MY ONLY ONE FINAL 1

8/9/2019 MY ONLY ONE FINAL 1

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To RJ--

For being my rock,

And keeping me strong.

It is snowing.

A young woman has just stepped out of

the doors to the airport. She stops just outsidethe door and for a moment just stares aroundher. Mounds of white and gray snow line thestreet in front of her heavily !ontrasting the!olorful ta"i !abs. She raises her hand#!overedwith a bla!$ glove#and stares at the fla$esstu!$ there before they melt. She is jolted out ofher wonder suddenly as a man with a brief!aseand a heavy %oston a!!ent bumps into her.

&'hat(s )a matta( wit( you* Ain(t younever seen snow before*+, he pushed his waypast her and she responded too late. -er wordshit his rapidly disappearing ba!$.

&Nno. No I haven(t., She moved out ofthe way of the door and !ontinued to starearound her for a few minutes. 'hen a bree/e hither she shivered. -er hoodie was too thin for a%oston winter. She pi!$ed up her bags andwal$ed over to where the busses stopped. She


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pulled a folded wrin$led sheet of paper out ofher pants po!$et and reread what she(d alreadymemori/ed#01C the bus she was supposed to

ta$e. 2here was a bus stop right outside her newhome#a shabby apartment building on the eastside.

After about 34 minutes of people staringat her and her obsession with snow the busfinally pulled up. 2he thin girl was shivering sobadly that it was hard for her to hoist her bagson to the bus and she dropped one of the !oins

she needed to pay for the bus ride through hernumb fingers.

2he bus ride was something new to hertoo. 2he roads were so bumpy and the bus hadno seat belts. She had never been so glad toarrive anywhere.

'ith more effort the girl managed to!arry her three bags into the building and into

the door mar$ed )offi!e(. It wasn(t li$e anyoffi!e she(d ever been in before. 2here were nobad paintings lining the walls no maga/inespiled on tables. 5rames hung around the roomheld pi!tures of people who all loo$ed ali$e.2he girl too$ off her hat and let her hair falldown her ba!$. -er blond !urls fell to themiddle of her ba!$. She slowly approa!hed the

woman at the des$ who was on the phone.&6mm7,

&8eah hold on Sylvia#, the womanbehind the des$ said loudly. &'e ain(t got nounits open. Che!$ the building down on2hames., And she turned ba!$ to her phone !all.&%ut li$e I was saying#,

&Ma(am e"!use me#, She(d loo$ed upat the use of )ma(am( and suddenly reali/ationdawned on her fa!e.

&Oh+ Sylvia I(ll !all you ba!$., Shehung up the phone. &8ou must be the new


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tenant+ 5rom7, she loo$ed at her folder.&9eorgia*,

&8eah that(s me. My name is :milie#

with an )ie( not a )y(. :milie M!;onnell. 8oumust be Sandra*, :milie e"tended her slenderhand for a handsha$e.

&Oh honey !all me Sandy+, Sandy too$:milie(s hand in her mu!h larger one and shoo$it vigorously. :milie was sho!$ed at the warmthof the woman(s hand. She had dar$ hair andeyes in !ontrast to :milie


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Sandy pulled the $eys out of her po!$et andunlo!$ed the door. She pushed the door openand stepped aside. &After you.,

:milie wal$ed into the room slowlyta$ing off her shoes at the door. 2he heat was avery wel!ome !hange from the !old she(d beene"posed to all day. She let out another shiver asthe warmth rushed over her s$in. :milie loo$edaround the room. It was plain#!ream !olored!arpets and star$ white walls.

Sandy had seemingly heard her thoughts.

&8ou !an paint if you li$e. I wanted to let youpi!$ the !olors., :milie was already offe"ploring the rest of the apartment. It was prettybig for an apartment? a master bedroom twosmaller bedrooms#one of whi!h was to berenovated into a half!loset halfstudio#abathroom a front room and a small $it!hen.2he windows shoo$ every time a train went by.

%ut to :milie who had lived in rural 9eorgiaall her life it was a pala!e#a blan$ !anvas tobe !reative with.

%ut suddenly something else !aught hereye.

5ramed along the longest wall in thefront room was a photograph#a panorama. Itwas hung high enough for a fairly si/ed

television set to be pla!ed beneath it. 2he s!enewas unfamiliar to her at first but then shegasped in ama/ement. It was the Chi!agos$yline shot from a steep angle as if thephotographer had been set below the hori/on.:milie pla!ed her purse on the ground andadmired the print. &@emar$able.,

2hrough her wonder she heard Sandy(svoi!e. &2hat one* =robably one of my leastfavorites#the angle was a pain to shoot from.I(ll leave you to get settled. %u// the des$ if youneed anything.,


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As the door !li!$ed shut behind her:milie !aught the name in the bottom of theframe#Sandra 5eldman. She turned to as$ but

Sandy was gone.:milie grabbed one of her bags anddragged it to the master bedroom. 2here was a!ot set up in the !enter of the room. 2here wasalso a dresser with a note taped to it#

Emilie

This is just temporary or you.! trust you"ll get your o#n

ater the other room is

reno$ated or you.

%andy.She smiled happy that Sandy had been

so thoughtful and un/ipped her suit!ase. Insideit was her ne!essities#the rest of her

belongings would arrive for her in a !ouple ofdays. She started moving !lothes into thedresser. She was halfway through the suit!asewhen she saw the bo". She didn(t rememberputting a bo" into her suit!ase. She removed thebo" and flipped it over. )2O :MI:( wass!rawled a!ross the entire top of the bo" in blue!rayon. She felt a pang of homesi!$ness#it was

obviously written by her Byear old sister -olly.She pla!ed the bo" aside and !ontinued tounpa!$. 'hen she rea!hed the bottom of thesuit!ase she sat down on the !ot. She wouldneed to buy a bed. :milie pi!$ed up the bo"!uriously. She pulled off the tape and saw a lotof pa!$ing foam and a note. She pi!$ed up thenote.

Emilie

&e"re so proud o you'' ! kne#

you"d tell us not to, but #e did it


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any#ays. &e lo$e you' (ood

luck in school''

lo$e )om, )a#

and *olly

She rea!hed into the bo" and pulled outsome of the foam. :milie gave a gasp of sho!$#nestled inside the foam was a brand new!amera and an envelope. She rea!hed first for a!amera. 2he homesi!$ness swelled inside her#they had remembered her favorite brand. She

then rea!hed for the envelope. It was addressed)to my baby girl.(

Emilie

+our mother told me that she

already purchased the camera,

and ! couldn"t think o anything

else to get you. *opeully, this

#ill be helpul.o$e, ad.

Inside was a !he!$ for B444.:milie felt a sudden rush of affe!tion for herdistant father. 2hat would !over rent through thesummer+

:milie wal$ed out of the room and intothe living room. She wal$ed over to the window

and loo$ed out over the !ity. It was still early#before noon at least. She was bro$en from herthoughts by a familiar song blaring through theroom. She rea!hed for the small devi!e hit thebutton and put the spea$er to her ear.

&-ey Sarah.,&-ey bit!h. I miss you++, -earing her

best friend(s voi!e made her feel so mu!hhappier. &8ou left before I !ould get there andsay goodbye you whore+,

&8eah, :milie said with a smile. &Andif I had waited any longer I would have missed


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my flight.,2he two girls too$ up time with small

tal$ for about 34 minutes until the !onversation

turned more serious. :milie brought up the topi!first.&So7does @ob $now yet*, 2he thought

of her boyfriend#no e"boyfriend#made hereyes water. 2hey had been together sin!e Dthgrade and :milie had bro$en up with himbe!ause she insisted )long distan!erelationships never wor$.(

&I(m not sure if he $nows yet, Sarahanswered a hint of annoyan!e in her voi!e.Sarah had been against :milie(s plan in the firstpla!e. :milie had told most people that she wasleaving after Christmas. She(d a!tually left onNovember EFth#a full month ahead of s!hedule.She $new that she wouldn(t be able to fa!e @obwhen the time !ame so she didn(t tell him.

Sarah hadn(t stopped yelling at her about it forwee$s.

&%62 your sister and I are !oming outfor Christmas++ And I(m pretty sure I(mma dragthe girls out for spring brea$., Sarah soundedvery e"!ited.

&@eally* Oh my 9od++, And suddenly the weight that hadbeen pla!ed on her shoulders at the mention of @ob had

lifted off of her shoulders. As she !ontinued to !hat withSarah she !ouldn(t help but thin$ that were it not for thesnow outside her window she !ould have been ba!$ homein 9eorgia.

A few hours later :milie wal$ed out ofthe ban$ after depositing the !he!$ from herfather. Sandy had surprised her at the door asshe was leaving to do this.

&Oh :milie+ 8our father !alled andas$ed me to tell you the terms of your rent+,


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Sandy !ontinued Gui!$ly when she saw the loo$on :milie(s fa!e. &8our father sent a !he!$#you(re all paid through Huly., :milie had !alled

her father immediately and#after being on holdfor 3> minutes#than$ed him profusely.&;ad you didn(t have to#,&Anything for my baby girl. I(m also

sending a !ard for my Swiss a!!ount., :milie(sfather was a business man in New 8or$. -erparents had separated after -olly was born.Over the years he had amassed Guite a fortune

held in multiple offshore ban$s.&;ad you don(t have to#,&Nonsense+ A girl your age in the !ity

needs money+ I also deposited 1444 into youra!!ount a few days ago so it should have!leared by now.,

:milie de!ided that it was a lost battle toargue her father. &2han$ you dad.,

&I love you baby girl. I(m really busynow so I have to go. :njoy your shoppingspree. 9ood bye., And the re!eiver !li!$ed off.

:milie(s father had always been distanteven when she was a !hild. -er parents hadnever offi!ially gotten divor!ed and for a longtime she(d hoped for a movie ending#that dadwould !hange his mind and !ome ba!$ home.

%y the time she(d started Bthgrade however herfather almost seemed li$e a memory. -e hadalways tried to remedy his absen!e by giving:milie and her mother and sister obs!eneamounts of money and e"pensive souvenirsfrom his travels. It had pla!ated :milie(s needfor a father for a long time until she(d heard hermother !alling him a )goodfornothingdeadbeat.(

&'ell, she said Guietly to herself &he(sgood for something., She patted the wallet inher po!$et and started sear!hing for a pla!e to


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shop. As she wal$ed she reali/ed that she wouldneed to buy boots. She !ould feel the snowstarting to seep into her Converse.

.................................................She returned to the building severalhours later after a severe amount of shopping.She had bought all of her furniture and a new2 and !omputer. All of this was going to bedelivered tomorrow. She was laden down withbags and bags of new !lothes and shoes. Sandystopped her before she !ould get to the stairs.

&'hoa there =aris -ilton. 8ou(ll neverma$e it to the top with all that. et me help.,She grabbed three bags from :milie and wassho!$ed at how heavy they were. &8ou aren(t assmall as you loo$ are you*, :milie laughedand then a thought popped into her head.

