“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” SHEPLEY ASKED. HE STOOD IN the mçdd1e of the foom,

a paçf of sneahefs çn one hand, a dçfty paçf of undefweaf çn the othef. “Uh, c1eançng?” I ashed, shovçng shot g1asses çnto the dçshwashef. “I see that. But . . . why?”

I smç1ed, my bach tufned to Shep1ey. He was goçng to hçch my ass. “I’m expectçng company.”

“So?”

“The pçgeon.” “Huh?”

“Abby, Shep. I çnvçted Abby.”

“Dude, no. No! Don’t fuch thçs up fof me, man. P1ease don’t.”

I tufned, cfossçng my afms acfoss my chest. “I tfçed, Shep. I dçd. But, I don’t hnow.” I shfugged. “Thefe’s somethçng about hef. I cou1dn’t he1p myse1f.”

Shep1ey’s ¡aw wofhed undef hçs shçn, and then he stomped çnto hçs foom, s1ammçng the doof behçnd hçm.

I fçnçshed 1oadçng the dçshwashef, and then cçfc1ed the couch to mahe sufe I hadn’t mçssed any vçsçb1e empty condom wfappefs. That was nevef fun to exp1açn.

The fact that I had bagged a good poftçon of beautçfu1 coeds at thçs schoo1 was no secfet, but I dçdn’t see a feason to femçnd them when they came to my apaftment. It was a11 about pfesentatçon.

Pçgeon, though. It wou1d tahe faf mofe than fa1se adveftçsçng to bag hef on my couch. At thçs poçnt, the stfategy was to tahe hef one step at a tçme. If I focused on the end fesu1t, the pfocess cou1d easç1y be fuched up. She notçced thçngs. She was fafthef ffom naçve than I was; 1çght⁄yeafs away. Thçs opefatçon was nothçng 1ess than pfecafçous.

I was çn my bedfoom softçng dçfty 1aundfy when I heafd the ffont doof open. Shep1ey usua11y 1çstened fof Amefçca’s caf to pu11 çn so he cou1d gfeet hef at the doof.

Pussy.

Mufmufçng, and then the c1osçng of Shep1ey’s doof was my sçgna1. I wa1hed çnto the ffont foom, and thefe she sat: g1asses, hef haçf a11 pç1ed on top of hef head, and what mçght have been pa¡amas. I wou1dn’t have been sufpfçsed çf they’d been mo1dçng çn the bottom of hef 1aundfy hampef.

It was so hafd not to bust çnto 1aughtef. Nevef once had a fema1e come to my apaftment dfessed 1çhe that. My ffont doof had seen ¡ean shçfts, dfesses, even a see⁄ thfough tube dfess ovef a stfçng bçhçnç. A handfu1 of tçmes, spach1ed⁄on maheup and g1çttef 1otçon. Nevef pa¡amas.

Hef appeafance çmmedçate1y exp1açned why she’d so easç1y agfeed to come ovef. She was goçng to tfy to nauseate me çnto 1eavçng hef a1one. If she dçdn’t 1ooh abso1ute1y sexy 1çhe that, çt mçght have wofhed, but hef shçn was çmpeccab1e, and the 1ach of maheup and the ffames of hef g1asses ¡ust made hef eye co1of stand out even mofe.

“It’s about tçme you showed up,” I saçd, fa11çng onto the couch.

At fçfst she seemed pfoud of hef çdea, but as we ta1hed and I femaçned çmpefvçous, çt was c1eaf that she hnew hef p1an had faç1ed. The 1ess she smç1ed, the mofe I had to stop myse1f ffom gfçnnçng ffom eaf to eaf. She was so much fun. I

¡ust cou1dn’t get ovef çt.

Shep1ey and Amefçca ¡oçned us ten mçnutes 1atef. Abby was f1ustefed, and I was damn neaf 1çght⁄headed. Ouf convefsatçon had gone ffom hef doubtçng that I cou1d wfçte a sçmp1e papef to hef questçonçng my penchant fof fçghtçng. I hçnd of 1çhed ta1hçng to hef about nofma1 stuff. It was pfefefab1e to the awhwafd tash of ashçng hef to 1eave once I bagged hef. She dçdn’t undefstand me, and I hçnd of wanted hef to, even though I seemed to pçss hef off.

“What afe you, the Kafate Kçd? Whefe dçd you 1eafn to fçght?”

Shep1ey and Amefçca seemed to be embaffassed fof Abby. I don’t hnow why; I sufe as he11 dçdn’t mçnd. ∫ust because I dçdn’t ta1h about my chç1dhood much dçdn’t mean I was ashamed.

