He turned and looked at me, his eyes piercing into me. "Are we what?"

"I... I don't know. You tell me.  We're pretty close, so close that you're calling me Kitten. There is a clear attraction to each other. So... what does that mean for us?" I stammered and stuttered trying to get him to define our relationship.  It was like trying to pin jello to a wall.  I was afraid of what his answer would be as I looked at him nervously.  I needed clarity though.  I wanted to know if this was real or one of the many games he liked to play.

"It means I am filling out a fucking 40 page application to date you, Amy." He said almost laughing at the absurdity of it.

.

I laughed at the outrageous claim I knew was true.  Who in the world would fill out a 40 page application just for the chance to date a girl.  It was ridiculous as it sounded.  My brother was demanding it and surprisingly Josh was submitting to the request.  I had half expected he would walk away by now, but for some reason he was interested in a girl like me.  

"Well then I guess you better get working on that application then." I said, trying to laugh off the seriousness of my question.  "I'm sure you would get approved very quickly."  I added hoping he would get the hint that I desired this step to go forward whatever it meant for us.

He kissed the tip of my nose.  "Patience, Kitten. You can't rush perfection."

I giggled at the sheer arrogance at his comment. "Of course. I will wait patiently while you perfect this application and submit it to Brian."  I leaned my head into him closer, making myself cozy in his arms.  Enjoying the bliss of the feeling for a minute, I worked up the courage to ask my next question.  “How long do you think it will take until it’s submitted and approved?”  

He grinned at my impatience but his tone held some finality to it. "It will be done when it is perfect."

"So, it might take a while then. You're a perfectionist. So you're going to make sure every little detail is done just the way that you want it." I laughed realizing I might be waiting a while if he was going to wait until his application is perfect. But I was also excited because it felt like something he had thought more about than he was letting on.  He was taking this really seriously and that should have given me pause.  At the time I thought it was the ultimate romantic gesture.

"You will also know all the answers to the questions by the time we are engaged." He baited me with information I already knew.  

"I guess that's true.  By the time we are engaged I should know everything about you.” I said reasonably.

“It might not be everything. We got to save something for the wedding night." Josh corrected me.

"So you're planning to keep a few secrets for later, too? Good to keep the romance alive, right?"  I reasoned, not knowing if I would like the surprises he was planning.

He shrugged, "It's only fair since I can't have you till then."

"I suppose it is only fair to save something for the wedding night. But that does mean I get to have you all to myself when we get there, right?"  I asked hopefully.

"No you will give everything to me and then some. Things I know you haven't even thought of yet." He smirked.

"O-oh? Just how many things do you think I will give to you that I don't even know about yet?" I asked curiously wondering how far he would indulge my curiosity down this bunny trail.

He grinned at her. "Let's just say I always add something to my vanilla ice cream."

I couldn’t keep a straight face at that comment. The fact that he was comparing sex to vanilla ice cream made me giggle inside.

.

I looked at him perplexed, not sure exactly what he meant, but if he thought that was how things were to happen, who was I to argue.  I did try to see where the boundaries were. "So, are you suggesting that I should try various kinds of ice cream and see which one I prefer?" I teased.

His face grew a bit red. He looked at me seriously, pulling me possessively to him as he spoke.

"There are only four other types of ice cream you are ever going to be allowed."

This just made me more confused and curious.  If he was implying what I thought he was implying I didn’t know if I wanted any part of that.  “Oh? Is that right? And which 4 types of ice cream would that be?”  I questioned defiantly.

"Chris, Joey, Lance and Justin." He said without missing a beat.

I gasped as he said this.  At the time I thought he was just trying to be provocative to make me blush. I couldn’t think further on the implications of that line of thought.  Honestly I wanted to forget that he ever said it.  I wanted only his ice cream.  I didn’t want to hear more about possibly being intimate with his friends.  So I tried to take the conversation in a different direction.  “You didn’t even mention yourself.  Why is that?”  I asked him jokingly.

"Because it is a given that you will be eating the ice cream I give you multiple times a day. Those other types are just for special occasions." He explained nonchalantly.

