Chad was thinking all night after the baseball game well into Saturday morning. He still hadn't been able to kiss Kelsi the night before (as his mother seemed to monopolize the young girls time after the game was over). Besides, he had the distinct feeling that she didn't feel very sexy covered in beer. He sure didn't.

So after he dropped her off at her dormitory (okay, so he and his parents dropped her off – thus the no kissing) he started planning. Plotting might be a better word for it but that was neither here nor there. He would get his kiss before Saturday was over – or at least before the sun came up on Sunday morning.

He didn't know if he was picking the right show or not, but he raced to the ticket office for Guys & Dolls as soon as he knew it was open and purchased two orchestra seats as close as he could (fifth row, slightly to the right). He sighed in acceptance when he realized his dream of a new car was quickly lessening. But it would totally be worth it if he could kiss Kelsi tonight.

He was pretty sure she'd said she wanted to see the revival of Guys & Dolls. Or was it South Pacific? Shit!

Well, he would go with it and if it cost him his kiss he always had next Friday night before he left Saturday morning. And that was another thing he wasn't looking forward to – leaving. As goofy and cheesy as it sounded – even to himself – he'd really miss being with her all the time. It seemed to him as if he'd just found her and was losing her already.

Then he inwardly cursed Troy for making him girly and in touch with his feminine side.

He figured 9:30 was an okay time to call Kelsi and was relieved to hear a chipper voice when she picked up her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kels. It's Chad. Danforth."

He heard her chuckle. "Because I know so many other Chads. What's up?"

"Busy tonight?"

"Uhm, no. Not really. Was just going to work on some of my music. Why?"

"Because I think it's about time I took you on a proper date. I'll pick you up for dinner at six. Dress nicely. Bye!" He hung up the phone before she could question him about what they were doing. He knew he wanted it to be a surprise and it wouldn't be if she asked him. He was no good at keeping secrets when directly confronted with questions.

--

The day passed both too quickly and too slowly for Chad. At five thirty Chad went to his parents' room.

"Wow. You're looking awfully nice, Chad," his mother commented. "Are you going out with Kelsi tonight?"

"First date," the young Danforth male answered. "First official date, I guess. Though, according to Taylor, all dates are official whether I think so or not. But this is the first one I've planned out to perfection. It's going to be great. It has to be."

"Where're you taking her?" his father asked.

"Well, since the show is in Times Square, I figured we would grab a bite to eat at Red Lobster or Bubba Gump's … Kelsi loves seafood … and then walk to the theater."

"Theater?" Mrs. Danforth replied. "You're taking her to a play?"

"Musical," Chad corrected proudly. "I'm taking her to see Guys & Dolls. I'm pretty sure that was the one she said she wanted to see."

"Those tickets are pretty pricey, son. Your mother and I were thinking of going to see it …"

"Yeah," the younger man acknowledged. "Looks like I'll be limited to campus and delivery food next semester again. But it's worth it. I know Kelsi'll love it." He checked his watch. "Gotta go. Don't wait up," he added as he pecked his mother on the cheek and ran out the door.

The taxi ride to Kelsi's dormitory felt like it took forever when, in fact, he was still a little early. He made his way into the building and smiled at Caroline. "Hey. Is she up there?"

"She sure is. Where are you taking her tonight? She's been freaking out about her outfit all day," the redhead answered with a grin.

Chad smirked and opened his blazer before pulling two tickets out of the inner pocket and handing them to Caroline.

"Oh my God. Kelsi is going to flip! And these seats are amazing. Dude, you're so getting laid tonight …"

Chad tried to stammer out a reply ("I didn't do it just so she'd sleep with me!") but couldn't come up with anything more than a weak squeak and a firm shake of his head.

"Don't worry, Casanova. She knows you're not in it for sex. But, between you and me, she's thinking about it more than she should."

Chad gulped and suddenly began mentally going through his wallet praying that the condom was there. Just in case Kelsi was as grateful as Caroline thought she would be.

He gave Caroline one more smile and a nod and then headed up to find Kelsi's room for the umpteenth time that week. He was really glad she wouldn't be able to see the butterflies in his stomach. He sincerely hoped he didn't wretch on her during or after dinner, as his nerves were fighting to get the better of him.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door as soon as he reached it. He was only about five minutes early after his talk with Caroline so he assumed Kelsi would be ready.

"Coming!" she called. A second later the door opened to reveal her in a tasteful-yet-quasi-revealing black dress. Her hair was down in long curls and there was no hat atop her head. "Wow."

"You stole my word," he whispered as his eyes widened and he took the sight of her in. He briefly wondered if he was underdressed.

He had an outfit on similar to the one he wore the night of the talent show two years ago at Lava Springs. This time, the suit was a light gray color and he'd not put on a vest.

Kelsi thought she'd never seen anyone look so good. Her breathing intensified as she slowly licked her suddenly dry lips.

Chad, clueing in on what was happening, took a deep breath before wrapping one arm around her waist and diving the opposite hand into her hair and pulling her flush against his body. "Nothing's going to stop me from kissing you right now," he whispered before - finally! – lowering his lips to hers.

As soon as their flesh connected it seemed as if something broke in the two teenagers. Kelsi's fingers shot straight into Chad's hair, holding his head to hers so she could get closer. She started backing into the room, still wrapped around the darker boy, and barely noticed when he kicked the door shut –with a resounding thud – behind him.

