Mike Nesmith sat on the beach behind the big rock with his guitar putting the finishing touches on the song he had just written. As he watched the sun set in that perfect way that only happens once in a very great while, he reflected on the happenings of the last month. Things had started out normal enough. He remembered every last detail of the first day of his most recent adventure so clearly that it almost scared him. It all began on the first Thursday in July at precisely 9:52 AM.

The guys had just finished Peter's breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and those yummy little sausage links. Mike had remembered thinking how much he missed having grits for breakfast when he lived back home in Texas. Grits, however, were few and far between here in California and some things were probably better left back home anyway.

As they cleared off the table, the guys were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would end up with dish duty. Peter was already off the hook as he had been the chef that morning. After several rounds of the game, a small debate occurred about what beat what and this prompted Peter to suggest, "I don't think you guys are getting anywhere with this. How about if I pick a number between 1 and 10. Who ever gets closest to the number I picked doesn't have to wash or dry. Mike, you're tallest so you go first. Davy, your shortest so you go next. Micky, you go last." Nobody bothered trying interpret Peter's logic, they just got down to picking the numbers.

Mike said, "I pick 9."

Davy said, "I want number 1".

Micky protested, "Davy, you can't have number 1. The number is BETWEEN 1 and 10. That means 1 is out. By the way, I take number 5."

Davy gave Peter a look that begged for a decision from the moderator and said, "Come on, I want to be #1. Can I use it or not?"

Peter agreed that 1 would be allowed.

Now that the numbers were chosen, all eyes were on Peter to see which of them was lucky enough to escape the dreaded dish duty. When he did not make an announcement, the other guys chimed in, "Well, who's the winner?"

Peter said, "Mike won."

Out of pure curiosity, Micky asked, "Um hey, Pete, what number were you thinking of?"

Peter replied, "The grooviest number I could think of between 1 and 10. It was 15." He then gave one of his sweetest smiles and went to get his surf board. The other guys just looked at each other and groaned.

Micky then asked Davy if he wanted to flip a quarter to decide who would be stuck washing versus who would dry. Davy responded that he had enough games of chance for one morning and just wanted to get on with it so he could enjoy some of his day. He also stated that with their luck, they would probably lose the quarter under the oven and would never know the outcome of the toss. In the interest of getting on with it, he said that he would wash.

Mike then left the kitchen to find his new book. He had recently been on a British history kick and was now reading about Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn was in big trouble when he had last left off. That's when the phone rang. It was 9:52 AM. Mike reached over to answer it.

"Hello? Yes, this is the Monkees. Well actually, this is one of them. I'm Mike Nesmith. Can I help you?"

The gentleman on the other end of the phone had said that his name was Sam Starkey. He told Mike that his daughter, Selina was turning 16 next week and was a big fan of the group from seeing them play at the Vincent. It would mean the world to her if he could get the Monkees to play at her party and he was willing to pay a great deal of money for them to cancel whatever other plans they had for next Friday at 6:00 PM. Mike did not bother to tell Mr. Starkey that they had no other plans for next Friday at 6:00 PM, but agreed to do the gig and to accept the money which would pay their rent for the next two months. Mr. Starkey was obviously rich and a little eccentric, but Mike would not hold that against him.

He rushed into the kitchen to tell Davy and Micky the news. The boys jumped up and down for joy. Micky was so happy, he ran and jumped all the way to the beach to try to locate and tell Peter the good news.

"You must be joking. Are you sure this is for real?" Davy asked Mike.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I got his address and everything, so if you think it's a joke, why don't we go check the house out and tell the guy we wanted to see where we will be setting up for equipment purposes?"

"Sounds good." agreed Davy.

Peter came in with Micky and Mike and Davy told them abut their plan to scope out the Starkey house. They loaded up in the Monkeemobile and headed for the affluent section of town. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. They had put the convertible top down and Mike wore his green wool hat to keep his hair from blowing in the wind.

They pulled up the long driveway, got out and approached the house. It could be called a house, they guessed. No, it was definitely a mansion complete with servant's quarters. A middle aged woman in a maid's uniform opened the door and looked down her hawk-like nose. "We have all the vacuum cleaners we need, thank you." she said and began to close the door.

Mike put his arm in the way and said, "Hi, ma'am. We're the Monkees. Mr. Starkey hired us to play at Selina's birthday party next week. We wanted to see where we will be playing and check on what size the set-up area will be." A look of acknowledgment and semi-loathing crossed her face, but she let the guys come in.

She led them to a huge ballroom on the ground floor off to the left. There was a large area in the front of the room where it was evident that they would be playing from. They looked around and realized that any equipment they would bring would have no trouble fitting in this room. Micky thanked the house keeper for the help and she showed them to the door.

When they got to the car, Mike said, "Man, that was tough. I'm really struggling with this."

Davy said, "What do you mean? This is going to be great. I can't wait to rake in all that money."

"Look, babe. I just don't do well with rich people. It really bugs me the way they look down at everyone else. I mean, I was taller by a long shot than that woman, but she still managed to look down at me. That Mr. Starkey seemed OK on the phone, but if his housekeeper is anything like everybody else living there, we're in for a bumpy ride next Friday."

Peter wanted to comfort his friend and said, "Hey Mike. It's OK. Just ignore them. We can win them over anyway. All it takes is a little love."

Mike mumbled his thanks while he thought that the love thing was definitely Peter's area and not his.

