You're the only one who knows how the feeling comes & why it goes.(bb)

     Evan’s friends had skated away to various places around the zoo.  Evan smiled at Davey and said, “C’mon, show me that move again.”  Davey demonstrated his over-the-cave move to Evan and Evan began to practice it. With his natural athleticism, he mastered it quickly. The two boys continued skating around the pit, trading tips and showing off a little for each other.
     Being a good skater, Davey didn’t need to concentrate too hard to keep himself upright. This was lucky for him, as he had trouble keeping his eyes off Evan. As time went on, a tingling feeling began to spread through Davey’s body. Davey knew what this feeling meant: he was falling hard for the tall, graceful boy. 
     Evan soon tired of the bear pit and skated over to the empty hippo pit.  After exploring all it had to offer, Evan sat down on a large boulder and Davey sat next to him.  “Where are you from, anyway?  I haven’t seen you around,” Evan asked.
     “Ukiah.”
     “What grade are you in?”
     “Eleventh.”
     “Me too.”
     The conversation was punctuated by a loud growling sound from Evan’s stomach.  The boys looked at each other in mock surprise and amusement.
     “I guess it’s time to eat, Bear Cub!” Evan proclaimed.     
     A secret thrill ran through Davey. Evan must like him. He had given him a nickname.
     Evan and Davey skated around the zoo collecting the rest of Evan’s gang.  Evan wanted to get some pizza, and his friends agreed.
     “Who’s this guy?” one of Evan’s friends said, jerking his thumb toward Davey.
     “Oh, yeah. This is Bear Cub,”   Evan announced.
     “Actually, my name’s David,” Davey corrected. It was one thing for Evan to call him Bear Cub, but he didn’t want the rest of Evan’s cronies calling him the special nickname.
     “Anyway,” Evan continued, pointing at each of his friends, “This is Terrance,  Butch, Andrea, J.B., and Ziggy.”
     Davey tried to take the information in, but within five minutes had forgotten which name belonged with which kid. He was sure he would pick it up soon if they were going to be spending more time together.
     The group of kids skated through the town on their way to a place called Pizza Valley. As they passed a small grocery store with a display of fruit in front, each kid grabbed an apple or orange and skated on. Davey, last in line, didn’t take a piece of fruit. He felt badly for the grocer, who stood there looking so sad and helpless, as the skaters flew by.
     At Pizza Valley, everyone grabbed their slice of pizza and looked for a place to sit. Four extra chairs had to be dragged over to a small round table in order for everyone to squeeze in. After a few moments of silence when everyone was busy eating, Terrance said, “This pizza sucks. Why do we even come here?”
     “Cuz it’s the only place in town, dummy,” said J.B.
     “Is there any good pizza in Ukiah, David?” asked Andrea.
     “Well, Mario’s pizza is decent. And my mother makes pretty good pizza...”
     Terrance pounced.  “Aww, Cubby’s mommy makes good pizza. And I bet she cuts it up into bite-size pieces for you, too,” he teased.
     Davey felt his face grow hot as everyone began laughing.
     “Alright, that’s enough,” Evan said to his friends. Then to Davey, “You’ll invite us all over for homemade pizza someday, won’t you?”
     “Sure,”  agreed Davey, and then immediately steered the conversation to skateboarding, where he knew he was on a surer footing.
     The gang finished their pizza and stood up to leave. Davey spotted a trash can in the corner and threw his plate and soda cup away.  Everyone else left their garbage on the table. Davey heard the disgruntled pizza man mutter something about “rotten kids” as he cleared away the debris.  Davey hurried to catch up with the others, and the man shouted after him, “Tell your friends not to bother coming back!” 
      Davey found the rest of the gang milling around in front of the pizza place. It was after 6:00.  Davey’s mother would expect him home for dinner soon. “I gotta go,” he said.
     “Alright,” said Evan. “See you tomorrow?”
     “Okay,” said Davey.
     The next day Davey hung out after school with his own friends for a bit, then made some excuse to them and skated over to Redwood Valley to hang with Evan and his crew. Davey would spend much of his free time in the next few weeks with his new friends. He seemed to be accepted by the other kids, but the only person he really cared about was Evan. Both he and Davey were excellent skaters and spent hours trying to top each another with one extreme stunt after another. When Evan flashed his green eyes and smile of approval at Davey, Davey felt like his heart had leaped out of his chest. Davey had often wondered if God were real. If he were, Davey thought, and he owned a skateboard, then he must be Evan McKenna.
     Evan had a great deal of charisma, but not much compassion or respect for authority.  Skating around the parking lot of a supermarket that had closed for the night, Evan got the idea to take all the shopping carts to the town’s recycling center.  This seemed like the greatest idea ever to the gang.  The sight of the six kids on skateboards pushing a convoy of shopping carts across town was an amusing one indeed. Further, the giant pile of shopping carts sitting in front of the dumpsters,  waiting to be recycled was even funnier. The supermarket manager, however, did not seem to share the skaters’ sense of humor. He
could never prove who had pulled the prank, but he was pretty sure which “damn kids” were to blame.

