It had been a crazy Saturday at the restaurant Steven owned. He'd been there since breakfast and had dealt with a quitting waitress and mouthy dishwasher all afternoon, but still held his composure and managed to ask everyone in the room how their dinners were. He was thinking about getting him to his quiet three bedroom home, taking a long hot shower and sitting on the couch for the evening as he rounded the counter to relax for a moment when he caught out of the corner of his eye a woman he was sure he'd recognized then it hit him. It was Scarlet Winters.

He called over to the young waitress to give her the order on the house and walked over, flashing his smile and asking, "Scarlet?" Once she confirmed he chuckled slightly, "Wow it has been what, 20 years? What are you doing back in Middletown? How are you?" Memories of their high school days were flashing through his head, the dances, nights out with friends, the night she told him she was leaving.

Coming back had been harder than leaving.

When she had left she was going on an adventure but returning she was admitting defeat. However Scarlet didn’t see any other choice with her son being as difficult as he had been for the past few months. He had fallen in with the wrong crowd... there had been drugs and alcohol and she wanted to get him away from all of that. The only place left to go was home, back to the town where she had grown up and where she had fled. Seeing her parents again had been hard but at least everyone had already moved away or had forgotten about her.

Today she had spent the day unpacking in the small two bedroom house she had bought just inside town. Andy had been difficult, even more so since he hadn’t wanted to leave the city. So by the end of the day she hadn’t felt like cooking and instead had gone into town to see the new restraunt which everyone said was amazing. As she had been waiting for her order someone from her past, someone she had never expected to see approached her. Scarlet had been filled with guilt as he had questioned who she was and she had nodded her head.

“I’m good, just moved back a few days ago, bought the old house down on Hillard road” Scarlet explained, leaving out the bit about her son. “How are you? How have you been, do you work here?” She asked curiously.

He smiled a little bit and listened intently as she had told him she had moved back. He wondered why, thought about all the possibilities but ignored his head and figured there was probably something completely logical. "You could say that." He laughed some. "This place is my baby, I'm the owner." He said proud that he had something to show for his life of staying back in their small town. It felt great.

Steven wasn't looking forward to telling her he was single, never married, no kids, just him, but as he had said, he had all he needed right here in the restaurant he'd opened. Some days he felt like he had 5 or 6 kids trying to mediate the young waitresses, or scolding someone for being late. He prided himself on being a fair but caring boss and he liked that.

"Looks like we're almost neighbors I'm over on Hampton St." He said looking her over a little bit. She looked great." Do you have time for some coffee? We can catch up! I'd love to hear about the last 20 years."

As soon as he said that he owned this place Scarlet took a better look around. It looked amazingly professional and the seating area was packed along with at least three other people waiting for a take-away order. It seemed like he had really made something of himself and she was proud of him, a smile filling her face. "This place is amazing Steven... you must be so proud of yourself" She said as she focused back on him. He still looked as handsome as the day she had left him, if not just a little older and more dignified.

"Umm..." Scarlet said as she glanced at her watch at the mention of coffee. "I guess I could have a quick coffee before my take-away is ready but then I will have to be heading back home. I had no idea how much work unpacking a whole houe is" She said with a smile. it couldn't hurt and she had to admit she was curious how he had been these past twenty years. Scarlet still felt guilty about leaving him but he had never wanted to leave this town. He had been happy and she hadn't but in doing so she had lost the love of her life... Tony hadn't even come close to Steven.

He poured two cups of coffee and quickly sat with her at the small counter in the restaurant, taking a big sip he looked over at her, "So tell me about yourself? Move here with your husband I assume?" He asked knowing someone as great as he couldn't possibly still be single. Only he was crazy enough to do that. "I own this place, and my house, no wife or kids... just a dog." He laughed. "It's nice though plenty of quiet." He said happy he got that over with. He didn't want to seem like a complete failure less this place. "I see your parents every once in a while in here. Have you found work here yet?" He asked again seeming to let the questions flood out.

He couldn't help it. He wanted to know everything that he'd missed in the last 20 years and hoped he wasn't coming off as crazy. He still had 100s of thoughts, memories, jokes of theirs running through his head. In high school everyone thought that they would still be in this town, raising kids and who knows what else, but then she had left town, and he just couldn't give it up. He was happy and he couldn't beat himself up over it. He'd took a while but moved on with his life.