&Sandy I(m having all my new furnituredelivered tomorrow is that all right*, Sandy(s

fa!e lit up.&Oh that(s wonderful+ Absolutely fine+

2he !ot isn(t very !omfortableJ I hope you got anew bed7,

&I did., :milie !ontinued spea$ing outloud for the first time the thought she(d had allday. &Sandy !an you tell me about myneighbor*,

Sandy laughed. &'hi!h one* 8ouhaven(t met Ha!$ yet* I(m surprised he wasn(t inyour bed waiting for you when you got here+,:milie(s fa!e !ontorted in laughter. Sandynoti!ed and !ontinued. &8ou thin$ I(m jo$ing*-e has a bit of a7reputation. -e(s a7promis!uous boy., :milie made a note of this.&Most of the $ids who live here are $ids#!ollege age a little older.,

&'hat about the person on the top floor*'ho(s a!ross the hall from me*,

&Oh that(ll be the new guy. -is mom


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!alled and rented for him yesterday. I(d assumehe(s another !ollege $id. -e(s moving in rightbefore Christmas., Sandy !ontinued

enthusiasti!ally. &-is mom said he was some$ind of )musi!ian(#probably one of those hiphop thugs. -e(s from Indiana#a really reallysmall town.,

2hey !ontinued to !limb up the stairsuntil they rea!hed the top floor Sandy !hattinganimatedly the whole way. &Oh+ 8our mother!alled the offi!e while you were gone. 2he rest

of your stuff is !oming tomorrow. She hiredsomebody to drive it up here for you., :milie(seyes widened.

&;id she say who*+, She !ould feel thesmile spreading a!ross her fa!e#it was thewee$end+ :veryone was off of s!hool+ 'ho didshe $now that !ould drive a tru!$#*

&8es., Sandy also started smiling. &And

don(t thin$ that I(m about to tell you who it is+8ou(ll just have to wait )til tomorrow afternoonto find out., 2hey had managed to get all of:milie o(!lo!$. Sandy started tal$ingagain. &So have you de!ided what !olor you(regoing to paint yet*,

:milie grinned. &Sandy this is just the!lothes+ I still need to go food shopping andstuff. I(ll get paint on the way home.,

&O$ay but be !areful. It(s getting dar$out and I don(t want you to get lost in the !ity.-ere I(ll give you my !ell phone number. Callif you get lost. %ut !all me anyways when youget home. And here#, she rolled a smallshopping bas$et out from a !loset in the offi!e.&It(ll ma$e shopping easier.,

..................................................:milie returned to the building around


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F?4 and the offi!e window was dar$. Shewheeled the overflowing !art into the offi!ewith a bit of effort#her mus!les were a!hy and

the !art was heavy. 2he snow had slowed herdown. She too$ as mu!h as she !ould !arry andstarted up the stairs. She was surprised just pastthe 1thfloor landing.

&-i+ 8ou must be the new tenant+,:milie nodded. -is voi!e sounded full ofe"!itement. &Sandy didn(t tell me it was a girl+I(m Ha!$ by the way. Ha!$ 'illiamson. I live

right under you., 2he two rea!hed the >th

floorand :milie struggled to get the $eys out of herpo!$et. Ha!$ stepped forward. &-ere I(ll helpyou., -e rea!hed his hand into her pants po!$etand pulled out the $eys. A blush spread a!ross:milie(s fa!e rapidly. Ha!$ put the $ey into thelo!$ and turned it and as the door opened:milie felt a different more wel!ome form of

heat hit her.She dropped all the gro!eries in the

$it!hen and turned around. Ha!$ had ta$en aninterest in the photo hanging in the front roomthe same way that :milie had. She studied himfrom this distan!e. -e had dar$ brown hair withbits of it dyed blond all over his head with a bigpat!h in the front. -e loo$ed young#probably

around 30 or E4. Something about the way he!arried himself however hinted at a $ind ofeternal youth. She approa!hed him. &I(m :milie.:milie M!;onnell., She e"tended her hand fora handsha$e but Ha!$ pulled her into a tighthug. She !ould feel herself blushing again.

&It(s ni!e to meet you+ ;o you havemu!h more to !arry up* et me help you., Asthey des!ended the stairs she !ontinued to thin$about the boy. -e was very7.forwardJ more sothan many of the boys ba!$ home. Somethingabout him seemed to draw her in.


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She was so lost in her thoughts that shefailed to see the puddle. As she stepped onto thetiled floor of the entryway her foot hit a pat!h

of water left behind by the melting snow. -erlegs slipped out from under her and all she sawwas the !eiling. Ha!$ lunged forward to try and!at!h her but his bare foot hit the puddle and heslipped too landing them both in a very!ompromising position.

5or a moment :milie thought that thestrange energeti! male was going to $iss her.

She too$ a moment to e"amine his fa!e fromthis !lose pro"imity. 6nli$e many boys his agehis s$in was flawless and se!retly she wonderedif he was wearing ma$eup. -e had large!aramel!olored eyes that loo$ed as if they!ould have been on a small !hild. -e had a largenose that loo$ed li$e it had been bro$enmultiple times.

It was in this moment that she reali/edthat Ha!$ had !ome out to help her in hispajamas#just a thin tshirt and bo"ers. She!ould feel his mus!les under his shirt and itstru!$ her as odd. -e loo$ed li$e a tall s$inny$id.

At that moment the worst possible thinghappened#a door to the left of the pair opened

and revealed a worried loo$ing Sandy.&'ho(s there*+, :milie !ould hear the

worry in her voi!e. Sandy loo$ed down andupon seeing the two of them on the floor loo$edlivid. &Ha!$+ 'hat the hell are you doing*++ Shejust moved in today+ ;on(t you have anystandards boy*+, Ha!$ opened his mouth torespond but !ouldn(t seem to find any words.-e opened and !losed his mouth a few times inthe time it too$ for Sandy to rea!h them. Shegrabbed onto his ear and pulled him from:milie who was laughing so hard she was


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sha$ing.:milie rolled onto her side and !urled up

to try and stifle the laughter while Ha!$ was

getting a stern tal$ingto. Suddenly Ha!$ !aughtsight of :milie on the ground the way she wasand he was immediately bent over her. &:m areyou o$ay*+, Ha!$(s fa!e held every oun!e ofworry that Sandy(s had a moment ago. Sandyhadn(t seen :milie so she started yelling atHa!$.

&%oy I(m tal$ing to you++, %ut Ha!$ was

ignoring her.&:milie tell me you(re o$ay++ -ere sit

up., And he pla!ed his hand near her waist tohelp her up. She let out a sGueal and !ontra!tedmore. Sandy sma!$ed him on the ba!$ of thehead but Ha!$ had an evil glint in his eyes. -epressed his fingers into her side and a fewse!onds later she was a writhing mess of limbs

on the floor.&HACK++, She let out a laugh. &HACK

S2O=++, Soon she was in fits of hysteri!s.Sandy $ept yelling in the ba!$ground butneither of them !ould hear her. Suddenly :milierea!hed out her hands and found Ha!$(sstoma!h. She po$ed him and he let out a giggle.She saw her !han!e and pushed him down and

she !rawled on top of him and atta!$ed him.'hen Sandy saw this she loo$ed

!onfusedly between the two before rolling hereyes and wal$ing ba!$ into her room. &9et offthe damn floor+, :milie heard the door slamand she stopped po$ing Ha!$. 2hen she let out agroan. Ha!$ heard it.

&'hat(s wrong*+ Are you hurt*+, Shegroaned again.

&No I(m all wet now., An evil smile!ame to Ha!$(s fa!e. :milie $new she had madea mista$e.


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&8ep. I have that effe!t on women.,:milie rea!hed up and sma!$ed his !hest.

&-elp me up. 'e need to get this stuff

upstairs before it goes bad., Ha!$ rea!hed outand grabbed her hand. -e pulled her up a littlebit too hard and she landed into his !hest hardand he wrapped his arms around her.

&8ou(re free/ing :m., And when:milie loo$ed up she saw a blush spreadinga!ross his !hee$s. And when he sGuee/ed hertighter she felt why.

&:ww Ha!$++, She pulled away and shesaw the blush spreading further a!ross his!hee$s. Ha!$ wal$ed Gui!$ly over to the bas$etand grabbed most of the bags.

&C(mon let(s get this upstairs., And hewal$ed Gui!$ly up the stairs. :milie smiled andwith a sha$e of her head pi!$ed up the tworemaining bags and the !ans of paint and headed

towards the stairs. 2he wal$ ba!$ up to theapartment was silent. Ha!$ was there first andhad just dropped his bags by the refrigerator.:milie had an idea.

&-ey do you wanna help me paint* It(llta$e forever if I do it myself., -e loo$edamused.

&It(s already 0 o(!lo!$. 8ou(re gonna

paint NO'*,&'ell my furniture(s going to be here in

the morning and I want to have everythingpainted by then. ;o you wanna help or not*,

A smile spread a!ross Ha!$(s fa!e. &Of!ourse I wanna spend the night with a prettylady., :milie blushed and then Ha!$ had anepiphany. &-ey :milie*, She nodded. &I(m notwearing any pants7.so I(mma go !hange.,

Ha!$ wal$ed out of the apartment to:milie(s laughter. She thought about him whileshe was putting her gro!eries away. She !ame to


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the !on!lusion that she li$ed the strange boy.'hen he !ame ba!$ she was putting a drop!loth down in the front room. She pried open the

paint just as Ha!$ was as$ing.&'hat !olor are you painting*, Shesmiled.

&2his blue#, she showed him the paintthat she had open for the front room. 2henthere(s an orangey !olor for the hallway ayellow for the $it!hen and a light purple for thebathroom., Ha!$ loo$ed !onfused. &'hat*,

&'hat about your bedroom*, :miliesaw the glint ba!$ in Ha!$(s eyes and promptlyretorted.

&8ou won(t ever see the inside of mybedroom whore., She said with a smile. Ha!$laughed.

&'e(ll see about that., She loo$ed athim and he wiggled his eyebrows at her. She

giggled. 2hen she saw his shirt.&'ait wait wait#are you planning on

painting in a blin$3DE shirt*+ 2hat(s li$esa!rilege++, Ha!$ loo$ed down at his shirt andfrowned.

&Oh. 'ay to go me. 'ell I have li$e 4more. %lin$ is li$e my favorite band., :milieran into her room and grabbed her i-ome and

i=od and !ame ba!$ out. She plugged it into thewall and pla!ed it on the $it!hen !ounter hitting)shuffle( as she did so. Mayday =arade !ame on.Ha!$ loo$ed at her. &8eah we(re gonna be goodfriends. I !an tell., And the two started to paint.

1 hours later the apartment was!ompletely painted as were :milie and Ha!$.2here had been a really well fought paint fightwhi!h had seen Ha!$ emerge vi!torious. :miliehad let the time slip her mind. She had beenhaving su!h a good time with Ha!$ there she(dforgotten all about her problem. Suddenly the


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Guestion was at the front of her mind. Shewished she $new who her mom had hired todrive her stuff up to %oston.

Ha!$ was lying on the floor near her feetand he loo$ed up at her. &'hat(s wrong:milie*, She loo$ed down at him and reali/edfor the first time how long his eyelashes were.In the dim light !ast by the $it!hen lights heloo$ed beautiful.

