"Huh? Oh nothing's bothering me," Biko said when I asked him what was on his mind a few days later. He had been spacey and I knew something was up; I just couldn't put my finger on it. In the end, he continued when I persisted. "My family wants me to come back for a while… until the end of the summer."

I looked at him. "Are you going to go?"

"I don't know. They're the ones who practically disowned me. Adriana is promised to be married. She said she'll only accept the marriage if I was there… so they want me to come to the ceremony."

"So you're really going?" I asked.

"Yes."

"When?"

"In a few days."

"A few days!" I said "That means I won't be seeing you until the weekend after school starts!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Biko, you are leaving in a few days and-" I started, trying to knock some sense into him.

"No, we're leaving in a few days."

I stared at him. "Really? You mean I can come to? Won't your parents mind? Are you sure it's ok that I go with you, I mean…"

"Of course it is! Well, I still have to ask your mother though," he said putting his arm around me. Then he leaned forward and pulled me closer. I felt his warm breath on my nose and the beatings of his heart get faster. We hovered there for a fraction of a second. The kiss surprised me at first, it wasn't really the most romantic time to kiss, but I liked it, a lot. Then it deepened and I remembered all the other kisses I had had. I pulled away.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I just- I really like you and I don't want to ruin anything like I have before…" I said trying not to make him feel bad.

"Hey, it's okay we'll take it slower. I just forgot about… before you were a Christian…."

"Yeah. You know, I wish I hadn't done all those things. It really messes a person up."

After that we went to ask my mom if I could go with Biko to visit his parents and siblings. She was a little hesitant of letting us go alone, but we assured her that we would only be alone in the car and then we would meet Biko's uncle, who was also coming for the wedding, at a hotel. Biko would be sharing a room with him and I would have my own.

"I'll see you at school!" I told Selena the day we were going to leave.

"No way! I'm going to help you pack!" she told me back. "So how are you going to handle this?"

"Handle what?" I knew Selena too well by now to know that she switched subjects about four times in every conversation. She wasn't talking about the luggage.

"Well, you are going on a ten hour car ride alone with your boyfriend and then you're going to go to a fancy hotel (all expenses paid by your boyfriend's uncle) together. I'm sure you're not just going to go to sleep in your room when you get there."

"Selena, Biko and I really like each other we wouldn't ruin anything by sleeping together, if that's what you're getting at."

"I'm sure you won't plan to do it, but… you both have ragging hormones," she started but I stopped her.

"You're starting to sound like my mom!"

We would be there for a total of three weeks. I still felt a little awkward since I didn't know Adriana but Biko talked about her all the time, she sounded really nice.

"Have you told you folks I'm coming?" I asked Biko.

"Yes, I wrote them a while ago and they said it was fine. My uncle is brining his girlfriend and he is not much older than us."

"But she's not… She's not white."

"She is!"

A wave of relief flooded over me. I was not going to be the only white girl there. "How old are they?"

"He's twenty."

"Twenty! How can he be your uncle?"

"My family has lots of children, for a long time. I have an aunt who is five years younger than me."

I said a final goodbye to my mother and we were off. Just the truck, our baggage, and Biko and I. Biko liked driving fast to impress me but after about five hours we got bored. We started playing 'I spy', but then that got boring. It didn't help that we were on a one way road so there were no other cars passing us. We got to talking about his family again.

"Do you get along with Koby very well?"

"I used to, when we were younger. Then I became a Christian, and… well, he didn't agree."

"I'm really proud of you, you know that," I looked at him. "You were really brave to leave your family for God."

He laughed. "Your opinion sure changed."

"My heart changed."

We got to the hotel at six o'clock, checked in and dropped our stuff in our rooms. When Biko said it was an expensive hotel, I did not expect it to be this extravagant! Biko's uncle and his girlfriend hadn't arrived yet so we went to look in our rooms and get settled. After about ten minutes there was a knock at the door and a man in a suit stood in the door way with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Forgive me for intruding but do I have the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Kelsey Anderson?"

"Um, yes," I replied looking at his suspiciously.

"I was informed to deliver this note to you. The writer wishes to remain anonymous and wishes for you to write back."

"Thank you," I said and took the note from his hand. "Just a moment."

I opened the sealed enveloped and read the letter.

To the fairest of them all,

My beloved Kelsey, I wish to apologise for sending this note on such short notice, but circumstances (such as you checking into the hotel ten minutes ago) forbade me from sending it to you earlier. Would you do me the great honour of dinning with me in the hotel restaurant at seven this evening? Your presence would be most pleasing. Please send you response through the man standing outside your door.

Faithfully yours,

your secret admirer. Xox

I smiled, wrote a reply and sent it off with the man who was still waiting at my door. My heart fluttered excitedly. It was like we were going out for the first time again. I glanced at my watch and realised that I only had forty five minutes to get ready. I took a shower, slipped on my favourite dress, applied my make-up and did my hair neatly.

I was still amazed at the beauty of the hotel. As soon as I stepped into the lobby connected to the restaurant, I saw him, waiting at a table seated for two fumbling with his napkin nervously. I smiled and walked over. When he saw me, he stood up immediately. He was dressed in a tux, tie and all.

"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes," he said looking deeply into my own eyes. "It's from the Song Of Solomon. Chapter 4 verse 1."

I smiled. "It's beautiful."

"Just like you," he said and handed me a single red rose. I was ecstatic.

"Thank you. You're great," I smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

He pulled out my chair for me and we ordered dinner. Everything was perfect, the food, the scenery, the company…

When we were done, we went to the check out counter where a youngman and woman were standing. Biko introduced them as Uncle Ben and Karen. We still didn't want to go to our rooms so we walked outside on the balcony and talked some more. The stars were up and the atmosphere couldn't have been more romantic. "I'm glad I came," I told him gently.

"I'm glad too. Now I can show you off to my family as well as my friends," he said and took my hand.

"You're frozen. I'll walk you back to your room."

"You know what? It looks exactly like my room!" he said laughing when I had given him a tour.

"I had a really good time, Biko," I said. "Thanks for everything."

"I had a really good time too, Kelsey."

He leaned in for another kiss. I knew we had said to take it slow so it was okay, right? It was just a kiss goodnight anyway. No harm there. Wrong choice at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was all over me. It deepened.

"Don't," I said, which surprised even me. I knew it would be wrong if I didn't stop and well... I didn't want to ruin anything, especially in God's eyes. We both pulled away embarrassed that we let things get this far.

"I'm sorry. This isn't what I meant to do... I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I replied.

"Umm, this sounds weird but will you pray with me, like now?" he asked, and we did.

We asked God for forgiveness. It seems that was all I'd been doing lately. We must have been praying for a while because Biko's uncle came knocking on the door.

"You kids better not be doing what I think your doing. Your mom would freak if she knew you we're fooling around in there," he said making a joke out of it.

Biko opened the door. "We're just praying," he said smiling.

"Well, she would freak if she knew that too," he said looking inside. "Say your goodnights. We've got a long day of driving ahead of us."

Biko came over to me. I was still embarrassed and felt like somehow it had been my fault. Maybe it had been. "It's okay," he whispered in my ear. "You did the right thing. If it was up to me, well-… Thanks, Kelsey."