I sat there, waiting with vomit all over my skirt. Mr. Scott came with some dishtowels and a small bucket of soapy water. "Here," he said gruffly as he sat it on the floor and handed me the towels. "Clean up the best you can. I'm sorry I can't let you leave – I'm very busy today." He seemed genuinely sorry as he walked away.

I couldn't clean my dress, but I cleaned off my legs and wiped the skirt off as much as I could. I'd do the floor in a little bit. Once I got myself cleaned up, I wiped the floor. This was a good day, but this put an end to that.

When five rolled around, I didn't have time to go home – I just hopped in the car with the others and went to the Dairy Arts Center. I knew I smelled like vomit. It didn't help when Shay covered her nose next to me on the backseat. I scrunched even more into my corner of the car.

Even the cast members wrinkled their noses when I did their makeup. The only thing keeping me up working instead of crawling into a corner was knowing that I would see Mario when this was over.

When the curtain went up, I walked over to edge of the stage to watch. A moment later, a young man walked up to me. I recognized him as the director. He appeared to be in his early thirties. His nose twitched and he glanced at me.

"Are you feeling well?" he whispered.

"I'm fine – I just had a sick kid at work earlier."

He nodded. We went back to watching in silence. As the scene changed, I went back to my station. It was time to alter the makeup on the lead. Shadow changes to pale blue to match the new outfit, the lips switch to a light pink from light red, add some powder to her nose that's beginning to shine. Ready. She leaves and one of the guys from the next scene comes. He sits in the chair. I refresh his powder, get the edges of his wig just right while Kenny sprays it just one more time to cement that final stray hair. I cough once as he leaves.

"Don't spray that at me," I tell him.

He shrugs. "Sorry. I have to spray this, otherwise people with have hairs flopping around everywhere. But I'll try to spray it in a different direction next time."

"Thank you."

When the play ended, I got a text from Mario saying he was parked in the back by the door and to get there quick since it wasn't exactly a parking spot. I smiled to myself as I put my phone back in my bag. Kenny waved me away when I tried to help, so I rushed out the back. Mario's car was parked behind some other vehicles, blocking them in. I ran over and opened the passenger door.

"Fair warning," I said as I slid in. "I smell like vomit."

He frowned and sniffed. "What happened?"

"Sick kid at work. I need to go home and get changed before we go do anything."

"Sure thing." He drove away from the theater. "So, how did things go? Aside from the kid, that is."

I shrugged. "Normal? I don't know." I shifted my bag at my feet. "Everyone kept trying to cringe away from me. I can't wait to change and not smell like this."

"When did it happen?"

"Less than an hour after I got to work."

He grimaced. "Sorry to hear that." He glanced over at a red light. "I don't blame you for wanting to change. Nice dress, by the way. Looks nice on you."

I smiled as I looked down at it, but my eyes caught on the stains. How was I going to get them out? "Thanks. It's my favorite."

"It's easy to see why." He gave me a sad smile before turning his attention back to the road. A few minutes later, he turned into our drive. "Your stop," he intoned as he put it in park.

"I'll be right back." I hopped out and probably set a new personal record for changing clothes. I only wished I could have showered. Sadly, though, there wasn't time to do that.

I was rushing back out to Mario, but Larry stopped me on my way out by blocking the stairs. "Larry! Move!" I tried to shove him aside, but he's not only bigger than me, but he's stronger too.

"Whoa, slowdown. Where are you going?"

"To hang out with Mario, who's waiting for me outside. Now move!"

He checked his phone and frowned. "Fine. When we both get home, you're telling me what's up." He let me go and followed me downstairs. I was suspicious when he followed me out the door. He went to his car while I went to Mario's.

"I think he's going to get Maria," Mario told me as I got in.

I stared at Larry's car. "You really think so?"

He nodded and began backing up. "Pretty sure. Maria said she had plans tonight and wouldn't tell any of us what they were." He glanced at me as he backed onto the road. "We all have to account for where we we've been and what we were doing. Mom's brother went to jail for drugs and some other stuff when they were teenagers, so she's not taking chances."

"Sounds reasonable to a degree," I told him.

"To a degree?"

"Yeah. I mean, I like having my own little bit of privacy, even if Larry does try to pry everything out of me."

"Sometimes it's good to know where someone is so that you can help them if they need it."

"True." I stared out my window. "Wait. Where are we going?" He was slowing down and it looked like he was turning into a McDonald's.

"I was getting something to eat. I'm starving. If you don't want anything, I can go through a drive-thru and go somewhere else."

"No, it's fine. We can go inside."

He parked and got out. I followed him in. We waited in line for a while, but eventually took our food to a table. He got his burger out of the box while I poured my fries out onto a napkin.

A few minutes later, George and his buddies came in. He looked right at me. It was a McDonald's and he loved the place, b

but when our eyes met, I got the feeling that wasn't why they came here this particular night – I was. His gaze slid over to Mario and I was sure of it.

