Romance. It was one word that meant everything to Kim Chiu. Flowers, candy hearts, candles, soft music, not-so-subtle hints telling someone how much you love them - romance. It was what she lived for, what she craved for, what she longed for.

Ever since she was a little girl, the image of romance has been imprinted into her brain. Long walks under the moonlit sky, hand-in-hand. The image was so real to her that she could smell that midnight air and feel the breeze whenever she closed her eyes and thought about it.

And it's what she was caught doing right now.

"Not again!" said Mel exasperated, catching her friend dreaming about some faraway land. She put a beer in front of Kim who jolted awake and smiled. "It's like everytime I find you, you're off in a Kim-verse daydreaming about your one and only."

Kim shook her head and shrugged, "Not always. I occasionally drift off and dream." She said innocently, using all her force into opening that bottle of beer. "And who can blame me when all my friends are either happily engaged or married or have families of their own," she pointed to her circle of friends who glanced away as if they had something to feel guilty about.

Erich laughed, "I still remember in high school, we'd be in a tight little circle and swear that the one person Kim would end up marrying would beat all our fiances or husbands combined. That he'd be perfect."

It was the end of the work day for all of them, and as a daily ritual, they would all end up at one of their houses - Kim's, Mel's, Erich's, Empress's, Maja's, Shaina's or Beauty's - and either about their work day or praise it. Today it landed on Kim's shoulders to shelter the women, and they ended up on Kim's much adored terrace over looking the beach.

Maja reached onto the table for her second serving of chinese take out. "You know what I remember about high school? All the boys she went out with for a week and then dumped because 'it just wasn't working out'," she used air quotes.

Everyone murmured in agreement. "But somehow she got all them to stay friends with her."

"Kim was always the first one to be asked out to a dance," Shaina chimed in. "Or to homecoming, and prom."

"I remember in junior high, Kim was the first one to be kissed," Empress added.

Beauty laughed, "We were so interested in what it was like. And then Erich and Kim had to act it out."

They all burst out in laughter at the memories that seemed like lifetimes ago. All seven women knew each other since they met in junior kindergarten. Some people met gracefully like Kim, Erich and Beauty who met in the sandbox and shared pails. Others not so gracefully the first three vs. the last four in a not so pleasant game of house where they all fought to be mommy. But no matter how they met, they shared dreams, milestones, heartaches, countless graduations, numerous bridesmaids dresses and godmother roles, that the term best friends forever wasn't just a saying, it was a reality.

Kim covered herself with a blanket and rested her head on Erich's shoulders. "I was always the one with a date first, yet the last to find my soul mate. How does that seem fair?"

Shaina scoffed, "Sounds fair to me. I went throughout highschool alone. No boy would even want to look at me!"

"Yeah, Shaina has a point. We were so jealous of you." Kim's jaw dropped. "But we mean that in the most pleasant way." Maja touched the top of Kim's hand.

"Whatever, when I find my one and only, you guys are going to be so jealous that I have the best one ever. Every night, he'll walk through that door and greet me with a soft, passionate kiss. He'll be home early enough to make me dinner and surprise me with candles and bouquet of roses. Then we'll take a long walk on the beach, only to make it back here and talk about our day. He'll rub my feet for me after a ten hour shift I just had to say yes to," her drifted upwards towards the starry-lit sky. "And then we'll be in the bedroom where we'll make love and he'll tell me he loves me more and more everyday." Kim sighed at the vision.

Erich pushed her off and laughed, "Yeah, sounds like another one of your dreams."

The other five women joined Erich on her walk into the house to open more beer and wine.

Kim stood up too, hearing the ladies laugh at her, but it didn't stop her from dreaming. She looked out and down to the beach where saw her elderly neighbours. They looked up at her and waved.

Kim smiled back and lifted her hand in a greeting gesture. Now that's what she wanted. Her neighbours told Kim that they grew up neighbours and one day he looked at her and said she'd become his wife someday. Like somehow it was fate or destiny that brought them together. Yes, that's exactly what she wanted - A romance that lasted a lifetime and more.

Gerald awoke in Erich and Enchong's spare bedroom. He scratched his bare chest and walked outside yawning. "Morning," he groaned.

Erich drank from her hot mug of coffee and waved. "Where's your husband?"  

