She didn't mind it so much. After all, four years had really changed Cash. He wasn't an immature jerk anymore. He was far more mature and smarter than Gwen had given him credit for. He, Ben, and JT had become pretty good friends at the beginning of college, and wherever Ben went, Gwen was sure to follow. It wasn't long before Gwen realized that Cash had a definite interest in her.

But he never made a move.

He couldn't.

You don't make a move on Kevin Levin's girl.

Sure, Kevin, boasting his rather unimpressive third grade education, had not been exactly eligible for University. But that didn't mean he wasn't around. He had found himself an apartment in the area and he and Gwen had continued to flirt around each other just as much as when they were teens. Sure, they weren't in a serious relationship, but Kevin had his eye on her. That was all that mattered. She was marked.

But when she had gotten tired of their little innocent slow dance, and asked him to move a little closer, he had walked away all together. Maybe Kevin was scared that moving forward would ruin what they had. Or maybe he was just afraid to love anyone. Gwen didn't question it – there was nothing to question. No amount of pleading on her part would change his mind. And she wasn't about to beg. No, she had her pride.

So much pride, in fact, that she had asked Cash out the very next night.

Kevin had been angry, of course, but when he confronted her about it, she was ready with her response:

"Oh, so you care now," she'd told him that wintry cold night as he stood outside her dorm, waiting for her as it snowed. "Sorry. Too late."

And she had left him there, on the stairs.

The months passed, and she and Cash became closer. He was fun to be around, a good guy overall. But whenever they kissed, Gwen couldn't help but think back to the man she had left on the frozen stairs. Whenever Cash held her hand, she thought of Kevin's warm embrace, how safe she had felt within his arms. She couldn't deny it.

Cash was a fill-in.

"I love you," he'd told her very abruptly as they sat in his car, driving back from a movie. The car was a respectable sedan with a good MPG but Gwen missed the overly expensive muscle car with leather upholstery that she would run her hand over when idle.

But that's all she had left of Kevin – memories. How he kissed her, how he held her, how his car felt, moved, sounded, and smelt of him. Kevin hadn't been willing to give her anymore than that.

She had looked straight ahead when she responded to Cash.

"I love you too."