The group walked up to the counter and ordered. While George was waiting for his food, he came over to us. "Hey, guys."

Mario looked up and grinned at him. "Hey, George. What's up?"

George raised one eyebrow at the greeting but didn't give any other reaction. "Not much. What about you two?"

"Picked her up from the show a few minutes ago." He crumpled up his burger box and sat it on the tray. His hand stole one of my fries and he ate it while he and George stared at each other.

I nodded, wishing I could ease the tension that had settled in around us. "I had to run home first though. A kid vomited on me at work earlier." I made a face.

George frowned as he looked at me. "Wow. Crazy. Hey, you want to hang out with us tonight?"

They were both watching me. I knew that this was a test of sorts, for both of them, but I couldn't stop my mouth. "That's okay. Mario and I were already going to head home after this and, besides, I feel like I would be intruding on you."

George clenched his jaw. He leaned forward, one hand on the table, and brushed my ear with his nose, making me shiver. "I want to talk to you," he breathed. He lightly kissed the sensitive skin and trailed a bunch of gentle kisses that barely touched down my jaw. I shivered again. His touch was luring chills to my arms.

My breaths and heartbeat quickened. "Okay." I stood and he took my hand. Mario gazed out the window as we walked away.

George led me to a small alcove where the bathrooms were. He pulled me close, with his hands on the wall on either side of my shoulders. "Daisy," he said in a low voice. I swallowed, unsure. He tipped his head forward so that our foreheads were touching. I closed my eyes and rested my hands on his chest. "Why are you here with him?"

I opened my eyes and tried to pull away, but the wall and his arms blocked my path. "George," I whispered back. "I'm not on a date with him. He doesn't like me that way."

"Then how do you explain last week? And how you've been acting weird to each other since then?"

I closed my eyes again. So he had noticed. "He doesn't like me that way, George. I wish you'd believe me for once," I said softly.

He sighed and kissed my cheek. "I do trust you, and I guess belief should follow that." He was silent for a moment. "Two more weeks." I could feel his smile when he kissed my cheek again. He glanced at his friends, and then turned us so he was blocking my view of the rest of the place and planted a long kiss on my cheek, then kissed my forehead. "Go have fun, I suppose," he said as he lowered his arms.

I walked back to Mario's table without another word. He hadn't touched my fries, it looked like. "You could have had some, you know." I waggled a fry at him once I was seated.

He pressed his lips together, took it, and dropped it back on the pile. "No."

"Don't tell me you don't like them. You literally ate one during your little staring contest with George."

He frowned. "Just eat your fries."

I furrowed my brow. Why was he being this way? It was a 180 from how he was just a few minutes ago. I munched on my food, watching him stare out the window. A short time later and I was done - with the fries and with being ignored. "Let's go," I said, almost letting my annoyance slip into my tone.

He grabbed the tray and hopped up. "Okay." He dumped our trash and led the way to the car.

Once we were inside and he was on the road, I couldn't take it anymore. "What's up with you?"

He glanced at me. "What do you mean?"

"You seem upset. Since George and I talked, you've been actively ignoring me."

"Was there one thing you said that I didn't acknowledge?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "No, but then I didn't say anything until we got in the car. You haven't looked at me, either."

He looked at me as he stopped behind another car. "What am I doing now?"

"Glaring." He shook his head and looked back at the road. "Mario, what is it? You know you can tell me." We began moving again and we rode in silence for a minute while Mario looked troubled.

He hit the brakes abruptly and turned down some residential road not far from our homes. After about a block he pulled over and parked on the side of the road. "You want to know what's wrong?" I nodded, beginning to feel like maybe I didn't want to know. He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was measured. "I ask you to not rub George in my face, yet you do."

"No, I didn't!"

He held up a hand. "Maybe you didn't intend to, but how else am I supposed to take it when you let that guy do what he did and then kiss you right in front of me?"

"Kiss him?"

"I saw you."

I stared at him, confused. Then, all at once, it hit me. George glancing at his friends, him turning us so I couldn't see past him, the long, lingering kiss on my cheek. I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Mario, I didn't kiss him. I think he was testing you." Mario snorted and looked out his window. "No, I'm serious! He accused you of liking me and I told him you didn't. That was when he looked over and then turned where I couldn't see the place. He kissed my cheek."

"Yeah, right." He shook his head. "You don't need to defend yourself to me, Daze. I understand. You guys are going to be dating pretty soon anyway."

"I'm not! I really didn't kiss him. I wouldn't do it in front of you." I paused. "I actually haven't kissed anyone." I wasn't sure if I should have admitted to that, but I was okay with him knowing about my lack of experience.

He glanced at me, dubious. "I find that hard to believe."

"Why?"

He turned to me. "Look at you. You're beautiful. I'm surprised you haven't dated nearly every guy in our grade."