I laughed at his ego. It was definitely coming out to play tonight.  I couldn’t trust a word that came out of his mouth when he was like this.  The way he was talking, it sounded like he believed we would be having sex all the time when we were married.  I thought he was pretty delusional considering his job and the reality of life, but if he wanted to live in that fantasy pornographic world, who was I to stop him.  

"Oh, so that's why you don't mention yourself. You're the flavor that I'll get so much of on a regular basis that it's not even a special thing for me?"  It teased him a little bit to see how he would take a little push back.

He chucked deep, "Oh baby. I can promise you that it is going to be special every single time. So much so you will crave it, so much that you will be begging for it." He smirked.

“I was wondering where he was hiding.”  I told him.

“Who?”  He lifted his eyebrow.

“Your alter ego,  Mr. Egotistically Bastard.” I declared with a grin.

He growled in my ears,  “I thought I declawed you, kitten.”

“Why would you do that?  I bet you would love them scratching down your back.”  I taunted him.

He raised his eyebrow a bit at my flirtation, but still was unphased,  “So you were lying when you said you didn’t like sprinkles.”  He playfully accused me.

“I didn’t know sprinkles were on the menu.”  I said defending myself not really knowing exactly what he meant by sprinkles. 

“That and a whole lot of fun things we can explore together.  I promise you this though that my vanilla ice cream will be so special you crave it and want nothing else.” He winked at me.

As usual just when we were getting into a good conversation we were interrupted.  At that moment Lance plopped down in the seat beside us.  “What are you two talking about?” He innocently asked.

I blushed a little bit, not expecting Lance to just appear out of thin air. I tried to play it off though, acting as though there wasn't anything going on between me and JC. "Nothing. Just talking about the best kinds of  ice cream. I was just telling Josh that I'll always prefer vanilla over any of the other flavors." I gave Lance a bit of a sheepish grin as I spoke.

"Really, sure you would want some sprinkles, chocolate syrup, or maybe a little crunch?" He asked as he winked at me.

I grinned immediately recognizing that Lance knew exactly what we were talking about.  I couldn’t help but blush more.  He definitely had insider knowledge of what Josh was into that I wasn't privy to.  I tried to act casual but his comment was taking this conversation in a decidedly worse direction.

"Are you suggesting that vanilla ice cream needs something more to be the most perfect ice cream? That vanilla is just not able to stand on its own?"  I asked him hoping that Lance would not play and at least be a bit more forthcoming than Josh had been about the topic.

"Don't get me wrong. Vanilla is great, I prefer double vanilla myself. Sometimes though little things can be added to enhance the excitement of eating it." Lance explained.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the way he was explaining things.  I questioned, "But what if I like my ice cream plain and boring? What if I'm a simple woman who wants a simple life? The kind where everything is straightforward and easy to understand?"

Lance giggled, "Then you are thinking about marrying the wrong man."

All I could do was laugh as well. It seemed though now everyone knew more than me.  It was uncomfortable to think about. "So what, are you implying that Josh is planning on making my life more complex with every flavor of vanilla ice cream he plans to feed me.”

"Yeah there will probably be some toppings you don't like. You will have to negotiate with him not to include them, but he will probably make you still try them. Even things as disgusting as pickles." Lance explained like he would a legal document.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.  Josh would make me eat something I didn’t like, especially if he knew I didn’t like it.  I would have to negotiate not to do them.  What kind of world was I being brought into?  Even the thought of pickles made my lips pucker in pain.  I squirmed at the brineyness.  No this was not going to happen.  If Josh thought it was, he had another thing coming. 

"Pickles? He would seriously try to force me to eat pickles? But I hate them. I can't stand the briney taste of them at all." I exclaimed a bit over dramatically.

"Then if I were you, I'd be a really good girl to avoid the horrible punishment." Lance warned seriously.

I shook my  head slightly, not able to help but laugh at this point. "Really? I'd have to be good in order to avoid pickles? That doesn't seem so bad after all. I could be bad just because I wanted to and then just accept the price for being a rebel and being bad!" I said defiantly, to see how Josh would react to my predicted disobedience.

