"You really don't have to do this," Harper said as she walked out with Zach on one side and Katella and Xander on the other. For an inebriated person, she walked skillfully in her heels and managed to maintain a sense of class. Lex seemed completely enamored with her, which made the romantic in Harper scream.

"Of course we do," Xander said on the other side of Katella. "You're one of us."

His voice was raw and scratchy, both intimidating and sexy. It was clear why Katella fell for the guy, on top of the fact that he sponsored the local animal shelters and women's shelters. The genuine tone made Harper smile to herself and it felt good to be protected by someone she didn't really know. But because she was part of this team, even from an administrative side, they looked at her as though she were one of their own and she really appreciated that sense of belongingness that gave her.

"He's right," Zach said, keeping his eyes in front of him. They were hard, guarded, looking every which way to keep a look out for Bryan. "Plus, I get a bad feeling from the guy other than the fact that he's a dick. I'll take you home, Xander will take Kat home and he'll meet me at my place and take me to my car. Then, I'll drive by your place to make sure you're okay."

"I can take" -

"God, I hate when women claim they can take care of themselves," he said. They start heading to the parking structure and Harper didn't feel afraid. Somehow, even with Bryan directly interacting with her, she didn't feel afraid. Somehow, Zach made her feel capable. Secure. She liked being around him, she realized. Even when he was being a jerk. "I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself. I don't know you well but you come across as a woman who is fully capable of making competent decisions and I'm assuming you possess the rare personality trait of common sense. But that doesn't mean I don't want to help you take care of yourself."

The line was still long even after one in the morning but the parking structure was somewhat empty. Katella and Xander said goodbye and it wasn't long before Harper was left with Zach alone.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked as she led him to her car. It wasn't too far away, which was nice because they didn't have to walk far. She didn't have time to respond before he said, "Why did you go out with that guy?"

Harper felt a prickle of discomfort at the direct question. To be honest, she didn't think it was any of his business why she chose to be with someone, especially considering Zach hadn't even known her before then. It wasn't as though she started asking about the rumors that followed him from the Toronto Bangles to here.

"Look," Zach said through a sigh. Harper could feel his crystal blue eyes on her profile but she refused to look at him, not until she had something she could say to him. "I'm not trying to judge you. Hell, my choice in girlfriends - if you could even call them that - is questionable, to say the least. You just, you just don't seem like the type of girl who would even tolerate that jackass's bullshit."

Now she did have a reason to speak to him. "And what type of girl do you think I am?" she asked, glancing at him quickly before fixing her eyes back to the road.

Zach shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't know," he said. "I've been drinking, I tend to ramble even more than I already do, I barely know you. All I know is your attractive, you're smart, and despite your best efforts, you're a good dancer. I've never seen anyone wear plaid to a nightclub before but somehow you manage to pull it off, you're an excellent writer and you don't need the typical bullshit drama to get people to read your stuff, and you have eyes I've never seen before. Also, you challenge me in a way I've never been challenged before so, I figure, if you won't put up with my bullshit, you definitely shouldn't be putting up with his, especially since I'm so much better looking."

Harper snorted despite herself.

"See? I made you laugh," he said. "Now you have to tell me."

"Oh, I do?" Harper said, shifting her eyes over at him once she was forced to slow down due to a red light. His eyes were closed and his body was slouched against the leather seat of her car. He was ready to pass out any second. Good thing he was taking a cab home. That, and he wasn't driving now.

Somehow, through the haze, he nodded. His eyes remained shut. "Please," he added. Now Harper knew he was drunk - he would never say please otherwise. "I want to know how someone like you could be with someone like that. Your dad not around?"

Any fleeting moments of happiness were dashed in that off-handed compliment. "Actually," she said, her voice cold - colder than she intended but she wasn't sorry about it. She felt her walls spring back up, defending her against his question even though, moments before, she actually felt prepared to answer him. “My dad’s dead. My mom, too.” She looked straight ahead, her eyes lifeless. She could see her leasing office from where she was under the streetlights. She would be home soon, in bed.

She could hear Zach swallow, and then, “Harp, I’m so” –

“It’s fine,” she said. She pulled up to her building, into her parking spot.

“I didn’t know,” he said. To his credit, he did sound genuine.

“No one does, really,” she said. She turned to him, and the look on his face – pleading and regretful – almost made her crack. Almost. “Thanks for” –

“Stop,” he said. “Don’t do that.”

