Lacey woke up the next morning smiling from ear to ear. She fell asleep wearing Danny's shirt. She got home, threw it in the dryer, changed clothes and hopped into bed with it on. It smelled like him. His natural scent still clung to every fiber.

Jumping up out of bed, she went into her bathroom to get ready for her day. Lacey came out of her room an hour later humming with her phone in hand.

"Well, someone had a nice evening last night, huh?" Clara said sipping coffee.

Lacey smiled. "Yes, I did. It was so much fun. We sat and talked and he's just…he's a good person. He was respectful and thoughtful." Lacey suddenly got an idea. "Hey, I think I'm going to invite him over to have lunch with us."

Clara's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really? That must've been some conversation the two of you were having if you want to invite him over here so quickly like that."

"I like him. Plus, I need to give him back his shirt that he let me borrow when I got a little cold last night." Clara gave Lacey a look. "Andddddddddddd I want to see him."

"Go head, girl," Clara said giving Lacey a pound with her fist.

Lacey sat on a stool as she texted Danny. She hoped that it wasn't too early in the morning. She looked over at the microwave clock and it read 10:32.

"Hello sweethearts," Judith said cheerily as she greeted both of her daughters with a kiss. I was thinking that we'd do a barbeque today and go swimming. What do y'all think?"

Lacey and Clara looked at one another quickly and nodded. The idea to invite Danny over was perfect.

"Sure, mom. Can I invite someone over?" Lacey said innocently.

Judy knew that tone. That tone was only used when Lacey wanted something. It made her laugh since she hadn't seen her daughter so elated in a long time.

"Okay, what is it," Judith said eyeing her daughter.

"I want to invite Danny over. He's the guy that I met yesterday at Ashbury Inn and I went to the party with him last night."

Judy shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine with me. Did you have a good time?"

Lacey's dimples deepened as she smiled. "Yes, I had the best time." Lacey decided to keep the kiss that she and Danny shared to herself for now. She would tell Clara later.

"I say that we go to the mall real quick and pick up new bathing suits," Clara suggested. Lacey nodded excited. Clara took the steps two at a time to go get her shoes on and grab her wallet.

Judy nodded. It had been a long time since she spent any girl time with her daughters. Clara was determined to live away from home so having her come all the way from California to Lacey's graduation wasn't a hard feat to accomplish. Both girls loved one another very much.

Judy fixed a mini bagel and put a bit of honey butter on it as she placed it in her mouth. Clara came back down after putting on some sandals and grabbing her wristlet.

"Hey, where are you three off to?" Samuel called as he saw his wife and daughters headed for the front door.

"We're having a barbeque today and we're going swimming so we need to pick out new bathing suits," Judy answered.

"We are?" Samuel said confused. "I thought we were going to have a chill day today."

Clara sighed inwardly.

"No, we're still celebrating Lacey's graduation so I'm thinking a nice family barbeque with family and friends would be a nice change of pace. We'll be back in about an hour or so. I'm going to the grocery store to get a few things too but you know you have to fix that beer chicken that we love so much, honey!"

Samuel smiled at that. He could grill like nobody's business and his beer chicken was a beast. "No, don't worry about going to the grocery store. I got this." Samuel kissed his wife and daughters and hurried them out of the house. He clapped his hands together with a smile. He would make a feast fit for a king.

Danny got Lacey's text message as he was checking in a client for his boss. Mr. Fletcher rented out an office suite to teach his safety classes in First Aid, Adult/Pediatric CPR, AED and a host of other American Red Cross endeavors. Mr. Fletcher had worked for the American Red Cross for over fifteen years and met Danny at Ashbury Inn. He liked how Danny quickly took over for another waitress after she fell ill during her shift. Mr. Fletcher decided that he needed someone with that kind of dedication and willingness to work for him. So, a year ago Danny started working for Mr. Fletcher on the weekends. Danny loved him like he was his own grandfather.

