Shane got down on his knee and held my hand in his. He smiled and I
shook my head. I knew this was coming. He had already done this twice
before. And I was prepared to give him the same answer as before, "Shane,
I can't. I'm not ready to marry you or anyone. Ask again in the far
distant future." That's what I was gonna say. He pulled out a velvet box
and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver diamond engagement ring.
"Casey, please, think about this before you answer. I love you. I love you more than my own life. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. Will you please, please, marry me," Shane said. I hung my head and thought. I stood him up and looked into his eyes. I took both his hands in mine and smiled.
"Shane, you know I love you. I love you so much." My smile grew bigger. "And I am tempted to say yes, BUT not now. I know I keep telling you to ask me later. And you do, and I'm grateful for that. But I seriously can't now. Ask me again, in the near future. I may just be tempted to say yes."
He nodded and wrapped me into his arms. I sighed deeply and he kissed my cheek. "You coming inside with me?"
"No, I have to go talk to Jeff right now. I'll be back soon," I said as I climbed into my mustang. I watched as Shane walked into Matt's house. I couldn't wait to tell Jeff the news. 'I'm almost ready to marry him,' I thought as I pulled into Jeff's driveway. I walked up the steps of his deck and opened the front door. "Jeff!!!??"
"Yeah, I'm in my room!" he yelled back. I climbed the stairs, stopping at the mantel place to look at the pictures of us together. We really were a great pair. We were the inseparable duo. We were like a set of twins that was separated at birth. We were that much alike and in sync. I stopped in front of his door and straightened out my short black mini- skirt and short black tank top. I made sure my knee high boots were tied tightly and brushed dirt off the white flames that were painted on the toe. I opened the door to find him sitting on his bed with his poetry journal in front of him.
"Hey! I have some news for ya!" I said excitedly and I shut the door behind me. I stood next to the bed as he stood and pulled me into a hug.
"Someone was just out with Shane," he said sadly.
"Yeah I was. But you gotta hear my news!"
"Alright, go ahead. I'm ready and listening," he said with a smile.
"Shane, he asked me to marry him." Jeff's smile turned abruptly into a frown as he looked up at me shocked.
"Wha....what did.....what did you say?" he asked with a stutter.
"I told him to ask me again in the near future!! I think I could be ready to marry him!!!" I said never losing my smile.
Jeff stared at me. He began shaking his head as he said, "No, no, no." Over and over again.
"Jeff? Are you okay." He shot up off the bed and grabbed my shoulders roughly. "Jeff, please, you're hurting me."
"Casey, you can't marry him. You just can't," he said not losing his grip.
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I pulled back. Jeff stepped with me and looked deeply into my eyes. My smile faded as I saw the hurt that was in his once beautiful and peaceful green eyes.
"Casey, please tell me that two years ago, when you moved into my dad's house you listened to all the cds that I made for you," he said softly. I thought back to that day. The day that I became part of a family that really truly loved me. I thought about how I listened to all three of the c.d.s.
"Yeah, all three of them. And I loved them." I smiled slightly and he sighed.
"Only three? There were four. Go back and listen to the one that is labeled with a heart," he said pushing me gently out the door. He shut the door behind me and left me standing there confused.
"Okay, more bizarre than usual," I said as I walked down the stairs. I drove to Gil's house and quietly walked into the dark home. He had gone to sleep and I didn't want to wake him.
I walked up to my room and shut the door. I quietly looked through my c.d.s in my cabinet and found the one he was talking about. It had been shoved to the back. I placed it into my stereo and turned the volume down.
"Casey, I made this for you and only you. You mean the world to me. You really do. I don't know what I'd do with out you. I love you so much. More than you could imagine. This c.d. has all the songs that I felt express what I feel for you. Yes, they're all sappy, but you know me. I do get that way. So anyways, enjoy it, and I love you." I smiled and began to look for clothes to change into. I pulled out a pair of short shorts and a short tank top as the first song played.