&Hust thin$ing about something.,&2ell me++, Ha!$ whined up from the

floor. :milie shoo$ her head and barely hadtime to register Ha!$(s hand wrapped around heran$le before she was dragged to the floor. Shelet out a shrie$ when she heard the !run!h. Ha!$was instantly worried again. &:m did I hurtyou*+, She started to laugh.

&I landed in the paint you assfa!e++,Ha!$ let out a giggle and then he was rolling

around with laughter. On!e he rolled too !loseto her and he blushed again. 2hey both fro/eand the laugh !aught in Ha!$(s throat. -e leaned!loser to her and when she didn(t ba!$ awayhe pushed his lips to hers. 'hen she didn(t pullaway he moved !loser to her.

It too$ :milie(s mind a few se!onds torea!t to Ha!$(s lips on hers. 'hen her mind

started to wor$ again she moved her hands tohis hair to pull him away. %ut Ha!$ being theboy he was got the wrong idea and $issed herharder. :milie(s mind went into overdrive andshe rolled so she was on top of him. Shegrabbed his hands and pushed them into the!arpet as she pulled away.

&;on(t you ::@ do that again Ha!$.,She was aware of his hips under hers and sheimmediately stood up.

&%ut :milie#, She silen!ed him.


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&I have Sandy(s !ell phone number.;on(t ma$e me !all her., Ha!$(s fa!e fell.

&Sorry :milie. I shouldn(t have#, She

interrupted him again.&9ood night Ha!$., -e slowly stood upand trudged towards the door.

&If you need any help tomorrow gettingyour stuff up#,

&9OO; NI9-2 HACK++, -e loo$edba!$ afraid that she was angry but when shesmiled he smiled with her.,

&9ood night :milie. -ave sweet dreams., And after sheheard the door !li!$ she heard his voi!e on the other side.&About me., 2he lid to one of the paint !ans hit the doorand she heard him !hu!$le.

:milie wo$e up the ne"t morning at 34and stared at the !eiling. She(d slept on the

!ou!h in the front room and as she loo$ed at the!eiling she saw splatters of paint all around thewhite spa!e. 2his reminded her of Ha!$ andwhat happened last night. She got up off her!ou!h and wal$ed into the bathroom to brushher teeth.

She was startled halfway through hertwo minutes by her phone ringing. It was

Shawn her other best friend. She waswondering what he was doing up at 0 AM in9eorgia on a Saturday. She pi!$ed up the phoneand was greeted by the hon$ing of a tru!$.

&'here the hell are you Shawn*, She!ould almost hear the smile in his voi!e as shewal$ed to the window. 2he snow had stoppedand the streets were !lear. And there was a tru!$outside. A tall mus!ular boy jumped out of the!ab and ran around to the front of the tru!$.:milie threw the window open and yelled downat him. &5an!y seeing you here++, She turned


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and ran into her room to get dressed. On herway down the stairs she stopped on the 1thfloorand banged on the door. &HACK+++ 'AK:8

'AK:8++++, And she was off again.She ran outside into the snow andaround the building. 'hen she saw him she ranand jumped at him. -e turned and !aught herjust in time. She wrapped her legs around hiswaist and he wrapped his arms around her.&Miss me that mu!h already* %e!ause you!ould always !ome home., :milie laughed and

Shawn sat her in the !ab of the tru!$. &-i I(mShawn., She loo$ed Gui//i!ally at him for amoment before she heard Ha!$(s voi!e behindher.

&:milie you(re !heating on me+*, Ha!$had a loo$ of su!h sho!$ on his fa!e that it!aused :milie to burst out laughing.

&Shawn this is my obno"ious whore

Ha!$. -e(s my neighbor. And I(m NO2 datinghim., Ha!$ shoo$ Shawn(s hand.

&'ell, Shawn started. &et(s startmoving this stuff upstairs. It(s fri!$in( !old.,Shawn moved toward the ba!$ of the tru!$ and:milie jumped down from the !ab of the 6-aulonly to laun!h herself into Ha!$(s arms. -esmiled.

&Changed your mind have you* I $newyou !ouldn(t resist me+, :milie sma!$ed hisshoulder.

&@emember how you forgot to put pantson yesterday* 'ell I(m not wearing any shoes.,Ha!$ loo$ed at her feet and laughed. -e liftedher up with ease and pla!ed her over hisshoulder. -e turned toward the tru!$.

&-ey Shawn I got my load right here.5ollow me., 'hen Ha!$ turned around :miliewas fa!ing Shawn who had dropped his bo"and was laughing at them.


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Ha!$ wal$ed into the building and pastSandy(s des$. She loo$ed up as :milie wasyelling.

&Ha!$ =62 M: ;O'N+++, Sandy(s fa!eflushed.&Ha!$ for the love of 9od put her#

:milie where are your shoes* 8ou(ll get si!$+,&2hey(re in my apartment++ Sandy

Ma$e him put me down++, :milie sGuea$ed out.She was blushing profusely. Sandy gave her amis!hievous smile.

&Ha!$ ta$e her upstairs#, -einterrupted her.

&'ow Sandy. 2hat(s the first timeyou(ve approved of what I(m going to do.,Sandy wal$ed over and sma!$ed the ba!$ of hishead.

&Ass. 2a$e her and ma$e sure she putsshoes on. 'ho(s this*, 2he Guestion made

:milie aware that Shawn had entered the room.She loo$ed up at him. -e had an unreadablee"pression on his fa!e.

&I(m Shawn Ma!5arlane. I(m :milie(sbest friend., Sandy(s fa!e softened.

&Oh Shawn. O$ay. 'ell just followHa!$ass here up to :milie(s apartment., :miliewas in hysteri!s again. &'hat in 9od(s name are

you laughing at*,&Ha!$ass7.you used his name7Ha!$

ass+++, Nothing she was managing to gasp outbetween laughs was ma$ing mu!h sense. Ha!$laughed. :milie felt the rumble in his !hest.

&Oh you(re in for it now missy., Andhe shot off towards the stairs. :milie grabbedonto the first thing she !ould grasp solidly#whi!h just happened to be Ha!$(s waist. She wasboun!ing on his shoulder as he ran.

&=ut#me#down+, -e laughed again.&Nope., She !ould almost hear the smile


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in his voi!e. A minute later they rea!hed thelanding and Ha!$ pushed open the door anddropped :milie on the !ou!h. She immediately

jumped up and ta!$led him landing them in thesame position they had been in last night afterHa!$ had $issed her. Ha!$ blushed and :milie!ould feel him sha$ing.

&'e really need to stop ending up li$ethis., She !ould hear the sha$ing in his voi!e.:milie started hitting him on his !hest. SoonHa!$ was laughing at her. &8ou(re !ute you

$now that*, :milie(s hands stopped movingand she left her hands on his !hest.

&I(m beating you senseless and you(re!alling me !ute*, Ha!$ shoo$ again.

&I(d rather not thin$ about you )beatingme senseless(. It would add to my7.problem.,:milie blushed again. She was suddenly a!utelyaware of his heart beating fast against his

rib!age. She reali/ed her heart was $eeping timewith his. She reali/ed that she li$ed the way his!hee$s were flushed. And she remembered thatShawn was !oming up the stairs right behindthem. She jumped up off of him just in time.Ha!$ seemed to get the hint too be!ause ase!ond later he was rolling around on the floor.

&'hat happened to him*, Shawn as$ed

with a !hu!$le. Ha!$ slowly stopped laughingand loo$ed up at :milie. -e met her eyes andshe !ould almost feel the ele!tri!ity.

&I put her down and she fell over., -esaid with a grin on his fa!e. Shawn laughed.

&2hat(s my :milie. 9o put some shoeson weirdo. 8ou(ll get si!$., :milie ran ba!$into her room and threw on a pair of oldsnea$ers and ran ba!$ to help the boys !arry herthings upstairs. About B trips later Ha!$ gave heran imploring loo$.

&-ow mu!h !rap do you have*+, She


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laughed.&2oo mu!h., She stopped to ta$e a drin$

of water and reali/ed that they were alone

again. &I(ll tell you when Shawn isn(t here., -egave her a Gui//i!al loo$ but seemed to a!!epther answer.

An hour later they !arried the last of thebo"es upstairs. :milie unpa!$ed her $it!henbo"es then set to ma$ing brea$fast.

&Are you staying too Ha!$*, :miliesaid smiling as her i=od started playing a blin$

3DE song.&;idn(t your maw tea!h you anything*

If you offer a man food of !ourse he(s going to#,

&A!tually I(m gonna go shower andstuff., :milie loo$ed up just in time to see Ha!$blush again.

&'ell shower and then !ome ba!$ for

brea$fast. And Ha!$*, -e nodded to show hewas listening.

:milie smiled a snea$y grin. &:njoyyour shower., She added a win$ for goodmeasure. All the !olor left Ha!$(s fa!e just for itto !ome ba!$ redder than :milie had ever seenit. -e shuffled towards the door. Shawn waitedfor the door to !li!$ shut before he started

spea$ing.&8ou are so mean :m., She smiled and

laughed.&Mean*+ I(m ma$ing you brea$fast++,

Shawn loo$ed at her.&2hat boy. -e wants you bad. It(s

obvious., :milie shoo$ her head with a !hu!$le.&I $now he does. 2here(s nothing there

Shawn.,&8ou(re playing with him. 8ou tease++,

-e laughed. Shawn was more forward thanSarah had been. &@ob $nows. -e as$ed what I


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was doing at your house last night and I!ouldn(t lie to him., :milie(s fa!e fell. She hadbeen hoping that @ob wouldn(t find out for a

while. &-ow did he ta$e it*, :milie wasn(t!on!entrating so mu!h on the !oo$ing and shereali/ed too late that she(d !ra!$ed an egg notinto the pan but onto the !ounter. Shawn got upand too$ the spatula from :milie who too$ hispla!e sitting against the wall.

&Not the greatest. -e thin$s it(s his fault

you left., Shawn !ra!$ed B eggs into a bowl andwhis$ed them. &%ut you $now @ob. 9ive him afew days. -e(ll be mad then., :milie sat withher fa!e in her hands. Shawn saw her and triedhis best to distra!t her. &So what(s the deal withthis Ha!$ guy. ;o I have to tal$ to him*, :milielaughed.

&A!!ording to Sandy the land lord

you(d learn something from -IM+, :milie wasthin$ing about Ha!$? how his hair fell perfe!tlyover his eyes just enough so she !ould still seethem. And the eyes themselves so large andinno!ent and honest7.she felt that she !ouldtrust Ha!$. She stood up from her pla!e on thewall. &I(m gonna go unpa!$ a bit. Maybe I(llfind something to wear., Shawn nodded and

:milie went off toward the spare room.She had surrounded herself by bo"es and

bo"es of !lothes and the ra!$s that they wenton. She $new she would have time to unpa!$later but she found herself wanting to loo$ ni!etoday. She opened one of the > bo"es labeled)ra!$ ( and grabbed the hangers that were there.@a!$ was her )business !asual( ra!$#the!lothes that were dressy but not too dressy.=erfe!t for a situation li$e this where shewanted to loo$ ni!e but not be overdoing it.She unpa!$ed all > bo"es in a matter minutes


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then started on ra!$s 3 and E#the dresses andthe foreign !lothes respe!tively. She didn(tthin$ she needed to unpa!$ ra!$ 1#the tshirts

and jeans.She wal$ed ba!$ into her bedroom andtripped on something just inside the door#theshopping bags from yesterday. She grabbed allof the bags and dragged them a!ross the hall tohang them up. 'hile she was doing this shefound the perfe!t outfit. She tore into the ra!$ 1bo"es and loo$ed for her favorite tshirt.

