Ok, it's been forever since my last update. But here it is, finally... I think I've got one or two more chapters left before this retelling of Alicia's and Will's story comes to an end... before it picks up again in Chicago.


Will returned to his apartment to find a note by the phone in his roommate's barely legible handwriting. He couldn't make out much of it except for the name Mara. He grinned and picked up the phone. "You beckoned?"

"At least one of us is in a good mood." He could hear the tea kettle going off on Mara's end of the line.

"How's she doing?"

"Not great. Still smoking like a chimney. Is there any way you can make it over here earlier than planned?"

He felt a surge of annoyance that was followed by guilt. "Yeah, sure. When's Jeannie coming back?" The silence on the other end of the line had him cursing. "She's going to leave us holding the bag, isn't she?"

"She says she can't get away."

"The hell she can't. For Christmas? For Mom? I'll call her. Drag her from St. Louis, if I have to." He tried to shake away the cloud that had dimmed his good mood. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hanging in there. Josh and I went to look at apartments the other day."

Will laughed. "You and little Josh Benito, cohabitating. Who would have imagined that? I'm glad for you. It's about time you moved out of the house."

"And what about you? Are you still with the cheerleader?" When Will didn't respond, Mara hooted. "Freddie owes me $20. Who's the new girl now?"

"I'd rather not say." His face flamed as his sister cackled. Since when did he get so prim? "Look, you're free to grill me when I get home. Now let me talk to Mom for a little bit."

After hanging up, Will spent the remainder of the day arranging his travel back to Chicago and trying, unsuccessfully, to reach his errant sister Jeannie. By the time he was done, it was early evening. He stretched and reached for the phone. Steve, his roommate, noisily entered the apartment at the same time. "Hello, Kimmy? Can you hear me?" She was speaking in a quick, excited tone. He held the mouthpiece away from him and glared at Steve. "Hey, would you quiet down for one minute here?" Steve stopped what he was doing but not before making a face.

"-in town. They're the best seats in the house. What do you say?"

His mind sped. She must be talking about the restaurant after the game. "Uh. Sure. I'd like to talk with you about something anyway."

Kimmy giggled. "Better not be a proposal. Ok, I gotta go. We're rolling out a new routine so the next few hours is going to be intense. I'll send a messenger with the tickets over now. Be home to pick them up!"

"Wait, what are you talk-" but she had already hung up. Will frowned into the phone.

Half an hour later, a bike messenger dropped off the tickets Kimmy mentioned. Steve's eyes nearly rolled onto the floor. "Your girlfriend scored us court side tickets to the Bulls game!"

A moral quandary, Will thought while visibly grimacing. He envisioned Alicia, arms crossed, shaking her head. "I can't accept these", he forced himself to say.

Steve stared at him with incredulity. "Can't? No no no no. Don't do this to me, man!"

"I'm about to break up with her. I can't accept her generosity and then end things with her immediately after."

"C'mon, Will. This is the Bulls! Watching number 23 from three feet away. We could get hit with his sweat! Whatever you want to do with this chick can't compare. Wait another day or two, man."

He didn't respond immediately, a sure sign of capitulation. Steve whooped in triumph and went to find his Bulls jersey. Will picked up the phone. Alicia's answering machine picked up. "Alicia, it's Will..." His mind fumbled at what to say next. "Uh, I'll try you at a later point in time. Bye."

By the time he arrived at the stadium, Will was feeling less uneasy about what he was doing. Alicia wanted space, after all. Who was to say that she wasn't off seeing Peter? Why shouldn't he take the night to spend perfectly innocent fun with Kimmy? And, Steve had a point. It was the Bulls. Court side. It might be a game that would go down in history. And, it was one night. As he found the seats, he spotted Kimmy, stretching. She jogged over to him. "Hey, you." She leaned in for a kiss.

"Hey." He gave her a chaste peck on the cheek. "Kims, you didn't have to do this. But thank you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. Pressed the length of herself against him. "Anything for my man."

He forced a smile and quickly extricated himself out of her arms. He pointed to one of her coaches. "I think you're needed."

"Oh!" She turned around and started walking back to the other cheerleaders.

The game was amazing. Will wanted to cry at the beauty of it, at being so close to athletic perfection. At halftime, after the cheerleaders had performed their number, Kimmy ran up to him and threw her arms around him. He smiled and congratulated her, thanked her profusely. This was a game he would never forget. At its conclusion, they headed to a restaurant she picked, an Italian bistro. As she munched on antipasto, Will steeled himself with glasses of wine. "What's the matter? You're not hungry?"

