Reine's fever finally dropped from the medicine and she was able to sleep. Neither of her friends must have been very far away from her side because when she awoke, they were still basically in the same places as before.

Noor was reading in the kitchen, and Gabe was now standing with his back to her, looking at the painting above the mantel.

She stretched her cramped limbs. "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Oh, hey, you're up," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "Sure, I guess. It's a bit kinky though, isn't it?"

The scene showed a large white bird lying on a reclining naked woman.

Reine sat up with a smile. "It's Leda and the Swan. You know, the story of how Zeus seduced her in the form of a bird, and she bore two eggs with both his children and with those of her husband, the king of Sparta."

He sat down next to her on the couch. "I can't imagine that turned out well in the end."

"No good Greek tragedy ever does," she replied, gently leaning her shoulder into his and catching his eyes.

Noor conspicuously cleared her throat as she walked into the room. "Ahem. I hate to leave, but I have dinner plans that really can't be cancelled."

"Is it that late already?" Reine asked, looking out the window to confirm it was getting dark again. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Go ahead."

"I can stay to make sure she's taken care of," Gabe added.

"I'm sure you can," the girl muttered, as she picked up her purse by the door. "See you, Rennie."

Once she was gone, Reine didn't quite know what to do next. "You know, you can leave, too if you have something better to do. This cold is probably just a fluke," she said.

Gabe smiled. "I'll go if you want me to go."

"That's not what I said." She bit her lip. "But I don't want you to sit around here bored."

He jumped up. "Movie marathons always make me feel better when I'm sick. At least they make the time pass quicker. Let me run out to my car, I should have some DVDs in there."

"Do you always carry movies around with you in your car?" Reine yelled after him.

Already at the door, Gabe turned around. "Of course not. But since I've recently become unemployed, I've had to give up my apartment downtown and move back into my parents' house in Virginia. I'm in the middle of dropping off a batch of boxes, and I bet the DVDs happen to still be in there. You know, I should probably be thankful the Captain – I mean Max – gave me the car, otherwise I'd really be screwed."

She hadn't realized that leaving the Confraternity would put Gabe out of a job. Watching him step outside, she impatiently waited for his return. She couldn't stand being alone lately, and the feeling was very foreign to her. Luckily, he was back within minutes.

He proudly held up a plastic case. "We should probably order some food, too 'cause this will take a while."

"Fellowship of the Ring? I should have known you'd be a total fan boy."

Gabe grinned from ear to ear as he held up his other hand containing two other movies. "Oh, don't knock it because – ta dum – I have the entire trilogy."

"No way, dude." She giggled. "I'll give you a pass with the first one because you took care of me today, but I am not sitting through six hours of 'my precioussss'," she imitated as she headed toward the kitchen. "Load it up, I'll order something. Is Chinese okay? And how about some snacks while we wait?"

"So I'm guessing you don't want the extended director's cut?" he asked when she returned with popcorn to the living room. Already sitting on the couch with the remote control in his hand, he pressed the button over the 'Theatrical Version' option after seeing the look she gave in response.

As the movie began playing, Reine took a seat next to him, keeping the bowl on her lap. After sleeping all afternoon, she was now wide-awake, but her attention would have rather been on the man to her left rather than on the action on the flat screen. Even if she'd been interested in the movie, the warmth of his upper arm against her shoulder would've distracted her focus.

Occasionally their hands touched as they reached for the shared snack. The tension got to be so much that she eventually handed the bowl over to him. Knowing that it was useless to compete with the alternative entertainment, she made herself comfortable in the corner of the couch and wasn't surprised when – in typical male fashion – he didn't even notice.

For a while, she watched silently because having him there this way was still better than not having him there at all. After more than an hour, she just couldn't keep her thoughts to herself.

"Oh my God, just get on one of those giant eagles or do some magic and transport that damn ring to Mount Doom instead of spending half a movie with everyone whining about how dangerous it is, blah, blah, blah," she addressed the screen. "Isn't Gandalf supposed to be a great wizard? And the best plan he could come up with is to give it to a hobbit?"

Not getting any response from Gabe, she continued. "In the very least he should have given it to Sam instead. At least he keeps his eye on the ball. Frodo's just a big cry-baby who just whines the entire way."

He cleared his throat, but still didn't take his eyes off the movie. "It's the ring that's making Frodo all paranoid. Sam would be the same way if he had to carry it."

"I disagree." She shook her head. "Frodo's a sissy even before he has the ring. Sam's the man. And really, Gandalf's a know-it-all, I could fast-forward through all of the parts with Gollum because he's just disgusting, and the Orcs bore me to tears."

He finally turned to meet her eyes. "Is there anything in this classic literary masterpiece that you don't hate?"

"Well, at least Legolas is hot," Reine said with a grin.

Gabe, however, remained serious. "That sounds like something your friend would say, but I didn't think you were so superficial."

"I'm not, but that does remind me of something I wanted to ask you about," she said as she swept a strand of hair behind her ear.