After she had showered and done herhair and ma$eup#simple just her natural !urlsand a little eyeliner#she returned to the spareroom that was turning into her !loset. Shegrabbed the jeans and tshirt and threw them on.She grabbed her new !oat#a gorgeous plaidpea !oat#and headed ba!$ out to the frontroom. Ha!$ was already ba!$ and she too$ a

moment to appre!iate him. -e(d messed up hishair a bit and straightened the front. -e wasstunning.

At that moment he seemed to feel hereyes and he loo$ed over at her with the for$hanging out of his mouth. After a few se!ondsof him staring :milie !ould feel the heatstarting to rise in her !hee$s. -is !hee$s turned

pin$ too and he turned ba!$ to his food. Shawnwho had been oblivious to this whole e"!hangeturned around and saw :milie. -e smiled.

&;idn(t buy any new !lothes yet :m*,She laughed and sma!$ed his arm playfully. -egot up and pulled a plate of food out of the ovenand pla!ed it on the floor ne"t to Ha!$ where hehad been sitting. -e put his plate into the sin$and rinsed it off. Shawn was the personifi!ationof southern hospitality. -e !oo$ed so he(d dothe dishes even though it was :milie(sapartment. If he wasn(t her best friend :milie


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often thought that she might have been in lovewith him. Midway through a bite of her eggsshe felt Ha!$(s ga/e upon her again. -e didn(t

thin$ she $new so he !ontinued to stare whileShawn washed the dishes. Suddenly Ha!$(svoi!e was in her ears.

&:milie why are you sha$ing*, Shehadn(t noti!ed that she was until Ha!$ pointed itout. 2he plate of food that she had balan!ed onher $nees was tottering dangerously. Ha!$moved to ta$e the plate off of her $nees and

when she felt his hand against her $nee sheshuddered. Shawn !ame over soapy handsdripping wet and loo$ed at her !on!erned. Shelet out a strangled sounding laugh.

&I(m fine. I(m just !old. I(m gonna gograb a hoodie., She rose from the floor andwal$ed to the ba!$ room. She !losed her doorand leaned against it trying to steady her heart.

She got her breathing under !ontrol andgrabbed her hoodie off of the bed. She wal$edba!$ out into the $it!hen and finished eating herfood leaning against the !ounter. Shawn was thefirst to spea$.

&Oh+ :m I forgot+ 2his !ame in the mailfor you. It(s from your father., She too$ theenvelope from him and saw the address in

Swit/erland#the new !redit !ard. -er phonestarted ringing and she pi!$ed it up. 2hefurniture was here.

:milie tal$ed to the moving men then!ame ba!$ to tal$ to Shawn and Ha!$. &2hey$now where everything goes. And Sandy saysshe(ll lo!$ up. Shawn when do you need to behome*, -e gave a smile.

&Monday morning in time for !lass atnoon., :milie had a thought o!!ur to her. Shehad a virtually unlimited !redit !ard.

&'ho wants to go shopping*+, Shawn


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laughed and rolled his eyes then responded.&If I say no you(ll drag me anyways

AN; give me hell about it. I(m in., :milie

turned to Ha!$. -e loo$ed surprised.&I(m invited*, :milie laughed.&Of !ourse you(re invited++ et(s go+,5ifteen minutes later after getting some

!ru!ial information from Sandy on the bestpla!es to shop in %oston the three of themdeparted.

2hey got off the bus outside a mall butnot a shopping mall#the 9reater %oston AutoMall. %oth Ha!$ and Shawn loo$ed at :miliewith sho!$. Shawn was the first to as$.

&:m7.what are we doing here*, :milieremoved the !redit !ard from her wallet with asmile.

&Shopping., Ha!$ loo$ed around

!onfused. :milie had forgotten to e"plain allthis to Ha!$. &My father was never around. -e(ssome $ind of business guru. :ssentially he justsent me a !redit !ard to 5ort Kno". 'hatever Iwant. And right now I want a new !ar.,

Ha!$ laughed for a moment and thennodded in approval. &8ou are something else:milie M!;onnell., -e said with a smile.

About an hour later they were drivingoff the lot with a brand new blue 5ord 5iesta.2hey drove further into downtown and got tothe lo!al mall. :milie bought a new ja!$et forShawn who li$e :milie had underdressed forthe weather. 2hey wal$ed into the musi! storeand :milie found herself dissatisfied with thesele!tion.

&:ww+ 2here(s nothing good here+Ha!$+, She got his attention#he(d beenmo!$ing a Hustin %eiber !utout in the frontwindow attra!ting a group of angry little girls


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and !heering teenage boys. -e turned to loo$ ather. &'here do you buy musi! in this !ity*,

Ha!$ laughed at her. &Certainly not at the

mall. 'ant me to ta$e you there*, :milie wase"!ited.&Absolutely. Is it a small lo!al store*,

Ha!$ nodded. &O$ay then. et(s s$edaddle.,Ha!$ !hu!$led. &'hat*,

&8ou just said )s$edaddle(. 2his is%oston dear. 'e don(t )s$edaddle(., She gavehim a death stare.

&'ell I ;O s$edaddle., Ha!$ loo$ed ather and smiled. &'hat NO'*,

2he smallest blush tou!hed his fa!e.&8ou(re !ute when you(re angry at me.,

Shawn wal$ed up at that moment.&Sorry to brea$ up this love fest but I $indaneed to get ba!$ home., :milie was sho!$ed.

&'hat+* %ut I thought you said that you

didn(t have to be home )til Monday morning+,Shawn also loo$ed a bit sad.

&2e!hni!ally I don(t but I have a proje!tdue 5riday and I really need to get started onit., :milie nodded sadly and the three returnedto the !ar with their new stuff.

After a tearful goodbye :milie and Ha!$set off for the musi! store. :milie !ould almost

feel the ele!tri!ity between them. She !oulddefinitely feel it in her veins. %eing this !lose toHa!$ was driving her !ra/y.

&-ey Ha!$*, She !ould hear the sha$e inher own voi!e. -e lu!$ily was fo!used on themusi! !oming from the spea$ers. -e startedwhen he heard her voi!e. -e rea!hed out a handto turn down the radio and turned to answer her.

&8eah*,&'hat do you do for fun on the

wee$end*, -e immediately regretted answeringher. %ut he !ouldn(t lie to her.


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&'ell7. I have a fa$e I;. I go to showsbars !lubs#what*, -e had noti!ed :milie(sfa!e light up.

&Ha!$ where !an I get a fa$e I;*, -esmiled a mis!hievous smile.&I $now a guy. 'ant one*, :milie

nodded vigorously. Ha!$ loo$ed up at the !lo!$then at the street sign. &'e(d better go now ifyou want it for tonight. 2a$e a right here., -epulled out his phone and :milie !ould hear himtal$ing Gui!$ly and Guietly into the re!eiver.

&eft now., About 34 minutes later they arrivedat their destination#a small house in a de!repitloo$ing neighborhood. :milie sensed that shewas not very safe. Ha!$ seemed to sense her fearand he too$ his hand in hers.

2his gesture sent :milie over the edge.She turned to Ha!$ and with her free hand la!ingitself into his hair she pulled his fa!e to hers.

-is lips on her own was a feeling she had never$nown. -e had soft lips#all the boys she(d$issed before had rough lips from the 9eorgiasun. Ha!$ responded almost immediately bypulling away.

&Hee/ :m. 8ou CANNO2 ma$e up yourmind., 6pon re!eiving :milie(s death stare hepulled her !loser. &Not that I mind. %ut I(d li$e

to get out of the hood as soon as possible andthrowing you down and ma$ing sweet sweetlove to you in the street here won(t help mu!h.,:milie loo$ed into his eyes. 2he ha/e of lust hadfallen over them and she felt herself blushing.&2hat doesn(t help mu!h either. 9od damnyou(re beautiful., -e pulled her with him ontothe por!h of a ni!er loo$ing house and $no!$edthree times. 2he door opened almostimmediately and Ha!$ pushed :milie throughthe door.

A guy older than them !losed the door


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behind them. -e had dusty blond hair and as!ar that ran from the !orner of his left eyedown to his jaw. -e loo$ed li$e a s!ary rugged

guy. -is eyes fell on :milie first. -e loo$ed li$ehe was on edge upon seeing her but when hiseyes landed on Ha!$ he seemed to drop hisguard a bit.

&Ha!$ haven(t seen you for a while.'ho(s this*, the man(s eyes roamed over:milie. Ha!$ positioned himself between her andthe man.

&Hosh. 2his is :milie. She(s in need ofyour brother(s servi!es., Hosh laughed at him.

&ANO2-:@ one*+, Hosh had a smallsmile on his fa!e but :milie had an unreadablee"pression. -ow many other girls had fallen forHa!$ as fast as she had before her* -ow manygirls had been helpless to his boyish !harms*She felt his hand on her arm and jumped.

&:milie* :arth to :milie++, -e wavedhis hand in front of her fa!e and she smiled andbatted it away. -e !hu!$led at him. &Come onwe have to go see Mi$ey., -e too$ her hand andpulled her !lose to him. &Stay !lose to me, hewhispered in her ear. She sGuee/ed his hand andgave a short nod.

2hey !limbed down the stairs into the

basement Ha!$ wal$ing behind :milie holdingher hand the whole way. 2he basement waswarmer loo$ing than the first floor had been.2here were musi! posters lining the walls and abed against the far wall. Against the oppositewall sat a des$ with a !omputer bu//ing on topof it. 5rom another room :milie !ould hear thelow strumming of a guitar.

Hosh wal$ed over and $i!$ed the door. Afew se!onds later a boy even thinner than Ha!$emerged. -e was tall about 1 in!hes taller thanHa!$. -e had sandy blond hair and !loudy blue


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eyes. -is eyes lit up when he saw Ha!$.&-ey+ 'hat(s up*, Mi$ey e"tended his

hand. Ha!$ rea!hed out and high fived him.

&Nothing mu!h Mi$ey. 9ot any timetoday*, Mi$ey beamed.&8ou $idding* I(ll have it done in two

hours. Come on in here guys. I(m Mi$ey by theway., 2he boy turned to me and flashed a grin.-e had bra!es. I loo$ed at Ha!$ !onfused.

&-e(s 3B but he(s the best I(ve seen atwhat he does for !heap., Mi$ey laughed.

&5ree for Ha!$+ :milie stand against thewall in front of the !loth, :milie was !onfusedas to how he $new her name but then reali/edthat this must have been who Ha!$ had been onthe phone with. Mi$ey too$ a few pi!tures. Aftergetting her info#driver(s li!ense numbersignature height et!.#Ha!$ and :milie set offfor the musi! store. Ha!$ seemed e"!ited.

