Day Two
So Faith and I sped back across the border and to the hotel (lucky she knew where it was because I didn’t). That night was...well, it was amazing. It made me regret not being more spontaneous more often. The next morning I rolled over and draped my arm over an empty spot. At first I was confused, knowing that I hadn’t gone to bed alone, but then I remembered Faith mentioning she had a class early that day. There was a note sitting on her pillow and with a smile I picked it up and read.
Howie,
No, this isn’t a “thanks for a good time, see ya never” note (although I did have a wonderful night), like I told you I have a class at nine. I’m done at noon, though - I know you have some stuff to do but call me when you’re done. My night’s free and I’d love to see you...
--Faith.
She had left her number at the bottom. I folded the note carefully and slipped it in my wallet, which was sitting on the night table. After that I hurriedly got up and dressed, then headed downstairs to see if any of the guys were catching breakfast. Surprisingly all of them save Nick were at a table so I joined them and ordered a coffee.
“Hey all,” I greeted them. Brian nodded, his mouth full. AJ made some sort of noise but Kevin eyed me critically.
“You’re awful cheerful,” he noted and I shrugged. “Any particular reason?” I shrugged again, fully aware I was starting to grin like a moron. AJ mumbled something as he lifted his mug to his lips. “What was that?” Kevin asked him.
“I said Faith.”
“Faith?” Kevin and Brian repeated in unison, looking from AJ to me. I faked interest in a packet of Equal.
“Who’s Faith?” Brian asked.
“A blackjack dealer,” AJ answered. Brian’s eyebrows shot up in mock amazement.
“Well well!”
“She’s not just a blackjack dealer,” I argued. Kevin chuckled.
“I should say not, judging by your classic look of pure embarrassment,” he quipped.
“How’d you manage to score with her?” Brian wondered. “I mean, is she cute?” He looked to AJ, who nodded.
“She’s cute. Ask D how much cash he plunked down to catch her interest,” he advised. I shot him a look.
“How much d’you spend?” Brian followed his suggestion, looking very interested.
“Don’t worry about it,” I tried to change the subject. Just then the waitress dropped off my coffee and I ordered some breakfast, hoping that would offer enough distraction. I should’ve known better.
“How much was it, D?” Brian asked again. I shook my head at him.
“Did she come back here with you?” Kevin asked.
“What is this, twenty questions?” I retorted, sighing.
“He caught a ride back with her,” AJ informed them. I looked at him.
“How’d you know?”
AJ grinned at me. “Word gets around, buddy.”
“D!” Brian exclaimed, grinning. Kevin raised his eyebrows.
“Fancy that,” he said approvingly and I sighed.
“Jeez! You guys are pathetic. He caught a ride with some chick long before I did, you know,” I told them, throwing a hand in AJ’s direction. Brian waved it off dismissively.
“Yeah, but that’s Boner - no news there.”
“True,” AJ and Kevin agreed.
“Plus I didn’t sleep with my chick,” AJ added. Kevin raised his eyebrows at him. “Seriously,” AJ told him.
“Our little Howard’s growing up so fast,” Brian sighed.
“You guys act like I’ve never had-” I stopped short. “Never spent time with a girl,” I edited lamely, not to mention way too late.
“Ho-o-o,” Brian said, grinning. Kevin let out a low wolf’s whistle and AJ started making porn music sounds. I rolled my eyes and waited out their teasing. Finally they stopped and AJ patted my back.
“I’m proud of you, man. One nights stands are da bomb,” he said knowingly. I smiled at him and Brian launched into a story about what he and Nick had done the night before. I zoned out, though, thinking of the night Faith and I had shared. It wasn’t all about sex - we had talked too, sometimes seriously and sometimes laughing and joking. She had already seriously endeared herself to me and as convenient as it would have been, I couldn’t write Faith off as a one night stand. In fact, all that day I found my thoughts wandering off to her, wondering what she was doing and how much longer I’d have to wait til I got to see her. After we had finished our last order of business for the day, a fan conference held at a hotel a few miles from ours, I was so anxious to call her that I could barely sit still. AJ smacked me in the arm as we headed out to our vans.
“Whadya think of that, man?” he asked quietly. I looked at him.
“Of what?” I assumed he was asking about something that had happened during the conference but I had been so distracted I don’t think I really would have noticed if a bomb would’ve exploded under my nose.
“Of what? Were you in the room...” He stopped and stared at me. “Oh no,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Jesus, D,” he said as we climbed into the back seat.
“What?” I tried again.
“You’re all gung-ho on this chick. I knew it.”
