Several weeks later, Natalie and Kara were camped out on Natalie’s couch, thoroughly engrossed in "The West Wing." Halfway through, Natalie felt a weird twinge in her stomach. A few minutes and a commercial break later, she felt it again, a tiny bit stronger this time. By the third time, realization was beginning to dawn on her, but there was still five minutes left in the show. Finally, after seeing the previews for next week, she turned calmly to her friend.

"Hey, Kara?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I’m in labor."

Kara’s eyes bugged out. "What? Since when?"

"About a half hour ago."

"Why didn’t you say anything?"

Natalie shrugged. "The contractions aren’t intense or anything. I wanted to watch the end of the show."

Kara just looked at her and shook her head. "You’re hopeless, you know that? Here," she said, handing Natalie the phone. "Call your doctor."

Natalie did, and the doctor advised her to go ahead to the hospital. Kara got up and started to gather up some of Natalie’s things, while Natalie dialed Justin’s number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Justin."

"Hey, Nat. How are ya? Can I call you back? I’m in the middle of something."

"I don’t think so. We’re on."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I’m in labor."

"What?! You can’t be. It’s October 27^th!"

"Yes, I’m aware of that, Justin, but babies don’t read calendars very well. I think this one’s ready."

"Shit. OK… Shit. All right… As soon as I find a vehicle, I’m on my way. Try to wait for me, OK?"

"I don’t have much control over that. But the contractions only started a little bit ago, so it’s going to be a while yet. There’s no need to do 200 miles an hour, you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

"OK. Be careful." But he was already gone.

"Ready?" Kara asked as she appeared with Natalie’s bag.

"I guess," Natalie replied, hoisting herself to her feet and heading for the door.

Natalie was propped up in the hospital bed, resting as comfortably as possible. She had requested a private room, telling her doctor there were "unusual family circumstances." The doctor hadn’t questioned her but had just made the arrangements. It was a pleasant room, and there was even music playing softly. But it was getting harder for Natalie to notice, as the contractions had grown much stronger in the past hour. Now they were actually starting to hurt.

She watched the clock tick past midnight and said something inane to Kara about how she was glad the baby’s birthday would be on the 28^th and not the 27^th. The 28^th just sounded nicer. Kara’s response was not encouraging. "Don’t count your chickens, there, girlfriend. His birthday might be the 29^th."

Natalie groaned, "Some coach you are. Get out." But she was smiling. One of the reasons she and Kara were so close was their similar sense of humor. They had been friends since college, and Kara was the one who convinced Natalie she should move to Vegas. Sometimes Natalie didn’t know what she would do without her.

Kara tried to distract her by launching a dissection of the "West Wing" episode they had watched earlier. The tactic was only mildly successful, however. Natalie kept finding her eyes wandering toward the clock on the wall. It was after one now, and her contractions were getting closer together. She knew there was still a ways to go, but she couldn’t relax at all until Justin arrived. She knew he’d be beyond heartbroken if he didn’t get there in time.

Just then, the strongest contraction yet hit her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She only half heard Kara’s instructions, but she tried like hell to breathe to fight off the pain. Slowly, the tension in her body subsided. She lay back against the bed, saying, "Good Lord." As she tried to breathe normally again, she slowly opened her eyes. Her pain washed away in a wave of relief as she spotted Justin standing in the doorway. He looked kind of comical, with a bandanna covering his curls, a hat over that, and a pair of large, tinted glasses perched on his nose. But somehow he was still a sight for sore eyes. "Hey," she called to him, "You made it."

Slowly, he approached the bed. "That looked like it hurt. You doing OK?"

"Well… It does hurt. But I’m hanging in there. Justin, this is my best friend, Kara. Kara, this is Justin." The two shook hands across the bed, and then Justin took his hat and glasses off. "Nice disguise, by the way," she giggled.

"As far as I can tell, it worked."

"Did you come by yourself?"

"Yeah. I figured bringing Lonnie would just attract more attention."

"You made pretty good time. How fast were you driving?"

"Um… Never mind," he said, averting his eyes. "The important thing is that I made it."

"Yeah, now maybe she’ll stop looking at the clock every two seconds," Kara chimed in.

