All Right," I Managed To

I've Heard A Lot About You, Rose. Don't Worry. It Was All Good." "no, It Wasn't.

He'd Written Me Up A Proposal Of Why Dating Him Was A Sound Decision. It Had Included Things Like "i'll Give Up Cigarettes Unless I Really, Really Need One" And "i'll Unleash Romantic Surprises Every Week, Such As: An Impromptu Picnic, Roses, Or A Trip To Paris—but Not Actually Any Of Those Things Because Now They're Not Surprises.

What Were Good And Evil, Really, But Stupid Categories? Stupid Categories That Restricted People And Punished Or Rewarded Them Based On How They Responded To Their Own Natures, Natures They Really Didn't Have Any Way To Control.

Who Else Is Going?" I Asked. He Shrugged. "just You And Me." My Mood Promptly Shot Up Past 'cheerful' And Went Straight To 'estatic.' Me And Dimitri. Alone. In A Car. This Might Very Well Be Worth A Surprise Test. "how Far Is It?" Silently, I Begged For It To Be A Really Long Drive. Like, One That Would Take A Week. And Would Involve Us Staying Overnight In Luxury Hotels. Maybe We'd Get Stranded In A Snowbank, And Only Body Heat Would Keep Us Alive. "five Hours" "oh." A Bit Less Than I'd Hoped For. Still, Five Hours Was Better Than Nothing. It Didn't Rule Out The Snowbank Possibility, Either.

But I Didn't Know About The Other Story." "what Other Story?” "about How You And Adrian Ivashkov Are—" "no, Whatever You Heard It’s Not True." "but It Was Really Romantic" "then It’s Definitely Not True.