The first thing you notice when you step into Timothy Adams' (Casey) dressing room, the one he's shared with Jason George (Michael) since day one, is the clothes lying on the floor. Since George is something of a clean freak, it's pretty apparent whose apparel you have to step over to get to the couch.

"I'm not a slob," Adams insists with a laugh. "I figure why hang them up? I'm just going to put them right back on again." Adams does want it said, for the record, that the clothes on the floor belong to him. He has much more reverence for the clothes that Casey wears - and that the show owns. When Casey is wearing clothes, that is.

In fact, his reverence - and zeal - for playing Casey is contagious. Adams likes talking about himself (he's no different from you and me), but he loves talking about the role that's made him a daytime heartthrob.

SON: It's been a while since we've spoken.
T.A.: Sure has. But we're still sitting in the same place.

SON: How has your life changed the most?
T.A.: I love getting a paycheck every week! And I'm still here.

SON: Not to many of the original cast members can say that.
T.A.: Exactly. I'm still here. I love that. I wasn't expecting it.

SON: You were expecting to be fired?

T.A.: No, it was more like I was just expecting not to be around long. I wasn't sure if the show would last or what would happen. Like now. We got renewed for a year. But I hate the idea of living year to year; not knowing if we'll be on or not. That's a weird thing.

SON: The last time we spoke, you mentioned you were about to ask someone out but you were worried about what her reaction would be. And you just snickered when I said, "Is it someone at NBC?" Now I know it was Sherri Saum (Vanessa). I can't believe you kept it quiet for as long as you did.
T.A.: [Laughs] If you'd spent more time on the set, you probably would've known. People pretty much figured it out very quickly. I wanted to tell you. But I respected Sherri wanting to keep things discreet.

SON: I knew discreet couldn't have been your idea.
T.A.: Things are so excellent [with us].

SON: Knock on wood.
T.A.: [Looking for wood, he hits his head and laughs.] You know what? I don't have to knock on wood. Things are going so well for me. For the show, with Sherri.

SON: Is it weird to have Jason be your roommate and you have to kiss his girlfriend?
T.A.: He's kissing my girlfriend.

SON: You know what I mean.
T.A.: And you know what I mean. [Laughs] What else do you want to know?

SON: Does it bother you to see Jason kissing Sherri?
T.A.: Nah. Of course not.

SON: It's funny. Casey didn't have a love interest for the longest time. Now, it looks like Sara and Meg will fight over him. He's becoming a sex symbol.
T.A.: I don't know about that. He hasn't had sex with either of them yet. It's just nice to interact with a female character for a change. I enjoy playing Casey as a gentleman and a charmer. He's always been a good guy, but he really didn't get to show an intimate side before.

SON: The relationship with Rae was very quick.
T.A.: It was over before he got a chance to show his softer side. They were both so hard-headed, it was hard for him to act smooth and confident. And that's who I think Casey is.

SON: You don't think he's always had that?
T.A.: He has an air of confidence he didn't have before. And it's growing as he matures. And I think it will grow even more as he gets more comfortable with the people he's around.

SON: You mean, I'm glad he's finally sleeping with women on the show?
T.A.: [Laughs] Well, they're not exactly fighting over Casey at this point. I think a potential triangle will be interesting. I mean, I'd like to hop in the sack at least once year on this show.

SON: How will Sherri handle seeing you in love scenes, for a change?
T.A.: I'm sure she'll be fine with it. She's seen me do those scenes before. It's not a problem. If we had issues with that stuff, we wouldn't be dating each other. That would be another soap opera. We're both cool.

SON: Everyone wants to know if you two will get married?
T.A.: One of the tabloids just said we were engaged. And we're not. Everyone keeps asking us. And we don't have a problem with that.

SON: Things are excellent, but your co-workers had to be initially worried. What happens if they break up, if it's ugly, if they fight a lot, etc.
T.A.: I'm sure there was that [concern]. And people were certainly curious. But I have to tell you something, honestly - we've never had a fight. Never. It's who we are. In a year and a half, not one fight. I've never been a fighter that way. I don't raise my voice. I don't get angry. I love people, I'm loveable. I don't like confrontations. But, if someone messes with my livelihood, that's different. I saw a documentary on [daredevil] Evel Knievel. He said someone once messed with his livelihood and he took a baseball bat to the guy. I understood that.

SON: A baseball bat?
T.A.: Yeah. And he wasn't remorseful. I believe in that. I don't want someone messing with my livelihood.

SON: You'll love this article.
T.A.: Thanks.

SON: You sound so much more mature these days. Is that a fair assessment?
T.A.: I believe I had emotional maturity from a young age. And either you have it or you don't.

SON: You have swimsuit pinups in your dressing room, your clothes are on the floor. You're emotionally mature from a young age? [Laughs]
T.A.: I didn't say I was socially mature. [Laughs] There's a big difference. The posters were gifts from the ladies in them. They gave them to someone in production, who gave them to us, since we play the lifeguards.

SON: Uh, huh.
T.A.: [Laughs] No, really! I'm the same guy as when this show started.

SON: You seem more relaxed, more confident.
T.A.: This is who I am. I might be more relaxed about the show - that I'm going to be around.

SON: You'd think you would've felt that long before now. When did you know - you know that "they like me, they really like me?" [Laughs]
T.A.: When Gary [Tomlin, SUN's executive producer] stopped calling me into his office.

SON: Really?
T.A.: Really. He'd say, "Tim, please stop directing the other actors in your scenes." When I got here, I knew nothing. I mean, nothing. About the industry, about soaps, about the protocol. I was overwhelmed. I'd tell other actors where to stand and all because I was so new. [Laughs] I'd be like, 'Now you stand here, and I'll come around and then I'll say this and you say'... I really had no clue this wasn't my job. It was just inexperience talking. And Gary would say, 'Tim, this is not appropriate behavior.'"

SON: How many times did he have to tell you?
T.A.: A few. [Laughs] That's the funny thing. Now, I can laugh at it. But what was I thinking?