Within two seconds, Conner's voice was murmuring to her though the locked door. I leaned my hands on the kitchen countertop letting the cool granite calm me.

The floor creaked softly behind me. Shane leaned against the counter next to me. He was so close that I felt his breath on my temple. It took all the control I possessed in my body not to scream at him to get away from me. "I'm sorry...Grace, I didn't mean to be a smart a.s.s. I didn't know about your brother. I didn't mean to..."

I shook my head and sighed. I didn't even turn to look at him.

"I'm being serious, Grace. I know how much it sucks to lose someone you care about." I felt him lean in closer and it made me dizzy. "Look at me."

I met his eyes with mine, and then his gaze traveled down to my lips. Of all the male egotistical, c.r.a.ppiest things to do, he was trying to use my grief to get me to kiss him! I swear, if he leans in and tries to kiss me, I'll bite his lip right off!

His eyes lifted back up to meet mine. He had to have seen the disgusted expression on my face. "It is what it is. You said nothing that affected me Shane. Thanks for the condolences for my brother. And, do yourself a favor, don't bother trying to mess with my head, it'll be a waste of your time. I won't sleep with you. Just treat me like one of the guys and we'll get along fine and then you won't have to stand over me in a kitchen pretending you give a s.h.i.t about anyone other than yourself."

He blinked and hesitated for what seemed like an eternity. Then a devilish smile crept across his face, "Who said I wanted to sleep with you? You're just one of the guys. I don't do guys."

I burst into laughter and matched his smile. Leave it to an egotistical man to make a joke about it.

He slid his hands off the countertop and dropped them to his sides. His smile lingered for just a moment and he backed away. "Although, I have to admit. You are the s.e.xist guy I've ever met."

The totally goofy grin that was plastered on his face right before he walked out of the kitchen made being mad at him almost impossible. Almost.

After a few minutes, the four of us converged back into the living room and hung ourselves over the furniture. For some odd reason, Shane and I found ourselves sitting next to each other on the couch. Lea was cuddled on Conner's lap in one of the chairs, and she was spastically flipping through the channels on the television. Shane was continuously texting someone, or a bunch of someones, and smiling like an a.s.s.

Every so often, he'd read a message from off is phone and brush his arm against me and laugh. I forced myself to ignore him, but he still hadn't put his shirt on and the closeness of him made me want to reach out and feel his skin. He really was ridiculously beautiful. Too bad, he wasn't much more then eye candy.

Another twenty minutes was all I could stand. I jumped up, grabbed my sneakers, and put them on.

Lea sat up. "Where are you going? We were going to go to the bar again tonight around ten." She gave a nod towards Shane. "His band is playing another gig there. Want to hang out again? I'll let you get drunk this time and hold your hair back," she pleaded.

I tightened my laces and stood up. "I'm getting antsy. I thought I'd go for a run."

Shane put his phone on the table and watched me.

"Well, what about hanging with me tonight? We haven't seen each other in six months, I missed you!" Lea whined.

"I don't know. I'll see how I feel after my run. If you're not here when I get back, I'll text you." I hurried out of the room and out of the front door. I just needed to be outside.

The minute I turned around to stretch my legs against my front steps, Shane was standing right next to me. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. That is until he started stretching alongside me. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I thought I'd run with you," he said laughing a little. "I figured you wouldn't care; you know, since you're just one of the guys, and this is what I do with the guys. Unless you don't think you could handle it."

Mentally flipping him the bird I smiled sweetly, "I'll try my best." I took off running along the street and headed towards Fifth Avenue; hooked a right and sped pa.s.sed the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It had been a little over six months, but I could do this run in my sleep. Even at the hospice, I ran at least ten miles a day at the gym, just to separate myself from what was happening. I took up running after my accident when they taught me how to walk again in rehab and I never stopped. Running is as natural to me as breathing now.

Once in Central Park, I started on the Reservoir Loop around the Jacqueline Kennedy Ona.s.sis Reservoir. Shane kept pace with me silently. The only sound I focused on was my feet hitting the soft cinder pathway. My eyes stayed focused ahead of me, never once acknowledging Shane next to me.

