Chapter 26

When I returned to my room after wrestling practice, I found a note from T.J. taped to my door: Loverboy, call your girlfriend!

I picked up the phone and dialed Kendall’s number.

“Hi,” I said. “You called?”

“No.” She sounded perplexed.

I stared at T.J.’s note. “You didn’t?”

“Uh-uh. Why?”

Then it hit me: Gina! “Oh, sorry,” I said, wincing sheepishly. “T.J. left me a note to call my girlfriend—”

“And you called me first?” I could hear the elation in her voice, although she quickly composed herself and continued. “He probably meant Gina.”

“Yeah, I’d better call her.” After I told her I loved her and hung up, I dialed Gina’s number.

“What happened yesterday?” she asked. “I tried calling you, but...”

“Yesterday?” What was I doing yesterday? Kendall and I went to the movies with—

“Duh, silly, we were supposed to get together with Kendall. What happened? Is everything okay?”

“Sorry,” I said, my face heating. “I ... um ... I forgot to tell you ... I had to work on a Design project, and I spent most of the day at the World’s Fair site, making sketches.” It was a bald-faced lie, and I mentally kicked myself. Then, for good measure, I did it again. I hated lying, and I’d just panicked and done it without a second thought.

“Oh, okay,” Gina said, obviously disappointed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you, sweetie.”

“That’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I added lamely.

“Do you want to get together tonight? Maybe Kendall too?”

“I’ve got an Art History exam tomorrow,” I said, “and a bunch of us are getting together to study.”

“Oh, okay. I probably need to study Chemistry anyway. I’ve got a big lab tomorrow, and I haven’t even read the write-up yet.”

“Maybe some other time?”

“How about tomorrow night?” she suggested.

“I can’t. I’ve got a basketball game. And Kendall and Abby are fixing dinner for Trip and me. Maybe Wednesday? I’ve got my instrument class till nine, but afterward...”

“We’ve got a mixer for the new pledges.”

“How about Thursday sometime?” I suggested. “Maybe during the day?”

“Uh-uh. I’ve got class, then I volunteer at the hospital from twelve till three.”

“How about after that?”

“I’m in class till four thirty. But then I’ve got work to do for the Winter Formal. You remember, right?”

Winter Formal? “Um ... yeah, sure,” I bluffed. Then I wracked my brain, trying to remember what she was talking about.

“You don’t remember,” she said, an unvoiced sigh in her tone.

“Yeah, of course I remember,” I said, trying not to sound testy. Then I mentally repeated the conversation, searching for clues. “Your Winter Formal is ... Friday ... and, um”—I remembered!—”it’s with the ΑΤΩs. It starts at seven, at the Hilton. Of course I remember.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you’d forgotten.” She sounded tremendously relieved. “I’m wearing a green dress, and I’ve got a matching cummerbund for you. Have you made a reservation for a tux?”

“Uh, no,” I said absently, silently scolding myself for not remembering her dance.

At that, she did sigh. “Do you want me to do it?”

“No, I can do it. Besides, my schedule’s pretty full, so I’ll need to figure out when I’ve got time.”

“Okay.”

“So, what’s the plan for Friday night?” I asked, changing the subject to cover my brusque reply about the tuxedo.

“Jess’s father reserved a bunch of rooms for us, so I thought we’d spend the night at the hotel. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“The dance should last till one or two, but afterward, the party will probably move upstairs.”

“Whatever,” I agreed.

“Oh, Paul, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be so much fun! Don’t you think? And maybe this weekend, we can get together with Kendall.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Okay. I need to read my lab write-up, so I’d better go,” she said. “Don’t forget to reserve your tux. I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

After two weeks of modeling separately, Kendall and I were excited about finally posing together. Consequently, I found myself daydreaming instead of paying attention to my Art History exam.

As usual, Christy finished quickly. And since I was fantasizing, even Wren turned in her test before I did.

“So, Mysterious,” she said as I joined the two of them in the hallway, “I bet I know what you’re thinking. Judging by how many times you had to, ahem, make an adjustment during class, I guess it’s not so ‘mysterious,’ is it?”

I blushed suitably.

“And Kendall sure was excited this morning at breakfast. I’ll have to call and ask her about it. Afterward, I mean.”

