“We sat down and Lend put his arm around me. Every single jaw at the table dropped."Man," John said, shaking his head. "All this time I was pretty sure you were gay.”

“She grabbed her clutch bag and circled her arms around his neck. "Caulder McCutchen, I'm really not sure what you are."He lifted his head and looked down at her, squinted. "I'm a man. Enough said?"Velia smiled and looped her arm through his. "Yes, sir. Shall we go?”

“[Veda:] 'Sure. Let me put these [books] back and we can go.'Cora looked at the number of volumes on the table and sat back. ‘I should have brought my iPod,’ she said, folding her arms.”

“It's a good thing we're pretty to look at," I said as Lend sat down on the orange plastic seats next to me. "Because we don't have much else going for us as bowlers.”

“You’re fearless.”Draven laughed loudly and shook his head. Zarah frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.“No, I’m not. Trust me. I’m scared all the time. You scare the living hell out of me.”Her jaw dropped. “I scare you?”“Anyone who isn’t scared of you is insane.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m all right?” I say.“No, I’m pretty sure you’re not all right.”He shakes his head. “I’m going to ask you not to make any decisions until we’ve talkedabout it.”