Walking into Coliseum Liquors on Rose Street, Shay stopped briefly and looked around. Pulling out her IPhone, she quickly texted her best friend Stephanie. They had bonded the previous year when Shay had come to Lexington, the horse capital of the world, to be a student at the University over pet rats and the best way to care for them.

They were both students at the university and had a few classes together. Shay’s dream was to be an author in the league of J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer, her two favorite authors. Steph’s dream was to be an exotic animal veterinarian. Two girls on different spectrums but became fast friends in the pet shop they frequented.

‘At the liquor store, what ya want for tonight’s study party?’ Shay texted then began moving down the aisles as she waited for a response.

‘Grab some Seagram’s and 7up,’ came the response, ‘That won’t get us too drunk.’

‘KK,’ Shay texted back smiling, ‘See ya tonight chica.’

Grabbing a fifth of Seagram’s and a couple two liters of 7up she walked up to the counter and put her purchases on the counter. “Can I see your I.D. please?” The clerk asked without looking up.

Thinking his job must be very boring she replied, “Sure.” As she pulled it out of her wallet and handed it to him.

Quickly looking at it, he handed it back and rang up the alcohol and said, “That’ll be $21.40 please.” Shay handed him her credit card, and watching him quickly swipe her card, Shay accepted the receipt smiling, picked up the bags and walked the four blocks back to the apartment she shared with her roommate Jamie and occasionally his boyfriend Brenden when he decided to stay over.

Tonight though, was the night that Jamie was going to be out with Bren at Bren’s place. Shay envied their love and the fact that they had each other despite the fact society looked down on them for being gay. To her they were her brothers who she did not have, and at times when she was being stupid, Jamie was her father, whom her mother had told her nothing about, pulling her out of the crazy situations she tended to get herself into.

Shay was a single child with lofty dreams, yet they were dreams that she swore she would achieve some day. She wanted to find love, but then what girl didn’t at her age? Which is why when the girls were together that night, maybe the single best or worst thing that could happen to Shay happened with the help of her best friend.

“I dare you girl,” Stephanie challenged taking another drink of her 7&7, a mix of Seagram’s and 7-up, “There’s the website, do it.”

          Laughing at her friend, Shay lounged back on her bed glad that for once her roommate Jamie was spending the night with his boyfriend Brenden. That left Shay to have a girl’s night with her best friend Stephanie, complete with vodka, Seagram’s, 7up, orange juice, her precious lap top, and an adult dating website. Looking at the screen where adultfriendfinder.com was staring at her asking her to join, she looked back over at Steph laughing. The first question seemed innocuous enough.

“I am/we are,” Shay read aloud, trying not to laugh, “Yay, it’s a multiple choice questionnaire. Thank god I don’t have to think about this.”  Continuing to answer the questions, they both laughed as only two drunk college girls could. It was a joke to them, and really why wouldn’t it be?

          When Shay got to the introduction title and tell others about yourself section, she paused.  “What do I say Steph? You know I hate talking about myself.”

          Putting her drink on the night stand, Stephanie pulled the computer over and began typing. ‘College girl seeking a good time. 25 year old English major wanting to break out of the mold and let my hair down, meet new people, and have a good time. Focused on my degree, yet want to rediscover what fun is all about. Are you the one to show me a good time?’

          Reading what Steph had written, Shay burst out laughing, barely able to hold onto her drink. “Are you serious?” she asked incredulously, “A bunch of weirdoes are going to reply to that. They’ll think I’m easy or something.”

          “No they won’t. They will think you’re totally cute and stuff,” she replied, “Give it a chance girl.”

          Sighing, knowing that Stephanie always won, she decided to give it a shot. “Okay Steph, you win,” She acquiesced, “I’ll give it a week, and then take it down.” Giggling and laughing throughout the night, the girls finally passed out around 4 am, not really remembering what they had been doing.

          Waking up the next day to a pounding headache, Shay cracked her eyes open sleepily looking around her room. Stephanie came walking in toweling dry her hair. “Hey sleepyhead,” Steph said, “Jamie said to get your happy little hung over ass out of bed and get a shower then come have coffee. He wanted me to tell you that. I’m going to get dressed and check your profile to see if you have any hits.”