He shook his head. "I guess I had too many hotdogs at the game." He struggled with himself as Kimmy shrugged and returned to eating.

"Well, I'm starved. It's not every day that my dad meets my boyfriend."

The wine glass that was halfway to Will's mouth stilled. "Excuse me?"

She laughed and pointed at him. "Oh my God, you just went all pale. My dad watches all the games. He'll have seen us together at halftime."

"Kimmy..."

"They'll be so thrilled that I'm dating a lawyer. They've never liked any of my previous boyfriends. 'Course, they did have good reason. They all wanted to use me in some way."

He cleared his throat and resisted the urge to tug at his collar. "Yeah?"

She made a sound through her nose. "I swear, some guys only see me as a walking, talking VIP basketball game ticket." Kimmy placed a hand over Will's. "But not you, thank goodness. I'm glad you pushed for a commitment. I was really starting to like you."

He slid his hand out from under hers and raised his wine glass. "To us, then." As she giggled, guilt and self hatred vied for top spot on his conscience.

Will feigned a stomach ache at the end of dinner and saw a disappointed Kimmy off in a cab. Then he set out for Alicia's and when he reached her apartment building, he felt a tense knot forming in his belly. He wasn't looking forward to what he was about to say but he hoped she would respect him for it. It sounded hollow and lame and regrettable as he punched in her apartment number. "Alicia, it's Will."

"Wait there", was her terse response. Will's knot tension thickened.

A few minutes later, Alicia came outside of the building, shutting the front door decisively behind her. As Will came in to hug her, to breathe her intoxicating scent, she didn't step away but accepted his invasion of her space woodenly. When he stepped back, she crossed her arms on her chest and stared at him. "What is it?"

Somehow she knew. Will gave her his best smile. "I wanted to see you. Want to get a coffee with me?"

Something in those innocuous words set her off. Alicia's expression was as close to hateful as he had ever seen. "No, Will, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"What's wrong?"

She was getting red in the face. "Did you break up with Kimmy?" Despite the discomfort, Will couldn't help bit admire her not beating around the bush. She was going to make a great attorney.

She deserved the truth. "No. I didn't."

Alicia took a step back. Let out an involuntary little breath which came out as a soft "oh". She looked away from him, staring at nothing in the far distance down the street. Will could do nothing but stand there, the excuses that he had been working on since leaving Kimmy falling away, the ugly truth staring him in the face. He was bad at keeping promises.

After an interminable minute or two, she reanimated. Her eyes were shiny, her voice ragged from the war that was raging inside of her mind. "What happened this morning was a mistake. We were fools to think it meant more than what it actually was."

Will shook his head. "That's not true. You and I both know it."

"Do I?"

"You may not have much faith in me now but yes. It meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me." He was surprised to hear the words.

She smiled, to herself. "You do a bad job of showing it, Will."

From his exponential, cancer-like guilt, he bristled. "And what about you, Saint Alicia? How's Peter doing?"

There was almost pity in her eyes. "He knows. I told him this afternoon."

He wanted to tell her it didn't mean she wasn't special and he wanted to tell her she was the first woman he didn't want to lie to. He wanted to tell her he was scared out of his mind and he had no idea why he was screwing up something so important so royally. "Alicia, I just need more time."

She was biting her lip. Worrying her right knuckles with her left hand fingers. "I always thought I wasn't this kind of woman."

"What kind is that?"

"The kind who can deal with one night stands." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened them again, she looked calmer. "Now I know it. Let's just chalk up what we had to a life lesson."

"I can't pretend whatever's between us doesn't exist, Alicia."

"Whatever that is, it's not going to work." She shook her head. "We just don't see eye to eye."

"And Peter?"

She fidgeted. "Do you really want to hear me say it?"

He looked away. "You've made your choice already."

"Yes."

She said it so decisively. Will let out a long breath as he leaned back into his chair. "Guess it's just...bad timing for us."

Alicia smiled sadly. "Guess so." She looked at her watch. "I have to go."

Will touched her hand. "Alicia, I'm sorry. I wish things could have turned out differently."

She nodded. "Thank you." She pulled her hand free.

"If you ever need anything, I'm going to be there for you. All you have to do is find me. I mean it."

Maybe there was something in the urgent way he said it but it made Alicia turn around. She walked up to him and leaned in until her face was pressed against his. Then she kissed him on the mouth, too lightly and briefly. "Good bye, Will." It wasn't until later that Will realized she had taken a piece of him with her.