Gran hands me a few bills and tells me to keep the change. She pats my cheek. "It truly is good to see you again, Love Face. I'm off to bed. I'm not built for these late hours. Brynn be sure to lock you after Love Face leaves will you?"

She heads down the hallway to her room. I frown. Grandma Rose looks... fragile. Her back is slightly hunched and she walking gingerly as if the task has somehow become difficult.

My eyes drift back to Brynn and it's hard to mistake the sadness in them. I wonder how bad things are and at the same time I'm fearful to ask, so I just stay quiet. Brynn turns away to the kitchen and comes back with two paper plates and some napkins.

When she returned I felt compelled to say, "I didn't have anything to do with this, just so you know. I promise you I'm not conspiring with anyone for us to get back together." Although I had to admit it felt good to know I had her grandmother's seal of approval. Obviously, she thought Brynn was making a mistake walking away too.

Brynn still doesn't say anything and it's starting to unnerve me. She puts a milkshake in front of us both and slice of pizza on each plate. I reach out for her hand and she stops moving. "I'll leave if you want me to leave. I told you before I'm not trying to make things more complicated for you. It wasn't my intention to come here."

"I know," she tells me. "But it doesn't make it any easier knowing how much Gran wants this too," Brynn says, waving her hand to include both her and I. I take her other hand and pull her towards me. "I really do like that woman."

This causes Brynn to crack a smile. "No mercy. Is that it?"

"Who else is going to call me Love Face?" I counter, "That's a tough title to lose. You never did tell me why she calls me that."

Brynn pulls her hands away and she takes a seat across from me at the table. "It happened when I showed her a picture of you. I wouldn't tell her your name, because I knew she'd get the connection to your mom right away. I just said you were a boy from school. She took one look and said, 'Oh, I could stare at that face all day. Careful Brynn, that's a face you can love.' Henceforth and forevermore giving you the nickname, Love Face."

"I personally like it much better than Wonder Boy."

This actually caused Brynn to laugh and I was happy to bring that pure joy back to her face, I hate her looking unhappy, even knowing her reasons are extremely valid.

"Makes me wonder if we had continued dating what nickname you would have come up with for me," I say, taking a bite of pizza because my stomach was about to growl.

"Hmmm, that is an interesting question?" Brynn said eyeing me over her milkshake. She took as a long slow sip through the straw and it brought my attention to her lips. I feel the stab of pain, as my mind immediately jumps to wanting to kiss her so bad I ache inside.

I see a smile slowly stretch over her lips and I know I must be blushing as I can feel the heat creep into my cheeks. Damn it. It doesn't help that this isn't our first date. I don't have to wonder what her kisses would be like. Brynn's way of kissing me has been permanently imprinted upon my brain and my body wants so badly to experience it again.

I let out a slow breath.

"We are never going to make it as friends are we?" Brynn says lowering the cup.

"Don't give up on me just yet. This is all new for me. I'll get a handle on it... eventually." I had to add in that last part as even I felt doubtful and it certainly doesn't help the way she's looking at me right now. The way her eyes were glued to my lips, I began to wonder if perhaps I'm not alone in my struggle, in which case... Why were we struggling again?

This time it was Brynn's turn to sigh. She takes a bite of pizza and looks away. She looks a bit embarrassed and won't let her eyes return to mine. I thought I should try and steer us to safer waters.

"How did the play go tonight?"

Brynn immediately brightens. "Really well! Everything went off without a hitch. I always love when everything comes together. There is such energy around the first and last performances. The first such excitement it's electric and then it becomes a bit of a melancholy love fest at the end. Everyone feels good about themselves and the work that they've done but at the same time, sad to see it all end. You know?"

"Yeah, I can see that." I thought it's kind of how I felt about our relationship.

"When do you have to get back? I don't want you getting into trouble on your first day."

"This is my last stop. Mr. Brock said he'd settle up with me when I come in for my shift tomorrow. My parents are expecting me home sometime after midnight."

I see her glance at the wall clock and take a mental note of the time. I had nowhere I needed to be for at least 45 minutes to an hour. She smiles at me again.

She tells me more about the play and I tell her more about my first day at the pizza shop and between the two of us we polished off half the pizza and our shakes. She stands up to take the leftover pizza to put it away and I follow her with the plates and empty cups trying to help her clean up.

"Paris is a wiz at keeping me straight. I still don't know how she does it, with everything else she's got to keep track of it's pretty amazing to watch," I say, putting our plates and cups in the trash. I turn to see Brynn wearing an odd expression on her face. If I didn't know better I'd swear she was jealous.

"Whose Paris?"

"Mike's little sister. She works the counter at the pizza shop but that also puts her in charge of the register, the pizza, the To Go orders, and the deliveries so I guess in essence... me."

"Oh, really?" Brynn says and I know it's wrong but I'm totally into the fact that she's a little green right now. I know I shouldn't but I couldn't help myself.

"Yeah, I think she's a junior at Girl's High, you know that all-girl prep school. I think you'd like her she's got a style all her own, kinda like you."

