“His child was now officially smarter than he was, and he didn’t like it.”

“Then before he could break the moment, before he could turn away, I kissed him, and he didn’t stop me. Instead, he pushed my hair out of my face, and he kissed me back, gently, sweetly, his hand slipping behind my head, his lips moving just right against mine, smooth and warm. I gripped his shirt and sighed against his mouth, and knew that as long as I lived, this would be the one perfect kiss that I’d remember forever.”

“Dance class, huh?" he said. "You don't look the type.""And what does that mean?" I asked."You're not built like a dancer," he commented."You should probably stop talking now," I advised."Got a little bit more meat on your bones than those girls you see on TV.""You should definitely stop talking now." I glared.”

“If you don't want to have a baby, that's fine. And if you want sex on the kitchen table, you'll get it." He glared down at his wife. "But you're coming home, and you're coming home now, and I will be happy to discuss this further once you're naked and in my bed." He paused. "Or on the table." His face flushed. "And the next time you leave me, you'd better mean it, woman, because I'm not going to be treated like a doormat. Understand?”

“There was a little smile on his mouth—the mouth that had been kissing hers. Otherwise, he was incommunicado.“Liam?” she said again, more loudly this time.Nada. He was out cold. Down for the count.She straightened abruptly. Face was burning, joints buzzing with adrenaline, chest filled with helium.Liam Murphy had kissed her.And he’d fallen asleep in the middle of it. She didn’t know whether to burst into song or kick something.”

“Ten bucks says the virgin dies before the slut,” I said, taking a sip of my soda.“You’re on. Oh, hey, don’t go in the shower, for God’s sake,” Nick advised the scantily dressed college student on the screen as she tiptoed into the bathroom. He stuffed a fistful of popcorn into his mouth. “Well, okay, there you go,” he added as she was slashed to death by Freddy’s fingernails. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Your poor parents.”

“The simmering lust, the raging interest exploded into love. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a man who took the time to feed a homeless kitty? She held that image against her heart like a secret jewel. Only she knew about it, she was sure. Those girls Liam might’ve slept with, girls who left their panties in his locker or wrote things about him on the bathroom walls…they didn’t know what Posey knew—Liam Declan Murphy was not just the hottest thing ever to grace Bellsford High…he was a softy, too.”