His dark eyes contain the vigor of an everlasting night. For a moment, there is an awkwardness in the air when he sits next to me on the top of the stairs. I'm not sure how to stop the shiver traveling up my spine, his warm smile rescuing me from my own shadows.

The house is crowded with college kids, drunk people dancing in the middle of the living room by the big library shelf. The couch has three people sitting as if they are about to have a threesome. One guy and three girls.

"There is a fire pit in the backyard. Wanna go?" Denver invites me, brushing his hands on mine.

The backyard is decorated with fire torches. There are a few chairs, but most of them are all taken, of course. Danika gets a beach towel from her bag and handles it to Denver so that we both can sit down next to each other. I can recognize that smile when she looks straight into his eyes. Amaya is with her, drinking a bottle of wine. "Malbec. That's my favorite," she brags. She has a different color of bandana today and a different hairstyle that matches her hippie clothes.

The music stops, and Meggie begins the talk, "Cassidy and Denver witnessed a man dying of an overdose at work today."

"No kidding," Danika's expression is of pure horror. Everyone stares at me in awe.

"He didn't die," I explain. "He was taken to the hospital."

"Is that what happened there?" Danika raises an eyebrow, "Is that why Scarlet is so pissed off then?"

"What do you mean she is pissed off?" I can see my blood boiling into my veins, with Danika mentioning Scarlet's name.

"She texted me to tell me an incident happened at Sophie's and that you and the other coworker closed the place." She rolls her eyes, "She wanted me to call her back to talk about this, but, honestly, I didn't. I know she would keep my hours on the phone."

I wonder how in the world Danika became friends with Scarlet. I remember Danika mentioning on one occasion that she used to work at Sophie's before I was hired but quit the job for reasons I don't even know. I know that Scarlet calls her from time to time, but I guess it is more to vent her own problems.

"I'm getting a fruit punch with Danika. Wanna come?" Meggie's slurred speech came into the air. Amaya and Meggie are drinking the entire bottle.

"I will stay here. Bring me some punch," I politely ask her. As Meggie takes the steps to the kitchen, Mike's face shows up. The same girl sitting in his passenger's seat on Sunday afternoon appears to be with him. I notice Meggie's expression changes right away when she sees him.

They don't seem to greet each other, of course, and Mike comes straight to the fire to where I am sitting with Denver on the beach towel. They take hold of the empty chairs—Meggie and Danika's chair. I can stop but feel sorry for this girl despite her snobbish expression. My blood boils inside the veins, "You know this is Meggie's chair, right?"

"I thought this was the co-op chair," he replies.

"But she is sitting here."

"Well, I don't see her here now." He says without showing any signs of emotion. He then looks at the girl next to him, "Do you see anyone here?" she shakes her head no and rolls her eyes at me.

"I'm sure she won't mind. Meggie is good at sharing, right, Griffin?" he places a sarcastic smile. Denver looks back at him as if he is about to punch him in the face, "Leave Meggie alone, Mike. You have no right to mistreat her."

The girl, dressed like a model, places her arms around Mike and doesn't say anything. 

"Just ignore him," Denver suggests, and I don't say anything else. Mike is a wasting of time. When Meggie comes back from the kitchen with Amaya, Danika, and fruit punches in their hands, she is even more surprised Mike is sitting on her chair with the new flavor of the season. Danika is the first one to approach the chick, "This is my chair. Get out."

"I thought this was a chair from the house," she moves slightly, without putting too much effort.

Danika is even more confident, "No. It is mine, and I paid for it, and I brought it here. Now get out. You do the same, Mike."

"Wow," Mike says in surprise, "I didn't expect this from you, Danika. All those years, and that's how you treat me..."

"You never really helped as you promised me for years, so now get the hell out."

I'm wondering what Mike had promised Danika. They finally move their asses from the beach chair, finding two empty ones across the circle. "I hope those chairs are from the house," he says the words out loud.

It was all weird to come here to have to deal with him. When is this going to stop?

One of the co-op residents brings a taco dip and tortillas to the large table outside. We all head to eat, Denver being the first one in line, his tie-dye shirt glimmering with the laser lights that point at him. Meggie refuses to come over, as I sense the pain in her eyes. I try to comfort her by being on her side, but she is not talking as she usually is. More people arrive at the party, high-fiving the ones already here. Everyone seems to know Denver.

