"So I'm supposed to just give you my keys?" Trace cocks an eyebrow at me. "Do I look like I have a death wish?"

I roll my eyes and reach out to snatch them from his hands. "Give me a break. He will not kill you. He won't even yell at you."

"Says the girl he's banging."

"Excuse me?" I narrow my eyes at him.

He laughs and throws an arm over my shoulder. "You heard me."

"We are not sleeping together you asshat." I bump my hip against his as we walk into Whole Foods.

"Yet." He removes his arm and reaches for a basket. "But tonight....bow chicka bow wow."

"You are a complete and total moron." I laugh.

"Admit it; I'm your favorite person of all time." He reaches for a bottle of wine.

"That you are." I bounce on my toes and press a kiss to his cheek. "Who else would go shopping with me?"

"We're at Whole Foods smart girl, not on Robertson Boulevard."

"Shopping is shopping." I reach out for a tomato and look it over. "This is a good idea, right?" He stops walking and turns to me. "I mean, I'm doing the right thing, right?"

"Is this what you want? Cause if it is, then that's all that matters." He shifts his weight to the other foot. "You know he's going to more than ok with all this. Hell, I'd be more than ok with it. He's getting a home cooked meal out of it."

I smile, feeling a little more relieved but not completely at ease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Table's set, the chicken is almost done, and the wine is the perfect temperature. All that's left to do is light the candles and serve the food.  Easy.

Yea, right. I feel like I'm going to throw up. I have never put myself out there like I'm getting ready to do. I don't care what Trace or Lori say, there's still a chance he's going to say no. And then I'll be back to square one.

"Breaking and entering?" I look up and see Justin leaning against the wall, smirk firmly on his face.

"Not so much breaking and entering as it is letting myself in." I return the smirk. "I have Trace's keys so if you want to get technical, he let me in. But feel free to call the cops if you want."

"Only if we can keep the handcuffs." He winks.

I can't help but laugh at him. This is why I'm here. I want more of this in my life. "I hope you're hungry." I pull the pan out of the oven. "Cause I cooked."

He walks towards where I'm standing and looks at the chicken. "Is it safe to eat?"

"Shut up." I reach out and smack him playfully. "Can you just go sit down and relax?"

"Fine, fine." He raises his hands up in mock salute and walks over to the table. "You want?" I turn to see he has the bottle of wine poised over my glass.

"Please." I smile at him.

Once I've set food on both our plates, I walk over and place one in front of him, the other in front of my seat and sit down beside him. "Dig in."

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence on both our parts he looks up at me. "Is there any reason you're here? Not that I'm not glad you're here making dinner but I'm just a little shocked."

I lick my lips and steel myself. "I've done a lot of thinking in the last few days." I look up at him. I almost lose my train of thought at the way he's looking at me. It's a little unnerving having him just stare at me like this. "I wanted to make you dinner and doing this whole, completely cheesy thing to let you know that.....Ethan is out of the picture."

"I knew that already." He grins at me. "Remember the pinning up against the wall thing the other day? Because I thought you were there for that? I might be wrong but-"

I reach out and cover his mouth with my hand but I can still see the teasing in his eyes. It's right at this second that I realize how much I truly missed him. Missed us.

"And if you still....want me, then I'm done running."

His eyes search mine a minute before he reaches up and pulls my hand away from his mouth. I blush when I realize that it was still there. He threads his fingers through mine, pulling me closer to him.

"Trust me," He leans in close. His lips brushing against mine. "I still want you."

I smile as he presses his lips hard against me. "Kinda figured as much."

He laughs when I pull away. "How could I say no? You went all out. The whole nine yards with the candles and homemade dinner. That'd just be mean to say no after all that."

"Remind me again why I'm still sitting here?" I shot him a look.

"Cause you love me?" He says and I can see it in his eyes. He's asking. And I don't know what to say. I feel very strongly for him. I care for him more than I've ever cared for anyone but I still don't know if I love him.

I open my mouth to say something but he stops me. "It's ok." He shrugs, reaching out to squeeze my hand. "I don't want you to say it if you don't mean it. That's not fair to either of us."

I look at him as he brings the fork up to his mouth. I want to much to say it to him but he's right. It's not fair to say it if I don't mean it. And when I do say it, I want to mean it with every fiber of my being. And I want him to know I'm saying it because I can't hold it in any more.