"This doesn't look good..." Andrew muttered.

Meliza looked up from the brunch they were having in his suite. "What's wrong?"

Wordlessly, Andrew held out the paper to her, front page displayed. Her dark eyes roved over it, narrowing with anxiety.

"Sixth hotel for the past two weeks..." Meliza murmured.

"Yeah. Someone is having real fun with this city..." Andrew's eyes flashed, and he tossed the paper down with a ferocity that made her jump. "The police and fire department found nothing. Nothing. Six hotels, Meliza. It's either the guy is that good, or Atlantic City has a lousy investigation team..."

Meliza reached over, covering his hand with hers. His hand was clenched tightly into a fist, causing his knuckles to turn white. "This is more than about burning hotels, isn't it?"

His hand relaxed under hers. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She studied him carefully. "Did you...tell anyone what happened when you were ten?"

He sighed, sitting back in his chair, yet he didn't pull his hand away. "Grandpa and Jose know. They haven't asked about it since."

"If you don't want to say anything, that's okay," Meliza added. "I guess...a part of me...wants to understand..."

He ran a hand through his hair. Even after all these years, it was something he didn't like to talk about. Meliza waited patiently. He had to give her credit. She wasn't pushing him. She continued onto her meal as if he had never mentioned the subject. He swallowed fiercely, feeling a bout of nervousness.

"You already know that I was ten when it happened..."

*Andrew hurried up the stairs to the apartment he and his parents lived in. He didn't know what was wrong with him. At school the entire day, anything he had touched would explode into flames and disintegrate. His usual friends and playmates had kicked him out of their games or group...afraid that if he touched them, they'd explode. They had called him many insulting names, and Andrew just wanted to go home.

"Mom! Dad!" he called out. Seeing smoke sift through the front door of his apartment, he frowned. "Hope Mom didn't mess up on the cooking..." He reached over to ring the doorbell, noticing that he didn't hear the chimes. He reached for the knob, discovering that it was extremely hot. Andrew jumped away from the door, looking up in confusion.

What was going on? The doorbell wasn't working, the doorknob was hot, and there was smoke coming out of the apartment. His eyes widened, remembering the topic on fire safety in school.

Panicking, he pounded on the door. "Mom! Dad!"

Suddenly, the door exploded. Andrew was blown back several feet by the force of the blast. He looked up in horror, seeing red hot flames dance out of his apartment.

"NOOOOO! MOM! DAD!" he shouted.

The flames rose to the ceiling. Afraid of being scorched, Andrew moved backwards in a sitting position, his eyes wide as he hoped, prayed so much that his parents were all right. Beams and plaster fell from above. Andrew began to crawl away to the exit, his heart pounding loudly in his ears, unaware of the tears that streaked his face.

When he reached the exit, it was blocked by broken pieces of building and support. He tried moving them, but the exertion was making him tired. He had a difficult time breathing. And it was pitch black.

He crawled into a corner, huddling there, shutting his eyes tightly. Of all the things they taught in school about fires, this was nothing like those videos. This was three thousand times scarier. He couldn't hear anything. No idea if sirens were outside, with firemen struggling to help the people out.

Andrew swallowed, remembering the other day that his parents had wanted to take him to the aquarium tomorrow. In spite of the fact of him being a troublemaker, they still cared for him. "I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done..." he whispered.

At the exit door, a shadowy figure appeared. Andrew opened his eyes, seeing a tall man wearing bright yellow clothes, a hat perched on his head. Several others dressed just like him began to hose down the flames and move the debris from the door. As quickly as he appeared, he came in, scooping the boy in his arms to take him outside. Andrew squinted at the bright light of day.

A paramedic took him from the fireman to check and see if he was okay.

"Wait!" Andrew cried. "What about Mom and Dad?!"

"Calm down, son," the fireman said. "I'll be right back...we're looking for them, now."

Andrew waited for a few minutes until the excitement got to him and he fell asleep on the stretcher, exhausted. He was out for a while.

When he woke up, his lashes lifted slightly to note the pristine white room he was in. He spotted a woman in scrubs a short distance away. Andrew had seen plenty of moms pick up their kids dressed like that. Scrubs were nurses' outfits. He must be in the hospital.

"The poor thing...he's here alone...his parents died in that awful fire..." she said softly. "Sister Catherine..." she addressed the nun beside her. "Do you think the orphanage would take him in?"

The nun nodded. "Of course. We'd be happy to help..."

Andrew shut his eyes tightly. He was all alone now...*

"Oh...my..." Meliza breathed out.

Andrew had moved to the window during his tale, looking out at the water. His eyes reflected a sadness and pain that she couldn't begin to imagine.

"Are you...okay?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded swiftly. "Yeah."

"Is that why you're so...upset about fires?" she queried gently, uncertain how to word it.