The next week passed in the usual way except for the excitement and tension building as the big gig approached. The boys had discussed wearing suits to better fit in but then realized that they should just go for the regular gray pants and red matching shirts. They did not want to be so uncomfortable in the suits that their playing would suffer. Shortly after 5:00, all the gear was loaded up and they were ready to go.

When they got to the Starkey mansion, the parking valet asked them to pull the Monkeemobile around back and unload their gear at the service entrance into the ballroom. Set-up went well, and shortly after 6:00, the room started to fill up. Mr. Starkey approached and instructed them to start their set after the cake was brought in and everybody sang Happy Birthday. His daughter, Selina came with him and was unable to speak for staring at Peter. They guys gave her their birthday wishes and Mr. Starkey led her away, bug-eyed and slack-jawed.

They started the set with a cover of the Beatles' "Birthday" which went over very well with Selina since Peter did the lead vocals on that one. Next, they moved on to "I'm A Believer" and that's when he saw her. Mike had never seen such a unique young lady in all his 21 years of living. She was of medium height and build, but there was just something about her. She had long, reddish-black hair and her eyes were nothing less than cat-like. He got so wrapped up in wishing he could catch her eye, he forgot to keep playing his guitar and missed a few notes. He had never cared for that song very much, but now it meant something to him. A few more songs went by and he put himself on auto pilot and then Davy poked him in the ribs telling him to move to the center so he could sing "Don't Call On Me." Well, that was the last message he wanted to send to the young lady, but his mind was too cluttered to change the order of the songs now. He tried not to look at her as he sang the first few lines of the song.

Shortly after that, the first set was over. Mike made very sure he never lost track of the unrivaled beauty in the Audrey Hepburn type black dress. He put his guitar down and she started coming closer to him. "I'm Shelly", she said as she reached the front of the room. She spoke with that almost British accent that wealthy people often get "Selina is my younger sister. I didn't really want to be here tonight, but I'm glad I came. You guys are really good."

Mike took a deep breath and said, "Wow, that's a relief."

Shelly said, "What? That you guys are good?"

"Well, that and the fact that you don't seem as snooty as your housekeeper." Mike had always had a problem keeping his directness to a minimum and he felt almost sorry the statement came out of his mouth. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. There was just something about her that made him feel comfortable and as quickly as the feeling of semi-embarrassment came, it also went.

Shelly laughed and told him that nobody in the world was as snooty as their housekeeper then added, "Don't mind Zelda, she's just been acting like that for so long, she doesn't know how act any other way. I hope you will hang around for a little while after you're done playing. I like your style. Besides, that accent's a gas!"

He thought he should take that as a compliment and confirmed that they would be staying for a time after the second set was completed.

Mike was feeling encouraged by this encounter so by the time the second set was ready to start, he told the other guys he wanted to begin with "The Kind Of Girl I Could Love." He looked Shelly directly in the eyes through the entire song and was convinced that he got his point across.

Davy motioned him to bend down and whispered in his ear, "What's going on? I've never seen you act like this before. This is that other bird's party, and we're supposed to be catering to her." Mike reminded Davy that it was his last lead vocal song anyway and she had obviously chosen Peter to stare at so not to worry. If Davy wanted to cater to Selina, that was his business. He had already made his choice. The set seemed to drag on forever as Mike just wanted be done with it so he could talk to Shelly. He would gladly have let anyone there take over for him.

When it finally ended, Mr. Starkey, Selina and Shelly approached the front of the room. Mr. Starkey thanked the group profusely for a job well done and paid the promised amount. Mike usually took the money, but since he did not seem too very interested in it, Micky took it and thanked Mr. Starkey with one of his brightest smiles. He did not think he had ever seen that much money in one place before. He had a mental image of himself standing in a white lab coat, with his fuzzy hair standing on end holding the money up saying, "It's mine. All mine." His little daydream ended when Davy elbowed him and said, "Look at Mike, would ya? He's actually talking to that girl."

Mike just couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to her. He had put all of his adult life up to this point into the making of the band and had neither the time or the desire to flirt with girls. In fact, this didn't even really feel like flirting, it felt more like a favourite, well worn pair of slippers. She made him feel so comfortable, as silly as it seemed to himself, he knew she was the one. All those days of teasing Davy about falling in love at first sight were about to come back to haunt him. The difference here would be that he wouldn't be falling in love with anyone else tomorrow or next week like his friend. As they talked, he had to keep reminding himself that it was real and not some strange dream or alternate dimension. It turned out that she was interested in the same type of music he was, she had tried grits once on a trip down south and liked them a lot, she liked to play volleyball on the beach, and also read just about anything she could get her hands on. Definitely a woman after his own heart. He did not even know how long they had been holding their conversation until Peter came up with Selina on his arm and said, "Hey, Mike. The party's just about over and everybody's leaving. I guess Davy and Micky picked up all the gear up and we're packed and ready to go."

Mike said, "Thanks buddy. I just need a few more minutes here, then I'll be right out."

Shelly declared, "Well, this night sure has turned out well and I didn't even want to come to this party. I hope to see more of you in the very near future, Mr. Nesmith."

"I'd also like that but, I don't think we run in exactly the same social circles."

"You never know. I bet we know a lot of the same people," Shelly laughed. "Actually, what I was doing was making a thinly veiled attempt at telling you to ask me out."

Mike's eyes opened wide as he said, "Oh, that I can handle. How about Sunday? I mean if that's too soon, just say so but I have already gotten used to having you around. Is there any place in particular you would like to go?"

