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Jenny shrugged. She hadn't noticed him leave.

?I'm pretty sure he is, because I think I smell smoke.? Elise headed down the hall to Dan's

bedroom. ?Call me when the brownies are done!?
Dan was lying on his bed, trying to think of a synonym fordesire that rhymed withclock. Sock,

mock, jock, rock . He hadn't gotten very far.

?Can I come in?? Elise asked from outside his bedroom door.

?Sure.? Dan sat up and closed the little black notebook he was writing in. Elise was wearing a


black turtleneck sweater that made her look serious and older somehow. ?What's up??

?Nothing.? She sat down on the end of the bed. ?What are you writing??

Dan hopped off the bed and chucked his notebook on his desk. He reached for his pack of
Camels and lit one, inhaling deeply as he shook out the match. ?Quick, a word that rhymes
withclock.?

?Tock,? Elise shot back.

Dan stared at her. ?But that's not a real word. It doesn't mean anything without the ?tick-tock?
part.?

?No, I guess you're right.? She stood up and went over to his desk, towering four inches over
Dan. Her height definitely made her seem older. So did the careful way she dressed, with her
T-shirt tucked neatly into her belted jeans and her cardigan all buttoned up. Instead of being prissy,
it conveyed a sort of confidence, as if, ?I am a woman and this is how it's done.?

She flipped open one of his notebooks. ?So this is where you write everything??

Dan's first impulse was to snatch the book away from her, but Elise wasn't Vanessa. She wasn't
going to make fun of one of his lesser poems or push him to send one of his better ones off to a
famous magazine. ?Yeah. I don't like working on the computer because I wind up deleting stuff I
might use.?

Elise nodded and rifled through the pages.

?Hey, I got you something.? Dan opened the black messenger bag he always carried and pulled
out the book of writing exercises he'd bought for Elise earlier that day. ?To thank you for the
cookies.?

Elise took the book and examined it. ?Wow, this is like homework. As if I don't have enough
already.?

?But it's really not,? Dan said, taking the book back and turning to one of the exercises. ??Avoid
the obvious. Make a list of all the clich?s you've ever heard of and never use them in your
writing.?? He looked up. ?See? It's fun!?

Elise looked at him like he was insane. ?I guess it's probably more fun than watching your best
friend suck brownie batter off her boyfriend's fingers.? She picked up a pen and turned to a free
page in one of Dan's black notebooks. ?What exactlyis a clich?, anyway??

Dan liked how unembarrassed she was about her ignorance. ?You know, like ?love at first sight?
or ?hard as a rock? or ?blind as a bat.? All those things you've heard a thousand times.?


?Uh-huh.? She sat down on the bed and wrote something. Then she passed the notebook to
Dan. ?Okay, your turn.?

He was going to write,What goes around comes around , until he saw what Elise had
written:Why did you kiss me on the street today?

He stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray and gripped the pen hard to steady his fingers.Because
of the cookies , he wrote.And because of the bread . Actually, he didn't know exactly why he'd
kissed her. It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing. He handed the notebook back, and Elise read
what he'd written without looking up. Then she wrote something underneath it and passed die
notebook back.

Kiss me again?

Dan walked over to the door and pushed it closed. He tossed the notebook on the bed and turned
to Elise, kissing her hard on the mouth as he yanked her T-shirt out of her jeans.

Elise let out a little cry and took a step backward. Dan let go of her. All of a sudden Elise didn't
seem so old anymore. Her blue eyes were wide, and her smile was less a smile than a terrified
grimace.

?I'm sorry.?

?It's okay,? she said, more to herself than to him. ?I'm okay.? Dan noticed a roll of pale baby fat
hanging over the waistband of her jeans. She saw him looking at it and quickly tucked her T-shirt
back in.

Loser, Dan scolded himself. Elise was only fourteen, and he was nearly eighteen. He was worse
than slimy. He was a total asshole.

Elise was still standing there waiting for him to kiss her again, and all of a sudden he felt sort of
pissed at her, too, for even thinking this might be a good idea.

He turned his back and sat down in front of the computer, jiggling the mouse. ?I think the
brownies are probably done,? he told her hoarsely.

Elise stayed put, so Dan started checking his e-mail. He kept his back turned until finally he
heard her walking toward the door.

?I thought you wanted to be my boyfriend,? she mumbled, her throat choked with tears. A
moment later, Dan heard the front door of the apartment slam shut.

He picked up his notebook and turned to a fresh page.Because of the cookies and because of the


bread , he wrote, and then stopped.

It was a little difficult to feel inspired.

V doth protest too much

?I know you're working on a paper right now and we just saw each other last night, but do you
want to go get dinner?? Vanessa practically shouted into the phone.

?What, like right now?? Jordy asked.

?Yes.Now .? Tantric chanting emanated from the living room, where Vanessa's parents were
hosting a gathering of artist friends for an evening of ?sparking the creative flint.? Whatever the
hellthat meant. ?I can meet you somewhere in your neighborhood,? she offered. ?Anywhere is
fine.?

?Wow,? Vanessa said when she arrived. Despite its name, Bubba's?an Italian place near
Columbia?was actually nice. She'd expected tables covered with red-and-white-checked plastic
tablecloths and sides of fries served with every dish. Instead, the tablecloths were white, and there
were candles and old jazz playing. It was only five-thirty, and the restaurant was empty. But even
that was that romantic, in a very traditional way.

Jordy was already seated at a table and had ordered a bottle of red wine. The waiter took
Vanessa's black wool jacket and helped her into her chair. ?I feel so mature.?

Jordy shrugged like he was used to this. After all, he was in college. ?I like your lipstick.?

Vanessa couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Jordy wore a constant pleasantly arrogant
expression, making it extremely difficult to gauge his emotions. If only his nose acted as some sort
of barometer, getting longer or shorter depending on his mood.

Not that she really wanted his nose to get any longer.

?My parents are having some sort of freak-fest chanting session with a bunch of other so-called
artists in our apartment.? Vanessa told him, scowling as she opened her napkin and put it on her
lap. ?I can't wait for them to leave.?

Jordy took a sip of wine, pressing his thin lips together as if he really enjoyed the taste of it. His
expensive glasses were on the table, and Vanessa saw for the first time that his eyes were light
golden brown, like a lion's.


Way to notice a boy's eye colorafter you've already kissed him!

?I think your parents are amazing,? he said. ?I mean, it takes a lot of effort and courage to be
that ?out there .?

Vanessa's thick brown eyebrows shot up. ?I'll say.? She scraped her chair forward and put her
elbows on the table. ?You know, when I was little I was a scab-picker. Any little nick or insect bite
I'd pick away at until it bled and bled. And you know what my mom said? She said I ought to save
the scabs so my dad could make a piece of artwork out of them. Isn't that just the most insanely
twisted thing you've ever heard? I mean, most moms would be worried about scarring, or they'd
take their kid to a shrink. My parents, all they care about is themselves and their ?work.??

Jordy shrugged. ?Maybe she was joking.?

Vanessa frowned and opened her menu. Antipasti, primi, secondi, dolci.Joking? She'd never
heard her mother be remotely jocular. ?I don't think so.?

Jordy watched her as she scrutinized the menu. ?Still, I really admire them. I mean, the way
they're letting you and your sister live on your own. Not many parents would do that.?

?No. Not many would,? Vanessa agreed with a scowl.

?I'd kind of like to go up to Vermont and see how they live,? Jordy added eagerly.

Vanessa looked up from her menu in alarm. ?Why??

?I don't know. I haven't met that many people who are ? you know ?different . I'm just curious, I
guess.? He took a sip of