neutral with him.

After dismissing the class, he waited for her in the office.

"I'm so sorry about ‑" She put one finger on his lips.

"Don't apologize for your brother. That has to come from him."

"I know." Damian sighed, holding her tightly. "How's Nick?"

"In bed. She cried all night. Em and I sat up with her. Why didn't the coward come to class?"

Damian chose his words carefully. "I guess he

didn't want to face her."

"I know I shouldn't insult him in front of you, Damian, but I watch out for Nicky. I always have. I'm the oldest. I can't stand to see her hurting like this. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Kenny and I are the same."

"I just wish he would have ended it before he went on. Nicky knew it was coming."

"I know." Damian stroked her silky hair slowly, wondering how his brother could be so insensitive.

***

"I'll be fine, Auren, I promise. I want you to go."

"I don't like leaving you here alone."

"Em is here, so is Jane. I'm not alone."

“Layout is a big deal."

"You do it practically by yourself. I think Em and I can manage."

"But if you have any problems ‑"

"I'll page you. Auren, I'm serious." Nicky took her sister's hands. "Go, please. You deserve to have a nice weekend alone with Damian." Nicky wiggled her eyebrows.

"Get that thought out of your head right now." Auren laughed.

"I mean it. Go and have some fun. You give up shit for me all the time. You deserve it."

"I changed the lock on the liquor cabinet." Auren said.

“I noticed." Nicky sighed. "I'm not going to drink myself to death. Em will be hovering over me like a mother hen."

"Bawk bawk!!" Em hollered from the other room. The twins laughed.

"Please, Auren. You got the good one. Go be with him. Or else I'll tie you down in his car and make him take you away."

"Ok." Auren laughed, brushing a dark lock of hair from her sister's eyes. "But you call me if you need me and we'll come right back, understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Nicky drawled.

***

"All set?" Damian got into his Jeep, behind the driver's side. The suitcases were in the back. Auren fastened her seat belt.

"I guess." she tried to smile and couldn't. He leaned over and kissed her gently.

"Don't be so nervous." he started the engine.

***

Auren watched the mountains pass by as Damian's Jeep carried them up a narrow canyon road. Finally he pulled up in front of a cabin with a bright red "N" painted on a hanging sign, on the side of the cabin.

“Good old Joe." Damian said happily. "I called our neighbor yesterday. He looks after the place when no one is here. He started a fire and ordered groceries."

"Wow. It's beautiful." she murmured, looking around. Damian got out and opened Auren's door, holding her hand.

"My grandfather built it. Pop had it refinished and modernized a bit before he died. You can even take a bath, unless you want to try the stream." he laughed.

Auren's eyes took in the beauty of the log  cabin. The large room was solid oak, with a big fireplace made of brick. Above it hung a stag's head. Walls of lighter wooden paneling set off

the darker logs. A large, round, oak table and chairs were in one corner. Beyond the staircase to the loft, near the back door, was the kitchen, spacious and displaying new appliances. The bathroom had been modified recently, including a full shower and bath.

Damian drew her to him. "There's a master bedroom through there. Up the stairs is the loft, it has two double beds. There's a small room behind the kitchen with a twin bed. You can have your choice."

"Can I look around?" she asked softly.

"You want a tour?" Smiling, she nodded.

Taking her by the hand, he led her through the cabin. The small staircase forced them to walk one behind the other. Damian led her up.

In the loft, under the slanted roof on each side, were the beds. Between them stood two dark, wood dressers. Next to each bed was a window.

"This is where Kenny and I always slept. We had  our own beds, but usually ended up together in the middle of the night. Especially when it stormed. Safety in numbers." he chuckled. "Once the younger twins came along, they got one bed and we got the other.

In the master bedroom was a queen‑sized bed, neatly made up with a red and black bedspread. Another dresser, made of the same wood as the loft dressers, was in one corner, and there was a

small closet. The curtain had been drawn and the sun was setting.

"Oh, how beautiful." she murmured. "Can we go outside to see it?"

"Sure."

