Episode 404

Stepping off the elevator Kevin glanced around to see if he could spot Ria anywhere. It had been a long time since she had been at the hospital this long and he just hated to come her to tell her the news about them going to the island. Not seeing her he moved over toward the front desk and moved back to see if he could have the woman page her to the desk. This was something he didn’t want to do, something that he wished would just stop. There was that hope he had that Angela would just come home and say that she was having a hard day needing to take a breather. There was just something in the pit of his stomach that told him this was something bigger. Something that was much more dangerous and he didn’t know what it was, but he’d been in this position with Angela so many times that he knew it was worse than all the others. Something was really wrong and they needed to find her before it was too late.

“Don’t think that way Kevin,” he placed his hand in over his eyes rubbing at them slowly knowing he hadn’t got much sleep over the last few days, but he knew he wasn’t about to get much more. He didn’t want to think about his best friend being in some type of real immediate danger. It would kill him that if after all these years of protecting her, taking care of her and trying his hardest to keep her safe that she would have something bad happen to her just like that now. Most of his life was just dedicated to her and if something happened now it almost seemed like he wasted his life for nothing. “She’ll be okay.”

Shaking off the feeling of actually feeling worthless in the situation he moved forward. Knowing and hoping he would find Angie, it wouldn’t be too late. Right now he just needed to tell Ria. Maybe get her to come with him. That would be what was right. To spend time with her in the hopes of finding Angela.

“Excuse me,” Kevin placed his large hands over the center of the front desk sliding them in closer to the other while the woman motioned him to wait. Frowning, he stood there a few moments until he felt someone’s hands press in over the center of his abdomen and slide up toward the center of his chest caressing it in small circles as he closed his eyes. “I look for you and you always seem to find me.”

“Well that’s what they call true love,” Ria teased feeling him turn to face her before dipping down and pressing his hand in over the side of her face. His rough fingertips caressed her skin tenderly until his lips brushed in against hers in a hesitant moment while her hand slid in against his cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too baby, I’m not used to you working this long and being away from you,” he slid his hands in over her hips slowly before nudging his nose against hers when the thought of the original reason he came here entered his head. “We have to talk about something. Something kind of important.”

“Why do I not like the sound of that,” she ran her fingers through his thick hair for a moment pulling back when she saw the look in his chocolate eyes. Stepping back she folded her arms in front of his chest knowing that she wasn’t going to like this. Not at all. “Kevin? What’s going on?"

“We still haven’t found Angie yet and I think I might know where she is,” Kevin bit down on his bottom lip rubbing his hands together slowly trying to think of a way to tell her this. He knew that this would end up bad somehow, it was just the gut feeling he was having. Pressing his hand in over his eyes for a second, he felt a burning sensation building up inside of his head. Probably one of those long lasting migraines that occurred all the time these days. “The only problem is that it’s on the island Ria and I leave today.”

“You’re kidding, right? This is some kind of joke,” Ria stepped away from him seeing the way Kevin’s brown eyes stared out into hers, slightly upset with the way she responded. A deep frown pressed in over his lips as she shook her head and looked up at him. “You do realize this is just probably some way of her getting attention again Kevin? That’s all this seems to lately. We think we’re getting somewhere in life with each other and then you have to go off for Angie time and time again. When are you going to stop searching for her and realize I’m right in front of you?"

“Ria, baby. Come on,” Kevin saw her turn away from him and he reached out for her hand and grabbed it quickly in his. The strength from his pull making her stumble into the center of his chest before she brought her hands up and pushed roughly off of him. “Ria, this isn’t the only reason I’m going to the island too. Russ and Avery are going tonight too because they are having their wedding over there Ria. They are two of my best friends Ria--Angie isn’t the only reason here.”

“And you’re telling me that once we get there you wouldn’t go searching for Angela right off the bat and would focus your time completely on Russ and Avery?" Ria questioned seeing Kevin go to answer that getting caught up on what he was about to say. The frown on his face told her everything as he pushed his hand through his thick, dark hair before taking in a long breath. “That’s what I thought.”

“Baby please,” Kevin followed her down the hallway reaching for her wrist softly seeing her stop midway and by the huff she let out, he knew that she was angry. More than angry and when her dark eyes turned to look out at him he frowned moving forward to cup her face in his large hands. “Ria, baby please don’t get mad at me for something like this. I want you to go with me. I want to show you my home. I want you to see my paradise, just please let me take you there.”

“Why do you have to go tonight Kevin? Why couldn’t Brant just go?" Ria closed her eyes hating to stare into his when they were fighting. Somehow he always had this way of looking at her that made her go insane and want to forgive him right off the bat. The blood rushing through her veins was boiling and she just couldn’t let this down. She couldn’t. “He’s the one that is engaged to her Kevin, he can take care of it. We can leave tomorrow, spend the time with Russ and Avery when we get there. Brant can find her on his own.”

“I can’t do that Ria, I’m the only one that knows how to get around the island. It’s my home, I know every little place on that island,” Kevin informed her feeling her pull away from his grasp and look to the side. Feeling an ache carry over him he could tell that he was upsetting her and that’s what he always hated the most. After what he said in front of Brant today he came here determined to show her how much he loved her and now he was hurting her just by seeming to pick Angie all over again by what she was saying. “Please Ria, don’t be mad at me.”

“How can I not be mad at you Kevin? Every time I think we have something right Angie comes into your life and destroys it,” a frown pressed in over her lips as Kevin reached out to touch her face, but she pulled away from him like he would burn her.

“Baby, I love you,” Kevin followed her not far behind as she moved toward the on call room and he moved in behind her pressing his hands in over the doorframe. She was frozen in front of him and he could feel the heat of her body close to his. Just by the sounds of her breathing he knew she still wasn’t happy. “Don’t do this to me.”

“Don’t do this to you?" Ria turned on her heel bringing a balled up fist into the center of his chest seeing him stumble back when he wasn’t ready for that kind of movement from her. Looking around the hospital hallways, she didn’t even want to start on him right now and cause a scene. “Did you ever think that this effects me too Kevin? Did you ever think of that?"

“Baby,” Kevin watched her shove her palms into the door to open it to the on call room as he frowned and heard the door slam behind her. By the sounds of that, he knew he had a lot of making up to do as he moved into the room turning on his heel to lock the latch on the door to get some alone time with them. “Ria, you should know by now that coming in here isn’t going to stop me from following you.”

“If I call security it will get you the hell out of here,” she went to reach for the phone hearing Kevin’s quick movements to grab the phone before she could. Shaking his head he moved forward in a lightening quick movement to cup her face in his hands, his lips pressing in over hers. Trying to win her back with his kisses, the way he’d done time and time again. Just trying to get her to listen to him and try to understand the situation without getting out of the league upset. The taste of her cherry chap stick on his lips always drove him crazy and now as his lips teased in over hers he tried fully to apologize. Until her hands pressed in over his chest distancing herself from him. “Kevin, leave.”

“No,” he simply answered tipping forward to kiss her again, his right hand sliding down toward the small of her back. His fingertips tracing small circles in over her skin underneath her scrub top. Pulling away a moment he gulped down and rested his forehead against hers. “Ria honey, she’s just my best friend. I love you, no one will ever satisfy the love in my heart that you have given me. I have never in my life loved someone truly like I’ve loved you. This whole situation will be over once we find Angie, I promise. Brant will have to take care of her and her problems once we find her because when I get home which I’m sure won’t take that long--I want to do what’s been waiting. Something that should be moved ahead. I want to marry you Ria. I want to finally call you my wife and I don’t care how we make it possible. If we have to go to Vegas or something, then we’ll do it. Ria, I just want you and only you, so please don’t be mad at me.”

“Kevin, I don’t think…,” she went to say something more feeling his fingertips caressing the curve of her cheek tenderly, his chocolate eyes were focused on her and only her as she looked away from him. Sighing, she felt his index finger press in underneath her chin to make her look up into his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

“Ria, we could even do it tonight. All you’d have to do is come with me to the island and we’ll do it there,” dragging the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip taking in a deep breath until pressing in closer to her. His lips descended over hers feeling her lean in closer to him as his arms wrapped around her hips raising her up higher to him while he crushed her in against his chest. Moving over toward the couch in the corner he set her down softly before moving in over her, his hand pressing back her long dark hair. “Ria, come with me tonight and we’ll get married tonight. Who cares about the people. The only person I need to share that very special moment with is you Ria. I love you.”

