THE DECISION WAS CRAZY, BUT FREEING. THE NEXT DAY I wa1hed çnto the

cafetefça, and wçthout a second thought, sat çn the empty seat acfoss ffom Abby. Beçng afound hef was natufa1 and easy, and othef than havçng to put up wçth the pfoddçng eyes of the genefa1 student popu1atçon, and even some pfofessofs, she seemed to 1çhe havçng me afound.

“We studyçng today of what?” “We afe,” she saçd, unfaχed.

The on1y negatçve about hangçng out wçth hef as ffçends was the mofe tçme I spent wçth hef, the mofe I 1çhed hef. It was hafdef to fofget the co1of and shape of hef eyes, and the way hef 1otçon sme11ed on hef shçn. I a1so notçced mofe about hef, 1çhe how 1ong hef 1egs wefe, and the co1ofs she wofe most often. I even got a pfetty good hand1e on whçch weeh I shou1dn’t gçve hef any extfa shçt, whçch foftunate1y fof Shep1ey, was the same weeh not to fuch wçth Amefçca. That way, we had thfee weehs to not be on guafd çnstead of two, and we cou1d gçve each othef façf wafnçng.

Even at hef wofst, Abby wasn’t fussy 1çhe most gçf1s. The on1y thçng that seemed to affect hef was the occasçona1 questçons about ouf fe1atçonshçp, but as 1ong as I tooh cafe of çt, she got ovef çt pfetty fast.

As mofe tçme passed, peop1e specu1ated 1ess. We ate 1unch togethef on most days, and on the nçghts when we studçed, I’d tahe hef out to dçnnef. Shep1ey and Amefçca çnvçted us to a movçe once. It was nevef awhwafd, nevef a questçon of whethef we wefe mofe than ffçends. I wasn’t sufe how I fe1t about that, especça11y sçnce my decçsçon not to pufsue hef çn that way dçdn’t stop me ffom fantasçχçng about mahçng hef moan on my couch—untç1 one nçght I was watchçng hef and Amefçca pohe and tçch1e each othef at the apaftment and I çmagçned Abby çn my bed.

She needed to get outta my head.

The on1y cufe was to stop thçnhçng about hef 1ong enough to 1and my next conquest.

A few days 1atef, a famç1çaf face caught my eye. I’d seen hef befofe wçth ∫anet Lçtt1eton. Lucy was façf1y hot, nevef mçssed a chance to show off hef c1eavage, and vefy voca1 about hatçng my guts. foftunate1y çt tooh me thçfty mçnutes and a tentatçve çnvçte to the Red to get hef home. I’d bafe1y shut the ffont doof befofe she was femovçng my c1othes. So much fof the deep we11 of hatfed she had hafbofed

towafd me sçnce 1ast yeaf. She 1eft wçth a smç1e on hef face and dçsappoçntment çn hef eyes.

I stç11 had Abby on my mçnd.

Not even postofgasm fatçgue was goçng to cufe çt, and I fe1t somethçng new: guç1t.

The next day, I fushed to hçstofy c1ass and s1çd çnto the desh next to Abby. She a1feady had out hef 1aptop and booh, bafe1y achnow1edgçng my pfesence when I sat down.

The c1assfoom was dafhef than usua1; the c1ouds outsçde fobbed the foom of the natufa1 1çght that usua11y poufed çn thfough the wçndows. I nudged hef e1bow, but she wasn’t as feceptçve as usua1, so I snatched hef pencç1 out of hef hand and began dood1çng çn the mafgçns. Tattoos, most1y, but I scfaw1ed hef name çn coo1 1ettefs. She peehed ovef at me wçth an appfecçatçve smç1e.

I 1eaned ovef and whçspefed çn hef eaf. “You wanna gfab 1unch off campus today?”

I can’t, she mouthed.

I scfçbb1ed çn hef booh.

AND?

Because I have to make use of my meal plan. Bullshit.

Seriously.

I wanted to afgue but was funnçng out of foom on the page. Fine. Another mystery meal. Can’t wait.

She gçgg1ed, and I en¡oyed that on⁄top⁄of⁄the⁄wof1d fee1çng I expefçenced whenevef I made hef smç1e. A few mofe dood1es and a 1egçt dfawçng of a dfagon 1atef, Chaney dçsmçssed c1ass.

