�Hey Claire. Come on in.�
�Hey hon. I�ve got a surprise for you.� Claire walked in followed by Darren and then Ben.
�Ben? What are you still doing here? I thought you were going back to LA.�
Ben smiled and knew right then that he had made the right decision. �I decided I�d rather be here.� He walked over to where Serena was seated at her desk. �Hello beautiful,� he said softly, and bent down and kissed her forehead. Neither noticed when Claire and Darren slipped out of the room.
Serena stood up and wrapped her arms around Ben. �I can�t believe you decided to stay. Why did you?�
�Why do you think? You, of course. Serena, I don�t have any reason to be in LA other than the fact that I live there right now. The other members of my band are all back home in Australia right now, and there�s nothing for me in LA. Here, though, there�s you. And I really like you, and want to get to know you better. I told Claire and she arranged for me to be able to stay at the Alumni House for the next couple of weeks. Does that bother you at all?� Ben asked searching her face for an answer.
�Are you kidding? Ben, of course it doesn�t bother me.� Serena rested her head on his chest. �I�m so glad you decided to stay.�
�Me too,� he said. Ben tipped her chin up and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended Ben turned to look at Serena�s room. �So show me your room,� he said.
�Well, there�s not much to show. I have a single, so just a bed, desk, bookshelf, computer, wardrobe, TV and fridge. There�s really nothing else. So what shall we do tonight?�
�Well, I don�t know about you, but I�d love to just relax. Last night was the concert and the night before we all went down to Iowa City to go dancing, so I�m still a bit tired. Is that okay with you?�
�Sounds great. How about a movie?� Serena pointed to the ones next to the VCR and in the end they decided to be silly and watch Disney�s Tarzan. They sat down on the bed across from the TV and Ben pulled Serena into his arms. The two had fun watching the movie. Serena couldn�t believe that Ben hadn�t seen it yet, and it was funny watching it with him. She�d seen it so many times that she�d almost forgotten the magic of seeing it for the first time.
�Shall we go see what Darren and Claire are up to?� Ben asked after the movie was over. �I feel kinda bad just deserting them like we did.�
�Yeah, let�s go.� The two walked down the hall, only to find Claire�s door was locked. �They�re not home.� Serena thought for a minute. �Oh, Bari Korel�s here tonight. That�s probably where they are. C�mon, let�s go down to the coffee shop and see.�
�How far a walk is it?� Ben asked.
Serena looked at him in confusion for a minute. �Oh, I see what you mean. It�s right next door. It�s here on campus in the union which is just one building over. The Student Activities Committee brings in singers and entertainers every week, and Claire really wanted to go see this one, because when she was in New York a friend of hers was working for her.�
�Okay, that sounds cool. Let�s go.� The two went back to Serena�s room and grabbed their coats. The hurried over to the coffee shop. They walked in just in time to see Jenny�s last performance. They found Darren and Claire. �Hey that girl has a really good voice.�
Claire turned to Ben. �I�ll tell her you said so. That�s my friend Jenny. We were in New York together last spring, and she worked with the woman who�s about to perform. I think you guys will like her. Jenny played us some of her stuff in New York, so I already know that I like her music. I�m gonna get an Italian soda before the performance starts. You guys want anything?�
Ben handed her some money for him and Serena. I�ll take a cappuccino. What do you want love?�
�Umm�strawberry Italian soda.�
�Okay, Darren can you come help me carry everything?�
�Of course.�
The two walked over to the counter and Claire told Holly what they wanted. As they were walking back, Darren nudged Claire. �Look at those two.�
Claire turned her head to look at Ben and Serena. The two were completely wrapped up in each other. �They look so great together. I�m glad they�re happy.�
�Me too. C�mon, let�s get back to the table.� The two walked the rest of the way back, weaving their way between people. They handed Serena and Ben their drinks, and sat down just as Bari came on stage. Claire had heard a couple of the songs she performed before, but most of them were new to her. Ben and Darren were both really impressed by her, and afterwards, they all bought a copy of her CD.
Darren gave Claire a peck on the cheek. �I�ll be right back, love. I�m gonna go tell Bari that we really enjoyed the show.�
�Okay. I�m gonna go talk to Jenny for a minute.� Ben and Serena had already left to head back to her room, so Claire got up and walked over to where Jenny was surrounded by other friends. �Jenny, you were great tonight,� she told her friend.
