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"What do you mean?" I ask

"Well, it can be an adjective, a verb, a noun It’s fking lare at him "I’m dead serious"

"Prove to me all its uses, then" I o soon and clearly I’et anyto me My concentration is shot

For once, I don’t really care

"Well, it can be used as a noun ‘Chelsea is s it as a noun, though? Even if he’s not, I’ue with him

"And then it can be used as an adverb As in, ‘Chelsea is so fking sh but I clamp my lips shut He knows it, too The look in his eyes is telling He’s totally trying to get a reaction out of ive him one

"Or it can be a verb Like, ‘Owen really wants to fk …’" His grin fades, his expression going from amused to sexy in a s "You knohat I oes loose and da toI have to be at the diner soon" I stand and start gathering all of rabbing our dirty plates and stacking them before he takes the back,

There is no way he was talking aboutsomeone he really wants to … I can’t even think the word I pressoff my skin, and I wonder if he saw me blush

I hope not

He coht in front of rips the top of the chair next to hiht his knuckles go white "Did I offend you?"

"What?" I zip upit over my shoulder before I turn to face him fully

"With allI didn’tby it" He looks reaze doard at the floor His eyelashes are long and thick, and golden-brown stubble highlights all the places on his face where I want to touch hiaze once reen eyes

Then I re to tellit

He didn’the wanted to … et it Really" I s nments tomorrow"

I turn away from him and hurry toward the door, ready to make my escape My heart pounds with et out of here quickly I can’t take this any longer

Being in Owen’s presence messes with h

"I won’t forget" He’s right behindhold of the handle so he can open the door for me "I’m sorry, Chelsea, if I embarrassed you I didn’t mean to"

I stand there in themy eyes for the briefest second as the sound of his voice saying my name washes over me I really love it when he says uire "You didn’t I’et ready for work Thanks for the Chinese food"

And with those last, extremely lame words, I escape fro rades picking up?" Fable asks, sounding distracted I hear the baby coo in the background and I know she’s holding Autumn Fable can’t see and juggling a hts, I yearn for the old days When it felt like it was justwhatever we had to do in order to survive When I could take off and claim I ith Wade at his house when really the two of us were out fking around My biggest responsibility back then had been ho care of Fable and hed heavily on my shoulders

It still does

"They are I turned in a bunch of assignments at the end of last week" I’d even been allowed to coh they hadn’t let me play I sat on the bench the entire tio out onto the field, but the coach wouldn’t let me

I think he had me sit there to prove a point

See what you can’t have?

It worked I slaved away on the portfolio for ed ain when I went in to workto practice later tonight after I meet with Chelsea and hopefully present rades so they’ll allowback on track, and this is a good thing

So why do I feel this nagging, incessant buzz just beneathor someone?

Chelsea

Yeah She’s pissed at ht with her at my house and she’d been distant Not cold or bitchy, but … preoccupied All business, no friendliness, and she’d shot out of her chair and exited the roooodbye

It sucked

"Your coach called Drew," Fable says nonchalantly

I collapse in the overstuffed chair inon top of the pile of clothes I always leave there as I lean ood or really bad "What did he say?"

"That he’s i and wishes he could have you back on the teaain He can’t wait for you to pick up your grades" She pauses "Sounds like you’ve done that I’lish teacher said she talked toto be updated within the next couple of days," I say