'I don't need a lot things. I could get by with nothing.' I stopped and turned to look at the stereo. 'Of all the blessings life can bring, I've always needed something. But I've got all I want when it comes to loving you. You're my only reason. You're my only truth'
"LeAnn Rimes? What?" I asked as I slipped into my clothes. I sat on the corner of my bed and continued to listen. Luna jumped onto my lap and I patted her head.
'How do I live without you? I want to know'
"I don't believe what I'm hearing."
'Take my breath away. Take my breath away.'
"Jeff, I don't understand. What are you saying to me?"
"Casey, these songs all have a special message for you. Even this one. It's not the last, but I just wanted you to know that I'll always feel this way while you're with Shane."
"Oh God. No. Please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means."
'If I should stay. I would only be in your way. So I'll go, but I know I'll think of you every step of the way.'
"No, please. Not this song."
'I will always love you. I will always love you.'
"No....it can't be. Please....please, no. Not now. I finally have something good in my life," I said pleadingly as a tear rolled down my cheek.
'Bitter sweet memories. That is all I'm taking with me. So goodbye, please don't cry. We both know I'm not what you need.'
"Jeff, not now. This is not right!!!" I yelled as the tears flowed more freely.
'I hope life treats you kind. And I hope you have all you dreamed of. And I wish you joy and happiness. But above all this I wish you love.'
"JEFF NO!!! Why now?" I sobbed.
"Casey, if you haven't gotten it by now. I'm in love with you. Truly....madly....deeply. This is the last song. I want you to know that this is what I've always wanted with you. Please, don't be upset. I know you're crying right now. Because I know you. I want you to know that I'm going to leave you alone. No more contact with you. I know this is going to kill you, but it's just as hard on me. I can't see you with Shane, although I want you to be happy, I can't be in your life anymore. But I do love you. With everything I have. My heart, my soul, my mind. They will always be with you."
"Jeff, please don't do this to me. I love you. I do. I just love Shane. Please!!" I was almost screaming now as the last song began. I hugged my Simba tightly as I listened. I was hysterical now and breathing hard. "Insatiable" by Darren Hayes played and I had to get out. I ran out of the house and into the pouring rain. I ran all the way to Jeff's and in his house. I was soaking from head to toe, but I didn't care.
"Casey? Are you okay?" Jeff asked standing up to greet me at his bedroom door.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you do this to me?" I screamed. I began to shake uncontrollably.
"You listened to it?"
"Yes Jeff. I did. Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you can just fuck with people like this?" Tears streamed down face more than before. "You know what? Fuck this!! I can't do it! Goodbye Jeff!"
I ran down the stairs and flew out the door. I ran as fast as I could. To anyplace where he wasn't. I hadn't been running long before I felt a hand grip my arm tightly to spin me around. Jeff stood there with his purple, green, blue, and red hair flying in his face. Rain dripped down his face and soaked his white wife-beater.
"Casey, please. I didn't want it to wait this long! I wanted you to know about it earlier, but I couldn't tell you and you obviously lost the c.d. Please, Casey, look at me." He gripped my shoulders as I looked into his eyes. My face was tear stained and my eyes were red.
"You should have told me!! Jeff, I loved you. I really did. But I thought you only thought of me as your sister. We had decided on that! GOD!! Why now Jeff? Huh? Why now?" He held me against his wet body tightly. His chest heaved with every intake of air. I could hear his heart racing.
"I don't know Casey. I don't know. But now that we both know we love each other, come be with me. Leave Shane. Be with me." He let me go and held my face in his hands. He pulled my face close to his and placed his lips softly on mine. My first instinct was to pull away, but I couldn't. It was like a magnetic attraction. When we finally pulled apart, I looked at him with tears still streaming down my face. I shook my head and backed away.
"No Jeff. I can't do this. I love Shane. I do. We're gonna get married with or without you there. I'd rather you be there, but if you're not, my life will still go on. Will yours?" I asked as I turned on my heel and walked away, back to Gil's house.
"CASEY!!! PLEASE!!! COME BACK!!! I NEED YOU!!!!"
