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closing up early so we can do what we like tomorrow night." She added after a moment, "Hey. Do you remember Aidan Reznik?"
     
    Micah tried to keep his tone neutral. "From Virtuoso? Yeah."
     
    "We've been seeing each other all summer. He kept coming into the store -- he'd buy a book, chat a little and then leave, and then he's back a couple days later, and finally he asked me out to for coffee and we've been dating ever since."
     
    "Do Mom and Dad know?"
     
    "Are you kidding?" she said, opening her eyes wide. "They'd have a heart attack apiece if I said I was dating an older man. I've just told them I'm working late."
     
    "We shouldn't lie to them," Micah said, feeling a guilty twinge. They thought he didn't date girls because he was shy.
     
    "I wouldn't lie to them if they didn't make telling them the truth so impossible. Besides, nothing's happened that they'd need to worry about. "
     
    Micah plugged his fingers in his ears and said, "La la la I don't want to know that status of your virginity la la la."
     
    Shiloh laughed and pulled his hands away. "Wimp. Anyway. That's my life this summer. It's not half as exciting as yours, so I understand if it bores you."
     
    Too late, he remembered to cover his yawn. "I'm not bored. Just sleepy. Traveling and jet lag and everything."
     
    "Okay. Good night. You can tell me everything tomorrow."
     
    "Okay," he mumbled, and she moved away so he could lie down. She patted his cheek and then left the room, shutting the door behind her. Micah snuggled into the blankets -- which smelled like the fabric softener his mother had been using for as long as he could remember -- and slept.
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Dune took a long time to fall asleep. He didn't mind staying up late to fetch Micah, didn't mind driving him out to Walnut Creek, didn't mind the drive home. He did mind that he hadn't stopped thinking about Micah since the door to his parents' house closed behind him.
     
    Ever since Dune had first seen him three years ago, he'd thought Micah was a pretty boy -- but something had happened to Micah over the summer, something Dune couldn't put a finger on. For instance, Micah's hands had always seemed too big for his body, like they belonged to a much taller and broader man; today, they seemed just right. His face seemed leaner, too, and it wasn't just that he'd let his sideburns grow long or that he hadn't shaved for a few days. He wasn't merely pretty anymore. He wasn't merely slim and delicate. Though his mouth was as full as ever and his laugh as light, Micah was different.
     
    Somehow, Dune thought as he lay awake, Micah got
hot
.
     
    Stop thinking about your friend like this, he scolded himself and turned his pillow over for the cool side. Things are complicated enough.
     
    Thinking about Micah was much more pleasant than thinking about Gavin, though. Tristan had mentioned, the last time they spoke on the phone that Gavin had moved back to the city but Dune hadn't seen him yet. He thought about asking her to warn him before he ran into Gavin at someone's house or at a party, but decided that would be cowardly -- and would require more explanation than he cared to give.
     
    The phone rang after eleven, which was a decent enough time, Dune supposed -- but he didn't bother to hide the weariness in his voice, either, when he answered. "'Lo?"
     
    "You sound tired," his father said.
     
    "I am tired." He rubbed his face. "Micah's flight was late. I didn't get home until five."
     
    "Aw," Leo said. "You're such a good friend to that boy. Anyway, I was calling to make sure he got in okay and that you got home, and it sounds like he did and you are."
     
    "Yes to both." Dune stretched out an arm and yawned, enjoying the feel of his muscles waking up.
     
    "Did he tell you anything more about what happened with his boyfriend?"
     
    "More or less. Lucas was pushing commitment and -- well. You know Micah. What really amazes me is that Stuart took care of him