope, I was actually just about to ask when you wanted to go to the bakery so we can choose one," Misty replies.

"Let's go a little bit later. First, I think I'd like to have something to eat."

Misty makes us an extra-special breakfast consisting of all-you-can-eat waffles, pancakes, and French toast, any of which can be topped with our choice of honey, syrup, Nutella, or peanut butter. The loving look in Misty's expressive eyes from across the table is the cherry on top. We're both so stuffed after all the food that we decide to remain seated at the dining table for a while to let it digest some.

"By the way, I have some gifts for you, but you'll have until later on to see those," Misty informs me after some time.

"Ooo, I can't wait for that," I reply.

"Your first present is right here though."

"Oh, really? I wonder what it is."

She leads me to the couch, where she performs a sexy striptease, taking off most of her clothes—down to her lacy pink bra and panties. She beckons me with her finger, so I come even closer and watch her without blinking even once. She takes the bra off, tossing it to the side. On the couch, she's on her elbows and knees, her breasts are pushed up against the cushion's fabric, her back is arched, and she's wiggling her butt in the air.

"I'm _all yours_ , baby; come here, and take me on the couch!"

* * * * *

A little later in the day, Misty and I visit our local bakery to pick out the birthday cake. We make sure to arrive hungry so that the cakes will look appealing to us. A wide variety of designs and colors are available: circular, rectangular, and heart shapes; white, yellow, brown, red, and pink frosting; swirly and flower decorations; sprinkles, gummy bears, and M&M candy toppings; and much more. We end up choosing a circular white cake with swirly buttercream frosting decorating its perimeter, candles that spell out _happy birthday_ , colorful mini balloons, and sprinkles. The cake is then carefully brought home and stored away for later consumption. Our trip to the bakery made us even hungrier than we already were, so it's a good thing that, by this point, it's the afternoon and time to have lunch.

"What would you like for lunch? If you want, we can go to a restaurant," Misty offers.

"Hmmm... I think I feel like having burgers," I reply.

"Burgers sound great!" she says.

For my birthday lunch, both of us order a classic hamburger containing beef, lettuce, and tomatoes, along with a side of fries and a glass of ice-cold A&W Cream Soda to wash it all down.

* * * * *

In the evening, as the time for the party gets closer, Misty and I start preparing the house to welcome guests. We put up a few plastic balloons, set up the dining table, and bring the cake out on display. The party will mainly consist of a special home-cooked fried-chicken dinner, with the cake as the dessert. Afterward, I'll get to open my birthday gifts as Misty reveals them to me.

At the agreed-upon starting time, the first person to show up is Cindy, followed several minutes later by Andy. Now that the four of us are here, we're ready to have dinner, and Misty serves her delicious fried chicken.

"I'm glad everyone could make it. I didn't want a big party with a bunch of people I don't know; I wanted to celebrate my birthday surrounded only by people I care about, and you're all here," I say while everyone is eagerly waiting for the hot chicken to cool off.

No more than a minute later, the room fills with the sound of four people conversing, combined with the crunching of chicken.

"You gotta tell me how you made this!" Cindy says.

"I think this may be the best chicken I've had in a while," Andy comments.

"The skin is so crunchy, yet the inside is perfectly juicy," I add.

"Awww, thanks, guys! I actually mostly figured out the recipe by myself through trial and error," Misty responds to all of our compliments.

Andy ends up staying just long enough to see the cake being cut and have himself a slice but then has to go on account of needing to wake up early the next morning. Misty, Cindy, and I have some more cake, but some is still left over, so Misty puts it away in the refrigerator for another time.

"Alright, it's time for presents!" Misty announces.

"Oh, finally—I've been waiting all day to see what you got me," I reply eagerly.

"Okay, here's the first one," she says, handing me a relatively small box covered in shiny navy-blue starry-night-sky wrapping paper.

