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| Chapter Three | ||||||
| I took a deep breath and looked at my image in the full length mirror. "Is this outfit really *right* for dinner?" Rainbow nodded from her spot on the bed where she was putting on socks. "Yes. It's perfect-and you know how much I hate dresses, O. This is great." I looked at my reflection again. I was wearing an ankle length black skirt with a slit that went a little ways up my leg and a black spaghetti strap tank top. "Should I put my hair up or down?" "Leave it down, but curl it," Rainbow said, brushing her blond highlighted brown hair. "Okay," I said, plugging in the curling iron. After awhile, my hair was curled and put back with a couple clips and I was slipping my platform sandals on. I spun around in a circle. "How do I look?" "You look awesome, Osh. You look really mature, but you've got that whole innocent vibe goin on," Rainbow said as someone knocked on the door. It was both JC and Lance-JC was dressed in casual street clothes but Lance was dressed up. "Hey you two! Rain, are you ready for a night on the town?" JC asked with a grin. "Ready as I'll ever be!" Rainbow gave JC a sweet smile and they whirled away. "O, can I say something?" Lance asked as I shut the door behind me and we walked to the elevator. "Of course," I said. "You look really pretty tonight," Lance said. "Not that you don't look pretty all the time, it's just tonight..." He was blushing and looking down at the ground. I just smiled. "Thank you, Lance. You look nice tonight too." "Thank you," Lance replied. "Thank *you,*" I said. We were finishing our dinner just as the sun was beginning to set. Lance took a big sigh and leaned back in his chair. "That was a good dinner." "I know-that's why I love this restaurant. Always good food," I agreed. "Wanna take a walk on the beach?" Lance asked. "The ocean should be really pretty right about now." I nodded. "Yeah, let's go." We hurriedly paid the bill and sped down to the beach not far away. The minute I got out of the car, I could smell the salty sea air and feel the cool breeze. As Lance and I strolled along the beach, I closed my eyes and listened to the gentle waves breaking on the shore and the seagulls looking for food. "You really love the ocean, don't you?" Lance asked. "Yeah. Ultimate stress reliever," I said, shaking sand out of my sandals. "Hold on." I took my sandals off and left them high above the tide. "Let's go sit on that rock," Lance suggested, gesturing toward a large island like rock where waves were crashing at the bottom, sending sprays of mist up. I nodded. "Okay." Since I was wearing a dress, Lance had to help me up onto the rock. I was sitting with my knees bent up to my chest and Lance was sitting the same way, only much more relaxed. "Can I ask a personal question?" Lance asked, I nodded. "How many um, boyfriends have you had?" Lance asked. I blushed and looked down at my hands. "Um...not too many...a couple...but they never went anywhere." "What do you mean 'never went anywhere?'" "Like kissing and stuff. It was all holding hands and hugging...never kissing." "Why not?" I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not pretty enough. Maybe I'm not good enough...maybe...I don't know. Maybe there's something wrong with me." "*No.* There is *nothing* wrong with you. Any guy who even thinks you're not pretty enough or not good enough is insane," Lance said softly. "What about you and this Craig guy?" "We're just friends. Kissing him is like kissing my brother." I shuddered. "Yuck." Lance smiled. "You probably think I'm a total dork now, huh?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes. "No! Why would I think that?" "Every other guy who knew my little secret instantly backed off and all of a sudden liked one of my friends," I said bitterly. "Hey." Lance gently grabbed my chin and turned my face toward his. "I'm not every other guy." And he softly pressed his lips onto mine over and over again. When we finally pulled away, he looked into my tear filled eyes and said, "Don't cry." I sat between Lance's legs and leaned back against his chest as he put his arms around me tightly. We sat like that until it was completely dark and the moon was coming up. Lance and I walked back to the car holding hands and talking with some bursts of laughter. Before we entered the car, Lance kissed me again and smiled. "You like to smile a lot, don't you?" I asked with a smile. "Of course. Look who I'm with-I've *gotta* smile," Lance repled as he started the car and began driving. We drove back to Rainbow's and my dorm because Lance had to get back early that night. In the elevator, I sighed and leaned back on the wall. "I don't want you to go tomorrow." Lance stood in front of me and put his hands on my waist. "I don't want me to go tomorrow either. I'm gonna miss you so much." The elevator opened and another couple entered, holding hands and laughing. Lance and I barely noticed them come in. I smiled. "You better." Before I knew what I was doing, I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed Lance on the lips. He kissed me back , sending chills up and down my spine. The doors opened to my floor and we walked out holding hands. The couple behind us exited the elevator as well and followed us down the hall. I glanced behind