Thank you all so much for your reviews.
dandan2300: Just a completely off-track note, I'm from Melbourne too! (well, about an hour out of Melbourne, but hey, it's close enough)
"Hey Syd." Vaughn leant down to kiss her before taking a seat on the opposite side of the small table. It was Tuesday and the two of them had co-ordinated their work lunch breaks so that they could eat together.
"What are doing when you've finished work?" Vaughn asked after they had placed their orders.
"Francie has demanded that we do a massive clean up of the apartment. Unfortunately, I agree with her. The place is filthy at the moment. Why?" Sydney inquired. "Did you want to do something?"
"I was just going to suggest a hockey lesson, but that can wait until another day. I wouldn't want to keep you away from a broom."
Sydney screwed up her nose as she poked her tongue out at him. "Ha, ha."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were avoiding this hockey lesson. Bit scared, are you?" Vaughn teased.
"Scared? As if." Sydney scoffed. "I promise you, one of these days you will get me out on the ice."
"One of these days, hey?"
Sydney nodded determindly.
On Wednesday Weiss was out, taking Alan for a walk. However, if anyone was watching, it would appear that it was actually the big labrador taking Weiss for a walk.
"Eric!" He struggled to stop Alan from charging forward. After the excited dog had stopped, Weiss turned around and saw Ainsley approaching him, with a cocker spaniel on a leash.
"Hey, how are you?" Weiss asked, losing his footing as Alan attempted to run off. He felt his face go red as Ainsley started laughing.
"Looks like you've got a handful there." Ainsley crouched down and ruffled Alan behind the ears. "What's his name?"
"Alan."
"Well, Alan meet Belle." Ainsley motioned towards the cocker spaniel and then stood up. "I'm sorry, did you ask me a question before?"
"I just asked how you were."
"I'm great." Ainsley smiled brightly. "Saturday night went so well."
"Yeah, we all had a fantastic night." Weiss agreed. "Though I think that Francie is still recovering from your little surprise."
"Oh no. We didn't totally humiliate her, did we?" Ainsley asked. "I was just going to have a cake, but Cam insisted on the whole 'Happy Birthday' thing."
"Don't be too worried. According to Will and Syd, she secretly loved the whole thing."
"Good." Ainsley smiled, as she absentmindedly stroked Belle's head.
"So..." Weiss tried desperately to think of something to say.
"Yeah?"
"Um...how have you been?"
Ainsley let a small giggle escape her mouth. "You already asked me that, Eric."
"Oh yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck and Ainsley sighed. She'd come to realize that this would be up to her.
"Eric, are you busy on Monday night?"
Weiss looked at her, surprised. "Uh, I think so. Why?"
"I have the night off. I thought maybe we could catch a movie or something."
"Huh?" Weiss was stunned. Was Ainsley asking him out?
"You. Me. Movie. Maybe dinner." Ainsley said. "I don't think I can make it much clearer than that."
"Ok." His face broke into a grin. "That would be great." For a second nothing was said between them, until Alan started tugging on his leash.
"I think somebody wants to go." Ainsley pointed out.
"Somebody needs to learn to wait." Weiss replied through gritted teeth, as he struggled against the strength of his dog.
"Aw, you can't hold him off any longer. You want to go for a walk, don't you boy?" Ainsley pet Alan's head. "I have to go anyway. I'll call you about Monday, ok?"
"Ok." Weiss watched her walking off, feeling slightly dazed. He had a date.
"Here you go." Sydney tossed Francie a tub of chocolate choc chip ice- cream and then sat on the couch with her own tub of coffee ice-cream. It was Wednesday afternoon and the two of them decided they needed a little 'girl time'- or massive gossip session as Will called them.
"Did you ask Ainlsey if she could come over?" Francie asked through a mouthful of ice-cream.
"Oh, that's real classy, Francie." Sydney licked the back of her own spoon. "I called her but she was busy- which is a total bummer."
"Why a total bummer?"
"Well, she had big news that I would have loved to grill her on."
"What?"
"She ran into Weiss this morning." Sydney started.
"Oh no. What did he do?"
"He did nothing- literally." Sydney smiled, thinking of Ainsley's description of the the embarrassed Weiss asking the same question twice.
"What happened?"
"Ainsley asked him out."
"Really? So she does like him."
"I know. I'm actually surprised that I heard the news from her. I figured Weiss would be shouting it from the rooftops."
"Well, may be he is and that's why he hasn't told you." Francie pointed out. Sydney laughed, both at the image of Weiss shouting from the rooftops and the fact that it wouldn't surprise anybody if he actually did it.
"Ah, we shouldn't pick on him." Sydney said, taking a mouthful of ice-cream.
"But isn't this what 'girl time' is about- discussing the males in our lives?"
"True." Sydney grinned. "So who next- Vaughn or Will?"
Francie pulled a coin from her pocket. "Let's toss for it."
Sydney swallowed her mouthful, still grinning.
"Heads."
Vaughn struggled to open his front door. His hands were full with shopping bags and his mail, and he held his mobile to his ear with his shoulder. Eric Weiss really did have the worst timing.
"Weiss, just hang on a sec." Vaughn pushed the door open and walked inside. After dumping the shopping on the floor, he sat at the kitchen bench. "Ok, what were you saying?"
"I got a date, I got a date." Weiss seemed to be singing on the other end of the phone.
"What? With who?"
"Who do you think?"
"Uh, that middle aged divorcee who just moved in next door to you?" Vaughn joked as he idlely flipped through his pile of mail.
"Ha ha, very funny. I'm sharing a big moment of my life with you and you're treating it like a big joke." Weiss said, disgruntled.
"Sorry." Vaughn tossed aside a bill. "Ainsley, right?"
"Yeah, I ran into her this morning while walking Alan and she asked me out."
"Ainsley asked you out?"
"Yeah, even after I'd made a comeplete dickhead of myself."
"Couldn't have been too much of a dickhead." Vaughn was slightly distracted by an official looking envelope that did not appear to contain a bill. "Where are you going?" he asked, ripping it open.
"The movies, and maybe dinner."
"When?" Vaughn inquired, staring the read the letter.
"Monday. It's her night off." Weiss continued talking, not realizing that Vaughn was not listening to a word he said. "So I was thinking jeans. What do you reckon? I mean it's only the movies right...Vaughn? Are you still there?...Hello, Vaughn!"
"Shit!" Vaughn slammed the letter down on his kitchen bench.
"What is it?"
"I'm being evicted."