�Thanks Claire. Hey, who�s that guy you�re with? He looks really familiar.�
�His name�s Darren Hayes. Does that ring a bell?�
�You�re kidding me right?�
�No, I�m not.�
�Oh my gosh, you are so lucky. I know you�ve wanted to meet him for a long time. But how on earth did you manage to get him to come here with you?�
�Well, we actually met a couple of days ago, and really hit it off. We�ve hardly left each other�s company the entire time. Oh Jenny, I�m just so happy.�
Jenny hugged her friend. �I�m happy for you too.�
Darren chose that moment to come back to Claire. He put his arm around her waist. Turning to Jenny, he said, �Hi, I�m Darren Hayes.�
The two shook hands. �It�s nice to meet you Darren, I�m Jenny Elverson.�
�I just wanted to tell you that you�re really good. You�ve got a great voice and talent with the guitar.�
�Thanks, I really appreciate that.�
�Jen, I think we�re gonna get going; I�ve still got to work on my thesis tonight, but come up tomorrow after class, so we can talk?�
�I�ll try, but I don�t know if I�ll be able to. I�ve got tons of stuff to do, and my final�s gonna be killer.�
�Okay, well hopefully we�ll see you tomorrow. And good luck with your final.�
�Thanks. Good luck with the thesis. Bye.�
�Bye Jenny. It was nice to meet you,� Darren said and the two walked off. Back in her room, Claire sat down at her computer and called up her thesis.
Darren yawned. �I�ve gotta get some sleep. You sure you have to work on that tonight?�
�Well, it�s either work on it now, or get up at 4 am to work on it.�
�Okay, okay. I just don�t know if I can fall asleep without you. I�ve been spoiled, I think.�
Claire laughed. �Oh dear.� She stood up and hugged him. �I�m sure you�ll manage somehow.�
Darren gave her his best puppy dog face. �Please?�
�No, and that face doesn�t work on me, by the way. I�ve been around too many little kids for too long for that to have any affect on me.�
�Nuts.�
Claire laughed and then kissed him softly. �Now go get some sleep. The longer you make me stand here arguing with you, the longer it�s going to take me to get done what I need to.�
�Ahh, alright. I�ll let you work. You�re very stubborn sometimes, aren�t you?�
�That I am.�
�Okay, I can handle that.� He kissed her once more, and then let her go back to work. Darren stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed. �Goodnight love.�
Claire felt a shiver go down her spine at his words, and she wasn�t really sure why. She turned to face the bed. �Goodnight Darren. Sweet dreams.� She turned back to the computer, but she just couldn�t seem to concentrate. Her mind was going from one thought to the next faster than she seemed to be able to keep up with. �That�s the second time he�s called me love,� she thought. �Does it mean anything, or is it an Australian thing? Is it the same as calling someone dear or sweetie?� Claire shook her head. �I can�t think about this right now. I have to work.� But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn�t concentrate enough to make any kind of headway with the paper. �Oh forget it,� she said softly to herself. She glanced over at Darren and could tell that he�d already fallen asleep. �Poor darling. He�s totally exhausted.� Claire grabbed her pajamas and went down the hall to the bathroom to change. When she came back, she reset her alarm for 6, so that she could get up and hopefully get some work done on her thesis, turned out the light and crawled in to bed with him.
Darren stirred a bit. �Huh?�
�Shh, it�s okay. Just me.�
�I thought you were working.�
�I couldn�t concentrate, so I�m just going to get up and work on it in the morning.�
�Okay.� He kissed the top of her head and they both fell into a sound sleep.
Claire stirred at the sound of her alarm. She reached up and turned it off. Darren grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms. �I�m not letting you get up,� he said.
�Oh really?� Claire reached down and started tickling his bare skin. Darren shrieked and rolled towards the wall, pinning Claire beneath him. He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with his own.
�Don�t you remember the last time this happened?�
�Yes, and as I recall, I quite liked the outcome,� she said smiling up at him.
�As did I,� he whispered just inches from her mouth.
