“Whispering against her ear, he confessed, "When I'm really stressed out...I play with my toes."Gwen leaned back a bit and stared at him. "Seriously?""It's really relaxing and very bearlike."And very weird. And yet..."I'm oddly comforted by this information.”

“But my pretty little Gwen…me and her daddy…” Then she purred. Seriously. Purred.”

“Miki took her hands away from her ears. "Yup. I'm a very good girl."Craig grimaced. "Don't say that.""Why?""Because to guys it just means you swallow.”

“Is ignoring me supposed to endear you to me somehow?” “No. That’s the job of my thighs and my get-lost-in-them-forever dreamy eyes.” He leaned in even closer and blinked his eyes several times. “Mesmerizing, aren’t they?” Irene couldn’t hold it back anymore. It flooded out of her and she couldn’t stop it. Even when everyone turned and stared at her, including Jackie and Paul, she couldn’t stop. And she tried. Because laughing this much really would only exacerbate his ego even more.”

“Her dark brown eyes were staring straight at him. “Pretty teeth.” She had a light Texan accent. Not as hearty as the others he’d been hearing on his ride from California. “Long.”Her right index finger was in his mouth. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t yet retracted his canines. She smiled at him. “You’re pretty too.” Wow, she was REALLY drunk. With a sudden surge of strength, she slammed Zach against the far alley wall. Thenshe was leaning into him, “I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you.” Zach had been called a lot of things in his lifetime, “pretty” had never been one of them. She growled as she smiled… uh, no… leered at him.She kissed him”

“Do you want to come inside for a drink?” she softly offered. “No. No. No, no, no, no. No.” Gwen stared at him. “One ‘no’ would have been clear.” “Those ‘no’s’ weren’t for you. They were for me. I was simply saying them out loud.”

“What’s wrong?” Blayne finally asked. “Nothing,” Gwen answered. “I’m just sitting here. Staring.” Maybe hoping a bear would wander out of the woods to say “hi and I’m sorry I broke my promise.”