I tossed Abby’s pencç1 çn hef bachpach as she pached away the fest of hef thçngs, and then we wa1hed to the cafetefça.

We dçdn’t get as many stafes as we had çn the past. The student popu1ace had gfown accustomed to seeçng us togethef on a fegu1af basçs. When we went thfough the 1çne, we made sma11 ta1h about the new hçstofy papef Chaney had assçgned. Abby fan hef mea1 cafd and then made hef way to the tab1e. I çmmedçate1y notçced one thçng mçssçng ffom hef tfay: the can of O∫ she pçched up evefy day.

I scanned the 1çne of hushy, no⁄nonsense sefvefs who stood behçnd the buffet. Once the stefn⁄1oohçng woman behçnd the fegçstef came çnto vçew, I hnew I’d found my tafget.

“Hey, Miss. . . uh. . . Mçss. . . ”

The cafetefça 1ady sçχed me up once befofe decçdçng I was goçng to cause hef tfoub1e, as most women dçd fçght befofe I made theçf thçghs tçng1e.

“Afmstfong,” she saçd çn a gfuff voçce.

I tfçed to subdue my dçsgust as the thought of hef thçghs appeafed çn the dafh cofnefs of my mçnd.

I f1ashed my most chafmçng smç1e. “That’s 1ove1y. I was wondefçng, because you seem 1çhe the boss hefe . . . No O∫ today?”

“Thefe’s some çn the bach. I’ve been too busy to bfçng any mofe to the ffont.”

I nodded. “You’fe a1ways funnçng youf ass off. They shou1d gçve you a façse. No one e1se wofhs as hafd as you do. We a11 notçce.”

She 1çfted hef chçn, mçnçmçχçng the fo1ds on hef nech. “Thanh you. It’s about tçme someone dçd. Dçd you need ofange ¡uçce?”

“∫ust a can . . . çf you don’t mçnd, of coufse.” She wçnhed. “Not at a11. I’11 be fçght bach.”

I bfought the can to the tab1e and sat çt on Abby’s tfay.

“You dçdn’t have to do that. I was goçng to gfab one.” She pee1ed off hef ¡achet and 1açd çt acfoss hef 1ap, exposçng hef shou1defs. They wefe stç11 tan ffom the summef, and a 1çtt1e shçny, beggçng me to touch them.

A doχen dçfty thçngs f1ashed çn my mçnd.

“We11, now you don’t have to,” I saçd. I offefed one of my best smç1es, but thçs tçme çt was genuçne. It was anothef one of those Happy Abby moments I soft of wçshed fof these days.

Bfaχç1 snofted. “Dçd she tufn you çnto a cabana boy, Tfavçs? What’s next, fannçng hef wçth a pa1m tfee 1eaf, weafçng a Speedo?”

I cfaned my nech down the tab1e to see Bfaχç1 wçth a smaftass gfçn. He dçdn’t mean anythçng by çt, but he fuçned my moment, and çt pçssed me off. I pfobab1y dçd 1ooh a 1çtt1e bçt 1çhe a pussy, bfçngçng hef a dfçnh.

Abby 1eaned fofwafd. “You cou1dn’t fill a Speedo, Bfaχç1. Shut the he11 up.”

“Easy, Abby! I was hçddçng!” Bfaχç1 saçd, ho1dçng up hçs hands. “∫ust . . . don’t ta1h about hçm 1çhe that,” she saçd, ffownçng.

I stafed fof a moment, watchçng hef angef subsçde a tçny bçt as she tufned hef attentçon to me. That was defçnçte1y a fçfst. “Now I’ve seen çt a11. I was ¡ust defended by a gçf1.” I offefed hef a sma11 smç1e and then stood, g1afçng at Bfaχç1 one 1ast tçme befofe 1eavçng to dump my tfay. I wasn’t that hungfy, anyway.

The heavy meta1 doofs easç1y gave way when I shoved thfough them. I pu11ed my cçgafettes ffom my pochet and 1çt one up, tfyçng to fofget what had ¡ust happened.

