“Mrs. Edmund smiled and then turned to go. "I'll leave you two alone."Who? Me and the door? Yes, we were bonding quite well.”

“The girls were flaring at me, as if I was the one who had won. And I wasn't even fighting.”

“As Tristan helped me to my feet, I could see that he was smiling. He said slowly, "That was really..." He pushed his sunglasses back on. "Yeah.""It was 'Yeah'?" I laughed and bumped playfully into his side. "Yeah, for me too.”

“And being blind... that doesn't change who you are.”

“Tristan’s hand pressed against my back and I felt myself move closer until my head was resting against his warm chest. I closed my eyes and felt its steady rising and falling. I breathed in deeply and wrapped my arms more securely around his neck. The world was suddenly simply cinnamon and sandalwood. I couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so content.All too soon, the song ended. I nearly moaned as Tristan stepped back and caught my arm. “Maybe we should head out.”Maybe people shouldn’t move when other people are feeling so...Oh, whatever.”

“Unable to resist any longer, I leaned close to Tristan and whispered, “So, exactly how many of the,” I glanced around the room, “thirty girls in your class did you date?”“Only one’s a senior, but I’ve dated thirteen girls from Clarence,” he answered easily. “But more would’ve dated me, if I’d asked.”“Way to be humble, Romeo.”

“Mom just got you a babysitter! She had to pay her a ton to stay.”