"Wow... Do you want to ask anymore questions at once?" Scarlet said with a small smile as she took a sip of her coffee, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the questions and not knowing where to start. After all it was twenty years of information. What did surprise her was that he didn't have a wife or kids. Scarlet had been positive many years ago that he would have moved on, fallen in love with someone else and settled down but it appeared she had been wrong. Scarlet had wanted that for him, she wanted him to be happy.

"I dont have a husband, not anymore at least. I got divorced ten years ago after five years in a horrible marriage" Scarlet admitted to him. "I do have a fifteen year old son, Andy who is... well he is the reason I came back. I thought maybe a bit more of a country life might help calm him down a little bit" She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "And I dont have a job yet. I have enough money at the moment to tide me over until I can find one and get settled in so there is no rush" Scarlet said thinking she answered all of his questions.

One thing she did have a hard time believing was her parents. They had known he was still in town but hadn't bothered to tell her. She wondered if her parents had told him about where she was and what she was doing since she hadn't broken contact with them completely over the years.

He blushed a little when she asked about the questions. She was right... he could have asked a few less. "Sorry 20 years is a long time." He laughed a little. "Wow, sounds like you had an exciting time away." He half joked. He looked over at her, "I went to school here, worked at the insurance firm for about 15 years and then opened this place. I couldn't sell insurance anymore or else I might have gone crazy." He smiled.

"But look at you, a son huh? That's great!" He said happy to be catching up with her. It seemed too soon but her name was shortly called for her take out order to be ready. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper scribbling his phone number down. "Here you go. Don't be a stranger, Maybe we can go out sometime. and if you or...Andy? need work to hold you over let me know." He smiled at her.

He didn't know what he was thinking but he went with whatever was possessing him to ask his high school sweetheart out again. After all they were both single, why not? "It was great seeing you Scarlet."

Scarlet nodded her head a little when Steven spoke about working at the insurance firm. It had always been the plan for him when he finished school, get a job there to pay his way through school. Remembering back it had been one of the reasons why Scarlet had felt so compelled to leave. She didn't like having her whole life planned out like that, knowing exactly where she would be in ten years time had scared her and she hadn't wanted to spend the next twenty years in the same small town, working at the same place and with the same people. It hadn't been her dream but she knew for Steven it had been. He had always been the more realistic of the two of them.

All too soon her name was being called and she glanced over at the young man who had called it and then back to Steven. She watched as he wrote out his number for her. Taking the small piece of paper which he offered her, Scarlet smiled at him. "Okay then, it would be nice to actually be able to sit down properly and catch up" She said as she placed the paper in her pocket. Seeing him again sounded like a great idea and Scarlet certainly wanted to hear more about how he had been. "Thank you so much for the coffee and it was great seeing you too Steven. It's nice to know that you are well" She said before turning to head to the counter where her name had been called and picking up her delivery while handing over her money. "Thanks" She said to the young man behind the counter before glancing back at Steven. He really did look good as he sat there. "Bye" Scarlet said to him as she headed out of the store and onto the street towards where her car was parked.

Steven waved back at her as she walked out of his restaurant and hoped that he would hear from her soon, that he'd be able to catch up with her and hear more about her life the last 20 years and what she had been up to, if her dreams were everything that she'd expected when she left their small town. Steven had loved the way his life turned out, it was exactly as planned minus one small thing, Scarlet was supposed to be there with him, they were supposed to be growing together and have children together. Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect though. He was hoping they could patch their relationship and at least become friends now that she was back in town.

The next few days passed before he ran into Scarlet again. He hadn't heard from her and figured she was busy unpacking or simply wasn't interested. He was at the police station filing a report against the 15 year old boy who had tried breaking into his garage. The only reason he caught him was he heard glass breaking as he was coming home from the restaurant. Standing there, giving his information and statement to the police officer he saw Scarlet rush into the police station. He thought for a moment, then looked at the boy sitting in handcuffs waiting for his mother. Andrew Winters.. shit. He thought to himself. It hadn't even dawned on him that the boy was Scarlet's son.

He spoke with the officer who he knew well and asked him to forget this and walked over running his hand through his hair. "Hey... Um.. I didn't know this was your son. I caught him trying to break into my garage while I was coming home from the restaurant. "

Over the next few days Scarlet had meant to call Steven and organise a time to catch up but she had been run off her feet with Andy. He had been increasinly arguementative and she also had the task of enrolling him into school. That involved a lot of paper work and meetings because of some of the things which had been written on his last report cards and teacher comments. Scarlet had also been busy with unpacking the house since her son refused to help her stating that 'You were the one who wanted to move so you can unpack'. Needless to say she didn't have a lot of time to even think of Steven.

