The old theater was eerily quiet. Kevin let them in with the spare key that Howie had given him months before, hoping that he was doing the right thing.
AJ took the stairs two at a time. When he stopped abruptly at the top, Kevin nearly knocked him over, cursing under his breath. His outburst was silenced when he heard AJ say, "Shit".
Sarah stood at the balcony rail, her rumpled dress zipped up 3/4 of the way as she stared blankly at the darkened dance floor.
"Where's Howie?" Kevin asked quietly.
"Beats the shit out of me. I don't like this ..."
Kevin motioned AJ to stay where he was. Silently, he padded across the carpet calling Sarah's name softly. "Sarah?"
Sarah cringed, the last two people on earth she ever wanted to have to face again. To her utter mortification she was unable to stop the sniffle from escaping as she hastily wiped her eyes.
"Damn, baby, don't do this." Kevin placed his hands on her upper arms and she flinched.
"Go home, Kevin," she rasped, the tears falling faster. "God, please, just go."
Kissing her gently on the top of her head, he turned her around. "Sarah ... Sarah, please. Look at me."
She shook her head, stubbornly refusing to move.
"Fine. Then I'll come down there." He dropped to his knees to look up into her eyes. The misery he saw made him ache. "God, what have we done," he said, dropping his head in shame.
Sarah was weeping openly now, her tears falling into Kevin's hair. "Stop it," she sobbed. "It's not *you*, it's *me*. I'm the one who should be ashamed."
AJ took her hand, pressing a glass of amber liquid into her palm. "Drink this."
Sarah tossed it angrily over the balcony, listening as the glass shattered far below. "No more alcohol, AJ, that's what got me into this mess."
"Mess? What mess? All I can remember is making love to a beautiful woman-"
"AJ-" Kevin cautioned.
"Stop it. Both of you."
The silence wrapped around them, their faces wearing haunted masks. They looked from one to the other, none of them knowing what to say or do.
"Where's Howie, Sarah?" AJ seemed to suddenly be the bravest of the three.
Shrugging her shoulders she replied simply, "I sent him home." The horror on their faces was almost laughable. "No, he didn't want to go, but I insisted. He left me the car. I needed time to think."
"He should be here, dammit." AJ was furious.
Kevin put out a hand to silence him. "Sarah, come on, let one of us drive you home. You can pick up the car tomorrow."
"Am I a bad person?" She asked the question quietly, sounding like a frightened, wounded bird.
Kevin pulled her to the chaise lounge in the center of the VIP section. "Why would you even ask?"
"Wh- what I did tonight ..." Tears welled in her eyes once again. "Howie..."
"Howie was responsible for this, blame HIM, Sarah." AJ was fast losing control.
"That's not entirely true, Sarah." Kevin held her hands in his, his thumbs stroking the backs of her hands. "I'm to blame just as much, maybe more. I could have said no. I could have refused to take part."
"Then why didn't you?" she asked meekly.
"Because," he replied honestly, "because I wanted you."
"And why," AJ asked, "why did you *let* us? Because it was Howie's idea?"
"No."
"Then why, Sarah?" Kevin asked, tilting her face up to his.
"Because I wanted you, too."