“He frowned. "Who cares about that? Screw the gerbils.""Screw them?" I raised an eyebrow. "Lyle, this is not your personal recreation time.”

“Lyle, I don't care who you date.""Good, because I want you to know that thing with Skye was also a mistake. We both knew it as soon as it happened."I nodded. "Again with the not caring.”

“Something simple-minded and morally vacuous? A hamster, perhaps? Maybe Veronica?""Excuse me!" Veronica griped form the back table."Those are gerbils, Mr. Charbonnet, not hamsters. And I'd thank you to minimise the insulting commentary.""My apologies, sir." Alec nodded. "The gerbil is a noble beast. I shouldn't have compared it to Veronica.”

“Jackson," I asked carefully. "Are you on any illegal substances I should know about?""Nope.""Eaten any strange looking mushrooms?""Not lately.""Any near brushed with eternal damnation that might be affecting your judgement?"He grinned. "That hard to believe, huh?”

“I frowned at him. "Isn't sarcasm the opiate of the masses?""You're thinking of religion," he replied. "Sarcasm is the Xanax of the morally bereft.”

“Y'all probably watched a lot of television.""We didn't have TV.""Nintendo, then?"He shook his head."Fantasy football? Xbox?" I frowned. "Please tell me you had Angry Birds.""We had a library," he said, "and a few educational magazines.""Huh. Well, that's just tragic.”

“Black suits you," he commented."Don't get any ideas, Romeo."His frown curled into a slow grin, at once mocking and devastatingly handsome. "Ah, Shakespeare. 'How silver sweet lovers' tongues by night, like softest music to attending ears.'" He laughed. "Saw the movie, did you?""I also saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I said. "Guess which one I liked better.”