It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that she ended up a the police station, rushing in and towards her son who was sitting on one of the benches in handcuffs. "What were you thinking Andy? It has been four days since we moved here and you already end up in the police station" Scarlet said as she looked down at him. She looked extremely stressed out but also as if this wasn't her first time in a police station. Scarlet was trying to hide the fact she had been crying the way over in the car since she had been positive that the change and the move would stop all of this. Her son however still had the same arragont expression on his face. "It's not a big deal... geeze" Andy said not making eye contact with her as he seemed to be at least attempting to play it cool.

Scarlet had been about to respond to him when she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Steven. What was he doing here? However as she turned and listened to him it all became very clear. Her son had broken into his house. "Steven... I am so sorry for this" Scarlet said as she ran her own fingers through her hair. "I can promise you I will pay for anything he broke or stole and that it will never happen again" She said feeling horrible. It hadn't been her who had broken into his house but it had been her son who was meant to be her responsibility. Andy just sat there rolling his eyes a little as his mother spoke.

Steven put his hand on Scarlet's shoulder with reassurance. She had told him she was having a hard time with her son and that is why they had moved back home but it didn't seem to be any better here, four days and he was in the police station. Steven couldn't judge though, he didn't know the situation, although the entire way over here to give his statement he was seething. He wanted to make the little bastard pay were his thoughts exactly but he couldn't put her through any unneeded stress. She looked tired and truly upset that her son had broken into his house. "It's alright scarlet. Don't worry about it, it was just a window." He moved his hand from her shoulder and gave her a half smile trying to be reassuring in the entire situation. "How about you have dinner with me and we can forget this ever happened?" He smiled, half joking half hoping she would take him seriously.

In all honestly, Scarlet had been on Steven's mind for the last three days non-stop. He thought he saw her in the grocery store, or at the restaurant when he couldn't make it over to say Hi but he couldn't be sure - he was however pretty sure his mind was playing tricks on him. He decided to go for it, "You can come over, I'll make dinner and we can catch up. Andy you're even welcome to come." He offered trying to somehow make peace with her son, even though he knew that wouldn't happen any time soon probably. "I have an x-box and flat screen." He offered, then thought to himself, great, the kids probably gonna try and steal that next. but didn't say anything out loud, just tried to keep a positive outlook on the situation.

Just a window? Scarlet was going to kill Andy when they got home for this. Of all people he had to do it to Steven. She felt like crawling into a ball and crying after all of this. Andy was driving her insane with all of this and as much as she loved him, it didn't make things any easier. In her mind Scarlet was cursing her ex. How could he have done this to her? Left her with a son to raise all by herself. Never in a million years had she thought that she would be a struggling single parent of a troublesome teenage son. This wasn't the way her life was meant to work out.

When Steven mentioned her coming over and having dinner with him to forget it ever happen she looked at him with a surprised expression. He was going to be this okay with it? Scarlet managed a small smile towards him, nodding her head a little. She wanted to see him and she wanted to be able to spend time with him. As he spoke to Andy, Scarlet sucked in a deep breath. Who knew what would come out of his mouth and as it turned out Scarlet was right to be worried.

"No thanks... I will leave you to screw her in peace" Andy said, clearly not seeing that he was onto a good thing with Steven not pressing charges over it. Instead he seemed just as arragant. "Oi! Can you get these off now?" He called out to one of the policemen who just shook his head a little but walked over to do as he demanded.

Scarlet's mouth dropped open. "Steven... I'm sorry..." Was all she could muster up before looking at her son who had just been uncuffed. "Get to the car now!" She said as she watched her son stomp out of the police station and then turned back to look at Steven.

Steven was happy that her son had choosen his house to break into. A lot of the people who lived around him would not have been so understanding and would have pressed full charges against Scarlet's son. He knew that was the last thing she needed after seeing what attitude her son had. He wanted to make this go away and hopefully her son would learn a lesson and not get in trouble with the Middletown police again.

Steven coughed his shock back a little bit and ignored what Andy had said as best he could. He actually turned a little red but quickly got his composure back together. As he stomped out of the police station, "Don't worry about it. I.. I just want to catch up. No crazy intentions" He said softly smiling a little bit, "How's tomorrow for dinner?" He asked. He knew he'd be able to slip out of the restaurant early to get home and prepare some dinner for the two of them. He'd hoped she'd still want to have dinner after her sons little outburst though, he wasn't sure.