Laughing at Steph, she jumped out of bed and grabbed her towel and robe from the hook on the back of the door. “You are incorrigible girl. I’ll be right back,” Shay replied laughing as she walked to the bathroom, blowing kisses at Jamie and Brenden in the kitchen.  Stripping and dropping her clothes in the hamper by the door, Shay turned the shower on full blast waiting for it to warm up. When it was the perfect temperature she got under the hot spray letting the water loosen up her cramped muscles and let it wash the cobwebs away.

Standing under the relaxing stream, Shay let her mind wander with all the questions she had.  Would anyone be dumb enough to answer that ad on that site brought on by two drunk girls not having anything better to do? Would there be anyone that wanted to just talk or would they all just want sex? Could you actually build a relationship based on meeting on an adult dating website? There were so many questions running through her mind, and no answers.

As the water cooled, Shay shut the water off and stepped out of the shower quickly drying off and shrugged into her robe. Walking out of the bathroom she saw Steph sitting at the island in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and Shay’s computer laughing at something on the screen.  Jamie and Brenden stood there with their arms wrapped around each other drinking coffee and smiling at Steph’s antics.

Slipping into the chair by Stephanie, Shay asked, “What’s going on girl?”

“Well,” she replied, “You have five replies to your personal ad.”

Looking up at Jamie, Shay quickly interjected, “It was her. The ad was all her idea guys. I was semi against it. I was drunk-ish too.”

Laughing, Jamie looked at Brenden grinning, “How can you be drunk-ish babe? I thought you were either drunk or not drunk.”

          “This is true Jamie,” Brenden replied, “But this is baby girl you’re talking about. Besides I don’t think being drunk is a Sith Lord thing.”

          “Right you are babe,” Jamie replied laughing.

          “So, you have one that wants to be your daddy and from what he says do things that I don’t think are possible. You have one that sent you a picture of his penis, which Jamie and Brenden say is obviously photo shopped,” Stephanie said, trying to hold in the laughter as the boys lost it, “There’s one that wants to know if he can take pictures of you while you sleep. Which in my opinion is totally creepy, but hey if that’s your thing.”

          Laughing, Shay gratefully accepted the coffee from Jamie saying, “Well, sounds like one through three are busts. What about the other two guys?”

          “The fourth guy wanted to know if you would be his girlfriend and marry him sight unseen, another winner there,” Stephanie read off rolling her eyes, “The last guy was actually pretty normal. His name is Trent, he’s 45 or so he says, and he wants to connect and talk. Just seems so anti-climactic after the last four guys.”

          “Did he send a picture?” Shay asked peering over Stephanie’s shoulder.

          “Nope, but I bet he would if you asked,” She replied smiling knowingly, “I’ll let you get on that later though. I gotta get home and feed the zoo.”

          Shutting down the computer, Stephanie stood and grabbed her overnight bag giving Shay a hug. “See ya later chica. Let me know how it goes.”

          Walking her to the door as Jamie and Brenden cleaned up the island, Shay hugged her tightly and replied, “I will. Give all those rats cuddles from their auntie for me.”

          “Oh I will. Later.”

          Shutting the door and going back to the island counter, Shay sat for a minute thinking about the emails. The first four were just perverted in her young opinion. The last one was the one that really caught her attention. Not immediately wanting sex, not even mentioning it for god’s sake. Could there actually be someone normal out there that just wanted to meet someone? Draining the last of her coffee, she looked at the boys by the sink doing the dishes. Taking her cup over and putting it on the counter by Jamie, she leaned in quickly kissing him on the cheek, “Thanks for everything guys. I’m heading to my room to change and do some homework.”

          Taking her lap top into her room and putting it on the desk, Shay hit the power button before dropping her robe and pulling on a pair of ripped faded jeans and a loose t-shirt. Sitting down at her computer she logged into the dating site and deleted the messages from the other guys. Reading Trent’s message brought a smile to her face. She quickly typed a reply message without thinking about it and prayed for the best.

