Three dates in such a short time span, each with an incredibly hot guy who seemed to be truly into me. My life had gone from depressing to surreal in very short order. I stared into my closet, trying to find the best thing to wear for my date with Alex. Max had texted to claim my Sunday night, surprising me when he requested a date with all three of us rather than a one-on-one as Alex and Troy had. Max said we would be inside, it didn’t involve dinner, and it wasn’t formal, though he had been a bit sparse on the other details. I was unsure where we would go after nine at night in this town, but I was up for anything he could throw my way. I still wanted to look pretty for him, so I was stuck digging through my closet.

Jenna was busy dealing with a meltdown from an inn customer who apparently didn’t like the fact that Jenna had refused to offer a “full-service” menu. Ick. Jenna wasn’t one to stand for anyone’s crap though and had assured me she and the police had it well in hand though I would be picking out my outfit on my own tonight. I glanced at the clock on my cell phone, realizing that I was running out of time.

“You’ve been dressing yourself for years, Em. It’s just a date.” I tried to give myself a pep talk and simply ended up feeling like I wanted to roll my eyes. After a mental slap on the forehead, I grabbed out a bright blue blouse that reminded me of Alex’s eyes, and then I snagged a pair of jean capris. I figured I could dress it up a bit more with a polka-dot headband I liked and a touch of lip gloss to complete the look. Trying to avoid my mishap that occurred during my date with Troy, I decided to sit on my porch and wait for Alex to walk over. Reminded of the bruise on my arm, I twisted it to look, wincing a bit at the brilliant color even in the fading light and tugged my sleeve down slightly hoping to cover it. Guaranteed, if any of the guys really did want a relationship with me they would have to get used to the bruises that seemed to appear overnight. I collected them like pennies, unsure of when they arrived or when they disappeared, a minor annoyance that I noticed then continued to ignore.

“Hey there, pretty girl,” Alex’s warm voice called, and I turned with a grin.

Alex strolled up to the porch, a smile on his face as he studied me. I was happy to let him have a look as I was studying him. The dark wash jeans and fitted white t-shirt highlighted a body that I simply wanted to lick. I wondered if any of these dates would involve getting back into bed together; I had way too much time to make up for. “Thanks for asking me, Alex.”

His eyes lit up, his smile widening. “I hope you’ll enjoy yourself.”

“With you? Always.” I nearly winced at the cheesy line, but he just chuckled and held out a hand to help me down the porch.

“It’s a long walk, are you okay if we drive?” He asked as we headed towards the road.

“Sure.” Since I still had no idea where we were going, it was growing dark, and it was closing in on eighty degrees, I figured it would be better to drive rather than risk sweating like a pig all over my incredibly sexy date. Not exactly the image I wanted to portray on our first date. He turned out of town, driving us up the hilled sections of town towards the college campus, which seemed a bit odd as there wasn’t much up in that direction other than the college itself. We pulled into a spot near the campus gates and I arched a brow. “We’re going on a college tour?” Not getting my degree had always been a severe regret, but this wasn’t exactly how I planned on getting it. My stomach dropped a little as the worm of self-doubt crept in, coiling around me. Alex had even gone to law school. I had barely graduated from high school, being far more focused on my newborn and my new husband rather than school.

“No.” Alex chuckled. “I have a friend here at the college. Technically it’s closed for the season, but they’re willing to sneak us in.”

“We’re eating at the dining hall?” I quipped, my tone flat.

Alex grinned, shaking his head at my antics. “Always a comeback. That’s what I love about you.” He shoved from the car, leaving me gaping. I definitely didn’t have a comeback for that. He froze for a second as if having just realized what he said, turning to me with a sheepish smile, his face and ears tinted a red. “I’m so sorry. You'd think as a lawyer I’d be better with words. I write far better than I speak if I haven’t rehearsed beforehand.” I softened a bit at the sweetness he always brought to our conversations.

“I almost never speak well,” I admitted. “I don’t have much of a filter; it comes from writing what pops in my head. I started saying whatever pops in my head, sometimes even when I don’t mean to. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you for a slip of the tongue.” Though there were definitely places I wanted that tongue to slip. “Since my guessing is getting me nowhere, feeling like filling in the gaps?” I stepped from the car, studying the campus. I hadn’t been up here much since I was a kid. I had once planned on attending university here, had occasionally partied with my friends at some of the wilder parties, and had even eaten dinner in the dining hall a few times while I flirted with the college men I dreamt of dating.

He indicated the buildings across the street and I simply shook my head, still unsure. I assumed though the chapel was on that side of the street, he had no plans to take me to a church service. “The Observatory,” he stated. “Normally it’s open during the spring and the fall, but I asked my friend if we could get in tonight to use it for a bit.”

I had forgotten the campus even had an observatory, it had been so many years since I had been on campus. “You know how to work a telescope?” It was the only thing I could think to say as we started across the street for the domed building.

