Angel and I couldn't believe our eyes. There, standing in front of us with his head turned slightly away, was the exact duplicate of the character Adrian from Little Nicky. His bright blond hair was styled, dancing every which way in the slight breeze. He wore a tight turtle-neck sweater and black slacks, and I found myself nearly drooling at the sight of him. He wore a beautiful black dress robe embroidered with magnificent orange and yellow flames, and a medallion was settled nicely against his chest. And here I thought Angel was worried about my being desperate. Apparently, I was very desperate.

I was about to approach the man when he said, "It's very impolite to stare, ladies." He turned to face us with a devilish grin and for one insane moment, I found myself wondering what it would be like to lick the corners of his heart-melting grin.

"I-I . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be . . ." I found myself saying. "You must be Adrian." I held my hand out to shake. "I'm Angelique Domine, and this is my best friend, Angel Darque." I watched as he took my hand and licked, then kissed it tenderly, making me flush slightly.

"A pleasure to meet the both of you," he purred, looking down at me with what appeared to be interest. "Would you like to join us for lunch, Angel?"

Angel looked from him to me. "If you wouldn't mind, Adrian."

His smile brightened. "I must insist! I would love for you to join us, Angel. After all, what I have to say would probably be best to be heard by your ears, also." He took both of us by the arm and lead us into the dining hall. "Make whatever selection you like best, ladies," he told us, looking around the room. "With me, money is no object."

I managed to breathe after he released his gentle hold on my arm and walked over to the sub cart area. I didn't quite understand what was happening. I mean, wasn't it impossible for this man to be Adrian? I didn't think the actor who brought the character to life really would have come all the way over from Wales to dress up like him and play a practical joke on one of his fans. Either way, the entire situation was starting to creep me out, I didn't care how my body was reacting to his touch.

"Angelique?" whispered Angel as she joined me at the sub station. "Is it just me, or does this situation seem odd?"

I smiled. She and I were usually good at detecting things which were out of the ordinary. "I don't know what to think of our situation here. This guy looks like Adrian, but he couldn't be . . . could he?"

"Do you think that's Rhys?"

I shook my head. "I doubt it. As much as I'd like to say my favorite actor pulled a prank on me for some odd reason, I find it near impossible to be happening." I placed my order and waited for it to finish.

"Then, what's happening? Because that just can't be Adrian from Little Nicky!" she whispered furiously.

I was quiet for a moment. "Well, let's have him explain himself and what he needs us to hear before we make any assumptions, okay?" She turned to go confront him and I had to hold her back by her arm. "Airhead, I mean after we've finished our meals. It's very rude since, after all, he is offering to pay for our meals."

"True." She placed her order just as mine was handed to me. I waited for her to receive her order before we turned to the cash register.

"That's all you're getting?" asked Adrian as he came up behind us, his arms loaded with junk food.

Angel and I looked at each other. "Um, yeah . . . This is how we usually eat," Angel told him.

He sighed. "Please, pick at least one thing out of the freezer, ladies."

Knowing he wasn't going to relent, Angel and I each picked out two ice cream treats so he would be pleased. Thankfully, he was and placed the food onto the counter so he could pull out his wallet. "Why don't you ladies find us a nice window seat?" he asked as the cashier rung up all the food. "I'll get us all some fountain drinks while I'm at it," he added as he turned back to the cashier.

We walked away and found an unoccupied window booth right in the middle of the row. Angel and I sat across from each other like we always did, realizing a moment too late Adrian would sit by one of us as he brought everything over for us, handing us empty fountain drink cups. Angel walked over to the far drink dispenser by the cash register while I walked over to the dispenser on the left side of the ice cream station. I was getting myself some Mountain Dew just as Adrian stepped in and started getting Root Beer.

I gave him a quizzical look, one eyebrow arched. "You like Root Beer?"

He smiled a little. "Well, since this is a dry campus, I have to have the next best thing." I noticed the way his eyes lingered momentarily on my lips before he shook his head and placed a lid on his cup as he'd seen me do. "Shall we return?" he took my arm in a gentlemanly fashion before leading me back to the table, sitting next to me as Angel took the other side of the booth.

"Now, I need to tell you both something very important . . . "

~End Chapter~