Aprilynne Pike

“Men," Chelsea muttered derisively...”

“...I'm the last person to tell you that you need a guy to make you happy. But if you're not moving on because you're afraid you'll hurt David, maybe you need to remember that you're hurting Tamani by not moving on, and you might be hurting David by not letting him move on. If--and I'm not saying you should choose him, but if--you really love Tamani, and you keep putting him off because of David, by the time you're finally ready to be with him, you may find that he's moved on. That's all I'm going to say...”

“He's not David," she added, "but he definitely has his own charm.”

“I'm not asking for forever," Tamani said. "Yet. I'm just asking for a moment.”

“...Sometimes," he said, bringing a figertip to her bottom lip, "A kiss is simply a kiss.”

“I just want to kiss you." He slid his hand up her neck, cupping the side of her face. "Do you want to kiss me?”

“Thank you for the exquisite comfort of your kitchen floor.”

“One way or another, I'll watch her from a distance, silently and wihtout her knowledge, if that's what it takes. And no matter how long you live--I'll be around when you're gone. I get to spend my entire life either with Laurel, or watching over her while she's with someone else. Bliss or torture--there's really no middle ground.”

“When in doubt, head under the bed," Tamani said with a grin.”

“I closed my eyes," he repeated after a few shallow breahts, "and imagined she was you.”

“Human locks? Please," Tamani said. "May as well leave the door open.”

“Is he really in love with you?" Chelsea asked after a long, silent moment. "Yes," Laurel admitted, looking up at Chelsea but leaving her head against the wheel. Chelsea raised her eyebrows. "Well. Good luck with that.”

“Someday , Tamani told himself. Someday it'll be me.”

“Tamani has generously agreed to donate his body to my research." The words were out of Laurel's mouth before she realized how bad they sounded. "I mean he's helping me.”

“He'd been back for about two weeks, and everything in Laurel's life had been thrown into Chaos. Sexy, sexy chaos.”

“Are you glad to see me?”

“Aww, come on. I don't bite...hard.”

“She started to turn, but before she could step away, Tamani grabbed her hand. Without breaking eye contact, he raised her hand to his face and brushed his lips over her knuckles.”

“There's always someone who secretly believes in myths and legends; or at least parts of them. Those are the people who will look beyond the obvious and see things in this world that are truly wonderful... But they won't say anything, even if they do. Because the rest of us who view the world as logical and scientific wouldn't see the truth if it was posted up on a billboard. ”

“Laurel, David? Would you like to share the joke with the rest of the class?" he asked, one hand on his skinny hip."No, sir," David said. "But thank you for asking." The students around them laughed, but Mr. james didn't look pleased. Laurel leaned back and grinned. David, one. Teacher who wishes he was as smart as David? Zero”

“I just don't want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing.”

“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and completely useless.”

“You are all awesome like woah.”

“Tamani?" she asked, even though she knew this was the wrong time. "How is a plant supposed to beat a superstrong troll?”

“Tamani paused and mulled this over for a few seconds. "If I say no, are you going to follow me anyway?""Of course.”

“So there's magic? Real magic? It's not just all scientific like David says?"Tamani rolled his eyes. "David again?"Laurel bristled. "He's my friend. My best friend.""Not your boyfriend?""No. I mean...no."Tamani stared at her for several seconds. "So the position's still open?"Laurel rolled her eyes. "We are so not having this conversation.”

“It's your call," he said softly, "but whatever you decide, I'll help you." He placed a soft, warm hand at the back of her neck and Laurel's breath caught in her chest. "Whatever you need, I'll be. If you need the science geek to give you answers from a textbook, I'm your guy; if you just want a friend to sit by you in bio and help you feel better when you're sad, I'm still your guy." His thumb slowly stroked across her earlobe and down her cheek. "And if you need someone to hold you and protect you from anyone in the world who might want to hurt you, then I am definitely your guy." His pale-blue eyes bore into hers, and for a second she couldn't breath. "But it's all up to you," he whispered.”

“And do you really think someone's going to look at you and say, 'Hmm, I think that girl's a plant'?”

“Tamani:" "I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask." "And if I don't?" Laurel said, her voice barley above a whisper. "Then I guess I'll wait forever.”

“Her two worlds, two lives that she tried so hard to keep separate, were crashing together. And she felt helpless to stop it.”

“Tell me," he said, his voice sharp and demanding. "Tell me David is all you need or want out of life." Ηis face was close to her, his soft breath caressing her face. "Τhat you never think of me when you are kissing him, that you don't dream of me the way I dream of you. Tell me you don't love me.”

“Are you free to be anything more than a friend to me? If," and she stressed the if heavily, "I ever decided to live in Avalon and wanted to be with you, would you be free enough to do that?" He looked away, and Laurel could tell he'd been avoiding a conversation like this. "Well?" she insisted. "If you wanted it," he finally said. "If I wanted it?" He nodded. "I'm not allowed to ask. You would have to ask me." Her breath caught in her chest, and Tamani looked at her. "Why do you think David bothers me so much?" Laurel looked down at her lap. "I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask." "And if I don't?" Laurel said, her voice barley above a whisper. "Then I guess I'll wait forever.”

“It didn't matter to her that Tamani only had weak magic, he was magic.”

“It’s going to be gone soon, isn’t it?” he said, more than a tinge of regret in his voice as he studied the large flower.She nodded, craning her neck to look back at the blue blossom. “It should be gone in another week or two,” she said. There was a distinct lack of regret in her voice. “Maybe less, after last night.”Is it really such a bother?”Sometimes.”David’s hands stroked one of the longer petals on the blossom from base to tip, then brought it briefly to his nose and inhaled. “It’s just so . . . I don’t know . . . sexy.”Really? But it’s so . . . plantish.”

“Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and completely useless. ”