“Be nice, Wren,” Christy chided.

“I am being nice.”

Christy scoffed politely.

“Fine, take his side,” Wren said. She tried to sound indignant, but she couldn’t pull it off.

“You’d better not tease him,” Christy continued. “After all, you have to model with him too.”

“Exactly,” I said. “And I’m pretty good at teasing.”

“You’re not half as good as I am,” Wren shot back.

I arched a skeptical eyebrow.

“You’re not,” she said defensively.

Christy turned mischievous. “Is that why you take a cold shower afterward?”

Wren’s jaw dropped, and Christy smiled smugly.

“So you take a cold shower after Siobhan’s class?” I asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Wren sputtered.

I held up my hands, silently conceding the point. But then I couldn’t resist needling her: I chuckled.

She stopped walking. When Christy and I turned, she stomped her foot and huffed. “You,” she said, glaring at me, “are impossible.”

Christy and I broke into snickers that quickly turned into full-fledged laughter.

Wren huffed again. “I’ve got to get to class.”

“Bye, Beautiful,” I said through laugh-teary eyes.

“Impossible!” she threw over her shoulder.

When Christy and I calmed down, we shared a guilty smile.

“I shouldn’t do that,” she said, “but she’s so much fun to tease. She’ll probably be upset about the cold shower thing, but I couldn’t resist.”

“Does she really take cold showers?”

“I’m sorry,” Christy demurred, “I really shouldn’t have said that. She doesn’t want you to know how attracted she is to you.”

“As if I couldn’t tell?”

“I tried to tell her that,” Christy said, “but she still thinks she’s got you fooled. Well, she wants to think she’s got you fooled. She’s not stupid, though; deep down, she knows that you know. Besides, she told me about your no-kissing rule. And I’m sure you’ve got an unwritten no-sex rule, too.”

I nodded vigorously. I liked Wren—and I wanted to have sex with her—but I didn’t need that kind of complication in my already complicated life.

“She likes Kendall, and she really likes you too. As a friend, I mean. Yeah, she wants to have sex with you, but she respects you, too. She’s never met a guy who could resist her, so I think she sees you as more than just a challenge.”

I raised my eyebrows in question.

“Trust me, guys fall all over themselves for Wren. She likes you even more because you obviously want to, but don’t. Does that make sense?”

“I guess.”

“So Wren wants to get to know you better. For instance, do you remember when you gave her that ‘high school prick-tease’ speech?”

I nodded.

“I think that really got through to her. Yeah, she still flirts with you, but I think she’s also having fun getting to know you. So you see, you’ve already made her life better. Just don’t break any of your rules, even the unwritten ones.”

“No kidding,” I said softly.

“Anyway, I’d better let you get to Siobhan’s class. I want to sit in on it sometime, if Kendall doesn’t mind. Maybe next week?”

“I’ll ask her, but I think that’d be all right. Do you mind if I ask why, though?”

“Kendall’s very pretty. And you make an attractive couple, so I want to sketch you together. Besides, you’re hard and muscular, while she’s soft and curvy, and I like the contrast. Anyway, I’m turning into a chatterbox again, so I’d better let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

For a moment, I watched her walk away, a petite bundle of energy and mystery. Then I glanced at my watch and hurried toward Siobhan’s studio. Kendall was waiting for me when I arrived. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me soundly.

“Hi,” she said after we broke the kiss.

“Hi yourself.”

“I can’t wait for class to start! This is so exciting.”

I pulled her close, enjoying the curves of her body as she pressed against me. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Probably,” she said, her eyes glittering. Then she held her lips to my ear and continued. “I’m thinking about what I want you to do to me when we get back to the apartment.”

My dick twitched.

“And I have to make a confession. After breakfast, I went back to the apartment and ... I used my vibrator a little.”

I pulled back in surprise.

She blushed.

“Did you get off?” I asked quietly.

She shook her head. “I like it better when you do it. But I wanted to try it again. Oh, Paul, I came so hard the other day. I had no idea...”

I smiled smugly.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, you were right.”

Before I could gloat, the bell to end classes rang and students began streaming into the hallway. Kendall and I slipped into Siobhan’s studio after the first rush, and headed straight for the office.

