"Hey."

"You scared me half to death!" I said to John. "How did you get in here?"

"I'll explain later. I know you're cold - Nick called earlier and told me you were freezing. So come on over here and warm up by the fire."

"And what makes you think that I'll be so trustworthy, Mr. Taylor?" I asked wryly.

"The fact that your arms are all white and freezing," he said smugly. "Oh, come on and just play along. Besides, you have *my* keys in your hand." He disappeared for a moment. I noticed a bottle of champagne sitting in a ice bucket, and a tray full of strawberries sat near the fire.

"You and Nick have similar tastes in breakfast, eh?" I asked, rubbing my hands together.

John appeared with a towel to pop the cork. "Yeah, so?" he asked. "Besides, you have to admit champagne and strawberries is a heavenly combination."

I smiled. "I suppose. But then again, there are some things in combination that don't go well together."

"Such as?" His dark eyes danced with my suggestion.

"John Taylor and drugs." I looked right into his eyes. "John, I've been worried sick about you. And then Nick tells me you got into in a car accident a couple days ago..."

Scoffing, he replied, "a little skidding. The ground was wet, I was driving a little too fast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, so what?"

"So what? So what?!?" I said, walking up to him and punching him in the arm as hard as I could. "John, you could have died! Why the hell were you driving drunk? Huh? You think you're invincible, don't you."

"Hey now, don't get all your feathers ruffled. It was an accident. You're right, I shouldn't have been driving. It was a daft thing to do. I'm never going to do it again."

I sighed. "That's better."

He laughed a little. "Now, can we drop the serious talk, Grace?"

"John, I'm sorry but I can't. Besides, don't you think this whole setup is a little...much?" I asked, folding over my arms across my chest.

Pouring the champagne into two long-stemmed glasses, and handing one to me, John shrugged, but grinned. "Why would you say that?" he asked nonchalantly. "I did say I was going to make up missing the barbeque at Simon's, didn't I?"

I took a sip of the champagne. "Yes, I suppose you did. But what did you mean exactly?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," he said. The guy infuriated me sometimes!

He settled himself in front of the fire, putting his champagne glass down to grab a strawberry off the silvery platter. The only light in the room was coming from the fireplace. John had laid out a blanket on the floor, I guess for the picnic feeling.

"Come on now, you can't stand there all night," John said, gesturing for me to sit down next to him. "You need to relax a little bit, Grace. You're too serious."

It was my turn to scoff. "Seriousness has served me well over the years, Taylor. That's Grace Huang's normal nature. I like to be serious. You know that."

John ran his fingers across the top of his glass. "I also know that you can let your hair down when you're with a dear friend like me."

So to make him happy, I sat in front of the fire with him, eating a strawberry and taking a sip of champagne. "I have to admit, this is a good combination..."

"See, you're coming 'round," John said, satisfied. "Now, what to do with Grace's serious shoulders? Come 'ere, you need someone to work down those dragon shoulders you have."

"Dragon shoulders?" I laughed, submitting my shoulders to his strong hands which had molded me years earlier.

"You've gotten to loosen up, Grace. It's like you have lockjaw or something!"

I shrugged, sighing deeply. "A lot of serious things have happened to me all this time, John. I haven't had that much to smile about. I've been so lonely..."

"...so have I."

"Thank goodness for Helena. She came into my life right when I needed her. She has been the sunshine in my life. She's like my little sister, Helena makes me laugh, makes me cry, puts color into my life when I was living in black and white. I'm so grateful to have her. And Nick tells me that you have your own little flower - Janine is her name?"

"Janine? Yeah, I guess. Sort of. Janine is this model I met a while back, and now all the tabloids insist I'm dating her. It's a relationship of convenience, though. Don't let the label fool you, we're not engaged, and we're not getting married. It's something the British music papers concocted because we are two quote beautiful people and they just eat it up if two beautiful people get together all of sudden. Kinda like with Simon getting engaged to Claire. Same kind of thing."

"Well, there are a lot of little girls out there who are interested in whether or not Mr. John Taylor is getting married. I can hear them breathing sighs of relief right now!" John laughed.