“I’m not all ‘gung-ho’,” I argued weakly, knowing it was no use. AJ shook his head and sat back, laughing.
“Oh D, D, D,” he sighed, “what are we going to do with you?”
I rolled my eyes at him. As soon as we got back to our hotel I darted into the elevator and up to my eighth floor room. It was already six and I was dying to see Faith. Closing and locking the door behind me I fished her note from my wallet and sat on the bed. Taking a deep breath I dialed, trying to remain cool.
“Hello?”
The sound of her voice alone made me smile. “Hey Faith, it’s Howie.”
“Oh hi! How are you?”
We chatted for a few minutes then arranged for her to come pick me up. She told me it was going to be a good forty-five minutes til she’d arrive so I spent the time deciding what to wear (and for the record I never used to be this picky, I picked it up from AJ). About ten minutes before I expected Faith I heard a knock at the door. Giving myself a final once-over I dashed to the door and put on a big smile. I opened the door not to Faith but Kevin. I blinked in surprise.
“Hey Kev,” I greeted.
“Hey Howie,” he returned, his hands deep in his pockets. “Mind if I come in?”
I glanced at my watch involuntarily then nodded and stepped back. “Sure, come on in,” I invited. He nodded and entered and I closed the door again. “What’s up?”
He took a seat on the sofa and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Nothing much. You going out?”
“Ah, yeah actually, Faith’s coming by and we’re probably going to grab some dinner or something...” I looked at him for a moment. “Are you OK?”
Kevin gave a half-hearted nod, staring at the carpet then up at me. “Howie, I know this is a really stupid question, but...how do you know if something is considered a date?”
He’d caught me completely off-guard. “What?”
Kev sighed. “I know, I know it sounds stupid, but when is doing something with someone a date and when is it...not?” he tried again. It seemed such a weird question for Kevin of all people to ask - after all, he was rarely one to ask for any sort of girl advice, especially since getting engaged a few months earlier. I sat down and tried to come up with a good answer.
“Well, ah, I don’t know there are definite differences between a date and a non-date...I think it all depends on attitude,” I offered, thinking of the night before. He thought about that a minute.
“So basically, if you treat it like a date and think of it as a date then it is, otherwise it’s just whatever?” he summed up. I nodded. He thought about that again then nodded slowly. “Right, that makes sense.”
“You sure you’re OK?” I asked again. He nodded more decisively and stood up.
“I’ll be fine. All right, I’ll get out of your hair.” He paused and looked at me, smiling slightly. “Thanks, Howie.”
“Yeah, no problem,” I said as I walked towards the door with him. “If you need...y’know, anything else, let me know.” I wasn’t sure what to say but that seemed to be enough for him. He opened the door and there stood Faith, her hand poised to knock and a look of surprise on her face. Kev started a little then smiled.
“Well how’s that for timing?” he stated. Faith blinked once then smiled.
“No kidding,” she agreed and looked around Kevin at me.
“Hi,” I greeted, quickly kissing her cheek then gesturing to Kevin. “Faith, this is Kevin. Kev, Faith.”
Kevin held out his hand and Faith shook it. “Pleasure to meet you,” Kevin said to her and she nodded.
“The pleasure’s all mine.” We sort of stood there awkwardly a moment, then Kevin smiled again.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to your plans,” he said, ducking out the door.
“See ya, Kev,” I called after him, then took Faith’s hand and pulled her into the room with me. She laughed as I closed the door and wrapped my arms around her.
“My my, you certainly know how to make a girl feel welcome,” she commented, draping her arms around my neck. I leaned in and kissed her deeply, savoring the feel of her lips on mine again. When we separated I kissed her forehead softly.
“Mm, do you know I’ve been thinking about that all day?” I mused, kissing her again.
“That makes two of us,” she whispered, running her hand along my cheek. I kissed her again - I couldn’t help it, I just had to. Finally we managed to pull away from each other and Faith took a seat on an armchair, curling her legs up underneath her. I grinned - she looked cute, like a little girl.
“How was your day?” I asked her as I sat across from her on the sofa. She shrugged.
“Ancient Drama-rific,” she answered and I laughed. “How about yours?”
“Nothing special - meetings, radio interviews and that fan conference.” She nodded and I pointed at her. “Well, Miss Michigan-” I stopped as she started laughing. “What?”
“Don’t call me Miss Michigan,” she said through her laughter. I narrowed my eyes.
“Why?” She just shook her head.
“I’ll explain some other time,” she promised. I shrugged, clueless.
“OK. Anyway, Faith, what would you like to do tonight?”
