“Not really.”

Malinda pinched the bridge of her nose. “Lindsay, how long have you worked here?”

“Seven months.”

“And how many times have you called in, especially recently?”

“I don’t know.”

“It comes out to be about once a week, let’s put it that way. And a few times you called in twice within the week.”

“So?”

“So?! There have even been a few no-call-no-shows. I don’t run things very tightly around here, and I let people get away with a lot. Maybe that’s a fault, not a strength. You seem to taking advantage of it. Any other boss would have fired you months ago. In fact, I’m the only one who’s fighting to keep you here. I don’t like to fire younger people, because in order for them to learn anything in life, they need to learn how to build from mistakes. But now, you’re not making any effort to change, and you’re even pushing me too far.”

Lindsay flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, shifted all of her weight to one foot, and folded her arms across her chest, sending only one clear message to Malinda: Boredom.

“Am I keeping you from something?” Malinda asked in a condescending tone. When the girl gave no answer, she continued. “I’m putting you back on a probationary status. If you screw up again, Tyler, Mary and I will have to discuss what happens next. It would basically come down to a vote, and let me give you a heads up; so far I’m the only one who is voting for you. And I can’t even guarantee how long that will last,” she opened the door, giving Lindsay leave to return to her work. Mary Donnelly, who had been waiting for the meeting to end, joined Malinda in the office.

“How did it go?” she asked.

Malinda picked up the paper that was lying on her desk. She’d left it there in plain sight so that Lindsay could easily see what it was – an advertisement for employment that Mary had drafted the previous week. She now handed it to Mary. “Go ahead and put it in the paper. I gave her the ultimatum. If she does it the smart way, she’ll quit before she can get fired.”

“Where do we keep finding these people? This has got to be the most Mickey Mouse job in the world. Why is everyone so freaking lazy?”

“I don’t know,” Malinda pulled out her chair and sat down, cradling her head in her hands, “We’re seriously going to fall apart if this keeps up. We’re already at the point where the three of us are working more than some of the full-time employees.”

“This honestly makes me wonder why we need anyone at all. Maybe we should just have the three of us working, and maybe have one or two people come in during the middle of the day and on weekends, and then one of us could open alone and one of us could close alone.”

“Well, that would be great in theory, but I don’t think it would ever rally work. Besides, the only way I’d ever let that happen is if you or I were the ones who were here alone. I’d never let Tyler stay here by himself, especially at closing. Not in this town.”

“But no one gets bothered at that bar, and that’s only a few blocks away,” Mary tried to assure her.

“A few blocks make a big difference. That one guy got beaten with a damn baseball bat inside the parking garage just a few blocks in the other direction. Face it, as wonderful of a gay community as we have around her, Tyler is too open for a lot of people to accept,” Malinda stood up and headed back to the floor, looking for something to busy herself with. She needed to take her mind off the subject quickly. She often found herself getting extremely angry when she thought about hate crimes and all the stories of people, especially men, getting attacked simply because they were gay. She would probably kill someone before she let harm come to Tyler.

Mary followed after her, sensing that it was time to move to a new topic. “Lindsay’s shift ends in about an hour. Since you’ll be on lunch, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Damn, it’s that time already?” Malinda looked up at the clock. Any minute now, Rhett would come through the door, hair still dripping from his post-practice shower, and stroll past some of the drooling girls to take Malinda out to lunch. She decided to kill those few minutes by organizing and filing some of the receipts and gift cards and other items behind and under the counter. When the bell over the door jingled, she was practically on her hands and knees underneath a shelf.

“Hello, can I help you?” she heard Lindsay ask in an overly friendly way, and snorted. That girl sure picked convenient times to do her job.

“Yes, I’m looking for Malinda.”

Since when was Rhett so formal? No one ever bothered to ask him if he needs anything anymore, and if they did, he usually told them no and came looking for her himself. Malinda crawled out and straightened up.

It was either the act of standing up too fast or the sight that she saw that made her feel light-headed, or maybe a combination of both. Whatever the reason, her vision blurred around the edges and her breath was ripped from her chest. She could scarcely believe what she was looking at.

“You – you’re here,” she stated blankly.

“Yep. I’m a few days early. Is that okay?”

“A few days? You just told me yesterday that you’d have to juggle some things around in order to make it out here in a couple weeks.”

“And you believed me? I wanted to surprise you. Besides, I couldn’t wait that long,” JC closed the gap between himself and the register. “Well, are you surprised?”

“Of course!” she actually climbed over the counter to allow JC to take her in his arms and greet her with a warm, inviting kiss. Incoherent words and incomplete thoughts escaped her lips to be mumbled against his lips in a kiss that seemed to last forever.