"Shut up, Kara. Ow!" she exclaimed, as another contraction grabbed her. At some point during the pain, she became vaguely aware of Justin’s hand in her own. When she came through the other side, she realized she was crushing it in her grip.

"Sorry…" she said, releasing him.

"It’s OK," he said, slipping his other hand into hers, "Although I think it’s probably a good thing I’m a singer and not a painter."

"Or a pianist," Kara added.

"Yeah, you’re both a bunch of funny guys," Natalie growled, "I’d like to see you doing this."

"I don’t think I could," Justin said, seriously, "I’m in awe of how well women handle it."

"That’s OK. We get our revenge when you guys go bald," Kara said, and the three of them cracked up. "I’m going to get some coffee. I wasn’t planning to be up all night. You guys want anything?" They both said no, and Kara headed for the cafeteria.

"She seems really cool," Justin commented.

"I adore her," Natalie answered distractedly. She was wriggling around on the bed, but no matter which way she shifted, she couldn’t seem to get comfortable. Her whole body just felt miserable now. Justin watched her for a moment and then finally spoke up.

"How ‘bout a back rub? I’ve heard that can help."

"I suppose it can’t hurt."

"Oh, your enthusiasm is going to knock me over. I’m no Fatone, but I can give a decent back rub. Come here."

He turned her slightly on the bed so that she was leaning against his chest. He began gently kneading her shoulders, using just enough pressure to have an effect. His long fingers and strong hands were like magic on her aching muscles, and she let her head drop back against his shoulder. It was several minutes of pure nirvana.

Without warning, her body suddenly seized up again. Justin supported her from behind, stretching out both his arms so she could hold onto his hands. His voice low in her ear, he reminded her to breathe. The contraction was intense, but brief, and when it was over he started rubbing her back again.

"How’d I do?" he asked.

"You did great," she replied, "Are you sure you haven’t done this before?"

"Hell, no," he said, "I just said ‘Breathe’ over and over again. That’s what they always do in the movies, right?"

"Right," she said, laughing. "I think that’s all Kara says, too, but I’m not sure because it’s kind of hard to listen."

"I can imagine," he replied.

"Anyway, you’re doing great," she said, reaching behind her to touch his cheek lightly. "I’m really glad you’re here."

"Me, too," he said quietly.

Just then, the nurse came in to check on her. "How’re we doing?" she asked, as she lifted the sheet covering Natalie’s legs.

"OK, I guess," Natalie answered, "They’re getting stronger."

The nurse briskly checked Natalie’s vital signs and dilation. "You’re looking good. Up to seven centimeters already. I don’t think this will be too drawn out."

"That would be fabulous. I really don’t want this to go on forever."

The nurse chuckled. "That’s understandable. If you want, you could get up and take a short walk. Sometimes that speeds things up a little."

"OK. I just might do that. Thanks."

"Welcome. I’ll be back in a little while."

As the nurse left, Natalie turned to look at Justin, who was frowning. "What?" she asked him.

"A walk? What the hell are you going to do if one of those things hits you while you’re walking?"

"I don’t know. Ride it out, I guess. Come on, help me up."

"OK…" he said, doubtfully. But he helped her to her feet.

"I wonder where Kara got to," she mused, "It can’t take that long to get coffee." 

Slowly they made their way out into the hallway, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back. It did feel good to move around a little, and she was glad she had taken the nurse’s advice. They rounded the corner by the nursery, only to find Kara standing there, sipping her coffee and gazing at the babies.

"Hey, where you been?" Natalie asked.

"Um… I just decided to take a little walk," Kara replied. "What are you doing out here?"

"The nurse said walking might goose things along. But I think I’m ready to head back now. You coming?"

"In a minute."

"OK," Natalie replied, and she and Justin began the walk back to her room. About halfway up the hall, she stopped. "Uh oh," she said, "Here we go…" He immediately wrapped his arm around her back as she braced one arm against the wall. She feared her knees would buckle, but she managed to stay upright. With Justin’s support and a lot of huffing and puffing, she got through it. "Whew," she said, "I’m ready to get back in bed."

They got back and he helped her into the high bed. A few minutes later, Kara strolled back in, and they took to chatting aimlessly. Gradually, her contractions came closer and closer together, until she mostly dropped out of the conversation. She dimly realized Kara was telling Justin all about how the Lamaze concept worked. At one point she interrupted them to ask Kara to get her barrettes out of her bag. She was perspiring now, and her hair was sticking to her forehead. As Kara went over to the bag, Justin leaned over and said to Natalie, "I’ll be right back. I’m just going to go use the facilities."