Without saying another word he moved up to pull his shirt over his head and drop it to the side of them. He settled in over her carefully before pressing his index finger in over her lips to silence her when she was about to give him an answer. Reaching down he grabbed a hold of her leg moving it around his waist before sighing.

“Ria, think about it for a few,” Kevin hushed feeling her fingers gliding in against his heated skin and up through his thick dark hair. “This is something important. I love you Ria and I need you to see that Angela is nothing to me. Only a friend and that’s all. My heart only belongs to the one in my arms right now Ria. I love you and only you.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Stupid son of a…” Brant cursed under his breath slamming a shirt into his suitcase while preparing for the trip ahead of him. He reached for another one of his shirts and felt his anger bubbling inside of him after the earlier confrontation he’d had with Kevin. Don had urged Brant to let it go insisting that Kevin was just feeling the same tensions that Brant was about losing Angela, but Brant knew better. Brant knew full well what Kevin was trying to say when he’d arrived earlier spouting off about how much Angela meant to him. The writing was on the wall and now it was time for Brant to take action.

“He’s not going to take her away from me,” Brant vowed in a tight voice thinking about how blind he’d been to the situation that had been taking place right before his very eyes.

With Russ and Avery he’d always been cautious. He’d always been concerned about what was unfolding in front of him and he never trusted Russ. It was his mistrust of Russ that had caused a wedge between him and Avery, yet it was clearly justifiable in the end now that Avery was with Russ. Yes, Brant had felt it was his downfall and he’d tried to keep from avoiding that same mistake with Angela, but it was clear that was going to cost him. Kevin was obviously still in love with Angela and Brant was going to have to find a way to prove to Angela that past history or not he was the better man. Kevin was the past and he was her future. Once Brant found her he was certain that she would remember him and remember what they had with one another. He would make it clear once and for all.

“He can’t take away what I’ve waited my whole life to find,” Brant muttered under his breath his frustrations mounting as he shoved another shirt into the suitcase stuffing it to the brim.

“I thought I heard you in here,” Augustus popped his head in through the half opened door to see his grandson assaulting the suitcase in an attempt to close it. “Hey, whoa, where’s the fire?”

“I’m going to the island,” Brant explained pushing the top of the suitcase down the best he could in order to zip it up. “Kevin believes Angela might’ve gone out there and I’m going to find her.”

“I wasn’t aware that you’d honed in on her location,” Augustus noted giving his grandson a long once over, “but am I to assume that’s what the shouting outside was all about earlier?”

“The shouting was about the fact that Kevin doesn’t have a clue where Angela’s heart really is. She and I are happy together and yes, while she might’ve had some kind of trauma that caused her to forget that, she’s starting to remember,” Brant huffed stubbornly turning around to face his grandfather. “I love her and I’m not about to let him stand in the way of that.”

“I wasn’t aware that he was trying to do such a thing,” Augustus noted seeing Brant start to pace around the room. “Is it perhaps a situation where your perception is skewed in the wrong direction?”

“Unfortunately I was in the wrong direction for a long time, but I see things clearly now,” Brant clenched his fists at his side shaking his head as reality came crashing in upon him. “After all of this time I thought that I was okay with things--that Kevin being involved in her life was okay because they were friends, but now… It’s like everything he felt for her has been reawakened in an instant and I’m worried about what will happen if I don’t reach her.”

“Do you honestly believe that Angela would discard her feelings for you due to her past with Kevin?” Augustus questioned sensing the tension in his grandson.

“I’m not sure what I believe, but I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Avery. Yes, I know now that wasn’t meant to be, but damn it Angela is having my children and I can’t lose her. I won’t lose her,” Brant blurted out with a huff reaching for his suitcase and marching out of the room in the hopes of finding his way to Angela before it was too late. One way or another he would do what was needed to bring her memories back to her so that they could finally be together as it always should’ve been!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Shannon set her keys down on the kitchen counter thinking about the long day she’d had behind her. Right now she wanted nothing more than to hit the sheets and go for a few minutes of rest before she had to get moving again for the party that she and Don had promised Hart they would make an appearance at. While it wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time to go out to a party especially after the day she’d had, she knew full well that not only were they under obligation to the party because it was Don’s friend, but the fact that it was at Don’s father’s club made it even more important that they head on over to it.

“Hey I thought I heard you come in,” Don popped his head into the kitchen and waved at her. Smiling brightly he walked over to pull her into his arms and offer up a small kiss. “God, it’s good to see you.”

“It would be even better for the both of us if we didn’t have to go to that party tonight,” Shannon sighed leaning into his embrace as she felt exhaustion carrying over her.

“Yeah, um about that,” Don cleared his throat nervously releasing her a moment later and walking over to the cabinet. He opened it up and pulled out a box of animal crackers before tucking it underneath his arm. “Actually I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind going there tonight without me.”

“Without you?” Shannon blurted out with wide eyes before giving him a small glare. “Now why would I want to do something like that?”

“Because you love me,” Don tossed back at her offering up a small smile before noting the intensity of her frown. “Look I wouldn’t have said anything about it, but the fact to the matter is that something came up tonight.”

“With work?” she arched a curious brow seeing him thumbing through the cabinet once again to pull out another box.

“Not exactly,” Don paused not bothering to meet her eyes as it was clear he was hiding something from her.

“Don” Shannon mouthed with a small scowl seeing his posture stiffen.

“Okay look it’s not like I planned on it, but Brant had this thing come up and…” Don started in a hurried tone.

“Brant,” Shannon threw her hands up in the air and groaned, “I should’ve known that all things would lead to Brant. Somehow they always do, don’t they?”

“Look Shannon this time it’s serious,” Don offered up in response finally finding the courage to face his wife again. “Angela has gone missing and they aren’t sure what happened to her. Brant is a wreck and…”

“And naturally it’s up to you to fix the situation, right? I mean heaven forbid Brant deal with the situation like a grown up, right?” she folded her arms in front of her chest impatiently.

“I am her doctor Shannon,” Don reminded her with a small huff seeing displeasure behind her brown eyes.

“That’s not why you’re trotting along on this search though, is it? It’s because you need to be the one to hold Brant’s hand through it all, right?” she tossed back at him with a scowl. “Don when are you going to learn that Brant is clearly capable of taking care of himself?”

“Look Shannon I don’t want to fight about this one, but what I will say is that she might be in trouble. Brant is a mess and it isn’t helping the situation now that he and Kevin are fighting with one another.”

“So what? Why does this have to effect my life?” she threw her hands in the air and walked over to the refrigerator to pull out a can of Pepsi. She popped it open before taking a long swig of the cold liquid. “Why does it have to disturb our lives together or Matt’s for that matter?”

“I’ve already talked to my parents and they have no problems keeping an eye on Matt,” Don informed her brightly, “Matt loves seeing his grandparents so it won’t be any trouble.”

“To you maybe, but it puts a huge crimp in our plans Don. You promised Hart that you would be there tonight,” Shannon explained with a huff. “Surely you can’t back out on your promise to him.”

“I’ve already spoken with him about the situation and he understands,” Don continued to explain knowing full well that she wouldn’t be satisfied with any answer he was offering her. “Look it’s complicated…”

“With Brant it always is Don, but through it all you’re right there at his side, aren’t you?” she sighed finally giving up on the debate while taking another sip of her drink.

“I can’t help it Shannon. It’s who I am and when a friend is in trouble…” he explained matter of fact.

“I know the drill Don,” she held her hand up in the air. “You don’t have to explain it to me.”

“Shannon it’s important,” Don sighed making a small movement forward to reach out to her. He felt her hands press in to push over his arms and keep a distance between them.

