"I've never had one either. A girlfriend I mean. I've dated around, but nothing serious," he offered. I looked up in shock.

"Really? But you're hot." I blurted before thinking. I instantly felt my cheeks heat up and put my face in my hands. I went from bad to worse; a fate I didn't know was possible in that moment.

"Thanks. I appreciate that. You're, uh... pretty too," he chuckled. It sounded like an awkward, uncomfortable release though.

"You don't have to say that," I mumbled within my hands.

"You're right, but I said it because I wanted too. Because it's true." I peered up at him to discern whether he was lying to make me feel better, but he seemed sincere.

"Thanks," I whispered.

Moments later Mike approached the table where we sat.

"Hey Mike," I welcomed him with a short wave. "Mike, this is Kellan. Kellan Mike," I introduced gesturing my hands appropriately. They didn't shake hands merely nodding at each other and saying h.e.l.lo. Mike quickly turned his attention back to me.

"Wow babe, you look great!" he commented. He stood beside the table and ogled me until I started to squirm.

"Thanks," I blushed.

"You guys ready to go?" Mike asked checking his watch.

"What about the others?" He never told me how many he'd invited or any names.

"They're all flakes."

"Oh. Um, okay. I guess I'm ready to go. You?" I checked with Kellan.

"Yea," he nodded.

We got up and followed quietly as Kellan led the way to his car. He'd agreed to drive us over to the theatre earlier. I didn't know what to expect, but I was shocked and impressed by what I saw. He walked up to a black BMW M5 with barely legal black tinted windows and matching black rims. It reminded me of a car Batman would drive as he fought viciously against his attackers in Gotham.

"Nice ride," Mike remarked, eyeing the car from front to back.

"Thanks," Kellan replied as he opened the pa.s.senger door for me. Mike shot him a look of discouragement, but he didn't acknowledge the expression as he closed the door behind me.

The drive across the street took less than three minutes, the majority of which we were stuck waiting on a light to change. This time Mike opened the door for me and took my hand to help me out, though it really wasn't necessary. I immediately broke contact once I was out though, again it felt wrong. We each bought our tickets and headed into the theatre.

As we entered the theatre, reality hit me. Darting back and forth with my eyes, I realized that the guy, my boyfriend, who liked me would be on one side of me, and the guy I was increasingly liking more than my boyfriend would be on the other side of me. I stifled a groan as we took our seats in the upper rows.

The movie was just as obdurate as I feared. I did scream a few times; Kellan laughed and Mike took my hand to comfort me. Mid-way through the movie Mike put his arm around me at which Kellan again chuckled. I was able to shrug it off towards the end but that didn't erase the uncomfortable vibe of the situation.

I was struggling, fighting internally. I liked Mike, but couldn't determine if I actually liked him as anything more than a friend. The more time I spent with Kellan, regardless of communication, I felt less and less inclined to Mike. I didn't want to share any physical touches with him in front of Kellan. I was questioning my motives behind that one. I felt obligated to be loyal to Mike because he was my first boyfriend; he was the first guy to acknowledge that I was beautiful, but I was only using him if I couldn't reciprocate the gesture.

It was still early so we strolled across the street to the mall. Naturally we ended up in a bookstore, Books-A-Million to be exact. Kellan and I browsed books quietly while Mike flipped through car magazines. Mike was identical to Mel; he wasn't comfortable with silence and often forced conversation, however, Kellan was serene with silence which made me less anxious with him.

Ten minutes into browsing Mike came over to us.

"Hey babe, you want to go down to FYE?" He threw his thumb in the air towards the general direction of the store.

"Um..." I looked at Kellan to see if he wanted to leave yet. He nodded once in agreement so I turned back to Mike. "Sure. Let's go."

Mike led the way; I wandered shortly behind him and Kellan walked beside me in synch. As we approached the exit, we all filed side by side to saunter towards FYE. I still felt uncomfortable and constantly being between the guys made it worse.

The store was a short distance from Books-A-Million but Mike intended to make the most of the trip. Seconds after leaving the bookstore, he reached over to clasp my hand. He entangled our fingers delicately and gave me a small squeeze. It felt nice, yet wrong. This unexplained anxiety surged through me as I glanced up at him. He turned in that precise moment to beam a smile at me as we continued walking.