Lance shook his head, "JC you are going to have fun with this brat.  If you need help man.  All you gotta do is ask.”  He patted Josh on the shoulder before going to talk to others.

"You're not going to feed me pickles are you?”  I asked, curious to know what Josh thought of the situation.  I didn’t want him to see my aversion to it.  I was trying to be casual about it but I know I couldn’t be more obvious.

"Kitten, that is one thing I can promise you. It will ever be boring.  I am sure we can come to an agreement on things like pickles. If you were truly mine I would probably give you one right now for all the sass you are giving me.” He told me candidly. 

"Oh really?" I challenged him, wondering what was hidden in that beautiful mind of his.

He got all puffed up, "You doubt my creativity? When we get closer to the wedding night we will go over the menu options. But Lance is right. I won't hesitate to throw in a few pickles if you disrespect me, defy me or do anything dangerous."  He warned with a shrug.

 I couldn’t  help but laugh as he mentioned the pickles again, but he was right. This is a warning to watch my behavior.  So far the basics of his rules seemed fair.  It would just be how he defined those terms and how strictly he made me follow his rules that would get me in trouble.

"Fine, I'll behave myself. But no more talk of pickles though, okay? That is one thing I could never agree to." I demanded in vain.

"You are not allergic are you?" He asked, concerned.

I shook my head.  "No, I am not allergic. I just really don't like them. They taste gross to me, and I hate that briney flavor that they have." I admitted conceding that the punishment Lance brought to Josh’s attention would indeed be a good one for minor misbehavior.

"Since they won't harm you. You might have to endure them if you break the rules." He warned.

I sighed in frustration at the thought. I definitely didn't like the idea of having to possibly eat pickles for breaking rules, but I had to admit that he had a point about them not being physically harmful to me.

I crossed my arms like a two year old.  "Fine, but do not try to give me a whole jar of them as a punishment or anything. There should only be small punishments for the rules I break, okay?" bargained with him.

"The amount of pickles you eat will fit the crime, kitten." He said arrogantly.

I sighed. I was beginning to realize that if I really wanted to be with this man, I would need to do my best to behave. As long as he kept things fair, that didn’t seem like too bad of a deal.

"Okay fine. I'll keep that in mind. If you try to give me too many pickles though, then we are going to have to have a discussion on what you think is fair." I gave him a small smirk and waited for his solution.

"If you have eaten too many pickles you will have a word that will get me to stop feeding them to you." He acquiesced.

I just shook my head slightly and sighed, "So I have to be responsible not only for behaving myself, but also for deciding how many pickles is too many. I feel like that's a lot to be responsible for."

"I will pay attention to make sure you won't have to say the word. I am always the one responsible, remember.” He told me as he rubbed my shoulders reassuringly

"How thoughtful of you to make sure I wouldn't get too many pickles!" But I knew that he's messing with me. "I appreciate that you're looking out for me though. Maybe you should make sure that there aren't too many for me to begin with though? That way you don't have to pay as much attention?"

"Trust me baby. I will be paying attention whether I give you strawberries or pickles." He sat back satisfied with himself.

I giggled and rolled my eyes at him. He was so cocky about this whole thing. "Well, I look forward to seeing how much attention you pay to this situation! It might be a bit much to handle if this is always how much attention you pay me."  I teased.

"I don't just pay attention while you are eating, baby. I pay attention to everything."  He declared just as confident as ever.

"You mean like all the time? Even when I'm just doing mundane things like cooking and reading?" I couldn’t believe that he would be that attentive.  I was generally a boring person.

"You have no idea how fascinating those things are."  He purred in my ear as he played with my hair.

I could imagine him just watching me as I read something on the couch in the living room or in bed, or as I cooked some meal in the kitchen. The thought felt oddly intimate to me.

"You're actually interested when I'm just reading some boring book though?" I asked confused with this new revelation.

"It won't be boring when you tell me about it." He stated plainly.

I looked at him and laughed before shaking my head slightly. "I can't imagine that my books would be that interesting to you." 

"Let me decide what I find interesting." He told me.

I shrugged, giving a small sigh."Okay, you're the one that will be listening after all. If you think I should keep you updated, I will. But only if you promise to not make fun of me for reading a romance novel."

