For Keeps

"I'm excited to see you too!" I gushed into the phone. "Alright, see you then... Love you too, bye!"

Shia had been staying with me for almost a week now, and we only had another week to ourselves. I was beginning to get frustrated from the obvious sexual tension, but Shia seemed very clueless about it. I put my phone down and began making dinner; homemade sushi.

"Who was that?" Shia asked. He sat on the counter across from me, watching me make dinner.

"Umm... that was Tyler." I held a limp spicy tuna roll in my hand and then dropped it back on the cutting board. "We went to school together and uh, I haven't seen him since... Yeah." I shoved my attempt at cooking down the garbage disposal in defeat.

"So, we ordering in?" Shia asked with a chuckle, an obvious nod to my awful cooking skills. I shoved his chest and walked to the living room to order in food.

"What do you want?" I yelled to Shia.

"Definitely not sushi!" He yelled back and laughed. I heard him walking toward the living room and then began taking his shirt off. Ugh, why does he do this to me? "Uh, actually sushi does sound good. As long as you're not making it." He smirked and threw his shirt at me.

"Very funny." I dialed the number for Yen, a place I knew very well, and ordered a bunch of different shit. I mindlessly played with the worn cotton of Shia's Motley Crue shirt. I wondered if he even listened to Motley Crue... I hung up after the order and turned to Shia, who sat in the loveseat watching some weird show. Shirtless of course, isn't that normal? To bare your beautiful body in front of the girl that can barely stay away from you? God, how could he be so clueless?

"I'm taking a shower." I got up from the couch to walk up to my bedroom.

"Need any help with that?" Yes! I wanted to scream, but the smirk on his face made it clear he was just joking.

"Fuck off." I threw his shirt back at him, although I really, really, really just wanted to curl up and sleep in it forever.

I had a lot of time to think in the shower. I let the steaming water pound on my back. True, I was attracted to Shia. But he's a movie star, so nothing could ever come out of it, I mean, that's why he broke up with Chyna, because she held him back. I would only hold him back. So that's it. My feelings toward Shia was based on physical attraction. It's no big deal. We could be friends.

I turned the shower off and was surprised to check the clock and see that I had been in there for more than half an hour. I exited the bathroom aware that Shia was downstairs and could see my naked body if he simply came up to my room. No big deal. I had no feelings for him. I got dressed in black skinny jeans and a white tank top, then wrapped my wet hair in a bun. It was just Tyler, he's seen me in my worst moments. Compared to the last time I saw him, I looked glamorous.

I walked downstairs to find Shia paying the delivery man for our dinner. He waved the guy goodbye and left the bags on the counter.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know I would take so long in the shower. Here," I walked over to my purse to hand him money.

"No, it's okay, I got it." Still, I tried to give him the money but he wouldn't take it. "Really, it's fine."

I put my wallet back. Money has always been tricky for me. I didn't have too much growing up, but when I turned eighteen I got my inheritance from both of my parents, and let's just say, I would never have to work ever in my life if I decided to. Instead, I worked at an art gallery after graduating from RISD. Then I had my own show at that gallery, then another one at Burgamot Station, then a few more, and pretty soon became a well known artist around L.A. and New York. Money shouldn't be an issue, but it can be for me.

"Are you going to get dressed?" I asked Shia.

"Are you?"

"What do you mean?" I instantly looked in the mirror and felt self conscious. It was jeans and a tank top! "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing, you look fine, it's just... Tyler hasn't seen you since, you know, right?" I nodded. "Then don't you want to show him how far you have come? I mean, I know it hasn't been too long since it's happened but you've changed dramatically Rayne." Shia got up from the couch to talk to me directly. "I've noticed the complete 180 you've done, and don't you want to show Tyler too?"

"Well... I guess so." I looked down from Shia and stared down at my feet. I felt self conscious and embarrassed.

"Look, Rayne." I reluctantly look back up at him."Just show him how far you have come. Go do your hair and change into something nicer."

"Ugh, okay." I turned away and walked back up the stairs, pretending that his little speech didn't make me feel over the moon. He made me feel better about myself than any fucking therapist could ever try. I smiled as I blow dried my hair and picked out a new outfit. He was right, I am a strong independent young woman, and I am going to look fucking hot tonight.

"This better?" I asked. Tyler should be here any minute and I was finally done getting ready. Shia sat on the floor playing with Bubba. He finally got dressed too.

"Uh, yeah." He looked kind of surprised that I could clean up nicely, if I do say so myself. I blow dried my hair and the hair cut I just got made it wavy and shiny. I wore a short green dress from Free People that I knew made my eyes pop and made my boobs look good. Plus, I had gotten a bit of a ten over the past few days from lounging around with Shia.

The doorbell rang and I went to get it. "Tyler!" I screamed and wrapped my arms around my good friend. He looked the same since I had last seen him; brown buzzed hair, facial scruff, black gauges in both ears, and wearing a red plaid flannel. Even his blue eyes held the same happy expression I've loved over the past few years.

"It's good to see you." He said. "You look great, Rayne. Let me see." He put his thumb over my cheekbone to check out my black eye that almost disappeared. "Almost gone. Oh, here, I brought you a present." He handed over a bottle of SKYY and smiled.

"Come here." I dragged him over to Shia. "Tyler, this is Shia. Shia, this is Tyler." I put the bottle in the freezer while they greeted each other.

"Hungry?" I asked. Then to nods from both guys, sat at the dining room table to eat our dinner.

"Have you been working?" Tyler asked me after dinner was over and we sat on the porch drinking and smoking cigarettes.

"Not yet. I've been like, laying around, and being lazy." I sipped my vodka tonic. "I really, really, need to get stuff done."

"Like what?" Shia asked.

"Uh, I need to get like, four paintings done by the end of the month for the gallery owners and do some billing. I have to go the gallery though."

"I'll take you tomorrow if you want?" Shia offered.

"Sure." I looked up to see Tyler smirking. I knew what that look meant too well. I returned a look that read 'no' but he still kept his 'you liiiike him' smile.

"Either way, Rayne. You've been through a lot, I'm proud of you, girl." He nudged my thigh with his toe. "You deserve time off."

Tyler left an hour later with leftovers in hand. I never wanted him to go, but he had a flight to catch to Boston in the morning for his mom's birthday and needed to leave.

"I like him." Shia said as he reclined in the chaise outside. "I told you you'd impress him if you dressed up."

"Yeah, whatever, man." I turned on my side to face him while he continued to look up at the sky. "There's something about the night sky, man, that makes you feel so small."

"Like, no matter who you are, or how important you think you are, you're really nothing?"

"Exactly."