Natalie smiled up at him in return. As he left, Kara came over and started pinning back Natalie’s damp hair. "I think…" Kara began, "I think I’m going to sit out the delivery room, OK?"

"What? Why?" Natalie said, shocked.

"Because I think that moment should belong to the two of you. I’ll just be the third wheel."

"No you won’t. Come on, Kara, you’ve been with me through all of this. You’re supposed to be my coach."

"Mostly all I do is say ‘Breathe.’ I think Justin can handle that. I think he’ll be great, actually. He seems like a terrific guy."

"Yeah, he is. He’s a real sweetheart. But I don’t think you’ll be a third wheel at all, Kara."

"I’ll be right outside, I promise."

Natalie would have continued to protest, but she was hit with a long, hard contraction. She never even heard Justin come back into the room. When she opened her eyes again, he was standing there with a concerned look on his face. "Are you sure you don’t want those drugs?" he asked.

"I really want to do this without them if I can," she replied. Justin just shook his head.

The contractions started coming almost on top of each other, then, and the pressure was almost unbearable. "I’m going to go get the nurse," Kara said.

While she was gone, Justin took over the coaching duties, trying to talk her through the pain. Out of the blue, he started singing the Faith Hill song, "Breathe," and for some reason it sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Natalie.

"Justin, stop. Don’t sing," she commanded.

"I thought you liked my singing," he said, somewhat taken aback.

"I do, normally. Right now… I just… Just don’t sing!" she exclaimed.

"OK, OK. I was just trying to add a little variety," he said.

Kara came back with the nurse and Natalie’s doctor, who checked her over again. "You’re doing great, Natalie," the doctor said, "But you’re only at nine centimeters, so you can’t start pushing just yet, OK? We’ll start prepping the delivery room and I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit. Just hang in there. No pushing."

Natalie groaned. "OK," she breathed. Another fifteen or twenty minutes went by, and she didn’t think she could take much more. The pain was intense and almost constant. Finally the doctor reappeared. She checked Natalie again and smiled at her.

"OK, Natalie. Ten centimeters. Time to go."

As much as she couldn’t wait to get this over with, the doctor’s words suddenly scared her to death. In just a little while, she would be a mother. Be responsible for another human being. Natalie unexpectedly felt overwhelmed. It must have been written all over her face, because Justin leaned down and kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear, "Come on, Nat, let’s do this. You’re going to be awesome." She squeezed his hand and nodded, as they began to wheel her down to the delivery room.

At the doors, Kara gave her a hug and said, "OK, go get ‘em. I’ll see you in a little while."

"Thanks for everything, Kara," she replied.

Justin had a slightly panicked look on his face. "What? You’re not coming in?"

Kara laughed, "No. You guys don’t need me. You’ll be just fine." With that, the nurse wheeled her into the delivery room, and it was showtime.

The room seemed to her to be filled with people, although in reality it was only her doctor, the resident, two nurses, and, of course, Justin. For his part, Justin looked bewildered as the efficient medical team bustled around them, preparing her to give birth. Monitors were hooked up, she was moved into position, and a baby warmer stood at the ready. If Natalie hadn’t been in so much pain, it would have all been a bit scary.

Soon, everything was set, and the doctor took up her position and told Natalie to start pushing when the next contraction hit. Justin came around and stood next to her, holding her hand tightly. For a few seconds it seemed as if the whole room was in limbo, waiting for her body to give the cue. Then she felt her stomach start to tense again, and she began to bear down with all her might. The first two pushes didn’t feel like they accomplished much, although the pressure lessened somewhat. On the third push, she leaned forward and threw her whole body into it. Justin wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she could have sworn he was pushing, too, in his own way.

Finally, she could feel the baby start to move through the birth canal. It was, at once, the most amazing and the most excruciating thing she’d ever felt in her life. After a few minutes, she was starting to tire. Justin was ceaseless in his support, gently urging her on and reminding her to breathe. The nurse handed him a cool, wet towel, and he wiped her face with it, tenderly pushing her hair back.

