“Win walked over to me. He held out his palm. In the middle of it was a single black sequin from the dress Scarlet had lent me. "You lost this," he said.I giggled, slightly embarrassed to be leaving bits of myself behind. "I'm shedding.”

“Pressing his forehead to the cool glass, he held her gaze, her palm, his eyes pleading with her. Don’t go. Don’t leave me.”

“Not watching the path where his legs took him, he walked on because he knew he had to walk ahead, leaving his past behind.”

“In the middle of all this, as Sean slips out of his jacket, he looks over his shoulder at me and he smiles at me, just a glancing, faint thing before he turns back to Tommy. I'm quite happy for that smile, because Dad told me once you should be grateful for the gifts that are the rarest.”

“Tori walked toward the bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her give Derek a once-over."You know, from this angle, he doesn't look too bad," she said.I glared at her."I'm just saying . . ."I leaned over Derek, calling him as loudly as I dared."Personally, I'm more a running back girl myself," Tori said. "But if you like the linebacker type, he's--"My glower shut her up”

“Caeden grabbed my hand and grinned like a little boy in a candy shop. “Carnival time!” He drug me from the car and then behind him as he headed to a ring toss game. “I think I need to win my girl a prize,” he said.I laughed.“What?” he shrugged. “It’s like a rite of passage. Every boyfriend has to win his girlfriend a prize,” he winked, turning my stomach to jelly.”