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Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come in to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy***

Emma sang to herself on an afternoon run. She was going to kill AJ for getting that song stuck in her head; she found herself singing it all the time now. It had been a month since she’d had her talk with him and things were finally headed in the right direction. She started seeing a counselor to help her deal with everything she’d been through and was surprised to realize how much anger she had suppressed. Anger at Nick for what happened between them, anger at the passing of her best friend and anger at herself for staying with Stephen. Thankfully, the therapy was helping and she was starting to feel more like herself again.

Running was a release that her therapist had suggested for her. Well, she suggested a kick boxing class but the more Emma thought about it, the more she was convinced she’d probably kick herself in the head. Running was the second option and she figured that was much safer; how hurt could she really get? She’d started at a gym near her apartment because it seemed like the winter storms were never going to end. But as typical as New England weather was, she lucked out today because it got up to about fifty degrees and she decided to head down to the state park she loved so much.

Scanning the parking lot, she found her car off to the side where she’d parked and headed towards it. Just as she was reaching the driver’s side, she tripped on a loose piece of asphalt. She went down hard and knew instantly that she had sprained her ankle. Sitting up, she saw it had already started to swell and she felt stinging in her hands. Both of them were scraped up and started to bleed slightly.

That’s just great, she thought to herself. How the hell was she going to get home with two scraped hands and her driving ankle blowing up to the size of baseball? Leaning her head against the door, she sat there for a minute while tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Emma?”

She snapped out of her thoughts and blinked her eyes several times trying to focus. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she looked up to find the person who had called out to her jogging over to where she was. You’ve got to be kidding me, she cursed and shook her head.

“Emma? Are you ok?”

She closed her eyes again, hoping that she was just hearing things. And seeing things, she thought, but opening her eyes just produced the same result. Nick was now kneeling next to her, concern showing in his eyes.

“Are you ok?” he asked again.

“I’m fine. I just tripped.”

Nick looked down at her ankle and then at her scraped hands.

“You’re fine?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just gonna go home and clean it up. No big deal.”

To prove she was ok, she grabbed at her door handle and tried to stand. The pain in her hands and foot were unbearable and she sunk back down to the ground again. She tried as hard as she could to not cry; she was so tired of looking vulnerable.

“Do you want some help?”

After sitting there for a few minutes cursing her inability to keep upright, she nodded and put her arm around Nick’s neck as he helped her stand. She leaned against the door handle and tried to get the keys out of her pocket.

“Want me to do that?”

She shook her head no. “I appreciate your help but really, I’m fine.”

Fumbling with the keys, she tried hard to unlock the door but after a few unsuccessful tries, the keys slid out of her hands onto the ground.

“Dammit!” she cursed and slammed her hand onto the window. She yelped as the pain radiated through her palm.

“I don’t think you’re ok Em.”

She was about to tell him she was fine again but she knew she was full of crap. There was no way she could drive home in the condition she was in. The problem was that Nick was the last person she wanted taking care of her.

As if he read her mind, he offered to call Addie and wait till she got there.

“I can’t call her. She dragged Howie to Maine to go outlet shopping; they won’t be back till late.”

“Then, as much as you may hate this, you’re kinda stuck with me.”

Emma shook her head. “I really think I can drive.”

Nick sighed. “Look Em, I know you pretty much hate me right now but can you stop being so stubborn just for a minute?”

“I’m not being stubborn!”

“Yes you are; you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. I know you don’t want my help but you need it. Can’t you just let me help this one time?”

She tried to lean down to get her keys but her ankle wobbled and she started to slide down. Nick caught her and when she looked up; their faces were so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek.

“Can you please just give up the tough guy act?”

Emma tried really hard to find a reason why she didn’t need his help but after that last slide, she realized she had to give in.

“Fine.” she muttered. “This one time.”

“Thank you.”

Nick grabbed Emma’s keys, slipped them in his pocket and pulled her arm around his neck. He helped her hobble over to his truck which was parked nearby and held onto her while she slid into the seat. Reaching up to grab the seat belt, he pulled it across her and snapped it closed. He gently closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side thinking that this was gonna be a long ride home.

***lyrics by Abba “Dancing Queen”