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be
here!”
    “Or,”
Cole interrupted, “you could hang out here if you want?”  His eyes pleaded
with Bri not to leave him alone with Carly. 
    The
glare Carly gave Bri made her decision.
    “Okay,
I’ll stay.  If you really want me to,” she smiled at Cole.
    “Sure
I do,” he smiled back, relieved.
    “Fine,
whatever,” Carly grunted and stomped over to the bench.  “Let’s just get
this over with.”
    Cole
grabbed his supplies and sat down.  It didn’t take nearly as long for this
portrait as it had the last.  He was done in just over five minutes.
    “Well,
here you go,” he handed Carly the drawing.
    “Wow
Cole, I think this is even better than the other one you did!  Dalton will
be thrilled!  Do you mind if I call him real fast to tell him?”
    “Nope,
go right ahead.”  Cole took the drawing, rolled it up, and tied it with
his signature black ribbon.
    “I’ll
be just a second,” Carly smiled as she pulled out her phone and stepped away.
    “Hey,”
Cole said to Bri as soon as Carly was immersed in her conversation.  A
conversation Bri was ninety percent sure was fake.  “Thanks for not
leaving me alone with Psycho over there.  I really appreciate it!”
    “No
problem!  I just thought you might’ve wanted to talk to her, though. 
Put her out of her misery?”
    “Well,
I guess I should talk to her.  I just thought I could make a little money
first.  Plus, turns out she has a boyfriend.  She can’t be too hung
up on me.  Maybe I can just ride this out until she leaves, without making
her angry.”
    Bri
looked at him skeptically.
    “Hey,
all guys know that angry and crazy are a lethal combination!  It’s
probably better for my physical safety and well-being if I try to keep Psycho
from blowing a gasket!”
    She
burst out laughing.  “Well, by all means then, keep Psycho happy!”
    Carly
returned, beaming happily.  “Well, I can’t tell you how excited Dalton
is!  The poor guy, he’s just lost without me.  He’s so desperate for
me to come home.  I just hope he can make it through the next couple of
days!”
    “Um,
okay.  That’ll be twenty bucks, whenever you’re ready.”  Cole wasn’t
taking Carly’s bait.
    “Oh,
of course.  Here you go,” she handed him the cash.  “Seriously, though,
sometimes I think Dalton wants me a little too much.  I’m not sure I can
return that level of commitment,” she pushed.
    “Uh,
yeah, good luck with that,” he replied uncomfortably.  “So Bri...”
    “Okay,
that’s it!” Carly yelled, furious now.  “What the hell is your deal,
Cole?  Can you just quit with all the mind games and crap?  I don’t
get you.  I all but throw myself at you, and you like, totally brush me
off!  What exactly are you playing at here?”
    Cole
and Bri were stunned for a moment at Carly’s outburst.
    “Uh,
look, I’m not playing anything here.  I’m just not interested.  I’ve
never done anything to lead you to believe I was.”  Cole replied coolly.
    “Not
interested?” Carly fumed.  “And were you ever going to mention that little
bit of information, or were you going to let me keep throwing myself at you,
over and over?  Huh?  Was this all just some freaking ego trip?”
    “Hang
on,” Cole was getting angry now, too.  “I have done everything I can to
let you know I’m not interested.  I tried to let you down easy.  Any
other girl would’ve taken my lack of any reciprocation as the sign it was and
moved on.  It’s not my fault you can’t take a hint.”
    Carly
gasped, but before she could respond, Cole continued.
    “Besides,
don’t you have a boyfriend?  What are you doing hitting on me when you’ve
got a boyfriend back home waiting for you?  I mean, what kind of person
does that?”  He was incredulous, but not as incredulous as Carly.
    “How
dare you!  How dare you judge me!”  Carly was about to go off on a
tirade.  Bri, who’d been watching the whole exchange with her mouth agape,
decided it