Once inside, I shut the door and pulled Kendall into my arms. As we kissed, I lifted the back of her skirt and cupped her panty-clad ass. She tugged my shirt out of my pants and began unbuttoning it. In less time than it had taken us to walk across the main studio, we stripped each other.

“How much time do we have?” she asked breathlessly, gripping my erection and squeezing gently.

“Not enough. Five minutes, maybe less.”

“Are you sure it’s not enough time?”

I nodded, the big head firmly in control. Then I steeled my resolve and pulled her hand from my manhood. “This isn’t going away by itself,” I said, “and unless you can get me off really quick, we’d better cut it out.”

“I think I can do it,” she said, already sinking to her knees.

I caught her and shook my head. “Uh-uh,” I added for emphasis. “We can’t.”

With a reluctant sigh, she took a half-step back. Then her eyes darted to my jutting hard-on. “What do you want me to do? Can I help?”

“Just give me a minute,” I said. Then I closed my eyes and started thinking about the most un-sexy things I could.

When Siobhan finally knocked on the door—it felt like an eternity later, but was probably a few minutes—I wasn’t exactly soft, but I wasn’t ramrod straight either. My cock was in that semi-hard state where it was as long as it was going to get, but not fully erect. When I looked at it, I had to suppress a chuckle: it looked like a sullen sausage, hanging its head in frustration.

Kendall sensed my mood and laughed softly.

“Don’t do that,” I said, my voice tight.

“What?”

“Don’t laugh. When you do, your breasts shake, and I think about how they bounce when I’m fucking you.”

As if on cue, my dick twitched and started to rise. I clamped my eyes shut and imagined Rod getting fucked from behind by Regan and her strap-on. That did the trick. I took a deep breath and gestured toward the door.

“Oops,” Kendall said all of a sudden. “I almost forgot my bottoms.”

I rolled my eyes—we’d both forgotten our robes as well. I donned mine and held hers as she slipped into her cream-colored bikini bottoms. A moment later we opened the door and walked to the middle of the semicircle of easels. Siobhan posed us about three feet apart and then waited as we removed our robes. My cock hadn’t softened a bit, but it still hung “limp,” pointed at the ground.

“Just sit naturally,” the auburn-haired professor said. “I don’t need a specific pose.”

Kendall and I nodded.

With that, Siobhan began giving instructions to her class. I looked at Kendall and sighed in relief. For the moment, I had things under control.

I spent the next forty-five minutes in a minor hell of arousal. Twice, I happened to glance at Kendall at the wrong time, and my dick predictably jerked to attention. Each time, I gritted my teeth and imagined something sure to turn me off.

By the time Siobhan brought our robes, my nerves were thrumming with pent-up sexual energy, and I was ready to explode.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly. “Are you sure you’ll be able to pose with your girlfriend?”

“It’s harder than I thought it’d be,” I said.

She laughed at my gaffe.

I’m sure I turned six shades of purple. Even Kendall had to suppress a chuckle.

“You did fine,” Siobhan said, smiling at my predicament. After a moment, she shook her head semi-wistfully. “Oh, to be young again.” Still grinning, she turned to talk to a waiting student.

I practically bolted for the office. When Kendall shut the door behind us, I didn’t bother with preliminaries; I simply pulled her robe open and pinned her against the door with my body. Then I kissed her, my tongue forcing her lips open.

She was as horny as I was, and clutched me passionately. I broke the kiss a moment later and picked her up. Her legs automatically circled my waist as I started sucking her nipples. She gasped when I gently bit one of them. Then she ran her fingers through my hair and held me close.

“I want you inside me,” she said, her voice low and husky with desire. “Fuck me, Paul.”

I thought about it for a moment but reluctantly shook my head. I didn’t want Siobhan or any of her students interrupting us. “Let’s go back to your apartment,” I said at last. “Don’t worry about getting dressed, though. Just put on your skirt and coat.”

She nodded and I lowered her to her feet. Then she sank to her knees before I could stop her. When she wrapped her lips around my erection, I didn’t want to stop her. But she pulled back on her own a minute later, my dick shiny with her saliva.

With that, we hurriedly dressed. I didn’t bother with underwear, simply stuffing my erection into my khakis. I had a noticeable bulge, but I didn’t care. Kendall tossed her un-donned clothing into my backpack and then we made sure we were presentable before heading out.