“It always is when it comes to Brant,” she mouthed in response stepping back and meeting his pleading blue eyes. “Look you do what you have to do because I have a party to get ready for since obviously one of us needs to step up to the plate and honor our commitment.”

“Shannon I…” Don started again with a small frown only to see her holding her hand up in the air.

“Let’s leave it at that considering that the last thing I would want is for us to fight about this. It’s not worth another round between us. You do what you need to do for Brant and I’ll do what I need to while you’re gone,” she suggested giving him one last look. “Do what you have to do Don.”

“Shannon,” Don sighed watching her walk out of the kitchen and leaving him to his packing now that it was clear that once again she was upset with him for being a friend. Still knowing what Brant was going through now that he was on shaky ground with Angela, Don knew full well that he needed to be there for him especially if Kevin was honestly going to try to stake a claim in Angela’s life all over again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Off the truck ladies, off the truck,” Chase stepped in closer to Mindy and Trisha knowing that if he left them on the truck the both of them would try and carry a few things in as well and they were just supposed to be his companions to have fun at the party tonight. When Rob gave him this DJ job for the night, he was excited as ever. Sure, it was so sudden, but he could care less. This was his passion, this was his love. It didn’t matter if he had two hours notice, he would have been on the road when he was supposed to be there. Jason had come with them to offer up his help in bringing everything into the club so Chase didn’t have to do it himself and of course he accepted. Jason was huge, he’d get it all set up in no time. “Jason and I have everything under control. Why don’t you two just wait a couple and then follow us once we’re off the truck.”

“Fine, if you say so,” Trisha was the first to jump down from the truck knowing that she really didn’t want to get all sweaty and disgusting anyways. She looked up to see Mindy and Jason talking to one another while her hands pressed in over his. A smile pressed in over his lips as he led her toward the back of the truck and she jumped down whether she wanted to or not. “Looks like you two are a little touchy with one another.”

“Touchy? He’s my friend,” Mindy saw Jason smile back at her with his big dimples before he turned back to Chase who was telling him what he wanted to do with the supplies he brought for tonight and the activities he planned. “There is no problem with two friends hanging out. Anyways, he’s gay.”

“Well there is such a thing as liking both a man and a woman you know,” Trisha pointed out seeing Mindy glance back at her and she shrugged her shoulders before folding her arms out in front of her chest. Thinking for a moment she realized that while things were pretty strong in their relationship as being just friends--Jason and Mindy always seemed to have somewhat of a chemistry. “Honestly, you two do look kind of cute together.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Mindy replied before she could even let her friend try to play the romance maker between her and Jason. Jason was just her friend and that would be all he ever was. Sure, they had their moments but that didn’t mean they weren’t just friends. All friends have their special moments. “Jason and I are just friends. Nothing more Trisha. I don’t need our relationship getting pressured because Jason is going to start to feel uncomfortable and he’s a really good friend.”

“Alright ladies,” Chase jumped down from the truck the last time after him and Jason moved everything out of it. Looking back he saw Jason grab a hold of the door and tug on it before jumping out. He stumbled slightly as they heard the back door slam shut and Chase covered his ears. “I think that’s why they have that long belt to help you pull it down. I think you popped my ear drums.”

“Let’s hope not because then I’d have to try that whole DJ thing and then you’d have to give me the paycheck,” Jason teased as Chase shoved his hand into the center of his chest sending him back a few steps. Jason laughed a bit before picking up a few things and then a few more. Sure, he was probably carrying more than he had to, but he didn’t want to have over a dozen trips back with Chase to get his things. “We’ll see you in a few gals. How about you two come in with us and stay in. You don’t need to keep going back and forth like us men.”

Mindy shoved him on the arm seeing him laugh and act like he was about to drop the supplies in a teasing manner. Once they entered the club the blow of the air conditioning in the place made it feel more comfortable. The heat outside was too much and it didn’t matter if they told her she had to come back. She wouldn’t. It was too comfortable in here to go back in the smoldering heat. Once Jason and Chase walked back out she glanced over toward the corner to see a familiar face.

“I’ll be back,” Mindy pressed her hand in over Trisha’s shoulder seeing her nod and she headed over in the direction of the man that caught her eyes. “So are you the waiter of the night or the sexy stripper for later.”

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be,” Nate turned to Mindy seeing the smile that pressed in over her young features as he swung his hips forward and back a few times. Her laugh filled the air as he pressed his arm in against the wall to talk to her as she reached out to nudge him softly. “So what are you doing here?"

From the corner of the room Jason spotted Mindy with Nate and felt his heart rate quicken. The two looked like they were flirting back and forth as he clenched his fists at his sides and his nose wrinkled in a bit of raging anger.

“You know for someone who is so gay, you seem to get jealous quite easily of her with other men,” Trisha pointed out seeing the way that Jason seemed to relax with her words as his blue eyes glanced over at her. She wiggled her eyebrows up and down just knowing that there was something more between Jason and Mindy. “So if someone is so gay, why is he getting jealous.”

“I’m not getting jealous,” Jason informed her folding his arms out in front of his muscular chest before turning back toward the scene of Mindy and Nate flirting with one another. “I just don‘t think Nathan Pryce is a good guy at all.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So about that whole stripper thing, I’m totally up for it later. I’ll give you my number, bring my pole. Shake my butt for you,” Nate teased as his green eyes stared into hers before she turned to laugh at him while he continued to swing his hips over and over again. Licking his lips he heard break out in a bigger laughter as he shrugged his shoulders. “You know, I can totally give you something that no one ever gets the chance at. Since I look like a penguin already dressed up in this waiter outfit--I’ll even bring my penguin thong. No one gets to see that. If you get me excited enough, he can even poke you with his beak.”

“Okay, way too much information,” she shoved at the center of his chest seeing the way his large grin pressed his over his handsome features before he reached up to push back his medium length blonde hair. Glancing in her blue eyes for a moment he shrugged his shoulders and leaned further into the wall. “Seriously, you look good.”

“Well, sometimes I feel like a total idiot. Even if I do look good, I feel like totally out of place. This is the only time you are ever going to see me dressed like this,” Nate informed her seeing the way she rolled her eyes and nodded as he took in a long shallow breath. “Even though I only offered up to do this for Rob. The guy is really great and the fact that he is Don’s father only makes me want to help him out more.”

“Oh, so now the truth finally comes out. You didn’t even have to work this and you did it just to be nice,” she teased reaching out to work with the tie he had on and fixed it up a bit seeing him watching her every movement. Patting him softly on the chest she reached up to play with his hair a moment. “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s very cute to know you’re doing something like this. Only puts you up higher in my book.”

“I already thought I was at the top of your list,” Nate acted wounded placing his hand over the center of his chest taking in a few deep breaths. After he was teasing he tipped forward wrapping his arms around her to hug her feeling her squeezing him in response tightly. Pressing a soft kiss against her temple he took in a long breath and moved back pressing a long strand of her soft hair behind her ear. “In all seriousness here--how are you? How are you feeling? What’s new?"

“Gee, give me one question at once,” she teased pressing her hand in over the front of his firm chest seeing the way he smiled down at her. Biting down on her bottom lip, her life had been pretty uneventful. She could lie, but it would make no sense to do that. “I’m okay. Nothing really special has been going on. What about you pretty boy?"

“Nothing, I actually have…,” something caught the corner of Nate’s eye as he turned to see that Cori had arrived at the party. To make things worse, not only did she come, but she was headed off in Rob’s direction. He felt his chest tighten, his blood rushing through his veins faster as he felt Mindy turn in his arms to see what he was watching. “Oh God, I can’t believe she came here.”

“What is she doing here?" she questioned looking over at Nate to see the distraught look behind his green eyes as his jaw tightened and he slowly let her go. Pushing back his hair he tried to play out what he should do and she could tell that this moment was bothering him. She softly pressed her hand against his shoulder seeing his eyes break away from Cori for a moment. “She always seems to bring trouble no matter where she goes. She is so much more trouble than she’s worth.”