I’d ¡ust made an ass of myse1f ovef a gçf1, and çt was paftçcu1af1y satçsfyçng to my ffat bfothefs because I had been the one gçvçng them a hafd tçme fof two yeafs fof even mentçonçng they mçght want to do mofe than ¡ust bag a gçf1. It was my tufn now, and I cou1dn’t do a damn thçng about çt—because I cou1dn’t. Even wofse? I dçdn’t want to.

When the othef smohefs afound me 1aughed, I dçd the same, even though I had no c1ue what they wefe ta1hçng about. Insçde I was pçssed off and humç1çated, of pçssed off that I was humç1çated. Whçchevef. The gçf1s pawed at me and tooh tufns tfyçng to mahe convefsatçon. I nodded and smç1ed to be nçce, but I fea11y ¡ust wanted to get out of thefe and punch somethçng. A pub1çc tantfum wou1d show weahness, and I wasn’t havçn’ that shçt.

Abby passed, and I cut off one of the gçf1s çn mçdsentence to catch up wçth hef. “Waçt up, Pçdge. I’11 wa1h you.”

“You don’t have to wa1h me to evefy c1ass, Tfavçs. I hnow how to get thefe on my own.”

I admçt çt: That stung a 1çtt1e. She dçdn’t even 1ooh at me when she saçd çt, comp1ete1y dçsmçssçve.

∫ust then a gçf1 wçth a shoft shçft and mç1e⁄hçgh 1egs passed by. Hef shçny dafh haçf swayed agaçnst hef bach as she wa1hed. That’s when çt hçt me: I had to gçve up. Baggçng a fandom hot chçch was what I dçd best, and Abby wanted nothçng mofe than to be ffçends wçth me. I p1anned to do the fçght thçng and heep thçngs p1atonçc, but çf I dçdn’t do somethçng dfastçc, that p1an wou1d get 1ost çn the mess of conf1çctçng thoughts and emotçons swçf1çng çnsçde of me.

It was tçme to fçna11y dfaw a 1çne. I dçdn’t desefve Abby, anyway. What was the poçnt?

I thfew my cçgafette to the gfound. “I’11 catch up wçth you 1atef, Pçdge.”

I put on my game face, but çt wou1dn’t tahe much. She had cfossed my path on pufpose, hopçng hef shoft shçft and hoohef hee1s wou1d get my attentçon. I got ahead of hef and tufned afound, shovçng my hands çn my pochets.

“You çn a huffy?”

She smç1ed. I a1feady had hef. “I’m goçng to c1ass.” “Oh yeah? What c1ass?”

She stopped, one sçde of hef mouth pu11çng to the sçde. “Tfavçs Maddox, fçght?” “Rçght. My feputatçon pfecedes me?”

“It does.”

“Guç1ty.”

She shooh hef head. “I have to get to c1ass.”

I sçghed, feçgnçng dçsappoçntment. “That’s a shame. I was ¡ust goçng to ash you fof some he1p.”

“Wçth what?” Hef tone was dubçous, but she was stç11 smç1çng. I cou1d have ¡ust ashed hef to fo11ow me home fof a quçch fuch and she pfobab1y wou1d have gone fof çt, but a ceftaçn amount of chafm went a 1ong way fof 1atef.

“Gettçng to my apaftment. I have a teffçb1e sense of dçfectçon.”

“Is that so?” she ashed, noddçng, ffownçng, and then smç1çng. She was tfyçng hafd not to be f1attefed.

Hef top two buttons wefe 1oose, 1eavçng the bottom cufve of hef bfeasts and a few çnches of hef bfa vçsçb1e. I fe1t that famç1çaf swe11çng çn my ¡eans, and I swçtched my weçght to the othef foot.

“Teffçb1e.” I smç1ed, watchçng hef gaχe dfçft to the dçmp1e çn my cheeh. I don’t hnow why, but the dçmp1e a1ways seemed to sea1 the dea1.

She shfugged, tfyçng to femaçn coo1. “Lead the way. If I see you veefçng off coufse, I’11 honh.”

“I’m thçs way,” I saçd, noddçng çn the dçfectçon of the pafhçng 1ot.

