"You should go on a blind date."

Nikki sighed and facepalmed at Tabii's suggestion.

"Really? That's what you think I should do?"

"I mean, it's been almost eleven years since you were in a real relationship."

"Yeah, because it seems like every guy I meet is either scared off by the fact that I'm a mom, or they think I'm 'easy' because I had a kid at seventeen. Also, I don't need a guy."

"You don't?" Tabii seemed surprised by this notion. "You don't want to have someone to spend your life with, or to sleep with?"

"I've been doing fine on my own. Plus, with Max back, I'm looking into getting my certification."

"For what?"

"Being a park ranger over at the Lake Lilac State Park."

"And work outdoors? Ooh, that'd be a good way to meet a guy with a common interest. Speaking of which…" She pulled out her phone. "I met this guy a while back, and he was a total gentleman. Not my type, but he's perfect for you."

"What makes you think I want a gentleman?"

"Need I remind you that Max is an asshole? Left you to raise your daughter alone for ten years?"

"Hey, he's getting better."

"Jesus Christ, you're still in love with him, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not! I'm over him. Look, I'll prove it. Set me up with that guy and I guarantee I'll go out on a date with him. Give him my number so he can text me."

"Yes! You won't regret this, Nikki. Plus, if things go well, you can move out of David and Gwen's house and never see Max again!"

"Sure, whatever." A silver SUV drove into the parking lot where they were waiting.

"Well, speak of the devil," snickered Tabii.

"Shut up. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good luck!"

Nikki got into the passenger seat and buckled up.

"So, what were you two talking about?" he asked as he turned the car around.

"Tabii thinks I should start dating again."

"You haven't been seeing anyone?"

"Like I told her, most guys are either scared off because I'm a mom and they don't want to take responsibility, or they think I'm 'easy' because I had a baby at seventeen."

"You're anything but easy. We didn't start having sex until we'd been dating for two years because you told me I had to work for it."

"And look how that turned out."

"Jesus Christ." Her phone beeped with a text from an unknown number.

Hey, are you Nikki? Tabii gave me your number and said you were interested in going out with me.

My name's Jason, by the way.

Yeah, this is Nikki. I'm interested.

When do you want to go out?

How about Saturday night? Meet me at The Only Bar at seven.

Okay. I'll be there!

"Who are you texting?"

"The guy Tabii's setting me up with. We're going out on Saturday."

"Wow. That soon?"

"What's wrong with me dating?"

"N-nothing. It's just that you and I knew each other for a while—"

"And now we're adults. I can judge whether or not someone's an asshole for myself, thank you very much."

"I know. I'm sorry that I got on your case."

"Thank you. And I'm going to need a ride because none of you trust me to drive."

"You forget Christmas is in fucking December! You might forget you're driving and crash into something!"

"Okay, that's fair."

"And yeah, I'll drive you there. Where are you going?"

"The Only Bar."

"Ah, the site of our first make-out session."

"No, it wasn't. That was Sasha's party, freshman y—" She glared at him. "Real nice, Max. Don't pull that bullshit."

"Hey, the three years I was with you were the best three years of my life. And you're the only girl I've ever been with."

"In the almost eleven years you were gone, you didn't date anybody else?"

"Nope. Well, there were a couple of girls that I went out with, but they were one-time things. I didn't sleep with them."

"Oh." Her voice was very quiet.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Nikki."

"Seriously, I'm fine." They pulled into the driveway and headed inside.

You left to protect me and you stayed loyal to me.

Lovetta made a face as she sat on her mother's bed, watching Nikki get ready for her date.

"I don't want you to go out with this guy," she whined.

"Lovey, it's just one date."

"But you're only supposed to be with Max! This guy might be an asshole!"

"Tabii told me he's a gentleman and I'm inclined to believe her. And as far as me being with Max goes, I don't think that's going to happen."

"I want it to. I want it to be me, you, him, Aunt Lizzie, and Grandma and Grandpa."

"Really? You want it to be that way?" Nikki was smiling as she sat down next to her daughter and put an arm around her shoulders."

"Yeah, but I want you, me, and Max to be in our own house and… maybe a little brother or sister?"