I heard him yell after me. I couldn't turn around to look at him. If I had, I would have run back into his arms. Truth was that I loved him. I mean, really loved him. But I loved Shane too. Right now, Shane was the most important thing in my life. I was serious when I said we were getting married. We would be, just in another year or so. I just knew that Jeff and I would never be the same again. We had kissed before, but for the show. This kiss made me rethink everything I had with Shane. It held so much passion, so much love, from both sides. I was gonna miss him. Miss him more than anything else in this world.
I didn't run back home like I had planned. I ran to another house. Another place I called home. I stood on the unfinished porch as the rain poured down on me through the holes in the roof. I stood there thinking of whether to knock or not. 'Would he be on my side or his?' I thought as I questioned if I was doing the right thing.
"Case?" Matt asked opening the door letting Amy's dog, Comet, run out. I looked up at him as tears and rain dripped down my face. "Come in. You're completely soaked!"
I let him take my hand as he led me inside. He brought me into the bathroom and handed me a towel. I sat on the edge of the bathtub and cried into the towel. He sat next to me and rubbed my back.
"AMY!" he yelled.
"Yeah?!" she yelled back from a distance.
"Could you make a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows? Go extra on the marshmallows!" he yelled with a smile. "Now what's the matter? Why were you just standing there in the rain?"
"Jeff," I said quietly.
"What did he do this time?" he asked in almost a joking tone. I looked at him seriously as the tears streamed down my face. "Oh, this is serious."
"Yeah, it is. Shane asked me to marry him again tonite," I said.
"I know. He told us. He's really excited with what you said. I guess you're almost ready to marry him?"
"Matt, I love him with all my heart. He means everything to me."
"I know that. But what does this all have to do with Jeff?"
"Casey? Oh my God! What's wrong?" Amy asked sitting on the other side of me. She handed me the cup of hot chocolate and wrapped her arm around me. I sipped the hot chocolate and sighed.
"I was hoping she was just getting to that," Matt said.
"Where's Shane?" I asked looking around frantically for him.
"Upstairs in the game room. He's playing some video games," Amy answered as I calmed down a bit.
"This is all Jeff's fault!" I exclaimed as I put my head in my hands.
"What do you mean? What did he do?" Amy asked.
"I missed a cd he made for me two years ago."
"Oh no," Matt muttered as he withdrew his arm. I glanced up at him with confusion. "I know what you are gonna say."
"What?" I asked.
"Jeff loves you. He made that cd for you because he loved you then and he loves you now. He told me about it and I told him it was a bad idea, but he didn't care. I told him that it could ruin your friendship, but he didn't believe me. He just wanted you to know, but he couldn't tell you. He's too shy for that. The fact that you and Shane are close to getting married must be what gave him the courage to tell you. He would never have told you if he knew it would turn out like that. Trust me. He loves you too much. Really, Casey, he does love you. He was just too scared to tell you then. What made you listen to it now?" Matt questioned.
"He told me too. So I did. But I wish I hadn't. Things are so screwed up for me now."
"How so?" Amy asked. "I mean, you love Shane. You're not gonna break up with him for Jeff just because he loves you."
"Ames, I've lost my best friend. He was everything to me. Even more than Shane, I suppose. But now he's gone."
"You know Jeff. He can never stay away for too long."
"But this is different. Amy, we kissed," I said softly.
"You kissed?!" Matt exclaimed.
"Yes. And I didn't pull away. I guess, I enjoyed it."
"Casey, you love Shane, right?" Amy asked.
"Yes, of course I do. But I think I'm in love with Jeff. I love Shane, but I don't think I'm IN love with him."
"Oh Casey, this is a mess," Amy said.
"Please don't tell Shane. I don't want him to know. I just wanna forget about tonite," I said as I stood.
"But Casey, he can't go on thinking that you are in love with him when you aren't," Matt pointed out.
"But I want to be in love with him. And Jeff is out of my life now anyways," I said as I walked out the door. Amy followed and put her hand on my back.
"Come on, let's get you into some dry clothes." Amy guided me upstairs and into her room where she handed me one of Matt's t-shirts and a pair of her shorts.
"Thanks Ames. What would I do without you and Matt?" I asked as I changed.
"Probably be in a mental hospital someplace," she joked.