Attached by a string, a small note addressed to me reads, _I know you really wanted this for some time, so I hope you enjoy it. Love, Misty._

"Well, this ought to be interesting," I remark before proceeding any further.

A ribbon is tied around the box neatly into a bow, which is what I untie first. I remove the wrapping paper and open the white box inside containing the actual item. It's a smartphone—the same one that Misty and I saw the first time we went to the mall together.

"Wow, thank you, baby! This is such a thoughtful gift. I can't believe you remembered..." I say as I give Misty a big hug.

"Awww, you're welcome, hon," she responds while I'm still holding her.

Misty and Cindy watch as I transfer my SIM card, set up the brand-new phone, and play around with its unique features.

"I'll be right back," Cindy says after a while, exiting the room.

"I have something else for you. Come with me," Misty tells me a few minutes later, taking me by the hand and leading me to the bedroom.

"Shouldn't we wait for Cindy to get back so she can also see my other present?"

"Cindy _is_ your other present!" Misty replies cheerfully.

A moment after she says that, Cindy enters the room in a breathtakingly sexy cheerleader outfit, complete with pink pom-poms. She comes over to me and takes a seat on my lap, facing me. I put one arm around her, pulling her closer to me, and rest the other on her thigh; at this distance, I can smell that her perfume has the sweet aroma of fresh cherries.

"I don't remember seeing two hot blondes listed on tonight's dessert menu!" I say, laughing.

Cindy makes way for Misty so that she can also sit on my lap, and they each take a seat on one of my legs.

"Is this your hottest fantasy? Be honest—how long have you wanted to do this?" Misty asks rhetorically.

"I need this _so bad_ because it's been too long since anyone's made me feel sexy. I'm so tired of only ever playing with my toy," Cindy explains to me.

She bats her eyelashes at me and licks her lips as I stare into her sapphire-blue eyes whilst gently running my hand along her thighs.

"Come on—of course you're sexy! Whenever I think _Cindy_ , I think _that smart, hot blonde babe_." I tell her sincerely.

"See? I told you you're so attractive!" Misty says to her.

Cindy nibbles on my ear and whispers something just loud enough for Misty to also hear.

"I want you to _show_ me just how sexy you think I am..."

Misty and Cindy both undress in front of me, revealing that they're wearing the same items I helped them choose when we were at Victoria's Secret; Misty is wearing her shiny red bra and panties, and Cindy is wearing her lacy purple ones.

"You two are so sexy modeling the things I picked out for you," I compliment them.

"I hope you like taking them _off_ of us as much as you like the way they look _on_ us!" Cindy says.

"The only things I'm not taking off of you are my eyes."

Noticing that my gaze has shifted down to her chest, Cindy takes my hand and places it right in between her boobs. She bites her bottom lip as I sensually touch and squeeze her breasts through her bra, moaning in her high-pitched voice when I squish them together.

"Ooo! Do you like my 34DD assets? I love the way you play with them."

"These are so soft yet have just the right amount of firmness; I can tell they're natural," I tell her.

Misty and Cindy turn to face each other, their legs interlocked, and they start making out. The only thing better than these two sexy blondes individually is the both of them kissing each other passionately on my lap.

"Hey, I know a fun birthday game we can play: Close your eyes, and see if you can tell which one of us is which by the taste of our lipstick," Misty says to me playfully once her and Cindy's lips separate.

The two of them stare at me with their half-closed eyes, puckering their lips and making kissing sounds. Once my eyes are shut, the two swap places at random. The first blonde leans in, and I feel a pair of juicy lips press up against mine.

"Your lipstick tastes like delicious, fresh cherries. You're definitely Cindy, aren't you?" I tell her.

"And yours tastes like sweet strawberries. I can tell you're Misty," I add after repeating the same process with the second blonde.

"Ah, I see my guesses were spot on!" I address both of them, with my eyes now open, and the three of us laugh.

On the bed, Cindy jumps up on top of me and reaches her hands out, with her fingers spread apart, and presses them onto my chest, drawing my attention to her shiny, bright-red fingernails.

