His breathing just slightly more rapid than usual, Jason walked up the front steps of the Wesley home. He hated the fact that he was actually nervous about just going to the movies with Chloe. He had never been nervous around any other girl in his entire life.

Standing before the front door, Jason took a deep, fortifying breath. He couldn't be sure how the evening would go, but he knew on some level that it would be a turning point for him no matter what happened.

Lifting his fist, Jason quickly gave a few quick raps on the door. Nearly immediately, Craig was swinging the door open and greeting him with an odd smile.

"Hello, Jason."

"Hey, Doc Wesley," replied Jason as he kept a watchful eye on the doctor. He never knew whether he should expect his pal Craig the doctor or Craig the evil stepfather. "So, is Chloe ready?"

"Oh, she'll be down momentarily," responded Craig as he led Jason into the living room. "Please, Jason, have a seat. There's something we need to discuss."

At that moment, Jason realized that he would definitely be dealing with the evil stepfather.

Sitting down beside Jason on the couch, Craig began, "I know that you care for Chloe. It's not a big secret, so you shouldn't even bother hiding it." Before Jason could sigh with relief, Craig continued, "However, I also know that you not only helped torment Chloe but that you have a certain reputation around school for being a bit of a . . . playboy."

The sigh of relief having dropped down to what felt like the lowest pits of his stomach, Jason wondered what Craig actually expected him to say in response. Both Craig and Jason knew that every word was true, so there was no point in trying to deny it.

Continuing, Craig said, "As I'm sure you already know, Chloe may act tough, but she's actually a really sensitive girl and has already been hurt too much in her young life. And, I promise you, I won't allow anyone else to hurt her. You either treat her with the respect she deserves, or walk out that door now and leave my stepdaughter the hell alone. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal."

A bright smile suddenly appeared on Craig's face and he replied, "Great. I had a feeling that you would understand." Glancing at his watch, Craig said, "I'll run upstairs and let Chloe know that you are here."

As soon as Craig disappeared from the room, Jason gave that sigh of relief. He never would have guessed that just taking a girl to dinner and a movie could be so distressing - especially before they even left for the actual date.

Just as Jason was beginning to worry that Chloe might be planning to stand him up, the beautiful brunette entered the room wearing quite a flattering pastel purple dress. The nervousness passing away, Jason gave Chloe an approving appraisal with his eyes and offered her his most conceded smile.

However, when he looked past Chloe as saw Craig and Nancy looking like a matching pair of hungry pit bulls, Jason dropped the smile almost instantly. After that little talk from Craig, there was no way he wanted to begin the evening by angering the parental units.

More than ready to escape the watchful gazes, Jason suggested, "I guess we should get going if we want time to grab dinner before going to the movies."

"Yeah, we probably do need to leave now if we're going to have time to eat," agreed Chloe as she began to leave the living room and enter the foyer.

Following behind Chloe, Jason was almost out of the living room before Craig took hold of his arm. With a smile, Craig said, "Have her home by ten."

"But, the last time you said her curfew was eleven."

Craig kept the self-assured smile on his face as he responded, "Yeah, but last time you were two friends going to a birthday party - not a young couple going on what I'd guess is a date."

With a nod, Jason responded, "Gotcha, Doctor Wesley. I'll have her in bed by ten . . ." Realizing how the words must have surely sounded to a protective step-father, Jason cleared his throat and quickly said, "I mean, I'll have her home so she can go to bed by ten."

Before Craig had the chance to even give a reply, Jason hurriedly turned away from him and met Chloe where she was waiting near the front door.

"Yeah, Chloe, it's definitely time to leave."

Mimi guessed the distance to be twenty or thirty feet. It seemed like such a short distance when it was all that separated you from a goodbye.

Okay, so maybe Mimi was thinking in a slightly overly dramatic manner, but she couldn't stop herself. After having spent so much time alone with Austin in Miami, she was almost sorry that they had finally reached the hotel in Orlando where her classmates - and her boyfriend - were staying.

