"So far how am I doing?" Nick whispered lightly in Alexia's ear.

"Well...you have a nice approach. You invite your friends and mine so it won't be anything formal but yet you still manage to flirt constantly with me. You move your chair once in a while closer to mine so in a scale of 1 to 10 I would say you have a 7," Alexia smiled mischevieously, knowing that the comment would mess with his head.

"A mediocre seven? I at least deserve an eight! I mean I know I forgot the flowers, but I showed you the best sunset you have ever seen earlier, right? And I have a nice restaurant thing going on, and I have three more things." With this comment, Nick made Alexia laugh.

"You're the sensitive kind, aren't ya?" she said as she caressed his jaw line carefully with her finger, making him smile. "So tell me, what is the other thing you have planned for tonight, besides the dancing and the walk on the beach?" She smiled knowing that was any guy's routine.

"Who told you about the dancing?" he pouted lightly. "It is obvious. You're a guy, a famous celebrity, and I also read magazine articles," she smiled.

"What???" Nick asked, very confused.

"Your idol date would be with a pretty girl, a beach, and where the night takes you, right?" she said as she took a sip of her margarita.

"How do you know that?" Nick said, as he once again pulled his chair closer to Alexia. "Well, for starters, I had to keep myself busy the other day, so I read up all of you guys' bios. I even went to some fan sites and read pretty interesting stuff." She laughed as Nick's face went pale. "And, I also was once fifteen," she whispered lightly in his ear.

"So you were a die-hard fan?" he grinned.

"No, just a fan. Funny where life takes you, once a fan, now a member," Alexia paused as she saw the figure of a slouched and very saddened man.

"Brian, wha....what's wrong?" she said as she got up from her chair and walked towards him. Nick followed her.

"Man, what happened?" Nick asked, getting a gut feeling it was over with Leigh.

"We broke up," he answered dimly. "Oh, B, I am sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" Alexia said, as she hugged him.

"She used me; she never cared," he said as he held her tighter. "Wow I should break up with my girlfriends more often," he joked, trying to kill the hurtful feeling.

"Brian," she said as she punched him lightly.

"OK, OK, I am sorry. Let's eat. I am hungry," Brian said as he put his arm around Alexia's waist, making Nick a little uncomfortable.

-at a table-

"So what do you think of those two?" AJ asked Cat, pointing at Nick and Alexia who where dancing very close during a ballad.

"Well, for some reason Ale is not taking her time, which means one of two things," she answered tapping her nails on the table.

"And that would be?" Brian asked, sounding interested.

"Well Alexia is a snail usually in the dating race, but for some reason she isn't taking her time."

"Two weeks isn't slow?" Brian asked.

"Well it usually takes about four to five weeks for her to say yes to the first date. She likes to make sure they want to date her for her, not for Alexia. But anyways...reason one is she isn't that interested and she wants Nick to realize it is not going to work, but still keep him as a friend, or she really does like him and doesn't care about the being used issue," she said looking at Alexia who looked like she was having a great time.

"I just hope she knows what she is doing," Cat sighed.

"Why do you worry about her so much? I know you're friends and all," AJ asked.

"She's just been hurt too many times, and she does not deserve it. I mean she gave up a guy for someone she was really in love with. She is just too nice for the Hollywood world, yet she always finds a way to make herself happy later on. But still, it kills me to see her in pain. She pushed me to do the unthinkable and become independent. I just want to be there for her, cause she would definitely be there for me."

"She means that much to you?" Brian asked, AJ smiled knowing the answer to the question.

"She showed me what true friendship is, and she was there for me when I needed her, so now it's my turn."

She smiled back at Brian who was now looking at the image of his perfect woman Alexia. 'God, how I wish it would have been me,' he thought to himself.

"So I've seen that not only are you smart, beautiful, witty, funny, can run like the wind, and make millions of dollars, but you can also dance," Nick said, slightly raising his voice.

"What?" Alexia yelled back jokingly.