Just when Natalie thought she would die from exhaustion, a whole new level of pain hit her.

"OK, Natalie, the baby’s crowning now. You’re doing great, right on schedule," the doctor reported.

"Oh… my… God, that hurts!" was her reply.

"Shh… OK, Nat, come on, you’re almost there, you’re doing awesome. Just a little while longer," Justin breathed in her ear.

"It fucking hurts!" she exclaimed. Then she thought she heard him chuckle, and she looked quickly up at him, prepared to let him have it. But all she found was his look of concern and a lip that was almost bleeding where he was chewing on it. Reassured that he wasn’t laughing at her, she returned to the task at hand.

"Come on, Natalie," the doctor exhorted, "We need another push here."

Gathering up what was left of her strength, Natalie bore down. She felt significant movement this time, and heard Justin gasp. Looking up at him again, she saw that he was transfixed by the mirror that allowed him to watch. She turned her gaze to the mirror as well, but her vision was too blurred by sweat and tears. She heard the doctor say, "OK, the head is out. Come on, Natalie. Just one or two more." She did as she was told, and with one last effort, it was over.

There was a crowd at her feet, and she tried to prop herself up to see, but she had used up the last of her reserves. Suddenly, the doctor’s voice rang out cheerfully, "It’s a boy, Natalie, and he looks pretty healthy to me." She fell back against the pillows, overcome with exhaustion and relief and emotion. Just then a tiny cry split the air as the baby lodged his first protest. Natalie’s laughter mingled with her tears as her son exercised his newly discovered lungs.

Justin turned to her, and there were tears shining in his eyes, too. He leaned over her, smoothing her hair back again and planting kisses on her forehead and cheek. "You were amazing," he whispered, "That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen." She reached for him and held him in a tight embrace. They remained in that position until she sensed someone standing on her other side. One of the nurses stood there holding the baby, now cleaned up and presentable, but still wailing.

"Ready to hold him?" she asked kindly.

Natalie gulped and nodded, and the nurse placed her son in her arms for the first time. He was absolutely, utterly beautiful. Almost as soon as he rejoined his mother, he stopped crying. She held him close while giving him a once-over, including the traditional toe-and-finger check. He was perfect.

She tore her gaze away from the baby long enough to discover Justin staring down at them, his eyes as wide as she’d ever seen them. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked softly.

Justin hesitated for a second, then replied, "Not yet. I’m enjoying this view."

The doctor was nearby, and she filled them in on the details, "Eight pounds, six ounces; born at 5:26am; and by all outward appearances, thoroughly healthy. Of course, there are some more tests we will run, but he looks pretty perfect to me. Congratulations."

"Thank you. Thank you for everything," she replied, without taking her eyes off the infant in her arms. Just then, her stomach clenched, and she jumped. The nurse quickly took the baby back, telling her that they would put him in the nursery for a little while. Natalie let him go reluctantly, but she knew she was in desperate need of rest. After she made it through the unpleasantness of the afterbirth, they gently moved her to a clean bed. As they wheeled her to the doors, she asked Justin, "You’ll go tell Kara, right?"

"Of course," he said, squeezing her hand.

"OK. See you when I wake up."

"Count on it," he replied, giving her one last peck on the cheek. That was the last bit of consciousness Natalie recalled before she fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Natalie was eased back to wakefulness by the beautiful sound of Justin’s voice. Unlike earlier, he now sounded like an angel to her. She didn’t recognize the song, but it had the tones and the rhythms of a lullaby. She opened her eyes to find him seated in a chair next to her bed, cradling their son in his arms and singing softly. Silently, she watched as he finished the song. Tears welled up in her eyes again, as she was overcome with joy at the sight of the two of them. The baby was sound asleep, taking rapid little baby breaths and snuggling against Justin’s chest. Justin couldn’t seem to take his eyes off his little boy.

Afraid that she would scare him, Natalie breathed, "Hey."

Justin immediately turned her way, and his face lit up with a smile. "Hey. I didn’t wake you, did I?"

"I don’t think so. Even if you did, it was worth it."

"So I’m allowed to sing again?"

She laughed. "Anytime you want. What was that, anyway? It was pretty."

"Just an old Southern lullaby my mother used to sing to me."

She reached out and ran her hand through his hair. "How’re you doing? Did you get any sleep?"

