The next morning I went outside and Howie was waiting for me on my porch.

"Good morning!", He said cheerfully,"I see the scars healing".

"Yeah," I said, "I took off the Band-Aid in the shower this morning". We walked slowly, talking about whatever came up. I was beginning to really like him.

Second period I passed him in the hall and he pulled me over to the side.

"Hey Carrie, do you want to come with me to a fair this Saturday?". I smiled,

"Yeah that sounds fun".

"Okay, well I'll tell you more about it after school, but I gotta go, see ya", He said.

"Bye", I said watching him walk away from me. Whoa, he invited me to go some where with him, I felt special.

After school he was waiting for me by the flag pole.

"Hey", I said.

"Hey", he said.

"So tell me some more about this fair".

"Oh, well, it's a Latino fair, and I am performing in the talent show", he said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Oh really? What are you doing?", I asked.

"I am um, singing". Whoa, I was surprized.

"Wow, that's cool", I said.

"Yeah", he said looking at me, " I hope I win!". I didn't know what to say since I had never heard him sing and I wondered if he was any good.

It was Saturday and I was exctied about spending most of my day with Howie. He was on his way over and I was running around trying to find my jacket.

Soon, there was a knock on the door and I answered it.

"Hey!", Howie said grinning. I smiled and closed the door behind me.

"I am all ready".

"Great", he said. We got into his car and we were soon there. As we parked I saw a huge sign that read, "Orlando Latino Fair". As we walked in the entrance I noticed all the Latinos, there were Spaniards, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Cubans. Which I had no problem with cause I wasn't racist in any nature. The air was filled with the smells of beans, burritos, and chili peppers. My stomach growled a bit, for I loved spicy foods.

He held my hand as we walked through the park and numerous people, we got to a small stage where the whole crowd was cracking up laughing. A skinny little guy was on stage, he ran to his puppet on one end of the stage and then back to a table of props. He must have been hilarious because people were close to tears from laughing.

"I know that kid", Howie said.

"Really?", I said studying the kid, he was cute little guy, with brown fluffy hair and huge feet that kinda gave him that goofy look. But, I knew then, he'd be a hottie when he grew up.

When his set was over and Howie were back stage.

"Hey Howie", the goofy kid said. He was closer now and I saw that he had real pretty eyelashes, yet they weren't feminine. Howie greeted him and then turned to me,

"This is Carrie, Carrie this is A.J.". I smiled politely and said hi.

"You were pretty funny out there", I said.

"Thanks", said A.J. grinning. Then a man walked over and told Howie he had five minutes. Howie looked over at me and I wished him good luck.

"Hey A.J.," I said, "Come with me and we can go sit together". He blushed, it was cute for...hmm, I wonder how old he was, he looked about fifteen.

"Okay", A.J. said. We walked back outside and took a seat near the front.

"So, A.J., How old are you?", I asked.

"Fourteen", He said taking a sip of coke he was carrying with him.

"Oh, cool, so your in...ninth grade?", I said.

"Yeah", he chewed some ice, "what grade are you in?".

"I 'm in twelfth". A.J. Looked at me like 'aww, too old for me'.

"So, are you Howie's girlfriend?".

"Um, no...", I said, wishing I was.

"Oh," A.J., " I could've sworn you guys were together by the way you looked at each other". My cheeks turned pink. Suddenly, I heard Howie's name called.

He stepped out on the stage , slowly and calmly. Then the music started and he closed his eyes. He started to sing. At first I couldn't believe it was him singing. I just stared at him breathlessly. His voice was so pure, like a soft pink rose with morning dew. It drifted out to me and hypnotized me to where I couldn't take my eyes off him. I couldn't even blink. It was then I realized how I exactly felt about him. I was falling in love with him. He looked over at me, smiling lightly and the song was over.

A.J. carried his trophy out in the parking lot.

"Well, you were close Howie!".

"Yeah, first runner up is not to bad", Howie opened his car door and got in next to me. He turned to speak out his window,

"See ya around A.J.!", he yelled as we pulled out of parking.

"You were so great!", I told him.

"I was okay", Howie shrugged.

