“No. Liam and Drew,” he says, his grin pure evil. I march over and smack him on his shoulder. “Ow, that hurt. I’ll probably have a bruise in the morning.”

“Quit being a wuss. So, Colin wasn’t upset that I’d left?”

“I didn’t say that. I only said that Liam and Drew checked their watches. They all stayed for about two hours and then bounced.”

“Quit trying to be cool. You sound super lame,” I say, plopping down on the bed next to him. “Jeff, I need a man.”

“Sorry, my dear, not this man.” Jeff’s look of mock horror makes me giggle.

“Not you, moron. A nice, straight guy. He doesn’t have to be uber attractive or anything, just nice,” I say, biting my lip.

“What about Drew or Colin? They seem smitten with you.”

“Smitten. How archaic. No, not them. I’m so out of their zip code. So who else?”

“Honey, you literally live in their zip code.”

“You know what I mean,” I say dryly.

“No, I don’t. I’ve never seen you like this before. You’re always so confident. You’re so beautiful, and you have two men that know that.”

“You don’t understand. I don’t want to be attracted to a pretty boy. I want regular. Relationships with stars never work out. I’m just a novelty, which will wear off quickly. They want a taste of something average, and they’ve picked me.”

“So, have sex with Colin and scratch your itch.” He pats me on the head like I’m a puppy.

“I don’t want just casual sex, I want … oh, I don’t know what I want. Just help me find me an average, nice guy so I can stop thinking about penises. Okay, one particular penis. Not that I’ve seen it or anything though.”

Jeff pulls me into his arms and I begin to sob jokingly at my situation. Oh, hell. My mom will definitely call in the morning.

I wake up snuggled in Jeff’s arms—him in only his pajama bottoms, and I’m still completely dressed. I don’t want to wake him, but I have the sudden dire urge to pee.

I move carefully, and then I feel the stare. Jeff is awake and watching me. If I have to make a guess, he’s trying to gauge my mood.

“Thanks for last night. Do I look as bad as I feel?” I ask, dreading the answer.

“You look beautiful. Now let’s get up and go for a run. I think you need it.”

“First, I have to use the little girls’ room. Bladder is about to burst.” I jump up and make it just in time. Sitting on the pot, I study my reflection in the mirror-laden walls and see Jeff is right. I don’t look so bad. Beautiful? No, but at least my eyes aren’t swollen slits.

Time to stop feeling sorry for my no-sex-for-a-long-time, frustrated self and get a move on.

Jeff and I quietly exit my door and take the stairs. I don’t want company this morning, what with my nerve-endings still raw.

Brad is at his post, but to my dismay, he has company, and they look like they’re waiting for us. How do I know? They look at us, smile and are dressed for running. At least they’re wearing long pants and sweatshirts, like us. They must have checked the weather, as today is supposed to be thirty degrees colder than yesterday.

“Hey, Dora, did you take care of Julie’s emergency? We missed you last night,” Drew says, giving me one of his delicious smiles.

“Yep, took longer than I thought. You guys going out?” I ask innocently.

“We’re just waiting for you. Jeff mentioned that once you start running again, you try not to miss a day. We need the exercise, and we know you don’t mind us tagging along, right?”

What can I say? If I say yes, I look like a bitch, and if I say it’s okay, I’ll be near Colin, and that’s not good right now with my emotions all over the place.

“We’re happy to have you run with us, right, Dora?” Jeff prompts.

“Sure, try and keep up.” Good thing I stretched in the apartment. I start running, hoping they need to stretch. But no, they take off with me, four tall trees and me, the little sapling.

Jeff stays with me and the others are close behind. I need to forget they’re there. Of course, that’s not going to happen without a little extra effort. I start thinking about my upcoming exams, and then I engage Jeff in some problems I’ve been having while studying. Before I know it, I’ve completely occupied my mind enough to forget the three models are behind us …. Yeah, right.

We get to a stretch of park where there is more room and Liam moves up beside me. He makes eye contact with me while smiling and I smile back. My mom’s statement that I needed to help him and Drew makes me focus on that. I think I know what Liam’s secret is, but Drew … maybe it’s his family. I know money doesn’t always buy love, and maybe that’s what Drew’s problem is—a lack of love. Anyway, I need to take care of this soon.

The park is full of people again. As we near the fountain, I spot a crowd of young women. One of them looks our way and screams. They all look at where she’s pointing and then rush forward, blocking our path and circling like vultures. They’re carrying notepads and pens.

“Can I have your autograph, Drew?”

“Liam, I need your autograph.”

“Colin, I want to have your baby,” a tall curvy blonde yells, pushing me aside and making her way to her target.

What the hell? How dare that little skank push me! I grab her arm and pull her away from Colin. She goes to hit me with her bag and Jeff saves me from being clobbered with it by pulling her not so gently away from me. Jeff then grabs my hand and pushes his way through the crowd until we have a moment to catch our breath.

“Come on. They can take care of themselves, and here comes the cavalry.” He points to a group of policemen making their way to the crowd.

“What the hell was all that?” I say as we jog back to the loft.

“I guess we were spotted yesterday and someone told someone, and then someone else, and thus, the mob formed.” Jeff shrugs his shoulders. “I’m so glad I’m not famous,” he says, slowing down as he realizes I’m not keeping up with him.

“See? How can I compete with that? It’s a lost cause. That woman who wanted Colin’s baby was beautiful—crazy as hell, yes—but beautiful.”

“But—” Jeff starts.

“Don’t you dare say I’m beautiful on the inside and any guy worth anything would see that.”

“I’m so happy you put words into my mouth. I was going to say, before I was rudely interrupted by a petulant child, that woman doesn’t hold a candle to you,” he comments.

I groan. “Jeff, why don’t you like girls? It would be so much easier for me.”

“Even if I did, you wouldn’t be my type. I’d go for the average ones.” He gives me a devilish grin and a side hug. “Let’s go finish our run in the gym. First one there gets the deluxe treadmill.”

He takes off, leaving me behind. I look back at the crowd and the police trying to control them and then follow Jeff, not caring for once if I win.

I’m dripping wet. My hair, clothes, socks, shoes and underwear are drenched with sweat. A shower is desperately needed, and I leave the gym hoping I don’t bump into anyone. Jeff went up about half an hour ago, but I needed to work off my excess frustration. I hit the elevator button and hear the doors opening behind me. Please don’t let it be them. Let it be Brad, Julie, or even Kevin, who will tease me, I can handle that. I don’t turn around but hear footsteps behind me. They sound like sneakers.

“Dora, what happened? You look like you’ve been caught in a downpour,” Drew asks.

“Nope, just good old-fashioned sweat. I had an awesome workout in your fabulous gym. Did you guys get to finish your run?” I ask as I enter the elevator and turn around, seeing the three looking me up and down. “Haven’t you ever seen a person sweat before? Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to get on? I need to take a shower. Some people have stuff to do today.”