�How many glasses of wine did you have?� Josephine asked pouring herself another.
�I had�� Sunshine began, �I don�t remember. How about you?�
�I�m not sure,� Josephine said. �One or two I guess. More?�
�Please,� Sunshine said holding up her glass and Josephine poured her more, as Nickolas and Bradley sat next to them.
�I think you girls had enough,� Bradley said taking the bottle from Josephine, as the girls drank down the wine at one time.
�No, Brad,� Sunshine begged reaching for the bottle, but falling on her face instead. Josephine fell backwards laughing, as Sunshine said, �I want some more.�
Sunshine reached for the bottle and Bradley said, �You two are drunk.�
�Nicky, honeycakes,� Sunshine said moving closer to him and laying her head on his leg. �Will you please get the wine off Brad and give it to me?�
�No,� Nickolas said, as Bradley got up and Josephine continued laughing.
Sunshine sat up and leaned in closer to Nickolas then said, �If you do I�ll let ya make sweet love to me all night long. I know you want to because you can�t resist me.�
�Sunnie, you�re drunk,� Nickolas stated getting up. And I ain�t going to take advantage of that. �Prude,� Sunshine said, as she looked at Josephine. As she smacked her she said, �Dike, shut up. You�re really annoying.�
Josephine sat up, as Sunshine began to look through the CD�s and Bradley said, �Look at those two. I�ve never seen them like this.�
�Neither have I,� Nickolas agreed.
The girls stood up and began dancing to Madonna�s �Like A Virgin�, as Sunshine began singing, �Like a virgin/touched for the very first time/like a virgin/when your heart beats next to mine/gonna give you all my love, Boy/my fear is fading fast/been saving it all for you/�cause only love can last��
�I say we stop them before they do something really drastic,� Nickolas stated.
�I�m with you,� Bradley said, as they started walking to the girls and the girls started walking to them.
�Dance with me you sexy beast,� Josephine said grabbing Bradley�s shirt and pulling him to her.
�You�re drunk,� Bradley said right before Josephine kissed him.
Sunshine grabbed a hold of Nickolas and put her arms around his neck saying, �Make love to me.� Bradley pulled away from Josephine and looked at Sunshine and Nickolas.
�You�re not thinking straight,� Nickolas said.
�Please,� Sunshine begged. �I promise to be good and you can do whatever you want to me.�
�Why don�t you just sit down and me and Brad, your boyfriend, will take care of you girls,� Nickolas suggested pushing Sunshine to the sofa and he and Bradley sat the girls down.
�How will you take care of us?� Josephine asked giving both guys the lip.
The girls started laughing and Nickolas asked, �What are we going to do? They�re worse than Alex is when he�s drunk.�
�Let�s wait awhile,� Bradley began, �and if they don�t calm down we�ll put them to bed.�
�Do you guys want to play strip poker?� Sunshine asked. �We�ll leave you win.�
�What would be the fun in that?� Josephine asked. �Because they�d see us, but we wouldn�t see them.�
Sunshine smiled and said, �Well I got the opportunity to�� Nickolas covered her mouth before she had a chance to finish.
They looked at him and Josephine said, �Howie is so cute. Don�t you agree?�
Sunshine nodded her head, as Nickolas removed his hand and she ran out to the balcony yelling, �Let�s go swimming!�
�Only if we can go skinny dipping,� Josephine yelled back jumping up and falling into Bradley�s arms. �My hero.� She went to kiss him again, but Bradley threw her over his shoulder.
�Bedtime,� Bradley said. �Go get Sunn before she decides to jump.�
�That won�t be a problem,� Nickolas said going out to the balcony.
�Where are we going?� Josephine asked.
�To bed,� Bradley replied.
�Can I be on top?� Josephine asked. �I like the top better.�
�Sure,� Bradley said walking to her room.
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�Alright, Sunnie,� Nickolas said picking her up. �Let�s go back inside.�
�To make love,� Sunshine said.
�Not tonight,� Nickolas said.
�You can be on top,� Sunshine stated them kissed him. �I promise.�
�Only if you promise,� Nickolas said carrying her to her room.
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�Where are you going?� Josephine asked.
�I�m going home and you�re going to bed,� Bradley stated putting the covers over her. �So close your eyes and go to sleep.�
�Can you keep a secret?�
�Yeah.�
�I love Howie.�
�I�m sure you do.� He kissed her forehead. He fixed her blankets then left the room, closing the door behind him and looked at Sunshine�s room.
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�How many times do I have to tell you,� Nickolas began, �we�re not making love tonight?�
�Then how about tomorrow?� Sunshine asked.
�Sure.� He knew she�d forget all about it in the morning. �Now close your eyes and try to get some sleep.�
�I love you, Nicky.�
Nickolas just looked at her and realizing it was just the wine talking and said, �I try to believe that, Sweets.� He got up kissing her cheek and turned the light off and walked from the room.
�Is she asleep?� Bradley and Nickolas asked simultaneously and they just nodded their heads.
�Then we better go,� Bradley said.
�Right behind ya,� Nickolas replied, as they walked from the hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nickolas opened his front door and went in. He didn�t turn on any lights and made his way to the stairs. He walked up them and went straight to his bedroom thinking about the last thing Sunshine said to him that night. Even though she was drunk there was a part of him that believed it was true.
He stepped into his room and turned on his light. He walked over to his dresser and set his keys down. As he did that, he noticed the unopened envelope and picked it up. He sat in the chair and just looked at it. After many minutes of staring at it, he opened it up and read:
January 28, 2003
Nicky,
There are so many things I need to say to you, but don�t know where to begin. This is going to be short, because I want to tell you everything face to face so you know I�m not lying. I was lying in the past when I said I wasn�t sure of my feelings for you, because I already knew. Back then I wasn�t sure what I wanted, but now I know exactly what I want and that�s you to be in my life forever. I�ve made mistakes in my life and the biggest one I ever made was letting you go. I regret that now and I just want you to know that I�ve loved you from the first moment I saw you and I�ll love you until the world comes to an end. I�ve realized how much I�ve hurt you and from the bottom of my heart I�m really truly deeply sorry for the pain I�ve caused you. Please forgive me.
Love always, Your Sweets.
Nickolas folded the letter and just sat there, as the tears came to his eyes. He looked at his night stand and at the picture of Sunshine he had sitting there. He began to remember the day that picture was taken and how happy she was. He got up and walked over to the bed. He sat down and picked up the phone. He was ready to call Sunshine, but then decided against it. He put the phone back down and picked up the picture. He kicked off his shoes and got comfortable on the bed. He still had the picture in his hand and was looking at it. He opened the letter back up and began to read it again.
CHAPTER 21
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