He turned down the volume on the television. "Anything."

She bit her lip. "How did you get involved with Max?" she asked.

"Ha!" He clapped his hands together. "I knew his name would come up eventually. Very well. I guess I can blame it on me being a crappy friend. You see, I've known Mal since I was fourteen. We met in high school as freshmen, and we were instantly inseparable. He was an awesome guy."

Reine noted his use of past tense, but remained silent.

"He was my best friend, and we did everything together. He was only at that stupid party because I insisted he come. It was at this friend-of-a-friend's house. Parents nowhere in sight, just dozens of crazy teens doing whatever they want. Cheap beer, hard liquor, and all that sort of crap. We were a bunch of spoiled, rich brats always looking for the next high. We thought we were invincible. I was wasted as hell, so Mal ended up driving me home. He never even touched alcohol, so that just made everything even more ironic."

He paused, but Reine could tell he was just gathering his thoughts. By his candor, it was apparent that he was glad to finally be able to tell her his story.

"He lost control on the wet road, and we crashed into a tree." Gabe stared at his interlaced fingers. "Bam. I saw him die. But by the time the ambulance arrived, he was alive. And not a scratch on him, just memory loss."

"Didn't you tell me once that you had lost your friend?" She leaned in closer. "You were referring to him, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Even though he didn't die, I did lose him. He's never been the same since." He looked at her again. "So you remember the night at the golf course now, as well?"

"Not completely," she said, shaking her head. "Not yet, anyway. Everything's still in bits and pieces. Tell me about it."

He leaned back. "I didn't know who you were when we met at the hotel, but I guess fate had other plans. When I found out the next day that you in fact were my intended assignment, I had to change plans accordingly. I couldn't let myself get close to you because of Max. So I tried coming up with a way to make you both hate me, but also want to see me again so I could fulfill my objectives. Basically I wanted to piss you off, but then at the same time guilt you about my dead best friend." He took a deep breath. "Wow, it sounds worse now hearing me actually say it."

Reine shifted in her seat. "Did it work?"

"I suppose it did. But then I lost all creativity and just occasionally stalked you in your university's library." He finally smiled.

"Really?" Her eyes widened. "What was that all about?"

"Okay, stalked is not the right word. There was slightly more effort behind it." He scratched his temple. "We had to find something believable for us to keep bumping into each other so I could keep an eye on you, but since you don't go anywhere except work and home, we had to take more control of the situation. So we caused the plumbing problem to move you to the library. Once you were there, I used the excuse of research for work to tease you with my presence."

Reine furrowed her brows. "And all this because of Max?"

"At first, yes." He nodded. "But the more I got to know you, the more I hated having to deceive you. Because I started to really like you, when I was basically doing everything to get you closer to him," he said with unhidden disgust.

She clapped her hands together. "So that's what he meant!"

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"I couldn't understand why Max wished I hadn't known you were in Venice. Especially since you weren't able to tell me anything new about what happened there. But I guess it's possible he felt threatened by you."

He grimaced. "I don't know about that, but I'm glad you remembered something. Do you think all of it will come back?"

"I hope so," Reine said with a sigh. "Well, is there anything else I need to know?"

He smiled coyly. "Let's give it a couple more days. If you don't remember any more, then I'll tell you about the ball. We had a great time, by the way."

She playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Oh, you're such a tease. I don't know if I can wait."

Reine adjusted her posture to get more comfortable. Putting her feet on the coffee table drew Gabe's attention to her socks. "I had you pegged as an argyle kind of girl, but I'm digging the red lips."

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She really had to start wearing plain footwear.

"Ignore them, please." Wanting nothing more than to disappear, she looked for a reason to excuse herself. "Can I get you something—," she began, but he grabbed her arm before she was able to stand up.

"—to drink?" She finished, plopping back onto the couch.

His expression, however, was clearly not the result of being thirsty.

Gabe stared at her silently for a few seconds before slowly speaking. "I'm curious. You didn't react when I just told you that I really like . . .." He paused, looking deeply into her eyes and slightly leaning towards her.

She bit her lower lip, but as his face got so close his nose grazed hers, she tried to finish the sentence. "My socks?" she guessed, but it was too late. His mouth covered hers.

A shiver ran up her spine, and she involuntarily gasped, unable to stop comparing the moment to the one she shared with Max just a few days before. It was impossible for Reine to reciprocate his actions. Sensing her reluctance, Gabe pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, standing up to emphasize his remorse.

"No, no. It's not you. Believe me, it's not you. I'm . . . I'm . . .."

She searched for the right words, rising after him. Misjudging the distance between them, Reine bumped into him on the way up. "Oh, I don't know what I am. Pathetic, stupid, unworthy maybe?"

He pulled her into a gentle hug. "Don't say that. And there's no need for excuses or explanations. I get it." He sighed. "I wish that I didn't, but I really do get it. There's still one too many people in this relationship."