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"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"To get to the other side, of course" She smiled at that one, and he threw up his hands "Well, damn You’ve never heard that before?"

"No"

"You need more comedy in your life Carmine drained you of a sense of hu, he disappeared under the water, and a splash flew in her direction He resurfaced, and she groaned "That wasn’t funny"

Nicholas stepped out of the lake and grabbed his shirt "Apparently nothing I say or do is"

Haven hesitated but followed behind, not wanting to loiter in the water alone They strolled over to the lounge chairs She grabbed a tohile he plopped his wet body down

"So, you guys really are in love? It’s not bullshit?"

"We are"

Nicholas grabbed Tess’s purse Haven watched in shock as he rooted around in it He pulled out a pen and an old receipt, scribbling so on the back of it

"Here’sit out to her "You callbad about your boyfriendnot a lot, anyway"

She took it and read the number 555–0121 "Uh, okay"

"It’s not a cri "I’ll catch you later, Haven"

Once again, at seven in theShe pulled herself out of bed and trudged over to the door, finding hirin "Hey, Twinkle Toes I’m proud you remembered your pajamas this tis at the diner and afternoons with Doas were Haven’s to do as she pleased She spent theht She studied relentlessly for the GED, doing practice tests Carot done, except for the occasional sandwich at dinner or a load of dishes She felt bad slacking off on her duties, but whenever she attempted to clean, Dominic pulled her away She was afraid of what Dr DeMarco would think, but he didn’t seem to notice

It was the afternoon of the sixth day when Haven sat in the fa at the clock on the wall She counted the seconds as they ticked by, each one bringing her closer to Carh Car to get rid of the tingling, as the coach bellowed, "Shake it off, DeMarco!"

Carers What did it look like he was doing?

To say he had had a bad ould have been the understatement of the century Carmine was out of shape, his wrist was sore, and half the team harbored resentment for him for one reason or another All he wanted to do was play football and go back hoht up with hier bitch than Tess Harper

The last day of ca on hi Carer and strutting away, his irritation to the point of no return

The whistle blew, and Car a few steps back, he looked for the wide receiver and snapped the ball, grinning at the perfect spiral as it soared through the air

"Wipe that smirk off your face, DeMarco," Coach Woods said "There’s no rooo on the field"

Mistake after e, balls fumbled and throws ot sacked h his back as Coach Woods berated thenifying the end of camp, the coach called Carmine’s name and clapped him on the shoulder "You played well today"

Carmine just stood there He hadn’t expected to hear those words

"I’m hard on you because you have potential," the coach said "It ht not be appropriate forand expressed some interest in you"

Hishihed "Yes, but they don’t like hotheads, DeMarco No one does"