Chapter Three

Author's Note: This is a THEROX series. The right people will end up together in the end, worry not. Thing is, I don't want to give anything away. Be patient. Oh, and read and review. It gives me a node of encouragement as to whether to continue the series or not. Thanks for reading.

Don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet.....

Fox knocked on Theresa's door. Theresa had requested total privacy while she got ready for their date. He wondered why she was being so particular. What did she get out of this? Because as long as he had known Theresa, he knew she always had a trick up her sleeve.

"Coming!" A muffled voice called from inside.

Five minutes later, an anxious and quite annoyed Fox got a glimpse of his best friend as she rushed into her bedroom after opening her door. "Theresa! Hurry up! Not only have you had me waiting out there for countless minutes, but you made me come here a half an hour later than expected. I mean what-"

Theresa slowly walked toward Fox, who had ceased to speak. She was wearing a very form fitting strapless black dress that stopped midway up her thigh. Her hair hung loose in soft curls and her lips shown with a tinge of pink lip gloss. She wore one strappy Jimmy Choo sandal on one foot and the other cast foot had a black bow tie, a feature that Fox couldn't help chuckling at. Theresa dragged her fractured foot behind her in an exaggerated "sexy strut" that was funnier than anything else. Fox was speechless. Where had this girl come from?

"Hi Fox," Theresa said in a sultry manner. "Like what you see?" Theresa batted her long eyelashes.

"Hell yeah- Ah, I mean, you look very nice." Fox fumbled playfully, but he was really amazed at good she actually looked. He was now looking forward to his date.

"Right, thank you." Theresa bent over suggestively to get her clutch bag off the coffee table. Fox's eyes darted in her direction. Theresa was feeling frisky. She knew she could command a man's attention if she wanted to, and she was going to try to push Fox's button as hard as she possibly could.

Theresa had been debating with herself for the past two days on how she felt about Fox. She had decided, fundamentally, that she had no romantic intentions toward Fox. She was only gracious and thankful to have him in her life. It was more of a declaration, for doubt had clung in her mind. She was determined, however, to rid herself of any of them tonight.

"No crutches today?" Fox asked Theresa, worried that she might push her injured leg too far.

"No way! I can't carry those tacky things around. I mean it's bad enough I have to wear this stupid cast-"

"...Who's bowtie is a nice addition, if I do say so myself," Fox interrupted.

Theresa continued, ignoring Fox's comment. "...imagine carrying those crutches to The Ritz. I absolutely refuse."

Usually Fox would have argued with her, but he decided against it. He'd make sure she hobbled around safely while she was with him. Besides, it was only a short walk to his car and to the restaurant; she'd be fine.

"If you are certain about this... then I guess it's okay."

"Yay!" Theresa said happily. "Besides, I was the hopping champion in my fifth grade class. That's can't possible fail me now," She added sarcastically.

They drove to the restaurant without a hitch. When they arrived, a valet parked Fox's lavish car and he and Theresa entered the restaurant. They were escorted to their table. They looked around for any familiar faces. It didn't seem like Whitney and Chad had arrived yet.

"Are you sure they are coming?" Fox asked, with a hint of worry in his voice. He looked behind his shoulder.

"Yes, positive. At least I hope..."

-XXX-

As Ethan and Gwen were escorted to their tables at The Ritz, Gwen spotted Theresa in a table about twenty feet away from her. What is she doing here, Gwen thought to herself. The site of Theresa alone was enough to get her seething.

Ethan could sense that something was wrong with his wife and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Ethan." Gwen plastered a smile on her face, not wanting to give away that Theresa was there.

"Good, because I wanted this to be an evening for the two of us, and only us. One with no worries and no anxieties," Ethan said guiding her along.

"Me too," Gwen mumbled angrily under her breath. Why did Theresa always have to come and ruin everything for her?

-XXX-

"Fox, I'm going to go to the little girl's room, K?" Theresa stood up from the table with some difficulty.

"Go ahead."

Theresa started to walk away from the table and to where the restrooms were. She wondered where Chad and Whitney were. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Gwen staring at her, and Ethan right across from her. "Oh my God, what are they doing here?!" Theresa mumbled to herself. She tried to cover her face, but Ethan immediately saw her.

"Theresa!" He called out, oblivious to the horrible tension this would cause.

"Ethan," Theresa called back, lowly. She hobbled over to them. "Hi, Ethan; Gwen."