us. "Rain! JC!" Lance turned around too. "Hey!" JC and Rainbow waved. "Hey you two. Making out in the elevator I see?" JC said. Lance and I looked sheepish. "Umm..." Rainbow just grinned. "It's okay, guys. Don't feel the need to blush profusely or apologize..." "Cuz we're about to do the same," JC said. "Now if you'll excuse us..." He turned to face Rainbow so that his back blocked any view. I turned to Lance. "I'll meet you at the airport tomorrow, okay?" "You sure?" "Of course-just give me the time and gate and you will see me waiting for you," I said. "Nine in the morning, gate four B," Lance murmured then kissed me. "I'm there," I whispered. "Oh my gosh, O," Rainbow sighed. "Tonight has been one of the coolest nights of my life." "Same here. It was so awesome," I agreed, pulling my hair back into a bun. I had changed out of my evening wear into plaid PJ pants and a big t-shirt. "What'd you guys do?" Rainbow asked. "Well, we went to dinner at China Garden, then we took a walk on the beach at sunset. We sat on this rock and we talked and we..." I blushed. "You kissed?" Rainbow filled in. "How sweet! A kiss on a rock in the ocean!" I smiled. "Yeah. So what'd you guys do?" I blindly groped for the alarm clock and opened my bleary eyes. "Eight thirty!" I screeched. "Whar?" Rainbow asked sleepily. "Lance is leaving at nine!" I exclaimed. "I wanna see JC," Rainbow said, rolling out of bed. "We've gotta hurry," I said, tripping over my bedsheets and falling on my face, grabbing a pair of pants on my way down. Fifteen minutes later, Rainbow and I were running down the stairs (the elevator was too slow), through the common room and to my car. "Where you guys going?" Craig asked. "We'll tell you later," I replied breathlessly, jumping into the car. We became caught in rush hour traffic which was moving at a crawl. I drummed my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel and Rainbow was nervously tapping her nails along with the music on the radio. "We're never gonna make it in time, Rain." "Maybe if we drove over some lawns and through a few houses we'd make it," Rainbow said with a smile. I laughed. "That sounds really good right about now." The traffic finally began moving and I switched into the carpool lane which was moving much faster. "Hurry! It's nine o' five," Rainbow said frantically as I cut a corner a little too closely and schreeched into the parking lot. We jumped out and raced inside the airport. "What gate are they at?" Rainbow yelled. "Um..." I was trying to remember what Lance had told me. "Um...gate four...four...B!" I saw Lance's spiky white blond hair. "Lance!" I screamed. His head snapped around as Rainbow and I pushed people aside. "Osh! I thought you weren't coming!" Lance exclaimed. "We got caught in some traffic," I explained as Lance hugged me. "Rain!" JC yelled and rushed over to hug her. "O, here's my cell phone number-call me anytime," Lance said, handing me a piece of paper with some numbers jotted down on it. "Do you want my cell phone number?" I asked. "Yeah," Lance said. I wrote my number down on a corner of paper I had in my pocket and gave it to him. Lance smiled at me. "I wish we could spend more time together." "So do I. We will sometime," I said as Lance took my hands in his and pulled me up to him. "I'll make sure we will," Lance murmured and kissed me. "Flight 272 now boarding at gate four B," a voice said over an intercom. "That's us, guys! Let's go!" Justin yelled. Tears started building up in my eyes. "Well, I guess I'll see you." "Oh hey now-don't cry," Lance said. "We'll be together soon, I promise." "Okay," I said snifflling. Lance kissed me again-a long slow kiss. "I'll call you later, okay?" Lance said. I nodded. I hugged Joey, Chris, Justin and JC goodbye with promises to keep in touch. Lance kissed me. "I'll see you later okay?" I nodded and kissed Lance. "Yeah." He kissed me three more times before Justin had to pull him away saying, "Come on, or we're gonna miss our flight." Joey was having the same troubles with JC and Rainbow, who were clutching each other's hands tightly. JC rolled his eyes. "Okay okay okay, sheesh, guys." "Check that *out*, Osh," Rainbow gushed after wiping away our tears and watching the guys' plane take off. "We are going out with two famous guys from 'N Sync! Can you believe it?" As she said that, it finally hit me. "Oh my gosh, Rain! I can't believe this!" Rainbow gasped. "Oh! Guess what we're doing tonight?" "Improv!" we both yelled at the same time. "Eek! Rainb,it's like everything we used to dream about is coming true!" I exclaimed. "I know. How weird," Rain said. "Rain, we are gonna be famous!" My cell phone rang backstage at the Peeps comedy club that night. "Hey Osh," Lance said. "Lance! Hi!" I exclaimed and glanced at Rainbow who smiled at me. "What's up?" "Not much. What are you up to?" "Rain and I are going to be doing improv tonight!" I said. "We're so excited." "That's great. Improv is so funny." "I know...I love it. Word is that Mad TV producers hang out here sometimes ad we *totally* love Mad TV." "That'd be so awesome if you guys got cast into Mad TV." "I know! But it's not gonna happen...I mean they only check it out every now and then. No one ever knows for sure when they'll come." "Who knows? Tonight could be your lucky night." "And do you know how hard it is to