&'e(ll just !hill there until Mi$ey !allsus., After a pause he !ontinued Guietly. &2han$you for listening to me. I(d forgotten that Hoshwould still be off for 2han$sgiving., :milieloo$ed at Ha!$ and he went on.

&Hosh was a good friend of my brother(sbefore he joined the marines#that(s how I$now Mi$ey. Hosh did a tour or two in the

Middle :ast and when he !ame home he wasnever the same. Started hanging out with a bad!rowd. -e(s in a gang#highran$ing member.-e(s done time., Ha!$ loo$ed at :milieapologeti!ally. &-e(s dangerous. -e(s $illedbefore. I shouldn(t have ta$en you there. I(msorry., :milie was franti!.

&Ha!$ if Hosh is so dangerous why isMi$ey still in that house+* Shouldn(t his parents#, Ha!$ loo$ed sad.

&;ead. %oth of them in a driveby. Hoshis the only family Mi$ey has. I(ve tried to


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petition the !ourt to transfer !ustody to my mom#she loves him to death. 2hat(s why I(m !loseto Mi$ey. -e needs somebody., :milie had a

thought.&%ut !ouldn(t he just leave* :man!ipatehimself and get out*, Ha!$ shoo$ his head.

&2he $id(s 3B. -e(ll finish high s!hoolthis year#I told you he(s really smart#andhe(ll get a job and start saving., :milie pressedon.

&%ut what if someone gave him the

money the opportunity* I have a spare roomand my dad#, Ha!$ again shoo$ his head.

&Mi$ey(s stubborn. -e won(t ta$e!harity from anybody. I already tried it., :milienodded sadly.

&I get it7..Ha!$ what are we gonna dotonight*, Ha!$(s fa!e lit up.

&'e*,

&I don(t $now anybody else in %oston+,Ha!$ laughed with her.

&2his is true. 6mm7well maybe we(llfind a show to go to. If not we !an always go toa !lub or buy a bun!h of liGuor and get trashedat my pla!e or your pla!e or the par$7,:milie laughed &'hat*,

&Not the par$. =ubli! drun$enness is

against the law+, -e nodded in agreement.&2ou!hL. 'ell what do you wanna do

then* 8ou(re the new one+, :milie thought for awhile.

&2onight7. I thin$ I wanna dan!e., Shehad a big smile on her fa!e. Ha!$ laughed at her.&'hat*+,

&8ou(re pretty with your big dumb grinon your fa!e., -e had a smile on his fa!emat!hing hers.

&-ey Ha!$ guess what*,&-mm*, She laughed at him.


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&8ou(re pretty too., Ha!$ blushed a deepred.

&I(m not pretty, he insisted. :milie

loo$ed at him. 2hey were stopped at a red light.-e had a sad loo$ on his fa!e. She leaned overand $issed his !hee$.

&Ha!$ you(re beautiful., -e got evenredder.

&:milie7, Ha!$ was leaning towardsher again and she didn(t lean away. 2heir lipswere almost tou!hing7.:milie jumped when

she heard the tru!$ hon$ing behind her. Sheblushed but Ha!$ had a smile on his fa!e. Shepressed on the gas and they sped forward.

2hey rea!hed the musi! store and founda par$ing spot relatively Gui!$ly. Ha!$ had topar$ the !ar be!ause :milie wasn(t the bestparallel par$er. -e jumped out of the !ar Gui!$lyand ran around to open the door for :milie

shielding her from the !ars speeding by. Shefollowed him towards the smallloo$ing store.=osters lined the windows and they were all forshows in the ne"t wee$. :milie let her eyeswander over the posters loo$ing for any namesshe re!ogni/ed. 2here were none.

2he store was a!tually rather large onthe inside. It was dimly lit and there were more

posters on the inside of the store. 2here werera!$s strewn a!ross the store with variousband(s tshirts hanging on them. She saw a signhanging near the ba!$ of the store that said)lo!al bands( and underneath it was an evenmore unorgani/ed mass of shirts and C;s. Ha!$wal$ed toward the ba!$ of the store and :miliefollowed him !losely. 2hey approa!hed a groupof people who when they saw Ha!$ smiled.One of them with bla!$ hair got up and wal$edto greet them.

&'hat(s up bro* 'e didn(t see you at


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the show last night+, Ha!$ sma!$ed his forehead.&;AMN+ I $new I was forgetting

something. I was helping :milie paint#, 2he

bla!$ haired boy interrupted him.&:milie* 'ho(s :milie* A newgirlfriend*, Ha!$ loo$ed at him.

&%rian 2-IS is :milie. :milie this ismy buddy %rian., %rian stu!$ out his hand and:milie shoo$ his. -e had a firm handsha$e. Shewould(ve guessed he was the drummer of theband. &And :m this is ;rew#, he pointed to

another dar$ haired boy who smiled and wavedHesse#, 2his boy had blond hair. -e waved.&And Mi$hail., 2he last boy had shaved dar$hair. -e wal$ed forward and too$ :milie(s hand.

&It is an honor to meet youEmilechka+,-e spo$e in a thi!$ @ussian a!!ent. -e $issedher on the hand. :milie opened her mouth torespond and all the boy(s eyes widened at her

voi!e.&=rivet Misha. Mne o!hen priyatno

vstretit sya s vami a ta$/he., Mi$hail wasbeaming.

&8our @ussian is very good., :miliesmiled ba!$.

&ash anglis$i to/he o!hen horosho.,Ha!$ rolled his eyes.

&:milie I am NO2 a whore+ -ow dareyou say that++, :milie was about to reply whenthe rest of the boys and a few people who werestanding around answered for her.

&8:S 8O6 A@:., Ha!$ grumbled andfolded his arms. :milie giggled.

&So you guys are a band*, Hesse loo$ede"!ited.

&If I say yes will you !ome to one of ourshows*, :milie smiled and nodded. &Sadly notanymore. Me ;rew and %rian were in a bandup until this morning. 'e bro$e up., Ha!$


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loo$ed !restfallen.&9uys I had no idea+ I wouldn(t have

missed it#, ;rew interje!ted with a resentful

voi!e. &;on(t be sorry. a!$ fu!$ed the shit outof most of the songs. -e was trashed., Ha!$nodded sadly and !ontinued.

&So what now* Are you guys gonna loo$for a new singer*, %rian laughed dar$ly.

&8eah. @ight. a!$ was our songwritingfor!e. 'e !ouldn(t find anyone li$e him. :ver.,

A !ouple hours later after a phone !allfrom Mi$ey Ha!$ and :milie stopped at a gasstation on their way home. As :milie waspumping gas Ha!$ wal$ed into the gas station tobuy a drin$. -e !ame ba!$ out about > minuteslater with a giant i!ee and a large yellowenvelope. :milie loo$ed at him Gui//i!ally.

&8our I;. I didn(t wanna ta$e you ba!$

to that neighborhood., She nodded and laughed.&2hat wasn(t what I was loo$ing at.,

Ha!$ loo$ed at her with the Guestion in his eyes.&8ou better be intent on sharing that damni!ee.,

Ha!$ laughed. &As long as you don(thave herpes.,

:milie smiled ba!$ at him. &A!!ording

to Sandy 8O6(@: the one with herpes yous$an$., Ha!$ loo$ed hurt.

&'hat did she tell you about me*,:milie saw the hurt in his eyes and tried tosmooth the situation.

&Nothing really. Hust that youwere7.promis!uous., Ha!$(s eyes seemeddown!ast. :milie tried to !heer him up. Shewal$ed over and too$ his hand. She stood on hertiptoes and $issed him again. -e dropped hisi!ee and she felt the !old liGuid against her legsbut the feeling was e!lipsed by the heat


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emanating from Ha!$(s lips. -e ba!$ed her upuntil her ba!$ was pressed against the !ar andbra!ed one of his arms against the !ar.

It !ould have been se!onds or years buteventually the yelling of an elderly womanbro$e them apart. &9et a darned room+ Kidsthese days+, Ha!$ blushed.

&Sorry. I got a bit7!arried away.,:milie smiled ba!$ at him.

&It(s o$ay. I li$ed it. I got !arried away abit myself., And with that she pulled his fa!e

ba!$ towards him but he pulled ba!$. :miliefrowned.

&If you want time to get ready before wego out we need to go home., :milie frownedbut nodded and then smiled at Ha!$.

:milie pointed at the ground. &;o youwant another one of those*,

Ha!$ laughed at her. &No. %ut I CO6;

use another one of these., -e $issed her softlyand wal$ed around to the other door. &9et mehome I need to primp.,

On the drive home they tal$ed more.:milie told Ha!$ about @ob and about how shehadn(t really told anybody she was leaving. Shetold him about her family and her father andabout her !at that she missed. Ha!$ opened up a

bit about his family and the reason that Sandythought he was promis!uous.

&It(s not me I swear. I had this girlfriendon!e right* -er name was Andrea. And I reallyloved her. 'ell she turned out to be a whore#!heated on me with my best friend. I have trustissues now. And the girls7. I just attra!t hoes.I(m in it for a real relationship but to them it(sjust se".,

:milie pulled up to the apartment building just as Ha!$ wasfinishing his story and they e"ited the !ar heading theirseparate ways to get ready


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#the walls were lined with !o/y booths butHa!$ had reGuested a small table near the ba!$of the room. 2here were white table!loths on the

tables with this red stripes on them. 2he smellof Italian food wafted through the air. As soonas they sat down a large man that loo$ed li$e he!ould be related to Sandy pla!ed a bas$et withfresh hot breadsti!$s in front of them. :miliewas pleased to find that the menu was in Italian.She loo$ed up to than$ the man.

&9ra/ie signore., -e smiled at her and

wal$ed towards the $it!hen. Ha!$ !hu!$led andmet :milie(s eyes.

&8ou spea$ Italian too* Ne"t I(ll findout you spea$ an!ient 9ree$+, :milie smiled.

&-ey there(s not too mu!h to do in9eorgia. So I bought the @osetta Stone stuff andwent to town#5ren!h @ussian Italianrudimentary 9erman and a bit of Hapanese.,

Ha!$(s eyes widened and then he smiled. :milielaughed. &'hat*,

&8ou ama/e me :milie M!;onnell.,She blushed a deep !rimson. 2he man !ameba!$ to ta$e their order and Ha!$ stared at herwhile she ordered her food in Italian.

2hey o!!upied small tal$ until their food!ame. :milie had ordered a garli! shrimp

!aprese salad and Ha!$ had settled for a simplerdish#spaghetti and meatballs. 2here was aswell of musi! from the front of the shop and:milie loo$ed up at Ha!$ who was blushing.:milie listened !loser and re!ogni/ed the song.Ha!$ s!ooted his !hair !loser to hers. 2he manwith the a!!ordion started to sing.

E/ dolce sognare

E lasciarsi cullare

0ell/incanto della notte":milie started singing along Guietly. Ha!$

loo$ed at her and she met his eyes. -e saw the


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light from the !andles refle!ted there and hethought he saw another $ind of fire there. Shesmiled at him. &Ha!$*,

e stelle d/or1on il loro splendor

%ono gli occhi della notte

%ei $icino al tuo amore

E a te si stringer2

a notte con la sua magia

3uanti cuori unir sapr2":milie !ontinued. &-ai organi//are tutto

Guesto per me*, id you plan all this or me4"2he waiter had returned to their tableside andupon hearing :milie(s Guestion replied.

