"Baby!" Luke yelled as he saw Laura. Wiping his hands on his apron,
he quickly took her into his arms and kissed her. "I've missed you.
Miss me?"

Laura smiled. "Of course I did. I tried to call you last night, where were you?"

"Just hanging out with the guys, you know. Did you have fun in New York City?"

"It was okay."

"Only okay? That's because I wasn't there." His hands lowered to caress her bottom, as he once again entered her mouth with his tongue.

Laura broke the kiss and gently took Luke's hands away from her body. "You want to see a picture of the dress I bought? It's really beautiful." Her eyes twinkled with excitement.

"I'm sure it is, darlin', but I have a better idea," Luke grinned, as his mouth moved to cover hers.

She moved to avoid his kiss. "Oh, Luke, I'm really tired and Amy's waiting in the car. I just came over here to see you. It's been a busy two days, and I need some sleep."

"Didn't you get any sleep there?" he whined. "Come on, baby, I need you. Please? Tell Amy to take a cab home."

Before Laura could respond, a woman yelled out, "Luke, get moving! It's lunch hour!"

Luke looked at Laura. "I gotta go take care of this, but--"

"Yes, you go take care of that, and I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you." Not giving him time to protest, Laura gave him a quick peck on the lips and hurried out the door. Once outside, she let out a sigh of relief. She got into the car and headed for Lesley and Rick's.

"Did you show him the picture?" Amy asked.

"He was busy," Laura replied offhandedly.

"Oh, well I'm sure he'll love it. It's really beautiful."

Laura smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

They arrived at the house, where Lesley and Rick were waiting for them. Amy quickly went into a moment by moment recount of the two days.

An hour later...

"So anyway," Amy continued, "I could tell he really liked me, but he was too boring. He was very good looking, though, great body, light brown hair, blue eyes, and--"

"Green," Laura corrected her.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Stefan has green eyes, not blue."

"No, they weren't, they were blue. I think I'd remember better than you." Turning to Lesley and Rick, she said, "Laura only saw him at the restaurant."

Laura shrugged. "Whatever. I still say they were green."

"Blue, green, who cares? The point is he was sooo boring."

"No, he wasn't," Laura interrupted again. "Amy didn't even give him a chance. Just because he didn't laugh at one of her *lame* jokes."

Lesley and Rick laughed. "Who does?" they said together.

Amy glared at them. "He was a snob. Asking me what my 'favorite work of literature' is," she said in a mocking voice.

"He was just asking a question! It's not his fault you don't read!" Laura said heatedly.

"Jeez, calm down, I was just saying," Amy said.

"I just don't see why you have to gossip about people, especially if you don't know them," Laura said, a bit more calmly.

"Cause it's fun! Lighten up, it's not like you guys are best buds or anything. You'll never see each other again."

Laura's temper flared up again, as she shouted, "Oh, shut up, Amy!" and ran upstairs to Amy's room.

Once there, she locked herself in the bathroom, waiting for the inevitable. Sure enough, she heard a soft knock, followed by her mother's concerned voice. "Are you okay, Laura?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Laura said.

"Really? Then why the outburst in the living room, hmm?"

Laura sighed. Her mother wasn't going to give up until she got a straight answer. She unlocked the door and walked out.

"I'll apologize to Amy, I promise."

"That's good, but that's not what I asked. You are obviously very upset, Laura. Is something going on that I should know about?"

"Nothing is going on Mother!" Laura snapped.

"Don't take that tone with me young lady. And don't lie to me, either. I know when something is troubling my daughter."

Laura flopped on the bed resignedly. "You promise you won't tell anyone? Not even Rick?"

"I promise," Lesley said, her concern growing. "Are you okay, Laura?"

"Yes," Laura said automatically. She sighed. "No. You know that guy Amy was talking about?"

"That Steven fellow?" Lesley asked.

"Stefan," Laura immediately corrected.

Lesley smiled. "Right. The one with the green eyes."

"Yeah. Well, what Amy doesn't know is that I saw him again yesterday morning."

Lesley's eyes widened. "Did you sleep with him, Laura??"

"No! I'm getting married, remember?"

Lesley let out a sigh of relief. "So what's the problem?"

"I wanted to sleep with him," Laura finally admitted.

"But you didn't. Honey, it's okay to be attracted to other men, just as long as you don't act on those impulses. So it was only a physical attraction?"

"Yes, definitely, only a physical attraction, nothing else," Laura lied.

"And you don't have any way of contacting him?"

"I don't even know his last name."

"Sounds pretty innocent to me," Lesley declared. She got up. "I should go down and save Rick from Amy."

Laura laughed, feeling a great weight lifted off her shoulders. "Yeah, poor guy. I'm going to take a quick nap before I head back to my apartment."

"Okay, baby." Lesley stopped at the door. "Is there something you're not telling me, Laura?"

"Nothing. I'll be okay. I'm just tired, that's all."

"That's understandable. Just remember I'm here if you need me. I love you."

Laura smiled. "I love you, too."

Left alone again, it didn't take long for Stefan to wander into Laura's consciousness. She remembered the way the medallion had pressed against her body when he had held her to him. Muttering a curse, she turned, pressed her face into the mattress, and let out a muted cry of frustration. She finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, never suspecting her life was about to be once again tied to Stefan's.