"How did you know I love the hands-on-the-chest thing?" I ask, pleasantly surprised.

"Misty told me all about what you like beforehand," she explains.

"Did she also tell you how much I like to put my hands _right there_?" I say, referring to her midsection.

The tips of my fingers slowly graze her legs before I make my way up and, ultimately, place my hands around her slim, toned waist, giving Cindy's belly a playful squeeze. She lets out a tiny moan, closes her eyes, and tilts her head slightly to the side in response. I pull her in even closer and plant several kisses all along her neck, causing her to moan some more.

"Wow, baby—you're really startin' to turn me on..." Cindy says in a seductive voice before licking her plump red lips.

I run my fingers all over her soft, smooth skin, and then Misty joins me in touching Cindy. She giggles and tickles me with her pom-poms before the pair get on top of me and initiate a kissing attack all over me. Their blonde hair tickles my face, neck, and chest as they cover me in lipstick marks and warmth. Meanwhile, I reach around to their backs and unhook their bras using one arm for each of them.

### Chapter 16

I Love You More

"Good morning, my little butterfly," I say in a tired voice to an equally sleepy Misty.

"Hey, love bug," she responds.

"Since today is Valentine's Day, do you want to go anywhere special?" I ask, rubbing some of the sleep from my eyes.

"Actually, I think I wanna stay inside and just spend some time with you," Misty answers.

"That's probably a good idea because it looks like it's cloudy, so there might be rain later on today," I comment, glancing outside through the window.

"Well, shall we go have breakfast?" she offers once we've taken a minute to stretch and fully wake ourselves up.

"Have you got any more pancakes or waffles? I could definitely go for either of those right now," I declare.

"I don't have any more pancakes, unfortunately, but I should still have enough waffles for the two of us. I also still have a little syrup left," Misty says.

* * * * *

Sitting on the couch after breakfast, I notice something different about Misty's hair.

"Did you get your hair done?" I ask her.

"Oh, I just added a few red highlights. Do you like them? I thought I'd try something new for Valentine's Day," she explains.

I run my fingers through her light-blonde hair, focusing in particular on the new streaks of red.

"You look even more beautiful than usual today. Did you do these yourself?"

"Yes, I did. I love being so sexy for you!" Misty replies with a smile.

"You're such an adorable angel; sometimes, it feels like you'll grow wings and take me away," I say, hugging her.

"Awww, I could just melt into you right now like butter."

"I love you so much, baby," I tell her.

"I love you more," Misty responds.

"I love you even more," I continue, pressing my nose up against hers.

"No, I love _you_ more!" she says, giggling.

Right as I'm about to respond again, Misty locks her lips onto mine so that I can't say anything else.

"How much do you love me?" I whisper once our lips separate with the characteristic _mwah_.

" _This_ much," Misty answers, spreading her arms out wide before wrapping them around me.

"What is it that you love the most about me?"

"I love the way you handle me so gently. Whenever you come around, I feel really sexy, and you always treat me right and respect me. Now your turn: What's your favorite part about me?" she asks.

"You're always so playful, energetic, and happy but also caring and understanding. Whenever I'm feeling down or have a problem—when I need you the most—you're right there to cheer me up or help me," I reply.

"We're so perfect together that someone should write a love story about us!" Misty says.

"If this were a cartoon, there would be little sparkling hearts floating above us right now," I say as we rub our noses together before sharing a deep kiss.

* * * * *

Later on in the day, I tell Misty that I have a present to give her.

"I've got something really special for you that I've been saving up for," I announce to her.

"What is it?" she asks, curious.

"Here, take a look," I say, handing her a little box.

She opens it and then instantly lets out a gasp of excitement when she sees what's inside.

"It's a gift card for a local jewelry store!" she declares joyfully.

"I know we said we weren't going anywhere today, but I think this is a worthy exception," I respond as she throws herself into my arms.