* * *

     There was no getting around the fact that Davey had been neglecting his own friends in favor of Evan and the kids from Redwood.  Maggie spotted Davey one Friday after the dismissal bell rang and ran to catch up with him.
     “Hey,” she said.
     “Hey,” said Davey. His smile told Maggie that at least he wasn’t mad at her.
     “We never hang out anymore,” she said.  “Where’ve you been?”
     “Mostly over at Redwood.”
      Maggie had already figured this out.
      “Why do you hang out with those guys?  They have a bad reputation. And besides which, they’re not even nice.”
     Davey looked at his friend. “You wouldn’t understand,” he said.
     “How do you know?”
     Davey considered. Maggie probably would understand.  But he didn’t dare share his feelings with her.  How could he tell her that his heart began to race at the thought of seeing Evan?  That his legs turned to jelly when Evan smiled his bright, wide smile, only for him. That he just needed to be near Evan. Davey didn’t know if Evan felt the same way about him, but he wanted to be there if and when Evan decided to make his move.
     Instead he said to Maggie, “Hey, if you want to hang out next Saturday, Evan’s going away with his parents for the weekend.”
     “How generous of you, Davey,” she said sarcastically. “But I don’t need to be squeezed into your busy schedule.”
     Maggie, her back stiff,  turned off toward her own home.  Davey knew he had hurt her, but there was nothing he could do about it.  Not just now.
     Later that evening, as Davey helped his mother with the dishes, he got a phone call.  “Can you get over here in about half an hour?” asked Evan.
     “Yeah, I guess,” said Davey.
     “Good, this is gonna be epic.”

 ~to be continued~

Thanks for reading, everyone!  Please leave a comment, so I know you were here♥

ps. I wanted to get this up for you tonight because I’m going away tomorrow. I’ll be back next Wednesday.  See you then!

luv...helen...xo

PRESENT DAY

     Davey kissed his mother on the cheek. “Thanks for everything, Mom. You outdid yourself.”
     “D’you want a piece of pumpkin pie for the road?”  Davey’s mother offered.
     “No thanks, Mom.”
     “Then how ‘bout a piece of apple pie?”
     “Really, Mom, I don’t think I’ll be able to eat another bite for at least a week.”
     “Okay, then how about pecan?”
     Davey and his mother giggled together and hugged each other tightly. “Call me,” she said.
     “I will,” he said, and blew her a kiss.
     Another Thanksgiving had ended. Davey enjoyed spending the holidays with his family where he could again feel like the boy he used to be instead of the celebrity he had become. He thrived on the loud, animated dinner table conversation and the teasing from his brother.  He even liked it, somehow, when his mother reminded him to take his elbows off the table.      
     He got in his car and headed for Highway 101, which would take him back to his own home. As he neared the highway, he made a spontaneous  decision to ignore the turn-off and drive up to Lake Mendocino. Two more hours of sitting in the car after a day of sitting didn’t appeal to him. He parked the car near the lake and began to walk toward Coyote Dam. After walking for about half an hour, he rested at an overlook,  admiring the view of the Lake.
     “Davey?”  Someone had called his name. He prepared himself to turn on his charm and sign an autograph or pose for a photo. But when he turned around, he saw a familiar face. A beautiful man walked toward him, smiling. The man was fourteen years older than the last time Davey had seen him.  But Davey could never have forgotten Chris.
     “Chris!”  Davey exclaimed and stood up.  The two men embraced.  “What are you---“ they both started to say and then chuckled at the simultaneous outburst.  There was a pause while they took one another in, noticing small changes in each other and also things that had remained the same. 
     “God, it’s been so long!” Chris exclaimed.  “When was the last time we saw each other?”  Chris waited for Davey’s answer. In the waning light, he thought he saw Davey’s eyes cloud over with a faraway look.  Chris peered straight into Davey’s face and said, “Davey?  You still here?”
     Davey refocused his eyes on Chris. “Yeah, sort of.  Everything we went through just suddenly came back to me in a big wave.”
     “I know.  Me too,” replied Chris.

