"This is spooky."

"Tell me about it," Kayla said.

"It's never like this during the day."

"No way," Kayla said. "The whole place is packed with people."

Downtown looked like a ghost town now. The only people around were a couple of homeless people packing it up for the night. My stomach grumbled and I looked around.

"Is there any place we could eat that's open this late?" I asked.

"Sure! There's plenty of restaurants around here," Kayla said. "Like…"

Only I didn't see anything that looked like it was remotely close to being open. We were on the financial side of the big arena rather than the night life side. Not that I came to the night life side of things that often these days.

Most of the restaurants around here were a breakfast and lunch type of deal. Everything in this part of downtown shut down around 5 o'clock. Except for the arena when there was a concert or a game. Why the hell would any of the restaurants bother to stay open if there were no customers?

"Maybe if we went to the other side of the arena?" Kayla said.

"Maybe there's something behind the arena? Surely places right there would stay open for games and stuff."

"I really kind of wanted to get to our seats. Can't you just eat there?" Kayla asked.

"And pay an arm and a leg for my food? No thanks. I'm not made of money!"

Kayla sighed. "Fine."

I looked around again. It really was spooky how deserted this part of town got after 5 o'clock. It was almost enough to send a chill down my spine.

I could almost imagine people lurking in the shadows, lurking in the alleys, but there probably weren't even criminals down here. Criminals needed people to prey on. Even the muggers were probably off in another part of town where there were people to rob.

"How about this?" I said. "You want to get to the arena. I want to have dinner without paying fifty dollars for a cheap hot dog. Why don't you go ahead and I'll catch up after I've found a diner or something and grabbed a quick bite to eat."

Kayla regarded me skeptically. "This isn't some attempt to get out of this? You're not going to turn around and go back to our apartment the instant I lose sight of you, are you?"

I laughed and pulled Kayla into a hug. A hug that seemed to surprise her from the way her eyes went wide. Then she wrapped her arms around me.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll be there. I just need food. I had to skip lunch at work today."

Kayla pulled back. "Fine. Have fun with your greasy food!"

"And you have fun with all those older women trying to recapture their youth. Be sure to let me know how many forty-something women you see trying to squeeze into outfits they haven't been able to fit into for twenty years!"

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Watch it."

I held up my hands. "I know, I know. That was the last one tonight. Promise."

Kayla went on her merry way and I turned and looked around. There wasn't anything open. There were no lights to be seen on the first level of any building. Sure there were lights twinkling in some of the towers, but I was pretty sure none of the lights up there were hiding a diner or a restaurant or anything like that.

Maybe a break room with some popcorn, but I needed dinner. I pulled out my phone and tapped, tried to find something that was actually open this time of night in this part of town.

My face lit up. There was a small diner that was pretty close to the arena. More importantly it looked like the only place on this side of the arena that was still open.

So with phone in hand I navigated towards it.

I stepped inside and the smell of burgers and fries hit me. That wasn't normally the kind of thing I'd go for, I had a figure to watch after all, but as far as I was concerned it was manna from the heavens tonight. I sidled up to the counter. An actual honest to God counter where you could order and eat.

The only other person in the place was some guy in a booth at the far end with his head down chowing down on a burger and fries. This seemed like a very burger and fries type of place.

I put in my order with an older waitress with a sweet smile and a voice that sounded like she’d enjoyed one cigarette too many over the years.

The waitress had just put my meal down and I was about to bite into when a shadow fell across me. I looked up and blinked.

It was the guy who'd been sitting in the corner with his head down eating. At least I assumed this was the same guy. The hair color was the same and it's not like there was anybody else in here.

And holy shit. Good goddamn.

I'd said I didn't have a chance of meeting a hot guy at the concert, but I guess I'd never taken into account meeting a hot guy somewhat adjacent to the concert. This guy was built without necessarily being huge. He looked like a guy who took care of himself. Spent time on the weights. Had the sort of six pack abs that showed through a tight T-shirt and made me want to lick him.

Well then. Where the hell did that thought come from? I gave myself a mental shake. Tried to come out of this funk. Only his six pack, his toned chest, his broad shoulders, that cocky confident smile on his face.

He was the full package.

I went weak in the knees. It was a damn good thing I was sitting on a stool because otherwise I’d be falling on my ass, and it wouldn't be a good first impression to fall on my ass right in front of this incredibly hot guy, now would it?

Talk about your all time terrible first impressions. That would probably beat out the time I went up to ask Grant Thomas to dance with me at a seventh grade dance. Incidentally it was a Twenty Promises song playing which wasn't winning any points for the group let me tell you.

