"Nope." I craned my head to look in the backseat. "You really don't."

"What are you doing?"

"You don't have any cookies back there do you?"

"Uh…no. I'm all out."

I sighed and sank into my seat. "I am starving. I don't think I can hold on much longer. You sure you don't have any other food?"

The ghost of a smile curled his lips. "Nope. Sorry. You want to stop somewhere?"

"Yes!"

He pulled into a Taco Bell drive-thru, looking surprised when I gave him my order. When it came up, he wordlessly handed me my bag of four tacos, two bean burritos, and a tostada. I dove into them before he'd even accelerated away.

When we got back to my place, he didn't give me the chance to limp in. He scooped me up effortlessly, almost like O'Neill might have in one of his novels. If not for me being stoned and clinging to a taco, it would have been terribly romantic.

"You think I'm a freak, don't you?" I asked, once I was situated in bed and he sat on its edge. Seth had tended me once before, after a night of heavy drinking. I felt so irresponsible compared to him.

"Well, the tostada was kind of excessive, but I've seen freakier."

"No…you know. I mean…" I hesitated. "Well, you may not realize this, but I've sort of been smoking…some stuff."

"Yeah. I kind of picked up on that."

"Oh. Well. Sorry." I bit into one of the burritos savagely.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because…well, you don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Smoke pot. Or drink. Geez, you even avoid caffeine. Don't you think I'm like, I don't know…corrupt?"

"Corrupt?" He laughed. "Hardly. Anyway, you don't think I've ever done any of that?"

The idea was just shocking enough to give me pause. I put my gluttony on hold. "Well…I don't know. I just figured, well, no. Either that, or you had some tragic history…like you got drunk and hit a mailbox or took off all your clothes in public and now avoid all such vices."

"That would be tragic. But rest easy, I indulged in plenty of 'vices' in college. That's why it took me six years to graduate. Well, that and changing my major a few times. In the end, I just decided to abstain altogether. Didn't like myself otherwise. Sobriety's better for writing, and I say too many stupid things when I'm drunk or high."

"Yeah," I said uneasily, trying to remember what I'd said tonight. It was kind of a haze. "So you don't think I'm like…I don't know, a shameless lush?"

"Nope. So long as you don't do yourself harm." He eyed the ankle suspiciously. "It doesn't matter to me. Honestly, half the reason I like you is because you're so…I don't know. You like life." He looked away from my eyes, amused as his thoughts spun, considering. "You're fearless. Bold. Not afraid to enjoy yourself. You just go out there and do what you want. I like the whirlwind you exist in. I envy it. It's funny, really." He smiled. "I used to think I wanted someone exactly like me, but now I think I'd be bored to death with another version of myself. I'm surprised I don't bore you sometimes."

I gaped. "Are you kidding? You're the most interesting person I know. Aside from Hugh maybe. But then, he installs breast implants and buys souls. That's a hard combination to beat. But he's not nearly as cute."

Seth's smile increased, and he squeezed my hand. Silence fell between us again, but this time it was kind of cozy.

"Thanks for rescuing me," I said slowly, "and for…well…I mean, I'm sorry about last night. Sorry I shut down."

His face sobered. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"No," I said firmly. "Don't blame yourself. It was me too. My fault too. And really, I was the one who started it. I should have just talked to you about it then. Especially after you made me pancakes this morning. You know, those suddenly sound really good again." I looked at him meaningfully.

"We shouldn't have done what we did…in bed…but, at least we did manage to stop. That's worth something."

I nodded, crumpling up the Taco Bell bag and tossing it across the room into my wastebasket. Score.

He studied me, eyes warm and affectionate. He sighed and turned pensive again. There apparently was more seriousness to come. "I'd like to try sleeping together again, but I suppose…we should take a break from that. "

I mirrored his sigh. "Yeah. I suppose." Remembering something, I cocked my head and gave him a sharp look. "Hey, hypothetically—and I'm not offering this, so don't get any ideas—would you, like, give up part of your life to sleep with me? Er, but I mean…not actually sleep… "

He laughed out loud, the laughter underscored with a wry edge. "Thetis, I'd give up part of my life to do any number of things with you."

My interest flared. "Like what?"

"Well…isn't it obvious?"

I leaned toward him. Maybe I was still high and suffering from weed-induced horniness—and hey, in another reality, shouldn't we have been entitled to make-up sex?—but I suddenly and desperately wanted to hear him articulate what he wanted to do to me. "Tell me."

He shook his head. "I can't. You know how I am." His eyes narrowed intently. "I could maybe…I could maybe write it for you, though."

"Really? Not in published story form this time?"

"Yes, not in published story form."

"I'd like that."

I must have looked expectant because he laughed. "Not tonight, Thetis. Not tonight. I think we both need some sleep."

I was disappointed but could see the wisdom here. Having more time would ensure some good writing, I guessed. Furthermore, it was hard to be too sad when the tension from last night's mishap appeared to be gone. Our rapport and affection had returned, and watching him, I felt my feelings for him practically increase by the second. We chatted a bit more, and then he kissed me lightly on the mouth and rose. I wistfully watched him go, wishing he were staying.

Drifting off to sleep, I finally contented myself by thinking about all the things I wanted to do to him. It was a long list, and I was out before even getting through a fraction of it.

CHAPTER 8

"Georgina?"

I looked up from a baffling return Tammi had asked me to help her with. A customer without a receipt was attempting a refund on a stack of books with dog-eared pages and broken spines, claiming all of them were duplicates someone had just given him for his birthday.

"Just a sec," I told her. "I've got to finish this."

"Okay," Beth said. "I just thought you should check out Casey."

"Casey?"

"Yeah. She's up in the cafe."

That snagged my attention. I finished up with the customer, telling him nicely that we couldn't accept books in this condition. Maybe if the alleged other books were in better shape, he could bring those in. He pouted and argued a bit before finally skulking off. I rolled my eyes once he was gone. One thing that never changed among humans: there were always those who wanted to get something for nothing. It was what kept hell in business.

I found Casey sitting in the cafe, drinking a glass of water. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she didn't display her usual care in makeup and hairstyling. She stared bleakly at the table, eyes dull and glazed over.

"Hey," I said gently, pulling up a chair across from her. "How's it going?"

After a moment's delay, she looked up, not really focusing on me. "Okay."

"You sure? You don't look so okay."

"Dunno." Her tone was flat, distracted. "I just had a late night, that's all. Sorry. Sorry I came in like this."

"No problem. I've had my share of crazy nights." The thing was, Casey didn't exactly look hung over. I mean, she definitely looked like she was recovering from something…but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was weird. "What'd you get into? A party?"