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probably ought to ask him the same questions back
again. That was the way normal people conversed.
    But Lily was too entranced by a sticky gleam
of syrup on his lips.
    She was so hungry.
    And he was so real. So alive.
    Her grandmother would say he was a dangerous
temptation, a distraction.
    On any other Sunday morning, she would be
sewing ribbons on shoes, washing tights and practice clothes,
fretting about a role, reading reviews in the paper. Everything
usually revolved around ballet. Today she had stepped away from all
that to go to a diner with this fidgety man. To insult him and tell
him she wasn't interested, all the time slyly admiring his powerful
smile and naughty brown eyes.
    How far dare she go in this little adventure
with him?
    Dare she take another step to break out of
her frustrating circle?
    Suddenly she reached across the table and
wiped her thumb over his syrupy lip. At last, he stopped
talking.
    Lily brought her thumb back to her own mouth
and sucked off the delicious sticky sweetness of a forbidden
treat.
    He was staring at her again. "You want some
more of that?" he asked, his voice low and husky, eyes twinkling. A
boy, daring a girl.
    Yep, he was dangerous.
    Did she want more of that?
    Maybe . Oh god, her heart was pounding out of her chest. Just as it
did when she stood in the wings, waiting for her cue. She'd never
felt this much excitement outside of dance before.
    Since he boasted of being honest and
straightforward, she'd be the same in return. See how he took
it.
    Lily cleared her throat. "I'm a virgin."
    His eyebrows flew up, and he choked on a
bite of bagel.
    "I thought you should know," she added,
steering a glass of water toward him with her fingertips. He
grabbed it and drank a hearty gulp to dislodge the obstruction.
    She licked her lips, tasting more of that
syrup. "Are you shocked?"
    He wheezed, "You might say that."
    "I suppose you never met one before?" she
muttered wryly.
    He wiped his mouth on a bunched napkin and
looked at her, his eyes warm, mischievous and definitely
interested. "I'm just kinda surprised at the way you announced it.
I mean, one minute we're talking about schools and your
grandmother—"
    "You are attracted to me and want to have
sex with me. Isn't that why we're here? Isn't that why you waited
in the cold?"
    He leaned back against the bright vinyl
seat, his fist still clutching the napkin. "Wow. You really come to
the point, huh?"
    "You claim to say what you think and do what
you feel, but you're taking a circuitous route to a purpose. I just
wanted you to know that small talk isn't necessary. We both know
why we're here."
    Lily went back to her yoghurt, letting him
adjust to the idea of her virginity. Poor man, did seem a bit
shocked. Just a bit.

Chapter Four
     
    He couldn't tell with her. She had a dry
sense of humor and one of those deadpan faces.
    "You're kidding me, right?"
    "About what?"
    "About being a goddamned virgin,
Princess."
    She sipped her juice. "I didn't say I was a
Virgin Princess. Just a virgin." There was a little twitch of a
smile and she blinked, her dark lashes flickering sensuously
against her cheeks.
    Joe shifted on the vinyl seat, feeling his
prick get hard. On a Sunday morning? His ma would never forgive him
for an erection on Sunday.
    "I've been busy," Lily added quietly. "As
you know, I don't date. The opportunity to lose my virginity,
therefore, never arose."
    He didn't know what to say. For the first
time, possibly, in thirty fucking years, he had no words. She was
the only person he knew who said things like "therefore" and
"arose" and "circuitous" in sentences.
    She was wiping up a spilled drop of his hot
chocolate from the table top with her neatly folded napkin. "Since
you appear to be interested, Lieutenant Rossini, and if you have
nothing else on your schedule this morning, perhaps we could do it
now."
    "Now?"
    "Once you've digested your breakfast, of
course."
    Joe looked over both shoulders, just to be
sure his brother and the