I nearly finish the bottle of merlot by myself and am drunk for the first time in my life. Maybe it was just everything that had happened yesterday that has me wanting to drink way more than I normally do. I'm barely coherent when Jase calls Ryan to come pick me up.

"Youuuu take me home," I slur out, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

"I can't. I've had too many beers. He'll be here in a bit. He just left the bar."

I lie down on the couch and close my eyes when the room begins to sway in a hazy way. Jase is talking to me, but it sounds like an echo at this point. When there is a knock at the door, I pop up on my knees, looking over the back of the couch as Ryan walks in.

"You're heeeere!" I scream and throw my arms into the air.

"Shit, man, what the hell did you give her?" he laughs out.

"She inhaled a bottle of wine," Jase tells him.

Pointing to Ryan, I shout, "You'rrre hot!" and then burst out into another fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay, party's over, babe," he says as he walks toward the couch shaking his head humorously at me.

"Noooo!" I pout as I jump up to my feet on top of the couch and feign authority.

He grabs me behind my knees and throws me over his shoulder as I continue to giggle.

"Alright, let's go."

I reach down, grab his ass, and squeal, "Niiiice!"

"Oh yeah. You like that?" he says through his chuckles, and I can hear Jase laughing as well.

Looking up, I wave to Jase, "Byyyye, buddy!"

"Call me tomorrow when you sober up."

"Bye, man. Thanks for calling me," Ryan says before hauling me to the elevator.

When we get inside, he sets me down, and I turn to the buttons and laugh while I swipe my hands over them, lighting each one up.

"Woohoooo!"

"Shit, babe! Do you know how long it's gonna take us to get to the lobby?"

"A looong, looong time," I say extremely slow.

He holds onto my hips to steady me and then smiles down at me. "You're so fuckin' cute when you're drunk."

"I'm druuuunk?!"

"Yeah, just a bit."

Slinging my arms around his neck, I hang my head back and look up at him. "You'rrre so tall."

"I don't think so. You're just really small."

"I like it!" I chirp out. "It's sexxxxy."

"You think so?"

"Ooooh yeaaaah." Lifting high on my toes, I slightly lose my balance and give him a sloppy kiss before cracking up in giggles.

He wipes his mouth and mumbles, "That was interesting."

While the elevator slowly makes its way down to the lobby, stopping on every floor, I decide to make myself comfortable on the floor.

Sitting in the corner, Ryan looks down at me and smirks as he leans against the wall.

"Can we some cake?" I mumble out.

"Babe, you're missing some words in there." The elevator dings again, and this time, the doors open to the lobby. "Come on," he says and he scoops me up, cradling me in his hold. I wrap my arms around his neck and say, "I wannn cake."

"It's the middle of the night. You have ice cream in my freezer. Just eat that."

"I told Jase nooo cake for my birrrthday, But I wannn some."

Setting me in his car, he says, "Birthday, huh? Why am I just now hearing this?"

"It'sss Thursdaay."

"Hmmm." He reaches over me to fasten the seatbelt, and I lay my head down on the center console.

When he gets into the car, he brushes my hair back. "How're you feeling?"

"Sleepy."

"Just close your eyes."

My head grows heavy, and I begin to drift while Ryan strokes my hair during the drive back to his place. He carries me inside and up the stairs to his room. Sitting me down on the edge of the tub, he goes to get me my clothes.

"Here. Do you want me to help you change?"

"No. I can do it," I say, not wanting Ryan to see me without my clothes on.

"Okay. I'm gonna run downstairs. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

I slip into my pants and cami, brush my teeth, then go to slide into bed. I don't open my eyes when I hear Ryan come back in and change.

"Candace," he whispers.

"Hmmm..."

"Babe, where are your pills?"

"Purse."

When he returns, I take my pill and some aspirin with the bottle of water he set on the nightstand. I roll over into his arms and curl up.

"Thanks," I whisper in the darkness.

"For what?"

"Staying."

Turning on his side to face me, he pulls me in flush against him. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, but that was before..."

"I love you. I wanna be that person you can bring anything to; the good and the bad."

"I love you, Ryan."

He kisses me slowly and then tucks my head under his chin. "I love you too."

Time passes and I hear Ryan's breaths as they slow into a soft rhythmic pattern as he falls asleep. My head is woozy, and I try to fight the sleep that is threatening to take over. My dream last night fills my head and haunts me. I don't want to close my eyes because I'm afraid Jack is on the other side. I toss and turn in my restlessness. Reaching over, I grab Ryan's phone to see the time is almost two a.m., and when I roll back over, Ryan is awake.

"What are you doing?" he asks in a sleepy rasp.

"Nothing."

"How are you even still awake?"

I lay my head on his chest and don't respond.

"Babe...?"

"I don't want to sleep just yet."

"Why?"

"I'm just...I'm scared I'll have another bad dream."

He kisses my forehead and says, "Try not to think so much about it. It's just you and me. Think about us. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

"Back to Indian Beach with you." I think about that morning; him telling me that he wanted to be with me, us kissing in the cold rain.

"Close your eyes and go back there. You and me sitting on the driftwood."

"Talk to me," I request, and he does. He replays our morning on the beach and tells me everything he was feeling. Confessing how nervous he was and how much he was already falling for me. His words chase away the fears of Jack, and I drift off before he finishes talking.

I've had more free time to spend with Ryan since my audition last week. We've started running again, and I even let Ryan photograph me. He said he wanted to get a few shots of my legs. He's been working on them for the past couple days while I'm in class. He showed them to me this morning, and they are incredible. It's pretty amazing what he can capture and enhance. I love that we can do that together. The way he looks at me when he takes my picture, it's an intimacy I haven't ever felt before.

When I get back from work, Mark's car is already parked in the driveway. We decided to have my non-birthday dinner here at the loft tonight. I told Ryan to not make it a big deal, and explained how my mother would always throw these extravagant birthdays for me, but how they were really her way of one-upping her friends.

My parties had more of her friends there than mine, and we never got to do what I wanted. They were always so formal when all I really wanted was a simple white cake and to play silly games. Instead, for my sixth birthday, I had a tea party at the country club. We all wore frilly dresses and fancy hats. So, ever since I left home, I prefer to do nothing for my birthday since the day only holds dismal memories for me.