Chapter 1B

  When she walked up to the lake, she could see his
familiar form standing by the lake's edge illuminated
by the moonlight.  He looked almost heavenly to her.
He was wearing black jeans and black shoes with a
burgundy shirt.  His hair was pulled back in his usual
ponytail.  She loved to run her fingers through his
hair.  It was so curly and soft.  She thought, 'don't
make this harder than it already is, Amber'.  When he
heard her approaching, he turned around and smiled at
her.  She thought, 'there it is, that smiles that just
soothes the soul_what am I gonna do?'  She put a smile
on her face as she tried to diminish the tears that
were starting to well up in her eyes.  Howie,
immediately, knew the smile was forced and noticed
that her eyes were starting to glisten in the
moonlight.  He walked to within inches from her body
and cupped her face in his hands.  He lifted her face
so that their eyes met.  As soon as her blue eyes met
his deep brown eyes, she couldn't hold the tears back
anymore and they fell.  He hugged her close to him for
a few minutes and without letting go of her, he said,
"What's wrong, Amber?  Talk to me".  She said, "I'm
gonna miss you so much".  "Babe, I'm not going
anywhere."  "But I am."  He, gently, pushed her back a
little so they could look each other in the eyes and
said, "What?"  She proceeded to tell him about her dad
getting transferred and how they were moving to New
York.  He, simply, said, "I guess snail mail and email
are gonna be my friends until you come back and visit.
My phone bill is, also, gonna be sky high but it's
worth it to hear your voice."  She thought that she
was gonna cry her eyes out right then and there.  She
managed to say, "the worst part is, I'll never get the
chance to show you how much I really love you."  Tears
started to roll down her cheeks again but this time,
he kissed them, gently, away.  A slight moan escaped
her lips as his kisses left a mixture of heat and
electricity on her cheeks.  He tilted her face up to
his and, gently, kissed her on the lips.  They
separated and then, pulled each other close kissing
harder and deeper than before.  They would,
occasionally, suck on the other's tongue, also.
Throughout the kiss, their hands would venture around
the other's body.  His hands went from her breasts
down to her waist and back.  Her hands ran from his
neck down to his lower back.  She could feel the
muscles in his back flexing and his arousal growing
against her hip.  He ran a hand through her long brown
hair.  She ran her hands under his shirt to caress his
muscular chest and back.  When they, finally,
separated, they were both out of breath.  Howie was
the first to recover and he said, "DAMN, Ambs!  You
have no idea how long I've wanted to do that".  She
replied, "probably as long as I have".  A grin spread
across both of their faces.  She suddenly thought, 'I
can't do this.  I can't sleep with him and then just
leave.  I'm gonna hate myself for this but, I can't
hurt him'.  She said to him, "Howie, honey, I'm gonna
go home now.  If I stay, I'll never leave.  I'm gonna
miss you SO MUCH but, someday we'll be together again.
Please don't forget about me."  "Never, Ambs, you
mean the world to me.  I'm gonna miss you too."  They
hugged each other tight and Amber slowly backed away
with a tear streaming down each cheek.  When she
turned around to walk faster away, he called out to
her, "I love you, Amber!"  She stopped, turned around
and smiled at him.  He was beautiful.  She was always
gonna remember him just like this_smiling in the
moonlight with tears in his eyes that shone like
diamonds.  She sighed, gave a slight wave, blew a kiss
and almost ran home.  That night she cried herself to
sleep.  That was the last time they saw each other for
6 years.

************End of Flashback***************