"A little. I went and called my mom and my dad first. Kara called your parents for you."

"Where is she?"

"She went home for a nap and a shower. She said she’d be back later."

"A shower… Now there’s an appealing concept."

Justin chuckled. "Think you’re up to it yet?"

"Probably not. I’ll wait a little while longer. My muscles still feel like Jell-O."

"So anyway, I slept for a while, and then the nurse brought this guy in ‘cause he was hungry. I didn’t want to wake you, and you said you weren’t going to breast-feed, so I gave him a bottle. You did tell me that, right?" He wore an anxious look now, afraid he’d done something wrong.

"Yes, I did tell you that. That was fine. Thanks for letting me sleep."

The smile was back. "No problem. You want to take him?"

"Oh, I don’t know. He looks pretty content right where he is," she replied, smiling back at him.

"He’s not the only one," Justin said. Their eyes met and held there for a few long seconds as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. She blinked as she felt the tears returning. "You OK?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I’m just… so happy. I’ve never felt anything like this."

"Me, either. Thank you."

"You, too," she said, caressing his cheek. Then she couldn’t help but laugh. "We are such saps."

He laughed with her. "Aren’t we supposed to be right now?"

"I guess so," she said. The baby stirred a bit, kicking his tiny feet. "I guess we’re also too loud for his royal highness there."

"Speaking of which, the nurse also brought in a whole bunch of paperwork while you were asleep. I filled out what I could, but I need your help with the rest." Carefully, Justin stood up. "Here, you hold him and I’ll write." Gently placing the baby in Natalie’s arms, he turned and grabbed a clipboard from the windowsill. "OK… First of all, I don’t know your middle name."

"Corine. C-O-R-I-N-E."

"That’s different," he said. "OK. Where were you born?"

"Portland, Oregon. What are you filling out, anyway?"

"The birth certificate thing."

Looking over his shoulder, she hesitated. "Justin… Are you sure you want to put your name on there?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Well… I’m sure there aren’t very many Justin Timberlakes in this world. It won’t take long for someone to put two and two together."

"I don’t care," he scowled.

"All right. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to protect you, is all.

"I know that," he said, his tone softening. "But I don’t want my own son to ever question who his father is, even for a second."

"OK. What else do you need?"

"Well, just his name. Do you still want to go with ‘Benjamin’?"

"I think so. What do you think?"

"I like it as long as I get to call him ‘Ben’."

"Oh, definitely. But not ‘Benny’."

"Deal. OK, then. Benjamin it is."

As she watched Justin write the chosen name on the paper, she sighed, causing him to look back at her. "What? Change your mind? ‘Cause I’m sure they’ve got white-out."

"No… It’s just such a huge responsibility. I mean, that’s going to be his name for his whole life."

"Well, it’s not like you named him ‘Ichabod’. I’m sure he’ll like it just fine."

Natalie started giggling. "Ichabod. Can you imagine?" Little Ben started fussing in her arms and she quickly stopped laughing. "Ahem," she said, clearing her throat. "I’m going to have to get used to that whole ‘Don’t wake the baby’ thing."

Justin just smirked at her. "I’m already used to it. Chris is, like, the lightest sleeper in the world. OK… So what about middle name?"

"I wanted to ask you about that. What do you think about making it ‘Randall’?"

"After my dad?" Justin asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah."

"Really? You’d do that?"

"Well, ‘Benjamin Randall’ has a nice ring to it, and I know it would mean a lot to you, so…"

"Yeah, it would," he said softly.

"Then write it down," she replied with a smile.

He did just that, grinning from ear to ear. "OK. So that just leaves – "

She cut him off. "Justin… It has to be ‘Moss’." It has to be." She looked at him apprehensively. This was hard for him, and she knew it.

The grin faded and he said, sadly, "Yeah. I know it does." With his pen, he put the finishing touches on the paperwork and then set it aside. Turning to the bed, he dropped a kiss on the infant’s forehead. "Well, Benjamin Randall Moss, I think you’re now officially part of this world."

The nurse came in to check on Natalie and take Ben back to the nursery for a while. Justin also handed her the paperwork, and she left quickly.

"So, how’re you feeling, anyway?" he asked her.

"Not that bad, really. Tired and a little sore, but not as bad as I thought I would feel."