She turned her head and saw the bathroom door open and steam escape with the towelled man. "I think he just finished taking a shower and entered the bedroom. Would you like to join him?" She teased.

He laughed, "I'm sure you'd love that." He stretched and scratched his side. "So you came home late last night. Is there something my best friend should know?"

"She always stays out late on Friday nights. And I would be jealous if it was anyone else but Kim and the girls," Enchong walked out just putting on a shirt.

A light bulb shone on top of Gerald's head. "How many girls are we talking about here?"

Erich stood up and passed him shaking her head, placing the mug in the sink. "No, nuh uh. Kim and my girls are off limits to the hand of Gerald Anderson."

"Most of them are hitched," Enchong added, his mouth full.

"You make it sound like I'm a player." The married couple snickered in laughter. "Okay, so I may have had a couple of women who've I 'played' with."

"Jennifer Linh, Avery Salvatore, Melissa Smith, Mariah Jennings, Kassandra Valastro," Enchong named a couple from their past.

Gerald scowled, "Didn't have to name the entire playing field."

"I didn't. Just named the cheerleaders," he joked.

Erich had enough. "Listen to me," she caught hold of Gerald's chin and pulled it towards her. "Tonight, the ladies are coming over for Saturday night dinner and you will not so much as bat an eyelash with any of them. They are my best friends, my sisters; Enchong's sisters, and you hurt any of them, we will hurt you."

"No offense, honey, but I'm not scared of you." Gerald answered.

Erich turned and gave Gerald a death stare with the pointed finger. He jumped behind the counter and pushed Enchong in front of him.

Kim arrived late to the evening dinner. The rest of the ladies got up from their seats and crowded around the final guest and greeted her with hugs and kisses. "Hey!!!"

She was carrying a box of cake and bouquet of her flowers; ones she made herself in her own little salon.

Next was the men's turn. Enchong gathered the flowers in one hand and gave her a quick brush of his lips on hers. Matt kissed her cheek and took the cake, even the kids greeted her with hugs. It was always like this whenever they entered a room with the entire entourage. Nothing but love to spread around.

"You, I haven't met," Kim said out of breath taking her coat off and hanging it up in the closet.

"Gerald Anderson," he stretched out his hand. "You must be the infamous Kim."

Her smile was as radiant as the setting sun outside, he thought. "Being the last one tip you off?" She asked.

"The flowers," he retorted. "You own your own boutique, right?"

"Only the best," Ejay said squeezing her shoulders with his hands before handing her a cupcake.

"So are we eating dinner or what?" Kim asked clapping her hands together. "I am starved."

"Like me, like me!" One of the children yelled reaching up to Kim.

"'Like me!'" She mimicked picking her up and giving her a loud smooch on the cheeks. "Do you want to eat at the big people table tonight, baby?"

Abigail made a disgusted sound and squirmed in Kim's embrace. "Not with vegetables! Ew!"

Kim laughed and set her on the floor with the rest of the kids who ran to take their seat at the children's table.

Erich and Enchong were one of the couples who had children in their rather large clan. It didn't matter who's house it was, they didn't treat each other as guests, rather as fellow hosts. Everyone helped with either making the meal or buying the meal, setting up the table, choosing the wine, and cleaning up. There were no pleasantries, no "this looks or tastes amazing", it was already known. They didn't even need to organize the mess before they all arrived because it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that they were all together.

This little routine or tradition started when they all graduated high school and the ladies made a vow to never lose touch. The group just got bigger with every husband and child who entered the picture. It was something that was needed to be accepted about the women's lives. No one only enetered into one life, they were initiated into everyone's life.

Gerald noticed this within the first hour of non-stop recounts of everyone's days. There was laughter, ooohs, ahhhs and numerous disagreements which only ended up as laughter. At one point it got so loud that he wondered why none of the neighbours called to complain. But then assumed they all warned their neighbours when they moved in.

It was a fun crowd, he admitted. There was never a misplaced smile and only love that surrounded the room. Insults didn't even matter. That word didn't even exist. It was referred to as helpful criticism, he heard Ejay say. They were all so happy, so involved in each and everyone's life that Gerald understood this morning when Erich said they were all sisters, to everyone.

