The girls prepared dinner with fixings that Barnes had obtained for them. As we sat at the kitchen bar, waiting for various things to cook, there was ... knock on the door. I went and opened it, knowing that whomever was there had been screened by security several times.Melanie stood there with a happy smile on her face. “Hi, Mark. I got a dinner invitation from your girlfriends.” She gave me a peck on the lips and breezed past me, pulling a small roll-on suitcase that she parked in a corner of. "Chris," the voice called again, and again Chris turned to search forwhat seemed like such a heartrending cry for his attention. Seeingnothing for a second time, he sighed and was about to look back down tothe cracked cement sidewalk when his eyes caught the pale ivory handpiercing the night's darkness from an alley, beckoning to him.He shouldn't. All reflexes, all logic told him it was a stupid, self-destructive move. His heart didn't care. He approached the danglinglimb, his head cocked to. It's just...I might be the only person that actually remembers him atall.I just want to do something in commemoration, ok? Will you come withme?" Of course I will."Amy emerged from the shop with a small bouquet of roses, lilies andcarnations, all of them white or cream, that had a ghostly beauty in themorning sun. Flanked by Greg and Tommy she walked to the end of theroad, turned the corner to the right and paused."Is this the place?" Greg asked.She looked around."I think so. I've hardly. ?? Her look and tone and herwords made me shudder involuntarily, my god, was she reading my mind?? No, it couldn?t be, it had to be just acoincidence that she would say something like that just when I was justwistfully remembering having my ass tanned by a lover ? well, maybe?? Would she??Maybe she?d slap my ass a little bit.?Jesus, what was wrong with me?? Itried to rationalize it down to blaming it on being without sex for so long aswe stood up and she took me by the hand and led me down the.