"Wow, I haven't seen you in so long. How have you been? And by the cast, it's obvious that you haven't been too well." Ethan bit his lip with concern. For Ethan, Theresa had been his one, true love, though not his reality. His reality was with Gwen. It wasn't that he didn't love Gwen; it was just that he would always love Theresa. His heart had just reserved a special place for her.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little boo-boo." Theresa giggled nervously. "I better be going now."

Ethan looked disappointed that Theresa was leaving. He tried to stall. "Wait... Ah how's the baby?"

"He's wonderful. I named him Conner. You should come visit him sometime." Theresa's voice trembled. Ethan always made her incredibly nervous.

Ethan looked equally nervous. Every time they saw each other, all those feelings they once had for each other flooded them. Theresa being there struck Ethan particularly hard, considering how amazing she looked.

"I will; I'd love to," Ethan replied to Theresa's invitation. Theresa could see Gwen's glare, and at this point in her life, Theresa really didn't want to argue or fight with anyone, especially Gwen.

"Well, I really, really should go now. Giving birth kind of kills your bladder's storage capacity." Theresa laughed as did Ethan. "It was nice seeing you... both."

"Same here," Ethan replied, a grin from ear to ear.

-XXX-

Fox had been watching Theresa, as she found herself having a conversation with Ethan. Maybe she planned that out too? Fox felt angered that Theresa could keep that from him and for some reason, it angered him to see them together. Although he was his brother, Theresa deserved better than Ethan, who always seemed to break her heart. Sometimes he felt no one was good enough for her.

Fox decided to get up and see what was going on with Ethan. The way his face lit up when he saw Theresa worried him. It might make Theresa start chasing after him again, and he definitely didn't want that.

Fox walked to where Ethan and Gwen were sitting. He tried to look pleasant. "Hey!"

"Fox! Hey man, what's up?" Ethan stood up and hugged his brother. "It's good to see you."

"Hey Fox," Gwen greeted, not sounding at all pleased.

"How are you Gwen?" Fox asked.

"Perfect." Fox could hear resentment in her voice.

Out the corner of his eye, Fox could see Theresa walking toward them. Her eyes were focused on all of them, surprised to see that they were all talking. Before Fox could call out to her, Theresa tripped over a waiter's foot, knocking them both off balance, and sending Fox straight into action.

Magically, Fox managed to grab Theresa with one arm, and a plate that had been sent flying in his free hand. It was a one in a million chance, and somehow Fox had managed the impossible. He bent slightly over to hold Theresa up a little better. Theresa somehow shifted up at the same time and their lips touched for an instant. And in that second that their lips had brushed against each other, they felt a spark. It was a strange sensation for the both of them. It rushed through their bodies and back to their lips, which were set on fire. They looked intensely into each other's eyes, both their eyes questioning, looking for answers.

The moment seemed to have lasted for minutes, but in actuality, it had been a matter of seconds. The whole restaurant, including a recently arriving Whitney and Chad, were staring at them, and then, applause began.

The waiter thanked Fox, taking the plate off his hand, and proceeded to doing his job. Fox then pulled Theresa completely to her feet. They were in their own little world.

"You're just a big klutz, huh?" Fox said to Theresa in a husky, sexy voice, nearing closer to her face.

"I guess so," Theresa responded in a near whisper. She smiled back.

Fox could smell Theresa's soft fragrance. For some reason, it was driving him nuts. He kissed her on the forehead and grabbed her hand. He waved a thank you to everyone in the restaurant, trying to end this moment that they were having. There had always been an attraction between them, but recently, it seemed to overwhelm him. But all those thoughts were suddenly driven away as he finally noticed Whitney and Chad, who were being escorted to their tables. Whitney was staring at them, her head lowered. He could tell that she didn't look pleased. He was beginning to regret this date arrangement.

"Look who've finally arrived," Fox told Theresa.

Theresa turned to look at Whitney and Chad who were sitting only a table away from them. She knew Whitney was not happy. Theresa was suddenly feeling bad. This was not a good idea. She glanced back at Ethan, who was also staring at them from the corner of his eye. He looked disappointed. She finally realized that she was getting a little old for these tricks.

It was simple now; Theresa and Fox were going to use the faithful policy of honesty to get the people they loved.

Both of them knew what they had to do. "Let's go home," Fox told Theresa, guiding her toward the restaurant's exit.