Laura kept one eye on the door all night. Part of her wanted this mysterious Adam to show up. The other part was scared that he would. She found him extremely attractive. So much so that his blue eyes haunted her dreams when she slept after talking to him. But there was also something off-putting about him. Something about the way he appeared at the bar almost out of nowhere as she turned around. Something about the way she felt drawn to him, even though she knew nothing about him. It was sheer will power to tell him she wasn't interested in his offer. She was interested. Very interested.

Adam arrived just after midnight. There were just two other people in the bar, so Laura saw him come in. She smiled, despite her best efforts to remain indifferent toward him. Adam took a seat on one of the stools at the counter and folded his hands on top as he leaned forward a little.

"No booth tonight," Laura asked.

"I came to talk to you. Why would I sit anywhere but here?"

"Tell me something," Laura said as she leaned forward on the counter, mimicking Adam's posture, "what's with the sunglasses? It's the middle of the night, and you're inside a dimly lit bar."

A small smile tugged at Adam's lips. He took the glasses off and laid them on the bar. "I like to be left alone. People usually take the hint with the sunglasses."

Laura found herself staring into his eyes, but she couldn't look away.

"You have the most gorgeous blue eyes I've ever seen," she said.

"They pale in comparison to your voice."

Laura stood straight. A blush colored her cheeks. "Are we back on that?"

"We never left it. I'm here so we can get to know each other, so that you will record one of my songs for me." He pulled a roll of papers from inside his jacket. "I started composing that last night when I got home. You've inspired me, for the first time in years."

Laura took the papers and unrolled them. "I don't know what to say."

She stared at the hand-drawn notes on the page and started to hum the tune. When she looked up, Adam had his eyes closed. They opened when she stopped humming.

"Beautiful," he said.

He was staring straight into her eyes, and her breath caught for a moment. She rolled the papers and handed them back to him.

"Yes, it is," she said.

"I meant your voice."

"Thank you. You... Did you really write that for me?"

"I did. I haven't written any music in years. You've inspired me."

She shook her head. "I really don't know what to say... Thank you. It's very flattering."

One of the other patrons came up for another drink. Laura excused herself and helped the customer, then returned to her place across from Adam.

"Okay," she said. "By your own admission, you like to be left alone. Why, then, are you so willing for me to know you just so you can record my voice?"

"Yours is the purest voice I've heard in centuries."

Laura smiled. "Exaggerate much?"

"It is a useful device."

She saw no trace of a smile. He somehow took those words seriously.

"Okay," Laura said. "Why haven't you been inspired to write music?"

The change in his expression was sudden, but undeniable. A sadness fell over him as he looked away, and Laura regretted asking the question.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You don't have to answer that."

"My wife died," he said softly.

"I'm so sorry. When?"

"A few years ago."

"How long were you together?"

"Forever."

Laura reached over and placed her hand on top of his gloved ones, clasped together on top of the bar. He looked up and stared into her eyes for a moment, then stood.

"I have to go."

"Adam, wait..."

He slid his sunglasses on. "I never meant to tell you about her. Not tonight. Not so soon. I just... I have to go."

When Adam got home he climbed the stairs to his bedroom and crawled onto the bed. He pulled the extra pillow into his arms and curled himself around it. From where he was he could see the drawer of his nightstand. The one that held his revolver. It wasn't the thought of Eve that stopped him this time. It was Laura. Guilt ripped through Adam as he thought of Eve again.

"I'm so lonely, Eve," he whispered into the dark.

Laura waited for Adam to come in the next night, but he never showed up. Three nights. No sign of Adam. She had no idea that he had followed her home from work every night.

Now he stood outside of the bar, just a half hour before closing time. He stared at the door from across the street for several minutes before going in.

His eyes immediately went to the counter, but Laura wasn't there. He scanned the room and saw her talking to a customer at a table. He didn't want to stay, so this was good. He approached her from behind and gently wrapped gloved his fingers around her forearm.

Laura turned around quickly, the surprise of seeing him evident in her face.

"Adam..."

"I'm not staying," he said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a roll of papers. "I finished it, and I want you to have it. Even if you don't record it for me."

"This is the music you were writing?"

Adam nodded. Laura wished she could see his eyes, but the shades covered them in blackness.

"Please stay," she said.

"I can't."

"Will you come back?"

He hesitated. "I don't know."

"Excuse me, Miss," someone called out.

Laura turned her head in the direction of the voice. "I'll be right there."

She felt Adam's hand slip from her arm. When she turned back around, he was already halfway out the door. She sighed and walked back behind the bar to put the music with her things.

Adam followed her home that night. And every night after that for the next three weeks. After a few days, he could hear her singing his song. By the second week, she had it perfect. It was more beautiful than he imagined it would be, and it made him happy just to hear her as he followed her home.

