They paid no attention to the laughing of Sunshine and Nickolas, who were sitting on the chair beside them. They blocked them out, but heard the kissing sounds of Alexander and Destiny. They just shook theirs heads and continued to watch the movie. It was twenty minutes before midnight and no one was really tired. They all just sat in the parlor supposedly watching the movie.
Venus was sick of the noise from the others and said to Brian, �I can hardly hear myself think.�
�I know what ya mean,� Brian agreed.
�Don�t they have any respect for anybody? Especially for the single people. This is annoying.�
�Are you sure it�s not your feelings for Kevin that�s making you feel this way? Because you can�t be with him.� Venus just looked at him. �I�m right, aren�t I?�
�I guess. Before, all this mushy stuff didn�t bother me when I was single, but now I can�t stand it, because I�m not with Kevin and it�s driving me crazy.�
�I can relate. I feel the same way when it comes to Danielle.�
�This ain�t fair at all. Maybe I should just tell Kevin how I feel. It seemed to work for the others. So why not chance it.�
�We are in the City of Love. So maybe it�ll work.� They looked at Kevin and Danielle who kissed. �I�m getting me some ice cream. Do you want some?�
�Sure. Maybe it�ll help me feel better.�
They got up, as Josephine and Howard looked at them and Howard asked, �Where are you two going?�
�So you do know other people exist,� Brian joked.
�Very funny,� Josephine said and Brian and Venus walked away. �What�s wrong with them?�
�Who knows,� Howard said. �They�re probably mad, because they ain�t got anybody for V-Day.�
�That�s so sad, but I�m glad I have you.�
�And I�m glad I have you.� He kissed her.
�What�d you get me for Valentine�s?�
�I got you a book. It�s �Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus� part 5.�
�You�re a geek.� She slapped his arm. �What�d you get me?�
�That book.�
�Whatever.� She started to get disgusted.
�Don�t you believe me, Sweetie?� Josephine just looked at him. �I don�t see why not. You know I don�t lie to you.�
�You�re sweeter than that.�
�You�ll find out in the morning. I bet Nick will tell you the same thing.�
�Of course he will. You�re his friend and friends lie for each other.�
�You�re so feisty.� They kissed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunshine looked over at Josephine and Howard and said to Nick, �I think that�s the happiest I�ve ever seen Josephine.�
�She�s really in love with him,� Nickolas said. �Howie�s happy too.�
�He was happy when he was with me.�
�You didn�t fall in love with him did you?� He was a little worried.
�Is someone jealous? Someone afraid I might�ve fell in love with someone else?� She started to remember telling Bradley she loved him and cursed herself. �So what if I did. My life doesn�t revolve around you.�
�You�re horrible, Miss Robinson. I�m being serious.�
�I loved Howie and I still do, but it�s just platonic. I love you more than platonic.�
�And I love you more than platonic too.� He kissed her.
�This is great.�
�What?�
�Us being all mushy and what not in front of everyone. And not caring if we get caught.�
�Yes it is. This is what I�ve been waiting for since I first saw you. What time is it?�
�Why are you interested in the time?� She looked at her watch. �It�s one minute after midnight.�
�Good. Get up.�
�What for?� She didn�t move.
�Just get up.� She still didn�t move. �If you get up I�ll give you a Valentine�s you�ll never forget.�
�I like the sound of that.� She got up.
�Now wait right here and I�ll be back before you can say I love you ten times.� He started walking away.
�Nick.�
He turned and looked at her. �Yeah?�
�Happy Valentine�s Day, Baby.�
Nickolas walked over and said, �Happy Valentine�s Day, Sweets.� He kissed her then walked away. Sunshine sat back down and smiled.
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Alexander and Destiny looked at Sunshine, as she looked at them and said, �What?�
The couple just shook their heads and Destiny said to Alexander, �They�re so cute together.�
�But not as cute as us,� Alexander snickered.
�That�s true. Happy Valentine�s Day, Babe.�
�Happy Valentine�s Day, Baby.� He kissed her. �And what a happy day it�ll be.�
�What do you have planned?�
�You, me, and all the brownie mix we can eat.�
�I�m sure. It better be more romantic than that or you�re out the door.�
�It is, so don�t panic. You�ll love it and you�ll love me.�
�I already do love you. It just came naturally to me. I fell in love the first moment I saw you.�
�Oh thank you.� He kissed her again.
�Get a room,� Kevin said interrupting them. �That�s all you two ever do.�
�Sorry,� Alexander said kissing Destiny again just to annoy Kevin.
�I�ll never understand,� Kevin said to Danielle.
�Neither will I,� Danielle agreed.
Kevin and Danielle kissed and after they were done they just looked at each other. �Kevin looked at Danielle and saw Venus. He smiled and began to say, �I have to�� He stopped realizing it was Danielle and not Venus.