"You are right the plot will probably be as boring as fuck, but I will be more interested in what you thought of the characters, how they reacted to their problems and one another. They could provide interesting conversations." He told her seriously.

I honestly hadn't even considered that he would care so much about a character's actions or motivations as much as I did.  That was the reason I read them anyway.  He was right that most plots were pretty repetitive.  It was your investment in the characters that made the difference.

"So you're telling me that if I talk about how the characters feel, what they do and how they interact with each other, you are actually going to pay attention to that stuff?"

He grinned, "Yeah, you can even tell me about what you thought about the ice cream they were eating."

I laughed, shaking my head slightly in disbelief. I thought what he was saying was slightly weird, but I also couldn't help but think that he was adorable for it. "I will keep that in my mind then. Whenever I start a new book I'll let you know, and I'll tell you all about the characters, the plot and what I think about it. And also what I think about any food they eat. Got it."

"I want to hear about the ice cream, and maybe if there are any pickles in the book too. There are many kinds of pickles you know. I like knowing about those too."  He said with a smirk on his face.

I laughed and gave him a small playful shove. "Okay, I'll make sure to update you on every little thing I can when I'm reading then. You'll get an update on all the ice cream they're eating, even if I think it is really boring, and if they mention any pickles, I will let you know about the various kinds they mention."

He grinned, "That's my good girl."

"I am not your good girl, stop calling me that!" It was fun to have this kind of playful banter. Even though deep down I worried just how dominant he really was planning on being, I was enjoying it for now.

“If you follow through with your promises, you very much are." He told her seriously.

"I didn't think you were quite so serious about this whole dominance thing." I said sobering up a bit.

"It is a very deep part of who I am, Amy." He said just as seriously.

I nodded in understanding. I had always understood that he was the dominant type of person, but I had somehow thought that he wasn't too serious about it. "And I have to make sure that I'm the good girl you want, right?"

"You won't even have to try, Amy." He told me.

"You have that much faith in me? That I will automatically be a good girl without trying?"  I asked in disbelief.

"It's the depth of who you are. You will only get in trouble when you fight the tow rope." He said, calling back our earlier experience on the lake.

I smirked at the analogy he used for my resistance to following his plans for my behavior. I would fight every step of the way if it meant that those damned pickles would never get near me. "So I guess there will be a lot of trouble happening then?" 

"Are you telling me there will be a lot of pickles in your future." He stated with almost sadistic glee

"You can’t wait to feed me pickles.  Maybe I will have to change your name to sadistic bastard.”  I protested even the thought of a pickle.

"I might have to study different things to pickle then, like okra or peppers." He said taking it in stride.

"Please do. I want you to find every form of pickle that you can find in order to use it as a punishment for me. That way, you can keep me as your good girl, but also so I will know just how terrible you can really get." I naively told him.

"You have no clue how bad it could get, kitten.  Pickled Ghost peppers and pickled ginger sound like an awesome combination." He challenged me further.

My eyes widen at this suggestion. "And you're saying that I would have to eat something that spicy if I get in too much trouble?"

"I know how to turn up the heat when I need to, kitten.  And thanks to Joey’s cooking, I know you can handle very little of it." He warned me.  If only I took that warning to heart.  I would have stopped years of pain.

"Is that so? I guess I'd better keep my defiant nature under control then. That is a lot of heat to handle, you know. You wouldn't be trying to hurt me, now would you?" I asked, teasing but a little scared about what he was proposing.

He shrugged, "Hurt maybe, harm never."

"I can handle the pain a little bit, but I wouldn't want you to go too far of course. I guess we will see just how far you will go when I get in too much trouble though."  I tried to negotiate.

"You always have your word." He reminded me. "And I am not opposed to giving you pickles over several days if that is what is needed."

"You are a sadistic one for sure. You would make me eat several pickles over a span of multiple days just to prove a point? That would definitely be the longest, most painful torment you could give me." I tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the conversation.

"There would be times of no pickles to let you rest. However you would have to really earn a strawberry during those times."  He said, trying to ease my mind.

I shrugged and gave  him a small smirk. "I guess I would just have to take those times when I would get some rest to relax and let my stomach recover." She teases him.