"Jeff?" I ask in surprise when I see him fist-bumping with Denver. "I didn't know you are coming." He is still wearing his clothes from work.

"I have a life outside Sophie's, remember?" He chuckles, "Besides, I came here to celebrate."

"Celebrate what? For saving that guy's life?"

"No, of course not. That one has been surviving every time he OD. I came here to celebrate that my roommate finally moved out."

"Oh, was that bad?" Denver asks, eating chips and salsa.

"Yes, he was bad. He'd never done dishes, and lately, he had been hitting up his socks in the microwave because he is too late to do laundry," He grabs the tortilla and place in his mouth with the dip. "Hum, I like spicy."

"I'm sorry he was bad. Are you going to being able to pay the bills on your own?" I ask him honestly. Rent in Madison is expensive. The closer you are from downtown, the more you have to pay.

"I'm looking for a second part-time job. Otherwise, I'll have to rely on my dad," He chews more chips, "By the way, Scarlet called two hours after that incident."

Oh. I knew this was coming, "So what did she want?"

"She barked. She wanted to know if one of us wrote an incident report and why we closed the place while the incident was taking place."

"Is she pissed at me, too?"

"What do you think? She had expected that one of us took care of the customers."

"But we opened again once things were clear and in order." I couldn't blame Jeff for closing Sophie's when the customer was unconscious, and paramedics arrived on the scene. It was pretty intense.

"I told her there weren't any customers. So, if she asks you, don't mention the two women showed up the time cops were coming behind the EMT people."

"She is crazy," tells Denver. "I don't even know her, but I don't want to have a manager like that," The breeze blows my hair on my face, and Denver moves away from my eyes and lips. It feels good when his hands brush softly on my cheeks since they are warm and overprotective. His natural scent is present without the need for an expensive cologne.

"What?" I ask when I realize he is about to say something.

"I think I will leave from here," says Jeff with a grin after seeing Denver too close to me. The table now has chips and salsa, guacamole, spinach dip, cooks, cakes, and other stuff. People keep bringing more food, hot or cold. I grab a plate, going for the appetizers.

"What?" I ask again when I see Denver staring at me. He doesn't stop staring. Maybe he can't.

"I am hoping you'd see my new song sometime. Aaron is helping me out with that."

"Who?"

"The good-looking bartender, remember?"

"Yes, I remember him." How could I forget? Everyone was talking about him at the Bunker. "I don't have my eyes on him, though."

"Really? For who then?" He comes even closer. The green laser lights are all in his face now. His dark eyes glowing like a nocturnal animal looking for prey.

"No one," I tell him. "Do you expect I would say your name?" I ask.

"Of course. You have eyes on me would be a dream come true."

Before I say something else, the light goes off completely, and all I see is darkness. The green lights are off, not even the electric torches providing the flame. All I can hear is people chatting and talking about the blackout and what may have caused it. Denver's hands hold mine softly into the darkness, guiding me through the black of the night toward the beach towel where Danika and Meggie are. Being so close to him gives me electricity that travels throughout my body, a flush of excitement between my legs. I let him pat my hands, fantasy playing tricks in my brain.

I brush the thoughts away, "I'm still without words because you saved that man's life today."

"I would have done that to anyone, over and over again. But you did your part, too."

"I barely could speak," I remember myself without being able to move. "How did you know how to make CPR?"

"I worked as a lifeguard a few years ago. The water park provided us with constant training."

"You did so well. I was so impressed." I mean, what I tell him. Honestly, I'm still in disbelief for how much courage Denver had.

"It wasn't always like that, you know?" I wish I could see his eyes when he tells me the words, but it is the darkness that has swallowed his black eyes this time.

"What do you mean?" I ask, intrigued.

"When you see someone losing his life just in front of your eyes, part of your soul is taken forever."

"Did someone die? I mean someone close to you..."

"Not really. It was a kid in a waterpark. I was one of the few lifeguards standing at the pool, and none of them saw it happening. It was too late when the boy was found, his face down the water. It was Memorial Day weekend, so there were hundreds and hundreds of people in that pool."

"I'm speechless," That familiar sting stabs right in the middle of my heart. I hold my air in my lungs before I'm able to release it.

"Promise me to hear my song sometime?" he whispers.

"I Promise," I say.

***

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