"It's not really the fires..." Andrew crossed his arms, staring outside the glass. "I feel...like it was my fault. I couldn't do anything about it...and I was always the type who never liked feeling helpless. And the kids at school...they kept saying how I caused the fire...because of my chi energy. It got to me..."

"Kids…they can be harsh...." Meliza shook her head.

"I don't ever want to experience that again. I can't tell you what it's like being in a fire. At least...in a fight...or in a card game...you have a chance to put the odds in your favor. But when you're in a fire..."

"You can't do anything," Meliza finished.

"Exactly." Andrew blew out a breath. "I went insane for a while...those four years I was on the streets...I don't exactly remember what I did...who I met...All I remember is that was when I learned to fight. Then I decided to steal a guy's wallet one day. The guy ends up being my grandfather...and I guess that's when my life started all over again."

"You've been through so much..."

He was silent for several moments. Before he could stop himself, he confided, "I gave Grandpa a hard time. But the old man is no pushover. He said I needed some discipline, and I was going to get it. I became the errand boy at the ranch.

He and Jose kept a close eye on me. Over the years, I learned to control my power...I guess it helped ease the pain...Grandpa’s words eventually got through, and I realized that if I was going to make it in this world, I had to listen to the old man. He went with me to therapy...It took a while...but I got over my guilt and anger."

"He saved you," she murmured.

"And for that I'll always be grateful." Andrew glanced at her. "But I still remember what happened when I was in that fire...what I felt..."

She smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry. I wish I could say something...but...if I did...I wouldn't really be understanding."

Andrew nodded. "It's okay. You listened, and that's good enough." He smiled slightly. "Feels nice to get it out in the open with someone...I...I never told anyone else."

"I'm glad you told me," Meliza said quietly.

"Me too." He sighed, sitting across from her. "Sorry if I..."

She shook her head. "Never apologize for that..." Meliza casually said, "I think Tina's ready for the tournament tomorrow. Thanks with the teaching. She tests my patience a lot sometimes..."

Andrew smiled at the change in subject. He appreciated it, and he liked her more because of it. There were a lot of things he liked about her, actually. He got the feeling that leaving this woman would be a very difficult thing. "You two are like sisters."

Her jaw dropped. "We are not!" she denied.

Hlaughed. "Yes, you are."

"I've never been so insulted! Why would I even want to be related to that?"

"Spoken with the love of a sister."

Meliza sighed. "Whatever."

Andrew reached over and squeezed her hand. "Thank you."

Her eyes widened. "For what?"

"For listening."

She smiled. "You're welcome." Leaning forward, her eyes shone. "So are you coming to the tournament tomorrow?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss that."

"Good. We can meet up and watch our pupil in action..."

He pointed to her food. "When you're done, let's take a walk on the beach."

Meliza folded her napkin up. "I'm done."

He glanced at her half-finished plate. "If you say so..."

They walked on the pier for while. It was chilly outside, so hardly anyone was around. She shivered slightly. The blue cashmere sweater, khaki pants, and leather jacket she wore only kept her warm to some degree.

"Does Atlantic City have this all the time?" Andrew asked. "Gray skies..."

"Depressing weather?" she quipped. "Sometimes."

"So what is Tina going to play tomorrow?"

"Poker. She's extremely determined."

"Makes you proud, doesn't it?" Andrew teased.

"Slightly." Meliza squeezed his hand. Then she remembered that she had so little time left with him. “Drew…”

Instantly, he became alert. The first reason being that she used a nickname that only his grandfather used. The second was that she had tensed up.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

“I’ll be leaving in a few days…”

“I know,” he answered softly.

Meliza sighed and pulled away, hugging her arms. “Maybe it’s just me, but I…I don’t know…I…” she bit her lip, unsure of her words. “I…I’m not ready to see this end.”

Me either. There’s too much unfinished business… “I feel the same.”

“So…what are we going to do?” Meliza asked hesitantly. “I mean…I think it’s too soon to start taking trips together and planning a relationship…” she trailed off when he pulled her into his arms.

Andrew tipped her chin up so she could look at him, bending his head to kiss her softly. Meliza willingly responded, wrapping her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Wanting, craving more, she rose on her tiptoes. Tuning into her, his hands slipped beneath her jacket to capture her waist, pulling her against him so they were connected head to toe.

Needing air, she turned her head to the side, simultaneously shocked and pleased as his lips feathered kisses along her jaw. His lips claimed hers once more before he reluctantly broke the contact. She sagged against him weakly.

"I think I like this more than talking..." she murmured softly, longing tinged in her voice.

Still holding her in the circle of his arms, he smiled.

Meliza sighed. "We should talk a bit more..."

He chuckled. "We have time for that later..."

"Maybe..." Meliza tilted her head slightly, brushing her lips across his. “I forgot what we’re supposed to talk about anyway…”

If he wasn’t careful, he could see himself falling like a ton of bricks for this woman. But he didn’t have room in his life for a more permanent relationship. Nothing could change that.