"Lovey, I'm sorry, but me and Max broke up a long time ago. We aren't getting back together." She kissed her daughter on the temple before standing up and grabbing a yellow blouse out of the closet. "This one will work."

"You've still gotta do your hair and makeup."

"You're absolutely right. I'm keeping it simple. If he doesn't like me naturally, then he's not worth my time." Nikki picked out a red skirt that went down to a few inches above her knees. The red and yellow made a very nice pairing with her mint-colored hair. She brushed her hair out and held it away from her face with a yellow flower clip. A little bit of eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, and lip-gloss and she was ready to go.

"Good luck, Mom," Lovetta stated. Nikki smiled and put on a necklace for a finishing touch—a necklace, she remembered, that had been a gift from Max on their second anniversary. It was a forest-green pendant that had cost him a couple hundred dollars to buy and have put on a gold chain, and it was still her favorite piece of jewelry.

"Nikki, let's go!" Max called. She gave Lovetta a hug and headed downstairs.

Max glanced upward at the sound of Nikki's footsteps and felt his heart pounding. She looked even more beautiful than she had in high school—a more mature and quiet beauty that he appreciated and wished he'd never had to leave.

"Max, you're staring," she stated, snapping him out of his trance.

"S-sorry. You look great—are you wearing a skirt?"

"Yes, I'm wearing a skirt. Is that a problem?"

His mouth felt dry. If she wore a skirt on a date when they'd been in high school, it had meant that they were going to end up tangled in his sheets by the end of the night. He was hoping that wasn't still the case when she went out because she was meeting this guy for the first time and didn't want her to sleep with him on the first date.

"No, it's not a problem. Let's go."

She climbed into the passenger seat and he started the engine. The ride to the restaurant was almost completely silent, save for the hum of the engine and general sounds of Saturday-night traffic. Max being quiet like this was unusual; he always had something to say. She suspected he didn't approve of her dating as much as he claimed he did, but she decided to ignore that for now.

"Have fun on your date," he told her as he pulled up to the curb. "Don't drink too much; we both know how you get when you're drunk."

"Yeah, that's why I don't really drink. That and I'm trying to set a good example for Lovetta." She got out of the car, then was surprised when he did, too. "Um, Max, what are you doing?"

"We don't know this guy, so I'm going to sit in a corner and keep an eye out in case things go south. If they do, I can pull you out of there."

"So the Sasha System."

"Exactly."

"Okay, fine. But don't get any ideas."

The Sasha System was something they'd come up with when they'd become friends with Sasha (hence the name). They'd named it that because it was easy to remember, but they used it for all their friends. The way the system worked was that on a first date, there would be a friend in the area to pull the person on the date out if things started to go bad. It had saved more than one of them from having a boyfriend or girlfriend from hell, and Nikki was willing to use it if Max didn't take it too far.

She walked in first and spotted Jason. He had pale brown hair and a wholesome look to him—like the love interest in a high-school romantic comedy who played football. He was wearing a crisp, pale blue button-up shirt and had a smile for her as she sat down at the table. Max walked in a minute later and sat down in a spot where he had a good view of what was going on with her.

"So, you're Nikki," Jason stated.

"Yeah, that's me," she said with a nod, smiling. "You're Jason?"

"That's right." He leaned back and stretched as the waitress brought them their menus. "You look great. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here."

"Anyway, you know what you want?"

"I'll just have a soda to start."

"Not a drinker?"

"Not a fan of alcohol in general."

"You don't mind if I order a beer, do you?"

"Not at all."

Jason ended up drinking a few beers and he got a lot more chatty. Nikki felt a little uncomfortable, seeing as how dates she went on where alcohol was involved rarely ended well, but she was tempted to believe he was different. Then he paid the check, but what happened next…

"You know, I've been on quite a few dates," he told her, beer in his hand. "Not one of the girls I've gone out with has been as hot as you."

"Thank you?"

"So, you ready for a drink?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Yeah, I figured you would be. Then how about we go back to my place and talk some more?"

And she was done with him.

"Sorry, no. I've got to get home." She stood up and grabbed her purse, heading outside as Max spotted her. He paid for the soda he'd been drinking (he'd opted away from alcohol so he could be on high-alert) and got up to follow her when Jason headed out.