I turned my attention to Kellan, who was parallel at my side with his hands tucked in his pockets. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but resisted the urge, unsure of what his reaction would be. Looking at him made me feel guilty; I was forcing him into the third wheel role I remembered so fondly.

I was instantly relieved when we arrived at our destination. I freed my hand and started browsing. Mike headed towards the rock/punk section while Kellan and I flipped through movie soundtracks.

"What kind of music do you like?" he asked, breaking our silent streak.

"I listen to pretty much anything; it depends on what mood I'm in as to what I listen to." I never followed the mainstream music scene diligently.

"And what are you in the mood to listen to now?" he probed casually.

"Hmm," I mumbled flipping through the cases in front of me. "Ah-hah!" I stated holding up the West Side Story soundtrack. He laughed shaking his head slightly.

"You're in the mood to listen to Romeo & Juliet sing?"

"Forget the lyrics, the musical arrangements are genius. Bernstein and Sondheim are gold."

"If you say so," he remarked with disapproval.

"What kind of music do you like?" I asked a bit sarcastically detesting his response to my choice.

"Cla.s.sic rock is my favorite but if you're asking about soundtracks it's 'A Hard Day's Night'. You can't touch the Beatles," he replied in a strong a.s.sured tone.

"I've never even heard of that one."

"You're definitely missing out then," he advised with a heart breaking smile. I momentarily melted.

"Hey Lex," Mike called as he loomed toward us. "My mom just called and she's outside so I have to go," he announced. I picked up on my cue.

"Oh, ok. Well I'll walk you out," I offered returning the disc to its rack.

"I'll come with you." Kellan hurried on my heels. We walked through the food court and out the exit. His mom's van was parked at the curb.

"I had a good time babe. We should do this again soon," he suggested purposefully excluding Kellan.

"Sure," I replied in agreement. And then it happened, the thing I was somewhat dreading. He gave me a hug and leaned in to kiss me. Preconceiving this possibility, I was prepared and gave his lips my left cheek. After one peck, I gently pushed away careful not to hurt his feelings in the process. "I'll talk to you later," I smiled taking a giant step backwards to create some distance between us.

"Umm, night babe," he said caught off guard by my brush off. He turned and got into his mom's car. I waved as she drove off. I released a sigh of pure embarra.s.sment and perhaps a bit of frustration was entwined too before turning back to Kellan.

"I guess I should call my mom to come get me."

"I can take you home," he offered. "Plus, it'll be nice to see your parents again."

"Are you sure?" I checked.

"Yea. Let's go." He immediately started walking around the mall back in the direction of the theatre.

A chill ran through me as I felt the night air for the first time though I'd been outside for five minutes now. I shrugged deeper into my hoodie but received no warmth or protection from the fall air. As we rounded the corner he removed his zip-up hoodie and placed it over my shoulders.

"Thanks," I replied to his gesture. Inside I was screaming with excitement yet remained calm on the surface. "You're not cold?" I glimpsed at his bare arms with their blatant muscle definition gleaming off the moonlight.

"I'm okay," he smiled softly. The twitch of his lips didn't quite reveal his dimple, but I still basked in it.

He again opened my door for me. I pulled his jacket to the front of me, resting it like a blanket. He turned on the heat as soon as the car was started. I shivered as he began driving, still not feeling the heat quite yet.

"You would never survive Seattle weather," he commented.

"Thanks for the warning." I rolled my eyes sarcastically and gave him a smug smile. He just chuckled quietly as my stomach growled.

"Hungry?" he queried with a raised brow.

"Yea. Aren't you?" I scrunched my face shyly realizing I hadn't eaten since this morning. I quickly remembered he hadn't either that I'd observed.

"Not hungry, just thirsty," he smiled a full, devious grin. "Want me to stop somewhere?"

"No. I'm okay. I'll just eat something when I get home." I was already embarra.s.sed that my stomach was growling and his wasn't. The last thing I wanted was to prolong that sort of humiliation, even if it was for the purpose of squashing it.

In half the time it should have taken we were in front of my house. I stared at him with a puzzled expression since I hadn't given him directions. How did he know where I live? He looked over at me and must have read my face.

"I know your parents, remember?"

