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Ellena returned to the table just as Kevin was finishing his drink. “Sorry I took so long.” She apologized. “I had a … um… meeting with my boss.”
“Not a problem.” Kevin rose from his chair and said good bye to the guys. “Shall we?” He placed his hand on the small of Ellena’s back and led her to outside. Ellena stopped before they got to his car and turned to go back inside.
“I forgot to phone Cherry to check in on Lacey. She has trouble falling asleep sometimes.”
“You can use my cell phone.” He offered and then opened the car door for her. When she was seated comfortably, he handed her his phone and closed the door. Ellena dialed as he walked around to his side of the car and got in. Cherry picked up after four rings.
“Hello?”
“Hi Cherry! It’s me. How is everything going?”
“Oh hi Ell. Everything is…okay. Lacey is insisting on waiting until you get home to go to sleep.”
“Is she being bad?” Ellena asked and heard Kevin chuckle. He put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking spot.
“No.” Cherry replied. “She’s just laying in her bed but she won’t close her eyes and sleep.”
“Take the phone into her. I’ll see what I can do.”
Cherry sighed. “Thanks Ell. How’s your date going?”
Ellena glanced at Kevin. He was singing along to the radio while keeping his concentration on the road. “Just give the phone to Lacey and we’ll talk later.”
Cherry groaned and mumbled good bye before Lacey came on the line. “Lala?”
“Hi honey. How come you’re still awake?”
“Not tired, Lala. Cherry won’t sing.” Ellena giggled at the way Lacey pronounced ‘Cherry’. It sounded more like Chewy.
“Can’t she read you a story?”
“No!”
“Okay, do you want me to sing to you?” Ellena could almost see Lacey nodding. “If I sing to you, will you be good for Cherry and go to sleep?”
“Uh huh.” Lacey agreed.
“Okay.” Ellena rubbed her forehead and searched her mind for a song. She held the phone closer to her.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’d ever make it through,
through this world without having you
I just wouldn’t have a clue.”

Kevin switched off the radio when Ellena began to sing.

“Cuz sometimes it seems like this world’s closing in on me,
And there’s no way of breaking free,
But then I see you reach for me.

Sometimes I want to give up, wanna give in,
I want to quit the fight, and then I see you baby
And everything’s all right, everything’s all right.

When I see you smile, I can face the world
You know I can do anything
When I see you smile,
I see a ray of light
See it shining right through the rain
When I see you smile
When I see you smile at me.”

Cherry came back on the line and whispered. “She’s asleep. Thanks Ellena.”
“Okay Cherry, see you when I get home.”
“I won’t wait up.” Ellena laughed as she pressed the end button and returned the phone to the console between the seats. “Thanks for letting me borrow your phone.”
“No problem. Is everything okay at home?”
“Oh yeah, Lacey just gets stubborn sometimes. So tell me…where are we going?”
“Well, it’s a little late for your typical dinner-and-a-movie date so I thought we could - what’s so funny?”
Kevin pulled his eyes off the road ahead of him and turned to look at Ellena when she started to giggle.
“Oh nothing. I’d just like to think that I’m not you typical dinner-and-a-movie kind of girl.”
Kevin laughed and dragged his eyes away from Ellena to concentrate on the road. “I’ll have to remember that!” Ellena laughed again and watched the streetlights blur by through the side window. Kevin softly hummed the tune that he had heard her sing to Lacey moments before.
Ellena’s mind replayed the scene from the change room earlier that night.
“I own this club and I can go wherever I want. And, in case you forgot, I also own you…”
Remembering the way Ken had looked at her made her skin crawl. If only she could quit working there and get away from him. If only it were that easy.
“Bad English.” Kevin said to her, bringing her mind back to much more pleasant things.
“I beg your pardon?” Ellena asked, shaking Ken out of her thoughts.
“Bad English. That song you sang for Lacey is by Bad English.”
Ellena grinned. “Yeah, gotta love the eighties big hair rock.” Kevin chuckled. “You still haven’t answered my question.” Ellena continued.
“What question was that?” Kevin asked as he maneuvered the car around a sharp curve in the road.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Oh! That question.” Kevin replied. “Have you ever been star gazing?”
“Star gazing?” Ellena repeated. “Not since I was a kid.”
Kevin steered the car around a corner and pointed to a hill in the distance. “There. You can see the stars above the city.”
“Wait a minute!” Ellena put her hand to her mouth in mock horror. “You’re not taking me out to make out point and then telling me to put out or walk are you?” Kevin’s eyes grew wide as he turned to look at her. He opened his mouth to defend himself but he caught the gleam in Ellena’s eye before he spoke. His mouth spread into a wide smile and he began to laugh uncontrollably. “I’m not wearing shoes that are very good for walking so if that was your plan, you’ll have to get a new one.” She started to giggle with him.
“Ellena you seem to think that I have less than honorable intentions.” He grinned at her.
Ellena replied. “Kevin, I have never met a man that had honorable intentions.” She gave him a wink and turned the volume up on the radio. “Oh this is a good song.” Ellena started singing to You Spin Me Round and dancing in the passenger seat.
Kevin listened to Ellena’s laughter filling the car but he was no longer laughing with her. Instead, he was trying to figure out what she meant by what she had just said. “I have never met a man that had honorable intentions.”