“What the hell was that back there?” Alex said breaking the silence between himself and Howie in the car.
“I don’t know, I guess I got jealous” Howie said as he stared out the window.
“Dude that is just……Damn” Alex said as he turned into the hotel parking lot.
Howie lead him to the elevators and then to his room on the top floor near the pent house. Alex whistled and smiled. He made himself a mental note to try and get a nice get away room for himself and Ashley. He watched as Howie packed up the essentials and smiled.
“Hey when we get back I’m sure Ashley wouldn’t mind having you on the floor of the guest room” Alex said.
“No it’s ok, I’m good on the couch” Howie said as he made a quick change of clothes.
Alex noticed Howie put on a pair of relaxing shorts and a tight blue shirt. Alex smiled to himself as he helped Howie with his bags. There was something that was bothering Alex and he wanted to ask Howie.
“Hey, Howie….The night Eli left, was it me or did Johnny seem happy that she was gone?” Alex said.
“I don’t know I didn’t really care for Johnny’s feelings” Howie said as they walked to the elevator.
They reached the front desk of the hotel once they left the elevator. Alex waited for Howie to check out. Leaving the hotel they walked to the parking lot, put Howies bags in the trunk and got it. They rode in silence on the way to Elizabeth’. Alex couldn’t help but think that there was some deeper reason for Elizabeth to have left and Ashley and Marco knew what it was. It wasn’t long before they reached the house and noticed Elizabeth leaving it.
“Hey where are you off to?” Alex asked.
“Work” Elizabeth answered.
Howie avoided looking at her as he grabbed his bags and headed to the front door. Once inside Ashley told him he could put his clothes in the room she was using with Alex because they had a free drawer. While Howie was putting his things away Marco, Ashley, and Alex sat at the dining table and began talking.
“Ok, Eli wanted Howie to know about the Triplets. So why aren’t they getting together?” Alex asked.
“I have no idea, but I can tell you one thing….Howie definitely doesn’t like Jake” Ashley said and smiled.
“I know, but I can’t do anything tonight I finally snagged a hot date tonight” Marco said and smiled slyly.
“Well what do we do?” Alex said.
“Sweetie I think we should just let things play out, the way things are going they will eventually get together” Ashley said.
“I’m not too sure about that” Howie said stepping into the dining area.
Howie sat down on one of the chairs and looked to his best friends.
“This is a lost cause….if she wants to move on then I should too” Howie said sadly.
“Howie it is not a lost cause. You really need to just be patient please I know Eli loves you” Ashley said.
Howie shook his head. He stood up and mumbled “I’m going to be on the beach” and walked out the patio door. He took off his sandals and walked barefoot along the beach. Looking around he sat down and watched the horizon as the waves crashed softly along the shore. The setting reminded him of when he and Eli shared their first kiss.
1991
It was the week before graduation and Howie finally had the courage to ask Elizabeth out on a date. It was going to be perfect. He had made sure his car was nice a clean, picked out the right restaurant and prepared a small field trip to a small park he took Eli to when she first arrived to Orlando. Taking a deep breath he looked at his watch and made sure everything was perfect. Grabbing his keys he kissed his mother goodbye and was out the door. He arrived at Elis house with a small bouquet of roses, her favorite flower, and a nervous smile on his face. Eli had opened the door and his breath was caught in his throat, she was wearing the most beautiful casual dress that was the right shade of purple. Her hair had small diamond flower pins holding her hair out of her face.
“Hi Howie” She said softly and blushed.
“Hi…These are for you” He said softly handing her the flowers.
“Thank you” she said and gave them to her mother to put in water.
“Let’s get going” Howie said as he placed his arm out for her to grab.
He led her to the car and opened the door for her. She gave a soft ‘thank you’ and put her seatbelt on. Howie popped into the driver’s side and they drove off to the restaurant. Once there they were seated in a very private part of the restaurant and they looked over the menus in silence. It wasn’t long before Howie broke the silence.
“So, Graduation in coming up” He said softly
“Yeah, I heard you’re going to be staying here and going to Valencia” She said softly.
“Yeah, I thought it would be better to stay home for a while” He said and looked into her eyes.
“I decided, to go there too, but once I get the chance I want to head to Massachusetts” She said softly.
“Wow, that cool” he said and smiled.
“Howie, are you ok?” She asked.
“Yeah I’m fine, just a little nervous” he said softly.
“Why are you nervous I mean we’re two friends having a nice night out on the town” Elizabeth said and she took his hand.
Howie smiled and blushed. They ordered their food and had small talk about what college would be like. Howie smiled at the way her eyes lit up when she mentioned the dance program she would be in. He only hoped that she would achieve her dream. It wasn’t long before they were sharing stories from their childhood before they met.
“Well that Halloween in kindergarten I was humiliated. I love my grandmother but dressing me up like a tomato did not help my enemies back off” she said laughing.
“I would have loved to have seen that I bet you were a cute tomato” Howie said and smiled.
Elizabeth chuckled and blushed. She felt weird being with him by herself. She knew she had feelings for him, but found it very hard to believe that he had feeling for her. After sharing the apple pie dessert they got back into Howies car and Howie drove to the park they would hang out in. After helping Elizabeth out, he went to the trunk and pulled out a blanket for them to sit on. They walked for a bit before finding a nice clearing where they could enjoy watching the stars.
“You know, I’m glad you moved here Ells” He said.
“Ells?” Elizabeth said looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah I thought that could be my nickname for you” He said softly.
“But I though Eli was my nickname” she said.
“No, Ells is a nickname I want to use myself and no one else” He said as he got closer to her.
“Oh” she said softly.
Howie licked his lips and placed a shaking hand on Elizabeth’s cheek. He grazed his thumb along it and slowly inched himself closer. He closed his eyes as he felt his forehead softly press against hers. He opened his eyes and looked deeply into hers.
“I never felt this way about anyone before, and I only hope you don’t kill me when I do this” Howie said and kissed her softly.
Elizabeth sighed as his lips toughed hers. Her arms snaked around his neck as she deepened the kiss. It wasn’t long before they broke apart and smiled at each other.
“Wow” Elizabeth said.
“Yeah, wow” Howie repeated.
The let out a laugh and gently lay on the blanket side by side. Howie took her hand in his and placed it on his chest as they watched the stars.
Howie snapped out of the memory and took a deep shaking breath. A soft tear rolled down his cheek and he shook his head. He could only hope that deep down Elizabeth missed him the way he missed her.
