“Mr. Hotpants, huh? I get two nicknames?” He chuckled at me.

“You only get to be Mr. Hotpants when you are playing hot, rocker bad-boy. You’re always my Mase.”

I kissed him one last time and climbed into my car before I asked him if I could stay another night. I needed to learn to be happy by myself. I didn’t always have to have a friend or a guy near me to be content, and I didn’t need to fall back into the mindset of emotional dependence. The previous eight months learning to live without Evie had been complete hell. I had never realized how much I needed and depended on her for my sanity and happiness. It was wonderful that Mason had reinserted me into his life again so quickly, I was overjoyed and knew I didn’t deserve it, but I couldn’t make him my next crutch either.

The next several days were pretty rough for me. My classes were all tough, but what wasn’t at Rice? I felt like I was behind after just the first day, so I spent every free moment reading text books. Mason and I talked on the phone and texted as much as possible, but I missed the feel of his body holding mine and the taste of his lips. According to him, Jobu’s Rum was having some intense practices and they were rehearsing pretty much around the clock. They were preparing for upcoming shows that they had booked in Austin, Dallas, and New Orleans. There were supposed to be label scouts in attendance at each of the gigs. I was so proud of Mason and the rest of the guys. Musically they were incredible, and it didn’t hurt that they were all pretty easy on the eyes. I knew that as soon as the right person saw and heard them they would be well on their way to stardom. I wasn’t sure where I really fit into that future, but I couldn’t worry about that. Whatever happened was what was supposed to happen ~ if we were meant to be together, we would figure it out. I mean it’s how it worked out for Kiera and Kellan, right?

The one bright spot in my first week of classes was meeting Max for coffee Thursday evening. He had texted me that morning to see if I could meet him at The Chocolate Bar at six o’clock. I needed a night away from Darius, Xerxes, and the rest of the damn Persians; my eyes were beginning to cross every time I read the letter x or k. Not to mention, any place named The Chocolate Bar couldn’t be bad.

Unsure of exactly where I was going or what the parking situation would be, I left my apartment with plenty of time to spare. I got there about thirty minutes early, but it appeared to be pretty busy so I went ahead inside to grab us a table. The moment I stepped through the door, I was mesmerized. From the bright yellow walls and regal purple décor to the overwhelmingly sinful smells of chocolate and candy and expensive coffee, I felt as if I had walked into a dreamland. The multitude of shelves and containers of every sweet concoction you could ever fathom intimidated me so I opted to sit at a table close to the window and wait for Max.

About ten minutes later Max walked in and I waved at him to get his attention. As he crossed the room, I couldn’t help but notice that even though he was still incredibly handsome, something was missing with him. I hadn’t gotten a good chance to look at him or talk to him at Empty’s last Saturday with all of the Ash drama. Before that, the last time I had seen him was at the funeral. My heart clenched inside my chest at the memory. I looked into his eyes as he approached the table and saw the sadness that still loomed. I realized that seeing me probably was just as difficult for him as it was when I saw him. I stood up and gave him a huge hug. I wanted him to know that I understood his pain; I knew how hard it was to live without her.

“Hiya Scarlett,” he said as we broke apart and sat down.

“Hey Max. I’m so glad you texted,” I replied with a smile. “You’ve let your hair grow out, I like it.” I reached across the table and flicked the light brown strand out from in front of his eyes. He hadn’t shaved in several days but he pulled off the scruff nicely; and as always, he was dressed fashionably in some crazy name brand (that I had never heard of) jeans and fitted shirt. Evie and Max had been hands-down the best dressed couple in the city, maybe even the state. I made the mistake of going shopping with the two of them one time, but after six hours of utter hell, I never repeated it.

“Do you know what you want?” His voice broke through my daydream. He was staring at me like he knew that I was thinking about Evie.

“Oh no, I’m sorry. I was overwhelmed when I walked in so I thought I’d wait for you. Have you ever been here before?”

He nodded and looked down at the table. I could see the tears threatening to spill over in his eyes. He had brought Evie here. Oh God.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” I offered as I began to stand up.

“No.” He grabbed my wrist and looked up at me. He closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. He opened his crystal blue eyes and spoke with resolve. “I need to do this. I need to be able to go places that I went with her. I need to be able to see you because I want to be your friend, Scarlett. I need your help getting past this. I’ve just been surviving for the last eight months… not really living. I know that you’ve managed to get yourself together and I need you to help me do the same.”

My heart broke for him, but I held myself together. My breaking down and telling him that I was still a fragile mess wouldn’t do him any good. And maybe, just maybe, we could help each other heal from the devastating loss we had endured. I had always liked Max so much; I knew how happy he had made Evie and that was worth the world to me. We both deserved a second chance at happiness, Evie would want nothing more than for us to be happy.