&o ha fatto., *e did." :milie blushed.&-a ditto !he )illi e il agabondo( stato uno deituoi film preferiti., *e said that ady and theTramp" #as one o your a$orite mo$ies."

&9ra/ie., :milie felt the tears !ome to

her eyes. 2he man left the table with a smallbow.

&-anno una bella notte. , *a$e abeautiul night." She nodded.

E/ dolce sognare

E lasciarsi cullare

0ell/incanto della notte."2he song !ame to a !lima" and :milie

loo$ed at Ha!$ again. Ha!$ was very red in thefa!e. -e loo$ed up and met her eyes and smiled.

&2i pia!e*, do you like it4" :milienodded.

&:


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repeated himself.&;(you want my meatball*, :milie felt

the tears !ome up again she nodded.

2hen Ha!$ did something une"pe!ted.-e lowered his fa!e to his plate andusing his nose nudged the meatball over ontoher plate. :milie started laughing and when hepi!$ed his fa!e up and smiled at her !overed inthe red sau!e. She !ould tell that he wasblushing underneath the sau!e and she leaned!loser to him and ran her tongue from his !hin

to his eye. -e turned his fa!e to $iss her and shepulled away and handed him a nap$in.

&-ey there ;on Huan. I don(t wanna getall sau!y., -e wiped off his fa!e and leanedba!$ towards her. She pla!ed her lips firmly onhis. She pulled away a se!ond later and theyfinished their meal. 2hey had dessert#aperfe!tly made tiramisu#and left for the !lub.

2hey got there a round 34?3>#it was onthe other side of town#and par$ed a blo!$ ortwo away. 2hey wal$ed the distan!e to the !lub.:milie went to stand in the line but Ha!$ too$her hand and pulled her forward. 2he boun!erstopped Ha!$ but when he saw :milie he unhoo$ed the rope. -e ushered Ha!$ and :milieinside. :milie turned to loo$ at Ha!$ on!e they

were inside.&;o you $now that guy*, :milie as$ed

him.&No., he said loudly. -e pulled her

!loser to him and whispered in her ear. &%ut theway you loo$ right now I $new he(d bedrooling and let you in., -e led her into a largerroom that had a large repli!a of the :iffel 2oweron the far wall. :milie loo$ed up at Ha!$. -eanswered her unanswered Guestion.

&It(s !alled )=arris(. %ut I don(t thin$they spea$ 5ren!h so your language s$ills are


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useless here., -e laughed. She too$ his handand pulled him towards the bar. Ha!$ grinned ather. &Isn(t it M8 job to get 8O6 drun$*,

:milie grinned just as mis!hievously. &Iwill be doing the sedu!ing tonight Mr.'illiamson., Ha!$ loo$ed at her with lustfilledeyes. %oth of them !ould feel the want !omingfrom the other. 2hey ordered their drin$s and:milie had downed two shots before Ha!$ hadta$en his first. She ordered a martini and theywent to dan!e.

At first they didn(t dan!e with ea!hother. %oth of them just lost themselves in themusi!. :ventually Ha!$(s hand found :milie(ship and they moved together. -e pulled her!loser and she ground her hips into his. A smallgroan es!aped his throat. 2hey dan!ed a!ontinuous gyration of hips. :ventually hipsturned to lips and teeth and tongues.

:ventually the two needed to rest. Ha!$led the slightly tipsy girl to a small al!ove thatwas a bit Guieter than the rest of the building.:milie immediately sat on his lap straddlinghim. She leaned down to him and their lips meton!e more. She pulled herself away from hismouth and he brushed his lips along her!ollarbone. She leaned down and slurred into his

ear.&I thin$ i(s time for you t( ta$e me ba!$

to your pla!e now., She smiled as he !ontinuedto $iss down her ne!$. -e pulled ba!$ to loo$ ather.

&I(m not gonna ta$e advantage of youli$e this :m#, She put her hand into his hair.

&I told you Mr. 'ill(amson. I(M doin(the s(du!ing tonight., :milie smiled and loo$edinto Ha!$(s brown eyes. She !ould see the lustthere and it !leared her head a little.&Ha!$7.I(m not 2-A2 drun$. I $now what I(m


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getting myself into., At this Ha!$ smiled.&I(m not sure you do., -e grinned and

pulled her ba!$ to his lips seeming to forget his

inhibitions for the time being. -e $issed herroughly and she ground her hips against him.-e moaned at the fri!tion. :milie pulled away.

&Ha!$ ta$e me home. I don(t wanna dothis here., She smiled mis!hievously. &And mynew bed needs brea$ing in., Ha!$ loo$ed at herwith a hint of fear in his eyes. &I(m not AndreaHa!$. I(m not going anywhere. 8ou !an trust

me., :milie stood up and offered Ha!$ her hand.Ha!$ loo$ed a bit li$e a deer !aught in theheadlights. -e rea!hed out and pla!ed his handin hers. -e stood up and led her to the door. Shehanded him the $eys and he drove ba!$ to thebuilding.

%efore they !ould get in the front door:milie !rashed her lips onto Ha!$(s. 2his time

he $issed her ba!$ without reservation. 2ongues!lashed with teeth as he fumbled for the $eys.-e pulled away to fo!us on the $eyhole and:milie wrapped her arms around him. Shepressed herself into his ba!$ and her handsmade their way underneath his shirt. She gentlyran her nails over Ha!$(s stoma!h and hemoaned again. -e got the right $ey in the lo!$

and the door banged open. 2hey entered thebuilding and Ha!$ turned to relo!$ the door.2he moment he turned ba!$ around his lipsfound :milie(s. -e pulled her against him andshe !ould feel the tightness in his pants. Amoment later a door off to the left of theentran!e hallway opened and a rumpled loo$ingSandy emerged.

&'ho(s !oming in at this#oh Ha!$. It(syou. I should have $nown it IS Saturday. Hustma$e sure you lo!$ the7., Sandy(s voi!etrailed off. -er eyes had be!ome a!!ustomed to


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the dar$ and she re!ogni/ed the mess of blond!urls that Ha!$(s hands were in. &Hesus Christwould you stop molesting the girl+* She only

got here yesterday+, :milie giggled and grabbedHa!$(s hand. She pulled him towards thestair!ase. Sandy loo$ed at Ha!$ wideeyed andHa!$ smiled and shrugged at her. Sandy shoo$her head and !losed her hand.

'hen they got to the third landing Ha!$pulled ba!$ on :milie(s hand growingimpatient. -e pulled her around and returned his

lips to hers. -e $issed her savagely and thenshe $ept pulling him towards her door. 2heyfinally got to the top floor and she had mu!hmore ease with the lo!$ than he had downstairs.As soon as the door was !losed she pulled offher ja!$et and tossed it aside. She bent downand un/ipped her boots dis!arding them ne"t.Ha!$ too$ the hint and $i!$ed his shoes off

towards the door. :milie stood in front of himand she $issed him again. She raised her handsand pushed the bla/er from his shoulders. Shela!ed her hands into his hair while he removedthe ja!$et.

2hey stumbled toward the bedroom.:milie(s lips moved down Ha!$(s jaw and helaughed as he pushed open her bedroom door.

She was breathless in her reply. &'hat(s sofunny*, Ha!$ !hu!$led again.

&@emember the other day* 8ou told meI(d never see the inside of your bedroom.,:milie giggled. 2he lust made his voi!e raspy.

&Shut up and get na$ed Ha!$., -eloo$ed at her with dar$ eyes.

&I thin$ I(d mu!h rather li$e to get 8O6na$ed., -e !rashed their lips together again andfound his hands wandering under her shirt. Afew se!onds later they had to brea$ their $issfor Ha!$ to pull the offending !lothing over her


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-er ears were filled with moaning ands!reaming with heavy breathing and heartbeats.Ha!$ moved behind her and she had to !ontrol

herself from flin!hing away.)y (od, #hat ha$e ! done4"She heard her phone going off in the

ba!$ground#probably in the $it!hen#and felteven worse. It she re!ogni/ed the ringtone. Itwas @ob. -e !alled ba!$ a few times then theringing stopped. Shawn !alled shortly after.:milie !ouldn(t avoid Shawn. She tried to

wiggle out from under Ha!$(s arm so as not towa$e him but he stirred at her movement. -eblin$ed slowly and she felt his lips on hershoulder. &9ood morning beautiful., :milieblushed. She felt a turn in her stoma!h.

%ut not from Ha!$.She jumped off the bed and sprinted

towards the bathroom rea!hing the toilet just in

time. She fell to her $nees and a few se!ondslater she felt a warm hand on her ba!$. 2heother was holding ba!$ her hair. She felt thehand leave her ba!$ and a se!ond later she feltthe plush lining of her bathrobe. 'hen theheaving stopped she loo$ed ba!$ at Ha!$ andsmiled a bit. &2han$s., She rea!hed a hand upand grabbed a towel. She wrapped it around

Ha!$(s waist and he blushed.&Something about you always ma$es me

forget to wear pants., -e was grinning li$e anidiot. -e offered :milie his hand and pulled herto her feet. -e stopped to $iss her but she putone of her little hands over his mouth. -eloo$ed !restfallen but :milie Gui!$ly !overedfor herself.

&Ha!$ I just threw up. 8ou don(t wanna$iss me just yet., -e nodded and !hu!$led.

&I(ll go get !hanged and ma$ebrea$fast., :milie smiled in than$s and Ha!$


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left to room. She heard the front door !li!$ shutso she ventured out to the $it!hen to grab herphone. She loo$ed at the s!reen#she had E

te"ts and 3E missed !alls. 2hat(s when she sawthe !lo!$. It was already 3 =M. No wonderShawn was frea$ing out. She !alled him ba!$immediately. -e answered on the first ring.

&:MII: ANN MC;ONN:++'-:@: -A: 8O6 %::N AMO@NIN9+++ I(: %::N 'O@@I:; SICK++,:milie laughed.

&Sorry Shawn. I went out last night Ihave a $iller hangover. I just wo$e up.,

&'hat*+, She !ould almost imagine theloo$ on Shawn(s fa!e. &8ou have a hango$er4''ho did you go out with*, :milie blushed. She!ursed Shawn for being so per!eptive.

&Ha!$.,&:milie you just met him+ I hope you

didn(t#, -is voi!e !ut off and :milie !ouldhear his mom yelling in the ba!$ground. &:m Igotta go. I(ll !all you ba!$ later., 2he re!eiver!li!$ed off. She loo$ed at the ne"t person on hermissed !alls list. Sarah. She pi!$ed up after tworings.

&:m+ I miss you+ 'hy didn(t youanswer your phone*+, :milie retold the story to

Sarah. If Shawn was per!eptive Sarah wasdownright blunt.

&So you got drun$ and he too$advantage of you* Ass+,

&'ell that(s not e6actly whathappened7., Sarah gasped.

&:m+ 8ou didn(t++ Is he hot*7lease tellme he(s hot+, :milie smiled a bit to herself.

&-e(s gorgeous Sarah., Sarah sGuealedon the other end.

