God, this was so fucking embarrassing! She hoped that the earth would open up and just swallow her whole. How in the blazes had she misread Leo's signals?

God, she was unbelievably stupid! Mortification colored her cheeks as Felicity thought back to all her interactions with Leo. Yes, he was friendly, yes he smiled with those twinkling eyes and yes he made her feel like she was special. But, if she was going to be strictly honest about it, Leo had always been those things. He always made people feel good about themselves, no wonder that he was so popular.

God, she had made a hash of things, but it was so humiliating when he literally threw her away from him. She shuddered. She was, in a way glad that Ben had chosen to interrupt at that exact moment. And her ego was somewhat mollified when he had asked for a kiss. 

Which was, surprising, to say the least.

She had had no idea that Ben was such a good kisser! She had almost forgotten that she was kissing him to get back at Leo. She looked at Ben in profile. He wasn't bad looking. Just socially awkward. Certainly not like Leo in any respect.

Felicity sighed. She had to apologize to Leo.

"Umm, I have a gift for you. I..actually, wrote a song..for you."

Felicity looked up in surprise. "Oh wow, I had no idea.."

"Well, actually, Leo..well..sort of..helped."

Felicity huffed. "Then I don't want to hear it."

"Ok." Quickly, Ben put the paper back in his pocket.

"Would you like a walk outside?"

Felicity raised her eyebrows. "It's still quite cold."

"Ok, I'll leave you alone now."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Umm..no. I.."

She sighed. "Well, why don't you offer me something to drink or tell me how pretty I look."

Ben shifted uncomfortably and readjusted his tie. It was bright yellow on a faded orange shirt. He was definitely going to be a piece of work.

"Yeah.. Felicity...you take my breath away. I can't think straight when... well, you're so beautiful... there are no words!"

Felicity smiled. He was really uncomfortable, but his words weren't practiced. 

"Well, those would do for now." So what if Leo wasn't interested in her? She was still beautiful, if not that young. And life was still interesting. 

She linked her arm with Ben's. "Let's get us a drink."

******

"No, no, Felicity, no way in hell. There are too many people in here!" After Andy had slipped out of the closet undetected, she had made her way towards Felicity to make sure that she was fine.

Felicity was in an even more exuberant mood than before. Surprisingly, she was still clinging to Ben who wore a dazed look on his face, as if he couldn't believe his good luck. And now, she had decided that she was going to make Andy sing.

"I can't sing. You must be crazy if you think I'm going to."

"Well, most people are too drunk to notice you anyways. And you can't possibly be worse than me. And I have heard you sing before, and you aren't bad at all."

Well, Felicity had a point. The party had moved to a late hour and people were decidedly more boisterous than before. Maybe no one would notice her singing.

Andy slid a covert glance to Leo, he was talking to Tim and obviously steering clear of Felicity. 

Didn't matter. Andy never sang for anyone. But tonight, she doubted anyone would even notice. They were all talking loudly amongst themselves.

She took the mic, closed her eyes and started singing her rendition of her favorite Lady Gaga song. It seemed somehow apt for the evening and suited her slightly husky tenor.

"Midnight at the glamour show, on a Sunday night; Everybody's drinking some whiskey and wine..."

She closed her eyes as the song flew through her. It was so apt for her life and this gathering of people. She would go away from here soon and never see them again. Even Leo, because that's how life was.

When her song was over, she opened her eyes. Everyone had stopped talking and were staring at her. There was a smattering of applause and a "Not bad" as people started talking all at once again.

Andy shrugged and got down. Felicity grabbed her hand. "That was so good!" 

Andy grinned and slid a glance at Leo. He raised a toast to her. She blushed and didn't notice Felicity give her a thoughtful look.

The party winded up at two o'clock. Felicity was slathered and Ben was taking care of her. For the first time, it didn't look as if she minded. Andy went to the parking lot where Drew and Leo were in conversation.

"Leo's taking you home, Andy. I hope that's fine with you?" 

"Sure."

Drew looked at them both and smiled. "Good night, you guys! Leo, you're a lucky dog, as always."

"Shut up, you ass!" Leo said and Andy suppressed a grin and got into Leo's jeep.

Being alone with Leo in a car after all that had happened between them, was slightly unnerving. Leo didn't seem affected at all. He grinned at her and whistled a happy tune.

"You were really great back there with the singing, Andy."

Andy blushed and then cleared her throat. "Well, thanks! I am mostly a bathroom singer."

"A bathroom singer and a nerdy mathematician! Who would've thought? And I mean it when I said you sing well, and I am saying this as your prospective agent, not as someone who just wants to get into your pants."

Andy gasped and sputtered a string of incoherent nonsense. Well, what was the exact response to that?

