The next morning, I walked into the hotel room with an uncontrollable grin stretched from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe that the events of last night had been real, that I hadn’t dreamed them. I was sure this was the happiest I’d been on this whole trip.

“Nat, I would love to know where you were all last night,” Michelle said to me as I walked in. She took a sip of coffee and fairly shuddered. “The maid service is slackin’ off. This stuff tastes like crap.”

“Gimme some of that,” I said, grabbing the mug out of her hand and downing half the mug in a single gulp. Immediately, I ran to the kitchen sink and spit the whole mouthful out. It was the strongest coffee I think I’d ever tasted.

“Told ya it was nasty. Now then…” There was a wicked grin on her face. “You wanna tell me why you came in here with that Cheshire Cat grin going on?”

The so-called Cheshire Cat grin returned. “Guess.”

“Brad Pitt walked up to you and said, ‘Baby, where have you been all my life?’”

“That’s your fantasy. Or it was before Nick came on the scene. No, keep guessing.”

“The guy from Publishers’ Clearing House strolled up to you and Brian and handed you one of those giant checks for ten million dollars?” she guessed.

I rolled my eyes. “For God’s sake, Michelle, for an honor roll student you sure are clueless.”

“OK, OK.” She pretended to be deep in thought for a moment before breaking out in a knowing smile. “You told Brian how you feel about him, and it turned out he felt the same about you after all.”

I smiled dreamily. “Bingo.”

She leaned over and gave me a congratulatory hug. Then she pulled back and continued on her little third-degree. “That still doesn’t explain why you have sand in your hair and wrinkled clothes from yesterday. Or why you’re just now getting home.”

“Well, Mom, if you must know, he and I lost track of time and ended up falling asleep down at the beach.” Noticing the devilish gleam in her eye, I added firmly, “And all we did was sleep!”

“Hey, I believe you. I wouldn’t give it up on the first night, either. And I know you wouldn’t be all googly-eyed over someone who would want you to. Not after…well, you were there.”

“Yeah.” I rested my head in my hands and stared off into space. A strange feeling came over me. Now that I was happy, with a boyfriend who I knew wasn’t going to hurt me, the past that had made me so bitter didn’t seem so terrible all of a sudden. A funny little smile spread over my face. “But that’s all past now, isn’t it?”

“What did you say?” Michelle said, astonished.

“I said, ‘That’s all past now’,” I repeated, head still in my hands, silly grin still on my face.

“You know, big sister, I think you just got over something in the best way.” And even though I wasn’t looking at her, I knew she was smiling. And I knew she was right.

Meanwhile, Brian and Nick were headed for the beach to go surfing again. Brian had the same dopey grin on his face as he remembered last night. It didn’t help that he suddenly remembered the significance of surfing in our relationship. He was so lost in memories that he didn’t notice that the lights had changed as he and Nick waited to cross the street.

“Frick!” he heard Nick say impatiently.

“Hmmm?”

“When we get across the street, you can explain why you’re a million miles away, but the light’s not gonna stay green forever.” He grabbed Brian by the arm and dragged him across the street.

When they were across, Nick continued, “OK, what’s going on?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Well, it’s kind of a hint that something’s going on when you’re not your usual loud self. All you’ve said since we met up is ‘Yeah’, ‘Nah’, and ’20 dollars’. Now tell me why you’re so…distracted.”

“You’re a smart boy. You can probably guess. I’ll give you three hints.” Brian ticked his three hints off on his fingers as he said, “It involves a girl, I met her surfing, and she’s absoloutely amazing.”

Nick’s eyes grew wide like a little boy’s. “You told Natalie how you feel?”

“Yes!” Brian reached up and tapped the side of Nick’s head. “Took ya long enough, Frack!”

“If you’re quite through talking down to me, did she feel the same way?”

Brian grinned. “She told me that she thinks she’s in love with me. The only thing I had to say was ‘You took the words out of my mouth.’”

Nick clapped Brian on the back. “Way to go!”

“Yeah, thanks.” He was quiet for a moment, still grinning like an idiot. “So, any suggestions for our first date?”

“I took Michelle to a nice restaurant and then we went to catch a movie. Life Is Beautiful.”

Brian couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Yeah, that’s nice fluffy first-date stuff. A movie about the Holocaust.”

“Well, Never Been Kissed was sold out and it was a coin toss between that and The Matrix. Anyway, just take her to dinner and a movie.”