“She’s not all that bad,” Nate tried to stand up for her a bit, but he couldn’t blame the town for them thinking she was a nut. She was always a bit off the charts with how she acted and sometimes he thought maybe he was the only one that got to see the vulnerable side of her. “When she wants to be she can be a really great person. I just think right now, she’s going to be making a huge mistake.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Wow, this place looks incredible,” Kellen gushed taking in the decorations and jazz theme music surrounding the atmosphere at Indigo Nights. Everything was in place for a night of swing dancing and fun, something that Coral Valley had been missing for a while. Touching Kipp’s arm gently, Kellen pointed to the band on the front stage at the club. “I’m so excited. I feel like Al Capone is going to just jump out into the crowd and take us back to that point in time when real men weren’t afraid to be stylish.”

“If he makes one more crack about style, I’m going to vomit,” Kyle warned leaning over to whisper in Heather’s ear.

“I happen to think you look very sexy,” she noted touching his shoulder with a smile before toying with his silver tie.

“Of course I do because I know how to hold my own in the hotness department without the queer eye guy organizing my wardrobe,” he mouthed in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes as Heather pinched at his pinstriped suit jacket.

“Now you’re just being wicked Kyle,” she frowned over at him.

“Hey, he wanted Al Capone and I’m sure I could oblige if you find a Tommy gun around here he flashed her a wide grin.

“That’s so not funny,” her frown intensified as she looked around the bustling club. “They went all out tonight, didn’t they?”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from the best,” Kellen added with a smile. “Rob’s got the most incredible planners on staff and…”

“Hey, isn’t that Cori?” Kyle interrupted pointing out a woman in black who was walking through the crowd. “I didn’t realize she was out of the loony bin.”

“Kyle,” Heather swatted his arm once again.

“I don’t even know why she would be here considering that she should be behind bars for shooting Diego in the ass like that. Regardless of what he did with Sarah, I think he suffered far enough by having to experience that,” Kellen wrinkled his nose in disgust. He turned his attention to Kyle again, “no offense.”

“None taken,” Kyle mouthed.

“Seriously though she was did some pretty shady things to get Rob’s attention, so you’d think he would have a restraining order against her,” Kellen continued to ramble on. “She’s clearly dangerous around firearms and…”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine tonight,” Kipp finally broke his long silence. “The last thing we really need to worry about is Cori Warner when we have this party all around us. It’s a time to celebrate and enjoy the night for a change.”

“I’ll second that,” Heather piped in eagerly with a laugh, “Of course right now a champagne sounds nice.”

“Oh I’ll get us all a round,” Kellen nominated himself for the job as Kyle shook his head.

“Does he ever take it down a notch?” Kyle questioned glancing over at Kipp.

“Not since I’ve met him,” Kipp laughed lightly spotting someone he recognized in the crowd. “I’ll be back.”

Kyle watched Kipp move off to speak with the man in front of him before turning to Heather with a smile. “Alone at last.”

“I’d hardly consider us in the center of a huge party being alone,” she mouthed sliding her arms around his waist and hugging him closer to her. “Although it will do for now.”

“I thought so,” Kyle smirked bending down to kiss her just as a champagne glass was pushed between the two of them.

“Drinks are here!” Kellen squealed with delight pushing the drink towards Kyle and Heather once again. “Tonight is going to be so very perfect and I can’t imagine anything being better than this.”

“I can,” Kyle grumbled grudgingly handing Heather the champagne glass.

“Kyle,” Heather warned him once more.

“I’m just saying,” Kyle whispered in response.

“I think I spoke too soon,” Kellen frowned drawing Kyle and Heather’s attention back to the crowd just in time to see Sarah moving through the entrance across the room. “Who invited the wicked witch?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not going to let it ruin my night,” Heather decided tugging on Kyle’s arm. “Let’s go dance or something.”

“You’re on,” Kyle decided knowing full well that tonight he was going to focus on Heather and not let anything including Sarah being at the party ruin their night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Do you want to explain to me why in the hell we are here?” Sarah hissed under her breath looking around the room at the party that surrounded them. When Douglas had insisted on their making their debut as husband and wife, she had been less than thrilled, but now, well she was far more agitated than she’d been earlier. She felt his hand on her elbow. While she’d wanted to shove him away from her and let him know how much he repulsed her, there was a certain electricity that carried over her in being beside him. Taking in a breath she finally forced a distance between them in order to glare up at him. “Well?”

“We’re here because this is a party for my daughter,” Douglas replied in a smooth and even tone waving for one of the waiters to bring him a glass of champagne. The waiter did as instructed and as Sarah reached for a glass as well Douglas caught her wrist mid-movement. He nodded towards the waiter to retreat before speaking up again, “My wife will take a sparkling grape juice.”

The waiter nodded accordingly before setting off in search of Douglas’s request.

“Don’t think that because we’re married now that you can boss me around,” she snapped at him glaring up at him behind narrowed eyes. “You have no right to dictate my actions.”

“Given that your drinking lead you to my bed, which is a place you claim to loathe being in most of the time, I would imagine it is in your best interest to refrain from taking the alcoholic sedative for a while,” he wiggled his eyebrow at her suggestively, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“The only thing you and I agree on is that I hate you and you hate me, which again begs the question of why you felt the need to parade me around this place,” she wrinkled her nose up at him once again before taking another look around the party. “Clearly you don’t need me to feed into your over glorified ego.”

“I need you for a distinct purpose,” Douglas informed her with a stiff tone, his dark eyes searching her features for a long moment. “You see this party tonight is for my daughter’s boyfriend’s daughter and her boyfriend.”

“And I care why?” Sarah questioned arching a disinterested brow up at him. She saw the waiter approaching with her glass of juice and she found herself wishing that it was something stronger. She accepted the glass before taking a long sip of it and pretending that it was something more.

“Because as I said before you serve a purpose and part of that is in our making public appearances with one another,” Douglas explained in a low whisper bringing his arm around her waist. He hugged her in closer to him before dipping down to whisper in the back of her ear. “This is undoubtedly something that can benefit us both.”

“And how is that?” she questioned leaning into him as well. She placed her palm flat across his chest to feel his heart beating beneath her touch. Her dark eyes met his with a newfound interest, but before he could offer up an answer, she spotted it walking across the room in the form of Dorothy Carpenter. Suddenly everything made sense. Laughing to herself she stood up straighter and offered up an amused smirk, “I take it you’re trying to recreate the thrills of the Amazon by offering up a taste of regret.”

“I don’t have the faintest idea what you could be suggesting,” Douglas answered innocently enough. His dark eyes cast out across the room where he was suddenly aware of Dorothy watching him and Sarah with one another. Dropping his arm around her waist in a tentative motion, Douglas found himself gazing into Sarah’s eyes with all the intensity and passion that would be needed to get his point across. “Did I ever tell you that I absolutely loathe you with every fiber of my being?”

“I can’t quite recall if we delved into that particular conversation with one another considering that the very sight of you makes my skin crawl,” Sarah whispered in response issuing him an icy smirk while her hand curled over his shoulder. “I despise you.”

“Being married to you is like being stuck in hell on Earth,” he leaned in closer to her, his fingertips skimming up against the side of her face.

“Now you know what it feels like for me especially when you drag me into bed to share in your lackluster performances,” Sarah wrinkled her nose at him suddenly very aware of the nearness between them. She glanced down to his lips seeking out his intentions as he inched in towards her. “You make my stomach turn.”

“You’re a vile, wicked woman Sarah,” he mouthed in a lazy tone, his fingertips tapering off into her hair while his lips pressed in over hers in a feathery, light hint of a kiss. She felt him nudge her head back ever so slightly to claim more control of her mouth and instinctively she wrapped her arm around his shoulders squeezing him lightly.

“Well isn’t this priceless,” Dorothy spat out capturing both of their attention with a huff. “Leave it to you to come in and ruin a perfectly good party.”

“Dottie,” Douglas craned his head to the side just enough to see his former flame glaring over at him. Smiling to himself he stood up straighter his arm slinking around Sarah’s waist protectively, “why how lovely it is to see you.”

“Oh please,” Dorothy rolled her eyes at him, “I know full well you have no interest in this party that Sam is having for Wayne, so what gives?”