Claire raised her head to meet his kiss. Darren released her hands and she pulled him closer to her. Darren could feel her body beneath his, and knew that this couldn�t continue much longer. He pulled away from her and sighed. �We can�t keep this up much longer, but I don�t want to stop kissing you.� With that he kissed her again. Claire knew exactly what he meant though, and pulled away from him.
�I know,� she whispered. �Come on. Let�s get up.� She slid out of the bed, and grabbed her shower caddy and towel. She flipped on the coffee maker and opened the door. �Back in a bit,� she said to him.
Darren sighed and climbed out of the bed. He sat down in front of Claire�s computer and logged into his e-mail account. Nothing but junk mail. He sighed and signed out. He got up and looked at Claire�s book shelf. He grabbed a mystery off the shelf and sat down at the empty desk to read. Claire walked back into the room about 10 minutes later. �Hey hon. Got an extra towel I could use?�
�Sure thing. Claire opened a dresser drawer and pulled one out for him.
�Thanks. It is okay if I use the showers in this building isn�t it?�
�Yeah, I�ve just gotta go down there with you, and make sure no one minds. But no one else is awake yet, so it shouldn�t matter. Lemme grab some clothes, and I�ll change while you shower.� Claire grabbed jeans, her favorite purple sweater, underclothes, her brush, and her hair dryer. Darren grabbed his shower stuff and a change of clothes and followed her down the hall to the bathroom. Claire was right; no one else was awake or at least, no one else was in the bathroom. Claire stepped into one of the stalls to change while Darren was in the shower.
She had almost finished drying her hair, when he stepped out fully dressed. �Ahh, I feel much better now.�
�Good,� she said, and turned to kiss him. She turned the hair dryer off, and was about to start wrapping the cord around the handle, when Darren asked if he could use it. �Sure.� She handed it to him and stepped out of the way. A few minutes later they walked back down the hall to Claire�s room.
�Okay, I�ve put this thing off long enough,� Claire said as she sat down in front of her computer.
�I�ve gotta make some phone calls. I�m gonna take my cell phone down to the lobby, cuz I don�t want to disturb you.�
�Okay, I�ll come find you if you�re not back by the time I finish.�
�Okay.� Darren kissed her cheek and headed out the door. It took him a little over an hour, but he finally managed to get all his plans fixed for going back to San Francisco the following week. He wandered around the lobby for a bit and then sat back down in the couch. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
Claire got as much work done on her thesis as she could and e-mailed it to Dr. Stewart. It was time for her to go to class, but Darren wasn�t back, and she couldn�t lock the door because then he�d be locked out. She grabbed her keys and books and headed for the lobby. She found Darren asleep on the couch. Claire shook his shoulder gently. �Wake up hon,� she said softly.
Darren stirred. �Oh dear, I can�t believe I fell asleep.� He stood up and stretched.
�I can. We didn�t get that much sleep last night. I�ve gotta go to class, but the door�s open if you want to go back up and sleep a bit more. I�ll see you in a couple of hours, okay?�
�Okay. Oh, hey, meet me in Ben�s room at the Alumni House after class, okay? He wants to take us all out to lunch. Serena will be there too.� Darren said and kissed her cheek.
�I will,� Claire said and headed off to class. She found the material being presented interesting, but was having a difficult time staying awake. �I�m definitely taking a nap after lunch,� she said to Serena after class as they headed over to the Alumni House and made their way upstairs to Ben�s room. Serena knocked on the door and Ben opened it.
�Hey you two, how was class?� he asked, giving Serena a quick kiss. The girls dropped their bags on the floor.
Claire walked over to Darren and hugged him. �Did you get any more sleep?�
�No, actually, I just came over here. Oh, I guess that means your room isn�t locked, doesn�t it?�
Claire just shrugged. �Doesn�t matter. I hardly ever lock it anyway. So do we know where we�re going?�
�No idea,� Ben replied. �I don�t know what you guys have here. Serena, what do you think?�
�Umm�how about Gringo�s. It�s sort of a southwestern and Mexican type place.� Everyone was agreeable to that, so they went out to Claire�s car and drove downtown to the restaurant.
For Claire, the rest of the day and the rest of J-Term went by very quickly. She had a wonderful time hanging out with her friends and especially with Darren. She knew that he was leaving Wednesday night, and she didn�t want him to have to go so soon. �But I know that he must leave, and I�ll see him again soon,� she kept telling herself.