"C'mon, Nikki," he chuckled, grabbing her wrist. "Don't be such a tease."

"I'm not being a tease. I'm not interested in what you're offering."

"It's been years since you've done anything. Don't you want to try again?"

"I said no, Jason." He leaned in closer and she could smell the beer. His body pressed hers against the wall, making it impossible for her to move or fight back. That didn't stop her from trying.

"It's a shame that you wasted your time with whatever bastard knocked you up with that baby, but you should really share with the rest of us." Again, he leaned in, but this time, he was going for a kiss. She turned away the best she could, but he wasn't going to have that. His lips brushed hers before suddenly, he was ripped away.

"She said no, motherfucker!"

Oh, thank God for Max!

She watched as her ex shoved Jason to the ground, the drunk's head hitting the sidewalk. That didn't stop the wannabe rapist from shooting right back up and trying to punch Max, who dodged it with ease and grabbed his wrist. He proceeded to pin Jason's arm behind his back and slam him back into the ground.

"You listen and you listen good, asshole," he growled. "Never touch her again. When a woman says no, she means no. Do you understand me?"

"She was asking for it."

"No, she wasn't. Do you understand, motherfucker, or do I need to beat the shit out of you to imprint it in your thick-ass skull?!"

"I understand."

One of the waiters stuck his head out of the restaurant to see what was going on.

"He just tried to assault her," Max stated. "Call the cops. I'm taking her home."

"Yes, sir."

Nikki felt her mouth go dry.

Where did you learn to fight like that?

"C'mon, Nik."

She followed him to the car and got in, silent as he'd been on the ride there as he started the engine. It was then she noticed a scar on his right hand—one he hadn't had back in high school. It looked like a burn of some kind.

"Thank you, Max," she sighed. "This was a terrible idea. I never should've gone out with him."

"You're welcome. That's what the Sasha System is for, right?"

"Yeah. I guess." She buried her face in her hands. "God, I'm so embarrassed…"

"Don't be, okay? He's an asshole who's getting what he deserves, and you deserve better. You're the most fucking amazing person I've ever met and one day, you'll find a guy who's not a total asshole like him. Or like me."

"Max, you're not a total asshole."

"Yes, I am."

"No, if you were a total asshole, you would've let him do what he wanted. You kicked his ass for touching me. That proves you're not a total asshole. I'd say you're more along the lines of… fifty percent of an asshole." He chuckled half-heartedly.

"Thanks, Nikki." He glanced at her and noticed the pendant she was wearing. "You… you kept it."

"What?"

"The necklace. You kept it." She nodded and took a deep breath.

"After you left, I was going to get rid of everything you'd ever given me—burn it in a bonfire. Then I found out about Lovetta and I knew I had to keep it all, to maybe give to her one day. Plus, this necklace is the only piece of jewelry I ever really wear."

"That means a lot."

"Hey, where'd you learn to do that stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"The fighting. You couldn't fight for shit back in high school."

"I picked it up while I was away. It comes in handy a lot more than I'd like it to."

"Teach me?"

"You can already kick my ass. You don't need any more training."

"Aw." She pouted and looked adorable doing it.

"Maybe we'll teach Lovetta, though." He gave her a smile, a genuine smile that was rare from him.

"Yeah, maybe."

"What do you mean he went home?"

"It's exactly what I said, sir. He went back to the green-haired girl you threatened. And they have a child."

"A child?" Vihaan Acharya was intrigued. "How old?"

"A little girl, ten years old."

"Hm…" He smirked. "He needs to pay for betraying me."

"Agreed," his henchman stated, nodding. "Your son is a discredit to your family. How should we begin?"

"Send in Koresh and Applewhite. They can help us get started."

"Yes, sir." The man nodded again. "Right away."

"You're going to learn what it means to betray your family, Max…"

OKAY. HERE COMES THE PLOT!

In all seriousness, though, as I write this note, I'm sitting in my room, smelling like celery and smoke, and ready to get this out before tomorrow. This isn't going to be a long story, I'm afraid, but I hope you share it with your friends so they can enjoy this, too!

Also, those of you who read my story 'The Princess, The Thief, and The Alchemist' might recognize Jason as the minor villain from that story. This is his only appearance here. Don't worry.

So long and thanks for all the fish!