“I can work it a little,” he admitted. “I like astronomy.”

“I like looking at the stars,” I revealed. “Although astronomy requires math and science that I was never quite a fan of. I’m more of an English girl.”

“Well, we should be able to see Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, possibly Mercury if we’re lucky.” He shot me a grin as he pulled me into the building.

“Hey, Alex!” the warm male voice called as we entered through a connecting door. “I see you made it.” He turned his smile on me, his blond hair falling into his eyes. He looked as though he was our age, rather than the college student I had been expecting. “It’s nice to meet you. Alex mentioned you a few times.”

“Oh, really?” I asked with a grin.

“Emily, this is Evan. We met in an astronomy class here at college.”

“I was the T.A,” Evan explained. “I tend to jump between majors, always going back for more classes. It’s a perk of the academic world.” His grin was warm and welcoming. “I got the telescope up how you requested it. You’ve got about an hour. Enjoy, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winked at Alex before heading back to wherever he came from.

“Ignore Evan, he’s a bit of a goof,” Alex whispered. “Come on, it’s this way.” He led me through a few sets of doors and up the stairs to the largest telescope I had ever seen.

“Now I’m really impressed that you know how to use this thing,” I muttered. Alex chuckled, then motioned with his hand, inviting me over to look.

“If you look right in the center of the viewing field there, you see that really bright dot in the center there? That’s Venus.” I peered through the scope, hoping that I was looking at the right bright spot in the sky. Either way, it was a beautiful sight.

“It’s so pretty,” I murmured, enjoying how close the stars and planets looked through such a high powered telescope. It was far different than observing with my bare eyes or even a pair of binoculars. It seemed like I could reach out and touch everything in the sky, feel the energy from it.

“I love it here,” Alex admitted, his hands winding around my waist as he guided me. “It makes me feel small in some ways, to see all of that out there in front of me, knowing I’m nothing more than a speck in a vast universe. At the same time, it soothes me and takes my breath away to see the beauty that surrounds us. I think it’s why I’ve always been interested in space. The ocean too. I like the idea of finding something new, experiencing something bigger than myself.”

I pulled back from the telescope into his arms, letting him lean over my shoulder to view for himself. He released me and made some adjustments before offering me another look. “Is that why you went into law? To experience something bigger than yourself?”

“Partially,” he said as he pointed out Jupiter for me. “I liked the idea of being able to help people through some of the hardest times of their lives. I enjoy logic and research. I interned at a law office when I started college. Just grunt work, organizing the law library, sending out mail, fetching coffees. It stuck with me though. I changed my major and found out I wasn’t only drawn to it, I had a knack for it. I went into family law in the hopes that I could help people, though I do a little bit of estate work on the side.”

“Do you still enjoy it?” Seeing into Alex’s mind was as interesting as peering into the telescope. So many emotions swirled in his eyes, as he seriously thought about the answer before he gave it. I was glad he did. It wasn’t frequent that people thought about their answer to my questions, they usually just tossed an ‘I don’t know’ or a politically correct response my way.

“Some days.” His words were slow as he thought them out. “Days when I see a child adopted into a family who will love them, days when I see relieved partners who simply couldn’t make it work anymore as a pair separate with smiles and friendly words, days when I see children or wives who have lived through horrific abuse cry in relief that their nightmare is over. Those days I enjoy it.”

He shrugged a little, making some more adjustments. “Other days it’s tedium, nothing but page after page of research, little print that hurts your eyes, stale coffee, and whining people.” His wry smile dropped a bit. “Then there are the bad days. The days where as hard as I work I can’t seem to win. There’s not enough evidence, clients don’t listen to what I tell them, I have to fight for a client who I don’t agree with or clients who simply want to destroy their exes or children no matter the cost. Then I’m not so sure. There are days when it gets to be too much when I wonder if it would be better just to pack it all in.”

I turned to face him, the telescope and its wonders forgotten. “There are days when I don’t know if the writing was the right idea for me. Where the characters don’t want to talk, when I have no motivation to do anything but sit on my couch, where I can’t write a single sentence worth anything and question my insane decision to live solely on a writer’s income when I have kids to support, days where I receive reviews or e-mails with threats or comments regarding my inability to write. It’s a hazard at every job.”

“Very true.” Alex shook his head a bit, focusing those electric eyes on me. “You make me want to talk to you. I don’t know what it is about you, if it’s the way that around you anything seems possible, or if it’s just because I know you’ll actually listen to what I have to say.”

“You too,” I admitted, trying hard to keep breathing. All I could focus on what the smile playing over his lips and those gorgeous eyes locked on mine.

“I promised myself I’d wait until the end of the date. I’m usually good with self-discipline, but you tempt me.” His mouth brushed mine, his hands grasping my hips and pulling me tightly against his body. His tongue teased my lips and I opened on a gasp, allowing his tongue to slide against mine, his hands squeezing and massaging my hips as a low growl sounded in his throat. His hand moved up, pressing against the small of my back, pulling me in even tighter against him as I threaded my arms around his neck. He angled me to be able to taste me deeper, and I lost myself in his taste.