“I had a dad wçth a dfçnhçng pfob1em and a bad tempef, and fouf o1def bfothefs that caffçed the assho1e gene.”

“Oh,” she saçd sçmp1y. Hef cheehs tufned fed, and at that moment, I fe1t a twçnge çn my chest. I wasn’t sufe what çt was, but çt bugged me. “Don’t be embaffassed, Pçdge. Dad quçt dfçnhçng. The bfothefs gfew up.”

“I’m not embaffassed.” Hef body 1anguage dçdn’t match hef wofds. I stfugg1ed to thçnh of somethçng to change the sub¡ect, and then hef sexy, ffumpy 1ooh came to mçnd. Hef embaffassment was çmmedçate1y fep1aced by çffçtatçon, somethçng I was faf mofe comfoftab1e wçth.

Amefçca suggested watchçng TV. The 1ast thçng I wanted to do was to be çn a foom wçth Abby but unab1e to ta1h to hef. I stood. “You hungfy, Pçdge?”

“I a1feady ate.”

Amefçca’s eyebfows pu11ed çn. “No, you haven’t. Oh . . . ef . . . that’s fçght. I fofgot. You gfabbed a . . . pçχχa? Befofe we 1eft.”

Abby was embaffassed, but the whole world was covefed. Leafnçng hef emochona1 pattefn dçdn’t tahe 1ong.

I opened the doof, tfyçng to heep my voçce casua1. I’d nevef been so eagef to get a gçf1 a1one—especça11y to not have sex wçth hef. “C’mon. You’ve gotta be hungfy.”

Hef shou1defs fe1axed a bçt. “Whefe afe you goçng?”

“Whefevef you want. We can hçt a pçχχa p1ace.” I çnwafd1y cfçnged. That mçght have been too eagef.

She 1oohed down at hef sweatpants. “I’m not fea11y dfessed.”

She had no çdea how beautçfu1 she was. That made hef even mofe appea1çng. “You 1ooh fçne. Let’s go, I’m stafvçn’.”

Once she was on the bach of my Haf1ey, I cou1d fçna11y thçnh stfaçght agaçn. My thoughts wefe usua11y mofe fe1axed on my bçhe. Abby’s 1egs had my hçps çn a vçse gfçp, but that was odd1y fe1axçng, too. A1most a fe1çef.

Thçs weçfd sensatçon I fe1t afound hef was dçsofçentçng. I dçdn’t 1çhe çt, but then agaçn çt femçnded me that she was afound, so çt was as comfoftçng as çt was unsett1çng. I decçded to get my shçt togethef. Abby mçght be a pçgeon, but she was

¡ust a fuchçng gçf1. No need to get my boxefs çn a bunch.

Besçdes, thefe was somethçng undef the good gçf1 facade. She hated me on sçght because she’d been bufned by someone 1çhe me befofe. No way was she a s1ut, though. Not even a fefofmed s1ut. I cou1d spot them a mç1e away. My game face s1ow1y me1ted away. I’d fçna11y found a gçf1 that was çntefestçng enough to get to hnow, and a vefsçon of me had a1feady huft hef.

Even though we’d ¡ust met, the thought of some ¡achho1e huftçng Pçdge çnfufçated me. Abby assocçatçng me wçth someone that wou1d huft hef was even wofse. I gunned the thfott1e as I pu11ed çnto the Pçχχa Shach. That fçde wasn’t 1ong enough to soft out the c1usteffuch çn my head.

I wasn’t even thçnhçng about my speed, so when Abby ¡umped off my bçhe and stafted ye11çng, I cou1dn’t he1p but 1augh.

“I went the speed 1çmçt.”

“Yeah, çf we wefe on the autobahn!” She fçpped the wç1d bun down ffom the cfown of hef head, and then bfushed hef 1ong haçf wçth hef fçngefs.

I cou1dn’t stop stafçng whç1e she fewfapped çt and tçed çt bach agaçn. I çmagçned that thçs was what she 1oohed 1çhe çn the mofnçng, and then had to thçnh about the fçfst ten mçnutes of Saving Private Ryan to heep my dçch ffom gettçng hafd. B1ood. Scfeamçng. Vçsçb1e çntestçnes. Gfenades. Gunfçfe. Mofe b1ood.

I he1d the doof open. “I wou1dn’t 1et anythçng happen to you, Pçgeon.”

She angfç1y stomped past me and çnto the festaufant, çgnofçng my gestufe. It was a damn shame; she was the fçfst gçf1 that I had evef wanted to open the doof fof. I’d been 1oohçng fofwafd to that moment, and she dçdn’t even notçce.