Before either of them knew it, it was Wednesday morning, and Claire�s alarm clock was going off. It had been a wonderful few days, and Claire was not looking forward to having to tell Darren goodbye tonight. He had told her that his flight was scheduled for 7:30 that evening. Claire reached over and turned off the alarm. She was tempted to skip the last day of class and spend the extra two hours with Darren, but she knew that she couldn�t do that. The two climbed out of the bed, and Claire could feel an air of solemnity settle over the room.
She couldn�t stand the feeling, so she grabbed her shower stuff and headed down the hall to the bathroom. She broke down in tears before she got to the first shower stall. Claire sat down against the wall and buried her face in her hands.
When she walked out of the room without saying anything, Darren knew something was wrong. He was going to check his e-mail first and then go down for a shower, but upon seeing her walk out, he grabbed his stuff and followed her. He entered the bathroom to see her crying on the floor. �Sweetheart, what�s wrong?� he asked. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap. �Please tell me what�s wrong?�
Claire sniffed. �I�m sorry Darren. I�m just sad because you have to leave tonight. I know that you said that you�d be back in a few days, but I�m just going to miss you so much, and with everyone else going home for the break, it�s just going to feel really lonely.�
�Oh sweetie. I wish there was something I could do to cheer you up, but I do have to go home for a few days. I�m going to miss you terribly as well. I wish that we didn�t have to be apart, but we do. And it�s going to be even worse when I have to go back on tour. I�m coming back here after San Francisco, but when I leave again, it�ll be a month before I have enough time off again to come back and see you again. But I will. I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with you.�
Claire wiped the tears from her eyes, and rested her head on Darren�s shoulder. �I know Darren, and I can handle the distance, because I know it�s not forever. But I�m still going to get upset about it sometimes.�
�I know. It�s not right to expect either of us to be happy all the time, and this is one of those times. But come on and take a shower. You�ll feel better afterwards.�
�Okay,� she said and kissed him softly. The pair stood up and walked over to the shower stalls. Darren had been right. Claire did feel a bit better after her shower.
Once she was seated in class and taking notes on the final lecture, she was feeling even more like herself. She talked to Serena during the break and they made plans to hang out some during the break, but Claire didn�t want to interfere in Serena�s time with Ben too much. She understood all to well that her friend was going to want to spend as much time with him as possible.
The entire day seemed to go by all to quickly for Claire and Darren. All too soon they found themselves in the airport waiting for Darren�s flight. Serena had come with them so that Claire would have some moral support after Darren left. Claire hadn�t been sure if she could handle driving home, and just in case, she wanted someone else with her who could drive back.
Darren pulled an envelope out of his backpack and handed it to Claire. �Open it,� he said softly.
Claire opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. �I don�t understand,� she said.
�What is there to understand?�
�It�s a plane ticket to San Francisco.�
�Yes, I booked it the same time I booked mine. I want you to come with me. Please?�
Claire smiled and burst into tears for the second time that day. She threw herself into Darren�s arms. �Yes, of course I�ll come with you.�
�I can�t believe you kept this a secret from me!! How did you manage that?�
�It wasn�t easy. I almost told you this morning, but I forced myself to wait until now like I had originally planned.�
�But I don�t have anything with me. I don�t have clothes or anything.�
�So we have to go shopping. Clothing is easily solved.�
�Darren, thank you so much.� Claire leaned up and kissed him. She was still laughing and crying all at once. �Serena, wanna drive my car back to Coe?�
Serena had had no idea what Darren had planned, so she was just as shocked about all this as Claire was. �No problem hon. And just call me when you get back, and I�ll come get you guys.�
Claire turned to Serena. �Thanks sweetie,� she said and hugged her. Claire handed Serena her car keys, and turned to go to the check-in counter. As soon as she came back, they announced the flight and that they were beginning boarding.
Serena hugged her friend again and hugged Darren. �Have fun you two. I�ll see you when you get back. Claire, call me when you get there, okay?�
�Okay, I will.� She and Darren walked up to the gate and handed their tickets to the agent. They found their seats on the plane.