Shelly replied, "I'd love to go out on Sunday, and no I don't care where we go. If I'm with you, I don't think my surroundings will mater too much."

Mike could feel himself turning a bright colour of red and replied, "Well then, I guess I'll call you Sunday morning and we can work out what time you want me to pick you up and we'll just see where the day takes us."

Shelly liked the sound of that and told him so. She continued with, "I can see that your friends are ready to go. I guess it's time to say our goodbyes."

Mike then told her he was glad to have met her and followed with a pleasant, "Good night." then kissed her hand.

As Shelly watched him go, she couldn't control the smile of satisfaction that appeared on her face. She did not have much to smile about lately. Her heart had been broken in the past making her want to stay as far away from men as possible, and she had done pretty well until tonight. She wouldn't let the doubts that crept into her head ruin her happy feeling this evening.

Mike could hardly keep himself from running to the car with all the excitement building up inside him. Pinching himself to make sure he was awake seemed like a good idea. "Well, it's about time, Romeo." Micky shouted with a grin.

"Our little boy is growing up." said Davy.

"Please son, don't talk to strangers after midnight." Peter chimed in. Mike knew he had been asking for it and didn't have a leg to stand on, so he just said, "Hey guys, did you think I was never going to fall in love or something? I mean, y'all have girlfriends around all the time. What makes you think I can't do it?"

"Take it easy, Mike." said Micky, we just couldn't help it. We never thought you would have time for anything but the band. We're happy for you. Say, did I hear the word love?"

"Maybe." Mike replied as he got into the driver's seat. For the rest of the trip back to the pad, Davy and Micky were ribbing Peter about Selina's attentions, because he was apparently more fun to tease. He kept responding with his patented sweet smiles and giggles.

When Mike woke up the next morning with the sun shining on his face, she was the first thing he thought of. He had even dreamed about her last night. So, this is what it was like to have your thoughts consumed by someone other than yourself. He liked the way he felt, but could tell that the day would be long as he was anxiously awaiting Sunday. He decided to go put some creative energy into a song to make the time go faster. He headed down to the living room to pick up his guitar. The words started coming right away:

And it's love you bring,
With dreams of bluer skies.
All these things when I see them in your eyes,
Sweet young thing.

This had to have been the best song he had written to date. As he worked on the song, the other guys woke up, came into the room observed him. When he was done, he received a standing ovation from his friends.

Peter then announced that it was time for breakfast making Mike notice that he had been pretty hungry. When he asked what they were having and Peter replied, "Cream of Rootbeer", Mike then lost the appetite he had. He politely passed as did Davy, but Micky would eat anything that didn't eat him first and rushed off with Peter into the kitchen, smiling and patting his tummy the whole way.

"Mike", Davy said, "I hope you didn't take that teasing too seriously last night. I just thought it was so funny that it finally happened to you, and I've been on the end of all the teasing regarding matters of the heart for so long, the temptation to get you back was just too much."

"I know, Davy. I knew I deserved it. Can we call a truce now?"

"Sure, that would be great." Davy said with a pat on Mike's back then left to go check out the babe situation on the beach.

When Mike got up to put his guitar down, he passed the phone. It seemed to be begging him to pick it up and call Shelly. This was so freaky! His life had been just fine before yesterday and now all of a sudden, he had a constant tugging at his heart. Love was definitely strange. He decided that he would call her just to see how she was doing. Zelda the wicked housekeeper answered the phone and reluctantly called Shelly to take her call when she found out who was on the other end.

"Well hello, Mr. Nesmith. How are you this morning?" Shelly asked with a giggle.

"I'm just fine. I was fixin' to go get dressed and I thought of you."

"Ummmm," she said, "Getting dressed reminds you of me?" She was giggling again.

"No. That's not what I meant, I mean that came out wrong. I mean I've been thinking about you ever since I woke up." Mike managed to say.

"Ohhh, That's even better."

Oh boy, he thought. I better think before I speak next time. She's having a lot of fun with me here.

Shelly continued, "I'm sorry. I just love to tease. That's my defense mechanism."

"Oh, am I making you defensive? I hope not." Mike said.

"No, certainly not, it's that I just can't turn it off, you know?"

"Yeah," Mike went on, "I have one I can't turn off, too. It's called brutal honesty."

Shelly laughed at that and so did Mike at the sound of her laughter. This girl was perfect in every way.

"Well Shelly, I hope you have a good day and I am really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I'll call you then."

"Thank you for calling today. That was sweet", she said. They said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Mike thought again that this would definitely be a long, lonely day. Maybe he should see if the guys were up for a beach volleyball game or something like that. He could probably sit and write songs all morning, but he knew that they all be love songs and that might open him up for more teasing. He rounded up Micky and Peter and headed for the beach to find Davy.

The day did drag by, but he managed to get through it. Finally, at 11:00, he made his first attempt to get some sleep. He just couldn't seem to fall into dream land. He knew that he would probably be a wreck tomorrow if he couldn't get some rest, but he was just excited about his upcoming date with Shelly. He turned the bedside lamp on and read some more of his new book.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he knew, the sun was shining through his eyelids. He opened his eyes and found the now not so new book under his face. Well, it made a good pillow anyway. He looked around and saw the clock. He couldn't believe it was almost 11:30! He got up, ran down the stairs and found the other guys discussing what to eat for lunch.

"Well, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty." said Micky as he made a sleepy expression and put his hands together on one side of his face.