“I don’t know. That just seems kind of…no offense to you and Michelle, but stale.”

“This from someone who spent Wednesday night at a bowling alley and riding around town on the city bus.”

“So?” Brian said sheepishly. “I’ll come up with something fun and romantic for tonight.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Ask her out, and then I think it’s time we brought in the big dogs.”

A little later, Michelle and I went down and spent a couple hours sunbathing on the beach. Michelle was asleep, and I was lying on my stomach, listening to The Offspring on my Discman and people-watching. There were a lot of surfers out today, as well as a lot of tourists who looked like something out of a National Lampoon movie…if they ever had one where the Griswolds went to Hawaii. That would be kind of funny.

All of a sudden, I felt cold water dribbling on my warm back, startling me out of my reverie. I opened my eyes, rolled over onto my back and peered up at the culprit through my sunglasses. I was looking into the sun when I looked up, so it took my eyes a second to adjust. When I saw who it was, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Brian was sitting next to me on the sand, wearing a pair of those long board shorts and a silly grin. Even though he was dripping wet, he looked fine.

“Hi Brian,” I said, quickly taking off my headphones and sitting up.

“Hi, sweetie. How’s it going?”

“I’m OK,” I replied. Obscene understatement, of course. “Just chillin’, trying to get my pasty self a little tan.”

“Cool. Might wanna be careful how long you stay out, though. Your back’s starting to get kind of red.”

“Oh. Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind when I lie back down.” I paused. “I feel like I’m turning myself on a spit. Fifteen minutes – ding! Turn. Fifteen more minutes – ding! Turn again.”

We both laughed. Then Brian said, “Well, I was out there surfing. Wiped out a few times. You wouldn’t be interested in going out there, would you?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m interested in almost getting killed again. That’d be a blast.”

“I’m just kidding. You seem like you’re having enough fun over here baking.”

“I am. I’m having a great time people-watching. There’s so many nutty tourists here with their big blow-up toys and their straw hats and their caftans. It’s so funny.”

“Yeah, there’s some kids out there getting surfing lessons and they have no clue what they’re doing. They all keep wiping out. It’s hilarious to watch. There’s all these Hawaiian guys out there laughing their heads off.”

I chuckled slightly. “People like that gave me a little crap when I was out there before.”

“Yeah.” He was quiet for a moment before he said, “So, dinner tonight?”

I smiled. “Yeah, that sounds good. What time you coming to get me?”

“Is 8:00 OK?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

He grinned. “Cool. OK. I’m gonna head back out.” He leaned in and kissed me. I think it had been intended to be one of those little quick ones, but it quickly deepened in passion. Damn, he was a good kisser.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Michelle giving me a bemused look.

“Get a room, you two,” she informed us bluntly.

Oh, the agony. I wanted to kill her right then, but instead I made a monumental effort to get rid of the blush that spread over my face and said calmly, “Well, fine then. Be that way.”

“I’m gonna head back out,” Brian said quickly. He kissed me lightly on the lips, got up, and walked away.

I turned back to Michelle, who snickered and shook her head. “Could you be in the middle of a bigger 180?”

I laughed. “Well, now you know how I feel when you come waltzing in with your latest inamorato.”

“Yeah, only we both have boyfriends now. Bizarre and unprecedented, huh?”

I threw a bottle of sunscreen at her. “Shut up, dumb ass.”

“Kidding!” she exclaimed, ducking. “Kidding. We should double tonight.”

I shook my head. “Uh-uh. Not tonight. I have a prior engagement.”

Michelle’s eyes widened. “Ooh! You do?”

I grinned and leaned back on my towel. “Yeah.” As I mentally ran through the clothes I had brought, a terrible realization hit me. “Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“I don’t think I have anything to wear.”

At that, Michelle grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Well then, come on!”

“Where are you going?” I exclaimed as she started tossing my stuff into my bag and her stuff into her bag.

“Back to the room, to see if that’s true. And if necessary, back to Ala Moana Center.” She tossed her dog-eared Danielle Steele novel into her bag, shook the sand out of her towel, shoved her feet into her sandals and started off toward the street. I grabbed my stuff and hurried to catch up, wondering exactly what I was getting myself into.