He started to walk out of the station with Scarlet and waved to the police officer, "Thanks again, Tommy!" The officer waved and they kept walking. "I hope you don't think I'm just trying to sleep with you." He said now worried that may have been something Scarlet said in front of her son. It had been years since Steven dated anyone, sure there were a few here and there but he just never seemed to click with anyone well enough to settle down or have something serious. "That's not my intentions at all."

Scarlet looked at Steven as he said that wasnt his intention. She had known that. Despite Steven being a guy he had never pressured her into doing any of those kinds of things in high school. He had always been a gentleman and had waited until she was ready. Steven had been her first and she his and although time had passed Scarlet could still see that he was the same gentleman he had always been. Up until this point in time Scarlet had forgotten how much she had loved him and how much she missed him in her life. Maybe not quite as a boyfriend or lover but certainly as a best friend. They used to talk about everything and he had been the one she could always depend on.

She listened to him before following him out of the police station. When they came to a stop out the front Scarlet glanced over and saw that Andy had indeed gone to the car and was sitting in the passengers seat. She then turned her attention back to Steven. "I know that wasn't your intention, honestly dinner sounds great. It will be nice to get out of the house for a bit, thank you" She said with a small smile. "And I am sorry about Andy... he just... he is a little out of control" She admitted with a sigh. "Let me know how much the window is to fix and I will give you the money for it" Scarlet said with all determination to pay for the window and to get it fixed. After all it was her responsibility.

"A little out of control?" He teased slightly and then smiled at her. "I can't wait to catch up." He was truely excited to catch up with Scarlet. He hadn't even heard from her in the last 20 years and now that he'd seen her, and had the chance to think about all of the memories they had had together, everything they shared, he couldn't stop thinking about her and how much he'd missed her.

Steven knew she was determined to pay for the window, but she hadn't found work yet and Steven wasn't aching for money. It was a simple piece of glass to replace. "I'm not letting you pay for it, Scarlet. Get it out of your head." He smiled. "Give me a call tomorrow, you still have my number right?" Once they said their goodbyes he walked to his car and took a deep breath, thinking to himself, What are you getting into Steven?

The next day he worked in the morning to pass some time, though he kept his cell phone on so that he could listen for Scarlet's call. When she called he answered quickly and spoke to her about dinner. "Dinner's at 6." He told her as they talked for a bit. "Again, feel free to bring Andy with you." He offered.

As he finished up at the restaurant he went to the grocery store to get some essentials and went home. He took a long hot shower and got dressed in some jeans and a sweater then headed downstairs and began cooking, while cleaning up the place a bit. It was definitely a man's house, but not dirty or too messy. Around 5:45 he started to get antsy as he was just about to finish up dinner and Scarlet should be there any minute.

Scarlet had felt nervous all day. She was excited for dinner and seeing Steven but she also was a little nervous. It would be the first time they would really get to talk since she had told him she was leaving twenty years ago. Scarlet was still surprised that he wasn't still angry with her. Around lunch time she had phoned him to check on what time dinner was and if she could bring anything, only to be told only to bring herself. She appreciated him offering for Andy to come too even though Scarlet assured him that he wouldn't want to come. Scarlet couldn't even get him to sit at the table and have dinner with her let alone a strange man.

Before she could leave the house Scarlet had to make dinner for Andy and make sure that he wasn't going to leave the house. Scarlet couldn't trust his word but since there was no way he was going to come to dinner with her then she had no other option other than threatening to send him to his father's if he stepped one foot outside of the house. Normally this threat wouldn't work but considering how serious she had been since they had returned from the police station she appeared very convincing. After everything with Andy was settled she was able to get ready, dressing in a pair of tight black jeans and a white blouse she fixed her hair and make-up before leaving to go to make the short drive to Steven's. She could have walked but she didn't feel safe leaving the car at home with Andy.

Walking up to the door after parking the car, Scarlet knocked softly as she waited for Steven to answer. Standing there she could already smell dinner and it smelt great.

Steven had just finished up dinner and turned off the oven. He made one of his specialties, pot roast with vegetables, along with a salad and some bread. He had the table set and was ready, luckily. He heard the knock at the door and almost ran to answer it, tripping and catching himself as he went through the living room. He opened the door and smiled seeing her standing there, "Hey... come on in!" He said opening the door more holding it for her. "How are you?" He asked as she came inside. "Dinner is all ready. I hope you're hungry." He smiled.