“I’m here to support Jenna,” Douglas explained with a triumphant smirk, “She invited me here tonight.”

“I would seriously have to question what it was you did to wrangle such an invite out of her,” Dorothy scoffed over at him before glancing over at Sarah, “but then again nothing about seeing you here tonight surprises me.”

“Oh pardon my bad manners,” Douglas tipped down to nuzzle Sarah’s neck with his nose, placing a kiss on her shoulder before drawing her in nearer to him. “Dottie, this is my wife Sarah. Sarah this is…”

“I know who she is,” Dorothy mouthed with a dry scowl shaking her head at the two of them, “and for the record neither one of you should’ve come here tonight to make a mockery of what Sam worked so hard to put together.”

“It’s great to see you too Dottie,” Douglas cut her off abruptly recognizing the spark behind her eye that had him all too amused as she stood before him.

“As nice as it’s been,” Sarah placed her hand over Douglas’s chest possessively, “I believe we have a room to work.”

“Indeed we do sweetheart,” Douglas nodded in agreement watching Sarah step forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders. She threw an explicit kiss onto him leaving him completely unprepared for the movement. He stumbled backwards a bit nearly tripping over one of the decorated tables as Dorothy threw her hands up in the air and retreated to go speak with Alicia, who was now keeping an eye on the situation as well.

After Dorothy left, Douglas couldn’t help but snicker seeing the amusement behind Sarah’s eyes. He glanced over at a now complaining Dorothy and smirked, “Oh you are good Sarah. I think I got exactly what I was hoping to accomplish tonight.”

“If you keep playing the game the right way, you’ll be getting a lot more than these small steps,” she assured him with a newfound confidence. She teased her fingers over the lapel on his jacket before she met his eyes with a new determination. “If you give me what I want, then I’ll get you what you have waited a lifetime for.”

“Oh I believe that Sarah because I’m not about to settle for anything less,” Douglas vowed knowing full well that one way or the other he would make sure that Dorothy remembered full well how good they had it with one another. Soon she would begging him to take her back and when that moment arrived, victory would be his and he would revel in all of his triumph with her by his side at long last!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Everything looks fantastic. I can’t believe that you pulled all of this off in such short notice,” Preston noted turning to speak with Rob. He let out a small laugh when the big band on stage broke into a swing tune and the dance floor started to fill with eager partygoers ready to dance and have a great time. “On second thought yes I can. You always manage to outdo yourself time and time again.”

“That’s because I pride myself on being the best in the business especially when the party is for a family friend,” Rob noted proudly impressed at how smoothly the party was taking off around them. “I guess you could say that I was inspired this time around.”

“Clearly,” Preston noted thinking about all the planning the went into the night, “My son is going to be surprised and impressed.”

“I certainly hope so since his girlfriend worked very hard to make sure tonight was a great one,” Rob added with a thoughtful expression, “and while I can’t say enough how great she is for Wayne, I was hoping that maybe I could get a word with you about that offer we talked about a while ago.”

“About the potential business offer?” Preston arched a curious brow at him.

“That’s right,” Rob nodded in response, “I know you said that you needed time to think things over, but I was hoping that you might be interested in considering a partnership given that I’m wanting to expand.”

“I get what you’re saying and as tempting as it all is, I do have one question,” Preston replied with a hint of a smile, “When in the world are you going to find the time between the club and the gym?”

“It’s for me to worry about, but then again I’m not really concerned,” Rob shrugged his shoulders simply, “After all I was asking the best possible person to be a full time partner and well, if you were tempted by my proposal, I was hoping you’d do most of the overseeing on the project.”

“So in other words I get to run it and do all the work and you get to sit back and enjoy the potential profit,” Pres raised a curious brow.

“Something like that,” Rob shrugged his shoulders simply, “but look on the bright side. I’m giving you all access to play with my money in having it at your disposal. That should make you feel important.”

“Gee, when you put it that way,” Preston laughed lightly shaking his head at his long time pal.

“I’m serious Pres,” Rob patted his friend on the back, “I want a partner who isn’t going to flake out on me since this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. The club and the gym have been great, but I’ve always wanted something more…”

“And what does Alicia have to say about this one?” Preston couldn’t help but ask.

“She said if I don’t get you to say yes, then I can forget about it,” Rob laughed lightly thinking about his wife’s position on his new potential business venture.

“So that’s the real reason why you’re twisting my arm, eh?” Preston shook his head again. “I guess if it keeps you from having Alicia overrule your decision, then I’m sure we can work something out. Though I don’t want her out for my blood for saying yes.”

“Trust me if you say yes, she’s going to be thrilled,” Rob explained excitedly ready to say something more when Cori stepped over to the two of them and moved in beside Preston.

“Rob, hey hi,” Cori waved up at him, her brown eyes wide with curiosity and enthusiasm, “I was hoping I would catch you here tonight.”

“Cori,” Rob replied with a surprised expression on his face, “I didn’t realize you were going to be here tonight.”

“Considering that I helped put a lot of this together, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she boasted proudly. Standing taller she looked around the room and smiled brightly, “It’s amazing to see how it all went from an idea on paper to something so wonderful.”

“Yes it is,” Rob nodded a bit uncomfortably while adjusting the neck of his shirt.

“I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of it,” Cori continued with a grin as she stepped forward pushing her way between Rob and Preston. “It’s part of why I wanted to come over and speak with you. You see I’m kind of out on my own again now since well Diego and I worked things out and, well I was kind of hoping that my job was still waiting for me like I’d hoped it would be…”

“Actually I,” Rob started with an uneasiness in his tone looking around the room for a second before Nate swept in and tugged on Cori’s arm gently.

“I’m sorry. I hate to intrude, but I need to borrow her for a few minutes,” Nate offered up apologetically leading Cori away from the two men. Once he had her out of earshot, he turned to glare at her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Trying to reclaim my life and my dignity, but obviously you wanted to embarrass the hell out of me here, didn’t you?” she scoffed back at him.

“Actually Cori I’m saving you from yourself which is the one thing you need right now more than anything,” Nate informed her with a frown wondering why she couldn’t see it wasn’t wise to relive the same mistakes over and over again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Where did Nate go?" Jason looked to Mindy who was now approaching him and Trisha as they talked. His body was leaning back against the stage as he looked up to see Chase setting up the last few things before he could start up for the whole party. Looking back to Mindy he saw her fold her arms out in front of her chest and he smirked a bit. “Did he decide to go chase after the psycho again?"

“He said he was trying to be a good friend and stop her from making a dumb mistake. As much as I am not a fan of Cori’s--I can respect his decision,” Mindy pointed out seeing the way that Jason shrugged and looked away from her and turned toward Chase watching him. She moved in next to him and placed her hand over his seeing the way his blue eyes glanced down at her hand over his on the stage. “Good friends are often something we lack these days.”

“You’re lucky if you find the right ones,” Jason added feeling her fingers thread through his giving it a tight squeeze as Trisha cleared her throat on their moment making Mindy pull her fingers from his. Jason turned toward the crowd as Mindy moved between him and Trisha. “So about this party? We should probably have some fun of our own while Mr. DJ is working with the crowd.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Jason looked to Mindy seeing the way she responded to him without even looking at him at the moment. She was staring off at Nate and Cori again and the way they talked to each other in the corner of the room. Her eyes were worried and her eyebrows were tightening with some kind of expression as he took in a deep breath. “I just am kind of worried about his decision. I know Nate is someone who can stick up for himself, but Cori is so wrong for him to be around.”

“And why is that? If he likes her--I don’t see the problem,” Jason blurted out seeing the way that Trisha turned to look at him knowing that she was probably thinking of the words he said earlier about Nate with her. Sure, he was contradicting himself, but he couldn’t help it with this case.

“Gee, that’s funny coming from you,” Trisha stated with a small huff seeing the way Jason glanced at her and she shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just saying.”

“Well don’t,” Jason turned to Mindy again seeing her watching Nate very carefully now that he was spending the time with Cori.