Darren took Claire�s hand in his. �I�m glad you decided to come. I wanna show you San Francisco. I just love the city.�
�Me too,� Claire said.
�What do you mean? You�ve been there?�
�A few times. I haven�t seen much of it, but what I�ve seen I love. You have to show me all your favorite places. I can�t wait to see everything with you.�
�Me too. So when were you in San Francisco?�
�I was born and raised in the Central Valley. We only went to San Francisco a couple of times when I was growing up. The last time I was there was over the summer. I came home from break, and a friend of mine was in the city for a business meeting, so I took a day off from work and drove up there to spend the day with her. We saw Stomp and bummed around Chinatown and just had fun being with each other again.�
�That sounds really cool. I love Chinatown. I really am glad you�re here with me. Home will be even better with you to share it with me.�
Claire�s heart skipped a beat at his words. �Darren, that�s so sweet.� She kissed him softly on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. He let go of her hand, pushed the armrest out of the way, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. The entire day had been such an exhausting emotional roller coaster for Claire that she fell asleep quickly, and remained asleep until the plane landed in San Francisco.
Claire awoke with a start when the plane landed at San Francisco International Airport. �Did you sleep well, love?� Darren asked her.
�Mmm�yeah. And for a long time from the looks of it. We�re already here. Sorry, I guess I�m not much of a traveling companion.�
�Nothing to be sorry for,� Darren replied and kissed her forehead. The two stood up and made their way into the airport.
As the two were walking through the airport towards baggage claim, Claire thought she heard someone call out her name. �But why would anyone call out to me?� she thought. �I don�t know anyone in San Francisco.� But there it was again. �Darren, hang on a second,� she said. Claire stopped and turned around looking around the crowded airport. Then she saw her mom heading toward her waving. �Mom!� she called out. She ran over to her mom and the two women hugged each other.
�Claire, what are you doing here? You said you were going to stay at Coe for J-Break.�
�I know, and I thought I was too. I didn�t know I was coming to California until about � an hour before the plane took off.�
�What do you mean?�
Claire turned to look back for Darren. He had just caught up with them and put his arm around her waist. �Mom, I�d like you to meet Darren Hayes. He�s the reason I�m here. Darren, this is my mom, Sarah James.�
�Hi Mrs. James, it�s nice to meet you.�
�It�s nice to meet you too, Darren. Claire I still don�t understand.�
�Darren and I met a little over a week ago in Cedar Rapids. He�s the lead singer for Savage Garden, and they had a concert there. He was exploring the Coe campus and I literally ran him over on my way to a meeting. Anyway, we really hit it off, and we�ve hardly been out of each other�s company since then. He had to leave tonight to come home to San Francisco for a few days, and when we were at the airport, waiting for his flight he surprised me with a ticket on the same flight. So here I am.�
�Wow.� Sarah hugged her daughter again. �Sweetie, I�m happy for you.� Sarah was a bit worried about things moving to fast in the relationship, but she knew her daughter well enough to know that she wouldn�t let things go any faster than she was ready to handle.
�So what are you doing here? Does your trip end tonight? Or do you have a few more days? Will we or I be able to come see you guys while we�re here?�
�Actually, the trip ends tomorrow. I have one more flight tonight, in a couple of hours. We�re going to Salt Lake, and then I have three legs back tomorrow. I should be home around 3 or so. Would you two like to come down the day after?�
�Darren what�s your schedule look like for that day?� Claire asked.