On the front porch, Auren sat mesmerized by the red, gold and purple streaks across the sky. Damian watched her from the side; her chin resting on her hands as she stared out at the

skyline. 

"Do you want to see the river before the sun goes down?" he asked. She nodded.

Damian led her across the dirt road and down a few rocks. The creek was about six feet across, with clear water running over smooth stones and pebbles. Casting a golden‑red glow over the scene, the setting sun bounced off the water and sand.

“It's gorgeous." she murmured. Kneeling down, she dipped one hand in and laughed. "And freezing!"

"It's early November." he reminded her. She nodded.

"I know. Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 22 tomorrow." Damian's pale eyes widened.

"You never told me!" Auren shrugged.

"It's no biggie. I don't like people going out of their way for it." she rubbed her hand dry on her jeans.

When her head raised to see him, he caught his breath. The rapidly fading light bounced off her

golden hair, and the dark blue jacket made her gray eyes border on blue. Her fair skin was flushed pink from the crisp air, and loose strands of hair had come out of her braid. Ravishing, he thought.

"You hungry?" he asked. She nodded and he held out his hand. Getting to her feet, she took it and they made their way back to the cabin.

"I should tell you I can't cook." she said. He laughed.

"I took a year off after high school to study culinary arts. Kenny and I both did."

"Wow . . . two men that can cook. That's a change." she laughed. He grinned.

"I'm cooking this weekend, so don't worry."

"And what are your other hidden talents?" she laughed, then realized what she had said. Damian paused before laughing gently.

"You'll have to wait and see."

Praying he didn't want to have sex, she fell quiet. Damian caught the mood swing. He also knew what caused it.

"There's a tv, behind one of the panels near the fireplace. Pop spruced it up really well. Full stereo system."

She nodded her acknowledgment. Trying to bring the lightness back to their conversation, he chattered while they walked back to the cabin.

* * *

After a gourmet meal of grilled shrimp kabobs, saffron fried rice, caesar salad and a decadent chocolate and strawberry dessert that Auren couldn't finish, they sat cuddled together on the couch. Damian put in the  Princess Bride  for them to watch, knowing it was one

of her favorite movies.

"Thank you for dinner, it was wonderful." she tilted her head up to him. He kissed her.

"You're very welcome. I love cooking for people. Kind of like you and bartending." he smiled. Her head rested on his shoulder. Damian kissed the top of her head, trying to concentrate on the

movie and not her nearness.

"Keep making food like that and I'll get fat." she told him, breathing in his cologne. It was masculine and comforting, not overpowering. And very sexy.

Damian withheld the comment that landed on his tongue. He had enough insight into her, she wouldn't know how to react to it.

"Did you ever like fairy tales?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him.

“Some. I liked Sleeping Beauty." He laughed. "I liked to pretend I was Phillip, rescuing my princess."

"I was her in a grade school play. The teacher said I had the right look."

"You do. You're incredibly beautiful." he said without thinking. Auren drew back.

"I should go unpack." she said abruptly, rising from the couch.

Damian groaned to himself as she headed upstairs. She had decided to sleep in

the loft. Damian opted for the master bedroom. Sleeping in the same

room with her would drive him insane.

 "She has a problem with intimacy." Nicky's words came back to him.  "Ray, her ex, he never raped her per se, but he guilt tripped her and pretty much she did it to get him to leave her alone. He was mean, brutal, and he hurt her, physically and emotionally. She never enjoyed

sex with him, she made herself detach. She hasn't even dated another man until you, let alone have sex. She'll freak out if things get too heavy."

A few moments later, Auren reappeared. Having changed into a pair of dark green silk pajamas, with red, fuzzy socks, her unbraided hair fell in waves over her shoulders. Intoxicating, Damian thought.

Sitting next to him on the couch, she set her feet her up on it.

"Cute socks." He was amused. She blushed.

"I get cold easily."