Danny looked at his phone quickly and saw the message from Lacey inviting him over to her house for lunch. Another message was sent telling him to bring something to swim in. He smiled. He couldn't get his mind off of the kiss that they shared. It was over far too quickly. He went to bed dreaming about her. He quickly texted back to tell her that he got off at 2 and he'd be over there right after.

"Oh, what or who has you smiling like that?" Mrs. Fletcher asked as she saw how happy Danny was today.

"A girl," Danny simply replied. "The girl."

Lacey was biting the inside of her mouth. She drummed her fingers on the table. Danny had called and said that he'd be over in 30 minutes. He was leaving work and headed home to take a shower and then he'd be right over. She smiled so hard when she got off of the phone with him, she thought she would crack her face. She picked a teal colored bathing suit with a little frill on it with a buttery yellow cover up eyelet dress. Pulling her hair up into a high messy bun, she threw on some sandals to wait for Danny downstairs.

"Who is she waiting for?" Samuel said concerned as he saw Lacey now get up and begin to pace with her phone in hand.

Judy smiled. "A boy of course. His name is Danny."

Samuel almost flipped one of the burgers over onto the patio. "Oh…that boy she went off with. I still haven't asked her how that all went. I asked Clara and she said that the evening went great but if I know Clara she didn't even stay to watch to see if Lacey was safe. That's her baby sister. She could have gotten harmed or something. That storm last night was no joke."

Judy patted Samuel on the arm. "Samuel, Lacey isn't a baby anymore. Clara doesn't have to watch every little thing she does."

"I know but…" Samuel got caught off by the doorbell ringing. They both watched as their usually reserved daughter jumped up and ran to the door. She flung it up and hugged Danny. It wasn't a long hug but they had never seen Lacey so enthusiastic before.

"I'm so happy that you could make it," Lacey gushed as Danny presented her with a single plumeria blossom. It was all white with delicate petals in a yellow center. Coincidentally, it matched Lacey's outfit perfectly.

"Thank you, Danny. Come in. Oh, these are my parents Judy and Samuel," Lacey exclaimed making the introductions to her parents.

Danny could see where Lacey got her beauty from by looking at her mom. Judy had the same almond shaped eyes and high arched cheekbones as Lacey. Her hair was in a shoulder length asymmetrical bob. She was absolutely stunning, Danny thought. He presented Mrs. Porter with a nice arrangement of wildflowers and Judy gasped, hugging him with thanks. Danny shook hands with Mr. Porter and Danny could tell that Mr. Porter didn't care for him. It was something in the too tight way that he grasped Danny's hand that made him come to that realization. Lacey didn't seem to notice and neither did her mom so Danny decided to let it go.

After all, he was here to see Lacey and she looked divine. He couldn't wait to see her in that teal bathing suit under that cover up.

Lacey eyed Danny closely and blinked a few times once she realized she was staring.

"You have a very lovely home," Danny stated smiling. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"Oh, of course. We're so happy that you could come. Please, make yourself at home and around here, we mean that," Judy said brightly. "I'm going to put these in some water. They are so pretty," Judy said walking away smiling to herself.

Lacey decided to put her plumeria in her hair atop her bun. Danny laughed when he saw what she had done.

"It suits you," he whispered in her ear as they walked away towards the patio area, completely ignoring Samuel standing there.

"I don't like him," Samuel stated to Judy matter-of-factly. He eyed Danny closely. He looked outside to see what Danny drove. It was an older model pick-up. It was so badly beaten up on the paint job, Samuel couldn't tell what make it was anymore. The boy's hair was far too long for Samuel's taste and he had a thin goatee. Samuel would rather have a nice clean cut and shaven boy for his daughter. Samuel eyed Danny's outfit. His jeans, even though clean, had seen better days and he wore a Michael Jackson t-shirt. He preferred Lacey to date a guy wearing polos. Preferably Ralph Lauren or Lacoste like he was wearing.

Since Judy hadn't acknowledged that she heard him, Samuel continued his assessment.

"What is he wearing? I don't like this Judith."

