“Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it’s not impossible that acar full of scantily clad sorority girls might break downoutside and need my help.”“That’s true,” I said. “Maybe I can put a sign out front thatsays, ‘ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: FREE HELP HERE.’”“‘ATTENTION ALL HOT GIRLS,’” he corrected,straightening up.“Right,” I said, trying not to roll my eyes. “That’s animportant distinction.”He pointed at me with the pool stick. “Speaking of hot, Ilike that uniform.”This time, I did roll my eyes.”

“Oh," he said, knocking a red ball into a hole. "It's you.""You were expecting someone else?" I asked. "Am I interrupting your social calender?" I made a big show of glancing around the empty room. "I don't want to keep you from the mob of fans beating down your door.""Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it's not impossible that a car full of scantily clad sorority girls might break down outside and need my help.”

“I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. ‘all right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

“He's such a jerk," I said, wanting to rant. "If I'm going to go gaga for some guy, it'll be because I want to, not because some asshat is helping me along."God how lame was that? Just shut up, Ari. Before you embarrass yourself even more."Well, just for the record...forcing a girl to go all gaga for me isn't my style." He paused, his tone doing nothing to hide his amusement. "I like the gaga to be natural."I rolled my eyes and took off at a jog before he could see that my face had gone straight past hot to volcanic.”

“My gosh," I said, "another human being.""You'll never know how human," she said."Maybe I will," I said. "I could try."I did try, and I do try, and I give you the toast of a happy man: May the warm springs of the girl pool never run dry.--"Girl Pool”

“That’s my good girl,” he growled in my ear. And there it was. His good girl? Why did I always have to be the good girl? Fuck that.”