&2ell me A about him+, :milie smiledagain.


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&-e(s tall#really tall#and he(s reallys$inny. -e(s got some mus!le though. -e(s gotreally dar$ brown hair and there(s blond in it.

-e has the most in!redible eyes., :miliestopped herself#she was gushing.&Oh my 9O; :milie++ I want one+,

:milie loo$ed at the !lo!$.&Sarah I have to go. -e went to go

!hange li$e 34 minutes ago and I(m supposedto be in the shower., Sarah sighed.

&9ah fine. %ut you %:22:@ !all me

later.,&I will. %ye., :milie hung up the phone

and stood up. She jumped si" feet in the airwhen she felt arms wrap around her waist. 2helips on her ne!$ told her who it was.

&;o I really have the most in!redibleeyes*, :milie pulled away from him.

&;on(t get !o!$y#,

&I(m already !o!$y in !ase you(dforgotten., -e was grinning again.

&9o !oo$ brea$fast bit!h. I need ashower., -e laughed and held his nose.

&2han$ goodness+ I didn(t wanna haveto deal with that smell all through brea$fast#O'++, :milie slapped his shoulder playfully.

:milie thought while she was in the

shower.This is #rong' ! just met him

yesterday'' !t has to be just inatuation8or a

rebound' That"s it' This is all just me

rebounding rom Rob. 5ut ho# do ! e6plain that

to Jack4 ! really like him8. ! don"t #ant him to

get hurt."

2hey ate brea$fast in relative silen!e. Itwas a little aw$ward. :ventually :miliebrought up the subje!t.

&Ha!$7.you $now that what happenedwas bad right*, Ha!$ nodded.


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&I(ve never been prided on ma$ing goodde!isions. %ut you were drun$ and I wasn(tabout to stop you., :milie nodded in agreement.

She told him about @ob and she apologi/ed forma$ing him her rebound.&So7.where does that leave us*, Ha!$

thought for a minute.&5riends. 'ith benefits on o!!asion.,

:milie smiled.&II thin$ I(d li$e that., Ha!$ laughed.

&9ood be!ause you don(t have a !hoi!e., 2he pair laughed

over their plates.

9 )onth ater:milie wo$e up to a dull banging noise

in the hallway. She didn(t remember falling

asleep on the !ou!h the night before. She loo$edup at the !eiling. 2here were paint splattersthere remnants of her and Ha!$(s epi! paint fighther first night in %oston. She !ould have easily!overed them but she left them there#it was agood memory for her. She rolled over andrather ungra!efully fell off of the !ou!h. Shehad forgotten where she was. She loo$ed over at

the tree by the window. Ha!$ had insisted onbuying an obno"iously big tree#it was a !ouplein!hes too tall for the room so the bottombran!hes were pra!ti!ally tou!hing the floorand there hadn(t been room for a star on the top.-e(d de!orated it from top to bottom#glitterytinsel strings of multi!olored lights and tonsof ornaments hung from the bran!hes. It stood atestament to the inner 1 year old that was Ha!$'illiamson.

2he noise in the hallway grew louder.She stood and wal$ed over to the door. &Ha!$


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how many times have I told you+* No se" in the#, :milie(s voi!e !aught in her throat. It wasSandy !arrying a duffel bag and followed by a

boy. :milie was !onfused for a minute until sheremembered#the new boy was moving in rightbefore Christmas.

2he boy loo$ed up at her. It seemedwrong to !all him a boy but he !ouldn(t havebeen twenty. -e had brown eyes the e"a!t !olorof melted !ho!olate. -is hair was a dar$ blond!olor. It almost loo$ed brown#it was the !olor

of !aramel. :milie thought for a moment tryingto find a reason that the boy inspired nothing but!andy !omparisons in her mind. -e was tall li$eHa!$ maybe a little shorter. -e still stood a fullhead taller than :milie. -e saw her staring andsmiled at her. *oly (od, he has perect teeth."

&-i. I(m Ale". Ale" Conway., -e setdown his bag and rea!hed out to sha$e :milie(s

hand. She too$ his hand in hers. -e was sowarm.

&II(m :milie M!;onnell., Sandy hadunlo!$ed the door to Ale"(s apartment andbustled inside leaving me and Ale" on thelanding. -e opened his mouth to tal$ but wasinterrupted by a voi!e behind him.

&And I(m hungry+, Ha!$ had emerged

from his apartment and was !limbing the stairs.&'oman go ma$e me brea$fast., Ale" turned toHa!$ and loo$ed ba!$ at me Gui//i!ally.

&Ale" this is Ha!$ from downstairs.2han$fully he doesn(t live underneath 8O6.,Ha!$ shoo$ Ale"(s hand and wal$ed into:milie(s apartment. She appraised Ale". &8ouloo$ hungry. 'ould you li$e brea$fast too*,Hust at that moment his stoma!h made a loudnoise. -e laughed.

&I AM hungry but I gotta finishunloading the tru!$., :milie turned and !alled


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into her apartment.&HACK+ 9et your la/y behind out here+,

Ha!$ emerged with a grima!e on his fa!e.

&%ut mom I(m hungry++, :miliesma!$ed his arm.&9o help Ale" unload his stuff and by

the time you(re done I(ll have brea$fast made.,Ha!$ grumbled and :milie glared at him.

&5ine. 2his issla$ery I tell you++, Ha!$shuffled off down the stairs. :milie !alled afterhim.

&Ha!$+, -e loo$ed up at her. &It(s !old.8ou might wanna put some pants on., Ha!$immediately loo$ed down and ba!$ up blushingprofusely. -e mumbled something that soundedli$e )than$s( and went ba!$ into his apartment.Ale" loo$ed !onfused.

&'hat(s up with him*, :milie laughed.&Oh Ha!$* -e


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just smiled and shoo$ her head. She turned toAle".

&Hust step over him he(ll get up

eventually. 8our plate(s on the table., Ale" didas he was told and his eyes lit up.&8ou(re Southern*, :milie smiled as he

too$ a bite of his omelet.&9eorgia#all the South none of the

dumb a!!ent. 'here(syour a!!ent from*, She(djust noti!ed that he had a small a!!ent. -eswallowed the food and spo$e.

&Monterey Indiana. =opulation E3#well E4 now., 2hey heard a moan from thefloor.

&Oh I see how it is. ;on(t mind me I(lljust !hill here on the floor., :milie rolled hereyes at Ha!$.

&2here(s a plate here for you too assfa!e., Ha!$ s!rambled to his feet and jumped

into a !hair. :milie turned ba!$ to Ale". &2hatsounds li$e tons of fun., Ale" loo$ed at her andsmiled.

&8eah. I(ve a!tually been !ow tipping.-ow redne!$ is that*, Ale" and :milie laughedbut Ha!$ just loo$ed at them. :milie noti!ed.

&'hat Ha!$*, Ha!$ flushed a little bit.&'hat the -: is !ow tipping*, Ale"

!hu!$led and answered him.&It(s what us small town fol$ do for

fun., :milie nodded and Ha!$ seemed to a!!eptthat answer. -e got an e"!ited loo$ on his fa!e.

&Spea$ing of fun7.:m where are wegoing today*, She loo$ed !onfused for aminute then remembered. !t"s Friday'"

&I don(t $now. Ha!$ aren(t you gonnainvite Ale"* Maybe he wants to have some big!ity fun too+, Ale" loo$ed between the two ofthem.

&'hat $ind of fun*, Ha!$ smiled at him.


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&Kid do you have a fa$e I;*,.....................................................About an hour later the three of them

arrived at Hosh and Mi$ey(s house large bags intow. :milie had made sure Hosh wouldn(t behome and she had brought Mi$ey(s Christmaspresents over. She loved the loo$ on his fa!ewhen he saw the bul$ of the gifts#a large trun$with a voi!ea!tivated lo!$. Hosh wouldn(t beable to get into it. She had also bought him anew !omputer program that voi!elo!$ed his

laptop a new dis!reet s!anner more tra!e paperand sto!$ I; !ards in addition to the !lothesthat had filled the trun$.

2hey hung around the house for a whilewaiting for Ale"(s I; to be finished. 2he boyswent upstairs to play on the =S so :miliestayed with Mi$ey in the basement. 2he subje!tof his living Guarters had worried :milie sin!e

her first visit here. She brought up the subje!t!arefully.

&Mi$ey what are you gonna do after thisyear*, -e loo$ed at her slowly.

&-ow do you mean*,&College. Are you gonna leave*, -e

laughed dar$ly.&eave* I(m only 3B. Hosh would never

let me leave. =lus I have nowhere to go. I don(thave a job remember*, :milie !ontinued.

&%ut if you did. 'ould you go*, Mi$eylaughed again.

&Of !ourse I would. I hate living li$ethis., -e gestured around the room. 2here wereholes all around the walls from Hosh(s fistslo!$s on all the drawers#Mi$ey had a $ey ringthe si/e of a janitor(s.

&If somebody gave you a pla!e to go#,Mi$ey interrupted her.

&I(m not a !harity !ase :milie. I(m not


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gonna live on somebody(s !ou!h.,&'hat if it wasn(t li$e that* isten to

me., -e was about to interrupt but shut his

mouth at her ga/e. &My dad(s got more moneythan he $nows what to do with and I have adire!t lin$ to it. I !ould pay the rent#,

&:milie are you out of your mind*+8ou(ve only met me three times and you(reoffering to move me out*, :milie nodded.Mi$ey shoo$ his head at her. &8ou ama/e me:m. %ut no. I need to finish high s!hool here.,

And they dropped the subje!t.....................................................About an hour later Ale" :milie and

Ha!$ left after than$ing Mi$ey profusely. 2heymade plans to go to =arris at 0. 2here was aChristmas party that night. 2hey returned to thebuilding and Ale" wal$ed up to his apartmentimmediately. Ha!$ and :milie stopped to !he!$

their mail. Ha!$ turned on :milie as soon asAle" was out of ear shot.

&:m we need to go shopping., :milieloo$ed !onfused for a se!ond then her fa!e litup. She !ould never turn down shopping.

&O$ay. Now or later*, Ha!$(s eyes lit up.-is plan was wor$ing so far.

&et(s go now before the $ids get out of

s!hool. Avoid the rush you $now*, :milienodded and they departed again. Ha!$ fidgetedwith his tshirt hem the whole way to the mall.As soon as they wal$ed in the doors he too$:milie(s hand. -e pulled her away from theirusual shopping spots and towards the part of themall she hadn(t really loo$ed at yet.

&Ha!$ what are you up to*, -e stoppedwal$ing and loo$ed at her.

&:milie do you trust me*, 2he Guestion!aught her off guard.

&6hh7yeah*, -e smiled and $ept


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pulling her towards the ba!$ of the mall.&2hen believe me., :milie loo$ed at him

li$e he was insane.

&O$ay. %ut we need to pi!$ Sarah upfrom the airport in an hour and a half., Ha!$stopped so suddenly that :milie almost $no!$edhim over &HACK++,

&Sarah(s !oming today*+, Ha!$ had thelight in his eyes. -e had tal$ed to Sarah on thephone a few times and was really eager to meether. :milie laughed.