"Sometimes I will make you earn strawberries just for the fun of it." It told me to assure me that he wasn’t completely evil.

"I'm going to live in a constant state of stress when I am with you, huh?"  I asked seriously not knowing if this was really a path I wanted to go down.

"Only if you fight the tow rope." He warned.

"You know that I am going to fight that rope though, right? That is just how I am. I need a firm hand holding the rope to keep me in line. Are you going to be that firm hand?" I asked firmly challenging him.

"I'll be with you every step of the way Amy." He reassured me.

"I guess you can lead the way then. Just expect me to fight every bit of the way. Because I will fight every step of the way." I warned him.

"You are making too much of the mountains, kitten. You will find most of our time together will be smooth sailing."  He said cockily as he kissed the top of my head again.

"I'm sure I'll be mostly in line and behaving myself, but I can't say that I'll be the same all the time. I can't promise to be so docile all the time."  I told him, unsure of my ability to be completely submissive to him.

"I'm ready for the challenge." He told me without flinching.

"I hope you can be. If that firm hand ever falters, I'll be sure to take advantage of it." It teased him a bit more proving my brattiness, however for tonight at least he was willing to play with me.

"I think you are a secret pickle lover." He accused me.

I laughed at this accusation and shook her head. "I don't know how you came to that conclusion, but I can assure you that I am not a secret pickle lover. You'll see that if I ever have to eat those disgusting, briney things."

He just laughed at me, pulling my hair ever so slightly.

My face turned red with a bit of frustration as I realized I was never going to be able to win this little pickle argument. "I guess I will just eat and accept my disgusting punishment once it comes. You definitely won this argument."

He kissed the top of her head. "That's my good girl."

My face went bright red at this kiss.  I couldn't fight against feeling good when he was calling me  his "good girl" and giving me kisses on the head. This was only just the beginning though. It would just keep getting harder to fight the more he did it.

 While we were wrapping up our little debate over pickles, the fireworks had ended besides a few night time revelers across the lake lighting a few now and then. Brian and Shannon had collected the little kids and the guy's parents had long retired. I noticed that I was around the fire with just the guys.

My curiosity peaked at this sight. I had not expected my and the guys to be left around the fire alone. "Where are the kids?" I asked.

"It's late. Past their bedtime." Josh responded.

I nodded. "That makes sense. Just the adults around the fire to drink or relax now, I take it?" I said basically to hear myself talk and to hopefully prolong the evening.  I didn’t want anyone to think it was my bedtime too.

"Yeah." He stared off into the gleaming fire until Justin handed him his guitar.  He looked over at Justin and immediately started playing.  I loved it when he spontaneously sang.  I was privileged to have a private concert.  The strumming went from something incoherent but beautiful to Pure Prairie League’s “Amy whatcha going to do.”  

I wanted to hide in the woods, I was so embarrassed.  He knew it made me uncomfortable, and he was loving it.  I could see the sadistic gleam in his eyes as he stared at me.

"Oh god, this song?" I laughed quietly.

He sang it as earnestly and unironically as possible. I think that just made it worse.  I couldn’t believe he would do this with other people around.  The boys harmonized and I was a corpse of embarrassment. It wasn't as if I hated the song. It just made me feel vulnerable in front of the other guys, who likely were just having a bit of a giggle at this whole situation.

Josh ended the song without a flourish and without saying anything more he began singing “Behind Blue Eyes.”  I sat there enthralled with the beauty of his voice, my ears barely registering the lyrics.  I felt self conscious as the other guys were noticing our interactions.  Luckily though they made no comment.

Justin chimed in on his guitar singing "Let's Give them something to talk about."

I blushed because I knew Justin was commenting on my relationship with Josh.  He was our biggest cheerleader.  I think he was done with all the will they or won’t they stuff.  He just wanted me and Josh together whatever the consequences of that might be.