Leo saved her from stewing in her own embarrassment. He pulled over the car under a flickering streetlight. He took off his seatbelt and turned to her, then grasped her tightly clasped cold fingers in his warm hand. "Andy, sweetheart, you do know that I'm crazy for you, right?"

Andy could only stare at him slack-jawed. He lifted her hands and brushed his lips against her fingers. She felt gauche under such intense focus. She thought back to the one miserable relationship she had had, and it had been her in her sixteen-year-old naivete doing the pursuing. She had no idea how to deal with such attention.

Leo was looking at her thoughtfully. "When you go all quiet like that, I wonder if it is because I'm coming on too strong. You can tell me to go to hell, you know. I have a big enough ego to take rejection."

Andy squirmed up in the seat, in the process disengaging her fingers from his warm grasp. She clenched them together again. "It's not that, I haven't been with a guy for a really long time, and I am a bit rusty, I guess."

Leo let out a breath. "Whew, you almost gave me a heart attack there, sweetheart."

Andy took off her seatbelt and turned to him. She smiled at him shyly and grabbed his hand. "I, well, it's a bit late to thank you for nearly fixing up my home, I guess it would be ready in a month and I would finally be able to sell it off."

God, she was blabbering. She took a deep breath. "I would be happy to be your, well, special friend, I guess, till I am in town. Well, I, that is, we, need to make sure Felicity's ok with this, you know, as you are going to be friends with her longer than me."

Leo was looking down at her, so his features were in the dark. He didn't say much for awhile, then swore under his breath. "So, what does being my "special friend" exactly entail?"

Andy ruffled her fingers through her hair. Why was Leo suddenly being all intense?

"Well, we both know what it entails." She trailed off as her fingers nervously trailed the hem of her dress. Why was he being difficult? They both knew what it was about. Did he get kicks out of hearing it out loud? 

She took a deep breath. "Sex, of course."

She felt Leo stiffen. He turned towards the windshield, his elbows resting on the steering wheel. His silhouette looked classic in the dark, a forelock resting on his forehead managed to enhance his contemplative look. He was a good-looking man and she was sure to take home happy memories of their time together.

"Straight-up? Or are there any fetishes I need to be aware of?" Leo's tone was business-like. They might as well be discussing stocks. He turned towards her and she could see the man who had built a business in LA.

She squirmed in her seat. "Of course not, are there any fetishes that..."

"Yes, I like oral sex. You want to give it a try now, sweetheart?"

Andy's face flamed, this time with anger. What did he think she was? She took a calming breath and replied stiffly. "No thanks, I rather you take me home."

"Your loss." The words were spoken coolly. She didn't care. She'd rather go home than sit in the car discussing oral sex with Leo. Or any kind of sex. 

What the hell was the matter with him? Why had he suddenly turned into this...difficult man?

The drive home was made in complete silence. The house, her house that is, loomed dark and forbidding and Andy felt unease prickle her spine. She had asked Mary to leave the outside light on.

"I'll pay you all your outstanding balance and I don't think we should see each other for awhile." Stiffly, she got out of the car.

"Big words from a small town girl." Leo slammed his car door shut and strode up to her. "That's what you're afraid of, aren't you? Ending up with a small-town nobody?"

Andy ground her teeth to control her temper. "Honestly, I liked you better when you were a small-town nobody. Now you're just an irritating slick townie, who's getting on my nerves."

"Good to hear that something scratches that ice-queen veneer, Princess." Andy glared at him. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Have a nice life, asshole." Andy pulled away and walked to her door. She fumbled in the dark to find the handle. As luck would have it, she couldn't find it. She fumbled in her purse for her cell phone so she could use its light. There was no movement from Leo. She looked up at him and could see him in the moonlight, hands in his jacket pocket and arrogance in his stance.

Damn keys! She kept on fumbling in her purse. She heard Leo walk up to her. He turned on the light from his cellphone. She looked up at him, too pissed off to say thanks.

Before she could, he grabbed the door handle for her.  He jerked out his hand. "Shit, what's that?"

"Oh, that's just the grease on my shitty excuse for a house. You knew damn well that I don't wanna stay here at all, and you're acting like a boob right now. You think that I care only about money and hey, maybe I do care about money a lot, I know, I know, there are more important things in life like relationships and love but I guarantee you that they don't feed you when you're cold and hungry. And I just know what self-entitled spoiled men like you want, and now I am the bad guy for offering ..." Leo used the thumb and index finger on his other hand to press Andy's  lips shut.

"Red, this isn't grease or dirt or whatever." He pushed the door and it swung open. The living room was dark and silent as a tomb. She needn't have worried about keys, after all.

"Then, what is it?" She unconsciously sidled closer to Leo. He shone the light on the door. The handle and the door were smudged with the same dark stain.

"It looks like blood."