�I have a meeting with the producer for my solo album in the morning, but the rest of the day is wide open. I�d love to go.�
�Okay, sounds great. Why don�t you guys just call before you leave, that should give us plenty of time.�
�Okay.� Claire hugged her mom. �Bye Mom, I�ll see you in a couple of days. I love you.�
�I love you too. It was nice meeting you Darren. I hope you two have fun.�
�Thanks, it was good to meet you too.� Darren and Claire continued down towards baggage claim while Sarah went her own way back to the gate. �So what does your mom do? I was a bit confused.�
�Oh, hon, I�m sorry. She�s a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. She�s based out of Oakland, though, so that�s why I was surprised to see her here.�
�Okay, I understand now. I have to admit, she was a lot cooler about you being here with me than I had first expected.�
�Well, she�ll worry about whether I�m taking things too quickly, and she�ll talk to me about it in private, but in the end she knows that I�m going to live my life the way I want. So she does her best to not be as overprotective as she wants to be. I really do love my mom. She lets me live my life without all the interference that so many of my friends get from their parents.�
�I�m glad you guys have such a good relationship,� Darren said as he pulled his suitcase off of the baggage carousel. The two walked out of the airport and hailed a cab to take them to Darren�s home. �How is it with the rest of your family? Who am I going to be meeting in a couple of days?�
�Well, if it�s okay with you, I�d like you to meet everyone. My dad and little brother live about 3 blocks from where my mom and stepfather live. My mom and Sam (my stepfather) live with my grandparents at their house. They can�t live by themselves anymore, but don�t really need the full-time care of a nursing home, so they live there and help them out with stuff. So my thought is that we go over there first, and then go over to my dad�s for a couple of hours as well. Does that sound okay?�
�Sure. I�d love to meet your family. Tell me about them?�
Claire began telling Darren about her father and her younger brother. She had just finished when the cab pulled up to a beautiful house in Sausilito. Darren paid the cab driver and the two got out and walked up to the front door. �Well, this is home.�
�Darren, it�s lovely.�
�C�mon, I�ll show you around.� Darren took her through the house and showed her everything. Upstairs, he saved the master bedroom for last, and when he opened the door to the room she was just in awe. There was a huge bay window that overlooked the entire city. She didn�t turn on the light, but instead just walked over to the window. She could see all the lights of San Francisco, and it looked so peaceful and beautiful. Darren came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. �It�s beautiful, isn�t it?�
�Yes, it is. It�s amazing how peaceful such a huge city can look at night from so far away. Okay, so I know we�re not that far away, but somehow, it feels like we�re in our own little world looking down on everything else.�
Darren kissed her neck. �You really are amazing. You�ve just described exactly what goes through my head every time I look out that window at night.�
Claire didn�t say anything. She just leaned back into Darren�s embrace and the two stood there staring out the window lost in thought for several minutes.
Claire awoke early. The sun was just starting to come up. She extracted herself from Darren�s embrace carefully, so as not to wake him up. She grabbed an afghan from the foot of the bed since it was still a bit chilly in the room and wrapped it around her shoulders. She walked over to the window and sat down on the floor. She was unsure how long she sat there, but the sun was long up before she moved. Darren was still asleep. Claire sighed and stood up. She grabbed her clothes and went down the hall to the bathroom. She changed out of the oversized t-shirt that Darren had given her to sleep in and back into the jeans and sweater she had worn the previous day. �I hope he wakes up soon,� she thought. �I need a shower.� Claire went back into the bedroom, folded up the afghan, and put it back on the foot of the bed. Quietly, she went downstairs and got a glass of water. She sat down on the couch and put her feet up.
Darren awoke to find Claire gone. He was a bit confused, but got up, threw on some clothes, and went downstairs. He found her sound asleep on the couch and just stood there watching her for a few minutes. �She looks so peaceful,� he thought. Darren knelt down by the couch and kissed her softly. Claire stirred and opened her eyes.
�Hi,� she said. �It�s about time you woke up.�
�Me?� Darren asked laughing. �I wake up and come down here to find you asleep, and you�re telling me that it�s about time I woke up?�
�True, I suppose, but I didn�t mean to fall asleep. I was just laying here thinking, and I guess I dozed off. I�ve been up since around dawn.�
�Dawn! Whatever for?�
�I dunno. I just woke up and didn�t feel like going back to sleep. So I got up and went and sat by the window and looked out at the city, and just thought about stuff. Then I got dressed and came down here for some water, and I guess I just fell asleep.�
�Well, wake up and we�ll go get breakfast. There�s no food here cuz I�ve been gone for so long, so we�re going to have to go grocery shopping today too.�
�Okay, I�m awake,� Claire said as she stood up.
�Good. I�m just gonna go brush my teeth and hair, and we�ll go.�
�Okay. I�ll just take a quick 2 hour nap, then while I wait for you,� Claire said with a teasing glint in her eye.
�Oh, you�re gonna get it for that,� Darren said. He reached out and started tickling her. The two ended up on the floor, rolling around tickling each other. Finally Darren managed to pin Claire down and hold her arms above her head. �You�re really strong for someone so small, you know that?� he said laughing and out of breath.