He was happy to have her there, to be spending time with her again and to be honest he was slightly nervous, although he tried to not let it show. He showed her into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her. Once she was set he brought the pan of food over to the table. "Can I get you something to drink, wine? beer? soda?" He was being a complete gentleman. Once they were settled Steven let her take some food first, then filled his plate.

Once they got over the first few bites he smiled over the table, "So.. tell me about the last 20 years." He asked, truly interested in where she'd been and what she'd done.

Scarlet could hear sounds from inside the house as if someone was running around and laughed softly to herself, managing to compose herself for when he opened the front door. She smiled at him, truely happy to see him smiling back at her. She stepped inside and thought to herself that it was a beautiful house and despite the appearance clearly showing it was a male who lived there it still looked like it was kept clean and tidy. She followed him inside, stating that she was good and enquiring how he was and how his day had been as they headed to the kitchen and he pulled a chair out for her at the table. It surprised her since no one had done that for her since... well it had at least been fifteen years.

When he offered a drink she politely said she would have whatever he was drinking, taking a sip when he handed her a glass. For as nervous as she had been walking up those steps, the moment she had walked inside she had felt a million times more relaxed. Finally after they had started eating and she had commented on how good it tasted he asked the big question. The last twenty years? Where did she start?

"Thats a big question" Scarlet said with a smile, taking a few small bites inbetween sentences as she spoke. "I moved into the city and managed to get a job as a bartender at one of the clubs and a small one bedroom apartment which was just around the street. At first it was a lot of fun working all night and sleeping all day. I got to meet a lot of new people and see a lot of new things. It's like a whole new world when you step into the nightlife... and coming from a small town it all just seemed amazing" She said with a smile. They really had been some of the best years of her life. "It was hard and I didn't have a lot of money but I got by and managed to get into a management position behind the bar after a few months. I kept at that for a few years, finally settled down a little bit into a nicer apartment when I met Andy's Dad and fell in love again..." She said with a sigh. "I got pregnant so we got married, something we never should have done because it just ended in a diaster" Scarlet shook her had as she spoke, getting married had been one of the worst decissions of her life.

"I guess that was a lot." He laughed slightly. "Is his dad still around? Do you see him often?" He asked smiling at her as they ate and talked. "Nothing new here. My life turned out pretty much just the way I planned, except I could maybe be driving a Ferrari and married by now." he joked. That was the one regret he'd had. He'd never found someone else to be serious with even after all this time. He'd wanted to, but he just couldn't take half the women in this town seriously, and the other half were usually taken or crazy.

"I really wish you would have stuck around Scarlet." He said a little nostalgic. "I've missed you. I've missed someone to plan with and tell everything to." He laughed. "And I probably could have used a woman's touch decorating here and at the restaurant." He smiled. "What are your plans now that you're here? I mean, after you get settled." He asked.

"No he isn't... I speak to him on the phone about once a month but I haven't seen him in about three years" Scarlet said, glad of the fact that she didn't see him. Things had not ended well and she had no desire to see him ever again. When Andy was younger she had to see him on occasion when they were swapping custody but now that Andy was older there was no need. If Andy wanted to see his Dad then he could organise to be picked up or get on a train. It was one of the better things that had happened in the last few years.

When Steven spoke about wishing she had stayed Scarlet frowned a little. She knew she had caused him a lot of hurt when she left. "Sometimes I used to wish I had stayed as well... I missed you but you knew I wouldn't have last here" Scarlet said shaking her head. "We both had different dreams. You were happy to stay here, work your way through school and open up your own place. I always wanted to get out and see the world" She said with a sigh. Even now Scarlet knew that she had been right to leave. The two of them would have never lasted if she had given up her dreams. She would have been uphappy and he would have as well. Deep down she knew she had made the right decission. "But that didn't mean I haven't thought about you every single day since I left" She admitted.

"My plans... I dont have any" Scarlet said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe get Andy straightened out..." She said although the tone of her voice suggested that she was now thinking it was impossible.

"Well, maybe if someone you know offered him a job. It could be a little stability for him, and I just lost a waitress." He offered. He wasn't sure if Scarlet would think thats a good idea, or if Andy would co-operate but there were a lot of kids who worked there and it might be good for him to have some structure. He threw it out there and that's all he could do. He smiled though after his offer and decided to let it be up to Scarlet and Andy.