“Cori is just a very screwed up person and no matter how different Nate seems--he is a very good guy with the best intentions of everyone on his mind. He’s a great guy and having someone like that in his life is only going to pull him down,” Mindy pointed out glancing back at Jason as his bit down on his bottom lip trying to hold back his words from saying anything else. She turned to him again and watched Nate try to talk to Cori in a calm manner. “I just don’t want him to be pulled down with her when I know what kind of person she is and what she can do to him.”

“Well, now really isn’t the time to worry about that kind of thing. Nate can take care of himself and he’s good enough at it,” Jason blurted out not wanting Mindy paying too much attention to him throughout the whole night. Deep down he kind of felt like Mindy was melting into Nate and he couldn’t help but feel jealous. The guy wasn’t even trying and he was getting all of Mindy’s attention of the night when he had tried so very hard to impress her a couple of times tonight. Then again, Nate was straight and so was he--even if Mindy thought different. Sooner or later he was going to have to make an impact on her and he knew it. “I say just let him do his thing tonight. He’ll be fine. He always is.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let go of me Nate,” Cori snapped tugging her arm away from him once they made it over toward the corner of the room away from the rest of the crowd. She couldn’t believe that he would just treat her like that in front of everyone. He had no right to come up to her like that when all she was trying to do was restart her life over again and set something up for her future. Sure, it may have been totally out there, but what does someone expect when someone is trying to get their life on a roll. Nate had no right to try and stop her from getting her life back. Sure, things were out of place and the time may have been wrong, but he had no right to baby her like he was. “I’m not your child Nate. You can’t stop me from doing things that I want to do. You don’t own me.”

“Well, right now if you don’t know about it much honey--everyone seems to think that you are carrying my baby, so in that case I’m just doing what is best for my own child,” he bit right back seeing the glance she gave him before stomping her foot into his making him gasp out reaching down to grab his foot in his hands jumping up and down for a moment. His glare centered in over her before he shook his head knowing that he was just trying to save her from going back to the loony bin. “I told you back in the day Cori that I was going to take care of you and you may not believe it, but that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. Everyone does think that child growing inside of you is mine and everyone will know it eventually, so I have the right to tell you that you need to chill out.”

“The baby inside of me is not yours…it belongs to,” she went to say something but thought twice knowing that someone in the crowd could hear her say it was Diego’s and she didn’t quite want that. Especially after everything that happened and she couldn’t let anyone bring him back to town and tell him about his future of having a child with her. “It doesn’t mean you can have total control of me you know.”

“I’m not trying to control you, I’m just trying to stop you from making another huge mistake and end up back in the mental hospital. I know you have a lot of potential in life and what you are doing right now is just sending you right back to the place you don’t want to be at,” Nate tried to urge her to listen to him about her life and changing her ways. “I know it seems hard when you have to change something that you have been doing for a long time, but you have to take a chance and change. I’m taking a chance at helping you, so why don’t you help yourself and learn to deal with situations better. You can’t just go up to Rob and start harassing him like that. What the hell were you thinking?"

“I don’t have to answer to you and I really don’t think I was harassing him. I was just asking him a simple question,” she informed him seeing the way that Nate frowned at her and she shrugged. Blowing off the question, she just didn’t seem to care about what he had to say right now. “I don’t care what you think is going on, but I wasn’t harassing him.”

“Okay, even if you weren’t harassing him, I think you need to stay away from him. He’s a good guy Cori--he doesn’t need any excess problems in his life,” he firmly added seeing the way her brown eyes rolled at his statement and he reached out for her wrist holding her close to him. “I’m not kidding Cori. Leave Rob alone before he gets his brain into gear and realizes you are still a threat and you end up right back where you started.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You didn’t mention that we were going to be at Rob’s club tonight,” Wayne noted seeing the dark building in front of them. He felt Sam slink her arm around his and smile widely. “I thought you said that they were having an old time movie marathon in theme tonight at the old cinema.”

“I know what I said, but I wanted to stop here first,” Sam explained with a bright smile leading her boyfriend towards the building. “I promised my dad that we would stop by and see him for a minute since he and Jenna are working on something together for the baby.”

“They are working on it here?” Wayne arched a doubtful brow as she lead him along towards the building. “Why do I find that strange?”

“Because you’re always a skeptic and a doubter,” Sam wrinkled her nose at him. “You want to think the worst about the situation before you are in it.”

“That’s not true,” he put his foot down and stopped mid-step. Feeling her try to guide him along, he reached out for her fingers and pulled her slender frame back to his. Their eyes met and she curled her lip in a frown.

“Wayne I told you we won’t be long,” she frowned feeling him reach out to touch the side of her face gently.

“Tell me something,” he began with a curious expression, “What’s really going on tonight Sam? You seem tense.”

“I’m not tense,” she shook her head adamantly before her eyes met his again. “I’m just eager to get things rolling that’s all. We have a lot ahead of us tonight and…”

“And yet you wanted to catch a movie before our flight?” he arched a speculative brow. He searched her eyes for a long moment before speaking up again, “Is this when you’re going to tell him? Right before we leave?”

“Wayne I…” she frowned over at him, “I already told you I dealt with the situation.”

“I know what you said, but given the way you’ve been acting this week something tells me that you weren’t on the up and up with me. Your dad doesn’t know about our plans, does he?” he blurted out in a straightforward question. “You never told him, did you?”

“I told him more than enough, but he wasn’t listening,” she confessed uneasily stepping to the side and looking towards the doors to the club. “I don’t want to think about that tonight though.”

“Sam, you can’t keep lying to yourself about this situation. You owe your father the truth,” he frowned over at her. He felt her pull on his hand before he squeezed her fingers in his. “You can’t keep him from the truth especially when lying isn’t going to make anything easier. If you just up and vanish how are you going to explain that?”

“In a very polite conversation on the phone,” she replied quickly seeing the disapproval behind Wayne’s eyes, “Look it’s not like I want to hurt him you know. I just can’t bring myself to break his heart. He can’t deal with that kind of stress right now.”

“And you think keeping him in the dark is going to make it any easier?” Wayne sighed releasing her hand and stepping back, “Sam you can’t carry on that way. It’s not going to help anything.”

“Just trust me. I know what I’m doing baby,” she murmured moving forward to bring her arms around his waist. She hugged him to her tighter before tipping on her toes, “Please Wayne. Just for tonight…”

“You have to talk to your dad before it’s too late,” Wayne reminded her once again.

“I will. I swear,” she nodded in response thinking about all that was waiting for them inside the club. She reached for his hand again, “Come on let’s go inside.”

“Sam I mean it. You can’t keep the truth from him,” he pointed out once again, “It’ll only hurt him if you don’t be honest.”

“I will Wayne,” she groaned ready to say something more when she spotted someone walking out of the club. She looked beyond the shadows to realize it was her father.

“There you are,” Hart waved over at the two of them, “I was hoping that I would find you both out here.”

“We’re here,” Sam forced a small smile seeing Hart had concealed his costume in a long, black trench coat. Taking in a breath she lead Wayne forward hoping he would drop the subject they were hashing out with one another.

“Hey Hart,” Wayne resigned himself to going along with Sam. He waved his hand back at Hart before smiling at him.

“You two look dressed up tonight,” Hart noted with a wink over at Sam. “Going somewhere special?”

“Actually we are,” Wayne nodded back at him. “Sam and I were…”

“Here to see you right now since you wanted us here,” Sam gently tapped the back of Wayne’s shoulder to keep him quiet. “Shall we go inside?”

“Sure,” Hart replied brightly stepping aside to open the door for them, “After you two.”

“Okay,” Wayne nodded tipping his head down to say something to Sam when a chorus of voices caught him completely off guard.

“Surprise!” they shouted in unison as Wayne looked up and saw the Happy Birthday banner that was hanging across the room near a live band. It was then that he realized that he was in for a big surprise!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, have you thought about what I said?" Kevin muttered after the long silence between them while she rested her head against his chest after they made love. His heartbeat had just started to slow down as he squeezed his bicep around her tightly pulling her in closer to his body. There was still a silence between them as he felt her fingertips tracing over the small tattoo around his bellybutton as he took in a deep breath. “If it’s no, you can just say it.”