“Max,” I began, sitting back down. “I’ll do whatever I can… whatever you need. I’m far from one hundred percent myself, but I think that being friends could help both of us. She would want us to move on and be happy, and we both need to figure out where that is.”

He didn’t say anything for a few minutes; I had no idea what he was thinking. Finally, breaking the silence, he said, “This is the best I have felt since the last day I saw her. Thank you.” He offered a small smile and stuck his hand out towards me. “Let’s grab a coffee and something ridiculously rich and sweet.”

Over the next two hours, Max and I talked about what was going on in each of our lives. We never mentioned Evie again, but her presence was definitely felt. After we both had demolished a chocolate covered rice krispie treats and downed three lattes, we decided we should leave. Mason called and asked if I wanted to go to Empty’s and spend the night with him, and even though I knew Max was going up there as well, I declined. I had class early the next morning so I told him that I would see him the following night.

Max made sure I got to my car safely and we embraced before heading out. “I’m really glad we did this, Scarlett. Do you think we can meet like weekly or something, just so we can catch up?”

“It doesn’t have to be scheduled, Max. Whenever you need to talk or just hang out, just let me know. I plan on doing the same with you.” He finally gave me the first real smile I had seen all night, one that brightened his eyes. The way I felt with Max was so different than being with Mason or Ash. Even though he was obviously attractive and such a wonderful guy, in my mind, he belonged to Evie. I could never look at him in a romantic or sexual way, and in an unexpected way, it made me feel even closer to him.

“Give Mr. Hotpants a kiss for me,” I joked.

“Mr. Hotpants?” He scrunched up his nose in fake disgust. “I don’t even want to know where that came from. I’ll tell Rat that you said hello and good night.”

“That’ll work too.” I grinned. “Talk you soon Max.”

Hours later I was lying in my bed staring at the ceiling. Ever since I had left The Chocolate Bar, I couldn’t get Evie out of my head. I felt guilty all over again for not pressing the doctor issue more with her. After seeing how shattered Max was, it reminded me of all of the people that were crushed as a result of her death. I needed to talk to someone or be around someone. Tessa was out, not that we were close or anything, and everyone else I knew in the city was either at Empty’s or someone I really didn’t want to see. I looked at the clock, it read ten-twenty-four. I jumped up and made a bee-line to the shower. My first class was at ten the next morning so as long as I got to bed by three, I would be fine. I needed my Mase.

I showered, shaved completely, and lathered coconut raspberry lotion all over my body. I slipped into a charcoal gray mini dress with a scooped neck, threw on my silver flip flops, and grabbed my overnight bag. Exactly forty five minutes later, I walked out the door and headed towards the person who could rescue me.

I parked my car in the back of the building next to Mason’s motorcycle. Not sure if the back door would be unlocked, I tested it and was pleased when it opened. It saved me from walking all the way around the building. I stopped at Marcus’ office as I passed by and said hello. He looked very surprised to see me, but said hello in return. I opened the door and entered the main bar area. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting, but I quickly began making my way to Mason. Because of the crowd of crazy women ogling whoever the band was on stage, I couldn’t take a direct path to the table so I walked around the back of the stage and froze.

That’s when I saw her. That’s when I saw them… together.

Mason was standing off to the side of the bar and there was a girl… no scratch that, a woman standing next to him whispering something in his ear. His focus was forward and his arms were crossed against his chest, but her hands were on him and he was doing nothing to remove them. Because of how we were positioned, he couldn’t see me unless I stepped out from behind the stacked amps, so I stood there watching them. My stomach hardened into a rock and my face was on fire.

She was absolutely stunning, dressed in a solid black, skin tight dress that showed off all of her assets. Her heels must’ve been four or five inches tall which accented her already mile long legs. Her strawberry blonde hair was pinned up stylishly and her face was flawless. She rubbed her palm across his cheek and when he didn’t move, she grabbed his chin and yanked his head in her direction. She pulled his face to hers and traced his lips with her tongue until she reached his lip ring, where she sucked on it. Again, he had no reaction ~ he didn’t try to touch her or kiss her, nor did he try to stop her; his arms remained locked in front of his broad chest. Her hands traveled down his chest and when she reached the bottom of his shirt, she lifted it up slightly and stuck her fingertips inside the waist of his jeans. I decided I had seen enough. I had two choices ~ I could either confront the situation or I could run away again. Uniting all of my inner strength and courage, I stepped out from behind my cover. I took two steps in their direction when Mason saw me. His eyes doubled in size and he immediately pushed her away from him. He made a beeline towards me, ignoring her yelling after him. He reached me in a matter of seconds and grabbed both of my arms and looked me directly in the eye.

“Angel, it’s not what it looks like. I promise I can explain.”

You have got to be kidding me.