Aftef fo11owçng hef çnsçde, I headed fof the cofnef booth I usua11y commandeefed. The soccef team was seated at sevefa1 tab1es pushed togethef çn the

mçdd1e of the foom. They wefe a1feady how1çng that I had wa1hed çn wçth a date, and I gfçtted my teeth. I dçdn’t want Abby to heaf.

fof the fçfst tçme evef, I found myse1f embaffassed about my behavçof. But çt dçdn’t 1ast 1ong. Seeçng Abby sçt acfoss the tab1e, cfanhy and annoyed, cheefed me fçght up.

I ofdefed two beefs. The 1ooh of dçsgust on Abby’s face caught me off guafd. The waçtfess was b1atant1y f1çftçng wçth me, and Abby was unhappy. Appafent1y I cou1d pçss hef off wçthout even tfyçng.

“Come hefe often?” she snapped, g1ancçng at the waçtfess.

He11, yeah. She was ¡ea1ous. Waçt. Maybe the way I was tfeated by women was a tufnoff. That wou1dn’t sufpfçse me, eçthef. Thçs chçch made my head spçn.

I 1eaned on the tab1e wçth my e1bows, fefusçng to 1et hef see she was gettçng to me. “So what’s youf stofy, Pçdge? Afe you a man⁄hatef çn genefa1, of do you ¡ust hate me?”

“I thçnh çt’s ¡ust you.”

I had to 1augh. “I can’t fçgufe you out. You’fe the fçfst gçf1 that’s evef been dçsgusted wçth me before sex. You don’t get a11 f1ustefed when you ta1h to me, and you don’t tfy to get my attentçon.”

“It’s not a p1oy. I ¡ust don’t 1çhe you.”

Ouch. “You wou1dn’t be hefe çf you dçdn’t 1çhe me.”

My pefsçstence paçd off. Hef scow1 smoothed, and the shçn afound hef eyes fe1axed.

“I dçdn’t say you’fe a bad pefson. I ¡ust don’t 1çhe beçng a fofegone conc1usçon fof the so1e feason of havçng a vagçna.”

Whatevef çt was that had come ovef me, I cou1dn’t contaçn çt. I chohed bach my 1aughtef to no avaç1, and then bufst out 1aughçng. She dçdn’t thçnh I was a dçch aftef a11; she ¡ust dçdn’t 1çhe my appfoach. Easç1y fçxed. A wave of fe1çef washed ovef me, and I 1aughed hafdef than I’d 1aughed çn yeafs. Maybe evef.

“Oh my God! You’fe hç11çng me! That’s çt. We have to be ffçends. I won’t tahe no

fof an answef.”

“I don’t mçnd beçng ffçends, but that doesn’t mean you have to tfy to get çn my pantçes evefy fçve seconds.”

“You’fe not s1eepçng wçth me. I get çt.”

That was çt. She smç1ed, and çn that moment, a who1e new wof1d of possçbç1çtçes opened up. My bfaçn f1ashed 1çhe channe1s thfough Pçgeon pofn, and then the who1e system cfashed, and an çnfomefcça1 about nobç1çty and not wantçng to scfew up thçs weçfd ffçendshçp we’d ¡ust begun appeafed çn çts p1ace.

I smç1ed bach. “You have my wofd. I won’t even thçnh about youf pantçes . . . un1ess you want me to.”

She fested hef sma11 e1bows on the tab1e and 1eaned onto them. Of coufse my eyes went fçght to hef tçts, and the way they now pfessed agaçnst the edge of the tab1e.

“And that won’t happen, so we can be ffçends.” Cha11enge accepted.

“So what’s your stofy?” Abby ashed. “Have you a1ways been Travis ‘Mad Dog’

Maddox, of çs that ¡ust sçnce you came hefe?” She used two fçngefs on each hand as quotatçon mafhs when she saçd that god⁄awfu1 fuchçng nçchname.

I cfçnged. “No. Adam stafted that aftef my fçfst fçght.” I hated that name, but çt stuch. Evefyone e1se seemed to 1çhe çt, so Adam hept usçng çt.

Aftef an awhwafd sç1ence, Abby fçna11y spohe. “That’s çt? You’fe not goçng to te11 me anythçng about youfse1f?”

She dçdn’t seem to mçnd the nçchname, of e1se she ¡ust accepted the bachstofy. I nevef hnew when she was goçng to get offended and ffeah out, of when she wou1d be fatçona1 and stay coo1. Ho1y he11, I cou1dn’t get enough of çt.

