�Hey, T,� Rachel said at lunch with the others and spying Antoinette and Justin, as they walked in. �Welcome back.�
�It�s good to be back,� Antoinette said. �It was very fun and memorable.�
�How memorable?� Lillie asked. �Not too memorable I hope.�
�Wouldn�t you just love to know,� Antoinette smirked.
�Storm and Lance come back?� Alyssa asked.
�No, they�re still there,� Justin replied. �They wanted to stay an extra day.�
�Not that I blame them,� Antoinette stated. �It�s a very beautiful place.�
�Where�d ya go anyway?� Lillie nosyed.
�The Virgin Islands,� Justin replied.
�That�s only for virgins,� Valondra said standing behind Justin. �So you guys couldn�t have gone there.�
Justin looked behind him, as Kevin sad, �Hey, Valondra, have a seat.�
�Thanks,� Valondra said kissing Justin�s cheek and sitting in the chair by him. �How was your vacation?�
�Very fun,� Antoinette said.
�Don�t listen to her,� Justin said looking at Valondra and smiling. �It rained, like, the whole time we were there.�
�We had fun,� Antoinette said. �We went swimming in the rain. It was fun.�
�At least ya had fun,� Valondra said. �Despite the weather.�
�Here you guys are,� a young man said putting drinks on the table.
�Hey, Trace,� Justin said.
�Hey, man,� Trace said. �How�s it going?�
�Great,� Justin said. �Is it possible we can get a couple Pepsi�s over here?�
�No problem,� Trace said then looking at Valondra. �Loni, can I get you anything?� She didn�t say anything. �Earth to Loni, come in.� She still didn�t say anything.
�Loni,� Justin said putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and he pointed to Trace.
Valondra looked at Trace and said, �Sorry. I�ll have a Mountain Dew.�
�I�ll be right back,� Trace said.
�Do you mind sharing with us what�s bothering you?� Kevin asked a bit concerned.
�I don�t want to talk about it,� Valondra said.
�You don�t have to,� Kevin said.
�The Virgin�� Antoinette began, but interrupted.
�Why is it a must for guys to have sex before marriage?� Valondra wanted to know.
�Excuse us?� Brian said, as everyone just looked at her.
�All guys think sex is important and that it makes them a man,� Valondra stated. �Why is that?�
�Not all men think that, Lon,� Howard said.
�Name one,� Valondra said.
�Nick Carter,� everyone said in unison as Valondra just looked at them.
�Where�d this come from?� Alyssa asked.
Valondra looked at them and said, �Let�s say there is this very happy couple. They�ve been dating three years, everything�s going great, they understand each other; they just got engaged, etc., etc. Then one night while they�re together, and forgetting how the girl feels about sex, the guy starts to make sexual moves scaring the girl off.�
�Go on,� Justin said, as Trace set the drinks on the table and they all just looked at her interested.
�Then the next day,� Valondra continued, �the girl feels bad about walking out, instead of talking to her boyfriend about what he did. And now she thinks he hates her even though she loves him with all her heart.�
�Valondra,� Kevin began, �Nickolas knows you love him very much and he�s not going to hate you. He�s probably at home thinking and feeling guilty about what he did.�
�Are you ready to order?� Trace asked.
�Yeah,� Howard said. �We want two extra large Neapolitans.�
�Alright,� Trace said. �I�ll be back with your food.�
�The thing is, he knows exactly how I feel,� Valondra said. �But he did it anyway. I�ll admit that a huge part of me wanted to do it, but I stopped it from happening while Nick wanted it to.�
�He loves you, Lon,� Brian said. �Trust me on this one.�
�I love him too,� Valondra stated. �What would you have done?�
�Screwed his brains out,� Alyssa said and Valondra looked at her unamused, as did the others. �He�s hot so I�m just being honest.�
�Yeah,� Valondra said.
�I would�ve talked to him,� Rachel said being the more sensible one.
�What happened, Loni D?� Alyssa asked.
�What do ya mean?� Valondra asked in return.
�You always knew what to do when it came to Nick,� Alyssa replied. �You never asked us.�
�I don�t know,� Valondra answered just looking at nothing. After a moment she said, �Actually I know what to do. I�ll see ya�s later.�
�Bye,� everyone said, as Valondra left.
�I hope it�s the right thing,� Lillie said then turning to Howard asked, �How�d it go with your friend yesterday?�
�I think I made some progress,� Howard said thinking about the kiss with Charisma. �I�m hoping it worked though.�
�I�m hoping too,� Lillie said. �He�s been taking up a lot of your time.�
�He�s sorry about that,� Howard said.
�I hope so,� Lillie said kissing him.
�How sweet,� Antoinette said. �There�s so much love in the air lately.�
�Do you love Justin?� Alyssa asked.
�Do you love Kevin?� Antoinette asked in return.
�That was a stupid question,� Alyssa replied.
�Exactly,� Antoinette agreed then turning to Justin, �I love you.�
�And I love you,� Justin replied kissing her.
�Ya know, I didn�t like that comment you made about Nick,� Kevin said to Alyssa.
�Oh, don�t worry, Baby,� Alyssa said. �I would never screw his brains out. He�s Loni D�s man and I have my own.� She smiled.
�Good,� Kevin said, as the others laughed.
�The boy�s paranoid,� Brian said. �Nick�s too in love with Lon to even think about sleeping with another girl.�
�That�s great to hear,� Kevin said. �Our little brother is in love.�
�Like you didn�t know that,� Howard said. �He fell the moment he saw her. Remember that? He invited her to the concert and gave her VIP passes to check everything out. He just wanted to see her and that�s the only reason he gave her the tickets. Not because he�s a nice guy.� They laughed.
CHAPTER 7
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