Halfway to the apartment, I pulled her aside and unzipped her coat. Her nipples hardened in the January air as she looked around nervously. I’d deliberately chosen a spot that was fairly secluded, though, so no one was near enough to tell what we were doing. I teased her nipples for a moment and then grinned at a sudden thought.

“Don’t zip your coat,” I said.

Her eyes widened.

“No one’ll be able to see anything,” I said. “It mostly hangs closed, even without the zipper.”

“I don’t know...”

“Trust me. Besides, it’ll be sexy walking along knowing that anyone who’s paying attention will catch a glimpse.”

She looked dubious for a moment, but then nodded.

Surprisingly, few people even noticed that she was exposed. Those who did notice were past us before they could get a second look. When we reached the elevator lobby of her building, we were alone, so I opened her coat and cupped her breasts.

I suppressed a chuckle when she jumped as the elevator sounded its arrival, but the car was empty, so I didn’t bother closing her coat. Once in the car itself, I lifted her skirt and cupped her ass.

“Paul, what’re you doing?” she hissed when I reached for her skirt’s zipper. She tried to fend me off.

I continued implacably and hooked my thumbs under her waistband.

She gasped when she felt her skirt and bikini bottoms sliding downward.

“Your coat comes to the top of your thighs,” I said. “Besides, we just have to make it from the elevator to your apartment. And I’m sure no one will be in the hallway.”

“But what if someone is?”

“They probably won’t even notice.”

“But, Paul...”

“Trust me,” I said, directing her to step out of her skirt. Clad only in her winter coat, she shivered.

I smiled to myself; her shiver was from more than just the chill.

True to my prediction, the hall was empty. Kendall tried to quicken our pace, but my hand on the small of her back kept her in check. When we were about thirty feet from her door, I tugged her to a stop.

“Take off your coat,” I directed.

She looked at me, eyes wide.

“Take it off.”

She trembled with a combination of fear and desire as she let the coat slip from her shoulders. When I held out my hand, she gave it to me, along with her purse. Then she stood straight, on display. Wearing only a pair of shoes, she walked the remaining distance to her apartment. After a moment of panic, she reached for her purse to retrieve her keys.

Before she could open the door, however, I put my hand on hers. Then I turned her to face me and pressed her back against the door with my body. We kissed for nearly a minute, heedless of who might see us. Fortunately, no one entered the hallway, so I grew bolder.

“Take out my cock,” I said.

She hesitated for a moment but then reached for my zipper.

“Now get on your knees and suck me.”

Fully under my spell, she sank to her knees and wrapped her lips around my swollen shaft.

I let her suck me for several minutes, my hands braced on the door. In truth, my own coat hung down as I bent over; it hid her bobbing head. The hallway was dim enough that anyone coming down it wouldn’t immediately realize what Kendall was doing.

Despite that, I still felt a surge of panic when I heard a door open. It was between us and the elevator, though, and the two girls who emerged never looked toward us. I sighed in relief and looked down at Kendall, who was staring up at me with wide, anxious eyes.

“Let’s get inside,” I said, chuckling.

Surprisingly, she shook her head and resumed sucking, her tongue forestalling any objection on my part. Unfortunately, I heard the elevator ding in the distance. A moment later I heard the sound of someone coming toward us. At that point I pulled my slippery manhood from Kendall’s lips and turned the key in the lock.

“Get inside,” I hissed. “Quick.”

She looked up at me for a heartbeat, confused.

“Someone’s coming!” Out of my peripheral vision, I saw two figures round the corner, headed our way. “Get inside!”

For precious seconds, Kendall hesitated. Then my words registered and she scampered inside.

I turned and looked down the hallway. The two girls had just noticed us. They were sixty or seventy feet away, but I think they’d figured out what we were up to. I scooped up my backpack and Kendall’s things.

With my erection pointing at the open doorway, I took one last look at the girls. They were standing wide-eyed in shock. Inexplicably, I waved at them. Without thinking, they waved in reply. I laughed at the absurdity of it all and then calmly walked into Kendall’s apartment.

“Oh my goodness,” Kendall said as I shut the door behind me, “do you think they know what we were doing?”

I nodded, grinning lecherously.

“What if they call the police?”

