。　？Blair　wants　to　be　our

senior　speaker。　If　I　miss　graduation；　she？ll　kill　me。？

Aaron　rolled　his　eyes；　flipped　the　cracked　white　toilet　seat　lid　down；　and　sat　down　on　it。　He

sighed。　？I　don？t　know　how　she　does　it。？

？What　do　you　mean？？　Vanessa　couldn？t　help　observing　that　this　little　bathroom　chat　was　the

longest　they？d　ever　talked　without　forgetting　what　they　were　talking　about　and　ripping　each

other？s　clothes　off。

？You？re　like　the　most　righteous　person　I　know；　but　she　even　manages　to　get　you　to　do　her

bidding。？　Aaron　explained；　rubbing　the　back　of　his　neck　where　the　supershort　shaved　bits　were

growing　in。

？It？s　not　like　that。　We？re　friends。　Anyway；？　Vanessa　quickly　changed　the　subject。　？I　think　driving

across　the　country　and　camping　out　and　stuff　sounds　？　cool。？　She　put　her　hands　in　her　pockets；

hoping　that　Aaron　would　forget　all　about　the　ring。　？I　mean；　as　long　as　there？s；　like；　a　bathroom

and　a　shower　we　can　use。？

Sounds　like　she　doesn？t　quite　know　the　meaning　of　？camping　out。？

？Really？？　Aaron　stood　up；　grinning　as　he　turned　her　around　to　face　him。　？So；　are　you；　like；

pletely　naked　underneath　that　towel？？　he　asked；　kissing　her　neck　and　shoulders。

Vanessa　knew　she　ought　to　have　been　overwhelmed　by　her　outrageous　deception。　Dan　had　left

only　an　hour　ago。　Now　here　she　was　with　Aaron；　her　real　boyfriend；　pretending　it　was　perfectly

natural　to　be　taking　a　shower　in　the　late　afternoon；　when　she　normally　only　took　one　in　the

morning。　Maybe　she　was　just　losing　her　mind；　but　somehow　it　made　being　with　Aaronand　Dan　all

the　more　exciting。

Aaron　turned　on　the　shower　and　pulled　his　shirt　off　over　his　head。　？I　say　we　both　need　to