Mookie and I missed you。？ Vanessa felt herself blush。 ？So； um； when are you leaving for
Harvard？？ ？Tomorrow。 I can？t believe I？m leaving town。 Sometimes I think it？d be great to be in
the city； go to Columbia or NYU？like you。？ He pushed a stray dreadlock behind his ear。
？I don？t know；？ Vanessa mused。 ？Lately it？s felt weird； knowing everyone is going to leave to try
out new places and I？ll still be here； all on my own。？ She took a sip of her vodka tonic？she
couldn？t believe she was pouring her heart out to Aaron； of all people； whom she hadn？t seen in
months。 Still； it felt nice to finally voice what had been weighing on her for so long。 Between
Ruby？s marriage and Dan？s ing out； nobody had thought to ask howshe was doing in a while。
？If I know one thing about you； Vanessa Abrams； it？s that you？ll be fine on your own。？ Aaron
grinned。 ？Though I can？t imagine you？ll be on your own for very long。 Kind of makes me wish I
was staying all over again。？ As soon as he said the wordstay ； the spell of Aaron？s warm brown
eyes was broken。Yes； he was gorgeous； and yes； he obviously still liked her； but all Vanessa could
hear was Dan？s poem。Fall down with me。 And stay。 She kept replaying the way he？d looked deep
into her eyes as he？d uttered those lines？as if he？d written them just for her。 But if that were true；
then where the hell was he？
Forget Greek gods。 The theme for this party should have been ？Love Stinks。？
hands off my lady； bob marley
Dan ducked around a Greek sculpture； vodka gimlet in one hand； feeling particularly small and
insignificant beneath the giant marble statues looming over him。 They were just the right height
that their； um； anato