     Later that night, Shay decided she needed stability, some sort of normality and centering in her life that she did not have right now. It was as if she were living in fast forward, always going, never stopping, much like the city she called home. She wanted to find herself, to be able to say ‘I don’t need a man in my life’, yet she still wanted someone to love. She didn’t need another person for that discovery or even for validation, but it would be nice to have someone to share your thoughts with. Someone to just sit back with and relax after a long day, which was why after Trent had messaged her back and asked for a meeting, that Shay found herself out in the Lexington heat in the middle of summer.

Lexington Kentucky is definitely a busy city in the summer. No matter where she went, Shay could see confusion that never seems to end. There seemed to be an endless amount of cars flowing along the Circle 4 and honking their monotone horns as they try to get home at the end of the day. Some of the vehicles are semi-trucks that seem to add the never- ending noise and pollution generated by rest of the things around me. Everyone seems to be in a hurry, not caring about anything that goes on around them.

Shay had just arrived at The Hyatt in Lexington, a posh hotel with a bar and a restaurant on the ground floor. Walking in she noticed how her feet would sink into the plush red carpet, the chandelier hanging regally.  The smells of roasted duck and Chilean Sea Bass wafted out to hit her in the face and remind her that she had not eaten that day. Ignoring the delicious smells coming from the resturaunt, she walked past to find a chair to wait.  Sitting down in an oversized padded chair, she waited for the one she had come to meet.

Sitting in the lobby in the oversized chair, Shay felt a moment’s trepidation as she leaned back in the softness closing her eyes for just a moment. ‘What was I thinking?’ Shay asked herself nervously as she sat in the lobby of the posh hotel. Chewing on her lower lip, a nervous habit she had developed working on her degree, she asked herself ‘Why I would agree to meet someone for dinner that I had never met before and only knew through email and text messages?’  Trent seemed like an ok guy, sweet, caring, and funny, and he could always make her laugh with little more than a couple words. So why was she suddenly nervous about meeting him? She did not know, but her over active imagination was going crazy. ‘I should be at home working on my Macbeth paper for my Lit class not off meeting strange men I met on the internet.’ She scolded herself.

Sighing she looked around the lobby once more silently wondering if he was looking at her from across the way, yet she did not see him. Looking at her watch one more time, she decided to wait for five more minutes before she left. While pulling her hair up into a messy bun, she jumped without thinking as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up into the eyes of the man that she had come to see.

Trent was six foot two with glacial blue eyes that seemed to reach down into your soul when he looked at you.  His silver blonde hair was cropped close, almost like a buzz cut from the military, yet on him it looked fashionable. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a pull-over sweater that was grey with blue stripes. A small smile came to her lips as she looked into his eyes again. “Well hello there,” She said smiling softly.

Trent’s eyes lit up as Shay stood. Silently perusing her, he noticed her silky looking reddish hair that was pulled up in what could be describes as a messy chic bun, her innocent eyes, and the way she chewed on her lower lip, which all culminated in a very sexy innocent package. He reached out without thinking and gently pulled her full bottom lip from between her teeth before he enveloped her in his embrace. “Hello cutie,” He said hugging her and kissing her on the top of the head, “It is great to finally meet you.”

Melting into Trent’s embrace and closing her eyes, she sighed contentedly. “It’s great to finally meet you too.” Knowing that it was just a meeting and nothing had been decided other than friendship on their parts, Shay did not want to make things awkward by saying his embrace was like coming home. There were so many things working against them anyway, an almost 25 year age difference, the proximity of where he lived which was two states away, their obvious socio-economical differences among other things and yet she still wanted to see where any potential relationship would go.

“Are you hungry?” He asked solicitously, “We could go out to dinner or stay in and talk or go over to the bar and have a drink. Anything you want to do Shay and we can do it.” Taking her hand he led her back to the seat that she had vacated when he walked up to her. Sitting next to her and holding her hand he waited for her decision.

