He stayed up that whole night or so I was told later. He was worried about me, worried that I wouldn't wake up in the morning; imagine that? He had fears that I'd wake up and he wouldn't be there and that would be the end of whatever we had because he'd never see me again. I had a dreamless sleep that night, the first in ages and when I woke up in the morning my eyes focused on the only poster on the plain white wall. It was Metallica and I suddenly knew I wasn't home. This wasn't my bed or my room. I sat up to glance around the room and found a dresser, some posters on the opposite wall of rock bands that i'd never heard of and a table, sitting next to the right side of the bed, empty except for my purse that lay there. It wasn't much but it smelled of after-shave and soap and I knew a man had to live here. Just as I finished my thought, I felt someone move next to my hand and found Fulton Reed asleep against my hand with his head on the side of the bed. He was sitting in a chair that looked to be the most uncomfortable chair possible and leaning unto my hand to sleep. I sighed deep, trying to crawl out of the other side of the bed without waking him. It was too late,

"Tammy?" He asked as I had my back to him, I was standing on the other side of the bed, facing away from him, adjusting my clothes that had been wrinkled in the night.

"Fulton." I said turning around fast and suddenly feeling the blood rush to my head, it was a stabbing pain behind my eyes and in my forehead. My glistening orbs felt like they could explode and I gripped the bed in my tightened fist. He was at my side before I could say anything and picked me up, laying me back on the bed to rest.

"Fult..."

"Shh...It's okay. Don't talk." He said pushing the damp hair from my face to stare down at me. I looked up at him and felt guilt creep up my spine,

"Fulton...I know I said some things late night..." I started but he quieted me,

"I know..." He said softly. I could feel his hopes being crushed as his eyes darkened to the sunlight comin in the open window.

"I didn't come back here to hurt you Fulton..." I tried to explain.

"I know, Tommy was your brother..." He said getting up from the side of the bed and heading into the bathroom to get a washcloth. He rinsed it with water and came out, placing it on my forehead to relieve my headache.

"Thanks." I said calmly. "Fulton, didn't you have to work today?"

"I decided to stay home...I didn't know what that guy gave you last night and I didn't want to leave you alone." He said turning away. I felt my heart get that familiar prickly feeling whenever he was around and soar out of my chest.

"Fulton, I should be honest with you." I said feeling my eyes become blurry with condensation, I didn't want to tell him about Scott but I couldn't let him keep thinking we could be together again.

"I already know." He said, not turning around to me.

"You do?" I asked, confusion marked on my face.

"Tammy, I'm not stupid, like some people like to believe. I know an engagement ring when I see one." He said softly, turning to walk out of the room. I laid back down, staring at the ceiling, a vacant expression marking my face. I wished there was a way for no one to get hurt, I wished there was a way to erase the past 7 years and start all over again. I slowly got up, heading out to the kitchen, he was standing at the counter, he hand on the back of his neck in contemplation. He turned, looking at me with a shocked expression,

"Tammy, get back in that room." He said, catching me, as I stumbled into his awaiting arms.

"Fulton, I need you to understand." I said as he sat me down on his couch, returning to the kitchen in a quickened pace.

"You don't need to explain..." Fulton said, not showing any emotion. At least if he was, he wasn't showing it to me. I moved the ring up and down on my finger, a nervous habit I'd obtained.

"Tammy?" His voice echoed in my ear.

"Yeah?"

"He's a lucky guy...you can tell him I said that." He said not turning around. "He better be nice to you." Fulton warned.

"He's never hurt me." I trailed off.

"Are you happy?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." I said with an unsure voice. He looked away from me.

"Then I'm happy for you." He said, still not looking at me. I knew he was doing this for my benefit and not his own but what more could I ask of him. He poured two cups of coffee from the pot and came over, sitting one in front of me. I glanced at it, more interested in him than a beverzge I never was too fond of.

"Fulton...why did you save me last night?" I asked.

"I followed you last night after you left the grocery store and I spotted your car in the college parking lot. I went in to check on you and found that guy pushing you in a room." Anger filled his voice as he resighted the prior night's events.

"Oh." I said softly, "Fulton, are you sure you're okay?" I asked

"You just couldn't let it go, could you?" Fulton said suddenly agitated. "I told you it was fine with me." He said getting up to head out of the room.

"Don't run away from me!" I suddenly shouted feeling like that's all he ever did. He stopped,

"Run away? Me run away? Look who's talking! It's me that's always gotta save you!" He shouted back, "I'm talking to the queen of running away from her problems!" He yelled. I suddenly felt all the blood rush to my head as I stood up, but I didn't care. I crossed the room in a huff.

"I don't need help from a hypocrite!" I shouted.

"Hypocrite? Look in the mirror princess! I wouldn't have to keep saving you if you could stay out of trouble!"

"Who left who that day?" I asked a very heated tone now rising in my voice.

"You left me."

"No, you turned your back on me!" I yelled.

"You were gonna leave anyway!"