"Aww, you too modest!". I hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Ow! I am sensitive!", he laughed. Soon we were home . I got out of the car and looked over at Howie.

"Um, do you want to go out tonight?", he asked.

"Sure", I said, "when?".

"I'll pick you up at 8:00?".

"Alright", I said and walked down the sidewalk home.

I looked into the mirror one last time. I had on a knee length black skirt and a baby blue ring neck tank top. I left my hair down, letting my natural curls do the styling. I sat down just when the doorbell rang, I opened the door and there stood Howie in khakis and a white sweater.

"Hey", I said shutting the door behind me.

"Hey", he smiled. We went out to the car and Howie opened the door for me. What a gentlemen. We drove to a small little Japanese place and had a great dinner.

After dinner Howie suggested we go drive up on top of a small mountain that over looked the city.

"Wow, it really is a beautiful night", I said looking up into the sky, "it looks as if every star is out tonight". When I looked over at Howie wasn't looking at the stars, he was looking at me. I felt my stomach turn in circles again.

"Carrie?", he asked softly.

"Yeah?".

"Will you dance with me?". At first I thought he was joking, but, when I looked at him I saw that he was serious.

"Why, I'd be honored to", I said sliding off the hood of his car. He reached inside and turned the radio on.

He took my hand into his and pulled me closer. The song that was playing ended, and then the ultimate love song of all time started playing. "Unchained Melody". As we danced slowly, I could feel his breath upon my neck, closing my eyes, I hugged him tighter. For those few moments I felt as if everything in my life was perfect. I knew he was home to me. When I looked into his eyes waves of emotion were over powering and my pulse raced. He kissed me. Like hot fire, a wild intensity ran throughout my entire body. I felt dazed. He leaned back, a questioning look on his face. I stood there for a moment, trying to pull myself together. I finally blinked and kissed him again, only this time longer, softer, sweeter.

Saying goodnight to him at my door step was a bit strange. For the past week we had said goodnight blushing shyly. But, tonight we stared at each other for a long time and then kissed for a while on the porch. I went upstairs to my room. I looked down through my window and into Howie's window. He looked up at me and blew me a kiss. I caught the kiss and blew one back then turned out my life. What had happened? I laid in bed, wishing he was there, wondering what tomorrow would be like.

I realized I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs to make some tea. After serving myself some I took my mug and went outside on my back porch. It was warm outside, with a cool spring breeze and I could feel the humidity as soon as I stepped outside. I sat down on my swing, and glanced up at Howie's window and saw that his light was out. He was probably sleeping. I took a sip of my tea and then heard something. I looked over and saw Howie peeking around the fence.

"Hey", he whispered.

"Hey", I said softly. He walked over closer to me, he was wearing a tight wife beater, and boxer shorts. I wondered if he was cold. When he got to the swing he looked at me funny.

"Nice pajamas!", he said laughing. I looked down at my Scooby-doo flannel pants and dark blue sleepy tank. "Shut-up!", I said hitting him softly on the stomach. He sat down beside me and I grabbed a blanket that was hanging on the back of the chair next to me and covered us.

"Hey Carrie?"

"Yeah?"

"What's gonna happen now?". I looked down at the ground not really knowing how to answer that. We had been so close as friends, would being together ruin it all? He turned and looked at me right in the eyes, taking a deep breath he said,

"This past week has been so weird, every morning I wake up and I can't wait to see you", he looked away, "what I am trying to say is...", he paused and exhaled, "I love you". Whoa! I couldn't believe he had just said that, I looked at him startled, and he stared back, fearing that he spoke to soon. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him. Then I my head on his chest, and I could hear his heart pounding.

"I love you, too", I said closing my eyes, it was the first time I had ever said to anyone, except family of course. He then squeezed me tighter, and I soon fell as sleep in my favorite place in the world...his arms.

The next morning we both woke up on the swing still. I got up and Howie checked his watch.

"Whoa, I gotta go before my mom notices!".

"You better run!", I laughed. He jumped up and kissed me quickly,

"Bye, I'll call you later...Love ya". He began sprinting towards his house.

"Love ya too!", I said as he rounded the corner. Wow, I was in love, and he loved me too! Words could not express how I felt. Continue to part 4 Go Back Home