"Yeah, well, I'm not them. I don't cheat. Alright?" He leans down to look me in the eye.

"But you're hiding something," I whisper.

"It's not what you think. I will tell you, just not..."

"Just not now." I turn my back to him. "That's part of why I can't trust you."

Zane is silent for a moment. "So what do you want to do?" he asks finally.

"I don't want to fight," I say.

"What do you want to do?" he repeats.

I lean back against him. His arms go around my waist, pulling me against his warmth. "I want to feel how soft your bed is," I say quietly.

"Let's go."

Zane takes my hand and we practically run towards the valet. While we're waiting for them to get his car, someone screams hideously.

I slip my phone out of the little pocket in my dress and reluctantly answer. "Mom?"

"Please tell me you're somewhere close by," she says in a rush. "Great Grandma Frances is throwing a huge fit, and you're the only one that can calm her down."

I glance at Zane. He's watching me intently. "I'll be right there," I groan.

"Hurry, Violet!"

"Great Grandma emergency," I tell him after I've hung up. "She's going nuts in there, and I'm the only one she responds to."

Zane lets his head fall forward. "When you and I finally I happen, I may not survive it," he mutters, staring down at the ground.

"I, uh, I'll talk to you later, I guess?"

I start forward to kiss him, but he quickly backs off. "Nope. Don't touch me right now."

"What? Why not?" I frown at him.

A little self-deprecating smile plays about his beautifully-made mouth. "Trust me, it would be a bad idea. I'll call you later, okay?"

Zane's car appears like magic. A valet hops out of the driver's seat, looking thrilled to have been behind the wheel of such an awesome car.

"Okay," I say in a dazed voice. I don't know what to do with my hands, so I wave awkwardly. "See you later?"

He stops to look at me before getting into the Aston Martin. "Definitely."

How does this keep happening? I look to the heavens for an answer, and do you know what I get?

A raindrop in the eye.

But the real treat is waiting for me in the ballroom, where Great Grandma is in the process of removing every last st.i.tch of her clothing. It's time for her bath, she says.

Wow. Naked old woman flesh kills the mood. Kills it real good.

I may never have s.e.x.

Chapter 25.

The next time I see Damon at school, I shoot him an evil glare. He looks away guiltily. This confirms my suspicions of him being an impregnator.

"Do the right thing," I mutter to him as we pa.s.s each other in the hall.

He stares at me, wide-eyed, then hurries away.

Really, Lauren, how could you have gotten involved with someone like him? He's cute, but there's not much going on back there.

So I've decided to start writing again. I update all my web pages, answer as much fans' questions as I can, and sit at my computer, waiting for some ideas to hit.

Nothing comes to mind. I didn't antic.i.p.ate how hard it would be to get back into my characters' world after months of not thinking about them at all. And I keep getting distracted. While I should be thinking of plot lines, I find myself surfing the web for funny cat videos. Then Mom calls me down to help her with the Christmas decorations.

Ugh, Christmas! What am I going to get everyone? I still don't know about my present for Zane. We wandered into a local gallery in some tiny town once, and Zane had pointed out an exquisite sculpture of a beautiful mermaid sitting on a rock. It had reminded him of a painting he used to be fascinated with as a kid. He even joked that the mermaid looked like me.

The next day, I drove back to the town and bought it for him. I have no idea if he'll like it. I also got a him a mini model of a Stirling engine, though I'm having second doubts about that one, too. Rich people are so hard to shop for.

Ugh, so much for getting any writing today. I'll start tomorrow for sure.

"Go ahead, just get it all out."

"How could you have told me? When did it start? Did it hurt? I can't believe you did it before me! Where did you do it?"

I have to pause to take a breath. Lauren just stares at me wearily. I doubt she'll answer most of my burning questions, but I so needed to get them out of my system. I've been repressing them so far, not wanting to add to her stress.

There are dark circles under Lauren's eyes. She hasn't puked yet, but she looks exhausted.

"I told you, I'll tell you everything after I talk to the father. Sorry, V. It's such a mess."

All I can do is nod sympathetically. Anyone can see the embarra.s.sment on Lauren's face to be sitting in the waiting room of a women's clinic, waiting to have her pregnancy confirmed on paper so she can apply for government a.s.sistance. Her pride almost wouldn't let her, and I had to remind her it was for the baby.

"It did hurt," she says out of the blue. "In the beginning. But then, it didn't. It was...I thought I would regret it after the first time, but then I felt-I don't know-I wanted to do it again."

I'm speechless for a moment. This is Lauren. She doesn't even like it when people brush against her in the hall. Did she turn into a nympho before my eyes?

"Do you love him?" I blurt out.

Lauren appears startled, as if she's never considered the question before. "I don't know," she admits softly, staring down at her hands in her lap. "It's weird to say, but I think it might depend on his reaction."