"I had no choice!" I yelled again, this time directly towards his face.

"You could have waited for me!" The room suddenly fell quiet as I looked up at him; his eyes were on fire with hurt. I took a deep breath,

"There's no sense in fighting about things we can't change, they're done." I said quietly beginning to turn away from his unrelenting stare.

"What about things we can?" He asked, pulling me to him and bringing his lips down on mine. I braced my hands against his chest to push him away but I didn't. I found myself wanting anything he would give me, and my hands relaxed, pulling him to me. Fulton's hands were in my hair, crushing my lips to his as he backed me up into the wall. I felt the cold plaster hit my bare arms as I was slammed back into it. His lips left mine and began to leave soft wet marks on the curve of my neck.

"Fulton..." The soft whisper left my lips and I grabbed his face, taking control. I turned us around, so he was against the wall this time and I grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. His chest was well defined and my fingers traced the lines made from all those years of hockey. My hands ran around to his back and I could feel the long ago forgotten scars brush the tips of my fingers as they ran down his spine. He took my face in his hands and kissed me again, feeling the passion explode between us. His hands fell to my back and trailed down over my backside, finding my thighs and picking me up. On reaction, my legs went around his middle, grabbing his strong arms as they held me. I felt the slight vibration of him walking us to the couch, as my hands were in his shoulder length dark hair.

The couch felt hard as my back fell against it but I never took my eyes off Fulton. His kisses were like candy I'd long been denied and I wanted him, god, how I missed him. The realization hit me that if I didn't stop him now, we were gonna make love in the next few minutes. If that's what you could call it, I didn't know how he felt or frankly how I felt. The thought didn't scare me but the repercussions of such a careless action did.

"Fulton?" I asked as he continued to kiss my lips. He groaned a little in acknowledgement.

"Fulton, we can't!" I said pushing against him. My body wanted to pull him closer and I fought the urge to just let him continue,

"Fulton!" I yelled pushing hard against him. He finally looked up at him, his eyes filled with passion that made me want to grab him and start over again. I resisted the urge and crawled out from under him, sitting up.

"We can't." I said as I came up and sat next to me. He looked down at his hands, no doubt as embarrassed as I was. We sat in silence for a few minutes before we both spoke.

"I'm sorry." We said as the same time. I sighed,

"I really am."

"Me too." He whispered, getting up from the couch. He ran his hand through his hair and grabbed something off the counter in the kitchen.

"Portman dropped you car off this morning, he said she runs great." He said trying to lighten the obvious tension. It helped a little as I sighed, remembering I had to go home to that shell of a house. For a moment, I didn't have a care in the world, for a moment I was with Fulton again and everything was right. I sighed again, straightening my clothes and standing, my head wasn't as bad anymore.

"I should be going." I said slightly embarrassed still. Fulton had put his shirt back on and stood, looking at me.

"Tammy." He said reaching out to me. His hand brushed the bare of my arm and I felt sparks go down my arm. I turned and met his eyes.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" I felt like his eyes could burn a hole through me, they were so piercing. I silently contemplated my answer when the phone rang.

"I gotta get that." He mumbled, as I looked down, a little relieved. I glanced at the rocking chairs he had in his living room and walked over, looking at them. I'd never seen a design quite like that before and I sat, to wait for Fulton. He was talking low in the other room and came back out to find me sitting in the chair.

"I see you found my handiwork." He said as I glanced down and saw his initials carved in the arm.

"You made these?" I asked.

"Yeah." He laughed, sitting in the opposite one.

"They're really beautiful..." I said quietly, touching the engraved area. "I gotta go." I said suddenly overcome with tension and stood up. Fulton stood up too as I made my way to the door. I turned to look at him once more and found his face inches from mine. I swallowed hard and looked down,

"Thank you, Fulton." I said softly not looking at him.

"You never answered my question." He said just as soft. I bite my lower lip in nervousness and met his eyes with my own.

"Fulton, I've made my decision. I'm marrying Scott in a month." I said as his eyes went dark again. He looked down and nodded slightly.

"That's not answering it but if that's all you can give..." He chuckled a little.

"All I can give is friendship. That's all I can give you." I said softly. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. I felt the air leave my lungs.

"Well, I love you, Tammy." He said turning away just as quickly as he had been there. I touched my fingers to my lips and headed out the front door, closing it with a click.

My car sat in his driveway with the top down. I sighed; opening the door and taking one last glance at the house before stepping behind the wheel. I started the engine and heard a ringing coming from my glove compartment. It was my cell phone. I reached over and opened it, glancing at the number.

"Hello?" I asked really confused.

"Hey, Baby...it's me...I'm in town." Scott said on the other end. I looked back at Fulton's house,

"That's great..." I said trying to sound happy.

"So, I'll be at your house in like fifteen minutes." He said as felt my heart drop,

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

"I love you." He said happily.

"I love you too." I said half-heartedly. I hung up the phone and stared down at it for a minute. What was I gonna do?