Sarah woke up the next morning in Kevin's bed. At first she had forgotten where she was then the memories of the night before came back when she felt the pain on her cheek. Sarah sat up and yawned. The smell of pancakes reached her nose. She suddenly realized that she was hungry and walked toward the kitchen. There stood Kevin at the stove cooking pancakes. Sarah leaned against the doorway and admired him. She smiled when she noticed his tall, well built stature. He's so cute, she thought to herself. Kevin put some pancakes on a plate and turned around.

"Good morning," he said as he sat down at the table.

"Good morning," Sarah said shyly.

"I was wondering when you were gonna get up," Kevin said as he piled some pancakes on his plate. "Have a seat." Sarah sat down next to Kevin. "I hope you like pancakes."

"I love pancakes," Sarah said as she put three of them on her plate.

"Good," Kevin said with a smile.

Sarah took a bite of one of her pancakes. "Mmm, this is really good. What's in them?"

"I can't tell you. It's the Richardson family secret. It's in my family for many years."

"Well, whatever's in them, they're the best pancakes I've ever eaten."

"Thanks," Kevin said.

"You're quite welcome," Sarah replied.

Just then the phone rang. Kevin picked it up. "Hello?" he said.

"Hey Kev, it's Brian."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Not too much here. I was just calling to see if you were doing okay. You seemed pretty upset last night."

Kevin chuckled. "Nah, I'm fine Bri."

"Good because I hate to see you so bummed. That Sarah girl wasn't worth it. You can do better."

Kevin grinned. "Well, cuz I'm sorry you feel that way because Sarah's sitting next to me right now."

"She's what?! Kevin what's going on?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"All right," Brian said, not so sure. "Hey are you coming with us to the beach this afternoon?"

"I don't know yet. If we decide not to go I'll call you."

"Okay, talk to you later man."

"Bye," Kevin said then hung up.

"Who was that?" Sarah asked.

"That was Brian. He was wanting to know if I was okay because of last night."

"You weren't that bummed were you?"

"Yeah I was. I thought you stood me up."

Sarah gave Kevin an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

Kevin smiled. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but I can't help feeling bad about it."

"It's all in the past now." Kevin was silent for a moment. "Would you like to go to the beach with everyone this afternoon?"

Sarah smiled. "That sounds like fun."

"Good, then let's go get ready so we can meet up with everyone."

Sarah picked up her plate and started to put it away. Kevin stopped her. "No don't worry about that. You go ahead and take a shower first. I'll do the dishes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll do the dishes. You just go get ready."

"Okay," Sarah said as she headed toward the guest bedroom. Sarah picked out her clothes and got into the shower. The water felt good on her hurting back. After she got out of the shower she put her clothes on and began drying her hair. When she finished, there was a knock on the door.

"Sarah are you almost finished?" Kevin asked.

Sarah opened the door. "Yeah, I just got to put on my make up. I can do it in the other room if you want."

"No, it's okay. Take your time," Kevin said as he walked in. He placed his towel on the edge of the bathtub and sat down.

Sarah started putting on her foundation and noticed the bruise on her face. Tears began to fall. Kevin walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Why did he have to do this to me?"

"Shhh, it's okay. You're safe now."

Sarah looked up at Kevin with fear. "Do you think it's possible he could know where I am?"

"How could he? He was out cold when we left. He doesn't even know me so how would he know where I live?"

"He's always found me before."

"He's not going to find you this time," Kevin said gently as he stroked her hair.

Sarah sniffled. "I'm sorry. I'll just finish getting ready in the other room," she said as she picked up her make up bag.

"Okay," Kevin said. He looked down at Sarah. Her eyes were shimmering with tears. He gently caressed her face. "We don't have to go to the beach if you don't want to."

"No, I want to go. Besides it would do me some good to get out."

"Are you sure?"

Sarah smiled. "I'm positive. Now go get ready and lets go."

"Okay," Kevin said.

Sarah started to leave, then turned around. "Thanks for being such a friend," she said then left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah, a friend who wants to be more," Kevin whispered then got into the shower.