I joined Shane in the game room and watched as he played on the PS2. It was a Spiderman game. He smiled at me as I sat next to him in a bean bag chair. He paused the game and kissed me softly. I didn't want to let go of the kiss. I wanted him to get Jeff off of my lips. I wanted him to get Jeff out of my mind. Hell, I just wanted him. I guess it was just the situation. I guess that it was the fact that I needed to love him. Whatever it was, I just had to have him. One way or another, he would be mine. I kissed him back for a longer kiss as he dropped the controller. He wrapped his arms around me and I did the same to him.
"I love you Shane," I said as he moved his hands up my shirt.
"I love you too. I don't want to live my life without you," he said quietly as he kissed my neck. I put my head back to give him better access as his words hit me hard.
'That's it. I can't love Jeff. I can only love Shane,' I thought as we got more intense.
As I slept in Shane's arms on the floor of the game room, I dreamt about the rainbow. I was in a field. It was the field behind Jeff's house that led to the pond. Liger and Luna ran by me and I laughed as they chased the butterflies. I laid on the ground and stared up at the bright blue sky above me. Birds flew over me and the window brushed against my face. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I felt heat on me. I opened my eyes to see the rainbow leaning over me. It leaned down and kissed me passionately. It was a familiar kiss. A familiar smell. But I couldn't place it. The kissing got intense and it soon led to passion. Sweet, romantic, loving, passion. It was the best thing I've had in my life. We laid there in the field, under the sun, holding each other. "I love you Casey," it said. "I love you too, AAAAAAAAAH!!!" I screamed as I shot up off the floor. Shane followed me as I look at Comet sitting next to me.
I began to laugh as Shane looked at me worriedly. "Case?" he asked.
"I had another rainbow dream and Comet licked my face!" I laughed. He shook his head and laid back down, bringing me with him. He pulled a fleece blanket off of a nearby chair and covered us with it.
A/N: This is the second to the last chapter. I absolutely love writing this story, but it has to end and I thought this was a good way to do it. I'll post the last chapter as soon as possible. I'm glad ya'll have stuck with reading it. I love you all!!! Oh and the songs belong to LeAnn Rimes, Whitney Houston, Berlin, and Darren Hayes. Thanks again everyone!!!!
"Casey, please, think about this before you answer. I love you. I love you more than my own life. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. Will you please, please, marry me," Shane said. I hung my head and thought. I stood him up and looked into his eyes. I took both his hands in mine and smiled.
"Shane, you know I love you. I love you so much." My smile grew bigger. "And I am tempted to say yes, BUT not now. I know I keep telling you to ask me later. And you do, and I'm grateful for that. But I seriously can't now. Ask me again, in the near future. I may just be tempted to say yes."
He nodded and wrapped me into his arms. I sighed deeply and he kissed my cheek. "You coming inside with me?"
"No, I have to go talk to Jeff right now. I'll be back soon," I said as I climbed into my mustang. I watched as Shane walked into Matt's house. I couldn't wait to tell Jeff the news. 'I'm almost ready to marry him,' I thought as I pulled into Jeff's driveway. I walked up the steps of his deck and opened the front door. "Jeff!!!??"
"Yeah, I'm in my room!" he yelled back. I climbed the stairs, stopping at the mantel place to look at the pictures of us together. We really were a great pair. We were the inseparable duo. We were like a set of twins that was separated at birth. We were that much alike and in sync. I stopped in front of his door and straightened out my short black mini- skirt and short black tank top. I made sure my knee high boots were tied tightly and brushed dirt off the white flames that were painted on the toe. I opened the door to find him sitting on his bed with his poetry journal in front of him.
"Hey! I have some news for ya!" I said excitedly and I shut the door behind me. I stood next to the bed as he stood and pulled me into a hug.
"Someone was just out with Shane," he said sadly.
"Yeah I was. But you gotta hear my news!"
"Alright, go ahead. I'm ready and listening," he said with a smile.
"Shane, he asked me to marry him." Jeff's smile turned abruptly into a frown as he looked up at me shocked.
"Wha....what did.....what did you say?" he asked with a stutter.
