It had been a rough day, with her boss breathing down her neck again at the local newspaper. Deadlines, they even ran through her dreams, and his voic..., right in her ear, his breath smelling of Doritos, always. She hated Doritos, thanks to him. Her head hung low, her eyes scanning the tiny cracks in the pavement as she worked her way toward her apartment. It was above a grocer, small but convenient. After all, this was New York City, and she didn’t want to drive much downtown. The traffic and. But when Sean looked at her, it was almost as if she could feel his eyes physically caressing her face. She swam further away from him before finally objecting, ‘I’m not lonely.’ ‘You are,’ he insisted, but his voice was gentle, not bullying. ‘I know your moods. I know when you’re happy with your friends, when you’re excited to see Barry, when you’re uncomfortable with me around, and when you’re lonely after thinking too much about Barry.’ Lauryn felt herself blush, but she did not yet concede. Waking, she had pulled on her shorts and shirt and joined the other women on the balcony. Their nudity surprised her but not terribly so. Her grandmother had an in-ground swimming pool and a high fence, and the three women often sunbathed topless around it. She even suspected her grandmother of sunbathing nude on occasion. She declined the invitation to join them in the late afternoon sun and was glad she did when she heard the sound of male voices entering the suite. The threesome scurried to. The conversation lapsed as we both sipped slowly on our coffees. So similar, yet so different. There was something tangible there, and I could feel it. I knew I had to see her again, and I tried to think of a way to. I hit on the idea by complete luck. “So why not bring your homework over to your dad's? It's not like he would bother you once you started working on it. Then you could focus and get it done, and help get your grades back up.” “I would, but it's a lot to carry over from my mom's,.