“Hmm...” She put her head back and thought, then looked at me. “I don’t know, what are you up for?”
“Definitely not gambling.”
“Agreed.”
“We could...well, we could start by getting something to eat,” I suggested. Faith nodded.
“OK, what do you feel like?”
“How does Asian sound?” I hoped she was up for it because I was seriously craving stir fry. Faith shrugged.
“OK.” She stood up and headed for the door. I laughed and hopped up too.
“Hey, wait a second,” I said and she turned, looking expectant.
“What?”
“We can’t just go.”
She looked around. “Why? You’re dressed, I’m dressed, let’s go,” she said, opening the door. I laughed again, surprised by her spontaniety.
“Fine, fine, let me just stop off and talk to Al really quick.” We headed out the door and I stopped by Al’s room. He was less than pleased that I was going off alone again but he let me go without much hassle. Next thing I knew I was in Faith’s Intrigue and we were off for...well, I really didn’t know.
“So where are we going?” I asked.
“To this Japanese steak house. It’s a bit of a drive but I’ve heard it’s awesome,” she said, turning the radio up some. REO Speedwagon came wafting from the speakers. I smiled over at her.
“Lite rock?” I asked. Faith smiled too and shrugged.
“I’m a total lite rock whore,” she admitted and I laughed. “No, really,” she continued, laughing too, “after dark I absolutely can’t drive and listen to anything else.”
“OK, under any other circumstances I’d never admit it but I’m the same way,” I confessed. She looked over at me in surprise.
“You’re a lite rock whore too?”
“I prefer soft rock junkie, but yeah.” We shared another smile. REO Speedwagon faded out and was replaced by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville. Faith eyed me quickly.
“I’ll take Linda,” she informed.
“I’ll take Aaron,” I said at the same time.
“Obviously,” we said in unison and laughed. We sang along loudly with the radio, casting each other dramatic looks and flourishing our respective parts with overdone hand gestures. It was great. Too soon the song ended and a deep voice came over the airwaves. Faith shouted and turned the radio off. I looked at her in surprise.
“I’m sorry, I cannot listen to The Rapist,” she told me. “I’ll turn it back on in a second.”
“The Rapist?”
She waved a hand in the radio’s direction disgustedly. “The deejay, he’s The Rapist,” she said.
“That’s his real name?” I asked incredulously.
“No, his real name’s Alan Altman but to me he’s The Rapist. I hate his voice, he makes me feel violated when he talks.”
“That guy that was just on?” I clarified and Faith nodded. “You don’t think his voice is soothing?”
She gave me a look that would make you think I suggested that the earth was square. “Um, no. I think he’s creepy. I will not listen to him.”
“You’re such a weirdo,” I teased her and she smacked my leg. We drove on, talking, singing and avoiding “The Rapist”. At the restaurant we sat a huge table and watched as our food was prepared in the middle. It wasn’t especially intimate, being that we were sharing the table with about twelve other people, but I kept reaching under the table and touching Faith - sometimes just running my hand over her knee or resting my hand on her thigh for a second or two. Afterwards she’d give me a sly smile and when I least expected it she squeezed my knee softly or ran her fingertips along the side of my leg. I knew I was acting like a horny teenager but I hadn’t felt such electric attraction toward someone in a long time and it was fun to just do what I felt - and even more fun to be with someone that returned the affection. It was hard keeping my hands away from her long enough to eat but the meal was awesome. I looked over to see Faith picking at her dish before delicately taking a bite here and there.
“What’s the matter?” I asked between bites. She smiled at me.
“Nothing,” she said as she kept picking.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“I am eating.” She popped a small piece of meat in her mouth and grinned as she chewed. I pointed at her mostly full plate.
“OK, fine, you had a bite, but you’ve hardly eaten a thing.”
Faith shrugged. “I know.”
“Don’t you like Asian food?”
“No.”
I stared at her. “No?” I repeated. She shook her head as she studied a piece of some vegetable. “Then why are we here?” I asked quietly.
“Because you wanted to eat here.”
“But if you don’t like it we could’ve-” I was stopped as Faith pushed a piece of beef into my mouth.
“Howie, it’s cool. I can eat anywhere I want whenever I want. All that matters is that you’re here and I’m here, not what we’re eating...right?” She smiled a winning smile and I wanted to kiss her so badly right then and there. I chewed quickly then smiled at her.
“Right.”
We finished eating and headed back to the car. Before she climbed into the car I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. She laughed afterwards.
“What was that for?”
