along. They seem to know each other so well. Lilah and I never had anything like that.

Sometimes when my mother looks at me, I have a feeling all she sees is a reminder of my father’s

failures and her disappointment in him. After all these years, she’s still bitter, unable to forgive. I can’t

help it, though. I’m my father’s son. I always have been, and there was a time when she was crazy about

both of us. She used to call me “Little Grazzo”, because Grazzo’s what everybody called my dad. The

Great Graziano Rizzo. Back then Lilah couldn’t resist him, but hey, no woman could. I was still a little

kid, but I remember the way she looked at me back then. I remember her being happy. I’ve never seen

her like that again, ever since the divorce.

Looking at Mrs. Foley I notice that she’s still wearing her wedding ring, and I wonder if that’s what

she did. If she accepted Simon’s flaws, and if she loved him, in spite of what he did to her and James. I

think she’d have more reason not to forgive than Lilah does. But look who’s talking. It’s not like there’s

nothing in my life that I haven’t forgiven.

There’s the sound of footsteps in the hall and we look at each other when James enters the room.

Without a word, we both reach for the ashtray and put out our cigarettes. I realize how strange this scene

must look when I see the little smirk on James’ face.

“You two seem to be getting along pretty well.” He sounds astonished.

“We have a vice in common.” I wink at her, and she smiles as she pushes her chair back and very

slowly gets up, making it suddenly obvious that she’s not as well as it seemed just a moment ago.

“We have more than that in common, I think,” Mrs. Foley says mysteriously. Her eyes linger

lovingly on her grown son for a moment before she turns around and leaves the room.

I nod to myself, smiling a little. Guess she’s right about that, too.

Chapter 6

Caught In The Middle

JAMES: Hell if I ever imagined anything like this. Danny “Freakin’ Sex-god” Rizzo sprawled out on

my old bed, flipping through a tattered comic book. That’s just weird.

Right now, he’s right in the middle of my past, in what used to be my sanctuary. Everything here is

exactly the way I left it the day I went away for college. Hanging from the ceiling, there’s the old

airplane model I made when I was twelve, transporting a thick layer of dust. The classic Star Trek

poster has clearly seen better days, as well as the huge celestial chart on the opposite wall that I’ve

always loved. Beside it hangs the framed picture of Mickey Mouse, complete with a faded autograph, a

treasured memory of the one time we went to Disneyland. I think I was five then, because it wasn’t too

long after Mom married Simon. The whole concept of having a dad was still new to me. I can still

remember what it felt like. I’m pretty sure Simon really liked me back then. He let me ride on his

shoulders and bought me ice-cream. That was before he discovered that I was a hopeless case.

I’m sure to Danny this is just a room, nothing more. But these four walls know everything about me.

They’ve seen it all, heard it all. There’s a tale behind every stain on the floor, behind every scratch in the

furniture. It’s true that most of my childhood wasn’t all too happy. But there were good times too, and

this ugly old room helps me remember.

I lean against the door and glance at my watch. “It’s getting late.”

“Your mom invited me to stay. Did I mention that I like her?” He grins at me, looking up briefly

with that irresistible sparkle in his eyes. “You really have a thing for Spider-Man, don’t you?”

“Danny… no. Just no. You and me in this house…” I shake my head, walk over, and sink down on

the bed beside him. “I really don’t think so.”

He props his head up on his arm, and eyes me thoughtfully. “Suppose nothing happened.”

I laugh out loud. “Yeah, right.”

He pulls me down to him so that my head rests on his stomach, and tousles my hair. I slap his hand

away and we grin at each other.

“Okay, so maybe it seems unlikely,” he admits, still grinning. “But it could happen.”

“In an alternate universe, some other time.”

We laugh again and he groans loudly, and sinks back onto the pillow. “Oh you just don’t trust me.”

“Damn right.” My amused smirk slides off my face when I notice the look in his eyes. “You’re

serious, aren’t you?”

Slowly I roll off his stomach and lie down properly by his side. “What are you saying? You want to,

like, just sleep here? Talk all night? Cuddle? Sing me a lullaby?”

“Fuck off,” he says quietly, his voice a little hoarse. The brown eyes are laughing like they always

do, but I know him well enough now to realize that I just hurt him. Wow. The Great, Untouchable Rizzo

who doesn’t care about anything or anyone. But he cares about me, and it makes him vulnerable. And

that’s a good thing, because otherwise he might get too close, and there’d be nothing I could do about it.

It suddenly hits me, lying here beside him, taking in his perfect face. The soft curves of his lips, the

shape of his dark eyes, and the way they seem like windows to his soul. I’m in high danger of falling for

this impossible guy. And that’s just something that can never happen.

“I mean it, Danny. I appreciate you coming by. It was good to see you. But you can’t stay tonight.”

He smiles, and his breath washes over my face like a tender touch when he turns to me. “Hey, I

know that, smartass. You tell me something thrice and I get it immediately.”

I can’t help but grin and take a deep breath in a futile attempt to make every fiber of my body stop

screaming: Please stay.

* * *

I’d never have thought that it could take so much willpower to close the door behind the very person I

used to hate with a passion not very long ago. It takes me five whole minutes to get Danny to leave the

house, and I’m actually beginning to wonder if I should let him stay after all when he finally steps

outside. I close the door so quickly that it’s probably rude, but I’m really just trying to keep myself from

following him.

I take a deep breath and start to turn around when he knocks again.

God, he’s impossible. I open the door with a smile, shaking my head. “What?”

“Forgot something.”

Before I can ask what it is, he pulls me close and kisses me deeply. And I’m done for. I wonder if

that feeling I get every time he kisses me will ever fade away. It’s like I’m trying to push him away and

draw him near at the same time. Yeah, I’m one hell of a nutcase.

My fingers dig into Danny’s shirt as I pull him close, inhaling his scent. His skin smells so good, it’s

driving me crazy. That mischievous grin of his is just damn irresistible.

“Knew I left it here.”

“God, that was cheesy.”

Danny winks at me. “And you totally dug it.”

I laugh as he turns and walks down the driveway to his car, and I bet he knows how gorgeous his ass

looks in those tight jeans. The sun hangs low in the sky, a ball of orange fire that casts long shadows

across the lawn. It smells of freshly mowed grass and earth, spicy and relaxing.

“See ya, Jimmy boy.”

I raise my hand in a semi-wave, hesitating for a second before I go back inside, closing the door

firmly behind me. Somehow I don’t want to watch as he drives away. It might make me feel even

lonelier.

* * *

The house feels incredibly empty now that he’s gone, and eerily silent. I can hear the monotone ticking

of the large clock in the living room, the fridge hums lowly in the kitchen. A door closes upstairs and