Gavin leaves the 'happy couple' to grab another plate of food while he waits for Shay. But it isn't Mercedes who tags along behind him, it's Bill. Arthag must have seen Gavin with Shay at some point this evening, because he tells Gavin now that he & Mercedes want him & Shay to 'come home' with them. Gavin has been barely dealing with the insults to his person this evening, but bringing Shay into it really makes him angry. He doesn't even try to be polite in his rejection of Arthag & everything he stands for.

He's got to be kidding...Gavin is not impressed by Bill's show of strength. Too disgusted now to talk with anyone else, Gavin finds a dark corner to hide in until he sees Shay, wandering around as though lost, on the verge of tears. "Are you okay?" he asks her gently as he takes her hand. She shakes her head & her tears start falling: Gavin leads her out to his car, where they sit & Shay cries & tells him how Monica called her a 'little nothing' & dismissed her. Gavin could kick himself for coming up with this stupid idea. He knows these people, and he should have known that as soon as Shay told the magazine editor what she wanted, that that would be the end of it. It's a hard business. He apologizes as he roots around in his glove for some tissues. Shay dries her eyes & tells him it's not his fault

"Let's get a drink," he suggests. He sure could use one & he suspects Shay probably could as well. On the drive out of Beverly Hills, she asks him what he did all evening. "I...mingled," he answers, not wanting to talk about it. But he sees that his tone & short answer hurt her feelings, and since she was so open with him about what happened to her, it is only fair for him to share with her some of the degradation he experienced, too. So he tells her how Mercedes Arthag, an important art world figure, made inappropriate advances on him. When Shay tells him Bill Arthag hit on her too at some point in the evening, Gavin blurts, "I know," and then he has to explain how Bill suggested they 'swing' with him & his wife. At this point, Gavin notices they've come as far as the Sunset Strip, and that there is an open parking spot right in front of the Good Luck Club, an omen if he ever saw one: there's never any parking on Sunset. He parks & they head inside for a drink.

Gavin always makes a silent prayer to the statues of Buddha in this club whenever he enters, though of course Buddha is everywhere at all times & can be prayed to anywhere. Tonight, he prays that Shay won't ask him anything else about what happened this evening. As they sit to order drinks & Shay then asks him about his break up with Xtina & how he's feeling these days, Gavin is reminded to always be careful what you pray for & that selfish prayers always backfire. Nonetheless, he tells Shay everything, about the drawn out break up, about his constancy in his pursuit of his woman, about the last fight, the slap in the face, the last lovemaking & how she left him alone again. "I haven't spoken to her since," he concludes. And he is suprised to find that the heavy emotional burden he'd been carrying in silence is lifted away from him as the words leave his lips, as though each word carried it's own weight on his soul. Sometimes, when you pray for what you want, what you really get is what you need, he thinks.

Shay then tells him that despite her failure with Monica, she had a great time with him tonight & that she'd like to get together with him again, "without the Arthags," she teases. And she touches his arm flirtatiously.

Gavin thinks, it was actually a pretty terrible night for both of them, and he didn't think he was over Xtina enough yet to be attracted to any woman, at least not for awhile. But Shay has something about her, something he can't name, but which makes him want to be with her.

In his impulsive, romantic style, he pulls her close & kisses her deeply. He was with Xtina for a long time, longer than he'd been with any of the girls before her: he'd forgotten how different each woman is from her sisters. Shay's kiss is warm & giving and he can feel the rapid beat of her heart against his chest. It's too much for him, too soon, and he pulls away. "I'm sorry, Shay, I shouldn't have done that," he sighs an apology. He can barely look her in the eyes, but since she doesn't speak, he has to look at her. Of course, idiot, he thinks, you just hurt her feelings, and badly. "You deserve better," he adds. "Better?" Shay gasps "Better than what, Gavin? I've been around the block a few times...they don't come much better than you." Gavin can't look up at her at all now, and he can't come up with the words to say to what he feels: he thought he would love Xtina forever, he thought that was real, true love, and now he doesn't know what he feels at all, or what love could feel like if it wasn't what he had with Xtina, and he mumbles something about his broken heart, about not being much of a lover at all...

"Didn't it ever occur to you that you're the one who deserves better, Gavin? Better than being treated like crap, better than being slapped around by some...some girl who doesn't appreciate you?" Shay interrupts him. "Gavin, the things you said to me tonight..you made me feel really special...but you are the special one," she says, and Gavin finds he can face her now. He did say things to her tonight, things meant to make her feel good about herself, so she could do what she needed to do. She took his words to heart and it seems she took him into her heart with them. So he strokes her cheek & tells her he meant what he said, that she is beautiful...all true, because Gavin never lies, but he has said these things before, to Xtina, to the others before Xtina, but only Shay ever told him how much these words mean to her, and he is afraid he won't be able to live up to her expectations. He drives her home and they make out like teenagers in the front seat of his car, until he senses she's about to invite him in. It's not that he doesn't want her, it's not that he's still thinking of Xtina, it's just the way he is. This wasn't even a proper date & it shouldn't end in bed. He should at the very least buy her flowers first.....He lays his finger over her lips before she can make him an offer he might not be able to refuse, and promises to call her tomorrow.