God, I was beginning to feel antsy now—that 'my skin's crawling' feeling that seems to overtake you when you know something big is about to happen—when you know that things are going to change dramatically. Mason began tapping the table with his finger and I clenched my teeth together. That is so a pet peeve of mine!

"Tell me girls, what is Tommy's greatest pick up line—the one most used?" Mason asked as I frowned. Mason knew I had never dated Tom—knew that Tommy had never had a reason to use a pick up line on me before. The little sneak. I'm guessing that Mason just wanted to up the ante a little bit. Izzie grinned.

"He got me by saying 'If the world's a stairway to heaven, I hope you're my angel.'" Izzie answered as I just gaped over at Tom incredulously. No wonder he had never used a pick up line on me before. He must have realized I would gag. Jesus! Heather laughed.

"He reeled me in by saying 'and just when I thought my day was going badly, I find the one thing that could make it right.'" Heather replied as I rolled my eyes again. Oh, give me a break. At least that one was not as silly as the first. Alexia chuckled.

"He interested me by punching out my drunk ex-boyfriend and telling him that if he was interested in treating a woman like a real lady to give him a call. He'd give lessons for a small fee." Lexi remarked as I just laughed—I mean all out laughed. This was like watching a really bad episode of that show Mr. Romance where Fabio teaches men how to become Harlequin books newest cover man. Oh, Tom could definitely be a cover man. Mason looked at me as I continued laughing before throwing my hands up into the air.

"I'm conceding these points to them." I stated finally as I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Yeah, okay. They could have one point. What did I care? I was already up by one point over Heather and Lexi anyway. Mason seemed okay with the idea of giving them all the point. Besides, I had a feeling that Tommy never used the same pick up line twice. It wasn't his style.

Mason narrowed his eyes.

"Let's delve a little deeper into Tom's psyche." Mason muttered as Tommy began to shift uncomfortably. I think he was just figuring out this game might not work to his advantage after all.

"Oh hell! I'll give Tommy a slight break and ask a few inane questions first to see how much you know the guy outside the bedroom. Question six—what does Tommy do to relieve stress?" Mason asked quickly as the other girls looked at each other uneasily. Something told me they had no idea. It helps if you spend a good eight hours a day with the man like I did. Izzie frowned.

"I don't know. Watches a movie?" Izzie asked as Tommy shook his head. Heather frowned too.

"Takes a day off?" Heather asked as I grinned. Yeah right. That'd be the day that pigs flew and hell froze over. Lexi shrugged as Tommy shook his head at Heather's answer.

"Goes for a drive?" Lexi asked as I sighed. Ugh! These girls really didn't know him that well outside of the bedroom which meant that they were probably one of the ways he de-stressed himself although I wasn't going to share that information. I did have some semblance of a heart. They all looked over at me, except Tom who was now as uncomfortable as I was about this whole interrogation. I suddenly felt like this was a private conversation between the two of us that was being aired out in front of a public audience. I touched Tom slightly on the shoulder so that he'd look at me as I answered. At this point, I deserved eye contact.

"It depends on the situation." I finally answered. "There are days when a bourbon on the rocks, a straight shot of whiskey, or a cigarette will do the trick. But mostly, he goes down to a local boxing club and goes a few rounds." I finished as Tommy nodded at me quietly. Noises almost faded into the background as those dead blasted lyrics that Matthew had been playing earlier coursed through my mind again.

"I'm quiet you know

You make a first impression

I've found I'm scared to know

I'm always on your mind."

The tension between us was palpable, and I heard Mason clear his throat decidedly.

"Okay, I suddenly feel the need to lighten things up a bit. How about this? Question seven—If Tommy had an office with a calendar in it, would it be set on today's date or just flipped open?" Mason asked hurriedly, and I couldn't help it, I laughed.