A/N: Sorry again for any errors I miss. I read over the chapters at least once or twice…but apparently I still miss some. I only catch them after I've posted them…oh well. As long as you get the gist of it, it's all good.

Thanks for reading! The reviews are what keep me motivated.


"That one looks like a giraffe," I said pointing at the cloud.

Craig laughed. "It does!"

Dogs barked in the distance and the ducks splashed in the little pond that was only a few feet away. Craig and I were spread out on a blanket, looking up at the blue sky.

Craig turned his head towards me, and I turned towards him.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled. "Nothing."

"No, what? Do I have pudding smeared on my face?" I asked, jokingly.

"No. It's just…" He let it trail.

"Just? Just what?"

He smiled wider. "You've really grown up, Manny. Since the last time I saw you, I mean. You're like a completely different person…but still the same. If that makes sense."

I blushed. "Thanks. A lot has happened in my life since you left it. I would hope it affected me for the better." I paused. "It's been hard…but I've tried my best to get through it."

The smile faded from his face. "You ready to talk about it?"

I looked back up at the sky and heaved a sigh. "I guess so."

He sat up and looked down at me, all serious.

"I don't know where to begin…"

"Preferably the beginning," Craig said, teasingly.

I smiled. "Well…I was with Sean for a couple years. And yes, it was the Sean Cameron."


I was brushing my hair when I heard my phone begin to ring. I ran to find it and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Manny."

A smile spread across my face. "Hi, Craig."

"You still free tonight?" He asked.

I paused for a moment. "You bet."

"Great. There's this intimate little night club I want to take you to."

"Not the same one from a couple weeks ago?" I asked.

He laughed. "That one wasn't intimate. It was just…a club."

Craig and I had oddly been spending a lot of time together. As friends, of course. It was nice to know someone and be able to have fun with them. Things were not like they were…they were different and better. We had both grown and matured since we had parted the last time and we just seemed to…click more.

"What does this intimate little night club entail?" I asked, returning to the bathroom and to continue brushing my hair.

"Well…there are little round tables around a little stage and they have live entertainment. I used to play there a lot. When they don't have entertainment they either have karaoke or a dance floor. But tonight, they have entertainment lined up and I wanted to take you." He said.

I smiled. "Sounds fun. What time?"

"I'll be at your place in an hour to pick you up and then we'll go straight there."

"Alright…I'm going to hang up now. I need that full hour to get ready." I said. "See you later."

He laughed. "See you." We hung up.

I finished brushing my hair, straightened my bangs and pinned it half up. I carefully applied some make-up before finding my outfit. I walked over to my closet and stood there for a moment, glancing back and forth at what it held. I picked out a dark purple blouse with ruffles on the front, dark wash skinny jeans and some black pumps. Perfect.

I walked out into the living room to wait until Craig arrived. I applied a light lipstick before I went to answer the door.

"Hellooooo," I said, opening the door.

Craig smiled. "You ready?"

"Mmmhmm." I quickly grabbed my small bag and then he whisked me off.

We quickly staked out a table and ordered drinks.

I scanned my surroundings. "This place is nice. You said you've played here?"

He nodded. "Almost every weekend. They don't pay a lot, but it was at least a gig."

"Craig?" A girl's voice called out. The lighting was dim, so it was hard to tell who the voice was coming from.

Craig turned around and I could hear him groan. "Hi, Ellie."

"What are you doing here? I thought you stopped playing here." She asked, coming out from the dark. She hadn't spotted me yet.

"Yeah, I did stop playing here. I just wanted to bring…" He paused and turned around towards me. "I just wanted to bring Manny here."

Ellie's eyes moved over towards me. A look of distain washed over her face. "Oh."

"Yeah. She moved down here for her acting career, which is going really well if I may say so," he said, not taking his glance off of me. I could see the look of 'help me' in his eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "I've been going to a lot of auditions and booking quite a few jobs."

Ellie just nodded. "Well, uh, I gotta go. See you around, Craig." She turned and left.

"Wow…she was not happy," I said, matter-of-factly.

"Whatever." He said, taking a long drink from his cup.

"Don't worry about it," I said before the lights dimmed and the performer walked onto the stage to begin the show.

We walked back to his car in silence. I could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't press it.

He pulled up in front of my apartment. "See you later, Manny. Sorry about…you know."

"Don't even worry about it, Craig. It doesn't even matter. Who cares what she thinks?"

He smiled weakly. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure." I said, returning the smile and walking up to my apartment for a long, hot bath.