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"I caht you ht want to join lances There is a desperate glint in his I don’t knohat he sees in mine Probably confusion Rachel had invited lass of wine after the first freshmen check-in of the semester, and I’d been totally uncomfortable not only because, well, she’s my boss, and I was desperate to do whatever I had to do to make sure I passed my six months’ probation, but also because…

Well, Rachel’s apart, but…

Okay, I’m a little messy I will admit there’s a lot of stuff jammed in my closets and under my bed and sort of, well, all over the place

But at Rachel’s, everything had been put neatly away There were no stray copies of Us Weekly next to the toilet, like atoff any doorknobs, or wadded-up Ho Ho wrappers on the nightstand It was like she’d been expecting company

Either that, or she keeps her place that clean all the time…

But no That can’t possibly be true That just isn’t even human

Plus, I’d noticed that the few CDs she did have--neatly stacked, in alphabetical order--were by artists such as Phil Collins and Faith Hill

PHIL COLLINS AND FAITH HILL

Not that there’s anything wrong them They’re actually very talented artists I totally loved that "Circle of Life" song the first fifty times I heard it…

"Actually, Rachel," I say carefully, "I’m kinda tired"

"Me, too," Jordan chi day"

"Oh," Rachel says, looking distinctly disappointed "Maybe another ti at Jordan--because really, this whole thing is all his fault Rachel would never have invited me up for drinks if it hadn’t been for Jordan She had pretended not to recognize hi her off Tomorrow she’ll probably be all over ibility

Because he’s worth WAY rand

"Well," I say "See you in the ht!" Rachel s you, Jordan!"

"Likewise," says Jordan, al Jordan’s arm, I steer hiet any more aard, and he can embarrass me any more in front of the people I ith