 SIXTEEN YEARS EARLIER
      “I don’t care; I’m going,”  asserted Davey.
     “But what if Evan and his gang show up?”  worried Maggie.
     “What if. They don’t own the place. There’s nothing they can do.”
     “You wanna bet?”  said Leo.
     “Don’t be a wuss. You coming?” Davey started to skate away.  His friends followed him.
      It was some time before they reached their destination in the next town. It was a small abandoned zoo. The empty pools and cages that were the former homes of seals, polar bears, monkeys and other animals now made the perfect  skate park.  Davey and his friends chose a large pit below ground level that used to house black bears. There were different levels in the pit which made good jumps and various obstacles like logs and boulders to be jumped over or skated on or around.
     Davey skated down the angled inner wall of the pit and up one side of a fake cave that had been built for the bears. He sailed over the top of it, and hanging onto his skateboard, did a perfect 360. Then he landed squarely on a strategically placed log and grinded the entire length of it.
      Maggie, who had seen all this, shook her head and muttered, “Fuckin’ Davey.”
     “Hey!”  a voice boomed at them. 
     Davey, Leo and Maggie looked up to where the zoo patrons would have watched the bears.  The shout had come from a tall, well-built blonde boy who stood looking down at them, along with five of his friends.
     “We skate here,” the leader, Evan, announced. “Run along, kiddies!”
     “Ignore him,” said Davey, under his breath. The three friends continued their tricks in the bear pit.
     Suddenly  Leo screamed “Ow!!”  and put his hand up to his neck. He had been hit in the neck with a sharp stone, and a small trickle of blood was oozing from it. Maggie skated over to him to examine the cut, which was minor.  Nonetheless, Davey and his friends looked at each other in defeat.  They began to make their way out of the bear pit.
     Meanwhile, Evan and his gang were climbing down into the pit. As the two groups came abreast of each other, Evan clamped a hand on Davey’s shoulder and said, “Not you. You stay.”
     Davey looked up and saw that Evan’s green eyes were flickering over his face. After a moment Davey realized he hadn’t been breathing.
     Maggie paused and said, “You coming, Davey?” 
     Still looking into Evan’s eyes, Davey said softly, “I’m gonna stay.”

~to be continued~

Thank you for reading, everyone!

Guys, this will be a gay love story. I've tried to make it beautiful and sensitive, like I do with all my stories. But if the subject matter offends you, don't feel badly if you have to bail out now.

Please leave comments for me, loves!  helen...xo

You know those artists you listen to when no one else is around?  Those artists you wouldn’t admit liking even to your best friend? Well, I’m about to admit it to my 226 best Buzznet friends. And after I go, then it’ll be your turn!

 
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

I don’t really like this genre of music, but I think he’s a very talented musical hyphenate. (singer-dancer-writer-producer-impresario-actor)

Also, I just find him Sexy. There, I’ve said it. He’s not even really that handsome. The shape of his eyes is weird, and they don’t seem to have any discernible color.  I can’t figure out what color his hair is, either. It’s not brown, blonde, black or red.  It’s like taupe.  But when that video for “What Goes Around Comes Around” was in heavy rotation, I would not stir from the couch until the very last frame.

NEIL DIAMOND

If Neil were a pizza, he would definitely come with extra cheese.   This is the man who penned the following lyrics:

“I am, I cried!
To no one there.
And no one heard at all,
Not even the chair.”