"I told him to ask me again in the near future!! I think I could be ready to marry him!!!" I said never losing my smile.
Jeff stared at me. He began shaking his head as he said, "No, no, no." Over and over again.
"Jeff? Are you okay." He shot up off the bed and grabbed my shoulders roughly. "Jeff, please, you're hurting me."
"Casey, you can't marry him. You just can't," he said not losing his grip.
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I pulled back. Jeff stepped with me and looked deeply into my eyes. My smile faded as I saw the hurt that was in his once beautiful and peaceful green eyes.
"Casey, please tell me that two years ago, when you moved into my dad's house you listened to all the cds that I made for you," he said softly. I thought back to that day. The day that I became part of a family that really truly loved me. I thought about how I listened to all three of the c.d.s.
"Yeah, all three of them. And I loved them." I smiled slightly and he sighed.
"Only three? There were four. Go back and listen to the one that is labeled with a heart," he said pushing me gently out the door. He shut the door behind me and left me standing there confused.
"Okay, more bizarre than usual," I said as I walked down the stairs. I drove to Gil's house and quietly walked into the dark home. He had gone to sleep and I didn't want to wake him.
I walked up to my room and shut the door. I quietly looked through my c.d.s in my cabinet and found the one he was talking about. It had been shoved to the back. I placed it into my stereo and turned the volume down.
"Casey, I made this for you and only you. You mean the world to me. You really do. I don't know what I'd do with out you. I love you so much. More than you could imagine. This c.d. has all the songs that I felt express what I feel for you. Yes, they're all sappy, but you know me. I do get that way. So anyways, enjoy it, and I love you." I smiled and began to look for clothes to change into. I pulled out a pair of short shorts and a short tank top as the first song played.
'I don't need a lot things. I could get by with nothing.' I stopped and turned to look at the stereo. 'Of all the blessings life can bring, I've always needed something. But I've got all I want when it comes to loving you. You're my only reason. You're my only truth'
"LeAnn Rimes? What?" I asked as I slipped into my clothes. I sat on the corner of my bed and continued to listen. Luna jumped onto my lap and I patted her head.
'How do I live without you? I want to know'
"I don't believe what I'm hearing."
'Take my breath away. Take my breath away.'
"Jeff, I don't understand. What are you saying to me?"
"Casey, these songs all have a special message for you. Even this one. It's not the last, but I just wanted you to know that I'll always feel this way while you're with Shane."
"Oh God. No. Please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means."
'If I should stay. I would only be in your way. So I'll go, but I know I'll think of you every step of the way.'
"No, please. Not this song."
'I will always love you. I will always love you.'
"No....it can't be. Please....please, no. Not now. I finally have something good in my life," I said pleadingly as a tear rolled down my cheek.
'Bitter sweet memories. That is all I'm taking with me. So goodbye, please don't cry. We both know I'm not what you need.'
"Jeff, not now. This is not right!!!" I yelled as the tears flowed more freely.
'I hope life treats you kind. And I hope you have all you dreamed of. And I wish you joy and happiness. But above all this I wish you love.'
"JEFF NO!!! Why now?" I sobbed.
"Casey, if you haven't gotten it by now. I'm in love with you. Truly....madly....deeply. This is the last song. I want you to know that this is what I've always wanted with you. Please, don't be upset. I know you're crying right now. Because I know you. I want you to know that I'm going to leave you alone. No more contact with you. I know this is going to kill you, but it's just as hard on me. I can't see you with Shane, although I want you to be happy, I can't be in your life anymore. But I do love you. With everything I have. My heart, my soul, my mind. They will always be with you."
"Jeff, please don't do this to me. I love you. I do. I just love Shane. Please!!" I was almost screaming now as the last song began. I hugged my Simba tightly as I listened. I was hysterical now and breathing hard. "Insatiable" by Darren Hayes played and I had to get out. I ran out of the house and into the pouring rain. I ran all the way to Jeff's and in his house. I was soaking from head to toe, but I didn't care.
"Casey? Are you okay?" Jeff asked standing up to greet me at his bedroom door.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you do this to me?" I screamed. I began to shake uncontrollably.