�You have to what?� Danielle asked.
�I�um�have to�call my mom.�
�Call your mom? It�s midnight.�
�It�s not that late in Kentucky. And she worries a lot. I�ll be right back.�
�Wait.� Kevin looked at her. �Happy Valentine�s Day.�
�Happy Valentine�s Day.� They kissed then he walked from the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
�I�m happy for you, Nick,� Brian said to his friend after stopping him in the kitchen. �Even though we hardly talk anymore.�
�Hey, Bro,� Nickolas began, �Don�t take it personal.�
�I�m not,� Brian replied. �It�s just that I wish I had that special someone in my life like you have Sunshine.�
�You will,� Nickolas said. �I�ll bet you that you�ll have that special someone by the time we leave Paris.�
�I�m so hoping you�re right,� Brian said.
�That goes for you too, Venus,� Nickolas stated.
�I�m holding you too that,� Venus said and they laughed. �Will you look at the time? It�s Valentine�s Day.�
�Exactly,� Nickolas said. �And I got this beautiful succulent brunette waiting in the parlor for me. She gets rather cranky when I�m late.�
�Then go,� Brian said, as Nickolas got up. �We don�t want her to throw you off the bed again. He and Venus laughed and Nickolas just looked at them and left the room.
�Happy Valentine�s Day, Brian,� Venus said.
�Happy Valentine�s Day to you too, V,� Brian said continuing to eat his ice cream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nickolas walked over to the chair and looked at Sunshine. She had her eyes closed and Nickolas kissed her. She jumped and opened her eyes. After she saw Nickolas she said, �I was dreaming about us.�
�Good or bad?� Nickolas asked.
�Good.� She smiled. �It was our wedding day and we vowed to love each other for eternity.�
�Dreams do come true. Maybe this one will.�
�What took you so long?� She yawned.
�Bri and V stopped me. But I have something for you.�
�What is it?�
�First close your eyes.� She did as he requested and he kissed her. �I ain�t got no strawberries this time, but I got the next best thing.�
�What�s�� Nickolas kissed her before she could finish.
�That�s the next best thing.�
�Actually you kissing me comes in first.�
�Oh. Now open your eyes.� She opened her eyes and saw a red rose. �Do you remember what one rose stands for?�
�Of course. For being so gorgeous.� Nickolas rewarded her with a kiss and handed her another rose. �Two roses is for letting you in my life a million times.� He kissed her again and gave her a third rose. �Three is for how much you�we love each other.�
�You are so right.� He kissed her a third time. He gave her another rose and she just looked at him. �This rose is for you just because it�s V-Day. I was hoping we�d get to spend the first hour together.�
�So was I.� She kissed him this time.
They hugged and Sunshine laid her head on Nickolas� shoulder, as he said, �Sunnie, I have something to ask you and I can�t wait any longer.� Sunshine stayed silent. �Will you marry me?� Sunshine didn�t move or say a word. �Sunnie, did you hear me?� Nickolas moved to where he could see her face. He looked at her and grinned. �I guess not.�
�Is she sleeping?� Kevin asked.
�Yeah,� Nickolas said picking her up.
Kevin bent down and picked up the four roses Sunshine had dropped. He handed them to Nickolas and said, �You�re a very lucky guy, Nick. Don�t do anything to screw it up.�
�I won�t,� Nickolas assured him and Kevin watched Nickolas go upstairs.
�He�s really in love,� Danielle said stepping up beside Kevin.
�Yes he is,� Kevin said. �For as long as I�ve known him, I can�t remember when he was this happy�minus being a kid.�
Danielle just looked at him and then said, �Are you ready for bed, because I�m tired.�
�Sure,� Kevin said. �Let�s go.�
They followed Venus and Brian up the steps, as Alexander and Destiny walked out of the kitchen. And Alexander asked, �Tired yet?�
�A little,� Destiny replied yawning.
�Well, let�s go upstairs so you can get some sleep. I don�t want you falling asleep on me today.�
�You still didn�t tell me what you have planned.� They made their way to the stairs.
�It�s a surprise.� He looked at Josephine and Howard. �Goodnight you two.�
�Night,� Howard and Josephine said in unison, as Destiny and Alexander went up the stairs and Josephine said, �We�re all alone.� She kissed Howard.
�So what do you want to do?� Howard asked.
�I was thinking, since I am tired, I want to go to bed.�
�I hope not before you kiss me. And before I give you this almost-as-beautiful-as-you-are rose.� He handed her the rose. �Do you like it?�
�Yeah; it came from you.� They kissed. �Will you carry me up to bed?�
�Certainly my dear.� He got up and so did Josephine. Howard picked Josephine up, as she wrapped her arms around him. He walked to the stairs and started walking up.
CHAPTER 28
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