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Brian stood in front of a mirror and ran his hand through his untidy curls. I’m way overdue for a haircut, he thought and cast a skeptical look at his unruly hair. Waaay past due. Feeling satisfied with himself, he turned and grabbed his keys making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.

It had been two months since he and Nicole had literally run into one another in the grocery store. After they had lunch together and then dinner the next night, things seemed to pick up where they had left off. It almost seemed as though nothing bad had happened between them. He and Nicole were definitely back on in a big way, and every time someone mentioned her name he would feel himself beginning to grin like an idiot.

He was happy, but he couldn’t deny that his thoughts did wander to Julie more often than he cared to admit. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in months and he had long since given up trying to get her to pick up the telephone. Every now and then, Brian would find himself dialing her number but he would always end the call before it even began. It just wasn’t meant to be. Shaking the thought from his head, he climbed into his car and glanced at his watch. It was only 6:39 and he had plenty of time to make it over to Nicole’s to pick her up for dinner.

***

“This is really nice,” Nicole whispered as she laced her fingers through Brian’s across the table.

He just smiled, taking in her beauty. She was stunning in a simple black dress that came off the shoulders with her hair elegantly swept up and away from her face. Her brown eyes sparkled in the candlelight and her smile warmed him to the core.

“If you don’t mind, I’m gonna go to the ladies room,” she stood up. Dropping a quick kiss on Brian’s lips her smile widened, “I won’t be gone long.”

Brian watched Nicole until she disappeared around the corner and leaned back in his chair. Tonight was perfect and would only get better, he was sure of it. After a moment the maitre d’ appeared at his side and offered a smile.

“Mr. Littrell, you have a telephone call.”

“Okay, thank you,” he nodded. “If Nicole comes back before I do, let her know where I am, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he rounded the corner. Trying to figure out who would be calling, he wasn’t paying attention as he brushed past a couple on their way to a table. It wasn’t until he heard a soft “oooof” followed by an angry “excuse me” that he realized he’d more than brushed past them; he nearly knocked the woman over.

“Sorry,” he said as he turned to face them apologetically. “I wasn’t watching—” surprise registered on his face and his excuse was forgotten.

“Oh, hello Brian,” the irritation in Julie’s voice had been replaced by a cool tone.

“Julie, hi,” he didn’t know what to say. It had been so long since he’d seen or heard from her, that he didn’t know what to say. He noticed she had called him Brian which was something rare, and she was obviously not pleased to see him. He took a moment to survey her; he was glad to see that she looked well.

Julie cleared her throat and brought Brian back to earth. “This is Tyler Jenkins.”

Brian forced a smile and extended his hand, which Tyler shook firmly. He tried not to narrow his eyes as he gave Tyler the once over. He was tall—taller than him—with dark wavy hair and bright blue eyes. He’s not really her type… Clearing his throat Brian nodded to them, “It was nice meeting you, man. Good to see you, Jules.” Wanting desperately to get away from them, Brian headed back to his table completely forgetting about his phone call. He tried his best to ignore them, but still managed to hear when Tyler asked who he was. The worst part came with Julie’s nonchalant answer: “Just someone I used to know.”



Bianca leaned back on her king sized bed and smiled to herself. He should be coming through that door at any moment, she was sure of it. She’d left a message on his cell phone to be there as soon as possible and a note for him downstairs. Now, she was waiting patiently knowing that he would not be expecting the romantic setting when he got there.

She ran a hand through her dark hair, feeling a nervous ball forming in her stomach. Why she was starting feeling this way she didn’t know. She slid further back on the bed and adjusted the pink satin robe she was wearing. Was he going to like all of this? She was suddenly very unsure about what he was going to think. Was it too much? No, he’s going to love it.

Listening closely, she thought she heard the faint sound of the front door shutting. The nervous ball began to dissolve into a flutter of pure excitement. She was feeling much better about this now that she knew he was actually there. She smiled to herself again when she heard him ascending the stairs; it was only a matter of moments now. She heard him call her name; his voice was filled with concern.

She slid to the end of the bed and stood up when she heard him right outside of the room. Making one final adjustment to her hair and robe, she was pleased to see the surprise register on his handsome face. “Hey you.”

“Bean?” relief filled his voice followed by confusion. “The message you left made it sound like something was wrong.”

“No,” she shook her head and bit her lip. “I just wanted to see you.”

He looked as though he wanted to say something, but instead chose to keep it to himself. “Well, I should probably get going. Since you’re okay and everything…”

“Wait,” she called desperation evident in her voice.

Turning slowly, a pained expression flashed across his face. “What are you doing, Bean? What do you want?”

Bianca walked over to him and without saying a word she guided his hands to the tie on her robe. Without breaking their eye contact, she whispered in a sultry voice, “I needed to see you.” She kept her hands on his as he slipped the thin fabric from her shoulders.

“Wh-what do you want?” he asked again quietly. Though he tried, he couldn’t make himself leave.

“You, Nick. I want you. Make love to me,” she demanded gently before pressing her lips to his.