"You listened to it?"
"Yes Jeff. I did. Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you can just fuck with people like this?" Tears streamed down face more than before. "You know what? Fuck this!! I can't do it! Goodbye Jeff!"
I ran down the stairs and flew out the door. I ran as fast as I could. To anyplace where he wasn't. I hadn't been running long before I felt a hand grip my arm tightly to spin me around. Jeff stood there with his purple, green, blue, and red hair flying in his face. Rain dripped down his face and soaked his white wife-beater.
"Casey, please. I didn't want it to wait this long! I wanted you to know about it earlier, but I couldn't tell you and you obviously lost the c.d. Please, Casey, look at me." He gripped my shoulders as I looked into his eyes. My face was tear stained and my eyes were red.
"You should have told me!! Jeff, I loved you. I really did. But I thought you only thought of me as your sister. We had decided on that! GOD!! Why now Jeff? Huh? Why now?" He held me against his wet body tightly. His chest heaved with every intake of air. I could hear his heart racing.
"I don't know Casey. I don't know. But now that we both know we love each other, come be with me. Leave Shane. Be with me." He let me go and held my face in his hands. He pulled my face close to his and placed his lips softly on mine. My first instinct was to pull away, but I couldn't. It was like a magnetic attraction. When we finally pulled apart, I looked at him with tears still streaming down my face. I shook my head and backed away.
"No Jeff. I can't do this. I love Shane. I do. We're gonna get married with or without you there. I'd rather you be there, but if you're not, my life will still go on. Will yours?" I asked as I turned on my heel and walked away, back to Gil's house.
"CASEY!!! PLEASE!!! COME BACK!!! I NEED YOU!!!!"
I heard him yell after me. I couldn't turn around to look at him. If I had, I would have run back into his arms. Truth was that I loved him. I mean, really loved him. But I loved Shane too. Right now, Shane was the most important thing in my life. I was serious when I said we were getting married. We would be, just in another year or so. I just knew that Jeff and I would never be the same again. We had kissed before, but for the show. This kiss made me rethink everything I had with Shane. It held so much passion, so much love, from both sides. I was gonna miss him. Miss him more than anything else in this world.
I didn't run back home like I had planned. I ran to another house. Another place I called home. I stood on the unfinished porch as the rain poured down on me through the holes in the roof. I stood there thinking of whether to knock or not. 'Would he be on my side or his?' I thought as I questioned if I was doing the right thing.
"Case?" Matt asked opening the door letting Amy's dog, Comet, run out. I looked up at him as tears and rain dripped down my face. "Come in. You're completely soaked!"
I let him take my hand as he led me inside. He brought me into the bathroom and handed me a towel. I sat on the edge of the bathtub and cried into the towel. He sat next to me and rubbed my back.
"AMY!" he yelled.
"Yeah?!" she yelled back from a distance.
"Could you make a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows? Go extra on the marshmallows!" he yelled with a smile. "Now what's the matter? Why were you just standing there in the rain?"
"Jeff," I said quietly.
"What did he do this time?" he asked in almost a joking tone. I looked at him seriously as the tears streamed down my face. "Oh, this is serious."
"Yeah, it is. Shane asked me to marry him again tonite," I said.
"I know. He told us. He's really excited with what you said. I guess you're almost ready to marry him?"
"Matt, I love him with all my heart. He means everything to me."
"I know that. But what does this all have to do with Jeff?"
"Casey? Oh my God! What's wrong?" Amy asked sitting on the other side of me. She handed me the cup of hot chocolate and wrapped her arm around me. I sipped the hot chocolate and sighed.
"I was hoping she was just getting to that," Matt said.
"Where's Shane?" I asked looking around frantically for him.
"Upstairs in the game room. He's playing some video games," Amy answered as I calmed down a bit.
"This is all Jeff's fault!" I exclaimed as I put my head in my hands.
"What do you mean? What did he do?" Amy asked.
"I missed a cd he made for me two years ago."
"Oh no," Matt muttered as he withdrew his arm. I glanced up at him with confusion. "I know what you are gonna say."
