3 Celcius temperature, just a bit warmer than ahuman body and almost exactly what his calculations predicted. He notedtime, temperature, and color in ...he notebook at the end of the table. Thenhe took a deep breath and added an afterthought."The most foolish thing a researcher can do is to self-administer anuntested drug. If I could have hidden some mice or a guinea pig in mybudget, I wouldn't have to. Since I didn't, it's bottom's up, m'lad. I'mtaking 20 cc of the stuff. At my body weight, that. Names, jobs, likes and dislikes, all that meaningless bullshit people talk about together. I said something funny andwhile she was laughing, I reached over under the table to pat her thigh, all friendly-like. Mm, I thought, nice, warm, thick legs, soft but not fat... very nice. I left my hand there and took another sip of my drink, shifting a little closer.Dee was wearing a skirt under the table, and my fingertips picked at the edge of it as we chatted about world events or sports or some. And, may I point out, you haven’t answered me. Do you need more time?”“You were drafting your proposal?” She couldn’t believe it.“Well, I’ve only proposed once before, and it hadn’t ended up all too clear.” Now, she could believe that. But drafting hadn’t helped. For that matter, the second version tonight was much better than the first. And what was her answer to his second version? She loved him; she could learn to love his daughter, might already have done so. Could she keep her independence. There were both a few years older than Al and Betty.The man looked the two up and down, evaluating their potential. “You interested in signing up for a class?”“Not exactly. My sister, Be, is looking for you. Something drew us to you and we’d like to learn why.”Considering the teenagers, the woman wiped her forehead, nudging her headband.Al noted they both wore elastic straps over their wrists. Swallowing, he took a chance, unbuttoning and rolling up his sleeve, something he never did in public..