Peter looked at Mike with one of his most endearing concerned expressions. "Mike, I hope you don't mind, but you looked so peaceful and I knew you didn't get to sleep until it was pretty late, so I just let you be. I was going to take the book out from under you, but I didn't want to disturb your rest."

"That's OK, Pete. Thanks. Listen, I hope none of you had plans for the car today, because I'm going to take it to pick Shelly up." It was his car, but since it was the only one they could afford, he tried to be considerate about sharing it.

"Nope, "said Davy in a joking tone, "We figured we would all be walking everywhere today, so don't worry about it."

"Ha. Ha. Good one, David. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to call Shelly." Mike left the room before he could hear anymore of the gentle teasing thrown in his direction.

Of course that Zelda answered the phone at the Starkey home, but Mike tried not to let it get to him. It was a while before Shelly came to the phone, and Mike wondered if she was ever coming at all. It would be just like Zelda the evil being not to tell Shelly that he was calling. When she did get there, the first thing she said was, "Hi Mike! I'm sorry I was a while getting to the phone, we were playing croquet and it takes a while to get up to the house."

Mike had almost forgotten how well off she was and had a fleeting thought that their social backgrounds just might stand in their way. He tossed the thought aside and asked, "When do you think you would like to go out today?"

She replied, "The sooner the better. I can't wait. I'm so bored, I could scream."

"Great!" He did not want to tell her that he wasn't even dressed yet, so he just told her that he would be there in about half an hour and ended the conversation.

Now, what to wear, he thought to himself. In Texas, jeans were always accepted. That wasn't always the case here, but then again, he wanted to be comfortable. He decided to go on the conservative side and put on his newest, pressed jeans and a button down long sleeved chambray shirt. He didn't think the long sleeved shirt would be a problem as it was made of pretty thin material and did not seem to get hot as easily as everyone around him. Just the same, he would take a t-shirt along to change in to if necessary.

He was relieved when he came to the door of the Starkey house and Shelly answered it. She had been waiting for him. Even more than the relief he felt at the fact that she came to the door instead of the housekeeper, he was relieved to see what she was wearing. Her hair was up in a ponytail tied with a pink ribbon. She was wearing cut off shorts, a pink baby tee and keds! She looked at him and said, "Wow. You look so nice. Maybe I should go back and change."

"No," He said. "I was afraid I didn't look good enough. You look great. Anyway, I brought a t-shirt to change in to and I think I might do that."

"Cool." She said as she closed the door behind her. "So what's up?" He led her to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her to get in. When she was safely in the car, he closed the door and went around to his side. "Well, this may seem crazy, but I've never been to Disney Land and was wondering if you were up for it."

She let out the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard and said, "Know what? I've never been there either, and I never wanted to go, until today. I would love to go there with you."

They rode to their destination in silence, both smiling from ear to ear. Mike would catch a glance at her as often as he could without causing a wreck. She sat sideways in her seat, looking directly at him the entire time. When they got in the parking lot, he went around and opened the door to let her out of the car. She thanked him and they approached the entrance. On the way to the gate, they saw several young men being turned away. Mike had heard that men with long hair would not be let in, but he just thought it was some kind of urban legend. Either way, he was glad he had opted for that haircut last week. Being sent away from Disneyland, especially in front of Shelly, would prove to be very embarrassing.

They went inside and Shelly grabbed his hand and begin running. Mike wondered where they were going, but just held his hat to his head as he laughed and went along for the ride. Shelly managed to find a map of the park which was posted for viewing and poked a point on it that he could not see. She immediately began running again and they finally arrived at the Teacups. "Selina told me that this ride was great." She panted.

"Great, let's get on."

The lines weren't very long and in a short time, they were sitting in a huge "teacup" together. They both grabbed the inside bar for somewhere to put their hands. When the ride started, Shelly let go and began to slide all over the place. Mike loved it when the cup was leaning towards him and she smashed up against his side. Lord, was this fun! He still couldn't believe that this was quite real. One time when she came close to him, he was able to smell her hair. It smelled like strawberries and he held the scent in as long as possible. Shelly was giggling like a young girl the entire time and he was glad that she was so happy.

They got off the teacups then went on a few more rides before finding their way to the ride that represented the small world song. Once inside, Shelly took his hand and leaned her head against him. He experienced a moment of confusion because he really wanted to kiss her but did not want her to think him too forward. On the other hand, he did not want her to have to tell him again what she was really waiting for. Would he rather seem forward or seem clueless? Which one of these? He did not have to wonder for long because she looked up, and pulled him toward her. The experience was so far out, that he actually felt light headed. He thought she must have felt something because she made a little noise and moved back slowly.

"Ummm," he said, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, guess I just didn't expect a kiss to effect me that way. I mean, don't take this wrong, but it's not like it was my first one and I thought I knew how it would feel."

He replied, "I'm not sure what to say, for once in my life."

Shelly said, "I don't want you to think I'm a weirdo or anything, but I am definitely falling for you. Don't ask me what it is. I never wanted to fall in love again, I mean I'd say I would rather be dead then go through that again. It's never worked before and in the past, it's definitely been more trouble than it was worth and this is only our first real date but, it's too late for me to stop how I feel. Now I'm rambling."

The music played so loudly, he could barely hear what she was saying, but he thought he caught the gist of it. He held both of her hands in his and they finished the ride in silence.

When they came back out into the sunlight, he was still holding one of her hands. They moved out of the way of the other people exiting the ride and he took her off to the side so they could talk. He said, "Look Shelly, this is getting pretty heavy. I want you to know that I care about your feelings and I can tell you that I have already fallen in love with you, too. I want us to be able to discuss this and I don't think Disneyland is the place. How do you feel about leaving to go sit on the beach alone and sort this all out?"