"Come here." he said softly, holding out one arm. Slowly, cautiously, she eased over to him. "I'll keep you warm." he whispered, kissing her gently. The pounding heart beat against his chest. Damian realized Auren was terrified. Holding her close, they continued to watch the movie.

Auren was unsettled by his caress, and by the box of condoms she had found in her suitcase. Nicky and Em were the culprits, she could guarantee it. Nicky had been smiling when they left.

Was Damian expecting her to sleep with him? Still unsure of him, she began to regret coming on the trip. Nick and Em had pushed her to do it, and she had finally agreed. Were they all in on some conspiracy?

Damian knew she was disturbed, but he stayed calm, trying to get her relaxed again. When the movie ended, he realized she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Sighing, he lifted her gently,

cautiously carrying her up the stairs. When they were younger, he and Kenny would stay up late and fall asleep and their dad would carry them up to bed.

She didn't make a sound when he set her on the bed gently. Pulling the covers over her, he kissed her forehead gently.

"Good night, Sleeping Beauty. I love you." he whispered.

Quietly, he returned downstairs, and started to unpack. Confused, he stared at the box of condoms in his suitcase. Not expecting their relationship to take that step, he certainly hadn't packed them. Taped to one side was a note.

Good luck, big brother. K.

Damian sighed. Kenny and his one‑track mind.

***

A scream woke Damian a few hours later. Jarred awake, Damian took a minute to orient himself. Running upstairs, he turned the light on, seeing Auren sitting up in bed.

Her screams stopped when she saw him. Hair plastered to her forehead, she was drenched in sweat. Clutching the blanket, she gasped for air.

"What is it?" he demanded, rushing to her side. "What happened?"

"My nightmare." she whispered.

"What nightmare?"

"The one I haven't had since we met. It came back."

Damian realized she was shaking and held her close, stroking her hair.

"It's okay." he whispered over and over again. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

"It was Ray." she whispered, holding on to him. "He was beating me again ‑ had me pinned down ‑"

"Shh." he whispered. "It was just a dream." 

"No, it happened." she whimpered. "I've been reliving it almost every night since it happened."

"Do you want to tell me?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Let me get you a glass of water. I'll be right back."

Damian returned quickly. Drinking the water greedily, Auren  sat back in the bed. Her face was pale and dark circles rimmed her eyes. The black pupils were dilated and glazed.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. It's up to you."

"How can you be so understanding?" she asked.

He shrugged. "My father raised me to be a gentleman." He chuckled. "He tried with Kenny, but . . ."

"I haven't told you everything about Ray."  

"You haven't told me anything about him." Damian said gently. She looked down.

"I know, and I apologize for it. But I don't know how to tell you what really happened."

"Start at the beginning." he encouraged.

Gripping the glass, she began.

***

"Looks good." Em peered over Nicky's shoulder at the pasted up articles. "Last printout for page four is going. I'll let the printer run all night so, come morning, we can get a good start before the party."

"Sounds like a plan."

With Auren gone for the weekend, Nicky had invited a bunch of friends over for her birthday. Auren didn't like crowds of people or a fuss to be made over their birthday, so having her

gone was perfect.

"Wonder how they're doing." Em murmured. Nicky chuckled.

"Dunno. But I would have loved to see her face when she unpacked." She snickered at the image of her twin.

"I think it'll be good for her." Em giggled. "Sometimes I almost wish I did like men."

"Well, even if his brother is scum, Damian is a gentleman. And Auren needs that."

***

"When we first got together he was very sweet, very kind and romantic. After a few months, when I thought I had found the perfect man, his temper started to show. He became violent

occasionally, eventually it built up to almost daily. I was only sixteen, what the hell did I know?"

"I stayed with him for two years because he made me believe that no other man could ever want me. I wasn't pretty enough, etc. He was the only one who loved me, I was lucky to have him

because I wasn't good enough for him." Hatred for Ray rose in Damian's chest quickly. "It was around the time my mother died, and he told me she died because she couldn't put up with me anymore."

"Jesus!" he whispered in shock.