"That’s good. Do you mind if I call the guys real quick?"

"Not at all."

He reached Lance’s cell phone first and proceeded to have a riotous conversation with all four of them. Natalie was laughing, and she could only hear one side of it. Justin did put her on the phone with Joey and JC, however, and they both offered warm congratulations. The absolute high point, though, was when Chris got on the phone. Soon thereafter, Justin burst out, "No, he does not have a ‘fro!" and Natalie collapsed in a fit of giggles. In fact, Ben had just a smattering of hair, and it was typical newborn hair, soft and fine.

After Justin got off the phone with them, he called each of his parents back and told them about Ben’s name. He was still on with his dad when Kara showed back up with a huge bouquet of balloons and flowers. The girls exchanged a warm hug and began chattering excitedly. Kara had still only seen Ben through the glass of the nursery, but Natalie couldn’t bring him back in just yet. So she decided now was a good time for that shower.

With Kara’s help, she showered and put on a clean nightgown, and she felt tremendously better after that. Her mood got even better when Kara told her that she had convinced her parents to wait and take their originally scheduled flight from Seattle. That would give her almost a whole week before they got here. Hallelujah. "But I think you’d better give them a call. They’re anxious to hear from you," Kara said.

"Yeah, OK, I think I can handle that," Natalie replied. So she called home, and gave them all the good news. It was actually a very pleasant conversation. For once, she felt like a fellow adult while she was talking to them. It was still difficult to grasp, however, that she really and truly was a mother. That is, until the nurse brought Ben back in, and her heart leapt up and sang at the mere sight of him. So this was what it felt like…

The rest of the day passed quickly and pleasurably. The three of them hung out, sometimes with Ben and sometimes not. The phone rang on several occasions, as her co-workers learned of the birth. Her doctor stopped by and told Natalie she was very pleased with how both she and Ben were doing. She said she had no qualms about releasing them the next morning. Natalie was glad to hear they could go home, but a little bit terrified of the prospect as well.

Kara finally excused herself from their little party, since she had to be at work early the next morning. Soon after she left, Natalie turned her attention away from "Jeopardy" to look over at Justin. She saw that his eyelids were drooping, and she reached out and took his hand. "Justin, why don’t you go and get some real sleep? You look exhausted."

"I’m OK," he protested, "I’m used to not sleeping much."

"You’re not OK," she laughed, "You should see the bags under your eyes. Where are you staying, anyway?"

"At the Rio, I guess. That’s where my other reservation is."

"Do you have a room there for tonight?"

"Not yet."

"You can stay at my house if you need to."

"Naw, that’s OK. That would be weird without you there. They usually have vacancies at the Rio. And if not, God knows there’s an empty hotel room somewhere in this town."

"Why don’t you call ahead, just to be sure?"

"Yeah. Good idea." It took Justin all of thirty seconds to book a suite at the Rio. He turned back to her. "You gonna be OK here all by yourself?"

"Oh, yeah. I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as you leave, anyway."

"OK," he said reluctantly, "Then I’m gonna get going."

"All right. Be careful over there. I’d feel better if you had Lonnie with you."

"Ah… I’ll be fine. I’m a master of disguise, remember?" he said, putting his hat back on with a flourish.

"Right," she laughed.

He took his glasses in his hand but didn’t put them on. Standing right at the edge of her bed, he said, "So I’ll come and get you guys in the morning?"

"That’ll be great."

He continued to stand there, with an expression on his face that she was unable to decipher. Finally he said, "This has been the most magical day of my life. And given the life I have led, that’s really saying something. I don’t want to leave."

Natalie smiled up at him. "He’ll still be here in the morning, Justin."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. OK, I’m going. Thank you again," he said quietly. Leaning over her, he brushed a quick kiss across her lips before she ever saw it coming. Putting his silly glasses on, he said, "I’ll see you tomorrow," and took off.

Natalie was in shock for a second at the way he had made his exit. Nothing quite like a good old kiss-and-run tactic. Then again, she knew she shouldn’t read too much into it. It had been a very emotional 24 hours for both of them. And it wasn’t as if she’d never kissed a friend on the lips before. Still, as she floated away to sleep, all she could feel was the tingling where his lips had found hers.

Chapter Four

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