Apparently one of Marie's inconsiderate neighbors was having a party that was raging even at 4 o'clock in the morning. She had to park half a block away from her house and could hear the music from even that far. Continuing on foot toward her home, Marie walked in near perfect darkness past a few run down houses with who knows what dangers inside them. Okay, maybe she was being just a little paranoid, but walking home at night wasn't exactly high on the list of things anyone should do, especially women. And not for the first time that night, she kind of wished she had invited Harry back home with her.

Now, she wasn't normally the type of girl that would ask a practical stranger into her home. And she definitely did not see herself as a one night stand type of girl, but something about Harry was almost irresistible. Even when he seemed awkward and maybe a little dorky he was extremely attractive. Marie was sure she could break the "good girl" rule just once and not really be considered "bad." But aside from being gorgeous, having Harry walking her home would have made her feel a lot safer. For some reason, he seemed the type who could protect someone.

Marie suddenly had the feeling she was being watched, or worse yet, followed. There was a rustling in the bushes as she neared her house, and she sped her walking to hopefully reach her door before anything bad happened. She was almost through her front gate when something burst put from the greenery and nearly toppled her over. A startled shout left her throat before she realized that it was Dunkin who had popped out at her. Confused, she let out a sigh of relief and pet the canine's head gently.

"What are you doing here," she asked, scratching behind her ears.

"Sorry," came a male voice from her door step.

Looking up, she saw Harry coming down the small walkway to join her and the dog. "Harry?"

"Yeah," he smiled, patting Dunkin's head. "You left this at the diner so I thought I'd bring it to you."

Reaching behind him, Harry produced Marie's pocketbook, handing it to her. "Got the address from inside, but that's all I looked at. Hope you don't mind."

"No, thank you so much," she replied, shaking her head with a rueful smirk. "I would have gone crazy looking for this tomorrow."

"Well, glad I could be of service," he chuckled, eyes darting over her face. Clearing his throat and sounding a bit nervous, he added "I know it's not very far, but would you like me to walk you to your door?"

Marie couldn't stop herself from giggling a bit. "That would be nice."

They both turned and headed for the steps leading up to her house. It was quiet between them, though the heavy bass music from next door threatened to shake the ground. Harry was the one who broke the personal silence. "So, you had to park pretty far away?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "In case you can't hear it, my neighbors are having a very late party."

"That's not very considerate," Harry shook his head, something dark flashing through his eyes. "You had to walk all the way here on your own, too?"

"Not very safe, I know," was her careful response. "To tell the truth, I was wishing I had invited you home with me."

A smooth grin spread his face even as the blush crept up Marie's. She stammered a bit, realizing just what she had said. "I mean, uh…"

They had reached her door, pausing as she rummaged in her purse for her keys quickly, feeling absolutely embarrassed. Harry touched her shoulder and her fidgetiness stopped when she turned her eyes up to his. "Are you okay, Marie?"

"Yeah, I'm just," she began, turning her head down. "I'm just tired is all. Thanks for the company tonight."

"Thanks for agreeing to go out with me," he laughed. His hand slid down her arm, grasping her hand and pulling it up to his lips to brush a quick kiss over her skin. A tingle went up her spine and she had to force herself to not ask him inside when he looked her in the eyes again.

"Have a good night, Harry," she stammered, trying to hide her blush as she touched the dog's head. "You too, Dunkin."

"See you soon, Marie," he smiled, letting her hand go. "Thanks again."

And with that he was walking away, Dunkin following behind him. Marie watched long enough to see him turn down the street before she went into her house determined to take a cold shower. The music from next door was shaking everything and Marie was just in time to save a small vase from hitting the ground as it fell from her end table. It continued on as she prepared for bed, but when her head hit the pillow, the music suddenly stopped. The abrupt silence was strange, but Marie was too tired to really care. She was just grateful that she could drift off into sleep peacefully.