"I think that's the best idea I have heard all day." She said.

They rode silently to the beach much the same way they had started out earlier. The exception was that she sat right next him with her head leaning his shoulder. Mike couldn't stop smiling to himself and deeply breathing in the strawberry scent of her hair. He appreciated that smell right now more than he ever appreciated anything before.

He had not dated in high school, because he was different from the other kids in appearance and in interests. After school, he had thrown so much of his time into forming the band that he just didn't have the time. He had gone out with the guys as a group on "dates" several times just as another needed person, but this was completely different.

Mike parked the car in his driveway and helped Shelly out. He didn't want to cut through the house because he was hoping to avoid the guys. He had a secluded spot he often went to on the beach when he was looking for a little peace and quiet and he hoped he could get Shelly there before they were busted by any of his friends. He told her of his plan and they snuck around the house towards Mike's secluded spot.

Peter had heard the car pull up and wondered what happened to shorten Mike's date so much. After a few minutes, and still no Mike in the house, he went outside to see what was going on. Peter looked around and saw the car, but not a person in sight. He ran back into the house and started yelling, "Micky, Davy, Mike's been kidnapped!"

Micky came in from the kitchen where he had been eating, still holding his sandwich he said, "Pete, what on earth are you talking about?"

"It's so far out, man! The car's there, but Mike isn't anywhere around! At least the kidnappers were polite enough to return the car." said Peter.

"Listen, Pete. Don't get all excited man." Micky offered, "I'm sure he's around somewhere."

Davy had come down the stairs by this time and had been listening to his friends' conversation. He said, "Yeah, don't worry. I'm pretty sure he went to that place on the beach that he thinks none of us know about."

"What place on the beach?" asked Peter.

Davy replied, "Oh, he goes by a big rock that is kind of hidden off to one side and I've caught him sitting there thinking before. I knew he wanted to keep his hide out a secret, so I just left and never said anything to him about it."

"Isn't that sweet?" asked Peter.

"Isn't that dumb?" asked Micky as he gave Peter a slap on the back.

"Well, friendship is sweet and I want to know why I am the last to know everything." pouted Peter.

Micky said, "Well, I didn't know anything about it, but it appears that we all do, now. Peter, just do us a favour and don't let on that you know it's there, OK?"

"Don't know what's there?" Peter asked.

"Never mind." Davy said as he rolled his eyes. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going back to what I was doing before the great kidnapping caper."

Shelly and Mike sat behind the big rock on the beach and held hands. They talked for hours covering everything from favourite color to childhood memories to concerts they had attended, but had not yet broached the love topic. Mike did not know if she was trying to avoid it or if she was just sharing information about herself and getting information about him at the same time. Even though they had very different lifestyles, it seemed that they had a great deal in common as far as personality traits and interests went.

From what she told him, Mike gathered that Shelly had received every advantage growing up and then some. She had a pony at age five, went to private school, took trips to Europe, got a brand new BMW as soon as she was old enough to drive and more. He could hardly believe his ears as this was about the farthest from his at-home situation that he could think of. He was certainly impressed to see that she had grown up to be as nice as she was.

Shelly went on to tell him that she did not date in high school either because she too was different from the other kids in appearance and interests. She told him that right after high school, she had met an older college boy who had broken her heart. She did not want to go into the details about the story and he did not want to press her about it. Frankly, he was a little jealous and while he cared about her feelings, he also wanted to get off of the subject of another man in her life as soon as humanly possible.

Mike looked at his watch and saw that it was about 7:00. They had still not moved on to the topic of their relationship yet but, he had to admit, he was a little hungry and he figured Shelly must be as well. He did not want to go back to the house now that the guys would be alerted to his presence, so he asked her if she would care to walk to a hot-dog stand farther down the beach. Shelly agreed and they walked hand in hand to get some semblance of a dinner. After they had eaten, he asked, "Is there a certain time I need to have you home?"

"No." Shelly replied, "I'm not a little girl anymore. As long as I'm not out till 2:00 AM or something, we'll be fine. Besides, we still have more to talk about."

They walked back to his spot by the rock and she started in, "Mike, like I said before, I just can't explain it. I have very strong feelings of love for you and we just met two days ago. I certainly never thought I would believe in love at first sight, but I think that's what we have on our hands."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me about not believing in love at first sight. My roommate, Davy, falls in love about every five minutes. I have been teasing him for longer than I care to remember and he has had a field day reminding me of that." Mike said.

Shelly continued, "Well, there you have it. We are both in the same boat and we're both as confused as the other. Do you think we can manage this between ourselves?"

"I think so. The hard part is going to be keeping me away from you every second of the day." Mike said thoughtfully.

"I hope you continue to feel like that. I can be pretty hard to take, but if you try to manage me, I'll try to manage you." She teased.

"Well then, it's a done deal. Want to sit some more? Maybe we can catch the sunset." With that, he sat down and leaned up against the rock while putting his hand out for her. She sat with his legs on either side of her and put her arms on his knees while leaning back. This was the way it should be, she thought. She'd had one very emotionally trying day, and closed her eyes for just a second.

Shelly woke up with a start and heard the sound of Mike snoring lightly in her ear. She tried not to wake him as she looked at her watch. It was after 3:00 AM. She then turned and gently touched Mike's chest trying to wake him. He mumbled something like, "Not yet, Peter. Just let me sleep a little more. Give my share of breakfast to Micky."

