June 08, 2005 Cleveland, Ohio

Tina looked different than he remembered. She was thinner, but rather than making her look skinny it had accentuated her curves, bringing out the dip of her waist and the fullness of her bust. Her wavy light brown hair normally brushed her shoulders but it was now much longer. It was more of a dark auburn shade, pin straight and tied into a high ponytail. She normally wore little to no makeup but now she was done up quite nicely with dark smoky eyes and soft pink lips. She had always been cute but now he would definitely file her into the sexy category.

He'd seen her flirting with the guy behind the counter when he'd come in and despite the fact that they weren't together anymore it still stung. He couldn't have expected her to stay celibate, he certainly hadn't but it was a harsh reality to see the woman he loved flirting with another guy. He couldn't even remember her ever being that flirty or playful with him, though they'd never had much of a chance to; they were thrown into being serious and responsible so quickly in their relationship.

"What are you doing here?" Tina hissed as she came around the counter. She gave Ryan an awkward glance and an apologetic smile before turning back to the last person she had ever expected to see walk through the store's front doors.

Nick wasn't surprised by her hostility; he had kind of expected it. After all the effort she had gone through to make sure she didn't see him he wouldn't imagine that she would have been all that happy about him showing up at her workplace.

Parker was off looking at something on a shelf and Nick attempted to put Zoey down on the floor so she could join him and he and Tina could talk but before the girl's feet came within striking distance of the floor she started screaming. Nick rolled his eyes but dutifully picked her back up, almost wishing that he'd been able to make the trip to see Tina alone but he had no one to watch the kids, and he needed them there as a distraction just in case things got ugly.

Zoey was now wrapped around his neck and he lifted his chin so it rested on her shoulder, "The kids wanted to see you," he answered though it was fairly unconvincing considering that Parker was checking out fancy silicone ice cube trays on the other side of the room and Zoey was trying to choke him.

"Wow Mom wasn't joking about her being a drama queen with you was she?" Tina muttered underneath her breath, still keeping her distance from Nick, "And I meant what are you doing in Cleveland? Aren't you supposed to be on a plane back to Florida right now? How did you even know where I work are you spying on me or something?"

"Don't flatter yourself," he scoffed, "I didn't even know you worked here until Parker told me. I got a place up the street; we were driving by."

Tina's eyes went wide and she crossed her arms firmly across her chest, "You got a place!?" she exclaimed, "What the hell Nick? You should have gotten that cleared with me first."

"I don't have to check with you before I move, unless you have a restraining order against me that I don't know about?" Nick joked but at the words restraining order Tina's friend behind the counter immediately made his way over, standing behind her. He was trying to look threatening and Nick wanted to laugh in his face.

Ryan gave Nick a once over, "Is this guy bothering you?" he asked Tina.

"He's a pain in the ass but otherwise no, he's not bothering me," Tina replied, not tearing her eyes away from Nick as if he were up to something suspicious.

"Okay," Ryan said, putting a hand on her back, "If you want me to ask him to leave just say the word."

"Yeah I'm right here Mighty Mouse, I can hear you," Nick said condescendingly, chuckling at the smaller man. He was literally Howie's size, Nick was pretty sure he could pick him up with one hand, he was hardly threatening.

"Nick..." Tina said in a warning tone. She didn't have any intentions of losing her job because her ex decided to start a fight in the middle of the store, "This is really not a good time."

Nick held his free hand up in defence, "Alright," he agreed, "Can we meet for dinner or something? Can we talk?"

"I don't want to talk to you," she shrugged, "I don't have anything to say."

"With the kids," he clarified, assuming she would feel more comfortable if Parker and Zoey were there to keep either of them from getting too emotional, "Come on, one dinner? Unless you think your boyfriend will have a problem with that?"

Tina sent a glance in Ryan’s direction. She could have told the truth and denied that he was her boyfriend since they’d only been on a few dates but she didn’t want to satisfy Nick’s curiosity too soon, “I don’t know...”

“Please,” Nick pleaded, “For Zoey’s birthday?”

Tina took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her arms were still crossed and she stared down at them for a moment before considering his offer, "Only if it's the four of us," she specified and he nodded, "Where do you want me to meet you?"

"My place," he said and Tina raised an eyebrow in his direction sceptically, "I'll make dinner."

She chuckled, "I'll follow the fire trucks then."

~*~

As soon as the door closed behind Nick and the kids Tina let out the huge breath she had been holding. She had definitely not been ready for that. In the span of a half hour everything had been tipped upside down. Nick was now living in the same city as her, he knew where she worked and she was going to his house for dinner. She knew that her mother would kill her if she knew that. Her parents had been weary for the past three years that Tina was going to put them through the conflict and drama they’d experienced living in Florida. They never wanted to see their daughter go through that kind of anguish again if they could help it.

It had broken her heart to see the way Zoey was acting with Nick and it made her feel sorry for him. When her mother had told her that the girl wouldn’t speak and couldn’t bear to be away from her Daddy she had been concerned for her daughter, but seeing it in person was a different story. She had never wanted to hurt the kids when she left. Taking their father away from them was never her intention. She was trying to save them from a lifetime of arguments, broken promises, and dysfunction. She wanted both Zoey and Parker to remember their parents as being happy people who loved them unconditionally instead of hateful people, only concerned with themselves that fought all the time.

It was really because of Zoey that she was willing to meet Nick for dinner, but she wasn’t sure what he expected to get out it. He wasn’t going to convince her to change their current arrangement because she was finally happy. She had her job, her apartment, the kids and now Ryan; she finally had a life for the first time ever.

It was going to take a lot of willpower to walk into his home and make it out without caving though, she knew. The main reason she had avoided speaking to him for three years was because of the power he had over her. For years he had managed to convince her to stay when she was ready to walk out the door. He had a charm about him that she always fell for. Dinner would be the first test in three years to see if she could resist it and it worried her. As soon as she’d seen him walk through the door she’d felt a familiar fluttering in her stomach. She still loved him, she couldn’t deny it, but she knew deep down that they couldn’t be together.

“So why didn’t you tell me that your ex is a football player?” Ryan asked with an awkward laugh and Tina gave him a questioning look.

“Uh... I guess I didn’t tell you that because he’s not a football player,” she laughed uncomfortably, “Why would you think that?”

“Well you said before that he was rich. He’s kind of young, and he doesn’t look that bright so it’s not likely he’s worked that hard for the cash. So unless his parents have money then I just assumed he was some kind of athlete because the guy is huge! He looks like a linebacker.”

Tina rolled her eyes, “He’d love it if he was a football player,” she told him, taking mental note of just how physically different the two men were. She could see why Nick would make Ryan feel a little nervous, or even inferior, “but he’s more of an armchair quarterback. He’s actually a singer, and you don’t know him,” she added defensively, “He’s worked really hard for everything he has and though he may not look it at first he’s smarter than most people give him credit for.”

“Okay,” Ryan laughed, holding up his hands in defeat, “You don’t need to defend the guy. You hate him, remember?”

Tina looked at him wearily then remembered the look on Nick’s face when he’d pleaded with her to come for dinner, “Right...” she said unconvincingly, “I do.”