Taking the final steps toward the hotel room that had been reserved for herself and Belle to share during senior trip, Mimi slowly released a breath that sounded almost tortured.

Her mind was racing with questions that all led back to two people - Austin and Philip. She was afraid that after developing such a deep crush on Austin, she would see boyfriend she honestly loved and feel absolutely nothing for him. Then, her life really would be a total mess.

Dropping the gym bag holding the clothing and personal items Mimi had gotten in Miami, Austin looked at the young woman and said, "Well, looks like we've finally made it. I bet you're relieved, huh?"

"Yeah," sullenly replied Mimi. "Relieved."

Austin gave a brief chuckle and responded, "You sure? Because, for some reason, you don't sound too relieved."

"It's just that I had such a cool time hanging out in Miami. I guess I'm just a little sorry to see it end."

"You know, Mimi, I'm kinda sorry to see it end, too." Just as Mimi's eyes were lighting up with a naive hope, Austin added, "I'll miss havin' my new pal around. But, hey, we'll be running into each other back in Salem all the time, so we can still be friends."

"Friends, yeah, um, that sounds great," Mimi quickly replied as she attempted to hide her own disappointment.

Leaning down almost flirtatiously close to Mimi, Austin gently said, "Believe it or not, what you already have can become something so much better than whatever you imagination could think up if you were in other situations . . . with different people. Just give the life you've got a chance, a real chance."

Glancing up into Austin's twinkling eyes, Mimi instantly knew that her crush on him was not as much of a secret as she had thought. She also knew that he was doing his very best to let her down gently.

"You're probably right," conceded Mimi with a faint smile as Austin slowly backed away. "In fact, I know you're right."

"So, what do you say you knock on the door so you can make the most of the time you'll have here in Orlando."

Mimi gave Austin a quick grin before loudly knocking on the hotel room door. Almost immediately, it opened and Belle Black was standing before.

Letting out her infamous squeal, Belle pulled her friend into a hug before asking, "Meems, what are you doing here? Oh, my gosh, how did this happen?"

"It's a long story," said Mimi as she gave Austin a quick glance. "But, to give you the short version, after missing the plane, I ran into Austin. And, well, it turns out that he had an extra ticket to Miami. So, he agreed to let me have it and to drive me up after he finished with all his business conferences and meetings. So, taa-daa, here I am. So, are you glad to see me?"

"I sure am," answered a masculine voice from behind Mimi. Spinning around, Mimi found herself face-to-face with her charming boyfriend.

Forgetting all about Austin, Belle, and the rest of the world, Mimi smiled with delight as Philip lifted her off the ground and gave her quick spin through the air.

As her feet found the floor once more, Mimi turned to Austin and simply said, "Thank you - for everything."

With looks of utter disbelief plastered on their faces, Jason and Chloe watched the hard-working firemen control the small fire. Though smoke continued to blanket the dark sky about Salem Place, there were no longer flames seen dancing in the lobby of the cinema.

Shaking his head, Jason commented, "What are the chances of the movie theater catching on fire the night you and I decide to go there?"

"Slim," answered Chloe. "But, then again, what were the chances of you and I ever going to the movies together?"

"Good point," responded Jason. Stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his khaki pants, he asked, "So, since we obviously won't be seeing a movie, what do you want to do tonight?"

"Look, Jason, dinner was great, but I would completely understand if you just wanted to head home and forget about the rest of the evening. You don't have to just hang out with me and everything if you don't want to."

Taking that extra step to be closer to his date, Jason looked into her defiant blue eyes before responding, "When have I ever hung out with you if I didn't want to? You might as well just admit defeat, Vampira, you are not going to scare me away tonight. You're stuck with me."

A bright smile engulfed Chloe's face as she replied, "I think I can handle that. Oh, another thing, don't call me Vampira, loser."

Jason chuckled softly and said, "Fine, no name calling, Lame-O."