“Kevin, I don’t need you marrying me to prove that you love me. Believe me, I would love to marry you tonight, nothing would make me happier. I just want to look in your eyes and know you love me,” she raised her head from his chest seeing the way he stared out at her and she trailed her fingers in over his rippled abdomen. “I know you love me, it’s just sometimes when Angela steps in I think that the look I’m getting right now will only belong to me as long as she’s not around.”

“That’s not true Ria, I love you. I mean yeah, I love Angela but it’s like a best friend love. I’m in love with you Ria, you’re the only one I’m in love with and I want you to see that. No matter what it takes,” he whispered moving underneath her and turned to face her feeling her resting against his right arm while his left caressed her face tenderly. His fingers tracing over her beautiful face as he tipped forward to press a soft kiss against her forehead. “You know, I think they might want to spray some disinfectant all over this before someone else lies down on it. It’s got a little bit of Kevin all over it.”

“You are so gross,” she laughed slapping in over the center of his chest hearing him let out a small laugh at how hard she hit him leaving a red mark over his bare chest. Smirking she tipped down to press soft kisses against the center of his chest outlining the small bite marks on his chest. From being still a bit upset she left those there, whenever she was upset that’s what always seemed to happen. Kevin never seemed to mind though which was a plus, but she still couldn’t help the feeling that something she thought Kevin was only thinking about what to say at the moment and not forever. “We need to stop doing this.”

“I can’t stop doing that,” he teased reaching around her to softly cup her bottom in his hand feeling her swat him away as his deep laugh filled the air. She moved up and started to get dressed as he sighed frowning while he sat up on the couch and stared out at her. “Seriously, Ria. I can’t. It’s like impossible to make a freak like me stop.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she reached for his dark blue jeans tossing them at him while she got dressed seeing the way he stared out at her with his light brown eyes. A smile pressed in over his face as he set them to the side a moment, rubbing his hands against his bare muscular thighs. Her eyes fell over the center of his lap before traveling up his body to see him staring at her, his smile pressing in over his sexy features as he arched his eyebrow up. Rolling her eyes she turned away from him seeing those sexy dimples knowing that if she stared at him any longer she would get nothing done and would surely get in trouble. “I mean doing this in here. In the on call room. Eventually someone is going to come here in and catch us.”

“I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have a problem with it. Well, unless it was a straight guy that saw my…,” he paused a moment looking down seeing her do the same before he laughed and shrugged. “Well, honestly I have been known to make straight men want to be gay so even the straight guys would probably melt seeing me naked.”

“You are so cocky, you know that,” she threw his shirt at him seeing the way he stared out at her before laughing. Still, he didn’t move from the couch. Only set the shirt on top of the pants and stayed on the couch staring out at her as he laid back into the couch. “You should really get dressed.”

“I should, but I don’t want to right now,” he answered reaching out for her hand rough pulling her in over him now that she was fully dressed. His hands pressed in over hips as she rested her knees on each side of him. Her fingertips glided up through his thick hair giving it a firm tug before meeting his lips in a tender kiss. Taking the moment into his hands, he glided his hands up the center of her back and into her long dark hair. His tongue darted between her lips and the moment made her pull away from him breathlessly. “Have you thought about what I asked.”

“What’s that?" she felt his hands slide down over her bottom cupping it making her squeal at his movement. Feeling his hardened body beneath her she quickly moved up from where she was over him and saw him frown. “Kevin, we can’t keep the door locked.”

“Fine, fine,” he slowly stood up from the couch and reached for his pants hearing the jingle sound his belt made as he started to slowly pull the denim up his legs. “But the whole marriage thing. Will you come with me tonight? I promise you if it’s not your dream we will have another one after, but if you come with me tonight. We’ll have our own little dream, something special between the two of us.”

“Kevin as long as…,” she watched him start to pull up the zipper of his jeans and then start to work with his belt when she heard the sound of someone trying to get in. Moving quickly she moved toward where he was standing she grabbed his black t-shirt and shoved it into the center of his chest roughly seeing his eyes widen. Grabbing him by the arm she knew that he didn’t even fully have his pants on when she shoved him into the closet seeing him fall out on his bottom knocking over a mop in the process. The mop toppled over onto him sending a few things down in the process as she shut the door trying to make it so he was hidden. Quickly moving toward the door she snapped open the lock and saw Zack moving into the room in a huff. “What’s wrong with you?"

“What is wrong with you? You know you’re not supposed to keep that locked. You can seriously get in some trouble for that if I brought it up to a higher power. You know that Merhan?" Zack saw Ria roll her eyes at him as his jaw clenched and he moved in closer to her. “You know when I get that COS position here you are going to have to really have some apologizing to do.”

“I don’t have to do anything for you Zack because Don will be getting that position,” Ria went to move past him feeling Zack grab a hold of her wrist pulling her back to him. Pulling always from him roughly she stared out at him with an angered glance before biting back the feeling of wanting to attack him. “You know what, I’m done talking to you. I’m going to finish up work because later I plan on leaving for a few days. To take a couple days off, I have some big plans for tonight.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Zack shook his head folding his arms in front of his chest seeing the way she looked back at him. A smug smirk pressed in over his lips as he stared out at her. “You might want to check your schedule. We’re low on staff and you’re working a double tonight Merhan. If you plan on doing that little vacation or whatever you had in mind--you might as well kiss your position goodbye.”

“You’re kidding,” she moved over toward the schedule looking it over. Just when she decided that she was going to go with Kevin and take him up on his offer she realized once again work was ruining that thought of happiness. It was either work, Angela or some kind of event that ruined things that seemed perfect. “Fine, just back off. I don’t need to hear your shit.”

“Ria, you really need to start talking better to me before,” Zack moved forward only to feel the sharp slam of the closet door hitting him smack in the center of the forehead. The force making him fall flat on his face slightly sliding back as he saw a shirtless Kevin Adonis stepping out holding onto a black t-shirt. Kevin’s angered brown eyes stared into his as Zack reached up to grab a hold of his chin. “So that’s why the door was locked. You’re going to be in so much trouble Merhan and…”

“And you are going to keep your mouth shut,” Kevin reached for the neckline of Zack’s scrubs pulling him back forcefully slamming the smaller man against the wall. His angered brown eyes stared into Zack’s as he raised him from the floor his feet a few inches off. Staring him over, he saw that Zack had one black eye and smiled at the sight of it glancing back at Ria for a moment seeing her slightly worried, but not at the same time. “I don’t know who gave you that one black eye Zack, but if you don’t keep your mouth shut I’ll give you a matching pair. Do you understand me?"

“Yeah, yeah. I got it,” Zack quickly answered feeling Kevin drop him to the ground and tried to breathe in deeply. Just when he thought he was in the safe he felt the slam of Kevin’s palm against his throat sending him against the wall as Kevin dug his fingers into his neck. “I said I got it. Let go. Let go.”

“One more warning--if you ever, ever talk to Ria like that again. I swear to God, not only will I give you a black eye, but I will break every single bone in your body and if you continue to harass her. No one will even find a bone of yours, I’ll make you disappear and no one will ever know,” Kevin promised tapping the side of Zack’s face seeing him turning a pale shade of red. Kevin let him go and the second he let go of him Zack ran out of the room to escape any further injury as Kevin turned to Ria. Shrugging his shoulders he started to pull on the tight black t-shirt that clung to his every muscle in his torso. “What?"

“I could have gotten in trouble you know,” Ria pointed out seeing him shrug and move over toward her. His arms wrapped around her waist pulling her up to him as he pressed a few loving kisses up against her lips. “You don’t care though.”

“No one is dumb enough to fire my baby, not with my history,” Kevin teased rubbing his nose up against hers hearing the way she laughed before he pressed another tender kiss against her lips. “So, you’re coming with me now, right? We’ll get there--get married. I know Angela is there and Brant can find her once I give him directions. What do you say?"

“Kevin, you heard him. I have a double shift, I can’t go tonight,” she muttered seeing the way he frowned and she reached up to caress his rough face tenderly. Memorizing his sexy masculine features with each touch her fingertips made up against his warm skin. “I can’t.”

