CASSIE'S COFFEE HOUSE

Lauren sets down her coffee cup on the small table and slides into the chair. "I don't even know where to start."

"The beginning?" Courtney suggests with a sarcastic grin as she sits down across from Lauren.

"It was weird," Lauren says. "Everything was going so well ... It was getting really, really intense. And then he just stopped and bolted again."

"Again? What is going on with him?"

"I don't know ..." Lauren drops her head into her hands. "It's something major, though. He just gets this look -- this look of total, like, fear or something. It's bizarre."

"I'm sorry," Courtney says, casting her eyes downward sympathetically.

"So am I. I thought this was actually going somewhere."

Courtney sighs. "I'm really sorry."

"I was gonna go over to see you last night, after it happened," Lauren says, "but I figured you and Jason would be busy."

"Oh, that we were."

"That doesn't sound too encouraging."

"It shouldn't." Now it is Courtney's turn to pause, running a hand back through her sleek, dark hair. "Right after we left the movie theatre we got into an argument. So I made him take me home."

"Oh, wow. Is everything okay now?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I went over there later because I felt bad, but he was acting really strangely. I--" She leans in closer. "I told him I was ... ready. And I was. I thought it was gonna happen ... and then he just sorta cut me off."

Lauren flashes a stunned look. "Jason made you stop?"

"I know! Something was wrong. I think he's still mad at me."

"What was the fight about?"

Courtney hesitates. "He was getting upset about--about the way I've been pushing this thing with you and Alex."

Lauren waits a moment as the information sinks in. "Jeez," she says with a shake of the head. "What the hell is going on with these guys?"

"I wish I knew."

One . Two . Three . Four . Five . Six . Seven

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