“I had wanted something from him. Even expected a confrontation. To be ignored was a sentence without a period.”

“I could have explained that I wanted to walk without Doofus to get some air. But it would be pretty unusual-one might even go as far as to say unheard of-for me to take a hike on a winter night when I was exhausted from boarding all day.”

“Anybody who knows him, even all the girls, will tell you he's a great guy, and they'll do anything for him, right up until they want to kill him.”

“I don’t want to make her jealous yet,” I explained. “She hasn’t gone out with Sean yet. Right now I want her to feel special, like she’s the only girl I ever introduced tomy secret make-out hideout. It’s only after she goes out with Sean that I’m going to pull the rug out from under her.”“Adam Vader,” Rachel said. “I had no idea you were so sneaky.”“Right. That makes me even sneakier. Deal?”

“This was my evening out:bopping back and forth, away from whichever convo made me the most uncomfortable.I walked back to the booth and stood next to Nick.He was leaning forward, listening to what Davis and Gavin were saying. I waited for them to finish. I stood naked beside him-wearing BOY TOY jeans,a long-sleeved shirt,and a short-sleeved PowderRoom.net T-shirt over that, but feeling naked nevertheless-for several long seconds.When he finally noticed me,he looked up quickly like he'd been waiting on edge for my return. He set down his pizza, crumpled his napkin in his hands, and even slid his half-filled plate toward the center of the table like I was the main course now and he was making room for me. "So,Hoyden."I noticed the Christmas lights glinting in his dark hair again, reflecting in his dark eyes. It took me a moment to remember I had something to tell him. Nick had that effect on me.I bent down and cupped my hand around his ear-such an intimate gesture on its own.The coarse strands of his hair brushed my fingers as I whispered, "Chloe and Liz think we need to make out."I jumped away at his sudden movement. He leaped up from the table and grabbed my hand. "I'll get my coat.”

“No. I just don't want to be a detective. They figure out what happened after the fact, when it's too late. I want to prevent it from happening.”

“I need to explain all this to Adam in private. I can't get McGillicuddy to explain it to him. Something will be lost in translation.""Well, excuse me that I can't look at him all googly-eyed," my brother said."And he's liable to punch you," I said.”