Zac threw on his sunglasses and slipped his wallet into his cargo shorts. He had on his cherished "Frampton Live" t-shirt and Doc sandals. Walking past a mirror, he glanced at his reflection, 'Looking good today my man.' He grabbed a hair band off the dresser and pulled back his just-dried hair. He loved his long blond hair, but in this heat it definitely needed to be off his neck. Besides swimming with it down was a real pain in the ass.
Zac hummed as he walked through the lobby to the dining room to pick up their picnic basket. The cooler was already stocked and loaded in the back of the SUV. It had been a busy couple of hours but his was ready to go. He stopped and made a quick phone call to Ike's room to make sure they were on their way.
Amanda answered giggling. Oh oh, this was not necessarily a good thing. It could mean their preparations for the picnic had taken a serious detour. "Hey Mandy are you guys ready to go?" he asked.
She giggled again and said, "Just a minute, Zac." Muffled in the background he could hear her threaten Ike to keep his hands off her.
'God, my horny brothers can't get enough,' went through Zac's head. 'Oh well, can't say I wouldn't be the same.'
"Hi Zac. We'll be down in about 10 minutes."
Zac groaned, "Amanda, I know that means 20. Tell my brother to keep it in his shorts."
Amanda burst into laughter, and turned away from the phone, "Isaac, Zac said to keep it in your shorts!" followed by another burst of laughter.
Zac could hear his brother say, "Tell Zac, 'What shorts?'"
'Oh god! Well maybe it will only be 10 minutes.' "Tell my brother he has 10 minutes which ought to be plenty of time for a Hanson."
Amanda giggled even louder, and Zac could hear the phone drop followed by a loud squeaking noise and more laughter. Zac was thinking, 'Too much information!' as he hung up the phone. 'But maybe they'll make it on time!'
He called Taylor's room next. The phone rang about 4 times and he was thinking they had already left when a breathless voice answered. "Hello?"
'Oh damn, not them too!' "Hey Tay, are you two coming?" he asked.
Taylor choked on his own laughter. He yelled, "Leenie, Zac wants to know if we're coming."
Zac could hear his sister-in-law laughing in the background. "Tell Zac we were until he called."
'I'm surrounded by sex-crazed lunatics!' "Okay, well I'll meet you at the car in 10 minutes. I know Ike and Mandy will be coming by then." Zac groaned to himself. 'Why do I keep using that word?'
Taylor by this time is rolling with laughter. He stops long enough to tell his wife, "Honey, Zac said Ike and Mandy will be coming in 10 minutes." Even more wild laughter could be heard from the pair. Zac hung up the phone in disgust, and a little bit of envy if truth be told. 'God, the raging Hanson hormones are alive and well. I guess we all need some quality time with our partners,' he thought. Zac just wished his wasn't permanently attached to his body!
He left the lobby and picked up the food in the dining hall. Heading out into the bright, sunny day he walked down towards the parking area and could see Lucinda waiting by the rented SUV. Wow, she looked really good. Her hair was pulled back with just a few curls teasing her face. The pink tank top looked much better on her curves than it ever would on Taylor. He would have to tease Tay about that later. The jeans shorts she had on made her legs look long and slender, and as she bent over to pick something up he could see that they fit her just right.
'Okay, well my hormones are going into overdrive. Remember to be a gentleman today and no one will get hurt. Let's especially not be embarrassing like some 15 year-old with a perpetual hard-on with his first date!' Zac was thinking as he headed towards Lucinda.
Lucy smiled as she watched Zac walk across the parking lot. 'Gosh, he is so good looking. With that hair and that build, he is truly gorgeous. I could have some serious competition at the lake today. Guess I better not be shy. I can tell he likes up front, straight talk and lots of laughs. That will be a little tough for me, but it sure looks worth it from here.'
When Zac reached her, he pulled her into a hug and a brief kiss on the lips. He wouldn't normally be that affectionate to someone he just met, but it seemed so natural with Lucinda.