“They won’t,” I said, with more assurance than I truly felt.

Before Kendall could raise another objection, I kissed her, hard. My erection bumped against her thigh, reminding her of its presence.

“Oh, Paul,” she breathed, “you make me so hot. I don’t care if they call the police.”

“Me either.”

With that, I began tugging off my own clothing.

We didn’t even make it to the bedroom. Instead, I pressed her against the wall and fucked her from behind. When I felt my orgasm approaching, I told her to turn around and kneel in front of me. I quickly reached the point of no return and erupted in her mouth.

She nuzzled my shrinking cock while I recovered. After a minute or two, I lifted her to her feet and nudged her toward her bedroom.

There, I merely admired her as she lay on her bed, her breasts flattened, nipples stiff with desire. Then I grinned down at her and stroked her silken thigh. I nudged her legs apart and lay between them.

Her pussy was slippery with arousal. When I gently blew cool air over her slit, she quivered with anticipation. Then I began licking her in earnest, my tongue on overdrive.

By the time she was ready to come, I was hard again, so I sat up and scooted forward. She gazed up at me as my erection probed her opening. Then she closed her eyes as I sank into her. Once I settled myself above her, she wrapped her legs around my thighs, her arms hooking under mine at the same time.

“Fuck me,” she whispered. “Fuck me hard.”

Who was I to refuse?

With my cock pounding into her, she quickly reached the edge of orgasm. When I started playing with her clit, she crashed over, her pussy contracting with the force of her climax. I struggled to enter her, but a gush of heat and moisture eased my passage.

As another wave of pleasure took her, I felt my own orgasm boiling up. With a grunt, I buried myself as deep as I could. My cock swelled within her and then loosed a torrent of semen to bathe her inner walls.

Pleasure assaulted us as our orgasms mingled and fed each other. Her pussy clamped around me, milking my spurting shaft. The pleasure was so intense that I had to concentrate to keep from passing out.

Finally, panting, I collapsed against her and she held me close, her breathing in sync with my own.

“Wow,” she said at last. “Wow.”

I swallowed to clear my cottony mouth. Then I pulled back and gazed down at her. “I love you,” I said.

Instead of answering with words, she simply pulled me down for a kiss.

“How was modeling yesterday?” Christy asked as we walked toward her apartment after lunch.

I felt my face turning red.

“That good, huh?”

“Is it that obvious?”

She nodded, grinning. “You and Kendall couldn’t keep your hands off each other at breakfast.”

I’m sure my blush only deepened.

“How’re things with you and Gina?” she asked, tactfully changing the subject.

“Better,” I said. “We’ve got her sorority’s Winter Formal this Friday.”

“Oh, that should be fun. I love formal dances. That’s one of the things I miss most about high school.”

“Yeah,” I said, chuckling, “it seems like fraternities and sororities are just extensions of high school. They drink more beer, but...” I shrugged meaningfully.

“How come you didn’t join a fraternity?”

“I thought about it,” I half-lied, “but decided that I probably needed to concentrate on school. I mean, my parents are spending a lot of money to send me here, especially with out-of-state tuition and all.”

“Tell me about it,” she agreed ruefully.

“Besides, my schedule’s pretty full without a fraternity. How come you didn’t join a sorority?”

“I was never really interested,” she said. “Working with Siobhan keeps me busy, and it’s easy for me to meet people. I’ve got my mother’s personality—she’s so friendly and outgoing. At least I hope I’ve got my mother’s personality.”

“You do,” I said, laughing.

“Anyway, I guess I never really thought about joining a sorority.”

“Ah, okay.”

“So, what do you want for a snack today? We need to finish the bananas. And I can make you some peanut butter and graham crackers. Or, I could put peanut butter on some celery for you— But you’re not a fan of celery ... hmm ... how about peanut butter on an apple? Would you like that? I remember when I was a little girl, my mother used to cut an apple in half and spread peanut butter on it. Crunchy peanut butter, not smooth—”

I nodded in agreement and then smiled as she chattered happily. I felt like I didn’t have a care in the world; for some reason, being around Christy was relaxing.