"I said..."

"No, I was kidding. Why is it that every five minutes you compliment me?" she yelled back.

"I don't compliment, I speak the truth," he smiled.

"Yeah, right," she said.

"Can I kiss you?" he said in a normal tone of voice.

"What?" Alexia asked, not hearing him this time.

With no hesitation, Nick got closer to alexia grabbing her gently and moving his face closer to her so that he could kiss her. Alexia immediately moved back feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Alexia, I....am sorry," Nick said looking at the floor.

"No, I am sorry. I mean, you have been nothing but nice to me and I.... just I can't. I am sorry, but I cant trust guys just yet." With this said, Alexia walked towards the exit.

"Alexia, wait!" Nick yelled as he ran behind her.

"God, why can't I just be happy for once?" Alexia said out loud as she started crying.

"Alexia," Nick said faintly as he tried to catch his breath.

"Nick, please I need to be alone. I have to think about what I want," she said as she walked away.

"Alexia, life isn't perfect. There are good and bad times, but that makes life a little more exciting. I try, but I just don't understand you. You're cold one minute, then hot the next. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" he yelled as she turned away.

"You," she whispered to herself.

"I want you, too," he said as he pulled her close, suprising her. Alexia was more suprised that he had heard her.

"Alexia, I can't play this game, I just can't. I am here with my heart in my hand hoping you will take it and take care of it, not play catch with it, and throw it away some time and other times keep it."

"I am sorry, but I just don't know."

"Let me take you home," he said as he gave the valet his ticket.

During the drive, neither person said a word. Alexia just tapped her nails on the car door, looking out the window, while Nick was looking at the road ahead. Once in a while he would look at her, but immediately turn back to the road.

As they arrived to the entrance, Alexia's mind was spinning. 'I like him, but what if it all turns out to be a game, or like Matt, and then there is...' Alexia's thought were interrupted by the door opening.

"Goodnight, miss" the valet man said as he put out his hand.

"So you still want to have that walk?" Alexia said looking back at Nick. He smiled and quickly got out of the car.

"So when I told my parents I wanted to be an actress they smiled. When I packed my bags they laughed. When I walked out the door they looked confused. When I got into the cab they disowned me, but when I won my first Oscar they cheered. They never thought I could make it, and when I did they were the proudest people in that ceremony hall," Alexia said as she walked down the darkened beach with her shoes in one hand. There was a full moon and that was the only light outside.

"You showed them," Nick said smiling at her.

"The thing was they always believed in me, but never thought I could make it. They didn't know how much I wanted it, I guess they wanted to spare me from the disappointment," she said as she sat on the damp cold sand.

"Ale, can I ask you something personal, I mean really personal?" he said as he took a seat next to her.

"Sure," she said almost whispering afraid ofmight happen.

"You said earlier in the club that you couldn't trust guys, why? Ahat happened so that you lost the faith in mankind?" he said looking at the side of her face. She was going to say something, but hesitated.

She took a deep breath and started, "Nick, all my life I have been looking for someone who will hold my hand, kiss my pains and fears away, to hold me, take care of me and love me, but by the time I find them, something happens." She looked straight at the ocean and then back at Nick. "Jean Franco was my first boyfriend. I fell in love with him and thought that I would always be with him, but when I moved to New York, we broke up. It killed him I had moved on but I still cared. Then there was Dean the man of my dreams. He could make any wrong seem right. Then one day some psycho fan decided that the only place for me and him to be together was in heaven so he tried to kill me and Dean got in the way to protect me. He died for me. When he died, I lost control of my guilt."

"Guilt?" Nick interrupted.

"I had doubted his love for me, and mine for him but then I turned out that he loved me so much he died for me. People called it the most romantic thing ever done, but what good did it make for him to die." A tear fell down her cheek. "I figured out later on that I did love him, but not enough, then there where a series of jerks. Some treated me right, but I just couldn't fall in love. Then came Matt-"

"Damon?" Nick asked again.