Next time you’re in the mood for cheese, have yourself a heaping helping of Neil Diamond. And I dare you not to sing along with “Sweet Caroline.”

btw, have you guys seen the movie, Saving Silverman, starring Jack Black, Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn and Neil Diamond?  Well, if you like zany zaniness, I highly recommend it.

DAUGHTRY

I don’t know why I like this guy; maybe it’s because he reminds me so much of Vin Diesel (another one of my Guilty Pleasures). Maybe because I feel sorry for him having to go through life with his  American Idol stigma. He may as well wear a scarlet “A” on his chest, for pete’s sake.

I haven’t bought a CD of his, but I will admit I  bought the one song from his album that Slash played on.  That has to mean something, doesn’t it?

ABBA

Who can resist these singing Swedes?  Apparently, not many people, judging by the success of the Broadway smash “Mamma Mia,” (now a major motion picture)  based on songs that were huge hits way back in the 1970’s.

Put on “Voulez Vous”  and you’re instantly transported back to Studio 54. Look, there’s Truman Capote!  You just try to sit still.

JAMES TAYLOR

He’s the chamomile tea of singers.  I find him very soothing.  When “Fire and Rain” comes on while I’m pushing my cart down the aisles of the A&P, all the stresses of food shopping instantly melt away.

HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH

Man, I am so picturing you howling with laughter right about now. No, but I like Hootie’s  voice. That’s not even his name; I don’t know what his name is. I think I like these guys because hearing them takes me back to a time when I was young, free and in love.

Phew, I feel so much better now that that’s out in the open! 

I tag:   hollow1005, crash13, kassady, eyelinersmudge, hidedontseek, drsirdrawsalot, skintight,  ikkyg,  xblanksface, and anyone else with guts.

C’mon, ‘fess up!!

To Rise

Do you dream of places you’ve never been?
I think it’s because of angels.  
They come while you sleep
and take you by the hand
to yesterday,
tomorrow
and the nowhere lands.
This thought occurred to me...
May I be one of these?
to escape through my very pores
to shed this leaden shell
to deny gravity
to rise.
I’ll fly each night
to where the golden boy sleeps.
I’ll carry him to places
only he can imagine.
At dawn I’ll lie beside him
and pretend he believes.
I’ll kiss the warmth of his lips
just before I go.
He’ll awake, happy and beloved,
not knowing the reason why.
And by giving to him,
I’ll have all I need.
By day I’ll sleep high in a tree,
in a nest a mockingbird
made for me.

Here are my comments on some of your recent posts:
 

On your video “An Explanation”: That was way clever. Wherever did you get the awesome music?  (1 buzz) 

On your poem entitled “Sara Answers your questions about badges in a Logical Way”:   Made some excellent points in an upbeat and non-threatening way.  (1 buzz)

photo entitled "Show Your Pride"

Somebody needs to come up with a new, more PC expression. Because sometimes my son says to me, “I’m sorry, but there’s no other word for this: it’s gay.”  It’s all up to you, Sara.   (1 buzz)

My radishes pwn your radishes.  (jk) (1 buzz)

I love the textures on the gate. I would have been tempted to wipe off the cobweb, but I’m glad you didn’t.  (1 buzz)

I sincerely hope this made the corners of your mouth turn up, and not down. ☺♥

I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate my talented Buzznet friends, and to introduce some of my friends to others whom they may not know. I tried to include all active members. I have also included links to some fine examples of peoples’ work, so please follow the links to see more.

Disclaimer: This journal only includes people who are on my friends list; I know there are many others who deserve to be here, too. If there is someone you know who deserves recognition, let us hear about them.

So, have fun, and if you enjoyed it, please comment, ‘cause it sure was a ton of work..

Most Popular

John Ortega III (ounceofwentz)
Here are two screencaps of just a few of the comments John received on his Beauty: Warts and All blog entitled “A Few of My Insecure Things.”