I scowl, remembering Damon's cowardly cringe. "He'd better act right. Or, I don't care what you say. I'll stomp him. I'll go all Fat Violet on his a.s.s."

That makes her snicker a little. "Thanks, V."

"I'm serious, Lauren." I look her in the eye. "He'd better treat you right."

She just shrugs and shifts uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair.

We are quiet for a while. Someone named Sidney is called back and a scared-looking girl who couldn't have been much older than the twins, stands up with a scowling woman. The pair make their way grimly into the back room.

"Violet?" Lauren says suddenly, diverting my attention.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever talked to Zane about...well, you said he's been with a lot of people...?"

I grimace at the reminder, but I know what she's getting at. "He gets tested regularly, and he always wears a condom. We talked about that before, when he asked if I was going to go on the pill."

"Are you going to?"

"I know I should, but-ugh-it's so embarra.s.sing!"

Lauren looks around pointedly. "More embarra.s.sing than this?"

"Good point."

Her name is called then. I try to go back with her, but she tells me I'm not going to watch her go pee. So I sit back down, left with my thoughts.

I want to be thinking about Lauren and her predicament, but my mind keeps turning back to Zane.

Should we wait to have s.e.x? There were so many times we were so close, only to be cruelly thwarted. Is that a sign that I'm not ready yet?

Physically, I am so there. Really, just thinking about Zane, looking into those amazing dark eyes...I would do anything he asked.

And maybe that's the problem.

Ugh, why does it have to be so complicated? It's just s.e.x, right? Lots of people do it, and it's fine.

Right.

Chapter 26.

Sat.u.r.day morning.

It's just a few hours into my work day when Henry, who is six about 6'5" and two-eighty, slips coming out of the shower and falls right on top of me.

I am squashed. I just barely manage to reach my walkie talkie and call for help. Meanwhile, Henry is trying to get up, using my neck as leverage. I bet even Helize could hear my screams from her room.

"I'm fine," I tell Amy, the nurse for the third time.

She's holding my arm, moving it gently. I wince a little when she rotates it to the left.

"I still want you to take the weekend off," she says. "Get some rest, take hot showers. I don't think you'll have any bruising."

I shake my head. "Honestly, I'm okay. I can even finish the rest of my shift."

"Jody's already on her way, and she asked if we need her for tomorrow. She's dying for more hours, what with Christmas being around the corner." Amy smiles and pats my shoulder. "Besides, you've been looking exhausted lately. Just take it easy."

"Okay," I say reluctantly. "Should I fill out an incident report before I go?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll do one with you."

I go up to tell Helize goodbye before I go. When I tell her what happened, she shocks me by cackling her head off. I don't know what's so funny about a naked old man falling on and crushing her favorite flower. That woman has a weird sense of humor.

I get in my car and text Zane: Me: I got hurt at work. :( Zane: Are you okay? What happened?

Me: Old guy fell on me. I'm ok. Good news is I get a 3 day wknd--no school on Monday, either!

He doesn't text me back, so I start my car and head home. Minutes later, my phone beeps with an incoming message. I check it while waiting for the light to change.

Zane: I'm coming to get you now. Plan on staying with me for those days.

My heart lurches excitedly in my chest. He wants me to stay with him! h.e.l.l, yes!

On the way home, I think up a suitable lie to tell Mom. She fusses over me when I explain why I'm home so early, trying to get me to go lie down in bed. I tell her about my plan to spend three days with Rachel (yeah, that one) and her family in L.A., and she insists I should stay home and rest instead. Feeling horrible, I tell her I'm fine, and I'm really, really excited to go. Then she relents, and even tells me I should visit Zane while I'm there. That has me erupting into hysterical giggles.

I pack maniacally fast, throwing my best underwear and my most favorite outfits into my bag. Then I take a long and thorough shower. Tonight might be the night! I make sure to take care of all my shaving issues.

When I'm certain I'm shiny and silky smooth, I hop out of the shower and put on the daring purple lingerie Zane bought for me. I haven't even tried it on until now, and I have to say, I'm very happy with how it looks on me. I slip on my pink Hawaii shirt and my best pair of jeans over the lingerie, then it's time for makeup.

I text Zane to meet me at Lauren's apartment. He texts me back, saying he's twenty minutes away. Ugh, he must've sped like crazy. He might even beat me there. I stick my bracelet in my jacket pocket so I can put it on once I'm outside, grab my bag, and fly down the stairs.

I just barely have time to explain things to Lauren when there's a knock on her door. Shaking her head, she opens the door to Zane, who looks ridiculously s.e.xy and dangerous in his black leather jacket and faded jeans. His eyes meets mine and the heat in them makes me want to fan myself.

He nods once at Lauren, then looks back at me. "Ready?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I.." I break away from his intense stare and turn to Lauren. "Use my car whenever, and call me if you need me."