"What?" I asked.
"Jeff loves you. He made that cd for you because he loved you then and he loves you now. He told me about it and I told him it was a bad idea, but he didn't care. I told him that it could ruin your friendship, but he didn't believe me. He just wanted you to know, but he couldn't tell you. He's too shy for that. The fact that you and Shane are close to getting married must be what gave him the courage to tell you. He would never have told you if he knew it would turn out like that. Trust me. He loves you too much. Really, Casey, he does love you. He was just too scared to tell you then. What made you listen to it now?" Matt questioned.
"He told me too. So I did. But I wish I hadn't. Things are so screwed up for me now."
"How so?" Amy asked. "I mean, you love Shane. You're not gonna break up with him for Jeff just because he loves you."
"Ames, I've lost my best friend. He was everything to me. Even more than Shane, I suppose. But now he's gone."
"You know Jeff. He can never stay away for too long."
"But this is different. Amy, we kissed," I said softly.
"You kissed?!" Matt exclaimed.
"Yes. And I didn't pull away. I guess, I enjoyed it."
"Casey, you love Shane, right?" Amy asked.
"Yes, of course I do. But I think I'm in love with Jeff. I love Shane, but I don't think I'm IN love with him."
"Oh Casey, this is a mess," Amy said.
"Please don't tell Shane. I don't want him to know. I just wanna forget about tonite," I said as I stood.
"But Casey, he can't go on thinking that you are in love with him when you aren't," Matt pointed out.
"But I want to be in love with him. And Jeff is out of my life now anyways," I said as I walked out the door. Amy followed and put her hand on my back.
"Come on, let's get you into some dry clothes." Amy guided me upstairs and into her room where she handed me one of Matt's t-shirts and a pair of her shorts.
"Thanks Ames. What would I do without you and Matt?" I asked as I changed.
"Probably be in a mental hospital someplace," she joked.
I joined Shane in the game room and watched as he played on the PS2. It was a Spiderman game. He smiled at me as I sat next to him in a bean bag chair. He paused the game and kissed me softly. I didn't want to let go of the kiss. I wanted him to get Jeff off of my lips. I wanted him to get Jeff out of my mind. Hell, I just wanted him. I guess it was just the situation. I guess that it was the fact that I needed to love him. Whatever it was, I just had to have him. One way or another, he would be mine. I kissed him back for a longer kiss as he dropped the controller. He wrapped his arms around me and I did the same to him.
"I love you Shane," I said as he moved his hands up my shirt.
"I love you too. I don't want to live my life without you," he said quietly as he kissed my neck. I put my head back to give him better access as his words hit me hard.
'That's it. I can't love Jeff. I can only love Shane,' I thought as we got more intense.
As I slept in Shane's arms on the floor of the game room, I dreamt about the rainbow. I was in a field. It was the field behind Jeff's house that led to the pond. Liger and Luna ran by me and I laughed as they chased the butterflies. I laid on the ground and stared up at the bright blue sky above me. Birds flew over me and the window brushed against my face. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I felt heat on me. I opened my eyes to see the rainbow leaning over me. It leaned down and kissed me passionately. It was a familiar kiss. A familiar smell. But I couldn't place it. The kissing got intense and it soon led to passion. Sweet, romantic, loving, passion. It was the best thing I've had in my life. We laid there in the field, under the sun, holding each other. "I love you Casey," it said. "I love you too, AAAAAAAAAH!!!" I screamed as I shot up off the floor. Shane followed me as I look at Comet sitting next to me.
I began to laugh as Shane looked at me worriedly. "Case?" he asked.
"I had another rainbow dream and Comet licked my face!" I laughed. He shook his head and laid back down, bringing me with him. He pulled a fleece blanket off of a nearby chair and covered us with it.
A/N: This is the second to the last chapter. I absolutely love writing this story, but it has to end and I thought this was a good way to do it. I'll post the last chapter as soon as possible. I'm glad ya'll have stuck with reading it. I love you all!!! Oh and the songs belong to LeAnn Rimes, Whitney Houston, Berlin, and Darren Hayes. Thanks again everyone!!!!