The Jackie O Loop is about 1.5 miles long, and as soon I completed it, I started on one of the full loops through Central Park along the East side. I vaguely remembered each loop being about five miles long. I ran them twice. I think I hit my runner's high twice; it was pure bliss. Starting the second loop, my mind took over; my soul pushing me forward as it always does, my body just a machine.

Shane kept pace still. I decided that he wasn't human.

I ran through the 86th Street Transverse, out onto Fifth Ave, and slowed my pace. I continued to slow until I was cooled down and walking; breathing evenly. I walked towards my apartment steps, only then noticing night had fallen and the temperature had dropped to around 35 degrees. I stretched my legs against my steps; still remaining silent.

I guessed Shane was somewhere behind me doing the same thing. I didn't care to look at him until he cleared his throat, seemingly to get my attention.

I spun around to face him. He stood in the middle of the sidewalk glaring at me in what looked like disbelief.

"You're a runner, huh?"

I made a stupid face at him. "I said I was going for a run. You a.s.sumed that I wasn't man enough?" I snapped.

Shane shook his head at me and gave me an amused expression. "Not many people surprise me, Grace, but you just surprised the s.h.i.t outta me."

Ignoring his statement, I got out my key and unlocked the front door.

I heard him sigh behind me. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, for I ne'er saw true beauty 'til this night," he murmured.

My hand released its grip from the doork.n.o.b and I looked back at him. One arm rested on the railing of the stairs, the other lay over his heart.

"Shakespeare," I whispered.

He nodded a sad smile at me and turned to walk away.

I opened the front door and stepped halfway inside.

"Hey, you coming to the bar tonight?" he called out after me.

I stopped and turned around, "Maybe, I don't know. I have to see how I feel after a shower."

A smile burst onto his face, making him more stunning than it was humanly possible. "Do you need help with that? I'd like to see how you feel after a shower too..."

I slammed the door on him, but I couldn't help smiling. c.r.a.p.

Less than an hour later, I was dressed in a pair of jeans, an off the shoulder sweater that Lea forced me to put on, and a pair of knee high leather boots that I had forgotten I bought last winter.

I was then locked in the bathroom and again forced to endure a complete hair and face make-over from Lea, who decided it would be her mission to get me to look, as she so eloquently put, doable.

My jet-black hair looked bouncy and wild, and she did the makeup around my eyes to make them look smoky and s.e.xy. Oh dear G.o.d, even I wanted to take me home! She wasn't going to stop until I went out on a date with someone.

This wasn't the first time she did this either, it was probably more like the fifth. Each time, I ended up going out with some guy who was nice, but who just wasn't for me. I hated this game.

"Lea, I don't want to try to impress anyone, this isn't me," I said.

She rolled her eyes so expressively I thought they were going to pop out of her head. "Gray, I could cover your face in s.h.i.t and make you wear tampons as earrings and you still would be the hottest girl in the bar. Besides me, of course."

"So why am I getting all dressed up. Where's the s.h.i.t and tampons?"

She slapped me across the shoulder playfully. "Look, I just think you need to feel a little s.e.xy and try to live a little, that's all." She sat down on the edge of the bathtub and a serious expression crossed her face. "Gray, all you got is me now. I just want you to have fun. Make this life the best you ever had. And, you know who was asking a ton of questions about you?"

I pretended to care, "Hmm...who?"

"Tucker. He's gorgeous, isn't he?"

"Sure. Come on. Let's go have some fun." I said pulling her out of the bathroom.

When we walked into the bar, the guys were already there. Tucker and Conner sat with their backs to the empty stage and waved at us. Shane was sitting on the right of them in between the longhaired drummer and ba.s.s player of his band. Leaning against his chair with a beer in one hand and his guitar in the other, he looked relaxed. I hoped that he was utterly exhausted from the run; it would serve him right.