Michelle and I stared at the open closet before us in our hotel room. Her half was stuffed to the brim with enough clothes to last her a month, but mine? Mine was half-empty…and the only dress in there was the one I had worn to the club Tuesday night. Couldn’t wear that again.

“You know, Nat, this couldn’t be…” Michelle began.

I nodded. “It is. This is all the clothes I brought with me.”

“And that’s the only dress?”

“There’s that skirt you bought me for my birthday, but it’s about three inches long. You do realize I’m not going to wear that thing.”

“Well, excuuuuse me for trying to liven up your fashion sense a little,” Michelle sniffed. “You’d think that living in LA part-time, you could pick up some mildly outrageous tips.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Like the blue hair dye you paid me to put in my hair for Greg Perriman’s graduation party?”

“Exactly.”

“I looked like the Cookie Monster! Besides, you know I’m an American Eagle poster child.”

“Maybe I could lend you something,” Michelle mused, rummaging through her side of the closet. “We do have a couple of things in common when it comes to clothes…”

“All of which are cancelled out by the fact that I couldn’t wear any of them,” I corrected her. “I’m significantly taller than you.”

“Good point,” Michelle admitted. She paused for a moment, then grabbed the phone and handed it to me. “Call Brian and see if you’re going anywhere that you absolutely have to wear a skirt or a dress.”

“Fine, I will,” I shot back playfully, dialing Brian’s room number. “But I betcha he won’t be there.”

To my surprise, someone picked up on the second ring, and Brian said, “Hello?”

I smiled. Just hearing that simple hello was enough for me. “Hi, it’s me. Listen, I have one little question.”

“Shoot.”

“We’re not going anywhere that has a dress code, are we? I mean…well, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. And yes. So you need to wear a skirt or a dress or something along those lines, and I have to wear a jacket and tie.”

I nodded. “OK, just making sure. Umm…see ya later?”

“Yeah, looking forward to it more than you can know.”

I could feel my face growing warm, and I smiled. “You’re so sweet. I don’t deserve you.”

“Yeah, you do. See you later.”

“See ya,” I echoed, hanging up.

Michelle grinned. “So, Juliet, what’d he say?”

“Wherever we’re going has a dress code. So basically…I’m screwed.”

“Not necessarily. Come on, get dressed so we can go shopping.”

At 8:00 that night, I was sitting in a chair by the door, tapping my foot nervously. Brian was due any second, and I was scared out of my mind. I hadn’t been out on a date in a year and a half. It didn’t help that Michelle had helped me primp and then left for another night on the town with Nick.

At least I looked pretty good. I had found a very cute dress, moss-green, chiffon over satin, empire waist, spaghetti straps, a little shorter than knee-length. After much deliberation, I had decided to go ahead and get a matching handbag and matching sandals. Why not. My hair was up, with a few loose curls hanging around my face, and my makeup was perfect. Michelle had declared that I looked at least 21, right before she had completed her own primping and rushed out the door, leaving me alone with my nervousness. And Brian was probably standing out in the hall at this moment, keeping me waiting.

I sighed and tapped my silver-painted nails on the table impatiently. They were all trying to psych me out, I just knew it.

There was a knock at the door, and I just about jumped out of my seat. It was go time. Trying to compose myself and look like I wasn’t absolutely, inexplicably terrified of someone I’d spent the last three days with, I got up and answered the door.

Brian stood out in the hall in a nice suit and tie. He had his hands behind his back in an obvious attempt to hide something, I had no idea what.

“Hi, Natalie,” he said, smiling at me. “You look amazing.”

OK, trying not to blush here, doing a pretty good job. “Thanks.”

“I was going to bring you roses, but then two things occurred to me.”

“What?”

“Well, for one thing, roses are too generic. And for another thing, we’re in Hawaii. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. So…” He brought his hands out from behind his back, revealing a perfect lei of pale yellow flowers. He draped these around my neck and kissed me on both cheeks.

Sweet, exotic fragrance wafted up from the flowers to my nose. I smiled. “Oh, that is so sweet of you. These are gorgeous.” With that, I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth.

I thought I saw him blush as he said kind of shyly, “It…it was nothing. Come on. We have reservations for 8:30.”

“OK. And how are we getting there again?” I asked him as we walked down the hall, hand in hand.

“I actually rented a car this time.”

I gasped melodramatically. “Shocking!”

As we got on the elevator and rode down to the lobby, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach calming down. This was going to be a good evening. A very good evening.