Lucy responded to his embrace and kissed him back. She surprised herself, but it just felt right with him. "Hi big guy. I see you brought the basket. Where is the rest of your family?"
Zac winced and tried to think of a polite way of saying they would be 'coming' shortly! "I just talked with all of them and they'll be here in about 10 minutes. I guess they just got behind schedule for whatever reason." 'I hope that didn't sound too lame,' he thought.
Lucy chuckled, thinking, 'If I was married to one of these guys I wouldn't be rushing out of the bedroom any time soon, especially after being separated for weeks!'
"No problem. We've got all afternoon to enjoy the lake. The evenings are really pretty here too, and we can enjoy a bon fire after the sun goes down," she offered.
Zac replied, "Well, thanks for being flexible. We don't get a lot of vacation time so it's a real luxury to just play around and not watch the clock too closely. Why don't we get in my car and get the air going. This sun gets a little intense doesn't it."
"Sounds good to me. I'm used to the heat from riding a lot, but an air-conditioned car is a real treat. Where's your car?" she asked.
"It's right behind you. It's the black Acura TL." Zac clicked open the door locks and reached over to open the door for Lucinda and waited until she was all the way in before shutting it. He walked around the car, putting the basket in the trunk, and got into the driver's seat, enjoying the feel of the smooth leather seat. "I'm just renting it but it's a great car to drive. The trip from Seattle over the North Cascades Parkway was a dream. Between the beautiful scenery and this get car, I found a little bit of heaven, and man, did I need it. The last leg of our tour was brutal."
Lucy looked around the luxurious car thinking this guy must be doing okay for himself. "So you mentioned being on tour and living in buses. What do you do for a living?"
Zac chuckled, "Do you what the long or short version?"
Lucy laughed and said, "Hey surprise me!"
"Well, my brothers and I are the performing group Hanson. Do you remember several years ago the teen group with the hit song "MMMBop?" She nodded. "That was us," he said somewhat ruefully.
"Oh my gosh, THAT Hanson?" Lucy exclaimed.
"Yup, that was us. We're still putting out CDs and performing, we just don't get all the hype anymore. We visit a lot of college campuses and spend time in Australia and Asia where we still have a really loyal fan base. We're slowly gaining respect here in the US but it's been harder to shake the teeny-bopper image. We also have our own recording company and have been busy recruiting new talent for our label. That's why we ended up here in the Northwest. Seattle is a great place to find new bands."
Lucy was looking at Zac with new awe. "Wow, my older sister was such a fan. I remember going to the Key Arena in Seattle to see your show in '98. The screaming girls were so out of control, that was almost more than my 8-year-old brain could comprehend. But I remember you. Weren't you the cute little drummer with the super soaker?"
Zac laughed, "Yeah that was me. I was a pretty big goof. But being 12 and trying to keep up with all the craziness back then was tough. My zany sense of humor was the only thing that kept me grounded. It just wouldn't have been worth the hassle if we couldn't have fun. Fortunately my parents were really supportive and let us be boys whenever possible, and not just the big money "Hanson Corporation."
"So you've been touring and recruiting the past few months? she asked.
"Yeah, we spent the spring touring the US, playing clubs and colleges. Then we went to Asia and Australia in June and July. Most of the month of August, Ike, Tay, Dad and I have been in New York, LA and Seattle auditioning bands for our label."
"That sounds like a really tough schedule. I thought going to school and working full time was hard, but right now it sounds like a piece of cake!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Hey, we've been doing this for so many years, it's just our way of life. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about doing this just for the money anymore. So we always build breaks and site-seeing into the schedule, like right now. Ike and Taylor have been lucky to have their wives with them too, for most of the tour. It really helps us keep our sanity having family along. Our parents and siblings traveled with us when we were teens. Maybe that's why we just like to travel in a herd now," Zac chuckled. "In fact, my parents and my younger brother and sisters and their assorted friends are here at the resort too. We're doing sort of a family reunion slash vacation."