Tucker stood up when we got to the table and gave me a broad smile. It made me want to throw up, and I didn't even understand why. Conner grabbed our coats and put them on the back of various chairs.

"Grace, you didn't get to meet the rest of the guys last night. Of course, you know Tucker and Conner," Lea said, sounding oh-so-dorky. "This is Ethan, the drummer," she pointed to an extremely blond guy who looked to be the size of two NFL football players. He saluted me with a drumstick. "And, this is Brayden, the ba.s.s player, and you know Shane already." Brayden nodded at Shane and me. Well, Shane just stared at me saying nothing. I chuckled inside; the run must have gotten to him!

The last band member, who was introduced as Alex, showed up with a huge bucket of ice-cold beers for everyone.

Lea grabbed me by the hand and shoved me into the seat next to Tucker, who promptly handed me a beer. I tried to twist my face into a smile. This was going to be a long night.

Tucker leaned closer to me and whispered into my ear, "You look incredible."

I leaned back and smiled. "Thank you." He was sweet. Very attractive too, just, well, I guess I'd give him a chance. A small one. I looked up to see Shane watching me. He didn't take his eyes off of me until the drummer, Ethan, hit him on the head with one of his drumsticks to let him know they needed to be on stage. Shane was definitely not used to a girl saying no to him. He looked p.i.s.sed at me. Oh well.

"What the h.e.l.l was that look?" Lea asked when Shane got up to leave. He had to have heard her, but he didn't acknowledge the question.

Tucker leaned in smiling, "Well, take a look at her, she's beautiful. Of course, Shane is going to look at her!"

I shook my head. "No. I think he's p.i.s.sed at me. I sort of told him off this afternoon and then he challenged me to a run."

Lea's eyes widened. "He ran with you?"

I nodded my head and laughed.

Tucker and Conner both looked confused. "Why is that so funny?"

"I made him run about twenty miles without stopping. I didn't jog either. I ran. I think he's p.i.s.sed, because his ego got a little wounded."

The guys burst out laughing. "That's awesome!"

A moment later, the emcee was introducing Mad World again and the crowd tripled before my eyes and went wild. Shane's unbelievably s.e.xy voice cut through the noise of the screaming audience and silenced them. The power his voice had over everyone was crazy.

The music was absolutely moving. Whether they played a fast or slow song, they were talented. I found myself ignoring the conversations I was involved in with everyone at the table just to hear the words to the songs or the sweet chords thundering from Shane's guitar.

I was grateful when Tucker left to use the bathroom. I stood up and watched Mad World play. A slow piano melody drifted softly to my ears, I closed my eyes and listened. Lea walked over and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Gray, let's go up and watch them. This is one of my favorite songs."

We made it up to the stage without getting into any brawls like the night before. I laughed at the thought. Lea stopped in front of Shane and he winked at her. As Alex played his keyboard, Shane walked to the back of the small stage, grabbed a guitar, and started playing an intricate melody.

My breath caught in my lungs. Shane was playing a twelve-string double neck harp guitar.

Lea watched my expression. I looked at her with my eyes wide. "Yeah, I know right, Shane's freaking talented." She laughed. "Gray, close your mouth, you're drooling. I would tell you to take a chance on that kid, but he's just as f.u.c.ked up as you are. I just thought you'd get a kick out of him playing that. I figured you are the only other person on this planet to know what that instrument is."

Shane poured his soul into the rhythm, blending the notes perfectly with Alex's cla.s.sical piano melody. You couldn't hear anything from the crowd of people who were watching the band, awestruck. Ethan slowly started a beat and Brayden's ba.s.s collided with the soulful sound of Shane's voice.

I stand there And no one knew me I reach for her She looks right through me I can search this world over She can't see me I drown in tears They look right through me From behind me, a strong hand grasped my shoulder and Tucker's face appeared next to my cheek. "I was wondering where you went. Do you want to dance?"

Without waiting for my answer, he spun me around and wrapped his hands around my shoulders. Conner had already grabbed Lea and she winked at me. I gave in and danced, swaying to the music.