“Of course you can. I want to marry you Ria, so please just come. The jet is going off soon and I have to go. I want you with me, I want to marry you. Tonight,” he went to say something more until she placed her finger in over the center of his lips and she saw the upset look behind his chocolate eyes. He felt her press a small peck against his lips and his eyebrows tensed together. “Ria, please?"

“Kevin, I will get out there as soon as I can,” she promised feeling his hands gripping onto hers tightly while his large fingers laced with hers. He brought her hands up to his lips pressing a loving kiss against them. Closing her eyes she wished she could follow through with him and leave right now just like that. “You can go out there and I’ll meet up with you as soon as work dies down. I promise.”

“But…,” Kevin went to say more as she silenced him placing her index finger over his lips and he sighed with a nod. Tipping down he cupped her face lovingly and kissed her lovingly wanting her to be with him like no other, but knew that asking her to come with him and stop working would be the wrong thing to do. “I have to go.”

“I know,” she frowned running her fingers through his hair resting her head against his chest as he hugged her in his arms tightly. “I love you so much Kevin. You find Angie and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I will,” he sighed giving her one final kiss before moving back. His hand slowly moved from hers, their fingertips skimming until he walked out of the room leaving her alone. Sighing, she moved over toward the couch they had been on earlier and dropped down.

She hoped more than anything that Kevin found Angela and this whole Angela deal would be done with. More than anything she wanted to marry Kevin and finally be able to call him her husband. She wished that time would work with that, but right now all that she could do was what she was supposed to do. And that was work. Work and then after that she would finally get a step closer to all her dreams becoming a reality.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Don walked through the back door to the Ashford mansion not even bothering to ring the bell as he had found the spare key hidden in the hollow rock near the garden area. He popped the key into his pocket after he’d opened the door and made his way towards the foyer just in time to see Brant walking down the stairs.

“You’re ready so soon?” Brant inquired raising an arched brow over at his friend once he spotted Don‘s carry on bag. “I would’ve thought that Shannon would’ve handcuffed you down to the bed to keep you from returning after you told her what you were doing.”

“She understood,” Don paused before offering up a sly smirk, “and the whole handcuffing thing is for when I return.”

“I think I’ll pass on the details,” Brant rolled his eyes and stepped past his friend making his way into the study. “Besides I know you’re lying. Admit it. Shannon completely loathes the idea of you going along with me to find Angela.”

“She’ll get used to the idea,” Don shrugged his shoulders and followed his friend.

“Trust me if I know nothing else about Shannon, then I know it’s that she holds a grudge. That isn’t just going to disappear especially now that you’re leaving town with me,” Brant glanced over at his friend once again before sighing. “Don this is my problem. I don’t want to drag you into it. You have enough to deal with.”

“And you have more than your fill. Look man we’re going to find Angela and bring her back. If she’s on that island, then we’re going to locate her and get her to see that she doesn’t need to waste her time around Kevin. She loves you and even if she can’t remember it, she will soon,” Don promised hoping to alleviate his pal’s fears. “You are about to have a family together.”

“I know,” Brant sighed closing his eyes for a moment while his thoughts returned to Angela. “It’s just in having her gone, well it’s killing me.”

“I know man, but we’re going to find her,” Don stepped forward to pat Brant’s shoulder. “You have to believe that.”

“I know,” Brant nodded once again his determination carrying over him once again, “We’re going to find her and when we do Kevin Adonis is going to see once and for all that he’s her history and I’m her future.”

“You’re still upset about what he said, huh?” Don noted sensing his friend’s anger. “Brant I’m sure he was just angry and worried and…”

“And I made the mistake once before in letting a friend in, but not this time. I learned my lesson with Avery and Russ and I won’t suffer the same fate again,” Brant proclaimed standing taller than before. “Kevin might be her friend, but I’m the man she loves and I’m not going to let anything keep us from being together. We belong together and nothing is going to change that.”

“You won’t get any argument from me,” Don raised his hands up in the air defensively, “but you might want to tone down the hostility a little bit. He still is her friend you know.”

“I realize that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like any of this,” Brant shook his head and sighed. “Though you know for a short while I actually believed that he wanted Angela and I to be happy together--that I could consider him a friend as well, but obviously I was wrong. Clearly this was all a mistake. A huge mistake.”

“Brant,” Don opened his mouth to say something more, but then stopped himself as Brant reached for his bag again.

“Let’s get going. I want to find her,” Brant decided brushing out of the room past Don and leaving Don to wonder if both Brant and Kevin would emerge from this trip in one piece given the animosity that was clearly brewing between the both of them. Something told Don that this trip was going to be nothing but trouble!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heather reached for the glass of champagne on the tray in front of her knowing full well that while she’d promised to be here to make an appearance for the night she wanted nothing more than to go home and enjoy her husband. Looking around the room she spotted Kyle over by the bar speaking with a couple of the guys who worked over at Heather’s company. While she couldn’t help but admire how cute he looked decked out in his themed suit mirroring a dangerous man. His look was straight out of an old time gangster movie, with his sexy gray suit accenting all of his sinful contours. That thought in itself had Heather thinking about all the fantasies she had in store for him once they’d made their runaround the party. Smiling over at him and nodding, she held up her champagne glass and prepared to take a sip.

“Well look what the cat dragged in,” a voice mouthed from behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to recognize the agitated pitch and in an instant she found herself rethinking the whole idea of making her rounds at the party.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Sarah screeched over at Heather, her words sharp and irritated.

“I thought it best to follow Thumper’s advice,” Heather mouthed in a smooth voice spinning around to see her sister glaring over at her. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all. You should try it out sometime. Although if you did, chances are people would think you were mute.”

“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Sarah scowled over at Heather, her dark eyes full of contempt.

“Not nearly as comical as the joke that you’ve become around town,” Heather couldn’t help but jab, her green eyes flashing with amusement. “Tell me who is it today? Still Douglas or have you gone for someone’s grandfather?”

“Go to hell,” Sarah snapped reaching out to knock Heather’s champagne glass out of her hand and onto the floor with a thud. She stood up taller and glared at Heather. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? You really believe that you’re better than me, don’t you?”

“I don’t think that’s relevant to what you do with your life,” Heather snubbed her taking a step back to wipe at the front of her dress hoping that the stain that centered in over her abdomen wouldn’t linger.

“You might’ve fooled Kyle, but sooner or later he’ll see you for the whore you really are,” Sarah spat at her once again, balling her fists at her sides. “He’ll realize that you’re not good enough for him and you never were.”

“That’s right coming from the woman who not only cheated on him with Diego, but also wound up cheating on Diego with half the town as well,” Heather shook her head in response, “Honestly Sarah you always said you didn’t want to be anything like mom, but look at you. You’re even worse.”

“You’re the one who is worse. You’ve always been a loser Heather from day one and you’re still a loser. You might have money behind you, but it doesn’t change what you are,” Sarah snarled in response tossing out a huff. “Things only feel like they have changed for you, but they haven’t.”

“I’m not going to continue doing this with you,” Heather finally sighed at Sarah, “Look I can understand why you might be miserable considering that Cameron undoubtedly dumped you for marrying his worst enemy, but it’s not my problem. I guess he just couldn’t deal with your lack of loyalty as that tends to be an undesirable trait.”

“It’s one that you know a great deal about. Don’t stand there and pretend that you’re some kind of saint because you aren’t,” Sarah informed her with a low snarl shaking her head at Heather. “You’ll ruin things with Kyle sooner or later and then he’ll see that he made a huge mistake in choosing you.”

“Unlike you Sarah I know a good thing when I see it and I’m not too stupid to let it slip away,” Heather explained reaching for another glass of champagne and pulling it off of the tray in front of her. She lifted her glass towards Sarah and nodded before walking away and leaving Sarah to glare at her.

“Just you wait Heather,” Sarah mouthed under her breath seeing Heather approaching Kyle. “Sooner or later your true colors will reemerge and when they do Kyle will come back to me again. I’m sure of it.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


...to be continued...