It was the way he looked at her, his eyes roaming over her and drinking in her exposed skin, the dress she wore, which made Gwen's already-red cheeks flame harder. She couldn't do this, she knew she couldn't and she fled from the room. Outside, she calmed herself down and she knew that she owed Mindy a favour and then some. So, she went to the bathroom, splashed some water on her face and fixed her make-up, then went back out. First, she made her way to the bar and spoke to Jeff. "Table 23, Jeff. I'm picking up the tab for them. But I don't want the lady to know. Let the man pay, hand over his card and everything. But don't charge it, ok?" Jeff looked at her and frowned.<br/><br/>"Gwen, you know how much we're charging tonight," he said and she nodded. Looking at her face, Jeff didn't argue with her - she was obviously not in the mood for it and her tightly-clenched jaw didn't really allow for much in the way of argument. Besides, as long as the bill was paid, who was he to care who paid it? He nodded his head to show his acceptance of what Gwen said.<br/><br/>"Staple this to the receipt, would you? I don't want him to think...", Gwen stopped talking, and just handed Jeff a small piece of paper. He nodded, and Gwen shot him an almost-believable sassy grin. Then, though, she went back to work. Immediately, she made her way over to Mindy, and Mindy smiled at her.<br/><br/>"You want to just swap areas, love?" Mindy asked and Gwen nodded.<br/><br/>"I owe you, Mindy, big time." Mindy shook her head.<br/><br/>"We all have a past, Gwen, and people we'd rather not see smeared over someone else. Want me to spit in their food?" Gwen chuckled and shook her head, then explained that in fact, she liked both of them, they were nice people. If Mindy wouldn't mind, Gwen said, she'd like to make sure that the couple had the best night possible.<br/><br/>"Oh, and give them this, would you?" She said, handing over the small wristband to Mindy, who raised an eyebrow.<br/><br/>"That's the backstage party pass. People paid for those."<br/><br/>"I know," Gwen replied. "But they've been sold out for weeks, so I don't think they got any. I'm not going to it, anyhow, I'm going straight home after my shift, and I didn't have a plus one to invite - they're making a night of it. Better that it goes to someone who's going to enjoy it. Just don't tell them it's from me, I'll change the name to his on Derek's list." Mindy nodded and briefly squeezed Gwen's arm. Gwen smiled, and, turning around, she got on with her evening, having spoken to Derek the bouncer and given him Elijah's name.<br/><br/>-----<br/>When their meals arrived, the waitress who brought them handed Elijah a small wristband. "It's a backstage pass for an invited guest and their plus one." She smiled as she put down the plate in front of Elijah - this was in the intermission and Mindy figured they'd probably worked up an appetite with the slow dancing and mutual fondling - she'd been watching who it was that had gotten Gwen so worked up. "I'm not allowed to tell you who it's from, I made a promise. But if your name isn't on the list, which it should be, just check for the name Gwen Whitmore." As Mindy put Mary-Beth's food down she smiled at both of them, checking that they were happy. The service was excellent, it had to be said.<br/><br/>After the meal there was another half of the set, then most people went home. When Elijah paid, Mindy took his card and then brought it back, just as she would if he'd paid. However, in the small black case, when he opened it, there was a receipt with a zero balance on it, and a small note stapled to it.<br/><br/>"With many thanks, once again, for helping me when I first came here, and in gratitude for the dinner you bought Toby and I. I hope you have had a truly wonderful evening - both of you.<br/>Very best regards,<br/>Gwen."<br/><br/>Mindy, if asked, seemed genuinely as surprised as him.<br/>------<br/>Whatever they did - whether they went to the after-party or not, Gwen didn't know and told herself that she frankly didn't care.  She pulled on her coat and got herself into her car, then drove home. Toby, of course, was long since asleep as was Mrs Quincey. So, Gwen quietly made her way into her bedroom and peeled off the clothes she wore. She wanted to rip them off and burn them but, she knew, she was going to have to work more shifts like tonight. Hopefully, she thought, she wasn't going to blow half of her pay on settling a debt which she hadn't asked for and didn't want. But, that was besides the point. It didn't take her long to get all her clothes off, and Gwen went into the small bathroom, where she turned the shower up as hot as she could stand it and scrubbed her skin until it was red. It didn't help, but it gave her something to focus on. Come the morning, Toby wasn't going to smell the evening on her, she was determined.<br/><br/>Once out of the shower, Gwen pulled on a pair of pyjamas which had once been bright pink but were now rather faded, and she slid into bed. Sleep was a long time coming as she planned and thought about things. Tomorrow, she was going to get herself prepared for studying. She was also going to make sure, she determined, that on Monday morning, she was not going to bump in to either Elijah or Miss Sinclair. Come to that, she thought, she could probably do with pulling Toby out of after-school. Now that she knew the shift rotation better, she would be able to work around it and, after all, it was an expense she didn't need.<br/><br/>And she needed to just drop everything she didn't need, Gwen thought, as sleep continued to elude her. Just like images of Elijah and Miss Sinclair wrapped around each other in Elijah's bed. Irritated, she flung one of her pillows, then lay her head on another and closed her eyes. Eventually, of course, she slept and awoke the next morning determined to have a good day with her son and a week where she didn't see either Elijah or Mary-Beth.