She raised a brow. “Do what?” she asked.

He gave her a face. “Shut me out,” he told her. “I may not have gone to college but I’m not an idiot. I know what you’re doing.”

“And what am I doing?”

“Shutting me out.”

"My parents died."

Zach blinked, swallowed. His skin went pale and he looked sober in that moment. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice raw and regretful. He actually sounded like he meant it. "Can I ask" -

"DUI."

Every time Harper said it, it got easier to say the next time. Regardless, she didn't like talking about it, especially to people she didn't know very well. She didn't like people to look at her a certain way or make judgments about her life because of one major piece of her puzzle. She absolutely hated the whispers, the sympathetic faces, the stale apologies when people found out. As such, she didn't like telling anyone. Bryan didn't find out until six months into their relationship and it was because her grandmother brought it up, not because Harper chose to share it directly.

For some reason, she decided to continue a bit. Maybe because Zach seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. Maybe it was to avoid any further questions he would have, and while she didn't know Zach well, she did know he had a penchant for asking questions.

"They had this weekly date night," she said, her eyes shooting out of the windshield rather than stare at Zach. "They were crazy for one another. Couldn't keep their hands off of each other, teased each other mercilessly but always had each other's back. Gross for me as a kid but it's relationship goals for me. I stayed with my dad's mom, my grandma, whenever they went on a date. One day, when I was fourteen, they never came back. So I stayed with my grandmother always. I never drink. I don't go out too often at night at places that have a big night scene because I don't want to put myself in a situation where something could happen."

He nodded a couple of times but made no move to say something or even leave.

"My mom cheated on my dad," he finally said, rolling his head so he could look at her. "He found out and didn't leave her but she kept doing it behind his back to the point where she didn't even hide it at all. I wanted to be out of my house at all costs because I hated my mom but weirdly enough, I hated my dad even more because it was like he was letting it happen. I lost respect for him. I don't really talk to them if I can help it except when my dad asks for tickets to the games. They're back in Canada now. It's one of the reasons I wanted a trade."

"Oh."

"Let me guess," he said, a lofty smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You think it's because I slept with Toner's wife."

"I didn't say that," Harper said.

"You didn't have to." Was it her imagination or did he actually seem disappointed in her?

"I don't care why you're here," she said. "The point is, you are. To answer your question, Bryan was never like the way he is now when we first started dating."

"They never are," he said with a soft smile, his eyes going over her seatbelt strapped against her chest.

"So if you know that, why even ask?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Just making conversation, I guess," he said with a sardonic grin. "I just get defensive when I see someone talk to their significant other that way. I wasn't lying when I told him I would rip him to shreds. You know that, right?"

"Why do you care?" Harper asked, pressing her brows together. "You barely know me. Why are you putting all of this effort into someone you barely even know?"

He stared at Harper for a long moment, his crystal blue eyes taking in every detail her face had to offer – her big eyes, her high cheeks, her full lips, the freckles on the bridge of her nose, the scar just above her eyebrow she got after falling from a bike. She felt her cheeks warm up under his scrutiny and she was sure her face was pink – as it usually got when people stared. She didn’t like the feeling for the most part, but with Zach, it was studious rather than sleazy.

“I like you,” he said finally. He reached out and started fiddling with the hemline of Harper’s shirt. “You’re different. I guess I want to learn more about you.”

Harper swallowed. She wasn’t sure how to react to an honest statement. In fact, she wasn’t prepared for it.

“Well,” she said, because she had to say something, especially with the way he was looking at her. The atmosphere had gotten heavy, suffocating, but not in a bad way. In a way where Zach’s lips would be her only option in acquiring oxygen. “Thank you. For what you did. You didn’t have to, you know.”

Without warning, Zach leaned toward her and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I can walk you up, you know,” he said. “My cab will be here in a couple” –

At that moment, two headlights sliced through their solitary darkness.

“Right now,” he amended.

Harper got out of her car, followed by Zach.

“Thank you,” she said again, and she genuinely meant it.

“Anytime.” He sounded like he meant it as well.

Harper headed up to her unit, but before she opened the door, she looked over her shoulder, only to find Zach standing by the cab, the back door open and waiting for him, watching her go inside. She raised an arm, waved, and finally turned in for the night.