Until the sudden sound of someone clearing their throat made them pull apart, embarrassed.

“Oh, don’t let me interrupt,” Rhett said quickly. “Carry on. I can find food myself.”

Malinda felt herself blushing, and knew that if her skin was a shade lighter, it would be visible. “Um, hi, Rhett. This is JC. JC, this is Rhett. You’re both heard plenty about each other,” she stepped back as her two leading men shook hands, undoubtedly sizing each other up.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Rhett said, only Malinda noticing the trace of hostility in his voice. She already knew how Rhett resented the fact that it was taking this long for JC to come to town and that she had to go to his city first.

“You too. I’ve heard so much about you, especially from Laurel. I don’t think anyone’s name comes up as much as yours in a conversation with her.”

Rhett grinned. “That’s my girl. She’s a card,” he rubbed his palms together. “So, what’s for lunch?”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Isn’t JC coming too?”

“Actually, I don’t know,” Malinda turned to JC. “Do you want to join us for lunch?”

“I don’t know. This sounds like something you two do regularly, and I don’t want to barge in on that. It’s up to you.”

Oh God. Malinda’s heart thudded to a stop in her chest. She would later report to Gina that, as cliché as it sounded, it was as if time stood frozen and everything was silent as every person in the store waited for her answer. That moment she’d been dreading ... here it was. “Um…well… I would like you to…you are here early…”

JC stopped her when he smiled and squeezed her hand. “Go ahead. I have to go back to my hotel and get my things anyway.”

Her sigh of relief was so strong she was sure every last molecule of carbon dioxide was expelled from her lungs. “Thanks,” she whispered. “I’ll call you later to bring you home.”

“Okay. Have fun. Nice meeting you,” he said again to Rhett.

Rhett nodded and bid him farewell, “Till next time.” He held the door for Malinda.

Her breathing restored to normal halfway down the block. “That was horrible,” she slipped her hand into Rhett’s for a sense of security. “I can’t believe I had to make that decision already.”

“What decision?” Rhett pulled her gently across the street.

“You or JC.”

“We’re only going to lunch.”

“So it was a scaled down version. It was still a decision.”

“Well, it’s just a matter of your friends over your man. Or vice versa.”

“Oh Rhett, don’t you get it?”

“Apparently not,” he held open the door to Arby’s.

“You are my man,” Malinda hissed. “At least, something like it. A substitute or something. Which makes the whole thing a little skewed. When it comes down to it, the only difference between my relationship with you and my relationship with JC is sex.”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know. I can’t make that choice now.”

“I meant to eat.”

Malinda’s eyes shot daggers into Rhett’s skull. “Have you even been listening to me?”

“Yes, I have. And so has,” Rhett looked at the kid behind the register, “David. The only thing he can help you with right now is what you’re going to eat.”

She gave her order and shuffled down the counter to wait for it. Rhett joined her a second later.

“Mindy, I don’t know what you want me to say,” he tucked his wallet back in his pocket. “I don’t think you’ll really have to make that choice. Granted, I don’t really know him, but he doesn’t seem like he’s going to make you give up your friends.”

“I hope not. I have no idea what criteria to make such a decision on. Love? I love both of you. Laurel? Laurel loves both of you and you’re both wonderful to her. Marriage material? To be completely honest, I really don’t care if I get married,” Malinda took the tray that was placed in front of her and went off to claim a table. She almost stumbled when a disturbing thought popped into her head.

She had her answer.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t completely the answer she wanted. It would mean sacrificing a lot, including one hell of a future.

“What are you staring at?” Rhett asked a minute later, conscious of her eyes on his face.

“Just thinking.”

“Would you do me a favor and quit worrying about it?”

She let the topic drop and pushed it as far from her mind as she could. Somehow she made it through the rest of her shift at the bookstore before tearing into her office to call JC from her cell phone. JC was waiting and anxious to get out of the hotel and to her apartment, so she told him she was on her way.

“Hailey!” Malinda Gracie hissed, sliding into the seat behind her teammate just moments before the bell rang and their math class began. “He wants to take me to the movies tonight!”

“He does?” Hailey squealed as quietly as she could. “That’s awesome! I told you he was gonna ask you out. Why else would he watch girls’ soccer practice all afternoon?”

Malinda smiled, barely hearing the lesson, as she imagined her movie date with Jake Pawlak. Would it just be the two of them, or was it a group date? Should she ask, or would that sound too childish? She squirmed in her chair, glancing at the clock every five minutes. She needed to get to her locker and speak to Gina immediately.

Gina Williams got out of her history class, which was located directly across the hall from the locker she shared with Malinda. She waited calmly for Malinda to go there. Before this period, Jake had met Malinda at the locker and offered to walk her to class, and Gina needed to know what they talked about.

