I was in a rush, as usual, to finish getting ready before Brian got there. Just as I was adding the finishing touches, I heard the doorbell chime.

"Well, I guess it's now or never!" I muttered aloud as I quickly approached the front door. As I swung open the door, there he stood. Oh, those beautiful blue eyes and that sexy endearing smile. He looked awesome in his tan shorts, navy blue Hilfiger shirt, sunglasses perched atop his unruly locks and.....flippers?

"Brian! What the hell do you have on your feet?" I giggled.

"Oh, those? Those are my flippers," he stated in a mock serious tone.

            "Oh. Yeah. Ok. Flippers. I KNOW THAT BRI! WHY is want I wanted to know!" I never knew what to expect from him, nor did he from me for that matter.

"Well, you didn't ask 'why', you asked what they were," he retorted, with his accent clearly evident.

"You goof! Get in here and tell me 'why' you are wearing them." I was nearly doubled over with laughter watching him attempt to walk across the room. He nearly fell into the coffee table trying to walk on my shag carpet with those blasted things on his feet, knocking over my potted fern in the process.

"Oops, sorry about that, Babe," he said as he righted the plant again. He plopped himself down on the couch and sat there with his feet ensconced in those huge monstrosities, with that silly kid-like grin on his face. God, he was just eating this up. I have always enjoyed our times together. We both love the spontaneity of our personalities. Lucky for us, we both had the same sense of humor; otherwise, we just might have had to hurt each other! Howie had always said that he figured that Brian and I got along so well because I was the female version of Nick ~ always looking for fun and willing to cause trouble to MAKE fun if none was to be found. I closed the door and crossed to the couch and sat next to him.

"So, is there something you want to tell me? You look like the cat that swallowed the canary," I said, crossing my arms. I was trying to build up some anger at him; he knows how much I hate secrets. He smiled that heart melting smile and I just had to laugh at him. What a picture he was with his feet propped up on the coffee table! Being the ardent photographer I was, I quickly pulled a camera from the end table drawer and snapped his photo before he could protest. He just gave me a big cheesy grin and crossed his legs with the flippers on.

"Go put your swimsuit on under those clothes before we leave, ok?" he instructed.

"Ha! Little do you know, Mr. Littrell, but I already have it on!" I tossed back at him.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He grabbed my hand and attempted to move to the front door, but his left flipper snagged on the shag carpet and we both tumbled to the floor.

"Oooff!" we both puffed as we hit the floor. One look at each other and we started chuckling at our predicament.

"So, Brian...walk much?" I asked. I shouldn't have done that! He immediately rolled on top of me and started a tickle fight. We were a mass of arms and legs flailing about. He kicked out with his right leg and we heard a crash. There went my fern again!

"Dang Bri. I think I'm gonna start calling YOU Kaos instead of Nick!" He chuckled a bit more and moved himself above me. As our eyes met, suddenly all of the laughter subsided. I read the lust in his eyes under all of the laughter. I was breathing hard; unsure if it was from the tickling or the anticipation of what was to come next. Slowly, he lowered his face to mine, never breaking eye contact. He faintly touched my lips with his own. There was that familiar and welcome electrical charge I always felt when he touched me. He continued to tantalize my lips with near kisses. I couldn't take it anymore. I laced my fingers into his soft hair and pulled him to me. He had a slight grin on his face. He had done it to me again. Teased me with just enough to see who would break first. This was one competition I never minded losing. As our make out session was heating up, he moved himself closer to me. There was another crash as he knocked over my C.D. tower with his flippers. I dissolved into another fit of giggles and the spell was broken.

"Ok, Mr. Grace, where are we going on our last day before your big tour?" I teased.

"Well, Miss Hot Stuff, how about the Splash-N-Ride Amusement Park?" he answered.

"Wonderful! Just one thing…"

"What's that?" he asked.

"How about I do the driving, huh?" I joked, pointing to his flippers. He laughed heartily as he slipped off the flippers and helped me to my feet.

"It's a deal, Babe."