Judy finally turned around from smelling her flowers. "Samuel do not ruin this for her. Don't break her heart. Don't you see what's happening?" Judy indicated with her hand to point outside. "She's falling in love."

Samuel rolled his eyes and harrumphed. "No, the hell she ain't. She's too young to be in love. She has no earthly idea what she wants in a man. This Danny is just a bump in the road. You'll see. I'll prove it to you."

Judy watched her husband walk back outside to man the grill. She looked over at Lacey laughing in playing in the water with Danny and Clara. He was a handsome young man. He seemed bright and if that look in his eyes regarding her daughter was any indication, he was falling in love too.

After playing in the pool and eating, everyone retired to the back porch to relax and chill out. It was a perfect night. Danny looked up at the stars and then back to Lacey. She was looking at the flower he gave her again. He liked watching her when she didn't know it. He loved seeing that smile and the way she looked at him like he was the only person in the world.

"So, Daniel. Any plans for your future now that you graduated from high school?" Samuel asked as he got comfortable on the plush sofa.

Danny cleared his throat. All eyes were on him as Lacey looked up after tucking the flower back into her hair.

"Well, sir I am going to work and save money. I have two jobs. I'm going to hang out around Green Grove for a little bit, make sure my dad is good."

Samuel's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, so you're not going to college?"

Danny shook his head. "No, and it's not that I don't think it's important, I just think that other things are even more important." Danny said that last part while looking at Lacey. She grew warm under his gaze.

Samuel shifted in his seat. "Oh, well not everyone can get into college. It's not for everyone. Going straight into the workforce is just as good."

Clara sighed aloud at the rudeness of her father. "I'm going to bed," Clara said jumping up. "Goodnight Danny. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Goodnight Clara. It was a pleasure meeting you too," Danny answered back. Clara kissed her mom and Lacey and gave her dad a tepid wave as she walked back into the house.

"Yes, sir going straight into the workforce is equally as good in my opinion. I got a 2400 on my SAT's, sir."

"YES!" Came Clara's voice from inside of the house. She had obviously been listening to Danny's response and was happy that he upstaged her father. "Goodnight everyone again!" She called as Lacey chuckled from behind her hand.

"Danny you can get into an excellent school if you want to," Judy replied. "That's a stellar achievement."

"Thank you Mrs. Porter but really all I want is to meet a nice girl from a nice family. Fall in love with her and have her fall in love with me. What I want out of life is very simple."

"What you want sounds very lovely," Judy said truly touched by the simplicity of this young man. "I know you will get."

"Well, we can all want all kinds of things, Daniel but one can't exist on just love. It doesn't pay bills or build a house or protect your family. No, you need to get out there and learn how the world operates. You need to invest and build for the future. No, living for just love simply isn't enough," Samuel reiterated.

"I know and I'm not saying that love alone can sustain a person but equally so, having a nice home, such as this," Danny looked around him. "Having beautiful cars such as the ones that you have out there and in your garage…you can't be in love with them and they will never love you back. They won't comfort you when you're sick or laid up dying. They cannot pray for you when you need saving. They can't check you when you're wrong. No, only love can do those things and that's something that I have always wanted. Above all things that's something that never gets old. People have tried to do away with it but it's never going anywhere."

Samuel was truly stunned. This young man spoke of love as if it were the only known force in the universe. He spoke with such reverence and hope. He was truly speechless.

Judy was so inspired. She honestly was moved to tears as she listened to Danny speak. She hadn't felt that kind of love in such a long time. She had almost forgotten that it existed, and yet, there it was sitting across from her staring at her daughter like she was the only thing in the world. If she could capture that moment and hold it in time forever, she would have.

Lacey loved Daniel Michael Desai. It only took two days but she was in love with him. She knew it. She loved everything about him and as he rose to tell her and her parents goodnight and thank them for the barbeque, she knew as she awkwardly hugged him under her dad's watchful gaze that tonight she would be daring. She would be fearless. She would love Danny with all of her heart.