Smiling shyly, Shay looked into his eyes and asked, “Can we just stay in and maybe talk? Order a pizza or something and have it delivered and just talk?” She finished lamely hating repeating herself, but suddenly shy about being alone with him in his room.

Dropping her eyes to her lap, Shay immediately began chewing on her lip, again; half afraid that Trent would say no that maybe he really did want to go out. Feeling a little out of place, it came back to what is a hot older man want to be with, in her opinion, a short unassuming college student with mousy hair and a penchance for books. Trent smiled as he watched the gamut of emotions run across Shay’s face. Standing up he took her hand and gently pulling her up, he draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to his room.

Trent opened his door and as Shay walked past him, he pulled the hair tie out of her hair, letting her silky long locks fall down her back in a wave. “There,” He said with a satisfied smirk, “I like your hair down more than up. I can run my fingers through it when I want.”

Feeling Trent’s fingers run through her hair as she stepped through the door, Shay gasped in surprise, the electricity from so simple a touch going right through her. “I can leave it down for you,” She acquiesced, “Just sometimes it flies in my face and it is easier if it is up. I don’t have to keep pushing it out of my eyes.”

He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  Then he shut the door and ordered their pizza on his smart phone as she looked around the small room.  Shay sat down on the edge of the bed watching Trent move around the room. He pulled off his sweater, dropping it on his suitcase, leaving him in jeans and a thin t-shirt.  Putting his wallet, phone, and loose change on the night stand, he turned and looked at the innocent beauty lounging on his bed. “Are you comfortable Shay? There is a chair if you would be more comfortable there,” he said looking at the young beauty and thinking to himself, ‘How lucky can one man be?’

“I’m fine, Trent,” Shay replied with a smile as she patted the bed beside her, “Come sit by me, I promise I won’t bite.”

Hastily kicking off her boots, letting them fall where they landed, she smiled as she shrugged out of her jacket, draping it over the back of the chair. Smiling shyly at him, Shay began chewing on her lower lip as he laughed and arranged the pillows on the headboard. Pulling off his shoes, Trent sat down against the pillows and pulled Shay into his arms, where she went willingly.

They talked for a while and when the pizza came accompanied with a 2-liter bottle of Coke, Trent’s favorite she found out, they sat and ate and still talked. They sat and talked about their lives, how Shay was a college student wanting to get her Bachelors in Journalism with a minor in Creative Writing, how she was 25 to Trent’s 50, and how he worked on cars and was a sometimes stand-in in movies, but what really caught Shay’s attention was Trent telling her that he was in town usually two times a month or so. From a relationship standpoint, it would be hard but it was totally doable. ‘Wait,’ she told herself, ‘What am I thinking? This is just a meeting, nothing definitive is going on yet.’

She loved the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed and how easy it was just being in his company. They had so much in common despite the age difference which was a non-issue as far as she was concerned. Chewing her lower lip and looking up at him, she said, “Trent, can I ask you something?”

Looking just slightly amused at her expression of dread, he pulled her lip out again and bent down and placed a soft kiss against her lips. Pulling back, he replied with a grin at her now shocked face, “Ask me anything, Shay. I have told you from day one that I have nothing to hide.”

Quickly covering up her shock at the kiss, which, she had to admit, was not at all unpleasant, she cleared her throat before replying almost fearfully, “Does our obvious age difference bother you? We’ve been talking for ages and you’ve never once said anything about our age.”

“Well, if I have not said anything, it is because it does not matter to me, Shay,” he said softly, “You and I are all that matters. If we want to have a relationship then who is to say that we are wrong, simply because I am old enough to be your father? Personally, I would like to see where a relationship between us could go, but I will leave that up to you.”

Blushing, knowing that it would be the single most important decision of her life up to this point, Shay took a deep breath. Tears welling up in her eyes with the thought of this man who had become so important to her in so short a time, she refused to let them fall even though they were happy tears. “I would like that very much, Trent. I really do not care about the age difference. It is you, me, and no one else like you said,” she said shakily, “You are really my best friend and I have only known you for a few months, though it feels like years.”

