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when
Gabriel approached. There were many ears tuned into their
conversation.
    Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
“What—seriously?”
    “Yeah, man.” Ethan glanced back at Amber.
“She’s smokin—” He cut himself off. Tilted his head. Stared harder.
“Holy—is that—?” Now he looked stunned. “No way.”
    Ignoring the comments around him, Gabriel
glanced to his right and spotted Jason Harrison among the would-be
volleyball players. Giving the other guy a nod, he said, “Hey,
Jason, can I run something by you?”
    Shrugging, he said, “Sure.” He looked wary,
though.
    They stepped away as the others began
selecting teams. Staying within sight of Amber but out of hearing
range of anyone else, Gabriel stopped beside a neatly-pruned rose
bush. When Jason stopped beside him, he said without preamble,
“Michelle dropped by yesterday.”
    Jason frowned. His eyes were less friendly
than usual, as was his tone. “Yeah. She already told me.”
    “Told you what, exactly?”
    Jason’s face flushed. Crossing his arms over
his chest and shifting his gaze to Amber, he muttered, “Amber told
Michelle she, uh, didn’t want to come to the party with me.”
    “Michelle said that, did she?”
    Perhaps gleaning something from Gabriel’s
tone, Jason caught his gaze. He hadn’t been class valedictorian for
nothing, and realization was quick to enter his eyes.
    Gabriel continued, “I imagine she said that
Amber laughed at the idea of coming to the party with you or
something?”
    Jason uncrossed his arms, running one hand
across the back of his neck. “Essentially. She said Amber told her
that she wouldn’t go out with me if I was the last guy alive—crap
like that.”
    “You know Amber,” Gabriel said, indicating
their years together on the high school track team. “You know she
isn’t like that. Everything you just said is complete B.S.”
    Jason nodded in understanding and looked
again toward Amber. “Damn. What a bitch.”
    Knowing he meant Michelle, Gabriel smiled
dryly. “You have no idea.”
    “Guess I should’ve known better, considering
the source. I imagine you didn’t ask her to ask me to get Amber off
your hands, right?”
    Gabriel just raised an eyebrow.
    “Yeah. Figured. Well, screw it. At least I
know. Thanks, man.” Now, he grinned. “Come on. Let me at least kick
your ass at some V-ball if you get the girl.”
    “You’re sure welcome to try.”
     
    Amber’s gaze moved around the teeming
backyard as Alicia rambled. She certainly didn’t want to ruin
Gabriel’s good time by keeping him glued to her side throughout the
party, but she had to admit that she hadn’t expected to be on her
own so soon. She couldn’t avoid a sense of panic as she realized
she was going to have to socialize. Her hands trembled slightly as
she adjusted her chair and she prayed the physical reaction was
merely nerves and not… more .
    “I love your hair,” Alicia said. “Where’d you
get it done?”
    Struggling not to bring her hand to her head
in discomfort, she replied, “Lulu’s.”
    A puzzled frown darkened Alicia’s pretty
face. “Lulu’s? Huh. Don’t know that one,” she said in a tone that
indicated she thought she should.
    “Hi, ladies,” came a deep voice, and Amber
glanced up as a shadow large enough to cover both their chairs fell
over them.
    Alicia’s cousin, Cornelius, had stopped a few
feet away. His impressive build was nicely displayed as he went
shirtless with his light blue swim shorts. Although used to
defending against aggressive offensive linemen as one of the high
school football team’s best players, he couldn’t have been a
calmer, nicer guy. Amber had always liked him.
    Now, a remarkably bright grin split his dark
face as he said, “Amber, girl, you’re sizzlin’ today. Wow.”
    She flushed to the roots of her hair.
“Uh…thanks.”
    “And what about me?” Alicia demanded, tossing
her long, dark hair over her shoulder and striking a pose in her
hot-pink tankini. Amber