I lay back in the hammock that was suspended between the trees in my backyard. Smiling I closed my eyes, absorbing the warmth of the sun that shone down between the trees, warming my skin. "I thought you were going to start the grill, not take a nap." I opened my eyes at the voice and the laughter that followed as I was hit between the eyes with a steady stream of water. "YOU WOMAN ARE DEAD MEAT!" I hollered as I jumped up and charged the small brunette that stood before me holding a large water gun. She laughed, squirting me again before I gained control of the gun and aimed it at her. "Dillon…don't you…ahhhhhhhhhh!" I laughed as the water hit her, covering her from head to toe. She ran at me and jumped on me, knocking us both to the grass. I wrapped my arms around her soaking wet body and kissed her, as her body seemed to mold into mine. "Mmmmm, not bad." I grinned as she rolled off and lay on her back, grinning back at me. "Now I have to go change clothes thanks to you." She laughed and stuck her tongue out at me. "Tony and Catrina will be here soon, so you'd better get up off your ass and get that grill going." I rolled towards her and kissed her freckled nose, "Guess it's good I was wearing my swim trunks hmm." "Pest." She kissed me back then jumped lightly to her feet and ran into the house. I watched her run off, then climbed to my feet, shaking my head and smiling to myself, walking to the grill and started preparing the steaks we were having for dinner.

Had it really been almost a year? A year since I'd walked away from my old life? I couldn't believe it still. Even less when I looked at Arie. It still amazed me that I had simply vanished from everything I'd ever known and started a whole new life. Every day I waited…waited for Kevin or Brian, or my parents, or the police to show up on my door and pull me away from what I had now. It scared the hell out of me some nites I couldn't sleep because of the nitemares. Nitemares of hands grabbing and pulling me away from her. I shook my head and tossed aside those thoughts and went back to thinking about Arie.

It astonished me sometimes that Arie hadn't known who I was when we met. In the 5 months that we'd been dating I'd never told her who I'd been. She knew me as Dillon. Dillon Redmond. She was the most incredible thing that had happened to me since everything had happened. "Dillon! Tony and Catrina are here." Aries' voice broke through my thoughts as she walked out onto the deck with our guests trailing behind her. Her long brunette hair shone in the sunlite as she walked up to me. Damn she was beautiful. She perched herself behind me on the deck rail, crossing her tanned legs. The yellow tank top she wore with white shorts just accentuated her tan.

"Damn boy quit ogling your girlfriend and feed me already." I turned back and looked at the man standing next to the grill. "Food and women, the only two things you think about." I shot him a grin and turned a steak. "And beer. Don't forget the beer." Tony grinned as his girlfriend Catrina tossed him a can and sat in a deck chair. I smiled as everyone relaxed in the sun, talking and laughing with each other. And thoughts of my past again faded, as I knew once more that I had made the right decision that nite. This was my life.

And I was happy here.