As they continued to talk and finished up dinner, Steven smiled, "I got desert in the fridge." He offered. "I thought maybe just relax before then." He smiled and relaxed a bit sitting at the table. "I can talk to a few people and see if I can find you something too." He offered.

"A break before desert sounds great.. dinner was fantastic I'm not sure if I could fit anything else in right now" Since the end of school Scarlet had been able to keep much the same figure. She had gained a little weight over the years but nothing too drastic. She had been the most popular girl in school and on the cheerleading squad, so having a good figure had been important to her and still was. That didn't mean though that she would turn down a good desert.

She smiled at him across the table as he mentioned asking around a little for a job for her. She shook her head a little bit. "You dont have to do that, honestly offering one to Andy is more than enough. I mean he broke into your house I certainly dont expect you to take him on as staff" Scarlet said a little worried. She happened to agree with Steven about the stability in her son's life and maybe having some income would also give him a sense of independance but she certainly couldn't ask that of Steven. Andy was a huge responsibility, one that clearly wasn't going to be responsible for himself. Scarlet was also worried that Andy might scare Steven off and she wasn't quite ready just yet to give up on the friendship which was forming between the two of them.

"I will find one soon enough" Scarlet said with a shrug of her shoulders. She was sure that there had to be a job going in town and if not it wasn't as if the child support cheques wouldn't hold her over until she did. She would start looking for one once Andy started up school which hopefully would be tomorrow.

"Well why don't you send Andy over after school tomorrow." He smiled. "Besides I have a lot of the kids from the high school working there so maybe he'll make some friends." He smiled and kept talking about their lives. He was excited that one of his closest friends was back in town and hopefully they would be able to re-connect and at least be friends if not something more. It was hard to believe those thoughts were even in his head but they were and he wasn't going to stop them.

"Hopefully with a new place you'll both thrive." He talked with her and kept the conversation going. Finally he got up and pulled a pie out of the fridge and cut two slices. He poured some coffee and brought them to the table. As they at desert he smiled, "I think tonight was successful. I didn't pour gravy on you or anything from nervousness." He laughed.

They finished up the night by putting in a movie, but ended up both half falling asleep. He walked Scarlet to the door and said, "We'll have to do this again soon." I had a great time."

She had agreed to think about sending Andy over the next afternoon after school. It seemed like a good idea and she knew in the end she would take him up on the offer. Steven was right, it might give him structure and introduce him to some kids his age. Dinner was great and desert had been wonderful. All in all it had been a great night and Scarlet had really enjoyed herself. Even the movie had been good until they had both fallen asleep and woken up at three am when it was well and truely time for her to head home.

Scarlet was exhausted as they walked to the front door. She hadn't meant to fall asleep but now that she had, that was all she wanted to do. His couch had been so comfortable and it hadn't hurt that he had his arm around her the whole time they had been asleep. Part of her had felt like it was old times where she used to come over to his place and fall asleep while they were watching a movie. However back then when they had woken up she had been racing back home in time to make it through the front door before curfew. Today though she just had to make it home to her son and hope the house was still standing.

"I had a great time as well... maybe next time you could come over to my place?" Scarlet offered as they came to a stop at his front door. She really did want to see him again and hoped that he felt the same and wasn't just saying that. He had been her best friend and even if it was nothing more than that, she felt lucky to have him in her life like that again. "Thank you so much again for not pressing charges. It really does mean a lot to me"

"You name the time and date." He said slightly groggy as he stood at the front door with her. It reminded him of all the times she'd had to rush out the door when they were young and get home quickly and inside he felt something twinge. "I'd love to see your place." He smiled and hugged her. "And don't worry about the charges, It was a window, Scarlet." He said. "Really, I just needed an excuse to get you over here." He teased slightly.

They said their goodbyes and he watched Scarlet walk down the driveway and to her car, making sure she was safely inside before he closed and locked the door. He shut the lights off and headed upstairs, climbing into bed. Secretly, although he'd never admit it he had thought about climbing into bed with Scarlet that night. He had more respect for her than anyone else so he'd never imagine it would happen, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. As beautiful as she was in high school, she'd grown into an even more beautiful woman.

The next day he woke up and decided to make a few phone calls on behalf of Scarlet anyways. He knew she'd need work and jobs around here were slim pickings. He talked with a few people and hoped she'd accept one of the jobs the next time they spoke. He went into the restaurant around noon and grabbed some lunch, then got to work, mostly cashing people out and greeting people at the door. Around the time school let out he started to wonder if he'd see Andy or not.