At the end of a three hour dinner, the kids were all in the backyard playing soccer, like they were a full hour before, and the adults were scattered around inside and outside. Mel, Shaina and Erich were on dish duty, Matt and Beauty clearing the table, Ejay and Jake filling the cooler, Rayver and Maja picking the music, Enchong gathering everyones coats and Kim was outside watching the kids.

He tapped Enchong's shoulder, "Where do you need me?"

Enchong chuckled, "We have no more room for another," he joked. "Grab that wine and bring it outside. Keep Kim company."

He slid the slide door open and took a seat on the chair beside Kim who stared at him. "Feeling a little misplaced?" She joked.

"I've never seen such organized chaos," he admitted. "Everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing, it's almost as if it was planned."

There was that smile again, he watched. Maybe it was because she was the only one single, or maybe it was because he felt like an outsider, but she was a looker, he told himself.

"Trust me, these dinners were planned but not the stations. It's hard to remember what it was like before all the men came along. It used to be just us girls. How do you like New York so far?" She asked. "Different from the homeland?"

"It's definitely brighter. And louder," he watched and heard the kids cheer. "So now what? What's the plan after dinner."

Kim leaned back in her chair, wrapped the blanker around her body and the switch. Immediately the cauldron in the middle of the circle of chairs lit up in flames. "You'll see in about...four seconds. Three, two one."

"S'mores!" Ejay called out.

"And beer!" Rayver added with a laugh.

Enchong stuck his head in from behind Gerald's shoulders, "Dude, you're in my seat." He murmured.

Beauty chuckled, "Don't scare the new boy. If you're good, you could share my seat." She said in a seductive voice.

Erich pulled Echong down and took residence on his lap, "Watch it. Your name may be beauty, but you may want to change it after I'm finished with your face if you flirt with my husband one more time."

"Oh!" The syllable droned out by the audience of adults, and then drowned out by more laughs.

Sticks were handed out to each member with a marshmellow attached, and then graham crackers and pieces of chocolate were added to everyone's free hand. They browned the marshmellow and then sandwiched the ingredients together. Beer was also passed out and the kids were called back around the fire. Now each adult had a child on their lap eating a s'more quietly. They were back on the ground within minutes of finishing.

"So you guys do this every week?"

"Well, we usually switch up the houses, but yeah," Maja answered.

Gerald nodded. "And what's Friday?"

"That's es night," Shaina said.

Kim held a sleeping two year old in her arms. "You make it sound dirty. es night means that it ladies night for the ladies and poker night for the guys. None of the men can interrupt ladies night, and we can't reign in on the guys. We don't wait up for each other because we know where everyone is. And there must be at least one designated driver each week just in case."

"Are there any other rules to this es Night?" He couldn't help but snicker.

It took a moment for everyone to think of one. "No strippers?" Matt suggested. They all gave Matt a round of applause. "Thank you, thank you."

"And who watches the kids?"

"The ladies," Kim said. "Most of our nights just include us staying in, drinking wine and talking, so they're usually in someone's basement playing. But if we choose to go out, they need to stay with the boys, which means the guys use their own language for profanity."

Rayver slapped a hand on his shoulder, "Which also means you have a lot to catch up on."

The baby in Kim's arms began to stir restlessly. "I think I need to put her down in a quieter environment." Maja, the mother, stood up. Kim held up one hand, "I've got it."

Gerald quickler stood and held out his hands. "I could take her and you could set the bed," he suggested.

Kim gently placed Alexis in Gerald's arms and then led the way with Mel's carry-on bag on her shoulder.

She the light in the kids room which was already set up for six kids and two cribs. "The Jasmine one," she whispered, pointing to the Arabian Princess mini-mattress.

"So they all sleep over?" Gerald asked walking through the attached beds, having to climb on one them to get to the specified one.

"It's easier. There's always at least three who fall asleep before we all head home. Everyone picks up their's after school." She answered taking a stuffed animal from the bag and placing it tucked under Alexis' arm before pulling over the cover over her body and kissing her on the forehead.

"I feel like I should be taking notes or something," he admitted.

Kim smiled at him. "No need. By the second week you get the hang of it."

"Second week?" He asked, shutting the door and walking back to the yard.

"Consider yourself initiated," she winked.