I DIDN'T SLEEP WELL. Hell, I didn't sleep at all! It's now Saturday morning and I have no plans other than calling Danny and setting things right. I eat a bowl of cereal and wait for the clock to hit eight. Danny needs sleep, so this is me being patient. The minutes refuse to go by fast enough and fifteen seconds before the designated hour, I hit speed dial.

She doesn't answer. I'm holding a rugby ball in my hand staring at the phone in consternation. "Just pick up," I say out loud, the cell plastered to my ear while I toss the ball from one hand to the other. I receive no answer from the room and decide to try again at eight-thirty.

Once more, no answer. I try to keep my frustration on the downlow and barely manage.

At nine I get the same "leave a message" request and, again, I don't bother leaving one. After a shower and endless minutes of contemplation, I jump in the Rover and head to her apartment. We are getting this out of the way and going back to friends. I don't care how badly my dick ached all nightthis isn't worth our friendship.

I knock. No answer. I pound. No answer. I dial her number and my losing streak doesn't change.

Finally the woman next door, who I've never seen before, sticks her head out and says in a growly smoker's voice, "She left early this morning. Give us a break already."

"Where'd she go?" I ask with frustration heavy in my voice, and immediately realize my mistake. Danny being unavailable is eating me alive, but, even so, I know honey works better than growling so I give it a try.

My best charming smile does nothing to change the look of disgust on the woman's face. "None of your business. If she wanted you to know, she'd have told you." The door slams shut and I lean back against Danny's door. Okay, I speak inside my head. I've totally lost my touch with the opposite sex. This is what anxiety and desperation does to a man. I've never been this anxious to mend fences with a woman before.

I feel like an even bigger idiot when I go downstairs and see that Danny's truck isn't parked in its slot. I was so focused on getting upstairs to her apartment that I didn't notice. I'm not giving up. I head to the college and ask around at the gym. I go by her office, which is closed, but I know she puts in Saturday hours now and then. Still no sign of her truck. Her parents moved to Florida years ago. She's an only child. I know where a few of her teammates live. I cruise by their homes, but no sign of Danny's big, blue Ford.

And now I've turned into a fucking stalker because of one kiss.

Dejected, I head to The Slam Tavern for an early lunch. The cereal I had hours ago is no longer doing it for me. Estella works nights on the weekend, so I'm stuck with a young waitress who smiles and blushes and stammers. God save me. I order a burger and a beer. It's eleven in the morning and I hope Danny is satisfied that she's driven me crazy.

I sit in the booth until Estella comes in at two. I've slowly finished off three beers and do my best to be nice to the irritating waitress, who's getting more blatant by the minute. Estella spots me and heads my way. She places her large purse on my table and takes the seat across from me. One good long look from Estella and the young waitress runs in the other direction. I'm thinking about running, too. It's been a long time since I've seen Estella's disapproving gaze. I decide to give her my cocky, bad-boy smirk.

"You fucked up again," she says.

I give up with the attitude. "You could say that," I mumble and look at my empty beer glass because I feel like the idiot I am.

"Your eyes were all over Danny last night."

My gaze snaps up. "And that's a problem, why?" She starts to speak and I hold up my hand. "Please don't say she's not my type. I also happen to know that I'm not good enough for her. We're friends, or at least we were last night. I don't want to blow that, so I need to talk to her."

Estella's gaze stays steady on me and I swear she can see clear to my soul. She looks away before glancing back. I almost fall out of the booth when she starts talking again.

"Danny loves you and you've never noticed. If you play with her like you do all the other women in your life, it will kill her. Every time you've gone off with another girl and left Danny behind, her pain travels through the entire room. Everyone knows, Van. You're the only person who never did. For some stupid reason, you've decided to catch a piece of ass and treat Danny like every female who crosses your path. How pathetic is that? Danny's the real deal and you're too big a player to notice." Estella grabs her purse and leaves the table. She comes back a minute later and places another beer in front of me. I stare at it without looking at her. My entire world has turned upside down. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around what Estella just told me. Disbelief is ranked number one. There's no way, in all this time, I would have missed that Danny was interested in me as more than friends. Hell, I'd probably have run the other direction and never looked back.

Then I tasted her. Touched her silky-soft skin. Saw her bras and had her vibrator chucked at my head. I want her as more than a friend and, if there is only a small chance that she wants me as more, I'm taking that chance. I lay money on the table and walk out without touching the beer.