“Then it is settled,” he said decisively, “You are mine.” Snuggling into his embrace, Shay smiled sleepily.

“I think I should probably go, though,” she said apologetically, “It is getting late and I have class in the morning and I still have to do some research and start my paper for my Lit class. The professor is a douche and giving us assignments with impossibly short time lines to get them done in. I have to write an eight page, twenty five hundred word paper in less than a week.”

Tightening his hold on her, not wanting to let her go just yet, he hugged her tightly and laid his head on the top of her head gently petting her hair in a soothing gesture. Closing her eyes, she snuggled into his embrace and smiled shyly. “Are you sure you can’t stay with me tonight?” he asked anxiously fearing her answer would be no but not able to quench the words from coming, “Nothing needs to happen. We can just talk, cuddle, and I can take you to class tomorrow on my way to work.”

“I wish I could Trent, but my roommate is expecting me home, and he gets worried if I don’t call or anything,” she replied regretfully, “And I didn’t bring anything with me either. I don’t have my jammies or make up or lap top for school or anything with me. I am just not prepared to spend the night tonight.”

Scooting off the bed and grabbing up her boots, she tugged them on one by one and stood up straight. Even with her chunky-heeled boots, she barely made it to the middle of Trent’s chest, but then again she was always on the short side, and her height didn’t bother her, (she always joked about it with her friends. She wasn’t short; she was ‘vertically challenged’ or she was ‘travel sized’.) Knowing her best friend and roommate, Jamie, was probably sitting at home with his boyfriend waiting up for her, she knew that she had to go, even though all she wanted to do was stay.

Trent picked up her jacket as he stood and held it out to her. Helping Shay put it on he sighed as he rested his hands on her shoulders, he asked, “When can I see you again Shay?”

“Well,” she started, “I have classes until four or five tomorrow evening, then my roommate Jamie and I were going to go out for drinks with his boyfriend...”

“Wait, what?” Trent asked incredulously, “What do you mean that you and your male roommate are going out for drinks with his boyfriend?”

Laughing as she turned around and faced him, her eyes twinkling with merriment, she said, “Oh. I forgot to mention that my roommate was gay. My bad.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face not knowing what to say, he just stood there looking at her. “I think I may have to start calling you a brat,” he said on a sigh, “I think you did that on purpose.”

Smiling impishly, she replied, “You are absolutely right, and boy was the look on your face worth it!”

Laughing and pulling her into his arms, Trent kissed her softly before reluctantly escorting her to the door. Bending slightly he pressed his lips to her, his hands holding onto her small waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a kiss of seduction, of longing and mostly of need. Stepping back reluctant to break the kiss, Shay said, “I can call or text you tomorrow in between classes, if you want.”

“Always,” he said as she walked away from his door. Turning back to his empty hotel room, he sighed in frustration, yet he felt comforted knowing that this was perhaps the start of a beautiful and rewarding relationship.

Pulling her keys out when she reached her apartment, Shay opened the door fully expecting Jamie to be up waiting for her, but all she found was a note next to the cappuccino machine. “Baby Girl, hope you had an awesome time. Me and Bren went out for a couple of drinks. If you want to join us, we’re at The Palace. If not, see you in the morning. Jay.”

Shaking her head, knowing that the two guys would be out for quite a while yet, Shay managed to get to her bedroom without falling over. It was pushing midnight and she wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and fall asleep, but she still had to shower and wash her hair. Her paper was not due for almost a week so she could maybe take a break on writing that. It would be hard to make the deadline, but she worked well under pressure in her opinion. Stripping out of her clothes and tossing them into her hamper, she shrugged into her bathrobe and headed to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

After the night Shay had just had, she needed her sanctuary; the one place where she could go to relax under a steamy hot fall of water that would clear the cobwebs and confusion from her mind, and she needed it tonight. Pushing back the shower curtain and twisting her hair up in a hair clip, Shay turned the water on as hot as she could stand and climbed in.

