Happy New Year everyone! :)

That said, I want to answer to a question raised by some of the ones who reviewed the story. The questions is why this is rated M. The answer is that I'm crazy :D and with that I mean that we could add a little sex scene or anything. For now it's just some swearing here and there, but because we never know, the story is rated M.

Chapter 3: Haley gets pissed

Sally's POV

For the first time in months, I dreamed of him, my unknown man, exactly as he was. Half a head taller than me, black wavy short hair, manly dimples that made him seem so young, a sweet smile and the never changing feature: his green eyes. My personal prison. My dream was basically a repeat of the previous night when I either saw or imagined him, only he was still there when I reached the beach. We talked, or rather I talked and he listened with nods and smiles since I didn't remember how his voice sounded. It was a pretty good dream, but when I woke up and was brought back to reality, it left a yearning and craving. I wanted that night to be exactly as I dreamed in reality and not stay as just a manifestation of my mind.

That yearning made me want to stay in bed, under the covers, where I could pretend for a while that he'd be somewhere close-by. But being me, I got up and went to make breakfast for everyone. Time was irrelevant in that moment. No one was awake and I just went straight to the kitchen in order to check what I had in hand before I started on the big breakfast for all ten of us, and all that not looking at the clock even once. The sun was shining so it was after seven but also before noon. Or so I calculated.

I didn't know what the rest, Haley excluded, liked so pancakes, a common breakfast meal, seemed the perfect choice. I put the coffee on the making and retrieved the ingredients for the meal, humming to myself while working. Nothing was coherent in my tune, just random melodies to keep my mind occupied. Halfway, I faintly heard the balcony door opening and someone walk in, but I didn't mind it too much. Just kept on.

"Smells nice." I looked up to find Rob standing there while looking and gesturing at the already made pancakes. I just smiled.

"Good morning. How did you get in here?" I asked even though I already knew the answer having heard him.

"The balcony. I always do when Nick is here." He responded and came closer to the counter I was working on. "That really smells nice."

"Want some?" I offered politely.

"Hadn't I made it obvious?" He replied with a question. "If it's enough for everyone else of course."

"You did and it is." I answered smiling, but when I turned away to put some on a plate for him, the image of my unnamed man filled my mind and my smile disappeared as I stilled.

"Are you okay?" Rob asked, concern evident in his voice, and got closer to me. I thought for just a moment before I turned to him a smile playing on my lips again.

"I'm fine. I just didn't ask how much you wanted." I lied but he seemed to buy it. He told me the quantity he wanted and went back to his previous position behind the counter as I served. In my moment of thought I figured it didn't hurt to have a summer flirt with Rob whether what I saw last night was real or in my head. Either it wasn't in a manifestation of my mind and I'd see him again or I'd have a summer fling with a guy that seemed nicer by the minute. What was bad about that?

"I don't need to tell you that it's delicious, right?" Rob asked with his mouth full. It was funny and so childish the way the ends of his lips lifted up to form a little smile. Just like a child on Christmas day waiting to see what Santa brought and placed under the tree.

"You definitely don't. Everyone does when they taste whatever Sally has made." Haley said making me blush. She walked in right after Nick, who went to greet Rob. They were longtime friends after all.

"Good to see you man." He exclaimed bumping fists with him.

"Yap. It's been two whole years, huh?" Rob replied equally enthusiastic after swallowing.

"Almost. I was here the Christmas before last, remember? But I couldn't come last summer because of that girl over there." Nick said grinning like a fool while looked at Haley who, like me earlier, was blushing furiously next to me.

"The famous Haley I've heard so much about, I'm guessing." Rob leaned over the counter to greet my best friend. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Rob." He shook her hand slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Rob." She replied and leaned in to whisper in my ear: "Nick said he's anything but a player. That was just a façade." I nodded and we looked back at the guys.

"Can I have some of that too, Sally?" Nick asked eyeing up the pancakes dangerously. Seemed I wasn't the only one to have noticed because Haley and Rob burst out laughing with me. "Hey, I'm hungry." He pouted.

"Of course, baby." Haley cooed and served herself and Nick, knowing I wouldn't eat till I was done making first. But the others didn't.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" Rob was the one to ask, but Nick was nodding next to him. Haley answered for me.

"She will. Once she turns off everything…" I was about to add cleaning everything too, but: "… and we're doing the cleaning after we eat. You made it." She filled in looking at me. The guys nodded and kept on eating while I kept making. The rest of the gang came and took a trail too, thanking me in the process.

Once i was done, i took a share myself and sat with Haley, Nick and Rob who previously had been talking about how they had been these past years. Well, Nick and Rob did the talking. Haley just sat close to her boyfriend, flashing smiles or nodding in agreement when needed just to keep the guys' conversation going. I sat close to her and let the boys keep on, not really paying attention to the words that left each of their mouths. Slowly, Haley slipped her arm away from Nick's and sat close to me ignoring the boys. Like before, she leaned in to me and whispered.

"Like I said before he's a great guy." She gestured with her head to Rob. "Nothing close to a player as you originally thought, so what are you gonna do?" She asked in a low voice so that the guys wouldn't hear us. Not that they paid attention to us…

"We'll see. If he makes a move, I just won't blow him off." I answered shrugging. She looked at me closely before moving on to another matter. A matter that might have been bugging her all night.

"What happened last night?" She asked while moving away from the two guys.

"I thought I saw something. That's all." I replied quickly.

"You're talking to me Sal. I know you wouldn't just run off…" She said skeptically. "Unless… You thought you saw him!" She beamed at me and her eyes went wide. Why did she have to know me so damn well? "You did. That's why you can't look at me."

