Mchapter17

Leah came down stairs about twenty minutes later, her hair pulled up into a twist and a smile on her face. �Hey,� she said to Justin as she entered the living room where he was still seated.

�Hey,� Justin replied, getting up from his seat on the couch. �You ready to go?�

�Yeah, just let me get my purse,� Leah answered, going into the kitchen and grabbing her purse off of the counter. She pulled out her keys and led Justin out to her car.

�So we�re stopping at my house so I can change, right?� Justin asked, not wanting to be in the same clothes that he�d worn the day before.

�Of course,� Leah responded, smiling over at him. The rest of the short ride to Justin�s house was spent listening to the radio.

�Well, here we are,� Leah said, pulling into the driveway. �Should I just wait in the car, or come inside?�

�Why don�t you come inside. My mom would love to see you,� Justin replied, getting out of the car.

�Ok,� Leah agreed, stepping out of the car and following Justin into his house. As Justin entered the house he was immediately �attacked� by his two little brothers.

�Hey boys,� Justin said with a smile on his face.

�Justin!� they exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. Leah giggled as she watched the two young boys.

�Good morning Justin, nice of you to come visit us,� Lynn joked as she walked into the room.

�I already apologized for not calling mama!� Justin exclaimed.

�Yeah, I know, I�m just joking honey. Hi Leah,� Lynn replied before waving at Leah.

�Hey Lynn,� Leah greeted Justin�s mother, smiling.

�So what are you two up to today?� Lynn asked.

�We�re going out to lunch and then deciding from there what we want to do,� Justin explained. �I gotta go take a quick shower change. Mama, don�t torture Leah too much,� he joked.

�Don�t worry, I won�t,� Lynn replied with a wink. Justin headed up the stairs to take his shower as Lynn led Leah into their living room.

�So how�s your father, Leah?� Lynn questioned as they both sat down.

�He�s great,� Leah replied, knowing what Lynn was talking about. Lynn knew about Christi and was always concerned about how Josh was dealing. �He actually just started dating someone a few days ago. They�re perfect together. He�s so happy.� Leah knew she had a big smile on her face, but she couldn�t help it. Her father and Lance were just so cute together.

�Well that�s good to hear. I�m sure the scare with you and Justin didn�t go over too well with him. Has he stayed in touch with the man that saved you two? What was his name again? Larry?� Lynn asked.

�Lance,� Leah answered, smiling. �Yeah, dad has kept in touch. The dinner we had the other night was a �thank you� dinner for him. Didn�t Justin tell you what it was for?�

�No. Justin doesn�t tell me much anymore, Leah. I know he�s growing up and becoming more independent, but it�s hard to let go,� Lynn told Leah.

�Yeah, I can imagine. I can talk to him about it if you�d like,� Leah suggested.

�No, it�s ok. I�ve go to start letting him go sometime,� Lynn said, frowning slightly.

�Yeah,� Leah agreed.

Their conversation just kind of stopped there, but the silence between them didn�t last too long because Jon and Steven, Justin�s two brothers, came bounding into the room, followed closely by Justin.

Jon launched himself into his mother�s arms and exclaimed, �mom! Justin�s being mean!�

�I am not,� Justin replied with a laugh.

�What�d you do this time, Justin?� Lynn asked curiously, putting Jon back down onto the floor.

�He won�t let me come with him and Leah to lunch!� Jon informed his mother, pouting.

�Jon, we�re going on a date. That means it�s just us. I promise I�ll take you out to lunch some other time, ok?� Justin tried to explain to his brother.

�Fine,� Jon sniffled, �but you gotta promise!�

�Ok, I promise. Come�re,� Justin replied, pulling his brother into a hug.

�Awww!� Leah exclaimed, a big smile on her face. �How cute!�

�Yeah, yeah,� Justin responded, blushing a little. �Well, we should probably get going now, I�m starving. I�ll be back sometime later mom. I�ll call you if I won�t be home for dinner.�

�Ok,� Lynn agreed, waving as Justin and Leah left the house.

****

Lance and Josh talked quietly over their meals. Josh told Lance more about Christi, but only when Lance asked. He figured that since he�d let her go that he shouldn�t talk about her much with Lance.

�Hey, do you not want to talk about Christi, Josh? Because you shouldn�t feel like you have to tell me about,� Lance asked, noticing Josh�s hesitancy to talk about her.

�No, it�s not that at all. I just don�t know whether I should talk about her or not. I mean, I went to say goodbye to her this morning so I wouldn�t feel bad when we were together. But now that we�re here, all I�m talking about is her,� Josh explained, hanging his head a little.

�Josh, listen to me,� Lance demanded, but his voice was soft. He reached over to tilt Josh�s head so their eyes met. �I love to hear about Christi, I really do. It�s so special to me that you want to share your life like that. I like how honest we�re being with each other, it�s great. And I�m not worried about Christ� unless you are.�

�No, I guess I�m not. I just wanted to make sure that it was ok with you for me to talk about her. I mean, she was a big part of my life. Christi brought Leah to me. And Leah has been all I�ve had, well, besides Joey, she�s been what I live for,� Josh told Lance.

�Leah�s a really great girl. I hope that I can spend more time with her, learn more about her. You�re lucky to have such a wonderful and loving daughter,� Lance replied.

�Don�t I know it,� Josh responded with a grin. He finished off his sandwich and drink and then sat there telling Lance some more stories about Christi while Lance finished his food.

When Lance was done, they both headed back to the car and tried to figure out where they wanted to go next. They finally decided to just go back to Josh�s house and hang out because neither of them could think of anything else to do. Josh had a huge movie collection, so they figured they could find something to watch.

****

Leah and Justin arrived at Leah�s all-time favorite restaurant, the Olive Garden, about twenty minutes later. They didn�t have to wait in line because they�d called and made reservations before leaving Justin�s house. They were seated in a booth near the back of the restaurant, and Leah was faced with the problem of deciding what to order.

�So, what are you going to get?� Justin asked, looking over the menu.

�I don�t know. This is always the hardest part. I can never decide what to get,� Leah explained.

�I�m getting chicken parmesan,� Justin decided quickly. �That�s what I get every time I come here.�

�I had that last time though,� Leah complained. �Hmmm��

�Just decide already. You�re just like me and my cereal,� Justin said with a giggle.

�Oh shut up. I�m not that bad,� Leah argued jokingly.

�Oh yes you are. So have you decided yet?� Justin questioned.

�I can�t decide while we�re talking!� Leah exclaimed, pretending to be frustrated with him.

�Does that mean you want me to shut up?� Justin asked, feigning hurt.

�Just until I decide,� Leah replied, concentrating on her menu.

�So what am I supposed to do while you decide?� Justin questioned, trying to annoy her.

�I don�t care, just don�t talk,� Leah answered.

Justin didn�t answer, he just stared at her with his best pout on his face.

Leah felt his eyes on her and couldn�t help but look up. She burst into giggles at what she saw. �Oh man, I�m sorry Jus, but you look totally pathetic!� she exclaimed between giggles.

He frowned at her before bursting into giggles himself. He couldn�t help it. Her laughter was just so contagious. He loved it. He loved every moment he spent with her. He couldn�t remember being this happy with a girl since, well, since forever.