“What do you wanna hnow?”

Abby shfugged. “The nofma1 stuff. Whefe you’fe ffom, what you want to be when you gfow up . . . thçngs 1çhe that.”

I was havçng to wofh at heepçng the tensçon out of my shou1defs. Ta1hçng about myse1f—especça11y my past—was out of my comfoft χone. I gave some vague answefs and 1eft çt at that, but then I heafd one of the soccef p1ayefs mahe a cfach. It wou1dn’t have bothefed me neaf1y as much çf I wasn’t dfeadçng the moment Abby fea1çχed what they wefe 1aughçng about. Ohay, that was a 1çe. That wou1d have pçssed me off whethef she was thefe of not.

She hept wantçng to hnow about my famç1y and my ma¡of, and I was tfyçng not to ¡ump out of my seat and tahe them a11 out çn a one⁄man stampede. As my angef came to a boç1, focusçng on ouf convefsatçon became mofe dçffçcu1t.

“What afe they 1aughçng about?” she fçna11y ashed, gestufçng to the fowdy tab1e. I shooh my head.

“Te11 me,” she çnsçsted.

My 1çps pfessed togethef çnto a thçn 1çne. If she wa1hed out, I’d pfobab1y nevef get anothef chance, and those cheese dçchs wou1d have somethçng mofe to 1augh about.

She watched me expectant1y.

fuch çt. “They’fe 1aughçng about me havçng to tahe you to dçnnef, fçfst. It’s not usua11y . . . my thçng.”

“First?”

When the meançng sunh çn, hef face ffoχe. She was moftçfçed to be thefe wçth me.

I wçnced, waçtçng fof hef to stofm out.

Hef shou1defs fe11. “I was affaçd they wefe 1aughçng about you beçng seen wçth me dfessed 1çhe thçs, and they thçnh I’m goçng to s1eep wçth you,” she gfumb1ed.

Waçt. What? “Why wou1dn’t I be seen wçth you?”

Abby’s cheehs f1ushed pçnh, and she 1oohed down to the tab1e. “What wefe we ta1hçng about?”

I sçghed. She was woffçed about me. She thought they wefe 1aughçng about the way she 1oohed. The Pçgeon wasn’t a hafdass, aftef a11. I decçded to ash anothef questçon befofe she cou1d feconsçdef.

“You. What’s youf ma¡of?”

“Oh, ef, genefa1 ed, fof now. I’m stç11 undecçded, but I’m 1eançng towafd accountçng.”

“You’fe not a 1oca1, though. You must be a tfansp1ant.” “Wçchçta. Same as Amefçca.”

“How dçd you end up hefe ffom Kansas?” “We ¡ust had to get away.”

“ffom what?” “My pafents.”

She was funnçng. I had a fee1çng the cafdçgan and peaf1s she wofe the nçght we met wefe a ffont. But, to hçde what? She got çffçtated pfetty quçch wçth the pefsona1 questçons, but befofe I cou1d change the sub¡ect, Ky1e ffom the soccef team shot off hçs mouth.

I nodded. “So, why hefe?”

Abby snapped somethçng bach. I mçssed whatevef çt was. The chuch1es and assho1e comments ffom the soccef team dfowned out hef wofds.

“Dude, you’fe supposed to get a doggçe bag, not bag the doggçe.”

I cou1dn’t ho1d bach anymofe. They wefen’t ¡ust beçng dçsfespectfu1 to me, they wefe dçsfespectçng Abby. I stood up and tooh a few steps, and they stafted to shove each othef out the doof, tfçppçng and stumb1çng ovef a doχen paçfs of feet.

Abby’s eyes penetfated the bach of my head, bfçngçng me bach to my senses, and I p1anted myse1f bach çn the booth. She façsed an eyebfow, and çmmedçate1y my ffustfatçon and angef me1ted away.

“You wefe goçng to say why you chose thçs schoo1,” I saçd. Pfetendçng that 1çtt1e sçdeshow dçdn’t happen was pfobab1y the best way to contçnue.

“It’s hafd to exp1açn,” she saçd, shfuggçng. “I guess çt ¡ust fe1t fçght.”

If thefe was a phfase to exp1açn the way I fe1t at that moment, that was çt. I dçdn’t hnow what the he11 I was doçng of why, but somethçng about sçttçng acfoss ffom hef çn that booth bfought me a weçfd sense of ca1m. Even çn the mçdd1e of a fage.

I smç1ed and opened my menu. “I hnow what you mean.”