Standing in the shower, leaning forward, her hands pressed against the wall providing much needed support, as the hot water cascaded down her body, Shay’s mind went through all that had happened earlier in the evening. He didn’t try anything, which in itself amazed Shay. She had never been with a guy that didn’t want to have sex right away, but Trent seemed content to just hold her and pet her hair. She had never really been much of a cuddler, but she thought that with him, things may just  be different.

He made her feel special, as if he really did care about her even after just the one date if you could call that a date. Yeah sure they had been talking for a couple days, and they had met on an adult website, but Trent just seemed so different; like sex was not really that important, that he was interested more in her mind and her as a person than anything else.  Trent made her feel cherished, which to Shay was a very important thing since she had not felt that way before in any relationship. ‘Must be because of his age,’ she told herself, ‘He doesn’t want to push me into anything I am not ready for.’

Sighing as she soaped up her loofa and began to run it over her sensitized body, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Realizing that she missed him already, she quickly rinsed off and wrapped herself in her towel and pulled her robe over herself to keep warm and headed to get a drink before bed.

“Baby Doll!” she heard a voice exclaim from the kitchen, “How did it go? Did you get laid?”

“Oh Jay, hey baby,” Shay replied somewhat stunned, “I figured you guys wouldn’t be home for a couple hours yet. And no silly, I did not get laid, what do you take me for? You?”  Laughing she went to the island in the kitchen sat on a stool and pulled Jamie’s cappuccino towards her.

“Oh doll, you wound me,” Jamie said as he ruffled her hair and went to get another mug, “We were just trying to sober up some before bed, right Bren?”

“Oh most definitely darling,” Bren’s deep Southern sounding voice chimed in, “Hard to have any fun when your man is drunk and can’t find the bed.”

“So dish girlfriend,” Jamie said, “We want to hear about what happened. Was he like really old and ugly, or cute and young looking? What?”

Sighing wistfully, Shay took a drink before replying, “He was really tall guys. I barely came up to the middle of his chest and I was wearing my boots. He had these intense blue eyes. I swear he could look at me and see everything.” Taking another drink before continuing, Shay said, “He had short hair, but it was like fashionable short you know? It really looked good on him. Oh my god was he sweet too, I mean really sweet. We stayed in and he ordered pizza and we sat and just talked and cuddled. He didn’t even try anything. He just petted my hair, you know like you do Jay when I’m having a bad day? He did kiss me once or twice though.”

Knowing eyes looked at Jamie and back to Shay before saying, “Sounds to me like you like him sweetie.” Bren gave her the once over and noticing the way she blushed prettily, said, “Yup you like him.”

“I can’t help it Bren,” She argued, “Tonight he has made me feel more cherished and special than any of my other boyfriends put together.”

“I’m not saying that is bad Shay, far from it, you need someone to love you baby girl, someone to take care of you and treat you like you need to be treated. I think it will be good for you,” Brenden said, “So, how old is this new guy? And do Jamie and I have permission to kick his butt if he hurts you?”

Laughing as she hugged Brenden, she replied, “No you cannot kick his butt. Besides, he is bigger than you goofball. And he is a few years older than me.” She said evasively as she got up and took her cup to the sink rinsing it out.

“How much older Shay?” Jamie asked quietly studying her face as she began chewing her lower lip.

Hey eyes dropping to the counter in front of her, she replied, “Almost twice my age Jay.” Seeing the look on his face, she held up her hand, “Jay, nothing is definite. We are going to maybe try a relationship, and before you say anything he isn’t pressuring me or anything. And before we get into any big, long philosophical discussion about how he is old enough to be my father and I shouldn’t be in a relationship with him, let me remind you that I am tired and I have class tomorrow.”

Standing and smiling, Jamie wrapped his arms around Shay’s thin shoulders, “I just want you to be happy honey, and I don’t have to remind you of any of that, you just reminded yourself.  But scoot, get in bed. It’s already two am.”

Laughing as she hugged first Jamie, then Brenden and said, “Yes daddy. Good night you guys I will see you in the morning if you are up when I leave.” 

