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"Even hot naked girls? Why? " Javier is aghast

"Because photos of naked fifteen-year-olds are not sohteen"

"Yeah, I guess not" He grimaces, but doesn’t look convinced

"Hi, Reid" Speak of the underage devil

"Hey, Gabriel e This is Javier"

Javier’s eyes widen slightly, taking her in She smiles and chirps, "Hi" While he checks her out, she turns back to "

Boyfriend? "What?"

She blinks innocently "Her boyfriend, Nick--he was here like a week or so ago? I’ to kilafternoon" She glances towards the back door "God, there they are" I’uy Dori sat next to at lunch during the first week The one with the poor conversation skil s She breaks eye contact with me and turns to direct him to the line, her hand on his aruy is her boyfriend? You’ve got to be shitting me He looks like he just stepped out of a nerd sitcoes to destroy his chances to hook up with anyone

And then I wonder if nerds are what floats Dori’s boat, because I’ve heard that souy to join us We al sit on the edge of the patio to eat, and Gabriel e is flushed and talkative, relishing the male-to-female ratio Javier and his friend Kyle are more than happy to acco Dori and Nick

Her se is relaxed; when their knees brush or he leans forward to say so, she doesn’t pul back or shy away He’s not hot, but not repulsive But there’s no observable cheuarded touches… and she’s sneaking looks in rossed in whatever Gabriel e is babbling about

Lunch is allances over once more, and this time I stare back Her eyes widen alaze, I count five long seconds As a slow smile steals across my face, she snaps her attention back to her boyfriend--if that’s what he is--and doesn’t look ain

Dori

Minutes after Reid left the roo, Nick showed up, deter , he ducked his head shyly and admitted that he just wanted an excuse to see me, and if a little manual labor was al it took, he was up for it He’s so sincere and sweet that I wish for the hundredth time that I felt more for him than an intense admiration of his character and a mild attraction to his person

Gabriel e was her usual crabby self al hs hu out loud during the first interaction between the two of them

While I attached outlet covers, Nick was on the ladder, connecting the heating and A/C vent "Hey, Gabby--can you hand me that set of driver bits please?"

"The Nalared at him, her hands clenched into fists at her sides

Nick blinked at her vehement tone, then smiled "Oh, sorry Gabrielle, please handthe package fro it into his open hand "God," she said under her breath

"Thanks, Gabriel e" He sain, which seemed to infuriate her further

Nick’s presence helps keep me focused on work, but doesn’t inhibit the scenes from Reid’s movie that have been on a constant loop in my head since yesterday been on a constant loop inabout School Pride before ent, while Aimee and Kayla had parts of it memorized

The premise was a bit sil y--a present day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, set in a high school--but casting Reid as an arrogant Wil Darcy was genius His natural self-assurance was easy to see in the heated scenes between Reid and his costar, Eh

When ent outside for lunch,with Gabriel e and two of our fraternity volunteers fro about a mission trip he did earlier this summer to Honduras "…because fifty percent of the population is under the poverty line--can you i" My eyes drifted to the other side of the patio The first half dozen tih, his dark blue eyes locked with al oped And then his mouth kicked up on one side and I had no choice but to rip aze from his

I stared into Nick’s eyes, thankful for his conetic pul of the boy sitting across the yard who is everything I do not need and should not want

I’ a list of stuff to pack for my mission trip when Deb cal s As soon as I say hel o, she says, "Dori, he kissed irl she never was, rather than the capable, independent woo

"Who--old doc Bradford?" I can’t help teasing her

"He’s thirty-one!"