"I was young and stupid and I believed him. No one else had ever shown any interest in me so that made it easy to believe." The tears welled in her eyes. "Finally I broke up with him. I never told him I applied to the air force. I didn't say anything until I was accepted. Then all hell broke loose."

Damian waited, his heart pounding in anticipation. One tear slid from her eye. The gray eyes were focused on the wall behind him.

"He went ballistic. He grabbed me by my arms . . . and threw me against the wall." Another tear fell. Damian felt his heart breaking. "My head hit the wall and I blacked out for a minute.

When I came to he was screaming at me and ripping my clothes off."

The tears flooded down her cheeks. Damian took one hand.

"Then he ‑ he . . ." she couldn't continue.  

"Did he rape you?" Damian asked.

Crying, she nodded. Holding her against his chest, he didn't know what, if anything, to say. Finally, she pulled away, wiping her eyes with her hand. Handing her a tissue from the box on the dresser, she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"I fought like mad, but he had me pinned so tightly I couldn't get him off. And he kept hitting me. Nick never knew. She was out that night. I got back home and showered. Threw the clothes

out so she wouldn't see them."

"How did you get away?"

"When he was finished, he got off me and left the house. I ran home."

"My God." Damian whispered, holding her close. She kept crying.

"I never told anyone. I was too ashamed." her shoulders shook as she put her head down against her risen knees. "All my training and I couldn't stop him."

"No. No, my darling, it wasn't your fault." he  forced her to look him in the eyes. "There is no excuse for what he did to you. Rape is about control, and he wanted to control you. You did

nothing to warrant it."

Auren wiped her eyes again.

"I didn't plan to tell you. I thought the nightmare had gone away. I haven't had it since I met you."

Damian held her chin with one hand, not sure what to say.

"Can I take a shower?" she asked. "I feel dirty all over again after talking about it."

“Of course."

Rising from the bed, she grabbed a different pair of pajamas and went downstairs.

While she showered, he cried quietly. Nicky hadn't known or she would have killed him. Rage at Ray overwhelmed him, for destroying parts of Auren that she might never get back: her pride, her dignity, and her trust of men. Damian made a vow to himself he would help her get them

back.

Half an hour later she returned with damp hair. Another set of pajamas that matched the green, except these were dark blue. Her red socks peeped out from the long fabric.

"Do you want this bed?" The one where she had been lying was soaked from sweating during the nightmare.

Nodding, she slipped in between the cool sheets.

"Will you stay for a few minutes?" she asked. He nodded.

“I'll stay as long as you want me to."

"Just 'til I fall asleep."

"Of course. Do you want me to sing?" Shyly, she nodded.

It didn't take long. Crying had worn her out; she was asleep quickly.

Leaving the small lamp on, so if she woke again she wouldn't be in the dark, he watched her. Once she was sleeping deeply, he returned downstairs to his own bed.

* * *

Always a light sleeper, he felt his bed sink slightly. Waking instantly, he blinked before he recognized Auren's perfume.

"Auren?" he asked sleepily.

"I woke up again and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Do you need to talk?" he sat up and turned on another small lamp.

Wearing a short, royal blue lace chemise, revealing enough of her skin to wake him fully. Sitting on the bed, her long tanned legs were exposed tantalizingly. Her gray eyes were focused intently on him. The thought of her deliberately torturing him crossed his mind. She couldn't be <I>that</I> cruel.

"No." she whispered.

Before he could ask another question she had moved closer and was kissing him, shocking him. As she had never initiated a kiss before, Damian was caught off guard. Before he knew it she was pushing him back down to the bed and lying against him, her warm hands on his chest.

"Auren ‑" he pushed her back.

"Nick and Em gave me a little courage."

"Yeah, Kenny gave me the same thing, I think." he replied, pushing her back.

"What's wrong?" she asked, moving back, gray eyes hurt and confused.  "Don't you want me?"

"Want you?" he repeated, sitting up. "Auren, I want to make love to you more than anything else in this world. And you're driving me crazy wearing that! But this isn't right."

"Why not?"