"Yeah, I was not interested at the beginning but little by little he won me over. About two months before we broke up, I knew I had stopped loving him. I tried to love him but I couldn't, and little by little another man won me over. So I took a deep breath and broke up with Matt. I took no pity on him and belched it all out with out even thinking twice. I killed him, I didn't even try to sound nice. That night I went to his apartment to apologize, only to find ten bottles on the floor and an unlocked apartment, empty. So I walked through the streets of New York alone and when I got to my apartment, I found him sitting on the door step so I took him inside and......."

"Shhh, its all right, Ale."

"He started swearing at me. How could I of used him, cheated on him, and then he slapped me so hard. He threw me to the floor, then he jumped on me and tried to......... so I hit him with the first thing I found, a book on the coffee table, and after that I left New York, left him, and decided I needed a dose of reality," she said as she looked in the opposite direction of Nick.

"I am sorry, but I would never do that no matter what. I am falling in love with the most incredible person I have ever met and I would never hurt you, I promise."

"How can you say you're falling in love with me if you have only known me for three weeks? You don't know me," she said as she looked him straight in the eye.

"I can't explain love, but I know it is happening. Why? 'Cause you're the greatest person I have ever met, and I have more in common with you than with any of the guys. I love movies, you love movies. I love sports, you love sports. I love music, you love music. I love pizza, you love it. You like video games. You bite your nails, I bite mine. We both have been burnt in love. We have friends that would do anything for us and vice versa. We want people to like us for who we are, not what we represent. The only difference is you're much more mature than I am, and you can cook," he said taking her hands in his.

"How do you know all that?" Alexia asked looking into his deep blue eyes.

"Brian is my best friend, remember?" he smiled as he kissed her cheek lightly.

"So are you going to tell me what the concierge gave you or am I going to have to wrestle you for this one?" Alexia said trying to look behind Nick's back.

"Not yet, you just have to wait a little more," he smirked.

"Fine," Alexia pouted as the elevator stopped and the door opened.

"So?"

"So aren't you getting out?" Alexia smiled at Nick.

"Ladies first," was all that came out of his mouth as he extended his left hand pointing at the door. Alexia rolled her eyes and walked out of the elevator. She started walking to her room, noticing that Nick was not behind her but the elevator door was still open.

"Nick, you know you are making a camp in the wrong elevator," she yelled back, laughing at her lame joke. As she got to the door she heard someone yell "Wait!" Nick ran out of the elevator with his jacket off.

"Oh, so now not only I can't see what you...." Alexia paused, looking at him strangely noticing his two hand were covered by his jacket, "had behind your back, now I have to wait for your lazy ass," she smirked.

"I have to ask you something before you go in," he said getting very close to alexia, so close he could see every little face mark, and a small scar.

'God, please help me not to kiss him,' Alexia thought as she looked for the strength to control herself. "And that would be?" she answered as she noticed her voice trembling.

Nick let his jacket fall to the floor revealing two roses one red and the other white. "Red means you'll be my official girlfriend, even if we take things very slow, and white means you want nothing with me but a friendship, and I can understand that," he said looking at her dead in the eyes.

Alexia was going to say something but hesitated. She looked at both flowers then back at Nick. Her face expression didn't change, making Nick feel uneasy. Alexia reached for the flowers and took the white one, making Nick wipe the smile off his face.

"I took the white," she paused and looked at him, and then reached for the red, "because every good relationship should always start with a friendship, and the red because even if I don't want to admit it, I want something more than a friendship," Alexia smiled and cradled his face with her hand, making him look up at her. He was blushing, and as he looked up, he cradled her face with both of his hands and kissed her lightly.

"I have been wanting to do that since the day I met you," Nick said as they both pulled away from the kiss. Alexia smiled but said nothing. She turned and opened the door. "Oh, God," was all that came out of her mouth when she came into her room and found one side full of red roses and the other of white.

"Thank God I said yes," Alexia turned around and kissed him again.