Most Intellectual

Kristyn (ikkyg)
Ready to give your brain a workout?  Check out one of these essays Kristyn has recently posted.
"Myths about Medieval Dissection Part One"     CLICK HERE
"Ethics: Sex"  CLICK HERE
"Ethics: The Right to Life"   CLICK HERE

Class Clowns

Vanessa (hollow1005)

Most Likely to Succeed

Emily (swingthefocus11)
Emily's an incredibly well-rounded girl. Intelligent, with a terrific sense of humor, interesting observations, and an artistic eye. Check out this recent journal entry.
“Why Democrats are the Stupidest People on Earth”  CLICK HERE

AND
Ambereen (aameer713)
Did you know that Ambereen ranked 53 out of 736 in her high school graduating class?  And did I mention there were 736 in her class?  (I dragged that info out of her.)  Here she is with her proud  family.

Most Artistic

Crystal  (drsirdrawsalot)

here are just two of her paintings:

                 "Nude on Beach"

            "Clandestine Kiss"

Cutest Couples

                John & Kristyn 

AND
   and     
    Sanya (sany83)                                seb   (no photos available  :(

Nicest

J.J. (bizarreland)
If you already have J.J. as a friend, then you’ve known the pleasure of reading comments from her. She’ll never just say, “Awesome photo!” and go her merry way; she’ll always share something of herself with you.  Please visit her page to find out everything you need to know about chipmunks, squirrels and Vietnamese stick insects.

 
Hardest-working

Millieann (millieann282000)   As of earlier today, Millie had posted 3,448 original photos!

and

Viki (xxvikixx)
Viki keeps us up-to-date on all the Jared Leto/30STM happenings.  As of earlier today, she had posted  8,793 photos of her favorite boys and many others.

Sweetest

Kerri (hidedontseek)
No matter what problems she may have in her own life she’ll always listen to yours and give you a shoulder to cry on. And though she is multi-talented, she remains incredibly modest.

Most Beautiful Staff Member

Bree (breesays)

 Most athletic

Most Lovesick

Friendliest

djscribbles
djscribbles doesn’t post too much, but she sure gets around Buzznet. If you add her as a friend you’ll never be ignored (and I hate being ignored).  In addition, her knowledge of bands and their activities is vast. (She even knew the names of all the Less Than Jake members when asked.)

Best Hair

Becky (kassady)
I can’t decide which is more amazing: her photography or her hair!

Buzznet’s Poet Laureates
 
Savannah (tryingtofindthewords)

“Yearning for Summer”
I yearn for the smell of summer
Lotion and coconut mixed with the sea
Long days spinning into a wild blur
Savoring the moments of being totally free

 Spending hours doing nothing without a care
Exploring the sandy beaches all day long
Just sitting and breathing in the fresh salty air
Amongst the rocks you feel like you really belong

Your favorite pair of flip flops flapping on your feet
The sticky sand gritty between your soaked toes
Walking around town, up and down each street
Riding with the friendly breeze grabbing your clothes

As evening sets soft cheeks resting on strong shoulders
Your warm skin glowing from living under the sun
With the ones you love watching the sky light on fire
Knowing the adventures of night have just begun

                                                                                    xo Savannah 

AND

Sarah (hyperballad13)

Across A Twilight

Across a twilight
A million hopes dashed as eyes,
Captivating the light
Blinks with the sunrise.

A thousand shadows
Over the hollow moon
Of lovers teeth in crooked smiles.
In a crescent style swoon.

Twisting breeze through night
 Winding air interlock lips,
With branching palms
And blooming fingertips.

Calling of the seldom words
To tingle down your skin
The flesh of opaque bones
Shudder with the wind.

Scatter the shattered hearts
To entwine with the dark
Sew the stars into wounds
Give breath to the spark…

****
Ciao Bella
(by sarah)

 
Most Helpful
 
Mark (panasonicyouth)
Whether it’s a technical problem or you’re being harassed by someone, Mark will always come to your rescue!  A talented writer and photographer in his own right, please visit Mark for concert photos and snappy movie reviews.

Best Interviewer

djrossstar
Here’s a link to an interview djrossstar (Does anyone know his name? He never did tell me.) did with Tyson Ritter from All American Rejects. DJROSSSTAR is much more charming in it than the musician-LOL.  CLICK HERE

Buzznet’s Conscience

Sue (crash13) 
Every so often Sue tackles a Big Issue in her journal. She always writes with intelligence, clarity, wit and good sense. And always takes the high road.
Here’s a recent one she posted called “Religion Isn’t Trendy.”  CLICK HERE

Most Elegant
   

Veronika/Вероника (vero333)
(The unusual-looking letters are how she spells her name in Russian)

Wittiest

Ashly (newageamazon)
Very few of us can take a head full of words and ideas and combine them in exactly the right proportions to produce the consistently witty and incisive journals that Ashly has been tapping out since November 2006. To borrow from Ashly, “I cannot stress this enough.” Very. Few. Of. Us. Seriously, if Bravo ever decided to air a show called “Top Wit,” Ashly would win, hands down.