He continued on giving me a back rub. "Yeah, but it's part of the territory. Like I always say."

"It's a tough business."

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, but I have a lot to be thankful for." I turned to face him, and he started looking at me very seriously. "We never would have met if you hadn't been working for that record store, and I hadn't been in Duran Duran, in town to perform with the band." I started to blush. "You know, fate has a funny way of working sometimes."

I started to get uncomfortable, coughing. "How so?" I said, turning away, drinking more champagne.

He ran his fingers along my jaw, turning my head to face him again. "Heavens above brought you to me."

"John, don't say that. Life is a series of coincidences. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. Me? I'm a big nothing compared to you..."

"Are you kidding? Grace honey, you could have been so much more. You're a first-rate bass player for one. And two, you've got the diligence and determination to make it. If you'd wanted to. But that's not what I mean. Circumstances could have prevented me from meeting you. But somehow, we did. We met. And I'm so grateful." John's fingers traced from my neck, down my arm. Even though we weren't romantic anymore, his touch still sent shivers down my spine.

I wasn't sure what to make of John that night. Against my better judgment, I leaned into his wide, embracing arms. It was almost too easy.

"Stop it!" I started laughing as John lifted me up from the carpet and carried me off. I'd been lying there, next to the fire, in the arms of John Taylor. And suddenly, he decided to get up, taking me with him.

Into his bedroom.

"John..."

"Yes Grace?"

"I thought we agreed..."

He cocked his head to one side. "Grace, we agreed that long distance relationships wouldn't work. You're no longer long-distance now, Grace." He laid me down on the bed, sheets turned down. He gingerly fingered the buttons on my dress, licking his lips seductively. "Don't you want me? Because I could have sworn that we had something there back in '80 when we were standing there outside your apartment."

Sighing, I replied, "John, we can't. We just can't..."

"Why not? Grace, there hasn't been a moment that I stopped thinking about you. You're my perfect Asian doll. What about you? Were you thinking about me?"

I wanted to yell out, yes John, I have been thinking about you. All the time. You were on my mind constantly. Because I thought I loved you and you loved me...

I opened my mouth but no sound came out. John started kissing me on the shoulder, on the neck, and as he did I felt my resolve weakening. I knew then that his touch was deadly, as my body relaxed in his arms.

Looking back at it, I could have gotten up and left, and nothing would have happened.

Of course, things don't work out the way you want them sometimes. The next thing I knew, our clothes were forgotten, as I surrendered to his charms. I didn't know what to feel. It felt nice to be wanted like that. But, I knew it was a fleeting moment. Simon's words came into my mind at that point...

Some people call it a one-night stand, we can call it paradise...

My resolve finally slipped away. I laid back on the bed. John's kiss was sweet on my lips, I ran my fingers down his back, across his perfect skin, his perfect muscles. He was my personal Adonis - young, beautiful, perfect. And he wanted me that night.

"Grace, how I've waited for this," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling me, my heart beating faster. I wanted this - he wanted me. The temperature of the room, I swear, must have gone up 20 degrees.

I ran my hand through his hair, perfect in every way, that blonde highlight so striking and so endearing to me for so long. "John..." I sighed loudly, as he started nibbling on my neck.

"Yeah?" he replied, then went back to kissing my neck, each kiss that came burning hotter than the last. "What is it, Grace? Something the matter?"

I shook my head, winking at him seductively. "No, nothing's the matter. I just want to remember this exact moment. The way you looked at me tonight..."

"I hope to impress you better than a single glance," John said, his eyebrows raised, as he explored the curves of my body with his hands. The hands, the fingers that played the bass guitar with so much sexual energy. "Much more." It was enough to drive a girl, any girl, utterly wild.

"Oh really, Mr. Smooth," I said, grinning. "How about a little bet?" My breath caught in my throat as John wrapped his arms around me.

"What do I get if I win?" he asked huskily.

"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out," I said flirtatiously.

"Ooh, cheeky! I like a girl with character..."