Page 52 (1/2)

"You already know the things that turn me on Better than I do probably"

"No, I don’t Not yet But I will We both will You can count on that"

Another squeeze froainst his chest, eer all at once

And as he falls asleep beneathand sex haven’t allowed, completely undone and made honest by sleep I learn the rhythm of his breaths, the unhurried beat of his heart when he’s completely at rest I discover what his face looks like when it’s free of his usual charm and bravado I study how he looks when he is entirely his own, not the entertainer, not the athlete, not the flirt And like music stripped of its enhancements and frills, he’s somehow better in this sioes off for the first tiently but firroans and , and I shake hiardsin this brilliantly sexy, sleepy way I lean across hiht and cla me in my prone position With his eyes squeezed shut he says, "Turn it off"

"Let me see your eyes first"

He corip on my waist, so I’m practically on top of hiht as ood

"How old are you?" I ask

"Nineteen"

I blink I hadn’t known that he was younger than me He’s so much more experienced and confident that I assumed he was older

"I see that look," he says "I’ll be twenty in January, so don’t go thinking I’ for you"

"I’m not I just didn’t know That’s all I assumed you were older"

It also occurs towas to see if he could think clearly, but since I don’t kno old he is, I have no way of knowing if he’s lucid

"Do you knohat day it is?"

"Monday"

"And do you knohere you are?"

He ss over hihs"

Well, he certainly seems coherent But just for my own curiosity, I ask, "How tall are you?"

"Six two"