"You're coming to Florida for Christmas?" Ashley asked Alex happily.
"Yeah. Justin invited me to spend Christmas with him."
"Oh, Justin's the reason." She sniffed. "I see how it is. Ditch me for a guy."
"Aren't you gonna be up here, with Nate?"
"I'm just kidding with you, Alex. I'm going to be up there for christmas, we're coming back down here for New Year's."
"That's cool. Maybe we can get together sometime, then."
"Have you already talked to your dad?"
"Yeah. He's cool with it, and understands. He told me he wants me to have fun while I can."
"That's good. I hope you have fun."
"I doubt Justin will let me do anything else."
"Isn't it nice to have a guy who wants to do nothing but please you? " Ashley had heard everything Justin had done for Alex. Flowers every week, poems and songs written just for her, phone calls just to say hi. Ashley's personal favorite- being serenaded from the balcony.
"It is, but at the same time, it's scary. I've never had someone shower me with so much and not ask for anything in return. It's like he's happy just doing all of this for me. And especially for a guy. He hasn't pressured me into anything, hasn't rushed anything. Half the time, he's the one who draws away when we're making out."
"He loves you, Alex. He wants you to be happy."
"I know, and I love him even more for that." I love him, and I think he loves me. But am I worthy of that love? "Oh, did I tell you we're officially dating now? Not seeing anyone else."
"Dating as in boyfriend girlfriend?"
"Yeah."
Ashley's phone beeped. "That's probably one of the guys. Gotta go."
"Laters."***
"I definitely like Florida better," Ashley commented, staring out of the window. Snow blanketed the ground, and more was falling. "I hate the cold." She pulled the blanket she was wrapped in tighter.
Nate walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I can make you warmer," he said huskily.
Ashley turned around in his arms. "Then warm me up, babe."
"Gladly. But first," Nate dug a small black velvet box from his pocket, "will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Ashley looked at him. The light from the fireplace and candles burning throughout the room seemed to become hazy in her tear clouded eyes.
"I... I... Yes... I love you so much... Of course I'll marry you." She blinked her eyes, trying to clear the tears. But one feel.
Nate kissed it from her cheek. "You've made me the happiest man alive. I love you so much, baby."
"I love you, too." Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.***
"At least I don't have to stay with all of the guys," Alex commented as she followed Justin inside his house.
"Uh..." Justin began.
"What do you mean, 'Uh'?"
"They don't live here, but we spend a lot of time together, so you'll probably be seeing them a lot," Justin warned.
"At least I don't have to stay in the same house with them. Or at least I don't have to worry about them staying at my place."
"We're not that bad," Chris told her, as she and Justin walked in the living room.
"Yes, you are. I spent two days cleaning my kitchen after you guys left the first time you visited."
"You're the one who let us cook," Joey said.
"My mistake. Never gonna do that again."
"You're no fun," Chris told her.
"No, I'm fun, just not your type of fun," Alex replied.
"I could take that in a bad way," Chris began. "But I'm gonna be a good boy, and not take it that way."
"Since when have you ever been a good boy?"
"I'm always good."
Alex laughed and quoted his words back to him. "I could take that in a bad way, but I'm gonna be a good girl, and not take it that way."
"But I meant it in a bad way," Chris protested.
Alex ignored his comment and followed Justin upstairs to his room, where she put her things down. "I don't know if I should stay in here."
"Well, you're not staying anywhere else. I want you to stay in here with me."
"Ok. But we're not having sex."
"I know."
"Good."
"I love you."
"I love you, too." Alex wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I'm glad I came out here."
"Me, too. I missed you."
"I need to look into schools down here, and see about transferring."
"Yes, you do. I'd like to have you down here with me."
"But you'll be gone half the time."
"But I'll have you the other half of the time."
You can have me all the time, if you want. Alex kissed him again. "I'd love that."***
"How did your Christmas go?" Alex asked Ashley three days later, December 26th.
Ashley sighed. "It was wonderful. Nate proposed three days ago, and we spent the days since then celebrating it. Yesterday was so wonderful."
"He didn't wait until Christmas to propose?" Alex inquired. "He should have. That would have been so romantic. I'm happy for you. When's the wedding gonna be?"