Just as Lucy was starting think of the implications of meeting the entire extended family, the rest of the picnic group came up to the car.
Zac glanced at his watch while he got out of the car. "Congratulations, you made it in less than 15 minutes!" That earned him a slug to the shoulder from Isaac and assorted laughter from Taylor and the girls. "Hey, I'm just trying to get us to the lake before sunset!"
"Okay Zac, just shut up and lead the way." Taylor always had to have the last word, no matter what the situation.
Everyone piled into the cars, and Zac pulled out of the parking lot, following Lucy's directions to the lake.
Lucy felt so warm and comfortable. Thinking back over the past few hours and all of the fun and good company, this had to be one of her best days this summer. Sitting here next to Zac in front of the fire, leaning against his chest and feeling his arm around her was just the perfect way to end the day. Her body felt a little achy from all the swimming and horsing around in the water. He and his brothers were crazy and really had fun challenging each other to daring stunts. That must explain how they stayed in such good shape. They all looked terrific with their sun-bleached hair and tall, buff bodies. Colleen and Amanda were both pretty athletic too. Keeping away from their husbands and their damn super soakers was one way of staying in shape!
Fortunately Lucy wasn't lying when she said she was a good aim. She gave the guys a run for their money. It had been really funny watching their expressions when she nailed them a few times with a water gun, especially when they thought she was sunning herself with their wives. She noticed they started paying much closer attention to her whereabouts, like Zac wasn't anyway! She smiled thinking about his expression when she peeled off her clothes revealing the skimpy white bikini. His jaw dropped and he stood there a little too long gawking until Amanda told him he was catching flies. His brothers started laughing and shoving him around which led to an all out war ending in the lake and some serious water fights. The girls just looked at each other and burst out giggling while they laid out towels for some hard-core sunbathing.
It had been fun getting to know Amanda and Colleen. They shared stories about all the guys and how they each met Isaac and Taylor. Amanda was an old family friend. She and Isaac had been playmates from pre-school on. They home-schooled together when the band was at home, and their friendship just naturally blossomed into love as they grew up. Although they lost touch for a while, they realized after a few disastrous relationships with other people that maybe their friendship was the best thing they had going. They married five years ago and their love just got better with each day.
Colleen and Taylor had a wild romance. She was a huge teeny fan and met the band a few times in '98 and '00 when they toured the US. During a meet and greet that second tour Colleen made quite an impression on Taylor and he slipped her his hotel room number when they were in LA. She sneaked into his room and thus began a hot and heavy cross-country romance. Colleen couldn't believe how tolerant Tay's parents were of the whole situation, but Diana and Walker were married at 19 and understood that love didn't always happen at the most convenient time in life. She went to college at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, thanks to her supportive parents, and toured with the group during the summers. It wasn't always easy and there was lots of heartache being apart, but they survived it and were married after Colleen graduated with a BA in business management. She worked for the company now managing a lot of the scheduling and travel arrangements with a great group of assistants.
The most exciting news they shared after she swore to the Hanson code of silence was that they were both expecting their first children. Amanda got pregnant during the spring tour (all those interludes in the bus bathroom!), and Colleen found out right after they got back from Asia. They all decided it would work to start their families together and it was fun teasing each other to see who would get caught first. It was only fair that Amanda was due first with Isaac being the oldest. Of course Taylor was whining because Ike always got to be first! Not like he didn't try hard or anything. This past tour had been a real hotbed of romance with each brother trying to beat the other in the baby game.
Apparently poor Zac just kept busy with company affairs trying to ignore all the hormones flying through the air. He spent a lot of his spare time checking out clubs and local bands wherever they happened to land on tour. Zac had been in a messy relationship last year that ended by mutual consent. She wanted to pursue her career in New York and Zac needed someone who was willing to let his lifestyle come first most of the time.
Lucy absorbed all this information and had new respect for all of the Hansons. This was a lifestyle that had ruined many people, let alone marriages and families. These Hansons all seemed to have their heads on straight and their priorities set on family, music and business, in that order. It was obvious from the love, laughter, and caring they shared that they were really happy with their lives and each other. What an amazing accomplishment they had achieved in this day and age.
