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"I’ve been to LA s to ainst the tree and staring up into the canopy The green overlapped, leaves and lih in a breeze that didn’t ainst his tree, I leaned againstso deep in a forest I breathed in the s things, exhaling in a long slow sigh

"Was that a ‘this place is boring’ sigh?" he asked fro

I shook ood day this turned out to be’ sigh Perfect weather, perfect teot to see why chickens cross the road, and see where walnuts come from Compared to what my days have been like in LA lately, this was exactly what I needed"

"A good-day sigh," he repeated, pushing off froh," I areat?"

He was close enough now that I could see the bit of faint red in his beard along his jaw, the spot on his T-shirt where it orn thin fro, the veins on the inside of his tanned forear his hands reat to awesofor all the world like a dah lowered lashes, California Roxie on the case "Especially if you keep corin that crept across his face was less friendly neighborhood farhborhood pirate Then he was suddenly there, inside my dance space

It was ti against a tree in a forest with my arms behind nal for kiss me, you fool I looked like the prow of a ship And there he was, all slow a and forearer

And then there it was--a huge buhway It buzzed ht down between , beating-at-et at the bee and ran in circles around the tree, slapping at s

"Roxie? Roxie! What the hell are you--"

"Beeeeeeeeeeee!" I shouted as he stopped --but not hard enough--to not look down atto stay inside their cups

"Okay, cal if you cal like Charo and trying to break away

"Are you allergic?"

"No!"