I shook my head. "I never went to parties or anything. Susan did, but it wasn't my scene. I wanted to be at home instead. Drawing, preferably. It's always been something I loved."

He smiled a little as his face and body relaxed just a bit. "You're good, too."

"You haven't seen anything good I've done."

The smile became a real one that touched his eyes. "I have. Everything you've done looks good."

I face felt warm at the genuineness of his compliment. "Thank you."

His expression fell as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't like that you lied to George. Especially for me."

I frowned. "Mario," I said softly. "If I didn't, I would worry he'd do something to you, like beat you up or something."

He shook his head. "Let him try."

"He benches, like, a hundred and fifty."

Mario shrugged. "So? I do, too. Ten pounds more, in fact."

I eyed him. His frame didn't seem very filled out. "You don't look like you do."

He grinned as he put the car in gear and drove off. "You sure about that?"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

This is how I found myself inside a 24-hour gym at nine-thirty at night with Mario Lopez.

He marched right on inside, led me over to one of the bench presses, and began stacking weights. He glanced at me with a grin and took off his shirt. I couldn't help myself - I stared.

I'd seen George without a shirt on at the pool before, seen his six-pack. But Mario was ripped. He had very defined abs and pretty buff arms now that I saw them without those long sleeves he favored.

He got on the bench. "Stop staring and come spot me. That just means you make sure I don't drop this on myself."

I took the few steps over and grabbed the bar in the middle. "If you drop this, I can't get it off of you. So don't drop it."

He chuckled before lifting the bar from its cradle. After gently lowering it to his chest, he said, "Ten is all I can do. I'm working on one-sixty still. There's a chance I could drop it."

"Then don't do ten." We grinned at each other, and he began lifting the bar. He counted off five before replacing it. I let go and backed away. He got up and faced me, waiting. "Okay, I believe you."

He looked down at himself briefly before meeting my eyes again. "Good." He picked up his shirt and put it back on. "There. That's better. Okay, let's go." He walked quickly out of the place.

I followed, chewing my lip to try to stop the grin from spreading across my face.

He opened the car door for me. I slid in, expecting him to close it. Instead, he looked at me a moment. I watched his mouth open and close a few times before he finally closed the door and got in on the driver's side.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he began backing out of the parking spot. We got to the road, and he turned to me. "What?" I asked.

He shrugged and shook his head. "What do you want to do?"

I shrugged. "I guess we could just drive around. I like riding."

He nodded and pulled out in a random direction. "So, what do you listen to?"

"Anything, pretty much."

"What do you prefer?"

"John Denver," I answered immediately.

He laughed a little to himself. "Fitting."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head. "Fitting, as in he loved Colorado and you live in Colorado, I guess."

I shrugged happily. "I love Colorado, too. I don't want to live anywhere else."

"You wouldn't want to travel? There's a lot of great places out there."

"Oh, I love traveling. I just don't want to leave Colorado permanently."

"Moving doesn't have to be permanent." He glanced at me. "I didn't leave forever."

I smiled at him. "True." I chewed my lip a moment. "I'm glad you didn't."

He glanced over, surprised. "Me, too." He focused on the road again, looking happier than he had most of the night so far.

"What about you? What do you like listening to?"

"Don't laugh."

"I won't promise anything."

He sighed. "Showtunes."

I clamped a handover my mouth, stifling the laugh that was building. "Seriously?" I managed to get out.

"Hey, they're cooler than you think, okay?" He hesitated at a light, and then turned to go back to our neighborhood. "I'll loan you a CD I think you'll like. It's not show tunes, just so you know."

"Phew." We chuckled.

When we got to his house, he looked at me a moment before going inside. A couple of minutes later, he jogged back to the car. He pulled out a CD he wouldn't let me see and slid it into his car's player. "I'm not moving until you hear this."

I sat there, listening for some cheesy tune to begin playing, but, instead, all I heard was guitar. After a minute, someone began singing. He had a pretty voice, and the words were really sweet. Near the end of the first verse, I realized why he sounded familiar. I turned wide eyes on Mario, who'd been watching. "That's you?"

He handed me the case. "Yep. Recorded that last year. I'm playing the guitar and singing, and Dan is playing the drums in the back."

"Wow. You guys are good." I scanned the track list. "Did you write these, too? I've never heard of any of them."

"Sure. We're the ones Disney calls when their lyricists get writer's block."

"Really?" I looked at him.

He started laughing. "No. Those are show tunes that I changed up."

"You said they weren't show tunes."

"I meant they don't sound like show tunes. Anyway, do you like it?"

"I love it." I grinned at him.

He returned the smile. "You can have it."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. I have more copies."

I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning harder. "Thanks."

He started the car. "You're welcome. Now, let's get you home."

That night, I pulled out my portable CD player and my earbuds, and let myself fall asleep to the warm sound of Mario's voice.