She pushed him a little harder this time then his eyes sleepily opened. When he saw her, a slow, soft smile came onto his face, then he seemed to realize that they were out on the beach in the middle of the night when she was supposed to be home, "Oh no!" He shouted as he looked at his watch. "Umm.. OK. We've stayed out too late and that's a bad thing. I just wanted to rest for a minute then I fell asleep, too. We've got to get you home. Your dad will never let you go out with me again."

She gave him a quick kiss, a hug, then let herself be literally picked up by him and carried to the car. He put her in the seat and drove towards her house faster than she had seen anyone else drive except on a race car track. She put her head in his lap and dozed off again. She had not slept this well in ages and was not about to let it get ruined by the fact that she was out later than expected. They pulled up to the house and Mike woke her. She said, "Mike, I love you. I'll call you later this morning. Think of me, OK?"

"Of course I'll be thinking of you. Are you sure you'll be OK? I mean, I can explain to your dad if you think it would help." He said as he walked her to the door.

"No, I'll be fine. Talk to you later." She gave him one last soft kiss and used her key to get into the house. She waved at him as he drove off.

Mike went home, came quietly into the house and started to tip toe towards the TV. He thought he was safe until he heard in a fake granny voice behind him coming from Micky, "So young fella, where have you been?"

Mike turned around and asked, "Geez Mick, what on earth are you doing still awake?"

Micky replied, "Well, Peter was worried about you but he was worn out from a hard day of adding to his starfish collection, so I told him I would wait up and make sure you got in OK. Besides, I was hungry."

"What else is new?" Mike teasingly inquired. "Yeah, we woke up on the beach after 3:00 and I rushed Shelly home. I sure the hell hope her dad doesn't lock her up so I can't ever see her again."

"Don't worry. I know you didn't want to get her in trouble or get on her dad's bad side, but everything will work out. You're really in love, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone." Mike joked. "I wouldn't want anyone to think I have actual feelings."

"No chance of that." Micky jested back. "I'm gonna let you be alone with your thoughts now. I really need some sleep after eating that entire cheesecake. See ya sometime tomorrow."

Mike said, "Goodnight. And Mick?"

"Yes."

"It is tomorrow."

"Thanks for reminding me, Mike. What I won't do for my friends. When I wake up, I expect to find a gigantic best friend in the world award sitting on my dresser."

"You keep eating like that and you'll wake up with a lot of somethings gigantic sitting in your dresser. That's about the best I can promise you." Mike couldn't resist the chance to jab at Micky just one more time.

Micky gave Mike a dismissing wave over his shoulder and headed off to bed.

Mike sat and watched TV for a while then moved on to the newspaper and the stack of magazines sitting by the couch, he also penned a long love letter to Shelly which he hoped to give her later today, that is if she wasn't in too much trouble. When he had finished all of these things, he figured it was late enough to play his guitar without disturbing anyone and started playing. Peter came out of his room and greeted Mike with a cheery smile.

When breakfast and all the dishes were done, Peter, Davy and Micky wanted to go out and catch the surf. They asked Mike if he was ready to go. He replied that he was waiting for Shelly to call and maybe he'd catch them a little later. Peter wanted to press Mike to come along because he really wanted his friend's company, but decided that Shelly's call meant a great deal to him and Peter would never interfere with the love process. After all, love made the word go 'round.

Mike kept looking at his watch and every clock in the house as he paced back and forth like a caged tiger. It was after 9:00 for heaven sakes. Why hadn't she called, yet? Was she in trouble, had she changed her mind? Had he really just dreamed the last few days? Maybe she was just drunk or something the day before. Maybe she had been kidnapped by wackos for some large ransom. That happened to rich people all the time, didn't it? He'd better call the cops before they got too far with her. Oh, damn! What was he thinking? He was letting his insecurities get the better of him. That's when she called.

"Hi." She said. "I hope I didn't call too early. I know you have a lot of people living there and don't want to wake them."

"Oh am I glad you called. I was really starting to worry about you. You wouldn't believe the crazy thoughts running through my mind."

"Don't worry, it's not like I was kidnapped by wackos for a large ransom or something." Shelly laughed.

"So, how did your dad take the fact that you came home in the middle of the night?" Mike inquired.

"You know, the funny thing is that I don't even think he noticed. I mean he was acting a little weird this morning, but he didn't say anything. I'm not about to volunteer any information, either." Shelly said.

Mike exclaimed, "That's great. When can I see you again?"

"Well," she started, "That's the sad part. We have this stupid family trip today to go see some cousins that live in Paris. We'll be gone for about a week."

"A WEEK?! But how can I get on without you for that long?" Mike regretted the accusatory statement/question that issued forth immediately, but again, there was no taking it back.

She said, "I know. I hate it as much as you do, but I have to go. There's just no getting around it. I'll call you every day and I want to see you as soon as I get back. There's no time for it today because we're leaving in less than an hour. I didn't even know we were supposed to go or I would have told you yesterday. It seemed like a spur of the moment decision on my dad's part. Mike, what can I say? I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am." Mike stated forcefully.

"Michael Nesmith, I love you. Please don't be mad at me."

"Shelly, I love you, too." He said. "And I'm not mad at you but, I'm very mad at the situation."

"Well like I said, I'll call you every day and I will be thinking about you every second." She said sadly.