even get an *audition* for Mad? I mean come on...chances of us even making it to auditions are like, a billion to one." "Osh, you gotta have faith." "I will. Oh, we're on in a few seconds. Wish me luck." "Break both legs. Call me after will you? I wanna hear how it went okay?" "Okay Lance. I'll talk to you later." I snapped my phone shut and stuck it in my jacket pocket on my way out to the stage with Rain. After an exhilerating stage improv performance, Rain and I rushed backstage and began to squeal and jump around frantically. "Um, excuse me-are you two Ocean and Rainbow?" a woman wearing a white long sleeved thermal under a black t-shirt with faded jeans said. We immediately became mature once again. "Yes, that'd be us," Rainbow said. "I'm a producer for Mad TV and I was wondering if you two would wanna audition for the show," the woman said. "Oh-I'm Diana Burke." "We'd love to!" I exclaimed. "You two are very funny-excellent chemistry. I'm guessing you are very close friends." "Yes, we are," Rainbow confirmed. "We love that kind of bond between the actors and actresses in the cast. I can almost *guarantee* you two spots on the cast," Diana said. "Are you serious? Oh my gosh," I replied. "Just give me your phone numbers and I'll get back to you on audition times and such," Diana said. And so we gave our cell phone numbers to her and then she was gone. Rainbow and I hugged each other in pure excitement. "I gotta call Lance," I said, plucking my phone out and dialing his number. "Hello?" Lance's smooth deep voice answered. "Lance?" "Hey Osh. You sound excited-what happened?" Lance asked. "You were right, Lance! There was a producer here tonight and said we were awesome and we're auditioning for Mad TV!" I exclaimed. "Oh my gosh sweetie! That's so great! I'm so proud of you!" Lance said. My stomach did a little flip flop when I heard him call me sweetie. "Thank you! We are so excited Lance. I can't even *tell* you how happy we are." "You don't need to-I can hear it in your voice. Oh-JC's calling Rain right now," Lance said as Rain's cell phone rang.She picked it up and began gushing to JC. "Oh gosh, I can't believe *any* of this is happening!" "I'm so happy for you, O. Justin wants to talk to you...Hello?" "Hey Justin." "Hey girl, what's up?" "I"m auditioning for Mad TV!" "No way! That's awesome, O! You rock!" "Thanks, J." "Of course. I'll have to watch it every Saturday night now that you two are on." "Um, J-we're not on *yet*." "Yet-but you will," Justin said. "Aah! Okay okay-Joey wants to speak...Hey hon." "Hey Joey," I said. "I hear you're gonna be on Mad TV...great job, O!" Joey exclaimed. "We're not *there* yet! We're just auditioning." "You'll make it-trust me." "Okay Joey. I'll do that." "I'm serious-trust me Osh. I'm ninety eight percent accurate," Joey said. "What about the other two percent?" "Um...we don't need to worry about that..." Joey replied. "Okay, Chris wants to talk to you now...Hey Osh!" "Hey Chris...heard the news by now I'm guessing?" "You and Mad TV? Of course-news travels fast around here. That is so great. You guys are gonna be *awesome*." "Thanks-I really hope R and I make it on the show. That would be so great-I've watched Mad TV like forever." "So then you'll know exactly what they're looking for...it won't be too hard...ouch! *Okay*! *Geez* JC...O, JC wants to talk...Hey!" "Hey JC...Rain told you already right?" "Of course...this is so not hard for you two. You'll be there in no time." "I hope so." "Oh don't worry about it, you'll be great, they'll love you and boom-you're in. Have no fear Osh. It'll be okay...hey! I want my phone back! O, I'm gonna talk to Rainbow now...here's Lance...Osh?" "Hey Lance." "Do you know when the auditions will be?" "Nope, the producer has to call us about that...I hope they're soon." "You still doing Romeo and Juliet?" "Yup, for about another week. Why?" "Just wondering how long my girlfriend will be making out with another guy." "Lance!" "I'm just joking sweetie. Just joking. I totally trust you...I just don't trust that Craig guy." "Why not?" "They way he looks at you, that kiss he gave you *after* the play, *off*stage-" "Which I pulled *away* from-did you see that?" "Of course I saw. I just think he's gonna ask you out in a short time." "And what do you think I'll say?" "I hope you'll say 'No, I have a boyfriend, sorry Craig.'" "Guess what? You're right." "Good. We're going to TRL tomorrow-Carson is *bound* to ask us if we're going out with anyone. What do you want me to tell him?" "Umm...whatever you think is best." "Osh, come on-should I let the teenyboppers in on it or not?" "Yeah, I guess you should. Before the tabloids and teenybopper magazines begin speculating or something." "Okay. Well, I better go, but I wish I could talk to you all night." "So do I, but we both have stuff to do tomorrow that we need to be rested for..." "Yeah. I miss you Osh." "I miss you too. Lots of kisses, Lance." "Many more back. Okay, I gotta go now. Bye!" "Bye!" Then the dialtone sounded in my ear. Rainbow wrapped up her conversation with JC and smiled happily. "Osh, I am *so* happy. For once, everything is going right." |
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| Chapter Four I Just Want To Be With You index Back to the gravy, oh baby, oh baby |
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