Cutting Justin off, Chris grabbed the guitar and banged out Papa don’t Preach by Madonna. It was a pointed warning to me.  He still wanted me to guard my heart and my body.  Instead of giving me another pointless lecture he chose to preach to me through this song.  Once his monologue was through Joey broke the tension that was created by singing a medley of Margaritaville and Sweet Caroline.  The guys were hilarious as they were touching one another as they drained the last of the beer that remained from the evening.  Lance ended the sing along by singing friends in low places.  Although generally I don’t care for country, I would get used to it if it was his voice crooning a country tune.  As a natural bass, he definitely hit all the low notes.  

The guys hung out a little while longer, shit talking and roasting the last of the marshmallows.  Occasionally they broke out in drunken harmonies.  I sat there absorbing it all.  One by one they all left us.  JC and I were the last two sitting around the fire.

"It is so late now. Who would have thought we'd be the last two left here?" I commented staring into the fire.

"You could have decided to go to bed anytime, yet you are still here." He said, reminding me of my choice to be here.  He was right.  I could have gone to bed at any time, and yet I stayed.  Maybe I was waiting for this time of the night.  Maybe I was waiting for him to make a move.  I didn’t know what he was going to do next, nor did I know what I wanted to happen.  There was a bit of excitement with no watching eyes on us.

"Alright, that is a fair point,” I conceded.” Yet I guess you could have also decided to go to bed by now too, but you’re still here with me. What does that say about you?" I asked, testing him.

"It says I know how to work the loopholes." He said all proud of himself.  “Justin is my boy.  He was to stay to make sure we didn’t do anything bad.  Why Chris thinks Justin makes a good chaperone is mystifying.  He wasn’t going to stick around if there was a chance of us sucking face.  Man’s too jealous because he’s in between girlfriends right now.

"So you aren’t tired at all? You’re just staying up to spend more time with me?" I asked in disbelief.

He shrugged, "I will sleep on the bus."

"That's true, I guess you could just sleep on the bus in the morning. But why aren't you tired yet? It really is late after all." I kept pushing, wanting to know what was in his head.

"You give me energy Amy." He told me honestly.  In the future I would find out exactly how much, but that story is too spicy for today.  

"You have to stop being so smooth, you know that right? That was a bit of a cheesy line, but I cannot help but feel all giddy after hearing it."  I chuckled, teasing him.

He nudged me, "You love that I can be a cheese ball."

"I'll admit that I really do like it a bit. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy every time. It makes it feel like we're on a romantic date, even if we're just sitting next to a campfire at midnight." I admitted making light of our true situation.

"I am trying not to think of all the possibilities." He sighed.

"Possibilities?" I whispered, feeling my cheeks getting flushed.  My mind raced with all the possibilities that he could be meaning.

Seeing me thinking too hard, he kissed the top of my head. "One's that we can't explore right now. They are on the menu for later."

I shivered a bit at this reply, feeling a bit of excitement at his words. I liked that the possibility was now on the table, as his words had me interested in exploring that possibility further.

"So that is on the menu for later?" I said coyly, only succeeding in making him think about it more as well.

Josh allowed a little space between us before firmly stating. "Not until there is my ring on your finger.”

"So, I need to let you pop the question before we get this possibility then?" I pouted, knowing he was in as much pain of unmet desire as I was.

“Yeah, I am sorry we are both burning, kitten." He apologized, playing with my hair, making my need grow worse again.

"That's okay.”  I looked away from him disappointed that nothing more would happen.

He let more distance come between us.  Suddenly, the atmosphere cooled,  “You don't want to get caught up in the flame, kitten.”  He warned.

"Yes... You're right, I don’t want to be burned" I said a bit too bitterly.

He yawned, "Which is why we should probably go to bed." Josh said as we watched the glowing embers begin to die.

I sighed,  feeling a little disappointed at his words. "Yeah... You're right. It really has gotten very late." I still felt the rush of blood to my nether regions but knew he was doing the responsible thing.  I would have to follow his lead.  I felt a bit reluctant to leave his presence right now.

He got up and stretched. I stood up as well. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings as my focus was on Josh’s hand.  Not seeing the branch, by the fire I tripped over it.  I had placed my hands out in front of me to brace my fall. Unfortunately my hands didn’t  land on the dirty ground or the dewy grass but they landed hard on the smoldering coals of the fire.