“—Nobu liked apples too. Mariko and I used to get them at the Base Exchange and take them to the temple for the monks. Did I ever show you my sketches of Mariko? She’s very pretty. And exotic. Her mother’s Japanese and her father’s American, and she’s got the most exquisite bone structure. I really miss her. Which reminds me, I’ll have to write a letter to her after I finish my current one to Simon. And then I was thinking about starting a new sculpture of you, if you don’t mind. I want to do something like Michelangelo’s David, but with a modern feel. Still realistic, mind you, I don’t much care for abstract sculpture, but—”

Once again, I found myself smiling.

After wrestling practice, I rushed back to my room to shower before my instrument class. I was just about to step into the stall when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Howdy, stranger,” a female voice said.

I furrowed my brow. From some dark corner of my brain, warning bells were going off, but I couldn’t place the voice.

“Do you know who this is?”

I scratched my head, still wracking my brain.

“It’s Felicia,” she said at my awkward pause.

My skin prickled icily. “Oh ... um ... hi.”

“So, what’re you doing?”

“I was just about to get into the shower. I’ve got a class in a few minutes.”

“Ooh, a shower,” she said. “That sounds like fun. I wish I could join you.”

I had to steer the conversation to safer ground, so I ignored her comment. “So, what’re you up to?” I asked instead.

“I just got home from work. And I was wondering why you hadn’t called me. Did you lose my number or something?”

“Actually,” I said, as sheepishly as I could, “I did.” In reality, I’d deliberately thrown it away. I felt guilty enough about what I’d done; I didn’t need the reminder of a scrap of paper with her phone number on it.

“Oh. Let me give it to you again. Do you have a pen?”

“Um ... not really,” I said. “I’m standing here in just a towel.”

“Oh, yeah, you were about to shower.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“I wish I was there with you. I could wash your back.”

“I guess,” I said, my eyes darting about nervously.

“I could wash more than that, too.”

I silently cursed as her words battered through my resistance and my dick twitched in response.

“I could wash your big, hard cock.”

I swallowed hard. The conversation was not going well. I decided to cut her off before I lost control completely. What is it about this girl?! I silently railed. Full lips, perfect breasts, clenching muscles— Stop it! “Um ... yeah,” I said. “I can probably take care of that myself, though.”

“Since you’re there and I’m here,” she said, laughing, “you’ll have to.” She turned serious, and sultry. “When’re you coming back to Atlanta?”

“Um...”

“Or I could drive up to Knoxville.”

“I dunno,” I hedged.

“I could take a couple of days off and drive up there. We could get a cabin in the mountains or something. I hear they’ve got mountains in Knoxville.”

“They’re not very big mountains,” I said. “Not like Utah, at least. Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’m running late already.”

“Oh. Okay.”

I felt bad when I heard the disappointment in her voice, but I mustered my resolve. “Yeah. Sorry. Maybe you could call me some other time. Tomorrow.” Why did I say tomorrow?!

“Yeah, I guess I could.”

“Okay. Well ... it was good talking to you. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up and took a deep breath. Then I looked down at the towel-covered bulge of my erection.

“What is it with this girl?” I asked aloud.

Not surprisingly, my hard-on didn’t have any answers.

I hate to admit it, but I ended up jerking off in the shower with visions of a big-breasted blonde bouncing through my imagination.

Felicia called again on Thursday. I was working on my Sunsphere sketches when the phone rang. T.J. answered and then hollered for me.

“Another girlfriend, Loverboy?” he asked as he held out the phone, his hand thankfully covering the mouthpiece.

“T.J., would you like it if I called you ‘Weasel’?”

He shrugged indifferently. “Why should I care? Besides, I’m just kidding.”

“Well, why don’t you give it a break. I mean, you don’t have a nickname for Glen.”

“Because I like Glen,” he said, grinning.

“Whatever.” I took the phone as he chuckled and returned to his room. “Hello?”

“Howdy,” Felicia said. “What’re you doing? I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”

“I was working on some sketches for a project,” I said, the long phone cord trailing behind me as I headed back to my room. Unfortunately, Felicia was in a talkative mood, and started telling me about her day at work. Worse, I was too polite to interrupt.

“So,” she asked at last, “when’re you coming to Atlanta?”

“Maybe Spring Break,” I said vaguely.

“When’s that?”

“The end of March.”

“That long?” she said. “Aren’t you coming home before then?”

“Probably not. Why?” As if I didn’t know.