&8eah it(s the 31th

+ She(s !oming outwith us tonight too. I had Mi$ey ma$e her anI; today., Ha!$ loo$ed more e"!ited than :miliehad ever seen him. &O$ay+ -urry up with thisthen so we !an go get her++, Ha!$ seemed toremember his )mission.( -e pulled her into astore that she immediately disli$ed. It was pin$.After a moment of loo$ing at the la!e all around

her :milie flushed s!arlet and glared at Ha!$.2he i!toria(s Se!ret tags s!reamed at her.

&Absolutely not. 'hat are we doinghere*+, Ha!$ smiled and rolled his eyes.

&;on(t tell me you didn(t see the waythat Ale" $id was staring at you+, Ha!$ loo$ed ather. &'e(re just here to )se" you up(., Ha!$ ledher towards the middle of the store where there

was a holiday display. Se"y outfits#elves andMs. Claus. Ha!$ loo$ed at :milie and thenbluntly as$ed. &'hat(s your bra si/e*, :milieblushed again. An older man had heard and wasloo$ing at them.

&Could you be a bit more Guiet*+ 'hyare you doing this to me*+*+, Ha!$ !alled out tothe nearest sales girl. She !ame over and Ha!$turned to her and as$ed her the same Guestionhe(d as$ed me.

&-ello Maggie. I need to $now whatthis woman(s appro"imate bra si/e is. Sin!e she


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refuses to tell me I(d li$e to $now if you !ouldwarrant a guess., Maggie didn(t loo$ put off bythe Guestion at all. :milie gave her an

apologeti! loo$ but Maggie shoo$ her head.,;on)t worry about it. I)ve $now Ha!$here sin!e we !ould wal$., She hugged himGui!$ly.

&;ammit Ha!$., :milie ruffled throughthe ra!$ and pulled out a Ms. Claus outfit in hersi/e. It was the less s$impy of the two outfits.2here was white fur lining the top and bottom of

the red velvet dress. It la!ed up the sides withwhite la!es and !ame !omplete with bla!$ furlined boots a belt and a small hat. She thrustthe !ostume at Ha!$ and he laughed.

&6h uh I wanna see you in it before Ibuy it., -e smiled a dirty smile at her and shestormed off toward the dressing room. Maggieturned to Ha!$.

&I have a feeling you(re gonna get ittonight., Ha!$ laughed.

&Not me. %utshe"sgonna get some inthat dress.,

:milie !ame out a few minutes later andHa!$(s jaw dropped. 2he dress fit li$e a glove#a rather tight glove. Ha!$ wal$ed over to where:milie was and slid his arms around her waist.

-e leaned down and $issed her ne!$whispering in her ear.

&I $now we said we wouldn(t do thisagain but damnif I don(t wanna ta$e you ba!$into that dressing room and tear that dress offyou., :milie $issed him on the !hee$ andGui!$ly returned to the dressing room. A fewminutes later they wal$ed out of the store withthe !ostume and a few new bras that Ha!$insisted that she buy. 2hey arrived at the airportjust in time to get Sarah. 'e wal$ed into theairport and after going through se!urity they


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made their way to Sarah(s gate.2hey waited for about 3> minutes when

they announ!ed that Sarah(s flight was delayed

for a half an hour. 2hey made their way to thefood !ourt for lun!h. It was around and theyhadn(t eaten sin!e brea$fast. 2hey went toM!;onalds and after ordering their heapingbag of food#Ha!$ was hungry#they returnedto the gate and waited for Sarah.

Around E4 minutes later :milie jumpedup out of nowhere and sprinted towards the

gate. She returned a few se!onds later wal$ingba!$wards atta!hed to another person. Sarahwas laughing. Ha!$ !aught in the moment stoodand jumped into their hug. 2he three of themjumped up and down together li$e 1 year oldsuntil Sarah pulled away.

&O$ay. 8(all do that I(m gonna go getmy luggage., -er a!!ent was thi!$#she(d lived

in Alabama until she was 0. She was thin li$e:milie and had naturally sti!$straight brownhair. She was tanner than :milie was and moredefined. 34 years of so!!er had definitely servedher well. Ha!$ loo$ed at her and his fa!e flushed!rimson. Sarah started wal$ing and :miliewat!hed his eyes follow after her. She elbowedhim roughly $nowing where his thoughts were

going.&;on(t even thin$ about it., Ha!$ jumped

at the !onta!t. -e loo$ed at :milie with aGui//i!al loo$ on her fa!e.

&'hat*+, :milie glared at him.&8ou $now bloody well what. ;on(t you

even loo$ at her li$e that Ha!$ 'iliamson., Ha!$turned ba!$ towards :milie(s retreating figurenodded to himself then followed her. :milie ranafter Sarah and jumped on her. Sarah droppedher bag to !at!h her and held her on her ba!$.

&Ha!$ !an you grab that*, She gestured


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towards the bag with her foot. &:milie has someunresolved piggy ba!$ ride issues., Ha!$laughed at :milie(s fa!e and pi!$ed up the bag.

It was then that :milie $new that she hadmade a terrible mista$e.Ha!$ and Sarah were too similar. %efore

Sarah(s E wee$ visit was over they would either$ill ea!h other or end up in bed with oneanother. :milie disli$ed either option. Ha!$ waswal$ing behind them a !ouple feet so Sarahturned her head to whisper in :milie(s ear.

&8ou didn(t tell me he was thatgorgeous :m. 8ou(ve been holding out onme++, :milie !ould hear the small tremor inSarah(s voi!e. Sarah wanted Ha!$ as badly as hewanted her.

2his was bad.2hey rea!hed the baggage !laim and

Sarah grabbed her bags off of the belt. Ha!$

pi!$ed them all up and they made their wayba!$ to the !ar.

2hey arrived ba!$ at the building andafter saying goodbye Ha!$ left to ta$e a nap.Sarah turned to :milie with a loo$ ofamusement.

&So7what did Ha!$ buy you fromi!toria(s Se!ret*, :milie turned around to fa!e

Sarah flushing !rimson as she did.&-ow did you#*, -e had pla!ed the

bag on the table in plain view. &Stupid asshole.It(s a whoreish Ms. Claus !ostume. Ha!$(sma$ing me wear it out tonight to impress thenew neighbor.,

Sarah loo$ed insulted. &'here(s myslutty !ostume*+, :milie was !onfused soSarah !ontinued. &I !an(t let my best friend goout loo$ing all slutty all by herself+ I want awhorey !ostume too+, :milie laughed andhugged Sarah.


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&'e(ll go to the mall right now., Sarahsmiled.

&9ood. %e!ause your dad promised me a

new wardrobe#, :milie was immediately onedge. -er father never bought outlandish thingsfor her friends. Something was going on.

&Sarah what(s going on*, @ight at thatse!ond she got a te"t message.

)%ay hello to your ne# roommate or me.ad.(&O- M8 9O; SA@A-+++, :milie

threw herself at her best friend#her roommate#and hugged her fero!iously. Sarah giggled.

&Merry Christmas :m. Now let(s goshop.,

A !ouple hours later the girls returned tothe apartment. Ha!$ stopped them on theirse!ond trip up the stairs. -e helped them !arrythe rest of the stuff up to the apartment. 'hen

they finished > trips later Ha!$ slumped againstthe doorframe.

&Hee/ :m. As if you didn(t have enough!lothes to begin with., :milie laughed.

&It(s not for me assbag. It(s for Sarah. Ahousewarming gift., Ha!$ loo$ed !onfused anda minute later reali/ation spread a!ross his fa!e.

&8ou(re moving in+* 2hat(s a#esome'

Now :milie will have someone elseto bother++,:milie glared at him and loo$ed at the !lo!$ onthe wall.

&9o away Ha!$ass. 'e need to getready to go out., Ha!$ grinned.

&Oh I don(t mind wat!hing., And hewin$ed at Sarah. She noti!ed and laughed.

&:ww did you just #ink* 8ou !reeper+,Ha!$ frowned and left the room. &ove youHa!$+, -e reopened the door and stu!$ histongue out at her win$ed again and shut thedoor. Sarah pulled the slutty elf !ostume out of


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the pin$ bag. It was a green vinyl dressa!!ompanied by green and white striped thighhigh sto!$ings and a green velvet hat with a

white fau" fur brim and a bell atta!hed to theend. She had bought shoes separately. Sheloo$ed at :milie.

&;o you thin$ he(ll li$e it*, :miliefeigned !onfusion.

&'ho Sarah*, Sarah loo$ed at her li$eshe(d just said that Me"i!o was a state.

&Jack, you dun!e. 'ill he li$e it*+,

:milie smiled.&Oh my 9O; you li$e Ha!$+ Aww how !ute++, At Sarah(sanswering glare she !ontinued. &8es Sarah. -e(ll love it.I(ll go shower first. I(ll have to do your hair., If there wasanything wrong with Sarah it was that she didn(t have:milie(s affinity for fashion. &2here are e"tra ra!$s in the!loset for your stuff.,

2wo hours later the girls sat ready inthe front room. 2hey weren(t wearing the outfitsyet be!ause the four of them#:milie SarahHa!$ and Ale"#were going out to dinner beforethey went to =arris. 2hey had both pur!hasedover!oats to help them hide the !ostumes on!ethey !hanged. :milie straightened her hair and

re!urled it so it now fell in larger barrel !urlsdown her ba!$. She had smo$y eyes and rubyred lipsti!$. Sarah had her hair !urled e"pertlyby :milie. It fell a little bit past her shoulders.She had green eye shadow and the same shadeof red lipsti!$ that :milie was wearing. 2heyhad the 2 on and they were laughing at someshow on M2. 2hey were told all the time thatthey would have their own show one day.

2hey heard a Guiet $no!$ on the door ataround D?3>. :milie sent Sarah to get it andSarah invited Ale" into the apartment. &ell, it"s


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do or die no#, Emilie."She psy!hed herself upbefore turning around. Ale" had his eyes fi"edon Sarah surprised by her presen!e. 2hey were

!hatting introdu!ing themselves to ea!h otherbut Ale" fro/e midintrodu!tion.&-i I(m Ale#:milie. 8ou loo$7.wow.

8ou loo$7., Sarah leaned over and whisperedin his ear and he nodded. &In!redible., :milie(sfa!e turned as red as her lipsti!$.

&2han$s., She loo$ed him over. -e wasdressed in s$inny jeans and a teal buttonup

plaid shirt. -is hair was a little longer thanHa!$(s but he still styled it the same#the frontwas straightened to frame his fa!e and the ba!$was sti!$ing in all dire!tions. &8ou loo$ prettygood too., 2he two !ontinued to stare untilSarah interrupted.

&And I kno# I loo$ good so !an we getgoing*, She was startled by a voi!e in the

doorway.&eaving without me*, Ha!$ wal$ed

through the open door and frowned at :miliewhen he noti!ed that she wasn(t wearing the!ostume. She fli!$ed her eyes towards Sarahand Ha!$ followed. -is jaw went sla!$ and hiseyes widened. &%hit, Sarah you loo$ hot., Sarahgrinned and win$ed at him.

2hey left and arrived at the restaurantaround 0#it was on the far side of town. :miliehad made the reservations earlier that day.

MY ONLY ONE FINAL 1

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