"Wow, Grace, that was the best homemade dinner I've had in a long time." Joey commented, sighing with pleasure as he sat back in his chair.

Grace smiled as she, too, sat back, "Thanks! I wasn't sure if it would turn out good at first. But, hey, guess I just have the magic touch!"

"And you know it was good if Joey is too full to eat any more." Chris said.

Everyone laughed as Brandi and Grace stood to clear the dishes. Everyone else headed into the living room, except JC. When Brandi disappeared into the kitchen, JC stopped Grace.

"Hey, you cooked it all, why don't you go relax with everyone else? Don't worry, I'll take care of it." he said, taking the plates from her before she could protest.

Grace shrugged, then headed in to join the others.

JC watched her leave, then turned and walked into the kitchen. Brandi was busy digging around in a cupboard, so he set the dishes on the counter and went to get the rest.

When he returned, she was filling the sink with water. As he set down the dishes, she turned to see who it was.

"Hey. Wait, where'd Grace go?" she asked, smiling.

He smiled back, "Ah, she cooked it all and everything, so I told her to go relax."

Brandi looked at him for a minute, and it looked like she was going to say something, but then she turned and added the soap to the water. The room was silent as she grabbed some glasses off the counter next to her.

"So..uh, what do you want me to do?" JC asked, uncomfortable with the awkwardness between them.

"Um, you can dry them and put them away." she replied, not looking at him.

They washed all the dishes in complete silence. JC thought of saying something a couple times, but then decided against it. When they were done, Brandi wiped down the counters, while he wiped the table. He returned to the kitchen, and saw that she was gone.

JC wandered into the living room, where everyone was struggling to guess at the puzzle on "Wheel of Fortune". He saw that Brandi wasn't in the room, though. Looking around the room, he caught Susan's eye. She nodded slightly toward the hall, then gave him a look that said 'Go talk to her'. He nodded back and turned. Just then, Chris looked up and saw his buddy.

"Hey, JC, gonna come join the party?" he asked.

"Just leave him alone, he's kinda busy. Ya know, something he's gotta go do." Susan whispered, grabbing Chris's hand.

He nodded, finally catching on, and watched JC knock on the door at the end of the hall.

Brandi blew softly on the end of the incense stick and watched as a dull red glowed on the end. It was finally quiet, and she could relax. All she wanted was to let her mind go blank. She was trying desperately not to think about JC.

The only light in the room came from a few candles, and her favorite jazz cd was playing softly. She flopped onto her bed, resting her head on one of the many throw pillows. She began to absentmindedly undo the braid in her hair, until her curls lay around her.

She lay there, humming along softly with the song, when someone knocked on the door.

She sighed and called out, "What?"

"It's, uh, JC. Sorry to bother you-"

"JC, come in," she said, and he opened the door, "Don't worry, it's cool."

She sat up, and he sat on the end of her bed. For a few minutes, the only sound was her cd.

"Hey, I have this cd too. Isn't it great?" JC asked.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling, "I love this one."

"Hey, 'bout that sushi thing - why don't we go out to dinner tomorrow? I'll ask Susan where a good restaurant is around here."

"Sounds great! Though, I dunno if I'll like it. But I'm willing to try anything once."

"Anything?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as they slowly leaned toward eachother.

"Of course. Well, most thing. How do I know if I like something if I don't try it?" she asked, smiling a little.

"Well then.." he whispered, leaning forward.

Their lips finally met in a long, tender kiss.