"Awww, honey—this is so thoughtful!"

"We'll pick out a stunning piece of jewelry for you, and when we get back, I have something else for the both of us to share."

At the store, Misty and I browse through the vast array of lovely jewelry designs. There are so many nice things around that it's tough to choose only one. After some searching, while we're in the section that displays necklaces, she draws my attention to a particular piece.

"Ooo, here's a pretty one."

She points to a necklace with a white-gold heart pendant containing small sapphires all around it.

"I like it too. I think that'd look beautiful on you, babe," I agree with her.

"Yeah, let's get it!"

We find a sales representative to make the purchase, and the necklace is placed into a very nice box for us. It's also revealed that some money still remains on the gift card.

"We can come back here another time and get you something else," I suggest.

"I just can't wait to get back and see how _this one_ looks on me!"

Once we're settled in at home, I help Misty fasten the necklace around her neck, and the pendant rests just above her cleavage.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," I compliment her.

She gets a handheld mirror from her purse to take a look for herself.

"I love it. Thank you, baby. This is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten," she says sincerely, giving me a hug.

"It's just my way of showing how much you mean to me."

"Awww," Misty responds, looking at me with her head tilted slightly before giving me a light kiss on the cheek.

"Now... Let's get to my other surprise."

I retrieve the metallic red container with pink rose decorations that I got especially for this day.

"Mmm... I love chocolate," Misty says as soon as she opens it.

I take one out and feed it to her. She practically moans when she discovers that they're filled with caramel. Reciprocating the gesture, she then feeds me a chocolate. By the time we're through, the upper layer in the box of chocolate is about halfway empty, and then Misty gets another idea.

"These sweets are so good that they've put me in the mood for some cookies. Do you wanna bake some with me?"

"You know I do!"

Like we always do, we first wash our hands with warm, soapy water together under the sink—an important preliminary step. Misty gathers several necessary ingredients, including white sugar, milk, eggs, and flour, among other things. She asks me to mix them in a bowl while she preheats the oven. Inside the bowl, the mixture forms a dough that Misty and I then both transform into quarter-inch-thick heart shapes. While our cookies are baking in the oven, we prepare the pink frosting, which we'll soon spread on top of them. Once the frosting is applied, the finishing touch is adding red sprinkles to the cookies that look like tiny rubies.

"I have a cute Valentine's Day pillow I'd like you to see... in the bedroom," Misty says after we're done eating, winking at me and adding a sultry tone to the last three words.

She then grabs my hand and leads me there, showing me a red heart-shaped pillow with a lacy white border surrounding it. The other pillows on the bed are the usual rectangular ones but now with glittery red covers. I watch Misty undress to reveal her shiny orange bra and panties. She lies down on her back, with her head on the new pillow, and stares at me seductively, her eyes three-fourths closed and the tip of her index finger placed between her slightly parted lips. When Misty gets on top of me, the feeling of her weight makes my pulse go wild. The bright splashes of red, orange, and light-blonde are the perfect combination of sunrise colors.

### Chapter 17

I'll Always Be Yours

In a few days, I'll be traveling to another state to attend the special training required for a new job, and Misty is helping me get ready. It's unfortunate that I have to go elsewhere for two weeks before starting, but when I come back, I'll still be able to work online from home, like I already have been. Once all of my things are packed, we can rest easy for a while.

"Do you think you'll return in time for our one-year anniversary?" Misty asks me.

"Yes, I should be back with a few days to spare," I answer.

"We've never been apart for this long before. I'm not sure how I'll be able to fall asleep when I'm not securely in your arms..." she says, coming close to me and resting her head on my chest.

"Awww, babe—I don't wanna be away from you either, but I think it'll be worth it. And at least we'll be able to text each other and see each other over video chat."

"Yeah, I know, but I guess it's not the same," Misty replies.

* * * * *

On the day I'm set to leave, Misty drives me to the airport, and we say our goodbyes before I depart.