“Mmm-mmm.” An amused voice broke into my consciousness and I pulled back slightly, though Alex’s grip remained tight on me.

“What do you want, Evan?” Alex’s voice was husky, his gaze never leaving mine to pay attention to his friend.

“I wondered how long you two could go without oxygen. I cleared my throat a half dozen times before you heard me.” Evan’s amused voice washed over us. “Your hour’s up. I need the space back before anyone finds out I snuck you in.”

“We’re going,” Alex answered, effectively dismissing him. Evan snorted but I heard him head for the door.

“If you’re not out in three minutes I’m coming back in and bringing a hose,” he warned.

“I guess we better head out,” I murmured, my body still throbbing where it pressed against his.

“Probably a good idea,” he agreed. “I don’t actually want Evan to get in trouble.” His gaze darted to my lips and he squeezed his eyes closed as if regaining control. Slowly he peeled his body away from mine, grasping my hand to lead me from the room. I didn’t see Evan again as we made our way out onto the darkened street and back to his car. My lips still tingled from the kiss, and I had to fight the insane urge to ignore the fact that we were in public and climb over the center console to see if I was still flexible enough to have a make-out session in a parked car.

“Thank you for tonight.” I spoke quietly, trying to focus on conversation rather than the fact that I wanted to bite him. “I had a lot of fun. It was definitely unique.”

Alex smiled that sweet smile that always made me smile in response. “I’m glad. I want you to remember our dates.”

“Dates?” I teased. “As in more than one?”

“Oh, I hope quite a few more than one.” His grin was wide as he responded.

“So do I.” A question nagged at me, and I wanted to ask but was unsure of his reaction. I squirmed some in my seat, trying to hold it in and think of a new topic instead.

“What’s going on in that active mind of yours?” Alex asked, worry pulling at his face as he glanced over at me. “Did it bother you that I kissed you where Evan could see?”

“I don’t care where you kiss me,” I muttered. Alex laughed, and I could tell he had caught the sentence despite the fact that I had tried to be quiet about the comment.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His voice had dropped, the huskiness washing over me and making me shiver with anticipation of where he may kiss me next. “If not that, what then? Are you hungry?”

I giggled at the guess but shook my head. “I wanted to ask you something, but things are going well and I didn’t want to change that.” I let the words drag from me. I didn’t want to keep things from him when he could obviously see it percolating, yet I didn’t want to just throw it at him either.

“You can ask what you’d like,” Alex offered. “The whole point of dating was to get to know one another.”

“Yes, but there are first date questions and three-month questions,” I pointed out. “Or at least, there were the last time I dated.” I tugged at my hair, managing to dislodge my headband in the process. I pushed it back into place with a weary sigh.

“True.” I could hear the amusement in his voice, though he strove to keep it from appearing on his face. “However, our relationship is already different than most. Ask your question.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, “I strive to be as honest as I can with you.”

“Who’s Libby?” The question popped from my mouth before I could word it better.

“Libby?” He paled slightly, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “How do you know Libby?” He had pulled up outside of our houses and was still staring straight ahead, unable to meet my eyes.

“Troy and I ran into her after dinner,” I admitted. “She was…” I trailed off, trying to think of a word. “Interesting.” I finally supplied. “After everything went down, I asked Troy how she knew you guys. He said it was your story to tell.”

“She’s an ex.” He continued to stare straight ahead after giving his response.

“I gathered that,” I replied, my tone drier than I would have liked. “I have a past too. I just wasn’t expecting her to be so, well, bitchy.”

Alex scrubbed a hand through his hair, his eyes sad when they finally met mine. “It’s a long story and not a good one. Are you sure you want to hear it now? I’d much rather deal with exes and things at a later date.”

I considered for a moment, thinking about how much I wanted to reveal of my own past. I really liked Alex, Troy, and Max, but there were some parts of my relationship with Ian that still hurt when dragged into the light. While my situation wasn’t great, I knew it was far from the worst type of breakup that happened. Ian and I maintained the ability to be cordial; we had three beautiful children together, and a large part of me had been relieved to let the sham of a marriage go.

From the pain that I could see in Alex's eyes, he may have felt relief, but after all this time the pain still outweighed it. Tonight had been incredible, and my question had already dragged it down. Did I want to share all of my hidden pieces tonight, to hear the weight of all of his?

“It can wait,” I said, my smile cautious. “We have plenty of time to learn about each other, right?”

His shoulders slumped with relief and that sweet smile returned to his face. “Plenty of time,” he agreed. “Does that mean I actually get to kiss you goodnight at your door tonight?”

“Oh, I certainly hope so.” I grinned at him as I stepped from the car.