She didn’t have to wait long. Malinda’s long legs had carried her through the hallways as fast as they could, and she came tearing past the other students to get to Gina. “Gina!” she cried, hardly out of breath. “He’s taking me to the movies Friday!”

Gina whooped in excitement for her friend. “You know this means you have to learn how to kiss.” A male student passing by gave them a funny look.

“I know how to kiss,” Malinda replied loudly, mostly for the student’s benefit. Gina only laughed and the pair headed off to lunch together.

“So,” Jake Pawlak asked softly as he led her out of the theater that night, “Did you like the movie?”

“It’s hard to say. I didn’t see much of it,” Malinda answered him shyly, embarrassed when he let out a huge guffaw.

“You’re sweet, baby,” he put his arm around her shoulders. “Want to go for a ride?” he asked when they reached his car.

It was a crisp, clear night. “Sure, why not?” she replied cheerfully, only slightly confused by the fact that he laughed again.

Jake drove them to an abandoned field, where he parked and shut the car off. Malinda looked around. “What’s this place?”

“This is my favorite place to come and relax,” he told her, leaning towards her to put his arm around her again. He turned his head to kiss her, and she eagerly complied. The kiss deepened over the next few minutes, and then Jake reached for the zipper on her jeans.

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Trying to help you relax. You can’t possibly be comfortable in these stiff jeans.”

“Well, no…but –”

“But nothing. Come on, I’m going to get comfortable too,” Jake coaxed, pulling his shirt over his head, revealing his baseball toned abs.

Malinda mouth dropped open and Jake took that as an invitation to resume kissing. Soon Malinda felt herself being gently pushed into a prone position.

Malinda stumbled on the top step. Where had that come from?

JC reacted with lightning speed to catch her before she could fall. “Are you okay?” he asked when he saw her give her head a shake.

“Yeah,” she said absently. “My mind was wandering, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Thinking about other things, maybe?” JC asked, suggestively, letting his hand drift down to her hip. When the muscle twitched in response to his touch, he pulled back. “Or not.”

“Actually, yes,” Malinda paused before dropping her voice. “Just not with you.”

“I see.”

It was the strain in his voice that made Malinda’s heart break. She knew how JC felt about Jake after she’d told him the story. He wanted to hurt the man. She heard that in his voice now, along with something else – anger, jealousy.

“It’s weird,” she tried to explain. “Sometimes, out of nowhere, some memory or just random thought will pop into my head. It’s usually when I’m thinking about high school-related things, so that makes sense, but on occasion, they’ll just come up in the middle of some other thought.” JC only nodded.

Malinda sighed and unlocked the door to her apartment. “Okay, here it is, my truly humble abode.” She threw open the door and made a sweeping gesture with her arm. Then she glanced away so she wouldn’t have to see the look on his face when he saw how small the place was. Unless he was completely blind, he’d realize, just as sure as she did, that her entire apartment was the size of his kitchen.

Imagine her surprise when he only said, excitedly, “This is exactly what I pictured it looking like!”

“What do you mean?”

“This has your personality written all over it. If I were to look right now at some home decorating catalog, looking for stuff for you, this is exactly what I’d pick out,” he moved around the living room, running his hand over the couch, examining each picture that hung on the walls or sat on the end tables, smiling at the random knick-knacks, before coming back to her shocked form, still at the door. “So let’s see the bedroom.”

“You seemed pretty sure of yourself just then,” Malinda informed JC about half an hour later as she tumbled back to her side of the bed.

“Was there any reason I shouldn’t have been?”

“There’s a number of reasons. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood, maybe it was that time of the month, maybe Laurel was home or on her way home.”

“You would have stopped me if that was the case, right?” JC teased. Malinda scowled and allowed herself to be cuddled.

“For your information, Laurel went out with her friends and should be home within the next hour, probably with said friends.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to be out of this bed within the next hour. We should get my things out of the car too, so she doesn’t see them when she comes in. Surprise her.”

“That’s a fun idea,” Malinda yawned and closed her eyes, snuggling closer to JC.

“I though it was the guy’s job to fall asleep afterwards.”

“Get with it, times are changing. This is 2002, after all,” Malinda mumbled.

JC smiled. “You rest. I’ll bring my things up.” He rose from the bed, giving her a parting kiss on the cheek. He could get used to this.