"You think because I helped you tonight you owe me, that you're obligated to do this. I won't. I'm not Ray. I don't expect it. I'm not going to just take it from you. I love you too much." Auren put one hand on his lips.

"I don't feel obligated to you. I want you. I want to know what it's like to make love to someone that I love."

"What did you say?" he asked. Blushing, she looked away, then back at him.

"I love you. I wasn't completely asleep earlier, I heard you. And I've realized tonight that I feel the same way. I wasn't sure before. Ray never made love to me, it was just sex and I didn't want it or enjoy it. I want this. I want to be with you."

"Auren ‑ be sure about this. I want this to be right, and no regrets tomorrow." he warned.

"I couldn't regret it." she answered, sliding under the sheets. His love for her shining through his smile, he pulled her into his arms.

* * *

Damian awoke, tickled by something. Opening his eyes, he saw long, golden hair lying across his chest and part of his face. Brushing it aside, he watched Auren sleep, her face in perfect

contentment. After they made love until dawn, they spoke in whispers til she fell asleep first.

"I will never cheat on you, I will never hurt you in any way. I love you."

"I love you, too." she whispered, kissing him.

Asleep on her stomach, face turned away from him, golden strands spread out everywhere, she didn't hear him leave the bed.  

Around one in the afternoon, she suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, wearing the shirt he had been sleeping in. Sitting on the couch, he glanced up from his novel. Her long hair was tousled.

"Good morning." He smiled at her. She looked panicked.   "What time is it?"

"Oneish. Hey, don't worry. This is a vacation, remember?"

"I never sleep this late."

"Auren, relax." setting the book down, he went to her and hugged her. "Your body needed to sleep."

"I guess . . ." she murmured. Shyly, she pulled away. "I'm going to go clean up."

Damian sighed. His fear was manifesting. Regret and probably shame were overtaking her and she was retreating. Upset, he headed to the kitchen to make lunch.

* * *

"I think it's gonna work." Nick stepped back from the pasted up newspaper.

"We've got everything Auren listed. I think we're good to go." Em replied.

"You'll take it to the paper tomorrow?" Nick asked.

"Sure. I'll drop it off on my way to work.  Should be ready Monday morning." Em brushed her bangs back from her face.

"Why does it take Auren so long to do this? It took us half the time." Em wondered.

"Because she's a perfectionist. She'll redo a damn page until it's perfect. But I think we got it pretty good." Nicky scrutinized the flats. "I'm sure she'll find some reason to be dissatisfied, but she can bite me."

"Hopefully she'll return rather satisfied with her weekend." Em muttered.

Picturing Auren's expression when she found the condoms would have been funny. The girls laughed.

"Keep your fingers crossed." Nicky chuckled.

***

For the rest of the day Auren was shyly quiet. Damian took her back to the creek and they sat on the bank for hours, talking, watching the sun go down. Well, Damian talked, she mostly listened.

"Quietly, look over there." Damian whispered. Auren turned her head slowly. A doe and fawn stood at the creek's other side, about ten feet away from them.

“They're beautiful." Auren breathed.

"Don't move. Just watch them." He held her close with one arm. Silently, they watched the deer drink and wander away into the trees.

"I've never seen one that close before." Auren whispered.

"They come out every now and then. They'll be hibernating soon." he whispered back. Fascinated, Auren's eyes stayed focused in their direction. Damian watched her happily.

When she had emerged dressed, she was shy with him but didn't wear the air of terror that had been clinging to her. Timidly, she would sit next to him or curl up against him to watch a movie.

* * *

Damian held Auren close, listening to her breathe as she slept. After they had made love, Damian had gotten her to open up about her dreams. Slowly, shyly, she'd told him about her

dream to own her own newspaper.

"What about marriage?" he asked. There was a long pause.

"I don't know. Not for a very long time. I'm not fond of children."

Damian didn't push her. Not even Kenny knew how much he was in love with this woman. Damian wished that Kenny had been able to find the same happiness with Nicky.

“I don't know big brother . . . I've never felt that strongly about someone."