"Yea but you haven't seen them since Spain in August, right?" I both accused and checked.

Kellan grinned sarcastically, if that's even possible, and without skipping a beat was opening my door. I unlocked the front door to the house and made no hesitation in walking towards the family room when I heard the sound of the television.

"Hey Mom, Hey Dad. Look who came to visit," I announced whisking past them into the kitchen. They turned and greeted Kellan. My father shot a warning look to him as if he was a trouble-maker while saying h.e.l.lo. My mother, ever warm and accepting, got up and gave him a hug.

"You hungry, Kellan?" I asked as I pulled out the ingredients for a turkey sandwich.

"No thanks," he replied.

"What about a drink? I know you said you were thirsty in the car," I offered. He looked at my parents; they seemed to be communicating though no words were spoken.

"I'm ok for now."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged taking a bite of my freshly prepared sandwich. I put the a.s.sembly line of ingredients away.

"How was the movie?" my mother asked.

"Cheesy. The same blood and gore story as all scary movies," I said as I closed the fridge.

"You screamed pretty often for such a cheesy movie," Kellan teased.

"I screamed like twice and I wasn't scared, just surprised," I explained in defense, brushing off his absolutely dead on a.s.sumptions. Kellan rolled his eyes and laughed. I wanted to melt into a puddle, even with my parents around, feeling the flutters of giddiness in my stomach.

"How are you parents?" my mother asked Kellan.

"They're good. Busy planning a trip to Italy in February."

"We were thinking of attending as well," she stated.

"What's in Italy in February?" I interrupted.

"It's another family reunion," my mother advised. The unwary feeling returned in that moment. They were definitely hiding something, but I was clueless as to what it could be. The Bancrofts weren't family yet my parents were attending their reunions?

"Oh. So soon? Are you and Dad planning to go?" I hoped she would elaborate but knew better. Since they hadn't said anything prior, chances were against them to pick that time in front of Kellan to initiate the discussion of our family secrets.

"We're not sure yet. I'll be sure to tell you if we decide," she promised. I was right. The subject was closed.

"Well, I better get going," Kellan stated.

"Oh, okay." I was a little perplexed. He'd been in my house all of two minutes and was rushing out immediately. I really wished he would stay, but I couldn't ask him to, especially in front of my dad after his initial reaction.

"Have a good night," he waved to my parents.

"It was nice seeing you again," my mother incited.

"I'll walk you out," I offered. I grabbed his hoodie off the stairwell and handed it to him. "Thanks for letting me use your jacket."

"No problem. I had a good time tonight Lexi," he added laying the jacket over his arm.

"So did I." I tried to smile but couldn't. I was a little upset that he was leaving so abruptly and couldn't understand why. I didn't do anything that I knew of and neither had my parents.

"See you Monday?" he verified.

"I'll be there."

"'night" he said as he opened the door. I shrugged internally. I found myself becoming more and more agitated and easily exasperated. I waved as he stepped out on the porch. I stood there and watched him go to his car.

My heart was pounding. I didn't want him to leave. I just wanted him to hold me all night, to hypnotize me with his beautiful eyes while embracing me. Mike was dying to do that with me, but I was slowly realizing that he wasn't who I wanted.

What was it about Kellan? I'd never felt this way before. He fascinated me. He's like a mysterious beauty. He's open with me yet so reserved, obviously hiding beneath his exterior. He seemed so in control of himself while I felt so out of control dreaming, longing for just one intimate moment with this dark attractive creature.

Hearing the rev of his engine as he sped off, I returned to the kitchen to finish my sandwich. Still hungry, I grabbed a slice of cold pizza and a c.o.ke from the fridge.

"I'm going to call Mel," I announced already heading towards the stairs.

"Ok sweetie. Good night," my mother called after me.

I dialed Mel and revisited the events of the night with her leaving out Kellan's bookstore secret. She reveled in every element despite the negative outlook I now held over my relationship with Mike. Amidst her commenting though, her mom walked in the door.

"Got to go for tonight Lex. My mom just got home. I'll talk to you tomorrow," she promised. I could tell by her tone that she was upset about missing the outing. Mel had a complicated living situation with her mom and brother. I was the only person she was allowed to spend unlimited time with, but even that had its restrictions.

"'kay, night," I replied.