At the park

We hit the regular rides before the water park. As soon as we were in the front gates, we took off at a dead run for the biggest, fastest roller coaster ride. My stomach hurt from all the screaming and laughing we did. Several bumpy rides later, we settled down into the large Ferris wheel. Luckily for us, we had the whole 6-person cab of the Ferris wheel to ourselves. The view was spectacular, as we could see the ships far out on the ocean. But even the millions of diamonds of sunlight dotting the ocean's surface could not match the light in Brian's eyes when I looked into them. He placed his arm around me and pulled me close to his side, resting his head on top of mine. I snuggled in as close as I could possibly get. This was exquisite; being in his arms and feeling so alone in the midst of thousands of people. We spent the entire ride in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Just as the ride was coming to a stop for us to disembark, he tilted my face up to his and gave me the most loving, tender kiss.

"Hey Babe, are you ready to get that body of yours a little wet?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

I gave him an evil grin and answered, "Well, you have already given one certain place a head start on that. I am assuming you mean the water park?" Brian threw his head back and laughed the most beautiful laugh.

"Come on, you nut," he laughed as pulled me toward the other side of the park. We spent the next couple of hours slipping and sliding down the many water slides and bobbing in the wave machine pool. We were always playing little practical jokes on each other; diving underwater and pulling the legs out from each other, splash fights, or just plain dunking one another. Finally, we traveled up to the Tubing River. This was where you got on a large inner tube and traveled a very long channel. There were actually two to choose from; one was a man-made calmer version of white water rafting for inner tubes, the other was a very languid, peaceful journey. We chose the latter one, finally ready to wind down for the day. Of course, he couldn't resist splashing me when we pushed off. I tried to splash him back, but in doing so, succeeded only in falling off of my inner tube! This made him feel guilty so he pulled me up onto his tube and we shared the remainder of the ride cuddled up on his large tube. Thank goodness for the cool water, otherwise we might have melted the rubber tube!

Soon the ride was over and we were toweling off and heading for home. When we arrived at my house, I poured us each a glass of wine to curl up with. "You know, I am really going to miss you, Brian. I hate these last few hours before you leave. It's almost harder to bear than when you are gone."

"Me too, Babe. Even though there is so much energy and hype during the tour, there is something that is always missing. I feel like I'm not quite whole without you with me," he sighed. He set down both our glasses and took my hands in his.

"Now, I know that you have almost three whole months off. Why don't you please come with me on tour? I promise you will be back in time to get ready to teach again in the fall. I just can't bear the thought of another tour without you along."

"Oh Brian, you know I would love to be with you. But we have talked about this. Having a girlfriend along for the whole thing could damage the group's reputation. I could never do that to you or the guys." It was so hard to look into his eyes. His pain was clearly visible. I knew what he was feeling; I had the same lead ball in the pit of my stomach.

"Well, what if you're not my girlfriend anymore? Do you think then you could come?" he asked. I snapped my head around and looked at him with astonishment.

"Now wait a minute Babe. I feel really bad about making you lose your inner tube ring today. Maybe this one will make up for it," he mused. He handed me a snow white velvet box he had hidden in his shorts pocket. With the look of astonishment still on my face, I took the box from him and opened it. There was a gorgeous 2 1/2 carat oval diamond framed by two crescent moon shaped blue sapphires in a platinum setting!

"Oh my God, Brian!" I squealed, my voice higher than normal. He slipped from the couch and held my hand.

"I can't bear the thought of another tour without you by my side. Do you think it’s more acceptable for a fiancée to travel with me than a girlfriend?" he begged. I couldn't even speak. Small tears started to slilp down my cheeks as I emphatically nodded my head in answer. Brian took the ring and tenderly slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Babe, you are the love of my life. You are the first thing I think of when I wake up and my last thought at night. Will you please make me the happiest man on earth and say you will be with me forever? Will you please marry me?" he implored as a tears welled in his own eyes.  One look into his eyes and all I could do was throw myself on him with my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. This, of course, knocked him backwards and over the coffee table. Once again we found ourselves sprawled on the floor convulsing with laughter. Brian stood up and offered his hand to me.

"Come on soon-to-be Mrs. Littrell, I think we need to consummate this engagement," he growled as he pulled me toward the bedroom door.