"Have you told her?"

"Yeah, right . . she's doesn't stay with a guy for very long . . . she gets bored."

"Just like you . . . . what a match."

Damian hoped Kenny would tell Nicky soon. Lightly, his fingers moved a strand of golden hair from Auren's face. Throughout the day she had laughed frequently, a sound he was unused to,

but enjoyed.

"You still awake?" she murmured.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"What about?" She wrapped one leg around his.

"Nothing in particular." He kissed her forehead.

"I don't want to go back. Let's hide out here for the semester." He chuckled.

"Ok."

"Silly." She smiled at him. "Though I wouldn't mind another day to relax."

"Well, neither of us have any classes on Monday." he pointed out.

"But the paper ‑"

"Is at the printers. It's beyond your control now, darling."

"I don't know . . ."

"You need the vacation. Why don't we wait until Monday, ok?"

Finally, she agreed. Up in the cabin, away from school and people, she was happy. With Damian, she was happy.

***

Nicky hung up the phone, smiling. "All's well in the mountains. They'll be back tomorrow."

Em chuckled. "That man is a walking miracle."

"I have to agree." Nicky laughed. "C'mon, let's get back to the party."

***

Kenny stood outside, watching the party in the house. He had told Marie he would be late picking her up. In the passenger seat of his car, he looked at the gift wrapped box. He could

see her through the window, dancing seductively with some guy. Having seen them around campus together, Kenny knew it was her new boyfriend.

Never had he intended to hurt Nicky. Things with Marie had just snowballed one night, out of his control. Finding the strength to tell Nicky had been near to impossible. But the look on her

face when she and Auren had seen them haunted his dreams.

"You're not suffering too much now, are you, Nick?" he muttered to himself, leaning against the Jeep. Sighing, he ran one hand through his platinum hair and returned to the driver's seat of

his Jeep. Nicky had gotten over him quickly.

***

"Looks good." Nicky flipped through the finished paper, scanning quickly.

"The alignment is all there." Em peered over her shoulder.

“Wait ‑ that one's a half centimeter off, Auren will have a fit." Nick snickered.

"Did you mess my paper up that badly?" Auren asked dryly, slipping into the room behind the girls.

"Hey, how was it?" Nicky grinned mischievously. Auren shrugged lightly.

"It was nice. Nothing major." she said casually, picking up a copy of the paper and starting to read it. Nicky and Em exchanged glances.  

"Ok, wait a sec. You can't not tell us!" Em protested.

"Tell you what?"  Auren asked calmly, reading the front page.

“What happened!"

"We just talked and hung out. It's really quiet and peaceful up there. Hey, I found a typo!"

"Screw the typos!" Nicky grabbed the paper from her sister.

"Details, girl! Come on!" Em moved in front of her.

"We had a great time." Auren's eyes started to sparkle.

"Ha!! I bet you did! And I bet our present came in handy." Nicky grinned.

Auren blushed.

"Well, it's none of your business if it did." she said calmly, taking the paper back from Nicky.

"That's it." Nicky moved behind her and wrapped her arms around her twin. Em started to tickle her.

"No! Don't tickle!" Auren shrieked with laughter. "Ok, ok, I'll tell!   Nicky released her. The younger sister knew if she really wanted to, Auren could have easily broken her grasp.

"Sheesh, you two." Auren pushed her long hair back. The other twin grinned. "Yes, your present was very useful."

"Yes! She got it on with him!" Em and Nicky slapped a high five as Auren rolled her eyes.

"And?" Nicky prodded.

"And what?" Auren asked.

"Auren, you're killing me." Em groaned.

"It was great." Auren admitted. Em clapped her hands together. "The man is . . . very skilled.”

"It's about time. Damn."

"You two need to get a life." Auren sighed, heading for her office. Secretly she was enormously pleased with the weekend. Damian was exactly what she needed.

Browsing through her mail, she tossed out the junk. Graduate schools were starting to send her brochures and applications. Auren was too undecided about grad school at this point to think about them seriously.