�Karate does that for a person.�
�You take Karate?�
�Yep. Ever since I was a freshman at Coe. I saw that they offered it, and thought why not? Then I really started to love it, so I stuck with it. I should be testing for my black belt in April. Most places make you wait a certain amount of time in between tests, but my sensei lets us move at our own pace, so I�ve been able to move through the belts pretty quickly. But at the same time, he doesn�t give anything away for free. He puts us through hell for our belts. But I�m glad he does, because then I really feel like I�ve earned it.�
�That�s really cool. You�ll have to show me something some time,� Darren said.
�Okay.� Darren had let up the pressure on her legs and she couldn�t resist. She hooked her leg around his and using a trick that her sensei had taught her, flipped him over onto his back, but she went with him, using enough control so that he didn�t hit the floor hard. So they were in the same position as before, only with her on top. �How was that?� she asked with a glint in her eye.
Darren put his head back on the floor and groaned. �I didn�t mean now.�
�Now�s as good a time as any, is what my mom always used to tell me.�
�Hmm�in that case, I think I�ll take your mom�s advice.� Darren pulled Claire down to him and kissed her deeply. He turned and rolled so that he was on top of her, and continued kissing her. He moved from her lips to her neck and then back. He wanted so much more, but knew that he had to stop himself, they weren�t ready as a couple to take that step, so he pulled away and stood up. �C�mon upstairs with me, and I will dazzle you with how fast I can be ready.�
She shot him a dubious look, but followed him upstairs anyway. He did manage to surprise her, and soon they were in Darren�s car, headed out to breakfast. He parked the car in front of Starbucks and they walked in. Soon they sat down with their coffee and a couple of blueberry muffins. �So where do you want to go shopping for clothes?� Darren asked.
�I really don�t know. I don�t know many of the stores here, but I can�t afford much,� Claire said.
Darren shook his head. �You�re not paying for anything. This week is my treat to you.�
�Darren, that�s really sweet of you, but you don�t have to, honestly. I can afford to buy myself a couple new pairs of jeans and some shirts.�
�Nope. I won�t hear of it. I�m the reason you didn�t get to bring any of your clothes with you in the first place, because I didn�t give you the plane ticket till about � an hour before we left. So the clothes are on me, and since you don�t know the stores around here, I�ll choose. Okay?�
Claire decided that it was better to give in to him than to argue. He had a look about him that said he was going to get his own way whether she liked it or not. �Okay.� The two finished their coffee and soon Darren was pulling into a parking spot across the street from Nordstrom�s. They walked in, and headed for the women�s department. Claire was amazed to find that Darren was actually fun to shop with. She also quickly realized that he liked to go a bit overboard as well, and they walked out of the store with more stuff than she could possibly wear in the week that she would be with him in San Francisco. His car was loaded down with bags, so they went back to his house to drop them off before going grocery shopping. Claire had never actually enjoyed grocery shopping until she experienced it with Darren. He was like a little kid, wanting to try everything. They laughed as they planned meals, each deciding that they would cook a few of their favorite meals for the other, as they searched for the ingredients. They finally left the store an hour and � later, both feeling quite hungry. They got home and put the groceries away. Claire made Darren go into the other room and watch TV while she made lunch.
�But I want to help.�
�Nope. You took me shopping, so now I�m going to make you lunch, and you�re going to go sit and wait. It�ll be done before you know it.�
Darren tried the puppy dog face on her once more. �Please?�
�Nope. And I already told you that look doesn�t work on me. Now go!� she ordered, but softened it with a kiss.
�Okay, okay,� he mumbled and walked into the living room.
Claire opened up one of the packages of chicken breasts they had bought. She washed them and cut them into strips and then put them in the skillet so they could start cooking. She then grabbed a cutting board and knife. She quickly washed a red and a green bell pepper and peeled an onion. She cut the peppers into strips and then cut � the onion into strips as well. As soon as the chicken had browned, she added the veggies and a packet of Mexican seasonings. She grabbed the tortillas and a couple of plates. Claire dished up the food and carried it into the dining room. She set the table and called out to Darren. �Lunch is ready.�
