In the shade

Feeling Ryan's foot and hearing her comment, Alec's eyebrows rise and he pauses mid-chew. His grin returns, his eyes glinting coyly in the sun. "Walk... dessert... walk... dessert. Hmm." He shakes his head and takes another bite of his sandwich. "I dunno... it's a tossup."

He chews thoughtfully. "You might have to, uh..." His foot sneaks over and runs slowly up to her knee. "...help me decide."

Still grinning, he returns concentration to his lunch, throwing Ryan a look every now and again as they continue eating.

Getting through lunch didn't take long, and soon the garbage and leftover water was back in the bike saddlebags and time was running short. Standing near the bike and looking at Ryan for a moment, Alec cocks his head. Helmets in hand, he looks to them then back at her. Seeming to change his mind, he puts the helmets down again. Taking a long stride towards Ryan, he doesn't hesitate before grabbing her and swinging her up into his arms. Spinning her around, his feet take them to the nearby tree where he flops down on the soft ground, letting Ryan land on top of him. Looking up at her, his hands brush her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ears. The smile that was once thought to be lost forever resurfaces again.

With his head resting in the grass, he searches Ryan's eyes before pulling her close for a gentle kiss which deepens, turning into a passionate embrace. Releasing her for a moment, his grin returns and he brings one leg up to bump her teasingly with his knee. "I think I like dessert in the shade. But you'll have to convince me before I'm absolutely sure."


Hearing Anastasia's words, Quinn's eyes never leave hers. His face seems to remain expressionless, but his gaze tells of matching emotions... the need to leave, but the longing to remain... the need to say goodbye, but the want to stay.

Silence takes over the table as Quinn's gaze expresses his thoughts for him... so deep... so true. Finally though, he speaks, but not before his hand has slid across the table to wrap his fingers around hers. "I'm glad I met you too," he replies softly.

It was strange... he'd known Anastasia for one day. Yet he could, in all honesty, say he'd never felt like this about a woman before. She was different. She was special. And he recognized that.

"If I'm ever in the area again... the music store will be my first stop."

He knew if he left, he wouldn't be back. He knew that he would turn and head down the road, never to look back. By the time he ever returned, she would have set this fairytale on the shelf where it would collect dust, once in a while to be gazed at and smiled over. But he would not find her the same. This had been a once in a lifetime meeting... a once in a lifetime chance.

Quinn's thumb slowly rubs over the top of her hand, a strange lump rising in his throat. He almost felt silly. One day should not be enough for him to not wish to leave her. Yet he couldn't deny how he felt.

"Thank you... Anastasia. I'll cherish this fairytale always." Bringing her hand closer, he raises it to his lips to give it a soft kiss.

But even though he could linger forever, the clock still ticked on. And amidst the blur, they're back in her car, heading to the auto shop. The ride was extra quiet, but not awkward. Halfway there, Quinn's hand slips down to find hers again, saying all the words he couldn't.

The shop's parking lot was like a giant finish line, signaling the end of a short journey, and as they park, Quinn finally has to let go of Anastasia's hand. His finger rises to run down the side of her face, and he wants to kiss her, but he doesn't want to make it harder either. "Goodbye," he whispers.


Kyle chuckles softly and squeezes Alice a little tighter. "You kidding me?" he asks quietly. "I could never tire of having you around. As a matter of fact, if I could find a way to have you around more often, I might just do that."

Shifting his head so he can see her eyes, his grin makes his gaze shine. The implication was there and he knew it. But careful not to draw too much attention to themselves, he simply gives her forehead another light kiss and settles back to rest a while before he was up again.


Out of the corner of his eye, Kip sees Karla sit down next to him and hand him the water. Accepting it, he props himself up on his elbows and takes a long swig. "Thank you."

Sighing, he shakes his head, despite her compliment. "Glad you like it, but it's not the sound I keep messing up. I keep missing words and they're right in front of me. It's like this one line my brain just won't recognize and I just go off and sing the wrong thing with the right notes even though I know the words by heart."

Grimacing, he looks up at Karla in a sidelong glance. "I was fine 'til they put me in the booth. It's like now that I have to do it well, I can't. But I can jam all day long and do it perfectly. Go figure."

Looking back down, he sips some more water then sits up, folding his legs. "Oh well. I guess if I can't get it right, they'll just cut me from the song. At least I got my bass part right."

Taking another deep breath of fresh air and wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead, he nods decidedly then stands up. "Okay, I feel better now." He offers her his hand to help her up. "Let's go see if they voted me off the island."


Wayne swivels in his chair and tosses Jackie a glance and a little grin. He was harsher on the outside than on the inside and she knew it too. "Yeah, we'll give him more time. But we do have to get these guys out of here before the next band slot - you know how hairy it gets if we overlap schedules."

He shrugs. "I was pleased with Erik's response, though I kinda wished I would have seen it from Kyle. Sometimes I can't decide who's the leader but maybe it's just their personality differences."

Rocking back and yawning, he turns again and reaches in the drawer to retrieve a couple oreo cookies. "Want one?"