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 Yeah, Beth echoed solemnly.  What he said.
Dev focused on Lauren, who was staring at the television images, still in shock.  Lauren, are you okay?"
Lauren stuck out her tongue at Beth and David, then addressed Devlyn.  No, I m not okay, she
whined, praying Carter wouldn t remember that time they did it under the bleachers at half time.  Can t
we assassinate them or something?
 Your old boyfriends? Dev looked surprised, then slightly pleased by the notion.
 No, Lauren corrected with an arch look thrown in the general direction of Dev s bed,  David and
Beth.
Dev sighed and opened her arms, an invitation for Lauren to take refuge. " Fraid not. But don t think I
haven t considered it."
Lauren was too agitated to stop moving, and a flash of hurt flickered across Dev s face when her lover
didn t come over to the bed. The sight stopped Lauren s pacing cold, and she walked over to the bed
and took Dev s hand and gently kissed her knuckles.
The commercial ended and Carter began talking again. At the words  tied up Dev s bedroom went
absolutely silent.
Lauren whimpered. This actually rivaled her mother walking into her bedroom when she was 14 at the
exact same moment that she d finally gotten up the nerve to try masturbation for the first time. Only now
the room was more crowded. Kill me now, God. Please.
Tied up. Well, well, well. Dev looked from the TV to Lauren and back again three times before
squeaking,  Really?
 Even then he worked at a hardware store part-time, Lauren said, as if that explained everything.
Beth was now laughing so hard she was in danger of falling off the bed.  I m gonna wet my pants, she
howled.  I know it.
 At least we know what to get them for Christmas, David said seriously. He looked at Beth and they
both said,  duct tape, at the same time before dissolving into twin fits of laughter.
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Carter proclaimed Lauren as hetero as& Well, he couldn t come up with an actual analogy. But he
swore the sex was great and that while they were under the bleachers her eyes hadn t roamed over to the
cheerleaders even once.
Dev started to say something and then her mouth clicked shut and she took a seat in a chair. "Tied up?"
She looked at David and Beth, who were finally starting to calm down. "I tell ya, Lauren, you may be too
wild for my white bread tastes." She gave Lauren a very serious look. "Are we talking tape or rope or
chains?"
Lauren was well aware that she was being tweaked. She tilted her chin upward with an indignant grunt
and crossed her arms over her chest, petulantly refusing to answer.
"There's still more men to go," Beth reminded Dev helpfully. "Let's wait and see."
It was now Man No. 3's turn.
As soon as the camera panned sideways, Lauren crowed, "I did not sleep with him! Beseeching eyes
begged her friends to believe her.  He was a freshman when I was a senior for God s sake. He helped
me on a chemistry final and I went on one, she held up her index finger,  single, pity date with him.
That's it!"
"Did you pass the exam?" David snorted from the bed where he was reclining as though he owned the
joint, his back against the headboard.
"Yes," Lauren snapped, as she mentally eviscerated the man on television. "You're in deep trouble, nerd
boy," she shouted to the image. "I know people with guns and bombs, who aren t afraid to use them."
Nerd boy, better known to some as Wendell Fleshman, spent most of his 15 minutes of fame bragging
about his and Lauren s torrid love affair.
Beth asked Lauren, "Did you ever get poked with that pocket protector while you were doing it? That
could have been messy. Of course, he probably carried sanitary wipes around in his back pocket."
 Doesn t everyone? David said, winking at Beth.
Lauren ground her teeth together.
Gary Kramer thrust his microphone in Wendell s face, "Did you ever once see a sign that Lauren was
attracted to women?" He leaned closer to Wendell. "Anything. Anything at all that was a hint of what was
to come? The public has a right to know."
Wendell thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "Yes. Yes, I did."
David, Beth, and Dev all leaned forward in anticipation.
Even Lauren took a step closer to the TV.
"One night after studying, we went out for a Coke."
Three sets of eyes swung towards Lauren.
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The blonde woman nodded reluctantly. "It wasn't a date, though, she corrected carefully.  My
apartment didn't have air-conditioning and it was a million degrees outside. We were boiling and needed
a break.
Wendell let out a contemplative breath. "When we got to the convenience store, there was another girl
there; she was in our chemistry class, too."
"Shirley," Wendell announced, with Lauren whispering the name right along with him as the past came
rushing back to her.
"Shirley was 25 cents short for the Coke she wanted to buy and Lauren ran up to the counter and
offered Shirley a quarter." Wendell paused, well aware that the studio audience was hanging on his every
word. "And then they both smiled at each other. He shrugged and adjusted his heavy-framed glasses.
 And I knew."
"Knew what?" the host prompted breathlessly.
The camera zoomed in on Wendell. "Knew there was something there."
 That s it? Gary asked, doing his best to hide his disappointment. His show hadn t paid all this money
to hear about lingering smiles.
 That s it.
The audience groaned, let down by the pedestrian encounter. But Lauren blinked stupidly. "I can't
believe it," she said quietly. "He's right."
Beth blinked at her friend. "He is?"
Lauren nodded. "I wasn't thinking about kissing her or anything romantic. The thought never entered&
well, it never entered my conscious mind at least. But she was really interesting and pretty and had the
greatest laugh. And I remember thinking that wouldn't it be wonderful if we ran into each other again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]