"You don't waste much time, do you?"

Greg leaned on the restaurant table, careful not to knock his martini glass over. Ellen Whitebridge was so different from Easton, and in his state of mind, it made her tantalizing. She sat across from him, clad in a low-cut crimson dress, her cascading black hair making her skin look milky, and soft and oh so inviting.

"Did I call too soon?" he queried.

She fussed the olive in her own martini. "I hadn't even gotten home yet." Resting her elbows on the table she tilted forward slightly. "But I'm glad you did."

"I was surprised you were available." He smiled at her.

"I'd pretty much given up on the dating scene," she mulled, ringing a finger around the stem of her glass. "It was too painful." She lifted the glass to her lips, taking a nip.

Greg just dipped his head, looking down at the table. He hadn't been on the dating scene since before Easton, and he didn't remember it being quite as painful as what he was dealing with now. He silently prayed she wouldn't ask why he was suddenly thrust back into this world that after four years of being out of it felt so bizarre. If he focused hard enough on her face she would shape-shift into Easton right before his eyes.

Ellen inhaled deeply, giving him a coy smile. "I feel wicked. I never drink on a school night." She brushed a piece of ebony hair off her face. "Actually, I hardly ever drink at all." Taking another sip, she added, " good thing I took the bus."

Greg made a face. "You don't have a car?"

"School teacher's salary," she explained with a shake of her head. "I figure if it's good enough for my students, it's good enough for me."

This girl was just turning out too good to be true. "I'm sure you're students must love you."

Her cheeks flushed. "Well, I don't know about that. But I bet they'd get a kick out of a visit from a real scientist."

Greg couldn't help but smile as he felt some of the tautness he'd been sustaining for months melt from his shoulders. He'd been hesitant about getting involved with someone, considering he still couldn't sort out how he felt about Easton and there was still a chance the baby was his, but the more he chatted with Ellen, the more he realized this may have been the best decision he'd made in awhile.

"I'd be honoured," he told her, trying to keep the wattage of his grin down. He raised his glass and she did the same. "To your students," he said as they clinked the drinks together. As he took a mouthful, he stared at her over the rim of his glass.

"Another toast," she proposed, raising her glass again.

"Alright."

"To us."

"To us," he repeated. As they toasted this time he spilt a bit of his drink out of his glass and they both laughed.

The rest of the night seemed to whiz by, their conversation flowing from one topic to the next, Greg almost completely forgetting about his crumbling life. Before he realized they were the only two people left in the restaurant, the staff standing patiently against the back wall as they finished off what felt like their tenth martini.

"They're going to kick us out soon," he told her.

"Well, we're the last ones here."

"Alright, well we should probably go." He gulped the last of his drink down as she stood from her seat and stretched. He looked at her through his glass, revelling in how her body filled the hour glass shape beautifully.

Following her outside, they paused just in front of the restaurant door, him taking her hands in his, a chill travelling his spine at the pleasant and almost frightening touch of another woman.

"It's getting cold out," he observed. "And I'm not letting you ride the bus. Let's share a cab."

"Ok."

He felt like a grinning fool, but he couldn't help it. "I don't want this night to end."

She gave him a seductive look, raising her hands up to wrap them around his neck. "Well, it doesn't have to." With that she brought her lips to his and he closed his eyes, feeling her mouth touch his as she kissed him slowly. As much as his mind was telling him it may be a little too soon to be with someone, his libido, along with the alcohol had already kicked into overdrive and he willing followed her into the cab.