Carmen eyed the empty cushions between them and felt her heart sink a little. Shane had seemed quiet and distant all evening. Carmen had been trying to chalk it up to sleepiness. After their late night, and Shane’s early exit, the girl had to be tired. And besides, Shane was just a naturally quiet person. But this new seating arrangement could only mean one thing; Shane wanted some space. She tapped her foot nervously as she watched Shane focus all of her attention on a slice of pizza.

Carmen found herself doing this a lot. Staring at Shane, trying to see inside her head. She was usually the kind of person who didn’t keep things in. Carmen always said whatever was on her mind, and she never held back her feelings or played games. But something about Shane made her cautious. She couldn’t help but feel like she was walking on eggshells. As if Shane would wake up at any moment and realize that this whole dating thing just wasn’t her.

Shane had been trying to will the blood in her veins to cool down. She couldn’t believe how much she wanted Carmen right now. She was exercising all the control she had. But still she was unable to keep her gaze from shifting to the steady rhythm of Carmen’s foot. Her eyes slowly traveled from the bare foot, up the tanned muscled leg. She swallowed hard.

Carmen watched the journey of Shane’s gaze, her foot froze in mid-tap. Suddenly she could see exactly what was going on in Shane’s head. Shane didn’t want space, Shane wanted her. Now. Her pulse quickened. She turned her attention to Jason and Tony, "Thank you guys so much for helping me today, you two must be exhausted."