"Even though you'll only be gone for a few weeks, I'm still really gonna miss you," she says with tears in her eyes like little diamonds.

"Come on, sweetie—don't cry. I promise I'll be back real soon, and when I am, we'll go somewhere really fun," I comfort her in a soft voice, kissing away her tears.

We share a quick kiss, and then I'm off to catch my flight. Misty waves to me and blows me another kiss before driving off into the distance. I've never traveled alone before, so this will be a very strange experience. I feel somewhat better as I make it onto the plane with plenty of time to spare.

For the next few hours, the only thing left to do is wait. While my smartphone still has battery power remaining, I play a few games on it. Without internet access, however, the range of things I can do is severely limited, so I decide to use this time to sleep. I awaken multiple times throughout my nap, and each time, I look over to the empty seat next to mine as if expecting Misty to be there. _Wherever you are, I'll always be yours_ , I remember the words she spoke a few days prior. I take comfort in the thought that I'll send her a message as soon as I'm able to, and I fall back asleep. Before I know it, I wake up to the sound of the pilot announcing over the intercom that we'll be arriving at the destination airport soon, so I get my bearings in preparation for the landing.

I grab something to eat at the airport before exiting and finding a taxi to take me to the hotel where I'll be staying; I sure am glad that this expense will be taken care of for me. Once I check in and settle into my room, I set my phone to charge so I can text Misty, letting her know that I made it safely. The job training begins tomorrow, so I have the rest of today to relax and take a break from the exhaustion of travel.

In the evening, Misty and I get together on video chat, talking about what we did today and things of that sort. Although It's nice to have some line of communication open, it can never compare to being together in person.

* * * * *

The next two weeks go by without any problems, but on the day when I'm supposed to leave, I'm informed that the flight is delayed due to inclement weather. Back at home in California, thunderstorms of this type and magnitude almost never happen, but I should've expected that it could happen elsewhere. The company agrees to pay for my extended stay, though no one is sure exactly when it'll be safe to fly again. Misty and I are extremely disappointed at the thought that we might not have the chance to be together on our one-year anniversary.

Two more days pass, with the weather clearing up some, and yet it still remains unknown when I'll be able to return. It isn't too late to make it back in time, but I'm beginning to get nervous as the window becomes narrower and narrower. On the day flights resume—the day of Misty's and my anniversary—I end up finding out on such short notice that I have to rush in order to make it, so I can't even spare the moment needed to tell Misty that I'll be making it home just in time after all. Cutting it extremely close, I breathe a major sigh of relief as I sit down on the plane, with only minutes to spare before takeoff. I close my eyes to take a well-deserved nap, content that Misty and I will be together very soon. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees me again for the first time in over two weeks.

* * * * *

"I'm home, honey!" I shout excitedly as I swing the front door open and enter the house.

"Baby!" Misty responds as she practically leaps into my arms.

I pick her right up, and we share the deepest and most intensely passionate kiss imaginable, lasting several minutes.

"I'm sooo, sooo happy to see you!" she says with an angelic smile.

"I missed you more than anything," I tell her sincerely.

"Not as much as I missed you!"

Later in the evening, we go to the park for a walk—just like we did a year ago. While walking around, we encounter a small cluster of ladybugs that have red wing covers with several black spots on them. Kneeling down to get a closer look, Misty lets one of them walk around on her hand, commenting how adorable the creatures are. The sun starts to set over the horizon, filling the sky with brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow, and violet. While we're sitting on a bench and breathing in the fresh outdoor air, a beautiful little purple-and-orange butterfly lands on our table.

"Awww, isn't that so pretty!" Misty says to me, with her head resting on my shoulder.

"It's exactly like the one we saw a year ago," I reply softly, putting my arm around her to bring her even closer to me.

We watch as it flutters away into the distance.

### Even though you might never see it, this love story is dedicated to you, Lexi Swallow—the most beautiful woman in the world.
