ONE WEEK LATER
Liz’s point of view

“Hey,” said Nick poking his head into my room.
“Hi,” I said grinning and went up to him and kissed him.
“Now that’s a greeting I like!” he said also grinning. Then he looked past me. “What are you doing?” he asked with a serious expression.
“Packing,” I replied.
“No, I do not want to hear that word or see you doing it because that would mean that you’re leaving and that’s not gonna happen!” said Nick stubbornly.
“Nick, I have to leave, school starts in one week,” I said.
“But I don’t want you to leave,” said Nick looking at me with those blue eyes of his. They always made me melt.
“You have to leave soon too, remember about your tour?” I asked.
“Yeah, but you can come with me!” said Nick his expression brightening. “Will you come with me?” he asked.
“Nick…I’d love to…but I can’t, I have to go to college, get an education, get a career,” I said sighing. I hated the situation Nick and me were in.
“What’s so special about college anyway,” grumbled Nick.
“Nicky, you didn’t have to worry about school cause you had tutors, I don’t have tutors, I have to learn the old fashioned way, by going to school,” I said softly.
“You know, you’re the only one who can get away with calling me Nicky,” said Nick a smile playing at his lips.
“I know,” I said smiling too.
“But I don’t want to say goodbye to you!” exclaimed Nick. “Look at all the things we’ve been through this summer!” he added.
“I know, and I hate this as much as you do, but there’s no other way!” I said almost pleadingly.
“Liz, I love you with all my heart and soul and with every inch of my being, there’s no way that I could be without you,” said Nick sadly.
My eyes moistened at his words. “I love you too, just as much, but we’ll do the whole long-distance relationship thing, I know we can do it,” I said reassuringly.
“But what if we can’t?” questioned Nick.
“I know we can,” I repeated.
“What if you meet some guy in college?” he asked.
“What if you meet some girl on tour?” I asked back.
“Okay, you’re right, we can do it,” said Nick and held out his arms to me. I stepped into his embrace and he held me close.

Nick’s point of view

After talking to Liz and getting nowhere, I went back to my room to think things over. I couldn’t believe it, Liz was really leaving and there was nothing I could do to stop her. I did understand her completely, she had a life back in New York, she had to go to college, it was her sophomore year, and she had friends, and her family. I also knew that I had to leave for the tour in one week and that the tour would last three and a half months and that even if Liz would’ve stayed in Florida I wouldn’t be able to see her anyway. I then decided to stop moping and do something special. Liz was leaving in three days and I had that time to figure out what to do to get her to remember that summer forever. I thought long and hard about what would be the perfect thing, and then finally I got it. I smiled to myself thinking about what I had planned and I knew that it was just right. Liz would love it. I quickly went over the preparations that I had to make in my head, and then started to put my plan into action.

TWO DAYS LATER

It was set; everything was perfect. All I had to do was wait a few more hours and then Liz would get her surprise.

A FEW HOURS LATER

I was in my room changing clothes when I heard Liz knock.
“Come in,” I said buttoning my shirt.
“What are you getting so dressed up for?” asked Liz gesturing towards my black pants and my dark green silk shirt.
“You’ll see, now go get dressed up yourself, and meet me in the living room in one hour,” I said grinning.
“What’s this all about?” asked Liz.
“Like I said, you’ll see, now go get dressed,” I urged. Liz smiled and then left my room. Now it was only a matter of time.

Liz’s point of view

I had no idea what Nick was planning. But he wasn’t the only one who had a surprise. I had one for Nick too.
I went to my closet to find something to wear but then remembered that I had already packed all my clothes since I was leaving the next day. I knew where I packed my favorite dress so I quickly went to the suitcase and took the dress out. It was a very pale blue color and was made out of very soft velvet. It was a short, off-the-shoulder dress, with dark blue sequins sown into the material. I dug out my light blue high heels that matched the dress perfectly and quickly put them on. Then it was time for me to do my make-up. Since I packed almost all of it, I only had left a creamy ice blue eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and a tube of light pink lipstick. I applied the make-up onto my face and looked in the mirror inspecting the results. It turned out pretty nicely. I brushed my hair with a round brush to give it some volume and then sprayed on leave-in conditioner and smoothed on Frizz Ease to eliminate the whole frizzing thing that my hair seemed to love doing.
I looked at my watch and saw that I had to meet Nick downstairs in five minutes. I took his surprise from the dresser and looked at it, I was hoping that Nick would like it. When the time came, I went downstairs to the living room and saw that the light had been dimmed. I looked around but didn’t find Nick anywhere. Then I saw a note on the coffee table. I picked it up, it said: Follow the trail of roses. I looked at the floor and for the first time noticed that there was indeed a trail of roses leading out of the room. I followed the trail and found myself in front of the glass doors that led to the backyard. I opened the doors and gasped in surprise. The first thing that caught my eye was the pool. All around it, there were blue and green candles lit and flickering in the moonlight. Rose petals were in the pool, gently floating on the surface. I then saw a table with two tall candles on it, one blue, and one green. Those colors were Nick’s favorite and mine. There were also plates, glasses, and silverware on the table, set for two. I looked around searching for Nick but didn’t see him. I was confused, he planned the whole thing, but where was he?

