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whole Romeo and Juliet balcony scene.”
    Brooks leaned forward, then snatched my hand and swung me next to him on the bed. I struggled, but his arms locked around me. My body stilled and I met his eyes. He shook his hair back.
    â€œI didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to get laid tonight. But I thought you’d consider me.”
    I eased out of his grip. “Consider you what? A psycho who breaks into my room at eleven o’clock at night?”
    â€œNo,” he said, letting me go and tracing the hoops along my ear. “Consider me your guy.”
    I rolled over and got to my feet. “Brooks. I’m not sure how to respond to that. I met you less than a week ago. This is kind of coming out of left field, you know?”
    He sat on the edge of my bed and tapped a tune on his knees with his long, distracting fingers. “Yeah. But I still think you’ll consider me.”
    I didn’t say anything. The whole conversation was surreal,even for my world. Brooks hopped up and moved toward the window. After two steps he turned back and snatched my razor case from under my bed. “You should give this shit up. I don’t want you doing it anymore. We’re not going to roll that way.”
    I snatched the case from his hands and held it behind my back. “We’re not going to roll any way.”
    Brooks leaned toward me and dropped his mouth onto my neck. I slugged him, but he chuckled, and his warm tongue circled the spot above my collarbone until my knees almost gave out. Then he sucked my skin so hard I squeaked. He released me and swiveled us toward the long mirror in the corner of my room. His arm snaked around me, and his free hand tilted my head to the side to show me the hickey he’d just given me.
    â€œNo more cutting,” he whispered. “I want to know about every mark that’s on your body.”
    He released me and dropped out of my window so fast I couldn’t even respond. I wanted to tell him to go to hell. I wanted to tell him to find someone else. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t buying the shit he was selling. But I couldn’t turn away from the mirror and the hideously beautiful mark on my neck.
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    Ali and I sat smoking on a parking bumper in front of the Punkin’ Donuts the next day. Work was slow and Ricardo had offered to stay late so I could take off.
    â€œSo Skeevy Dave offered to get us Green Day tickets if we want.”
    I snorted. “Green Day? For real?”
    Ali blew a long stream of smoke above my head. Her new tongue piercing flashed as she took another drag. “Don’t be such a snob. I heard they’re amazing in concert.”
    I shrugged and fiddled with the laces on my boots. “What’s the catch?”
    Ali tapped her feet. “Dave wants to come with us.”
    Ick. Gross. A thousand yucks. “And you’re considering it?”
    â€œMaybe. It is Green Day.”
    I put out my cigarette and looked at Ali. “And it is Skeevy Dave.”
    Ali blinked her overly charcoaled eyes at me before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not worth it. I just thought it might be fun for a bunch of us to go.”
    Did a bunch of us include her boy toy from the woods? Part of me wanted to ask, but then I bit my tongue and pulled out another cigarette. Getting into that conversation with Ali would open a whole can of worms between us: an oversharing TMI can of worms that had the potential to leave me raw. And then I might talk about the weird way I felt about Brooks. Ali didn’t need that from me and I honestly didn’t need it from her.
    Plus, I still wasn’t exactly sure what I thought about Brooks.And Ali would want to dissect every detail and I’d have to tell her about his appearance at my window.
    I pulled the string to my hoodie tighter. I had no idea how I was supposed to explain the hickey. Where it came from and how I couldn’t