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After finishing her drawing of the beach for AJ they grabbed a bite to eat and then walked back toward the hotel.  Emma was relieved to have had run into AJ the night before.  Until then she hadn’t been sure how, or if, she was going to talk to him again.  In her heart she wanted to apologize for freaking out in Vegas, but as more time went on and she didn’t talk to him she began to wonder if stopping communication all together would be better.  As soon as she saw him in that elevator though she knew that she wasn’t supposed to walk away from him just yet.  She knew he was getting close, much closer than she’d ever planned on letting him get, but for some reason it just felt right.


With Nick on the other hand, the closer he got, the more it scared her.  She worried about how comfortable she seemed with him at times and how good he made her feel when they were together.  Letting AJ in on her life and letting him know bits and pieces of her hidden past was one thing, but having a boyfriend-like person in her life and sharing herself with him was way too much.  Keep it physical, she told herself and hoped she could listen to herself.


“What are you doing for Christmas?” AJ asked her out of the blue as they were walking up the beach.


 “Nothing… I don’t know.  I hadn’t really thought about it.”


 “It’ll be nice to have a real break that lasts longer than a day or two… I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed for two weeks,” AJ said with a happy sigh.  “I was just thinkin’ though, if you don’t have any plans you’re welcome to come back to Florida with me for the break.  Spend the holidays with me and then we’ll hit the road again after New Years for the last month of the tour.”


Emma shook her head, “I can’t invade your holidays like that.  But thanks for the offer.  I’ll be fine.”


AJ looked at her and made a face, “It’s not invasion if you’re invited.  Seriously, if you’re just going to be alone for two weeks, come home with me.  I won’t make you get all into the holiday spirit if you don’t want to.  Hell, you can stay locked in the spare bedroom the whole break if you want… just come with me.”


“So you can keep tabs on me and know where I am?”


He shrugged, “Sort of, yeah.  And because you’re my friend.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, Emma, my friends are my family.  The guys, they’re my brothers.  And you, you’re… well, you’re not my sister cause then it would be wrong of me to think you’re hot…” he said with a chuckle.  “But you’re more than ‘just a friend,’” he said making quotes in the air with his fingers.  “I don’t want to go home for two weeks and think that you’re all by yourself somewhere when you could be at least staying in my house if not hanging out with me and my mom and her husband.”


“I just…”


 “Listen…” he said as he interrupted her and stopped walking.  “Just don’t say no right now.  Even if there’s no way in hell you’ll come home with me, just pretend, for my sake, that you’ll think about it.  We’ve got a few days left here and another week traveling around California before a week and a half of dates in Texas before the break… say you’ll think about it and give me your official answer in Texas.”


She looked up at him and wanted to tell him no.  She wanted to tell him that she might not even make it to Texas and that the holidays weren’t even a blip on her radar anymore.  What she did though when she saw the look of determination on his face was nod and quietly replied, “I’ll think about it.”


He smiled a big ear to ear smile, “Sweet…”