Shaking his head with a worried frown as she walked into her room and shut the door, Jamie said, “Bren I’m worried about her. The guy is like fifty. What does a fifty year old want with our little girl?”

“Baby, maybe he just wants companionship,” Brenden replied, “We don’t know. We just have to trust that Shay knows what she is doing with her old guy and deal with it if her heart gets broke. Now, let’s forget about it and go to bed.”

Smiling, Jamie pulled Brenden in a warm embrace as he parted his lips slightly, leant in towards him, yielding to the soft strength of the kiss, that engulfed him, gaining in strength until he found himself wrapped up in Brenden, body, heart and soul. Pulling him towards the bedroom, he smiled knowing that tonight was going to be a good night.

She didn't know how long that ray of sunlight had been peeking through the gap in the curtains before it found its way to her face; nor did she know how long it took her to become aware of it. She’d been dreaming of him, Trent, which was strange, because she had never dreamt about a man before. It had felt great to be at the park with him under the warm sun, seeing children play as they ate their lunch on a blanket.

         She fought to ignore that errant sunbeam, to get back to her dream, but the moment had passed. She heard Jamie and Brenden in the kitchen, and somewhere a dog barked as she looked at her clock. ‘What in the hell are they doing up at seven am,’ she asked herself. Rubbing her knuckles in her eyes to drive the last remnants of sleep away, she rolled out of bed to get ready for her class which she was not looking forward to.

Walking out of her room fifteen minutes later dressed in her comfortable jeans, suede boots, and a soft black sweater, she walked over to Jamie, took his coffee before taking a big gulp and gave him a swift kiss. Laughing at Jamie’s and Brenden’s shocked expression she said, “It’s ok Bren, he is all yours, I’m just using him for his coffee. Ok guys, I have to get going. See you tonight for dinner and drinks.”

Walking to school, Shay pulled out her phone and sent Trent a text. ‘Good morning Trent, I did have a lovely time last night, and look forward to seeing more of you.’

It wasn’t long before her phone beeped with the message, ‘Good morning to you cutie. Wish we could see each other tonight but I understand you already have plans. Will be back in town in two weeks, can I see you then?”

Typing a reply with pain shooting through her heart at the thought of not seeing him for two weeks, Shay stepped off the curb, not noticing the light that had just turned green. ‘I hate that I won’t see you,’ she began typing as she heard a car horn honk a split second before pain exploded in her side as she was thrown about fifteen feet in the air. Her messenger bag got ripped off her shoulder and hit the car’s windshield, yet her phone miraculously stayed in her hand as she bounced off the pavement.

Feeling as if a weight was crushing her chest, she gasped as the pain moved through her body as she laid there, tears flowing out of the corners of her eyes. Her thoughts strayed to Jamie and Brenden and Trent. The three men in her life even though it was really too soon to say Trent was hers. The gathering crowd blocked her vision of the blue sky and she heard a kindly older voice say, “Hang in there dear. Help is on the way.”

She felt a hand gripping hers, a time weathered hand full of love and acceptance. “Please,” Shay gasped out weakly holding up her phone, “Call my brother Jamie. I need him.”

As the woman took her phone and scrolled through selecting the right number, Shay let her arm fall weakly to her side. She heard the kind lady through a haze talking to Jamie, telling him that yes she was conscious but that she did not look too good. She was pale and gasping in pain and he should head to the hospital just in case. ‘Wait, I’m always pale,’ she thought to herself, ‘I would be okay if it didn’t hurt so damn much. Couple of Tylenol or Advil I will be good to go.’

She felt the woman press her phone back into her hand as the ambulance pulled up. She tried staying awake as the drivers put her on a stretcher but screamed out in pain as they put a neck brace around her neck and strapped her down to a board. Tears streaming down her face, she passed out as the pain got to be too much for her to bear. Her last thought before she went under was of not hurting anymore.

As the ambulance screeched away, there was a man a few roads over in an office staring at his phone wondering why he never got an answer not knowing that the girl he was coming to care for was on her way to the hospital in the back of an ambulance.