When not working or spending time with Amber, Bruce was preparing for finals, graduation and the summer. He had checked out a few local colleges that would allow him to live at home so he could continue working at the restaurant and that way his dad wouldn't have to foot the whole cost for college.

He sometimes wondered if college was the wisest choice for him. There were so many local positions that paid well and did not require a college degree. Maybe he would put off college for a year and work instead.

Mama G talked to him one night and asked him about his plans for after graduation.When he told her he had not made any definite plans she told him that he could work here as long as he wanted too. She even mentioned the position of assistant manager as he was going to devote her time to their other restaurant.

The only problem with accepting that position was it would put him in close proximity with Gina on daily basis as she would be the manager and that was a temptation he didn't need. More than once he caught himself staring in her direction and watching as she moved around behind the counter. Her looks and figure were truly stunning.

Whenever Gina caught him staring she would blow him a kiss and smile at him. Although her aggressive attempts to bed him had stopped there was still a lot of sexual tension in the air whenever they were in the same room. More than once Bruce fantasized on what it would be like to sleep with her.

Then there was the whole Amber issue. What did the future have in store for them? He would graduate in June and by September he would either be in college or working full time somewhere. Amber would return to school in September and become a full time student again.

Her looks and personality would certainly attract many admirers and he wondered if he could he trust her not to become infatuated with another male?

Trust, that was his biggest problem. The last girl he had taken a liking to had moved away just as things were getting serious. The next one was no better. After proclaiming her love for him she became infatuated with one of his buds and began seeing him on the sly. 

Alone at night he would think about all the roller coaster events that had occurred since school started. He had fallen in love with Amber and now he questioned himself on his reason. She was attractive and intelligent with personality to spare and she needed someone strong to help her through the pregnancy. Or did she?

She claimed that she had fallen in love with him too, but he only believed her half of the time. With the birth of her daughter it seemed that he was no longer needed. Oh she was always glad to see him when he came over and showered him with kisses. Now he understood that a new baby required all of her attention and energy. It was a feeling that he could not explain.

Back at Amber's house, her father had been questioned concerning the whereabouts of the weights and bench. The weights had been thrown away as the were only cheap big box store items that had begun to deteriorate after being dropped on the floor numerous times.

The bench, however, had been stored in the attic and he brought it down and placed it in the basement. The following day after Lea's morning feeding, Ally held her new niece as Amber began her workout. She had worked her way up to two hundred crunches without stopping.

When she finished her abdominal muscles were on fire. Ally then appeared with the baby carrier.

"Now I want you to curl it like it was a barbell," she instructed.

"You're kidding? It can't weigh more than ten pounds," Amber responded.

"That's why we are going to use the one hundreds program."

"What's that?"

"You simply curl it one hundred times using strict form."

"Piece of cake," her sister responded.

It was a piece of cake for the first twenty five reps, then it got a little more difficult. Amber broke into a sweat as she pushed her way through.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be?" Ally asked.

"No, its damned hard."

"We gotta build up your lean muscle mass again. Since outside of swimming you have had no physical exercise since you got pregnant."

Ally then had her sit on the end of the bench after she took a seat on the other end. She instructed her to hook her feet through the carrier's handle and extend her legs one hundred times.

"This will put the shape back in your legs," she informed her.

An hour later Amber felt as though she had run a marathon. She took Lea from her older sister and held her while she sipped on some water.

"Wow, that was some workout," Amber commented.

"That was a starter just to get you going. Its supposed to be nice tomorrow so you can go for a short run while Lea is napping. Afterwards I'll think of something else for you to do."

Amber gave her sister a pained look and Ally only smiled.

"Ya wanna look good for your date to his prom?" Ally asked.

"You know I do."

"Then stop with the pity party looks and concentrate on your goal, it will help you."

Alone in her room later that evening she thought about all that she had been through. Being pregnant and unmarried at sixteen was not something she planned on. She lied about who the baby's father was to save her reputation, the same with forging his signature on the birth certificate.

Bruce had been there for her since she had returned to school in September. He never judged her and did all he could to assist her. That first date seemed to bond them as she discovered they shared many of the same likes. The first time she slept with him made her feel more attractive and sure of herself than she had felt in a long time.

She still looked forward to his daily visits and did everything in power to convince him that her feeling were real. She sensed that he did not totally believe her. The days continued. Amber performed all the exercises that Ally demonstrated using the baby carrier and the results began to slowly manifest themselves.

She tried on the dress that her mom had re-tailored for her first date with Bruce, and to her joy it was baggy on her. The same held true for most of her pregnancy pants, all were loose. She even managed to squeeze into a pair of her old jeans.They were still a little too tight, but not by much. Her modeling figure was slowly coming back to her.