"Alex, girl, I don't know. We have to look at our schedules, see when we're free things like that."
"Poor you. You can't even plan a wedding without checking your schedule. It's gonna be hard, then."
"I know. But I've got all of my friends to help me."
Alex laughed. "We get to plan a wedding. How fun." Her voice lowered. "Ashley, I have a question for you. Do you think it's a good idea for me to drop out of college? I have my writing, and because of this series I'm selling, I have enough money so I actually don't need to work."
"Alex, think long and hard about it. What if something happens that makes it impossible, or at least hard for you to write. And besides, you love learning. You're one of the few people I know who actually love to learn."
"Ashley, that's never gonna change. But I actually don't need to be in school to learn. I can learn on my own. That's actually how I prefer to learn. I have enough money in the bank so I could not work, and not sell another book and live happily. Besides, I've got another 30 million coming my way, for the other five books in the series. Plus half of the royalties the books make. I'm set for live."
"It's up to you, but I would suggest at least getting a degree. You've always wanted to get a doctorate."
"I know. And I'm going to. It was just an idea. But I'm transferring out here."
"That's cool. We'll be able to spend more time together."
"Yeah. But you weren't the reason why I decided to move out here. Justin was."
"I'm insulted. You made a decision based on a guy, not your best friend. How rude!"
Alex laughed. "Ashley, you're my best friend, and I love you, but Justin's a guy."
"Fine. I understand." Alex faked a sob. "It's ok. I'm just glad you're gonna be out there, no matter what decided you."
Alex laughed again.***
"What are we doing for New Year's Eve?" Alex asked Justin the next day.
"We're going to a party being thrown by Jive," Justin told her.
"Oh cool. Ashley's going, too, so I'll see her there."
"Gonna ditch me for your best friend?"
"Of course not, sweetheart. I love her, like a friend, and all, and I'll go talk to her, but I'll be spending most of the night with you. You're my date, after all."
"And if you see any hot guys, you're not gonna go flirt with them?"
"As long as you don't go flirting with any hot chicks."
Justin dropped a kiss on her neck. "As if I ever could look at another woman after you."
"I love you just for that. You make me feel like I'm the center of your universe."
Justin kissed her, thinking, You are the center of my universe. I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. "Come on, we need to go get food. What do you want to eat?"
"I don't care. Whatever you want is fine with me."
"You always leave me to make the decision on what to have for dinner," Justin complained.
Alex laughed. "Yeah, so? Are you complaining? I know like a hundred guys who would love to have a woman who was so deferential to their wishes?"
"Deferential?" Justin looked at her, both his eyebrows raised. "No, you ain't deferential. You just don't care what you have for dinner the majority of the time. If you were deferential, you'd what I said when I said it how I said it."
"Aren't you glad I'm not like that?"
"Well...." Justin drawled.
Alex slugged him in the arm. "Say you wish I was like that sometimes, and I'll make your life miserable."
"I wouldn't want you to be like that. I love you just the way you are," Justin told her in a mock serious voice.
"That's what I thought," Alex replied.
They both laughed, then Justin wrapped his arms around her. "Seriously, I love you and I wouldn't want to change anything about you."
"I love you, too, and I'd never want anything about you to change. Well, maybe your morning attitude, but we can work around that."
"My morning attitude is no worse than yours."
"No, Justin, I'm half dead in the morning, not a grumpy bear."
"It's better than being half dead. When I asked where the cereal was, you told me it was it was time for me to go to school, or I'd be late. Remember that?"
"And what time had I gone to bed the night before? And I thought you were my brother."
"Oh, that's an excuse."
"A least I don't bite people's heads off first thing in the morning."
"I do not. It's only when people bug me that I do."
"Oh sure, saying 'hi' is bugging you."
"You said it in such a bright and cheery way it got on my nerves."
"I was happy-"
Alex was interrupted by JC Chasez. "Will you two shut up? We can hear you all the way out here," he called from the living room of Justin's house.
Justin and Alex walked out of Justin's room. "What are you guys doing here?" Justin asked, noticing all four guys in the living room.
"We came to bug you," Chris said. "Since both of you are such bright and cherry people. Especially in the morning. And you're just so aware of everything."
"Go to hell, Chris," Alex told him, picking up a pillow and throwing it at him.