"What do you mean?" I asked instead. "What do I mean? He didn't leave until about an
hour ago," she said, and stopped as if she had drawn
dots on a page that I was supposed to connect in my
own mind. "I didn't exactly chain him to the sofa," she
added. "Understand?" She laughed. "I think I'll make
some toast," she said, rising. "So," she continued as
she worked, "how far did you two go?"
"How far?"
She turned and raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, how far? Did you take the advice of our
two leaders and make your kisses seem like gold?" "Oh. He kissed me good night," I revealed. She continued to stare at me, waiting. "What?" I asked.
"That's it? You two were dancing very closely
at one point, and you did spend a lot of time with him
in the kitchen, I noticed."
'We were preparing the food:'
"Uh-huh," she sang.
"That was it," I assured her. She still looked
skeptical. "He's calling me this morning. He wants to
take me to the beach and then to lunch."
"That's nice. I'm going with Chris to the Santa
Monica mall this morning. He wants me to help him
buy his mother a birthday present. I wonder where
Star and Larry ended up last night," she added after
the toast popped up.
"Larry was very nice," I said. "All the boys
were:'
"It's our new aura," Misty declared with
dramatic flair. "Jade was right. Our spiritual sessions
have wrapped a ring of charm about us that attracts
only handsome, nice guys. See how we're all