Zac looked down at Lucinda, who was gazing into the fire and had been quiet for several minutes while the rest of them talked and laughed. "Hey, earth to Lucy, are you okay? I hope we're not boring you with our endless tales of torture on the road."
She stretched and hugged his waist. "Nope, I've just been thinking about what amazing lives you've all led, and how lucky you are to be so happy and loving with each other. Even 'normal' families don't often find that."
"Hey humor was the only way I could put up with these jokers. If we're not having fun doing what we're doing, then what's the point? We are very lucky to be successful at what we love doing best, which is making music and being with our families." He gazed into her deep blue eyes and smiling face and saw the warmth and compassion he was hoping for. 'God, this girl is getting to my heart already and I just met her!' Zac leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips and smiled as he felt her go a little limp in his arms. It was so good to know that he affected her as much as she did him. After seeing her in that amazing string bikini, getting into the cool lake had been his best option rather than getting totally razed by his brothers who wouldn't hesitate to state the obvious to anyone willing to listen.
Thinking back to that memory, maybe it was time to call it a day. He was planning to see if Lucinda was ready to spend some time alone with him tonight, and he couldn't wait to get back to the resort. Besides, looking around the campfire, his brothers were getting some major yawns going after all the horseplay today, and Amanda and Colleen needed extra rest too. It was hard to believe he was going to be an uncle twice in less than a year. And Jess, his sister, could surprise them soon too since she just graduated from Brown and got married in early June. Whoa, the Zac-man had some serious catching up to do, and maybe Lucinda was God's way of saying get with the program!
"Who's ready to call it a day? It's starting to get a little chilly and you guys have been yawning for the past 15 minutes." Zac asked the group.
Everybody agreed it was time to get going, so Zac took charge of dousing the fire while the rest gathered up their loose items. All their big stuff was loaded in the SUV so the couples walked back to the two vehicles with Zac and Lucinda climbing into the Acura. Zac turned on the heated seats as the leather was cool against bare skin. He draped his leather jacket across Lucinda's shoulders and she smiled at him gratefully. 'There's that little tingle again,' he thought to himself.
Billy Joel's 'The Stranger' was playing softly over the superb CD system of the car. The evening couldn't get much more romantic. Zac reached over and grasped Lucinda's hand and held it in her lap as they drove back to the Flying Horseshoe. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and she leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder, sighing with contentment. They were quiet, listening to the music, and enjoying each other's company on the short drive home.
They pulled into the resort with the SUV right behind. Everyone piled out of the cars and headed back to their rooms after exchanging goodnights. Zac and Lucy lingered by the cars, holding hands, not wanting the evening to end.
'Okay, it's now or never' thought Zac. "It's still fairly early especially since neither of us has to get up early. Would you like to share some wine and talk some more in my room?" He looked into Lucy's eyes hopefully while clasping her hands in his.
Lucy blushed a little and smiled up into Zac's expectant face. "That sounds wonderful. We haven't had much time to talk today. Although I'm not responsible if I fall asleep on you after a couple glasses of wine."
Zac chuckled and leaned down to kiss her saying, "That's okay, I think I can handle a beautiful woman falling asleep in my arms."
He continued to kiss her and folded his arms around her. Zac could feel her return the kiss and open her lips as the kiss deepened. When he ran his tongue lightly along her bottom lip, he heard her moan ever so softly. Feeling encouraged, he gently explored her mouth with his tongue and sucked very gently on hers.
Lucy almost lost her balance under the impact of Zac's kiss. It was so gentle but so powerful at the same time. She snaked her arms around his neck as he grabbed her waist to steady her. They continued to kiss until they just had to come up for air.
