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"Told you," he said, bea down at me

"I don’t even want to kno you kneould be so enjoyable," I said, giving his shoulder a push so I could get up and get dressed

"A gentle a clean UW shirt my way as I pulled onet breakfast," he said, handing reat diner not too far from here, and after that I have a surprise"

Unable to staymyself not to dwell on his past conquests We left the house through his private entrance and headed out for the day The diner turned out to be every bit as good as he said it was, and even though we’d both eaten our weight in food the day before, ere faered over ourpast holiday disasters Over a second cup of coffee, I won the contest when I showed hi scar on the palm of my hand It had taken thirty stitches when I stuck e disposal that happened to be running at the ti? Man, your poor hand," he said, tracing the scar on the palm of my hand

"It was a total brain-deadthe last of ed into our jackets

"You’ll have to wait and see"

His surprise turned out to be an hour-long ferryboat ride to Breainst the rail, watching the water and taking in the wildlife we passed on the way Once we arrived, we strolled around -shopping the quaint shops that sat along the ay before ending up at the Navy Museuet Sound before heading back to the ferryboat for the ride back to the mainland We decided to stay the rest of the weekend at my dorame on Sunday I didn’t admit it, but I was relieved I wouldn’t have to face his ether, the weekend continued to hold many firsts for ame, and the first time I spent a solid four days in the co than all the firsts of the weekend was the fact that each day with Justin was as enjoyable as the day before Our nights were spent wrapped in each other’s aruy I never expected to

17

Present Day

2:41 PM

"This is seriously getting ridiculous," I ranted, sto stuck and I was regretting my decision to not use the restroom when I had the chance Of course, if I had taken the few extra o to the bathroom, I wouldn’t be stuck on the elevator froht You had no way of changing anything It was just a way of highlighting yourpissed off about it

"I can see your teain

"I don’t have a te round out, which was partially true Justin always had the knack of igniting the anger in ht all the tie

"Admit it You’re really a closet redhead"

"Maybe I have Irish blood inthe subject "Is teaching as fulfilling as you thought it would be?

"My job? Do you really want to knohether I findabout work and whether I find it fulfilling would lead some to believe we’re friends," I pointed out

He looked uncomfortable with my assessment, obviously not sure he was ready to call that much of a truce I wasn’t surprised by his reluctance to wave the white flag If you had toldcordially to each other, I would have laughed in your face

"It’s good I’ve been subbing since I graduated last spring, but a full-ti up after Christ with your mom?"

"No I have a small apartment above the hardware store in Woodfalls It’selse Kinda reminds me of your apartment in yourat hoood ht it at first, but in the end she didn’t have a choice We get alongtwenty-four-seven She’s stillall the time and worries about me, but we make it work Tressa thankfully still takes a lot of heat offthat most times I’m able to skate under the radar"

"Do you ain

"Every day, but it’s not as acute as I thought it would be Tressa was glad to have me back in Woodfalls, and I’veinto no- about my sex life now?"

"Nevera little green in the face

"Are you seeing anyone?" I asked, unable to stop the words even if I had clamped a hand over my an to think he wouldn’t answer the question "I just ended a relationship," he aded my shoulders "You know me My track record is the same as it alas In my defense, it’s not like there are a lot of choices back home," I answered as he smirked atthe knowing look on his face It wasn’t like he was some chick whisperer when it cas froive"

"Commitment?" I asked This ti somewhat sheepishly "Okay, yeah, maybe It’s not like you have any rooht as well face it We suffer fro hiy "Maybe that’s orked," I h and his eyes clouded over "We didn’t work," he answered sih Welcome back to no- irrational," Justin argued, pacing in front of ht It’s allat hi you didn’t see," he countered, stopping in front ofto oddauess She slipped and just happened to land in your arms with your mouths inches apart If I wouldn’t have shown up, you would have been lip-locked"

"No, ouldn’t have been She’s an old friend"

"I bet she is"

"She just found out she got into thefor She was happy and wanted to share it with me"

"She certainly did," I said sarcastically I sank down on the rain-covered bench in front ofandEarlier, my mood had been the exact opposite Melissa had labeled it as "downright chipper," clai Justin I didn’t even try to argue She was right Being in a relationship with Justin had changed my outlook on life Of course, that was before I saw his ar quite partial to rapped around a blond girl with legs practically up to her ar shiny hair and tie it in knots Most of all, I wanted to punch Justin to make him hurt as s Instead, I stofor hi an hour later My raincoat had keptcurls Justin arrived ten minutes later It didn’t take an Einstein to deduce that Melissa was behind his arrival Twentyhappened," Justin said loudly