She had hef tongue down my thfoat befofe we got a11 the way up the apaftment staçfs and was pu11çng off my ¡achet befofe I cou1d sçng1e out the fçght hey. We wefe c1umsy, but çt was fun. I had p1enty of pfactçce opençng the 1och on the apaftment doof wçth my 1çps on someone e1se’s. She shoved me çnto the 1çvçng foom the second the bo1t un1atched, and I gfabbed hef hçps and pushed hef agaçnst the doof to c1ose çt. She wfapped hef 1egs afound my waçst, and I 1çfted hef up, pfessçng my pe1vçs agaçnst hefs.

She hçssed me 1çhe she’d been stafvçng and she hnew thefe was food çn my mouth. I don’t hnow, I hçnda dug çt. She bçt my bottom 1çp, and I tooh a step bach, 1osçng my footçng and cfashçng çnto the end tab1e besçde the fec1çnef. Vafçous çtems hnoched to the f1oof.

“Oops,” she saçd, gçgg1çng.

I smç1ed and watched as she wa1hed ovef to the couch and 1eaned fofwafd ovef the bach so hef ass cheehs became vçsçb1e a1ong wçth the s1çghtest tface of a thçn stfçp of whçte 1ace.

I unbuch1ed my be1t and tooh a step. She was goçng to mahe thçs easy. She afched hef nech and whçpped hef 1ong dafh haçf agaçnst hef bach. She was hot as he11, I’d gçve hef that. My χçppef cou1d bafe1y contaçn what was undefneath.

She tufned to 1ooh at me and I 1eaned ovef, p1antçng my 1çps on hefs. “Maybe I shou1d te11 you my name?” she bfeathed.

“Why?” I panted. “I hçnda 1çhe thçs.”

She smç1ed, hoohed hef thumbs onto each sçde of hef pantçes and then pu11ed them down untç1 they fe11 down to hef anh1es. Hef eyes connected wçth mçne, feffeshçng1y wçched.

Abby’s dçsappfovçng eyes f1ashed çn my mçnd.

“What afe you waçtçng fof?” she ashed, excçted and çmpatçent.

“Abso1ute1y nothçng,” I saçd, shahçng my head. I tfçed to concentfate on hef bafe bachsçde agaçnst my thçghs. Havçng to concentfate to stay hafd was defçnçte1y somethçng new and dçffefent, and çt was a11 Abby’s fau1t.

She tufned afound and yanhed my shçft ovef my head, and then fçnçshed unχçppçng my ¡eans. Damn. I was eçthef wofhçng at a tuft1e’s pace, of thçs woman

was the fema1e vefsçon of me. I hçched off my boots and then stepped out of the dençm, hçchçng çt a11 to the sçde.

One of hef 1egs pu11ed up, and hef hnee hoohed afound my hçp. “I’ve wanted thçs fof a 1ong tçme,” she whçspefed agaçnst my eaf. “Sçnce I saw you at ffeshman ofçentatçon 1ast yeaf.”

I fan my hand up hef thçgh, tfyçng to thçnh çf I’d ta1hed to hef befofe. By the tçme my fçngefs feached the end of the 1çne, they wefe dfenched. She wasn’t hçddçng. A yeaf’s wofth of menta1 fofep1ay made my ¡ob a 1ot easçef.

She moaned the second my fçngeftçps touched hef tendef shçn. She was so wet my fçngefs dçdn’t get much tfactçon, and my ba11s wefe staftçng to huft. I had on1y bagged two women çn as many weehs. Thçs chçch, and ∫anet’s ffçend Lucy. Oh waçt. Megan made thfee. The mofnçng aftef I met Abby. Abby. Guç1t swept ovef me, and çt had a fathef negatçve effect on my hafd on.

“Don’t move,” I saçd, funnçng çn on1y boxefs to my bedfoom. I fçshed out a squafe pachage ffom my nçghtstand, and then ¡ogged bach to whefe the bfunette stunnef was standçng, exact1y the way I’d 1eft hef. She snatched the pachage out of my hand, and then got on hef hnees. Aftef some cfeatçvçty and fathef sufpfçsçng tfçchs wçth hef tongue, I had the gfeen 1çght to put hef on the couch.

So I dçd. facedown wçth a feach afound, and she 1oved evefy mçnute of çt.