Follow this link to read her blog entitled “Ragnor-emo-rock: A Practical Guide to Surviving the First Stages of the Emocoalypse.”  CLICK HERE

Cryptkeeper

Lea (lev011)
Our resident horror movie expert, she’s always ready with a film recommendation or just to chat about one of her favorite subjects. If you love movies, check out her movie group  “Buzznet Movie World”  CLICK HERE

Best Movie Makeup

Gemma (gemmaxloves) 
Here’s a link to a journal she did which shows the different styles of makeup she’s able to do on herself. Some of it is delightfully gruesome!   CLICK HERE

Tiredest

Anne  (annieli)
Why is she tired, you might ask?  After checking out the merry mayhem caused by her 2-year-old son on a daily basis, I think you’ll know why!   CLICK HERE

Best Tattoos

Mark  (George Lucas would be proud)

Miss Canada

Berry (berryvalentine)

Most Promising Newcomers
(Meh, you’re not really newcomers, but the category sounded good.)
missxshocking (Writing), spidergurl14  (Drawing), wentzwithglasses (Photography)

Most Lovable: Jessy (foreverfireinside) and Kay (littleblackbunny)
God only knows why these two girls love this old lady, but I thank them for it, and I love them back. ♥

Queen of Javey
 
Kayleigh (kaypuget)
This was an especially sweet story about Jade and Davey. Check it out if you’re a fanfic fan. It’s called “On Ice, In Love.”
CLICK HERE

Best Photographer
Oh, you didn’t think I was gonna go there, did you?
There are so many great photographers among us!  Many of them, I’m not acquainted with, but here are some of those that are on my friends list. In addition to the photographers mentioned above, I give you: ohla, skintight, rockinponda, tessy, miseryxchord, 5footer, chloetraisnel, eyelinersmudge and csad2549

Here are the links to everyone who didn't get a link up top:

for ounceofwentz click here
for heartbroken4stumph click here
for hollow1005 click here
for kassady click here
for panasonicyouth click here
for tryingtofindthewords click here
for hyperballad13 click here
for vero333 click here
for bizarreland click here
for ohthepainthepain click here
for xxvikixx click here
for breesays click here
for djscribbles click here
for djrossstar click here
for millieann282000 click here
for hidedontseek click here
for berryvalentine click here
for ohla click here
for missxshocking click here
for spidergurl14 click here
for wentzwithglasses click here
for skintight click here
for rockinponda click here
for blaqkpearl click here
for 5footer click here
for chloetraisnel clickhere
for eyelinersmudge click here
for seb click here
for tessy click here
for sany83 click here
for miseryxchord click here
for drsirdrawsalot click here

One last thing before I let you get to the comments, in all honesty, most of you could easily have filled more than one category!