When the song ended, Shane said goodnight to the crowd and bras and panties where thrown onto the stage. Shane grabbed a black lacy bra and held it up to his nose and the crowd roared. The band jumped off the stage and they were immediately surrounded by a group of blonde half-naked girls.

Canned music drifted from the speakers and people started dancing again, blocking my view of the band.

Tucker and Conner dragged us back to the table where Lea and I decided we should play a drinking game called Fuzzy Duck. It was definitely time to let loose.

Lea and I got the bartenders attention and he brought two bottles of Tequila and grabbed a handful of shot gla.s.ses. We got back to the table where each band member had returned to the table; each one had a hot blonde on their lap, except for Shane. He had two. I shook my head, smiled and raised the bottles of Tequila over my head.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, here's the first drinking game of the night. Fuzzy Duck!" I announced.

Everyone stared at me.

"Fuzzy Duck?" Tucker asked.

"Yes, Tucker. I said Fuzzy Duck," I replied. "Here are the rules. Everyone starts by taking one shot. Then we pour another. We go around the table and each person has to say Fuzzy Duck. The first person who messes up has to take a shot and around and around we go!"

"Fuzzy Duck?" Tucker asked. Again.

"Yes, Tucker. I said FUZZY DUCK."

I filled all the shot gla.s.ses and we all took a shot. The first round was hard. Not all the groupies could remember what they were supposed to say. Within an hour, and two more drinking games, everyone was pretty much buzzed; the blonde groupies more so than everyone else.

They fell over each other laughing and giggling. One of the girls who had occupied Shane's lap was aptly named Barbie. She abruptly caused the end of our drinking games when she heard a song she liked and began giving Shane a lap dance in front of everyone.

Lea rolled her eyes and pretended to dry heave. She threw a fistful of waded up napkins in their direction, hitting Barbie in the head. "Holy Strippers, Batman! Are you that desperate to make sure he goes home with you?"

Barbie didn't stop and she pretended not to hear Lea's question. She ground herself into Shane's lap, grabbing his hands and placing them over the edges of her hiked up skirt. He grabbed into the flesh on her legs and she arched back and let out a high-pitched moan. Oh, c.r.a.p.

"Maybe she just needs a few dollar bills?" I said. Everyone laughed. But it didn't stop her. She moved his hands up over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and then making it worse, the other blonde who had been sitting on his lap before joined in too. Spikes of heat flamed through me. No. This should not affect me.

"Ah! Change the p.o.r.n channel! You're gonna give me an STD over here!" Lea shouted.

That made Barbie stop and stand up. She put her hands on her hips, which made us all laugh because her skirt was still hiked up and we all saw her neon pink thong. "Why don't you mind your own business, s.k.a.n.k!"

"s.k.a.n.k? Me? I'm not the one giving a guy I just met a lap dance in public." Lea jumped to her feet.

Barbie backed off a step and started to say something, but Lea cut her off. "Don't even try, because you might find me smacking the s.l.u.t out of you in a minute!"

The song changed into one I knew and I pulled Lea towards the dance floor. "Let's dance. Who cares what she's doing."

With one hand on me, Lea grabbed for Conner with the other. "Well, I care. My boyfriend is watching it!" Conner didn't seem fazed though, which made me think he was probably used to Shane and his many friends.

Tucker followed us to the dance floor and we all moved to the music together. Well, all except for Tucker, who sort of bounced back and forth against the music. Lea and I giggled into each other, watching him and his Stereotypical White Guy Dance, forgetting about Shane and the blonde airhead Barbie.

We left after a few songs, and Conner and Tucker walked us home. When we rounded our corner, I started to feel nervous. Tucker was probably going to try to kiss me. The kiss didn't worry me as much as the feeling behind it. Would I feel anything? Or, would it be like every other time when I felt nothing but hollow; empty?

Lea fumbled with the keys to the front door as Conner gave her tiny b.u.t.terfly kisses on the back of her neck. She laughed, opened the door and pulled him in by the collar. They disappeared into the darkness of the hallway and probably headed straight for her room.