It took less than ten minutes for him to bring his bags up to Malinda’s apartment. He looked in on her to find her completely passed out. He continued to let her sleep while he made himself comfortable in her living room, with more time to peruse her bookshelf, her CD collection, and gaze at the rest of her photographs. His eyes fell on the picture with a young Malinda with a toddler in her arms and a woman next to her, from whom Malinda clearly got the majority of her looks. He could only guess it was a shot of three generations of Gracie girls. Malinda never mentioned her mother, but JC had always assumed that the relationship was strained, never pressing for anything more. However, after seeing this picture, he couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong between them.

More time spent examining the photos on the walls and on tables confirmed something else: Rhett was just as much a part of the family as he hoped to be. There were pictures of him everywhere: alone in his uniform, him with Laurel, him with Malinda, him with Laurel and Malinda. JC found only four snapshots of himself in the house, all taken when the girls came out to his home. There was a picture of all three of them in a large frame in the living room, sitting atop the entertainment center, as well as a smaller one with the three of them hanging in the hallway. He had seen two in Malinda’s room, one of just the two of them and one with him, Laurel, and the puppy. Not wanting to invade her privacy, he hadn’t been in Laurel’s room, just glanced in from the door, where he saw a picture of the puppy sitting on Laurel’s nightstand.

Granted, he’d already known Rhett was a staple in Malinda’s life, but all the images around the house just drove the fact home. He wasn’t up for any competition, but when he started to poke around in the front coat closet, his mind changed quickly. From one of the hooks a bag was hanging. Knowing he really had no right to do so, but because it looked like a man’s sports bag, JC found himself opening it and digging around inside. He found various articles of men’s clothing; shirts, sweats, jeans, and even a few pairs of boxer-briefs that caused his nostrils to flare in anger. This was an overnight bag.

He closed the closet door with more force than he intended, awakening Malinda when he did so. She shuffled her way to the living room, yawning. JC greeted her with a soft kiss on the forehead, bringing her to the couch where they sat together.

“I guess I need another vacation. I don’t think I’ve ever taken an impromptu nap like this.”

“Well, you did exert yourself. That’s not your usual daily routine, is it?” After all, there is an overnight bag in your front closet.

“No, it’s not a habit. Not when you’re not around, anyway.”

“Hush woman, before you find yourself sound asleep again,” JC grinned, momentarily forgetting the bag and Rhett when Malinda looked up at him with sleepy, seductive eyes.

“Laurel should be home soon anyway.”

“As you informed me.”

“She will be,” Malinda pinched JC’s side. “So let’s put your things in my room and plan how we’re going to surprise her.”

Laurel climbed the stairs to her home, Alicia Parker and Hannah Buchanan trailing behind her. They were all exhausted from spending their entire day at several local parks and playgrounds. All three stumbled over each other through the door, practically collapsing in a heap on the living room floor.

“Do you think your mom will drive us home?” Hannah managed to ask.

Malinda appeared in the doorway. “What are you girls, seventy-five? Can’t handle a full day out anymore? What’s happening to today’s youth?”

“Mom,” Laurel whined. “We’ve been out for over ten hours.”

Shaking her head, Malinda laughed. “Do you girls want to stay for dinner?” When they chorused in agreement, she continued. “Well, I haven’t decided what to make yet, so give me your ideas.”

“Let’s have another girls-only day,” Alicia suggested, “and go out for ice cream or something.”

“That would be fun, except it’s not all girls tonight,” Malinda arched one eyebrow mysteriously.

Laurel sat up. “Why not? Is Rhett here? I didn’t see his truck.”

“Nope, not Rhett,” Malinda turned around and went back to the kitchen. Laurel scrambled to her feet and followed. When she reached the kitchen, she let out a squeal.

“JC!” she flashed across the kitchen to throw her arms around JC’s neck as he sat at the table grinning. Her scream had brought Alicia and Hannah running to the doorway, where they now stood, huddled together in awe.

When Malinda noticed Laurel’s excitement had clouded her brain, making her forget she had company behind her, she jumped in, interrupting Laurel’s non-stop account of her summer and first few days of school.

“JC, these are Laurel’s best friends, Alicia and Hannah. Girls, you know who JC is.”

Both girls squeaked a hello as JC reached forward to shake their hands. “We’ve heard all about you!” Hannah said.

“And about you and Malinda!” Alicia blurted out.

JC flushed a bit and Malinda smiled. She touched the back of his neck and reminded the girls they still hadn’t picked out a suitable dinner yet. “Votes, please.”

“Chinese.”

“Pizza.”

“Ooh, yeah, pizza.”

“JC?”

“Whatever you ladies pick is fine with me.”

“You’re no fun. You’re not supposed to just give in. I guess it’s pizza. No delivery. We’re going out. Sgt. Pepperoni’s?” Malinda looked around for oppositions. No one had a contention, so the group headed out to the car, JC and Malinda arm in arm the whole way.