I'd tripped on my formal dress, ripping it in several places and also face planting in the process. Enough blood came pouring out of my nose that night that anyone who saw probably worried I was about to pass out from the blood loss.

Only they were all wrong. I knew what was really going to kill me that night. That was the night that I very nearly had the world's very first case of a clinically proven death from embarrassment.

Of course I wasn't even asking the good questions here. Like why did this guy decide to come over from where he was sitting and obviously trying to avoid being seen? Why was he smiling down at me with that expectant grin on his face?

What was he expecting?

Oh no. It had to be the way I was dressed. I blushed. And at the same time I could've killed Kayla. He probably thought I was a hooker. I wasn't sure if hookers hung out in the financial district at this time of night when there weren’t many customers around, but all that was really needed was for him to assume that's what I was.

And of course there was also another reason for that blush. A thought that ashamed me even as it excited me. I was thinking about how nice it would be to maybe play that role for a little while. Have a little fun with this guy. Even if he was the kind of guy to approach a hooker in the middle of a diner.

It was completely out of character for me and it might be saying something about the dry spell I'd been in that the idea of living up to my outfit and completely slutting it up was giving me a thrill.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

“You're going to the concert?"

I looked down at my outfit and laughed. "Am I that obvious?"

“Let's just say I've been to a few of these and you kind of look the part."

A laugh and a pregnant pause where it seemed like he was waiting for me to say something. Waiting for me to do something. What the hell he was expecting was beyond me, but whatever.

This guy was obviously a little weird. Incredibly hot, but a little weird.

"Wait a minute," I said. "Did you just say you've been to a few of these concerts?"

There was that laugh again. Followed by that same look. Only this time there was something else there as well. Confusion. He was expecting me to react in some way, but I didn't know what the hell he was looking for.

"Well yeah," he said. "I kind of follow the group around…"

And then a light went off in my head. "Oh that's so sweet! You have a crush on one of the guys in the band or something? Do you go with your boyfriend?"

Whatever it was he thought I was going to say it was plain from the look of confusion on his face that what I said was the last thing he expected. And then he laughed that easy sexy laugh.

"No," he said. "No boyfriend. I'm sort of unattached at the moment."

I reached out and put my hand on his. I felt an electric shock. Damn. Why were all the good ones either taken or gay? Especially with the way his touch made me feel. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly his touch. I was touching him. But whatever.

Close enough.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Was it a bad breakup?"

He took a seat at the stool next to me and leaned against the counter. He smiled again. That mysterious smile. "You might say that."

"Well whoever he was, he doesn't deserve you!"

"You could say that. So I take it you're not a big fan of the band?"

I blushed again. Damn, this guy had a way of making me blush. He had a way of making me feel like that schoolgirl going up to ask Grant for that dance. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling.

"Am I that obvious?"

“It's pretty obvious to me when somebody isn't a fan of the group."

I sighed. "What can I say? They came along at a time when I was rebelling against anything popular. And they were the most ridiculously popular thing out there when I was in high school."

He blinked. “High school?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"Nothing," he said. "Just suddenly feeling kind of old."

I laughed. "Are you serious? You don't look like you could be more than…"

It suddenly occurred to me that this could be a sensitive subject. Still, he didn't look like he was any older than maybe his late twenties or early thirties.

Not much older than me at all, in the grand scheme of things. Sure a few years ago it would've been an eternity, but now that I was out in the real world my sense of scale when it came to age and relationships had adjusted.

Not that I'd had much chance to put that revised scale into practice.

"You can't be older than your early thirties," I said.

"Younger than that, actually," he said. "I just hit the big thirty, and it's been hitting me pretty hard. You're making me feel my age saying you were in high school when the band first hit."

"You're being ridiculous. Besides, I'd kill to look as good as you when I'm getting to thirty. Most of the people I work with that age have really let themselves go."

He arched an eyebrow. "As good as me? You really think I look that good, huh?”

There was a mischievous twinkle to his eyes. A twinkle that would've sent a chill running down my spine if I didn't know he was interested in the gentlemen.

Not that there was anything wrong with that particular choice, far from it. It was just frustrating knowing that particular choice was keeping me away from what seemed to be one hell of a catch at first glance.

"You know what I mean," I said. "Obviously you keep in shape. Besides, I work with a lot of people your age, not that your age is that old. You're only like seven years older than me…"

I was babbling. I needed to get control of myself. "The point I'm trying to make is you look damn good!"

I wanted to put my hand over my mouth. Why the hell was I acting like this? I had the same feeling I got tripping and falling in front of Grant, the only difference being that in this case I was tripping and falling all over myself metaphorically rather than literally. Which was less painful, physically at least, but I still wanted to curl up and die.