I could tell she really didn't like that. Good, I thought, serves you right for all the times I've had to watch Adam cozy up to you, hold your hand even.

"You should ask her out?"

Wait? What? Was this some sort of test? Or was Brynn thinking with me dating someone else, it would put her out of danger of something happening between us? This was not the reaction I was going for.

I don't know what made me say it but the words were out before I could take them back. "Maybe I should." I immediately saw the hurt in her eyes and she turned away from me to grab something from the sink. I felt like such a jerk, it was just my anger getting the better of me. I hate that she keeps trying to push me away when I know she cares about me when I know how much I care about her.

I turn her around and take the rag from her and tossed it back in the sink. She won't look at me and I tilt her head up with my fingers. "There is, of course, one problem with that idea."

She looks past me, perhaps plotting her chances of escape. It's a very small kitchen and not much room to maneuver in. She looks up at me rather defiantly, "Can't see what that could possibly be."

She was pinned between the sink and my body. She had to crane her neck to look up at me. I put my hands at her waist and with one simple movement, lift her up so she's now seated at eye level. "Can't you?" I ask moving her legs apart slightly so I can step even closer. My hands rest on either side of her, I look at her directly.

"You can't even guess?"

She bites her bottom lip as she looks at me. She looks both excited and terrified by what I may do. "Of course there's a problem with that too," I tell her moving my lips closer to hers. Hers part and I feel her breath brush my cheek, her eyes close. I lean in to seal the deal but instead hold myself in check but not before my lips just briefly brush against hers.

Brynn gasps and her eyes fly open and she stares at me, wondering why?

I shrug. "She just wants to be friends."

I go to step back but Brynn grabs hold of the front of my shirt and pulls me towards her. "I should have known better than to date the captain of the debate team," she tells me seconds before her lips claim mine. My arms encircle her and drift up her back to pull her closer still. Her arms go around my neck and her finger travel through my hair. I have no idea how long we kissed but it felt like an eternity and I had no desire for it to stop. Ever.

Unfortunately, we both need to breathe.

She pulls away from my lips but her fingers still run a course through my hair down to my face. "There is no way we are ever going to make it as friends," Brynn says letting her hand drift from my face to my neck and over my shoulders and chest. I pull her closer not wanting her to pull away, not yet, not ever again. Not after getting the response from her that I had hoped to get from her when I kissed her on the stairs at school.

She can't go back to playing it cool, act like she's not affected. I won't allow it. I nuzzle her neck and she sighs. I leave a light trail of kisses on her skin and she shivers in my arms.

"Friends with benefits maybe?" she nearly moans.

This causes me to pull away and look at her incredulously. I can't believe she'd even suggest such a thing. "You really don't get it, do you?"

I can tell she knows she's done something wrong but can't figure out what it is. Her look can only be described as helpless. She's completely out of her element as to what is the proper course of action, and instead of getting mad I chose to take pity on her.

I gently touch her cheek and then push her hair from her face. "If you expect me to use you for sex, you've got the wrong guy."

"I'm not saying that! I'm just saying it's when you throw in all the relationship stuff...that's when it gets complicated. Why can't it be like this?" she asks, pulling me towards her kissing my cheeks, my lips, my eyes when I close them against the pain she doesn't realize she's causing me.

I pull her hands away from my face and look at her sadly and say, "Because it can't."

"Why?" she asks frustrated. "You said yourself we are better together than apart. Why can't we just be together like this? Just enjoying the moments that we have, making more moments to remember?"

I feel the emotions I've been trying to smoother down deep, roiling within me, threatening to ruin everything I so desperately want. "Please, Brynn. I can't."

I go to walk away and she hops off the counter and grabs my wrist stopping me in my tracks. "Why?! Just tell me! Why won't you meet me half way?"

My heart breaks. "I should go." I turn to walk away but she won't let me go.

"NO! You're not going to walk away. Not until you tell me why?"

I pull my wrist out of her grip and grab her face in my hands. "Why? Why are you asking me a question you fear the answer to?"

I see her eyes widen as the realization dawn. "Yes, that's right Little Ninja you have unmercifully stolen my heart. Such a clever thief you don't even know you hold it even now in your hands."

She starts shaking her head no. I laugh without mirth. "And you don't even want it but you have it all the same. You want to know why? Why I can't do what you are asking of me?"

And Brynn shakes her head more violently NO. "To bad, you brought this on yourself, Brynn Shelby."

"No don't," she pleaded, "don't say it."

I was too far gone to heed her warning. "I love you! Heart and soul. I wanted to tell you that day we were alone together in the stage crew room, but it didn't feel right then, and I know it's not right now, but if you must know why I can't just casually have a relationship with you it's because every time I hold you in my arms I don't want to ever let you go. Each time I kiss your lips I don't ever want to stop. And each time you pull away from me, a piece of me becomes shredded but I'd still come back for more because my heart knows only one truth, and that is I love you."