"God, Kelsi," Chad whispered as they broke for air. "I've been dying to do this all week."

"Me too," she agreed as she fell back onto the bed and allowed him to fall on top of her. "It's been almost painful."

"Why didn't we do this before?" he asked as he attached his lips to her neck, quite happily intent on marking her before they left.

"Before now or before this week?" she moaned as she arched her back. She moaned again as she felt his hand come in contact with her breast again.

"Either," he said as he nipped at her pulse point. "Both."

"God, you're good at that," she said breathlessly. "Before now – we kept getting interrupted. Before this week? Well, you were with Taylor until graduation. And I was with Ryan."

"Silly us," he said as he moved the thin strap of her dress down her arm so he could place kisses all over her collarbone.

"I agree," she told him before directing his mouth back up to meet hers.

In synch, they both opened their mouth and touched tongues. Chad then decided to allow his competitive and playful nature come out and began playing with hers.

She moaned really loud then.

Her hands fisted his hair as she tried to get closer. She needed to feel him. She quickly removed her hands from his hair, pushing them under his blazer and sliding it off of his shoulders.

He broke the kiss, breathing hard, and looked down at her, his hair fluffed out around his head wildly. "What …?"

"Don't talk. Just kiss me. For now, just kiss me," she told him before surprising them both with her strength and flipping them over so she now straddled his waist. "God, this is amazing," she said before diving back down to press her lips to his once more, her tongue entering his mouth with no hesitation.

Chad knew he was close to forgetting the whole date and just staying in here to do unmentionable things to Kels- like he wanted to. But he'd planned this. He wanted the night to go perfectly and blowing off the date would not be the way to do that.

He flipped them back over (trying not to notice the fact that he was now cradled between her thighs) and started to slow their fervent kisses. After several minutes of slow kisses and soft peck, he took a deep breath and rolled off of her. "Wow, Kelsi. You're really good at that."

She laughed lowly before sitting up and adjusting her dress. "Thanks. You're not half bad either," she said with a smile and then ran her fingers through her thoroughly-mussed hair. "So, I assume you made plans for tonight?"

He laughed then as well and put his suit to rights before extending his hand to her. "This evening is all about you, Miss Nielsen. First, dinner in Times Square at a seafood place – Red Lobster or Bubba Gumps – and then a surprise."

"Well, lead on, Mr. Danforth. I am at your disposal for the evening."

--

Dinner went well – Red Lobster was always a treat – and then came the time for the rest of the date. He settled the bill before leading his date out into the bustling crowd of Times Square. It was warm – not overly so – but he still wished he'd left the jacket back at her place. Because he was fairly certain he would be returning there that night. Perhaps to stay.

"So, where to now?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said with a smile as he took her hand. "It's a special gift from me to you."

"Chad …"

"Nope. No kind of arguing. We're going and you're going to enjoy yourself."

"Fine," she playfully huffed. "But we're heading towards Broadway."

"Good thing I have these then," he said as they turned the corner to the road that Guys & Dolls was playing on and he handed her the tickets.

"Oh my God! Chad!" she cried gleefully before launching herself into his arms and kissing him nearly as passionately as she had back in her dorm room.

"So, I guess I picked the right one," he murmured with a smile before kissing her back.

The show was good – really good – and he was glad he'd taken her to see it. They slowly wandered down the road before deciding to hail a cab, as Kelsi's shoes were starting to hurt her feet.

The cuddled in the back of the cab, stealing quick kisses and talking quietly, and Chad paid the driver when they got back to Juilliard and the cabbie asked Chad if he wanted him to wait.

The darker teen turned to his date evening and arched a brow in her direction, essentially saying it was entirely up to her.

Kelsi smiled gently and slowly shook her head in the negative. Chad's grin widened as he thanked the man for his help and then followed Kelsi into the building.

Neither said a word to Caroline as they walked in, hand in hand, but their wide smiles told the older redhead all she needed to know.

Caroline smiled the next morning when she knocked on Kelsi's door and Chad answered with only a blanket wrapped around his lower half.

--

A week later Chad was (unwillingly) home in Albuquerque. His parents had never seen a grown man pout so much.

When they arrived back at their house, Charlie Danforth took something out of his bag and handed it to his son before taking his wife's elbow and guiding her out of the room so that Chad could be alone for a moment.

Chad stared at what his father had handed him. Application for Admission as a Transfer Student to Hofstra University.

"Dad?" he called.

"I hear they really play," was the only response Chad got from the older man.

Chewing on his lip, Chad decided the worst that could happen would be that they'd say no. He quickly grabbed a pen and proceeded to fill the application out. And then he took the one he'd covertly picked up from City University New York out of his own bag and completed it.

When he was done, he pulled out his cell phone and shot Troy a text telling him to come over immediately. Then he dialed a familiar number and smiled when a voice picked up on the other line.

"So," he said with a wide smile, "how far away from Juilliard are CUNY and Hofstra?"

"Why?" she asked and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Well, just in case one of them actually accepts me …"

"Chad!" she happily screeched and he smiled even wider.

___________________

A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me on this one. Chad and Kelsi sort of had minds of their own. It's over now, though. Hope you enjoyed it!