"A truth," she thought, and then, "I'm very curious about sex."

"You just earned an extra ten points."

"I'm scared of what my curiosity might lead me to, however. I mean I'm not even very comfortable giving Truscott a hug. I wasn't really shown much affection, so it's a little awkward for me. Plus I can't really be close to anyone for a long time thanks to the whole over-heating easily plague. Not sure how all that sex business would work."

My heart burned, but I kept my voice steady. "You don't want to hug Truscott but you want to have sex with him? Color me confused, Everly Anne."

"You can want something and still fear it. And I didn't say anything about sleeping with Truscott. I'm only explaining that my friend hugging me feels weird, so it's hard to imagine doing more with someone I want to be with . . . like that."

Lynne dropped off our food and of course Everly ignored her bacon, but went right for the two milkshakes, shoving a straw in each one to double-sip. I sliced off a bite of steak and held my fork out.

"How would I seduce you into tasting my steak?"

"Are you being metaphoric?"

"I'd like to meet and thank whoever on the G-train groomed you into this girl who opts for sex jokes."

She smiled and took another long pull of her milkshakes. "I have just as many fears about putting your meat into my mouth as I do about sex, Callum." She sputter-laughed, which made a little ice cream fly to the table. "I wasn't even trying that time, I swear."

I wiped the table and laughed at her. "There's another dirty joke in here about spitting white stuff from your mouth, but I'd like to believe you're still too pure and innocent to understand, so please don't ruin it for me."

I wiped her chin, and her smile stayed in place as she looked down to her glasses. "You remember what I said about being the girl who can't feel pain?"

"No I forgot all about it," I ribbed.

"It's not exactly part of my condition, but, it's kind of a side-effect. Not being able to know when food is too hot, or if I'm biting off my tongue or lips, well, that kind of screws with my mind when I eat. I used to be able to work through it, but one day it just took over." She closed her eyes for a second. "That word really does lick boots, doesn't it?"

I smiled. "Don't worry I'm planning to abolish it as soon as your father finds out we're seeing each other again and makes me want to give up my current career path."

She searched my eyes. "Didn't you hear what I said?" And I had heard. But the version my father told was much worse, and I didn't want to replay it in my mind.

I took my fork and slid the steak off, cut it to a miniscule-sized bite and then offered it again. "I heard you, Everly Anne."

"I can't," she said.

"Just try."

"Great. You double-doomed me."

"No, it's your chance to make the word good again. Go ahead. Prove my fuckin' myth wrong."

She leaned on her elbows and surrounded the bite with her lips. I looked down to my plate and ate my food so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. She was still moving her jaw when I glanced up, slow, and unsure. I kept eating and let her work it out. When I looked back up, she was back to sucking down milkshake.

"As much ice-cream as you consume I'm shocked you're this skinny."

"It's the only thing I can handle eating," she explained. "And I need as many calories and fat as I can get or Timothy is gonna put a tube in my stomach again."

"Well, you're gonna need more than fat and calories to stay healthy. And ice cream isn't going to provide that."

She soured her lips. "Now you sound like him."

"Sorry. I just ..." I had to start over, without doom. "I care about you."

She played with her straw, dunking it in and out of the glass. "Well you don't have to-they have all those bases covered."

We sat quietly for a few moments, until she asked, "Have you been with a lot of girls?"

"Is five a lot?"

"I think it seems all right." She swirled her straw in the half-empty cup. "Were any of them your girlfriend?"

"My only "girlfriend" was a self-appointed red-head, in the third grade, who filled my Valentine's Day shoebox with cards and lollipops."

Everly laughed around her straw. "No high school sweetheart?"