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wondered if I should say something to Joel, and if so, what?
    He beat me to it. From out of the corner of my eye, I could see him turn to me as he said, "How's the new job?" He was speaking quietly enough that no one else around the table paid attention. I turned to face him, our ey es meeting for the first time all night, before I responded. I took a second to appreciate the unlikely chemistry we shared when we made eye contact.
    "I-it's…" I paused to clear my throat. "It's going good. It's good. I like it a lot." I took a drink of water. What's wrong with me? Keep it together, Gretchen.
    He leaned in so he could speak close to my ear. "Where's the boy? Are you still seeing him?"
    "No. Who Caleb? No, he and I were never really seeing each other, we're friends. We get along good and we go out sometimes, but I wouldn't say we're seeing each other."
    "Why isn't he here with you tonight?"
    "Because I didn't ask him to come." I said, with an irritated edge to my voice. What was he getting at? Since when does he care what I'm doing? I hadn't seen him in a long time, and he hasn't cared enough to try to get in touch with me.
    "How's about let's just keep it simple, Mr. Perrin?" I said, in a moment of anger and bravery mixed together. "Let's say, questions about who I am or am not seeing are off-limits." My smile remained in place as I split a roll open with my fingernails and placed a ridiculous amount of butter inside of it like a big, fat butter sandwich. I took a bite of that butter sandwich just to spite Joel and all his boyfriend questions. I smiled around the delicious mouthful.
    "Joel," he said.
    My brows drew together in confusion.
    "What?" I asked.
    "Don't call me Mr. Perrin."
    "Okay, Joel." I said lifting a hand in mock surrender. Our whole conversation was in whispered tones. The rest of the people at the table were completely oblivious to what we were saying.
    "I don't like the thought of you with other guys," he said. Again. I groaned and looked up at the ceiling. Where did this guy get the emmer effing audacity?
    I took a deep , exasperated breath and said, "I think we've established that already, Mr. Perrin. We've also established that you are not my big brother. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's none of your business."
    A big hand came around the back of my neck as he moved in closer to whisper into my ear.  My eyes darted around the table, but no one seemed to notice the hold he had on me. He wasn't hurting my neck, but he had a good, firm grip. He was definitely making his presence known back there.
    I could feel his breath on my ear as he whispered, "I'd prefer if you don't call me Mr. Perrin again, Gretchen. If you do, I'm going to have to take you to my car and show you what happens to girls who do that."
    My head whipped around so I could look at him. He must have been joking, right? There was an easy smile on that gorgeous face. The combination of black hair and green eyes had me so preoccupied that I could hardly remember what he just said. I was thinking I should be mad at him, but when I looked at his beautiful face, I couldn't remember why.
    I felt the grip he had on the back of my neck lighten, which reminded me he'd been threatening to take me out back or something.
    "Whoa, whoa , are you threating me Mr. Perrin?"
    "Are you misbehaving, Gretchen?"
    "Just so we're clear though, Joel ," I said, looking him in the eye. "You know I'm going to call you what I want, and you can't do anything about it, right?"
    He just stared at me, unaffected. "Gretchen, if you were mine, you'd be paying for that mouth of yours, I guarantee you that."
    The thought of being his made a rush of anticipation hit me like a tidal wave. I played it off, though. "It's a good thing I'm not yours," I said, with a syrupy sweet smile. Joel just turned away from me murmuring curses under his breath.
    After that little exchange, Joel and I had an unspoken truce. In fact, we barely spoke to each other at all. Conversation at the table was