"I guess I better let you go then. I'll be looking forward to seeing you when you get back. Don't go falling in love with anyone else while you're there. I hear those French guys can be a little pushy." She laughed at that, "Don't worry. They're not my type. You're my type."

"Love you. See you in a week, then." He said.

He hung up the receiver and went to his bedroom where he slammed the door. He needed her right now. How dare they take her away when their love was so young and needed so much attention? Despite her confessions yesterday, he still didn't have the confidence that she just wouldn't take off and never come back. Didn't they care that he needed her reassurances? He didn't even think as he turned around towards the wall and punched it as hard as he could. Well, that was one hole he'd be fixing later.

He thought that the week Shelly was gone went by slower than molasses in January. True to her word, she called him every day, sometimes two or three times. He couldn't believe how much he missed her. The only times he was able to even halfway cope was when they were playing a gig and he could just zone out and automatically sing or play the songs. His playing definitely lacked the feeling it usually had and the other guys didn't bother telling him so. Other than their teasing about his performances, they pretty much left him alone which he was very glad for.

The phone rang the day she was to return and he knew it was her. He had been so paranoid the last week about missing any of her calls that he basically barred anyone else from phone use. He felt bad about it afterwards, but what else was he supposed to do?

"Hello."

"Mike, it's me. I got back this morning. Can I see you?"

"You bet you can, little girl. I can't wait to hold you in my arms again. I don't think I can even begin to describe what a living hell my life has been while you've been away. I'll be right over." He brightened immediately.

"I love you." She said, "Drive carefully. I want you here in one piece."

He hung up the phone and went to rush out the door. He knew that the guys would wonder where he had gone when they came back, so he left a hastily scribbled note on the kitchen table. He figured he probably broke the sound barrier getting over to her house, but he didn't really care. He was in such a hurry to get out, he even forget his green wool hat and he knew his hair would look a mess when he got there and hoped she would forgive him.

When he arrived at the Starkey home, Shelly was outside waiting for him. She looked absolutely perfect wearing a little red sundress and sandals. Her hair was in a beautiful french braid that fell all the way down her back and he could almost smell the strawberry scent of her hair from where he was. She ran to the car and when he got out, she threw herself into his arms prompting him to pick her up. He breathed in deeply and held it for as long as he could without passing out. She wiggled a little bit so he put her down as she covered his face with kisses.

"That was just awful." She said.

"Huh?"

"The trip. It was awful. I don't know how I made it without seeing you. As silly as it sounds, I need you. I mean really need you." Shelly confessed.

"You must be living in my mind." He said. I didn't want to tell you that I was dying without you over the phone, because I didn't want you to think I was a few ponies short of a full stable, if you know what I mean."

Shelly suggested that they go somewhere.

"Well, I didn't really think about this when you called, but we have a gig tonight at the Vincent. Actually, it's scheduled to start in less than an hour. If you don't want to go, I'll understand. I mean maybe the guys can get someone else to fill in for me tonight."

She said, "What? I wouldn't hear of it. I want to go see you guys in your element. Besides, I haven't really had a chance to get to know your friends yet. What are we waiting for? Let's go. I sense that there may be a transportation problem, though. Why don't I drive my car back to your house then you and I can go to your gig in my car and your friends and the gear can go in your car."

"You're right, but I just don't want to drive all the way back there alone knowing you're right behind me." Mike said.

"We'll drive fast, then. I don't think you have a problem with that. Nice hair, by the way." She giggled as she stood on her toes, reached up and further mussed his hair.

They got back to the house and the other guys came out right away. "Thanks for coming back, babe." Micky said. "We could have missed our gig, you know."

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" Mike asked. "Shelly and I are going to go in her car and y'all can take the Monkeemobile."

"Sounds good. I'll start loading the gear." volunteered Peter. "By the way, it's nice to see you again, Shelly. I'm glad you finally came back. I thought Mike was going to explode when he found out you were leaving. He just about tore the house down."

Mike made a throat clearing noise and Peter said, "Oh, I guess I shouldn't have said that. I forget sometimes. Well, we're glad to have you back, anyway." He gave her a disarming Peter smile and went into the pad to get the gear.

Mike said, "I better help them. You can go sit on the davenport while we get loaded up, if you want."

Shelly went to sit on in the living room and found a neatly folded up piece of paper with her name on it. Since it was obviously for her, she went ahead and opened it up. What it turned out to be was the sweetest, most heartfelt love letter she could ever hope to see. She blushed at several points, and teared up at others. She heard someone coming up behind her and quickly put the note in her purse.

Micky said, "Hey, we're all loaded up and ready to go. I just wanted you to know that Mike really loves you. I can tell you that he's never been in love before 'cause he's never had time for girls. You seem really nice and I hope things work out for you."

Davy came into the room also and said, "But if they don't, you have my number, right luv?" He then nugged Micky in the ribs.

"Very funny, David." They heard Mike say from behind.

"Hey, what's going on, guys?" Peter asked. "Isn't it time to go?"

"Yes, it is." Mike said as he pulled Shelly up from her sitting position.

They got to the club and Mike played better than he ever had before. He played all of his love songs on purpose that night including the new ones he had written for her while she was away. The crowd loved the performance and even stood up to applaud after it was over. The manager even asked them if they could start a standing gig there two nights a week for the next six months. He had his girl and his gig. What more could he want for?

When they got back to the pad, Shelly told Mike that she had better get going home and did not want to push her luck by falling asleep somewhere again. She had gotten lucky the last time and you can only be so lucky so many times. They talked quietly for a few minutes by her car, shared several wonderful kisses then said their goodnights.