“Just because.” We got in the car but rather than start it Faith reached over and gently caressed my face. In return I put my arms around her as best I could and kissed her with everything I had. Her hands roamed over my neck and back and soon we were pretty involved. Just as my hands went up the back of her shirt she pulled away a little.
“Not that I’m not really enjoying this, but there are places that are a bit more comfortable and a lot more private,” she murmured, her fingers drumming lightly on the back of my neck. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was stop but I knew she was right. Kissing her quickly once more I situated myself in my seat again. She started the car and pulled out into the road.
“Where are we off to now?”
“Well...” She laughed lightly, sounding almost embarrassed. “We could go back to the hotel or...or we could go to my place,” she suggested, looking over to gage my reaction. I smiled.
“I’d love to see your place,” I told her and so we were off again. We talked a mile a minute on the way back and the part of my brain reserved for regret was already preparing to dread leaving Sunday morning. I tried pushing the thought out of my mind so that I could enjoy the time I had.
We arrived at her place about a half hour later. It was a two-story ranch and I looked at her quizzically as we pulled into the driveway. “This is yours?” I asked.
“Not all of it. I rent out the addition off the back with my best friend. It’s small but it’s home,” she said. I followed her around the back of the house and was soon seated on a couch in her small but comfortable living room. There was just a small kitchen and dining area, the living room, a bedroom and a bathroom, but Faith and her roommate had decorated cheerily and it didn’t feel at all cramped.
“So will your friend be coming home?”
“No, she’s at another friend’s for a few days.”
“Ooo, that’s interesting,” I said, smiling. Faith shot me a look.
“A female friend.”
“Ooo! Now that is very interesting.”
She rolled her eyes as she stood at the fridge. “You’re a sicko. Can I fix you a drink?”
“What are you having?”
“A jolly rancher.”
I didn’t know what that was but it sounded good so I asked for one too. A minute later she handed me a purpley drink and took a seat next to me on the couch with her own glass. I took a sip - it was fruity and a bit tart but really good. “What’s in this?” I asked as I took a longer sip.
“Sprite, Razzmatazz, vodka and sweet and sour mix,” she listed.
“It’s awesome. You’re quite the bartender.”
“I do try. Ooo, I feel antsy,” she said, setting her glass down and standing up. I watched her as she flipped on the stereo and pushed a few buttons. A second later Mandy Moore began play - funny enough, the song I helped write. Faith started bopping all over, smiling at me.
“What are you doing?” I laughed.
“Dancing,” she answered, then held her hands out. “Dance with me.”
“I’m OK here, thanks.”
“Fine, suit yourself,” she replied breezily, continuing to dance. I just watched her in amazement as she strutted all around. She was actually a pretty good dancer and soon the hook got to me. I got up and pushed her coffee table back and danced over to her.
“Oh sure, now you want to join me,” she said, dancing away from me teasingly. I pulled her to me and we danced against each other. That song ended and another began, no longer Mandy Moore so I assumed she had a few CDs on shuffle. Song after song played, both fast and slow, and we danced to every one. Suddenly Back To Your Heart began and I looked at her in surprise.
“Oh great,” she moaned, resting her head against my shoulder.
I laughed. “How about that.”
“It’s my roommate’s, I swear.”
“Faith, Faith, Faith...”
“My sister’s?” she tried.
“Sure, sure. You only have brothers.”
She sighed. “Fine. Now you know my awful secret.”
“Aw, come on, being a closet Backstreet Boys fan is nothing to be ashamed of.”
She picked her head up and cocked an eyebrow at me. “That’s what you think.”
“Well, to a Backstreet Boy it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
She laughed. “I never thought of it that way. But my roommate does own it too. She’s a psycho fan.”
I held her close to me as we swayed, the room lit only by a single lamp. Her hair smelled sweet and clean and I could just pick up the scent of lavendar. I thought of how she was so unlike other girls I had dated. Most of them were your typical “beautiful people”, but I hadn’t had as much fun with them as I was having with Faith. Maybe that was part of her charm - that she was just so new and different, everything from the way she looked to her attitude. Plus we had so much in common, as I had discovered after talking so much. I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes. I felt Faith lift her head from my shoulder and a second later her lips were on mine. I opened my eyes after she pulled away to see her smiling.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Do you know how wonderful I think you are?” I asked, resting my right hand on her face and rubbing my thumb slowly over her cheek. Her smile widened.
“The feeling’s mutual,” she told me earnestly and kissed me again. I took her face in both hands and kissed her with such abandon that soon her arms were around me and my hands left her face for her body instead. Finally, breathless, we broke apart and without a word she took my hand and led me quickly into her room.
Day Three
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