After the junk mail, she turned the computer on and sifted through her email. More junk. Finding one that looked interesting from an old buddy in Europe, she opened it. It contained information on a school in Ireland, ranked number one for journalism, that was offering a full scholarship to four students for their senior year.

Ireland, Auren thought. She had been there once as a teenager with Nick. Beautiful country, friendly people. Part of her would love to go back someday.

Checking out the website, she was impressed with  the campus. Lush foliage everywhere, charming old buildings . . . and tons of information on the school. Filling out the online form for more information, Auren finished her email and headed to class.

***

"Hey, check this out." Nicky slid into the booth next to her sister.

"What?" Auren asked absently typing away on the laptop.

"Instead of doing Shakespeare next spring, the drama department is going to do Grease."

"Great. We get to see those stuck up kids from Texas butcher my favorite movie." Auren replied without looking up. Nicky laughed.

Both twins had a low opinion of the drama department and their politics. Comprised mainly of spoiled kids from Texas, their wealthy parents got them all the good roles in the plays.

"Well, if there's going to be a muck up, it won't be the cast. The director is some hotshot from  New York who has a flair for 'altering' scripts. They call him the Broadway Butcher."

"That sounds like an interesting story." Auren finally looked up. "What else do you have?"

"Not much. Of course the department chair is excited because it's a Broadway director. And he's going to be doing the casting, not a faculty member."

"Really." Auren looked thoughtful. "I smell a story."

"No shit. The theatre majors are all up in arms because this director says he wants a certain 'feel' for the play, he has his own ideas, and he plans to cast accordingly. He's going to hold an open cast call and anyone in the school can audition."

"You're kidding." Auren was floored.

 "Nope. That's another thing the theatre majors

are upset about. The whole policy that you have to have taken a couple

theatre courses, etc. The director plans to have names only written on

the cards. He doesn't care about major." Nicky finished. Auren grinned.

"Sis, that's huge. That means we might get some real talent on that stage!"

"No kidding. Plus, it's a direct slap in the face to the theatre kids." Nicky snickered.

"Ought to be interesting." Auren said.

Nicky took the plate of food that was delivered.

"Hey, you buying me lunch? What a great sister." Nicky started eating the fries. Auren swatted her hand away. Nicky's chuckle was cut off as her eyes fell on something.

Auren turned and glanced behind her. Kenny stood near the door, the petite blonde girl attached to him. The buxom little beauty was wearing black spandex pants and a tiny, form fitting tank top with spaghetti straps.

"I wonder if she can show off her tits more." Nicky muttered, looking away. Auren knew her sister was trying to mask the pain with her new boyfriend, but he was just a minor distraction.

"Ignore them. He'll get his."

"Yeah, I know." Nicky looked down and pushed the plate towards Auren.

"Stay on the Grease story. When will the director be here?"

"Few weeks, according to the kid I talked to. He's coming in early to scout the place out."

"Try to interview some of the students in the meantime. This could be hot."

"'K." Nicky took a sip of her sister's root beer, her gray‑blue eyes drifting back towards Kenny and his newest attachment.

"Nick." Auren snapped her fingers in front of her sister's eyes.

"Huh? I'm sorry."

"Just go up to him and smack him. You'll feel better. I sure did." Auren encouraged. Nick shook her head.

"No. I'm above that. Hey, I'm gonna jet. I'll see you at home."

"Ok. Take it easy." Auren called as her sister departed.

Nicky moved to set the almost empty glass down on a tub full of dirty dishes when Kenny was heading towards the bathroom and they almost collided.

Auren looked up to see it and was shocked to see Kenny speak to her sister.

"Hi, Nick. How are you?" Kenny asked, his heart pounding. For a second he'd swear he was talking to Auren, with those steel gray eyes glaring back at him.

Without a response, Nicky threw the rest of the drink in his face, set the cup down, and left amidst snickering from other patrons. Face red, Kenny continued to the bathroom.

Laughing to herself, Auren ordered another drink and went back to her work.