At that very moment, Bianca jerked awake and looked around the dark room. Casting a nervous glance beside her, she was filled with relief. There lay AJ, with his back to her, sound asleep and snoring lightly. “Oh dear God,” she whispered to herself and brought her hand to her eyes. Shaking the very real dream from her mind, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Sliding across the satin sheets, she spooned against her husband and draped her left arm across his body. As much as she tried to rid her mind of what she’d just been dreaming, it was still crystal clear. The only question she could ask herself was: why?



Nick stood on his deck of his Florida mansion staring out into the dark night. The tide was out and the beach seemed to stretch on forever as the silver moon hung low in the sky. Millions of stars sparkled like diamonds against the clear ebony sky. A cool breeze coming off the water occasionally ruffled his blonde hair and kissed his cheeks.

A forlorn sigh escaped Nick’s lips as he continued to gaze out at the picture perfect night. He had it all. Fame and fortune, the adoration of millions of fans, women willing to do anything for him at any time… He was never alone, yet he always felt so lonely. Empty. Staring down into the crystal glass in his hand he swirled the amber liquid inside before finishing it off.

Two months had slipped by since his world had been turned upside down. Bianca’s confession on that rainy, passion filled late September afternoon had sent his heart surging with hope. False hope. Now, here he was drowning his sorrows in Jack Daniels and wallowing in self pity. He loathed himself with every fiber of his being. What had happened to him?

His body tensed uncomfortably as the busty redhead he’d chosen for the night—Melanie…Missy… He couldn’t even remember—snaked her arms around his waist. He sneered in disgust with himself as she placed a tender kiss on his bare shoulder. As much as he hated himself at that moment, he knew he wasn’t going to break his routine tonight. He knew that after a few minutes his desire would take over and he would lead the girl upstairs and spend the rest of the night pleasuring her into oblivion only to send her packing the next morning.

It was always the same these days. After a long night of sex, the woman left with the misguided idea that he was genuinely interested in her; that he would be calling her for another date. After he was sure she was gone, he’d take a scalding hot shower trying to rid himself of the intense shame he felt. Questions plagued him and his heart ached with overwhelming loneliness as his tears mixed with the water cascading over his naked body.

Her kisses brought him out of his thoughts and back into the present. Something in the back of his mind clicked and the loathing he felt for himself intensified. He had to break the monotonous routine tonight. Not tomorrow or next week… right now. If he didn’t it would keep going and he was sure it was going to lead to his disastrous downfall. It’s time I finally let go and move on. It’s time I pick up the pieces and grow up.

Unfortunately, she had other plans for him as she turned him to face her. She placed kiss after kiss across his chest and neck—paying special attention to his collar bone. Her hands roamed his body and Nick felt himself losing control to wanton desire. Sadly, he gave into the realization that tonight would be no different from the rest…



Mia paced the dark room nervously while Howie lay sleeping in his king sized bed. How could two months have passed with no progress whatsoever? Mitch was growing more impatient as each day passed, but there was nothing she could do. All she knew was that eventually she was going to run out of time.

Dropping into an overstuffed chair, she began chewing on her manicured fingernail. Something had changed over the last few months and she wasn’t sure exactly what she was doing anymore. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her heart, beneath all of the armor she’d built up, she felt a vaguely familiar pang.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Mia? Get a fucking grip!” she whispered to herself. She cast a glace at Howie; he was so peaceful looking. Pushing herself back to her feet she tried to think of something she could do to rid herself of the guilt that had bubbled to the surface of her heart. She didn’t have a clever idea this time.

She had tried biding her time, but as Mitch’s patience wore thin, his anger grew. He was now calling her every day, and she was running out of excuses. Don’t make me do something I’ll regret, Mia, he spat hatefully just hours earlier. If you fuck this up, you can bet your ass that I will fuck you up. Now do your job you stupid bitch.

The callous words rushed back to her and she could feel her eyes welling up with tears. “I need to stop being such a baby and do this already,” she mumbled as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m Mia Dennison for fuck’s sake.”



Kevin smiled as he and Tara sat on his sofa talking. It was the end of November and they had spent the day together with Chris decorating for Christmas and just having a good time. After getting all of the decorations up, Kevin invited them to stay for dinner. After a delicious home cooked meal—spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread—they had spent the rest of the time playing with Chris until he fell asleep against Kevin’s broad chest. Now, after putting Chris to sleep in the big boy bed Kevin bought for him, he and Tara were laughing together.

“This has been a really great day,” she gushed with a genuine smile.

“It has. Chris had a really good time.”

“I’ve never seen him look so excited than when you lifted him up to put the star on top of the tree,” her eyes sparkled with emotion. “He really loves you, ya know.”

“I hope so, 'cause I’m crazy about him,” his smile faded temporarily.

Tara knew his daughter had just crossed his mind and she placed her hand over his on the back of the sofa. “She’ll come around. Just give her time.”

He shook his head sadly. “I’ve given her time, Tara. You don’t know Brianna… and to be honest, I don’t know her anymore. I used to, but that was before everything happened. She was my whole life.”

Tara’s heart ached for Kevin as she watched his emerald eyes shimmer with unshed tears. He was such a good man and she just didn’t understand why Brianna was keeping his daughter from him. “Eventually, she’ll realize what she’s doing. You’ll get your daughter back.”

“What if it’s too late?”

Tara shook her head defiantly and squeezed his hand. “Kevin, it’s never too late.”