"I love you, Syd," Dean stated and Sydney softly shook her head, "what? You don't believe me?"

"Did you ever love Renee?" She sniffled.

"No," Dean shook his head, "I can honestly answer that. I never did love her."

"So why do you keep her around?"

Dean sighed. Obligation? Guilt? There was a lot of bad about Renee; he would be the first to admit there were times she worked his good nerve and she didn't try hard to do it. There was also a lot of good when it came to her. For what it was worth, she was a great friend and they got along wonderfully outside of the bedroom. The fact they great sex was just another bonus.

Dean knew what his problem was – he couldn't let go of someone during a time when he lost one of the most important people in his life. It was bad enough he had to say a permanent goodbye to his father; he wasn't ready to do it to Renee. "She's been a good friend."

"Okay," Sydney wiped her tears. She sat up and reached over for her drawing pad and pencils.

Dean wasn't completely oblivious to women. He knew when he crossed a line and he felt he jumped over one when it came to Sydney. "I'm going to get rid of Renee, Syd,." His voice was almost pleading.

"No," she stopped doodling and turned to him, "you'll do it when you're ready. You're not ready yet. Whenever you're ready to move on, you'll let her know."

There was more to Sydney just being nice and understanding. The unsettling image of Roman appeared and Dean visibly shuddered. As long as Renee is in your picture, I'll be in Sydney's. "And Roman?" Dean asked. "That's a fair question."

Sydney sighed and continued drawing. "Roman only came back into the picture because of Renee. If Renee wasn't in the picture, neither would be Roman."

"I think Roman would've been back regardless of Renee," Dean felt the need to defend himself. "You think I didn't notice how he looked at you at the restaurant?"

"Wow," Sydney turned to him, "so my ex comes back and rather than admit the role you played in it, it's automatically my fault?" She sucked her teeth and slowly nodded. "Okay."

Dean was fighting a losing battle and it was getting steadily worse by the second. His dream vacation had turned into a nightmare within just a couple of hours. "Don't do that, Syd."

"Do what?" She shrugged. "You blamed me for your fuck up, so it is what it is." She began to smudge the drawing, which was of a hand. "You don't want to believe that your girlfriend is capable of telling her ex to fuck off and leave her alone. No, it can't be that. So, when he challenges your manhood and tells you point blank why he paid a visit, you don't want to believe it. Instead, you want to suggest that I get rid of Roman completely while you're still playing with your dick about Renee and how you're going to break her poor whittle heart and hope she doesn't think you're the absolute dick you're acting now." Sydney sat back and pointed to the drawing, which was the outline of a hand holding up a middle finger. "Is how I'm feeling pretty clear right now?"

"So how did the interview go?" Cody asked.

Eden brightly smiled and bounced in her chair. "It's like the gossip gods shone down on me and said, 'Thou shall be the reigning queen of all things gossip.'"

"Oh?" Cody folded his arms across his chest and smiled. "What happened?"

"Well, Bonita confirmed everything I've always known about Renee," Eden commented, "she's a lying thief."

"So now what?" Cody asked. "This is something you've already said and thought about. What's your game plan?"

"I have to be meticulous about this. Bonita is going to meet me in a couple of weeks when she's in town," Eden softly bit her lip, "and then we'll go from there."

"Are you ready for this?" Cody asked. "The firestorm that's going to come with it? People might attack you for even questioning it."

"I doubt they'll care that much," Cody shot her a disbelieving look and Eden shrugged, "if they do, I'll be ready. I must admit, though, I'm curious as to how this is going to affect Dean and his girlfriend? He's been pretty quiet about all of this and let Renee tell anyone who has an ear that they're practically dating. If I was his girlfriend, I would be pretty pissed."

What started out as being a magical and perfect vacation ended in one giant fuck you to his life. Dean only had himself to blame.

He was supposed to have dinner with Sydney's family right before his trip back home but it was canceled because her mother didn't feel well and wanted to reschedule for another time. It really was for the best. Sydney barely said two words to him and focused more on her artwork. He didn't want to mention it seemed she became more passionate with her art when she was royally pissed at him, with the rich colors and emotion jumping off the page. He knew better to remain silent and hoped she didn't stab him with a paintbrush.

When it was time for him to leave, she merely stopped and waited for him to gather his belongings. They took a cab in silence to the airport and she stared out the window, resting her chin on a palm. She still wore the necklace so not all was lost.

She got out of the cab and followed him to check-in, where she remained silent. It was then Dean decided he had enough. He was not about go home to L.A. and leave his pissed-off girlfriend with a nosy asshole ex to comfort her.

"Come with me," he squeezed her hand.

"Where?" Sydney questioned as she looked around the airport. "I can't go any further than here, babe."

"Come with me to L.A. now," he pressed, "I don't want to us to leave like this. You're still mad at me and I don't want to end our vacation like this. Come with me now."

"Babe, we talked about this. I need to quit my job, pack, and then move in with you." She explained. "I can't just leave San Francisco now."

"You can come back tomorrow," he smiled, "I'll pay for your flight."

"You're serious?" Sydney asked and the smile in Dean's eyes answered it. She'd gotten used to her boyfriend being pretty spontaneous but a sudden flight to L.A. with just the clothes on her back?

On second thought, what did she have to lose? She didn't start her shift at Macy's until later in the day and she would be back in time to change clothing and go to work. "Okay, I'm game."

"I'm glad," he pulled her close and made a slight growl, a sound that make Sydney's knees weak, and she lost all sense. He slightly nibbled on her neck before trailing his tongue to her earlobe. "We're fucking tonight."

"Yeah, sure," Sydney nodded as she tried to remain some composure in a crowded airport. Heat pooled at the vee of her sex and spread in between her thighs. She forced air out in her lungs and smiled at passers-by who caught a quick glance at the couple.

If Dean was going to keep her up all night, she might as well call in the next day.