The next few weeks went wonderfully. Mike and Shelly saw each other every day. She hung out at the pad quite a bit and became very good friends with Peter who just seemed to have a knack for winning hearts. She even made starfish art with him out of his collection while Mike sat back smiling and enjoying seeing his friend and his girlfriend working so well together. He found himself using the camera often, taking more and more pictures of the happy scenes around him.

One day, Shelly looked down at his newly purchased plain gold pinky ring, took it off and put it on her first finger. The ring she had worn on that finger was a silver band with a diamond about the size of a pencil eraser set down into the band. She took it off to put his on then gave him her ring. She told him that she wanted to have something of his and for him to have something of hers. She then asked if he would be embarrassed to wear her ring on his finger. "Are you kidding?" Was all he had to say. He smiled as he slipped it onto his pinky.

About a week after that was when it happened. Shelly had been acting a little funny the day before, but Mike didn't question her about it. He was just happy to have her around. The next afternoon, she had driven her car to the pad unannounced. Peter answered the door with an especially cheery smile and said, "Oh boy. I'm glad you're here. I have a new idea for more starfish art."

Shelly said, "Great. I'd like to hear it, but I need to talk to Mike first. Is he around?"

"For you, always." Peter grinned. "He's up in the bedroom, do you want me to call him?"

"No, I'll go see him up there." She said.

Shelly climbed the stairs with a feeling of dread in her heart. She didn't want to do this, but she just saw no other way around it. She had to do it before it was done to her. It just wouldn't do to be dumped like that again. Hadn't Micky said he was too busy for girls? Hadn't her dad said that she would be better off taking the offer he gave her to go to university in England before something bad happened with Mike? She could just feel it in her heart, it was coming. No matter what he said to her, she couldn't let him talk her out of it. It would happen some day and she just knew it. She knocked on the closed bedroom door.

"Come on in!" Mike shouted.

"Mike, "she said as she stuck her head in the door."I'm sorry I didn't call first, but I wanted to talk to you face to face."

"Gosh, never apologize for coming here, hun. Actually, I was fixin' to call you." He tried to kiss her, but she backed away and told him that maybe he should sit down.

"Mike, my life has been no picnic, so far. I have had hard times and I've had my heart broken. I can't allow it to happen to me again. What I'm saying is that I have to break this off with you now, before I develop a false sense of security and get hurt by you later. No. Don't say anything yet. You can say what ever you want and it's not going to change anything. I have had a hard time believing that you would really want me anyway and I know that sooner or later, you'll be getting tired of me and move on to something else."

Mike could not even believe what he was hearing and once again, he thought that pinching himself to see if he was awake might be a good idea. Tears of disbelief welled up into his eyes, but there was no way he could let her see them. He blinked them back as he thought about trying to change her mind. He took one look at her face and knew that there was no convincing her to stay. His mind raced furiously as he thought about what to do. Finally, he decided that the best thing to do was just let her go even though it went against everything he believed in. If she truly loved him, she would be back some day and he would wait as long as it took. He had to show her that he was strong about it.

"Well, I want to you to know that I love you deeply and we'll miss you around here very much." Mike managed to choke out in his best imitation of someone under control. He looked down at his hand and started to take her ring off to return it to her.

Shelly said, "Mike, I love you, too and I want you to keep the ring. Maybe you'll look at it and think of me sometimes."

He didn't tell her that he would be thinking of her every second of every day and didn't need a ring to remind him to do so, but he appreciated the gesture, and it seemed to hold some kind of hope for them in the future.

"Do you want yours back?" She asked.

"No." Mike said "Let's call it an even trade."

She stepped up to him, gave him a quick kiss then turned to run from the room and down the stairs. Peter was waiting for her there and wanted speak with her about his starfish art idea, but saw that she was crying fiercely. She ran past him and left the pad with a soft closing of the front door behind her. Peter opened the door to try to catch and comfort her, but she was already in her car heading down the street.

Mike took a moment to compose himself. He knew that Peter was downstairs and would probably be questioning him for which he had to be prepared. He grabbed his acoustic guitar and headed down the stairs. It was time to go back to the secluded spot on the beach where none of his friends could possibly see his grief. When he got to the bottom, Peter was looking at him with an expectantly sad expression in his deep brown eyes that always managed to remind Mike of a puppy.

"Mike?" Peter said.

"It's cool, babe. She just needed some space. I think I'm gonna go to the beach for a while and work on a song." Mike said as he gave Peter a little wave.

He hoped he managed to pull that off and still look cool. He didn't want to leave Peter with confused and possibly hurt feelings, but if he talked about it any longer than that, he might lose his control and he couldn't allow it. The guys looked to him to be stronger than that.

Mike Nesmith sat on the beach behind the big rock with his guitar putting the finishing touches on the song he had just written. As he watched the sun set in that perfect way that only happens once in a very great while, he reflected on the happenings of the last month. Things had started out normal enough. He remembered every last detail of the first day of his most recent adventure so clearly that it almost scared him. It all began on the first Thursday in July at precisely 9:52 AM. He managed to whisper the lyrics of the song he had written about the last month's events that would be released someday when he was ready to share his feelings about it with the world.

Tell me just one more time the reasons why you must leave
Tell me once more why you're sure you don't need me.
Tell me again but, don't think that you'll convince me.
Now, you said before fallin' in love again, you'd rather be dead,
'cause when someone breaks your heart you cry your eyes red.
There's nothin' so hard about the life that you've led....