"Okay, okay. I did. But the worst part is that I don't know if what I saw was real or something my mind came up with." I admitted looking outside. I just couldn't look at her.

"So you think that you could try with Rob and if mystery-guy appears you'll go with him." There was no question in Haley's voice.

"Since you have me all figured out, why ask me?" I questioned mostly myself since she wasn't really paying attention to me.

"Don't you think it's a little selfish? I mean what if mystery-guy is real and you go with him? What will happen to Rob?" She asked, an accusing tone in her otherwise melodic voice. If I wanted to be honest with myself I hadn't thought of that. I wasn't sure if it was because I thought last night was my mind's fault or because I just didn't care what happened with Rob. If it was the second, Haley was definitely right. I was selfish.

"Hales, I…" I started, but was unable to finish my sentence.

"You hadn't thought about that, had you?" She asked and I looked down in shame confirming. "What happened to the Sally Jackson I know? You'd never do that to someone!" She whispered-yelled causing the two guys in the room to look at us confused. "What are you looking at? Girl talk. Go back to your guy talk." She waved them off and turned to me expectantly.

"Haley, I don't even know if what I saw was real. It might be just a game my mind chose to play, in which case nothing would affect him." I tried to defend myself. From the look on her face, I could see that it wasn't enough.

"But what if it was? Then it will affect him." She pressed.

"I guess he'll just go his way? You can't expect me and him to get married or whatever. We just met." I said a little bit too loud. I turned my gaze to where the boys previously were, but they weren't there anymore. Probably decided to give us some privacy for which I'd have to thank them.

"This isn't even about Rob. Sally, I honestly don't care what happens to Rob. He may be my boyfriend's best friend, but you're my best friend and you'd never use someone like that. Not before that mystery-guy appeared at the shop one morning eight months ago. And the worst part is that you haven't seen him since that ONE time. It would be bad enough if you changed because you were dating him, but you've reached and surpassed every limit. You changed because of the thought of seeing him again. It's outrageous!" She concluded yelling.

We sat there in silence for a little while. She was glaring at me intently while all I did was try to avoid that look. I had been constantly adding to her pile and that insensitivity of mine towards Rob was the last blow. I had infuriated her. Haley. The one person that would put a smile on her face even in the most difficult of situations. She was royally pissed off at me and that yelling wasn't just a sudden outburst on her part. Her frustration with me had been building up for months and only then did I notice. How could I have been so ignorant?

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" She screamed making me flinch.

"What do you want me to say, Hales?" I asked not knowing what she wanted to hear.

"Any-fucking-thing! Just talk to me. Like you had been before that dude came by the store!" She threw her hands up in frustration. I waited till I could find what to say. Only one thing ran through my mind though, so that's what came out of my lips.

"I'm sorry." I simply said looking down, too ashamed to lift my eyes off the floor.

"That's all? THAT'S ALL!" she screamed and Nick decided to save me in that moment by coming in and going to her. She relaxed slightly when he wrapped his arms around her and that was evident, but it wasn't enough to break off her glare.

"What happened?" He asked looking down at her even though he couldn't see her face.

"Ask her." She turned around in his arms and pointed at me. He looked at me for only a moment before pulling her to his chest and nodded with his head to the door signaling it was okay for me to go. I mouthed a "thank you" before walking outside only to find Rob standing there and looking at me sympathetically.

"Anything wrong?" He asked concerned.

"Many things are wrong but anyway." I sighed and went out to the balcony where I sat on a bench. He soon followed my example and sat close to me. "We fought. Haley and I never fight."

"There's a first time for everything. Isn't that what they say?" He asked nudging me playfully. That action just served to make me feel even worse because it was proof that Haley's words were true. If I wanted to pretend they weren't, my last chance of doing so vanished in that moment. Because no matter how sweet Rob was in that moment, all I wanted was my mystery-guy to be real and around here.

"Yeah…" That was all I could think to say.

"Don't worry. You two will be fine by the end of the day." He encouraged me smiling. After a few moments of looking at me in the eye, he spoke. "Would you like to go for a swim with me?"

"I…" I wanted to say yes, but that would only confirm Haley's sayings earlier. Unless… "I have to tell you something. If you still want to go a swim, we will. Okay?"

"Sure…" He said nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Haley and I fought because she thinks I'll use you." I started but he cut me off too quickly.

"Use me? What do you mean?" He asked and seemed a lot more interested then.

"I was about to explain so let me, please?" He nodded and let me continue. "To cut a long story short, there is this guy I'm kinda obsessed with, as Haley calls it, and I think I saw him last night, but I'm not sure."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with me?" He asked when I took a pause to gather my thoughts.

"Before last night, I was thinking that it'd be okay for me to go out with you, but now… If what I saw last night was real and that guy is around here somewhere, I will go with him if he asks, so basically in the time I don't know if he is, I'd be using you to pass the time…" I finished and looked at him expecting him to start cursing at me but he never did.

"So let me get this straight. Either that guy is around here and I spent time with you till or if he asks you out or I spend time with you till you get bored of me?" He asked after thinking about it for a while.

"Well… yeah." I whispered unsure. Of what? I had no idea.

"I don't see anything wrong in that." He said shrugging.

"You don't?" I asked surprised.

"No. I mean I like you and all, but I never ask a girl out expecting much. That comes later. So some great time during the summer with a beautiful girl like you is fine by me." He explained making me blush a little.

"So you're okay with this?" I asked to make sure. I couldn't agree more but I had to make sure.

"Absolutely. Now how about that swim?" He asked after he got up and offered me his hand which I took and got up as well.

"Let me get changed and I'll be right back." I requested already heading inside.

"I'll be right here waiting." He smiled. I was going to hell for this…

So what do you think?

Catherine & Tony P.