Zac rested his chin against Lucy's forehead and took a deep breath. That was one amazing kiss. He could feel her tremble a little and smiled. Whispering "let's go," into her ear, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her up the steps and into the lobby. They stopped briefly at the main desk so he could order some wine to be sent up. As they headed towards the central staircase, Zac looked up and saw his father and mother coming down. 'Oh boy, not the best time to make introductions. I hope Lucinda doesn't get embarrassed.'
He managed to whisper in her ear, "My parents are coming down the stairs. We need to stop so I can introduce you. Don't worry about anything. They're used to meeting a lot of different young women after raising four sons."
Lucy looked up and groaned a little, but she could see a smile on Mrs. Hanson's face and watched her poke her husband in the ribs when he leaned over to say something to her. She took a deep breath as the two couples met on the landing.
"Mom and Dad, I want you to meet Lucinda Marshall." They shook hands and smiled at her. 'Maybe this wasn't going to come off too bad,' thought Zac. "We met last night and spent the day together with Ike, Amanda, Taylor and Colleen."
"It's nice to meet you Lucinda. What brings you to Winthrop?" asked Walker.
"I spend my summers between college terms working here at the Flying Horseshoe as a trail guide," she answered.
"Well, we're headed down to listen to the jazz group playing tonight. You're welcome to join us," Diana offered.
Lucy felt a pang of guilt since she knew it didn't look too good going to Zac's room alone, but Zac saved the day by saying, "We'd love to Mom, but I just requested some food from room service and we were going to watch a movie on pay-per-view." "Oh well, enjoy the movie. I hope we see you around here soon, Lucinda. It was nice meeting you," Diana answered. Walker said good bye as well, and the two couples went their separate ways.
Zac led Lucy down the long hallway to his suite. He inserted the plastic card in the lock and waited for the blinking green light before opening the door for Lucinda. She walked into the living room and looked around. It wasn't often that she got to see the guestrooms. This was one of the nicer ones. The room was spacious with a sitting area in front of a large entertainment center, a small wet bar near the door and large floor to ceiling sliding doors that led out to a balcony and view of the surrounding mountains. There were french doors off to the left that led into the bedroom and bath.
"What a beautiful room. How nice it must be to have all this to yourself," she commented.
"Yeah, I kind of like to have lots of room to spread out. I've spent so much time living on tour buses and out of hotel rooms, it's really nice to a lot of space when I can," Zac replied. "Do you mind if I put on some music? It's hard for me to live without it, it's such a big part of my life."
Lucy smiled, "Go ahead. I've usually got some playing too. There's just something about music that keeps me going, even when things get tough." Reaching for the remote to the sound system, Zac turned on the CD player. He had some Don Henley, Eagles, Beatles, and Cream already loaded and dropped the volume to background level. "I hope you like oldies. I love classic rock. My brothers and I play a lot of it and most of our own songs have an early rock feel."
"No problem. My older brother and sister listened to a lot of rock and my parents grew up with it. We always had the Beatles or Stones around." Lucy said as she walked over to the windows. She looked out and saw the moon cresting just above the mountains, sending brilliant light over the landscape. She opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony. Leaning against the railing, she gazed at the rocky vista bathed in moonlight.
Hearing Zac behind her, Lucy started to turn as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against his chest and he bent to kiss her ear and smell her special scent. Caressing her arms he could feel her warm skin. Zac started kissing the back of her neck and below her ears, knowing this was a very sensitive place.
Lucy sighed and gave into the feelings he created. This man had such a magical touch and seemed so caring and kind. It was hard to believe they just met 24 hours ago. The connection between them felt so strong. He anticipated every need she had before she did. Her heart and mind were overwhelmed by these sensations, but in such a good way. Lucy said a little prayer of thanks to God for bringing Zac into her life when she needed him.
Turning around, Lucy linked her arms around Zac's neck and, raising her eyes to his, whispered, "Zac, kiss me." She could see desire light his eyes as he leaned down in answer to her request. She stood on tiptoes to reach his lips, and Zac enveloped her in his strong arms, holding her close. They kissed for minutes, until someone knocked on the door to the suite.