luv...helen...xo

     On Sunday, Davey drove to the airport to meet Sasha’s plane. He held her close and kissed her lips, her eyes, her cheek, her neck. “I missed you,” he whispered.
     Sasha, happily taken aback by this said, “I’ve only been gone since Thursday!”
     AFI was on the lineup at a few of the summer rock festivals, so Davey would be leaving two weeks from the day Sasha returned. During the interval the couple tried to see each other as often as their busy schedules allowed. Davey thought Sasha was smart and sexy and fun. Coincidentally, Sasha thought the same about Davey. They couldn’t bear to be angry with each other;  maybe subconsciously they were thinking ahead to the time when they would be apart. The few disagreements they had were resolved quickly and passionately.
     The day Davey was scheduled to go on tour approached rapidly. It seemed like only yesterday they were saying hello, and now it was time to say goodbye again.
     While Davey was gone, they spoke every day. To fill much of the time she would have spent with Davey, Sasha worked on crossword puzzles. It always amused Davey whenever he checked his Sidekick and saw that Sasha had messaged him one of her crossword questions. He never knew any of the answers, but he always texted back. Sasha asked, “emperor aft Nero?” Davey answered, “six million dollar man.” For “river in Ukraine?”  he said “gecko.”
     About half-way through AFI’s  tour, Sasha had an idea. She would throw a big welcome home party for Davey and the guys. Sasha began making preparations. She secured a restaurant in Sausalito overlooking the bay, met with the chef to plan a special menu, sent out e-vites and tended to a hundred other details.
     The party took place on the first Saturday after Davey, Adam, Hunter and Jade returned home from the latest round of festivals. The restaurant rang with talk, music and laughter late into the night, as friends who hadn’t seen each other in months were reunited. The highlight of the evening came when Sasha emerged from the restaurant’s kitchen carrying a large vegan chocolate cake she had baked from scratch. It was shaped like a rabbit. While everyone else oohed and aahed over the cake, Davey gazed at Sasha, transfixed by how beautiful she looked, her face glowing in the light of the four candles on the cake.
     “What are the candles for?” somebody asked. “Is it anyone’s birthday?”
     “I don’t think so,” said Sasha, “but a cake feels naked without candles.”
     Davey noticed Sasha was blushing a little.
     After much cajoling from all their friends, the four members of AFI blew out the candles.
     Later that night after making love, Davey and Sasha spent a few moments murmuring about how well the party had gone  Then, Sasha, exhausted, fell asleep. Davey lay on his side with his head in the crook of Sasha’s shoulder, his hand caressing her hip. 
     He lay awake for a long time. Glimpses from the welcome home party flowed and swirled through Davey’s mind. His eyes began to smart, and he wondered why.  Unfamiliar feelings rose inside of him.  He felt like he was made of clouds. He felt alive.
     Most people can’t recall the exact moment they fall in love.  But Davey was one of the lucky ones.  He had just come to realize that this moment had occurred for him earlier that night.  He had been flitting like a butterfly among the guests when the urge to find Sasha had overtaken him. He scanned the crowd until he spotted her. She stood chatting with her guests and looking lovely, Davey thought, in her vintage Pucci halter dress. She turned her head then and caught his eyes. She smiled at him, and for just a second he couldn’t breathe.  He had known at that moment that it was Sasha’s smile that he would always look for, wherever he was in the world.
     Before Davey could figure out how, when and where to tell her he loved her, he had drifted off to sleep—smiling.
     Davey and Sasha passed the entire work week without seeing each other. Sasha’s studio had started work with a new and important client. Her boss had stressed that the staff be at the beck and call of these heavyweights. This meant five late work nights for Sasha.
     On Friday night, over a mug of tea, Davey was in the middle of telling Sasha an anecdote when he noticed that she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. “I’m not boring you, am I?” he said.
     “What? No, I’m just wiped out from this week.”  Sasha stood up and kissed Davey's forehead. “Forgive me, darling. I think I’m gonna go to bed. I’ll be fresh as a daisy tomorrow. I promise.”
     Davey was left alone with his thoughts. He still hadn’t had a good opportunity to tell Sasha he loved her. So tomorrow he planned on having a romantic dinner with her, and giving her the beautiful pair of black pearl earrings he had bought for her this past week.  Then he would say the three words he now truly wanted to say to her. After that he would lead the way to bed.  He would make love to her slowly and sweetly. He vowed to himself to make it very special for her.
     He was so delighted with his plan that he could hardly wait for Saturday night.
     The next morning Sasha called to Davey in the shower, “Honey, have you seen those shoes I wore to the party?”
     “What shoes?”
     “You know. The pink ones.”
     “No!  Have you looked under the bed?”
     Sasha got down on her knees, and swept her arm from side to side under the bed. Her hand contacted something small. She pulled it out and stared at it.
     It was not her shoe.

~tbc~

What on earth could it be?  And will Davey ever get to tell Sasha he loves her?  You’ll have to wait for chapter 4, friends!  I hope to see you then!

Thanks for reading. PLEASE COMMENT!  Even if you just say “hi” so I know you were here.

luv...helen...xo

if you missed chapter one, please click here