Laura fell in love with the song. Adam had written about great loss, but also a rediscovery. It spoke of deep depression, but a finding of hope. The first couple of days she focused on the melody. She hummed it while she worked, and to and from her apartment. After she had that down, she set out to learn the lyrics. It was then that she realized the song was about his dead wife... and also about her. She was his reawakening, as the song said. The light that pulled him from the dark.

Laura wanted to see him again, but it didn't look like he would be going back to the bar. She dreamed about his piercing blue eyes, and his hand on her arm. She had to learn more about this man who she, if she was interpreting the song correctly, distracted from thoughts of suicide.

The night Adam walked back into the bar, Laura didn't try to hide her excitement. He was barely trough the door when she ran around the counter and threw her arms around his shoulders. One of his hands hesitantly rested on the small of her back until she pulled away.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she said. "The song is... beautiful doesn't do it justice, it's... I don't even know. I can't think right now."

"I'm so glad you like it."

"I love it!"

She took his gloved hand and pulled him toward the bar. He sat on a stool and she walked behind it. She reached over and pulled his sunglasses off, waiting for him to protest or try to stop her, but he didn't. He just sat there, and as the glasses came away she saw that his eyes were locked on hers.

"I recorded myself singing it," Laura said.

"You did?"

"There's no music, of course. I don't play any instruments. And it's just an old karaoke machine I had lying around, but... Yeah. I recorded it. I want you to have it. Will you... walk me home tonight? I'll let you hear it and you can tell me if you still think I have the purest voice you've heard in centuries."

Laura laughed, and Adam smiled.

"I'd be delighted to walk you home."

Adam hung around as Laura closed up. He never moved from the stool, and he never ordered a drink. He watched her as she moved about the room.

When Laura was done, she grabbed her purse then stood in front of Adam.

"Ready?"

Adam stood and Laura motioned for him to exit. "I have to set the alarm."

Laura was out a moment later. She locked the door and Adam held out his arm. She blushed at the gesture, but put her hand in the crook of his elbow, but that wasn't enough for Adam. He pulled her closer and linked their arms together. As they walked, he worked his hand into hers, and didn't let go until they reached her apartment.

Her place was much smaller than his, but much tidier.

"Have a seat," she said, motioning to a small seating area with a chair and a loveseat.

Adam sat, hoping that Laura would sit next to him. He watched as she put a cassette tape into her karaoke machine.

"I told you it was old, right?"

"You did," Adam said. "That's okay. I like old things."

Laura pressed play and her voice filled the room. She glanced over at Adam just as his eyes fluttered shut, and she joined him on the loveseat without a word, sideways with one foot on the floor. She just watched him, trying to gauge his reaction. His eyes found hers when they opened, and there was moisture building in them.

Adam debated himself in his head while he stared into Laura's eyes. For all his logic and reasoning, his heart won out. He pulled his gloves from his hands and tossed them onto her small coffee table. Laura pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as Adam moved closer to her. He reached out with a hesitant hand and his fingertips brushed over her cheek. Laura's eyes closed, and her mouth fell open just enough for a breath to escape. Adam slowly leaned in. He let out a ragged breath as his lips brushed over hers. Laura wrapped her arms around him and he covered her mouth with his. His hands caressed the column of her neck as he pulled her lips between his own.

Laura whimpered and pressed herself closer to Adam. The passion and longing in his kiss was unlike anything she had ever experienced. He pulled away with a sharp exhale, only to capture her lips again, over and over until Laura found it hard to breathe. She turned her head and Adam's mouth fell to her neck. She felt his lips and tongue move over her for a moment before he stopped. His teeth gently grazed her skin, then he suddenly pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No, please, don't be. That was amazing."

"I have to go," he said as he stood.

"Wait, Adam-"

"I'm sorry."

He slipped on his sunglasses, grabbed his gloves, and had his hand on the door when Laura called out.

"Your tape. I want you to have it."

He stopped while Laura removed the tape and she placed it in his hand, but her hand lingered.

"I don't know why you think you have to go," she said, "but I want you to stay."

"I can't."

"Please..."

Laura stared at his sunglasses, trying to see past them as she stepped closer. Adam leaned toward her. His lips brushed her cheek, but he pulled away and opened the door.

"I'm sorry."

He shoved the tape in his jacket and quickly walked away, leaving her door open behind him.

Once he was on the street Adam put his gloves back on. He needed blood before he did something he regretted. When he felt Laura's pulse point under his lips, it took every ounce of self control that he had not to drink. He knew then that he couldn't get that close to her again, no matter how much he desired her, but the thought of not seeing her again made him think of Eve and the wooden bullet waiting for him in his revolver.

The next night, he waited for her in the shadows outside of the bar. He followed her home.