Nick’s point of view

I watched Liz look around from the left side of the backyard. The hedge hid me so Liz wouldn’t be able to see me. I was waiting for the right moment. My hand tightened around the small box that I held in my right hand as I took a deep breath to calm myself down. It was then or never. I came out behind Liz.
“Do you like it?” I asked softly.
Liz whirled around and I could see a smile on her beautiful face. “I love it!” she exclaimed and kissed me. Her lips tasted good, lip-gloss I guessed. “So what is this for?” asked Liz when we parted.
“Think of it as a going away party, but with only two people,” I replied smiling.
“It’s wonderful,” said Liz genuinely.
“Oh, but there’s more,” I said mysteriously and led her to the table.
I pulled out her chair for her so she could sit down. “What a gentleman,” remarked Liz and smiled at me.
“I know,” I replied grinning and sat down on the other side of the table.
“Um Nick, I see the plates and stuff, but I don’t see any food,” said Liz gesturing towards the table.
“The food is right here,” I said picking up a covered tray. It was hidden behind a few chairs.
“Oh, so what are we having?” asked Liz curiously.
“This,” I said and lifted the cover off of the tray. On it, were two plates with two pieces of chocolate ice cream cake.
“Desert?” asked Liz raising her eyebrows.
“Yep, I figured that since we both love desert so much, why go through the whole dinner thing, when we can skip right to the good part,” I replied grinning.
“I love it,” said Liz grinning back.
“I was hoping you would,” I said and put the ice cream on her plate and on mine.
We began eating making small talk in between bites. After we were done, I set the plates and the silverware on the ground and turned my attention to Liz once again.
“It’s time for your surprise,” I said and took out the small box from my pocket.
“My surprise?” asked Liz excitedly. “What is it?”
“This,” I said and handed the box to her. Liz opened it carefully and her face lit up when she saw what was inside.
“Nick, I love it, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed and then got up and hugged and kissed me.
“I’m glad,” I said. Liz smiled and slid the ring onto her finger. The ring was white gold and it had a star shaped diamond in the middle, surrounded by two crescent moons.
“I have a surprise for you too,” stated Liz and took out a box also.
“For me?” I asked surprised.
“Yep, open it,” urged Liz. I grinned and opened the box. Inside was a gold ring with small diamonds set into it. “Look inside,” said Liz. I looked at the inside of the ring and saw the inscription: 6/4/01.
“What is it?” I asked looking at Liz.
“It’s the day that I arrived here to stay with you for the summer,” explained Liz.
I slid the ring onto my finger. “I absolutely love it,” I said smiling and then it was my turn to do the hugging and kissing.
“I’m never going to forget this night, or this summer,” said Liz hugging me tightly.
“Neither will I,” I said and softly kissed her.

THE NEXT DAY
Liz’s point of view

I stood in the airport looking at the planes taking off forlornly. I still had a half an hour before I had to board my plane and I wished that those thirty minutes would never end. I looked at Nick and saw that he had tears in his eyes, just like me.
“Well, this is it,” I said my voice breaking slightly because I was trying not to cry.
“No it isn’t, our relationship isn’t over, we’re strong enough to survive this separation, temporary separation,” said Nick determinedly.
“We’re all gonna miss you very much Liz,” said Brian.
“Yeah, it’s not gonna be the same without you,” added AJ.
“Thanks you guys, I’m gonna miss you too,” I said.
“Be good, and stay safe,” advised Kevin.
“I will,” I promised.
“And always remember that we’re just a phone call away,” said Howie smiling.
“I will,” I said.
“Come on guys, let’s give them some time alone,” said Brian. The guys all hugged me tightly and promised that they would call and made sure that I had all of their cell phone numbers and their tour schedule. I said goodbye to all of them and a few stray tears escaped my eyes. Then the guys said their goodbyes and left me to say the hardest goodbye of my life.
Nick and me stood there for a few minutes just looking at each other and not saying a word. We both knew what the other was thinking.
Finally Nick sighed. “This is so hard,” he said.
I nodded. “I know the feeling, I hate doing this,” I stated.
“So do I,” agreed Nick.
“Promise me that you’ll call everyday,” I said crying softly.
“I promise,” swore Nick. “Promise you’ll write,” he said.
“I promise,” I said repeating his words.
“Final boarding call for Flight number 135 to New York,” came the voice over the loudspeaker.
“That’s me,” I said wiping the tears from my cheeks, but it was useless, the tears kept coming.
“I know,” said Nick quietly and wiped away the tears from his own face.
“I love you,” I said and looked at him, trying to memorize every feature of his face.
“I love you too, forever,” responded Nick and our lips met in one final kiss before my departure. We stood there in the middle of the airport hugging each other tightly until we could no longer.
We parted and I picked up my carry on. “I have to go,” I said.
“Yes,” said Nick, I could see that he was at a loss for words; he wasn’t alone.
“I’ll call you when I get home,” I promised.
“I’ll be waiting,” said Nick.
“Bye Nick,” I said sadly.
“Bye Liz,” he said and we locked eyes for another minute. I then turned around and went to the plane.

Nick’s point of view

I watched Liz’s plane take off as more tears rolled down my face. I didn’t even bother wiping them. I saw Brian come and stand next to me. We stood silently for a few minutes.
“So I guess I was right,” said Brian suddenly.
I turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Remember that day when we were playing basketball, a couple of days before Liz came?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. I didn’t see where he was going with that.
“So on that day you said that there’s no way that you could ever possibly like Liz, and I told you ‘never say never’,” said Brian.
“Oh,” I said remembering that day.
“So I was right,” repeated Brian.
“Yeah you were Bri, yeah you were,” I agreed and watched Liz’s plane as it rose higher and higher and took her back to New York and away from me.

chapter 15 sequel