Chloe rolled her eyes as she realized that there were some things about Jason Masters that would never change - and, that just seemed to make him all the more adorable and alluring in her eyes. Taking a glance around at the others watching the dwindling fire, Chloe asked, "So, where do we go from here?"

Rubbing his chin in a mock look of deep thought, Jason questioned aloud, "Where, oh where, do you go after having dinner at the exquisite Brady Pub? Hmm . . . The Cheatin' Heart? . . . The Snake Pit? . . ."

Using her purse to softly hit Jason in the chest, Chloe motioned to the establishment a few shops away and suggested, "How about we just go the Java Cafe and decide over a mocha?"

"Sounds good to me," responded Jason as he put his left hand on the small of Chloe's back and led her toward the familiar coffee shop.

Reaching the first table, Jason showed a rare display of his manners by actually pulling Chloe's chair out for her. The action earned him an eyebrow raised in question from his date.

Within minutes, the two had ordered their favorite drinks and were taking careful sips of the warm liquid. Glancing over the top of her cup, Chloe softly asked, "So, Jase, let's lay the cards on the table. Is this or is this not a date?"

Jason remained silent for several seconds as he tried to look into Chloe's eyes to discover how she felt and what exactly she wanted the evening to be. He had assumed that she would consider it a date - but, maybe she didn't want it to be - or, maybe she was just insecure and wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

Of course, the only thing that Jason knew for certain was that he was not going to be rejected and ridiculed - it was bad enough when Jan had done that to him.

Trying to play it safe, Jason answered her question with yet another question, "Do you want this to be a real date?"

"Do you?"

"I asked you first."

"No, you didn't," Chloe countered. Sighing rather loudly, Chloe sternly asked, "Yes or no . . . do you want to date me?"

"Maybe."

"Then, maybe I want to date you, too."

Relief filling his tense body, Jason declared, "Good. Then, it's a date." A thought suddenly occurring to him, Jason added, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, your stepfather laid down the law while I was waiting for you to come downstairs."

"What did Craig say?"

"He just wanted to make sure I knew that he wasn't going to let me rip your heart into a million pieces before stomping it into the ground. I guess he was just seeing what my intentions were."

Not thinking about the words as they left her mouth, Chloe casually said, "Yeah, Craig's like that. He did the same thing with Philip and Brady."

The mere mention of Chloe's former flames practically set Jason himself on fire. He wasn't sure why, but it greatly displeased him to even hear those two names pass by Chloe's lips.

Attempting to keep his cool, Jason glanced around the outdoor cafe and lowly replied, "Yeah, well, I'm not exactly Philip or Brady. So, you don't have to worry about that."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at, Jason."

"I'm just saying that when we're together, it definitely won't be like it was when you were with the K-man and Brady."

Chloe's eyes narrowed just slightly as she tried to decipher the message that was obviously hidden below Jason's words. "You make it sound like Philip and Brady were evil or something. I thought Philip was your friend. If you have something to say, Jason, then just say it."

The mild defensive nature of Chloe's response only fueled Jason's own desire to defend himself - though he didn't know from what. Rather peevishly, he said, "All I'm saying is that I don't want this relationship or whatever to be like what you had with either of those guys. That's not who I am."

"Excuse me? Other than some guy with an obviously over-inflated ego, just who do you think you are?"

Forever the victim of his own spiteful temper, Jason growled, "Look, Chloe, I don't want to walk all over you like Brady did. Then again, I'm not going to let you walk all over me like you did Philip. I'm not a sick puppy dog who'll follow you around and put up with your constant complaining."

As Jason was regretting his own words, Chloe replied with her own regretful utterance, "Yeah, well, I can assure you that I'm not going to be one of your little tramps that you just use and toss aside. I'm not Jan, and I won't be your dirty little replacement just because she dumped you."

Hurriedly taking money from her purse to pay for her own mocha, Chloe threw the bills onto the table and stated, "Goodbye Jason."