Only he had that easy laugh. He had that easy look. "Well thanks for the compliment. Though I have to admit I have a question for you."

"Shoot," I said.

I was surprised at how easy conversation was coming with him. It was actually kind of weird. I hadn't hit it off with the a guy like this in forever. It figured he'd be gay.

"If you don't really care about the band then why are you dressed up like that?"

"Solidarity. My friend Kayla loves the band. She won a contest and got front row seats close enough for the band to see us. She refused to let me go out in something frumpy. The last thing I wanted was to look like a groupie for a bunch of washed up rock star wannabes."

To my surprise he threw his head back and laughed. A long loud laugh that filled the diner. When he came down from that laugh he wiped a tear from his eye and smacked the counter a couple of times.

I blinked at that reaction. Definitely not what I was expecting, the joke wasn’t that funny, but it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to get a laugh like that.

Not the reaction I expected from a guy who said he followed the group around. I figured he'd be insulted if anything at my frank assessment of the group.

"Did I say something funny?"

"Oh it was nothing," he said. He wiped a tear from his other eye. "You just pretty much mirrored exactly something I was saying in a conversation just a couple of months ago."

"Oh. Well I guess great minds think alike and all that."

"That they do," he said. "That they do."

He glanced down at his watch and back up at me. He had a smile on his face again, but this time it was filled with regret.

This was the part where we said our goodbyes. Damn. It really was too bad. He was fun to talk to. I had a feeling this was going to be the highlight of my evening. From here all I had to look forward to was being deafened by decade old pop rock music.

"It was very nice to meet you…"

I blinked. "Oh! I can't believe I forgot. I'm Mia."

I held a hand out. He took it and I felt that electric shock again. Damn! He dripped with sexiness, and once more I found myself cursing the universe for giving that sexiness and that confidence to a guy who was only interested in other guys. It wasn't fair!

"Nice to meet you Mia," he said. "I'm Grant."

I sighed. Grant. Of course his name would be Grant. It was like the universe was playing some sort of cosmic joke on me. It was as though I was destined to run into a Grant every time I met an incredibly beautiful man and embarrassed myself in front of him.

Apparently he noticed that look. "What's so funny?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Just the universe playing a joke on me."

"You're funny Mia," he said. "I think I like you."

I smiled and blushed. I found myself wondering what our children would look like, and viciously stomped down on that thought as soon as it occurred to me. "I think I like you too!"

I was such a goofball. I thought I liked him too? What sort of idiotic stupid thing was that to say? Only miraculously he wasn't running for the hills.

I figured that was a good sign. He searched my face for a moment. Again I had the distinct feeling he was looking for something, but I had no clue what that something was.

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"You'd be surprised," he said. And then he surprised me by pulling out his phone. "What's your number?"

I leaned forward and glanced down at his phone with a thin smile. "My, we're being forward aren't we?"

He blinked. "So you're not going to give me your number?"

"Of course I am. I just wanted to make you work for it since it looked like you assumed you were going get it without any trouble!"

"Again, you'd be surprised," he said.

I reached out and took his phone. I tapped my number in and hit save. He took it back then tapped into his phone and mine buzzed. I looked down.

His name. Grant. It sent a chill running through me even though I knew he was strictly off-limits and playing for the other team. Whatever. A girl could dream. A girl could fantasize.

He smiled and winked at me. "Nice to meet you Mia," he said. "Maybe I'll see you at the concert."

"Maybe!" I said.

Though I seriously doubted that was going to happen. The arena was huge. Big enough that there wasn't much chance of running into a complete stranger. Still, I had a feeling I'd get a call or a text from him at some point. Maybe we could go out shopping or something.

I watched as he left. Damn. It was nice watching him leave. He had that kind of body. That kind of booty. It made me want to jump him right here, even though I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate it. I’m sure the waitress wouldn’t appreciate it either.

Then it happened. Just before he stepped out the door he turned around. He smiled. And his eyes ran up and down my body and it was as though a blast furnace opened right in front of me. The heat was that intense.

I realized I'd been completely wrong about him. That wasn't the look of a gay man looking at a new girlfriend.

No, that look was pure lust. Pure sex. That was the look of a man staring at a woman and liking what he saw. Had I been wrong? Had I misread this meeting?

And then he was gone before I could find out for sure. Before I could react to that smoldering stare. Damn.

At least I had his number. I could figure out exactly what was going on later. Whether I was going to be shopping with him or maybe shopping for something sexy to show off for him. For now I needed to scarf down my food and get to the concert. Track down Kayla. She was probably wondering where the hell I was.