‘Hey, young lady.’ I looked around in bewilderment, catching my breath. ‘Oh, hi.’ ‘What are you doing out so late?’ His tone was mock-ster...n. ‘Oh, uh… just coming back from seeing a movie with a friend.’ I could see the wheels a-turning. Date, he was thinking. Well, no. Actually, it had been an evening trying to cheer up my stressed-out friend Lara. I had treated her to dinner and a movie, and she is sort of ex-gay, except on alternate Wednesdays, but we really are just friends. So no, not a. About us. ‘She’s just some woman. You barely even saw her, man! With luck, you’ll never see her again. Fuck, how desperate are you?’ No matter how much I berated myself, I couldn’t lose the thought of her. I expected she’d be gone from the alleyway, but I couldn’t resist a look. I had to check, even if I had absolutely no idea why. I stepped quietly into the darkened area and listened for a while, hearing nothing but the rushing wind gusting through the narrow passage. Stepping forward, my eyes. Hearing Matt come in, she stared at him and then laughed. “You,” she said accusingly, except for the mirth in her eyes, “are a pervert.”“No he’s...” was all the protest Jodi managed before Matt raised his hand to stop her.“However,” his mother continued, openly smiling now, “I couldn’t be prouder of you. You’ve rescued several women beyond the two we knew about in Santa Cruz, and the women with you right now seem to be very happy. I hear Roger is a bit battered and bruised,” she commented. As she got to her feet and started for her bedroom, she could hear Jason following her. She stopped just inside her door and turned to face the young man. "I'll be out in a minute," she told him, as she slowly closed the door between them.Jason was disappointed that he was banned from her bedroom but he had pushed himself way beyond his comfort zone and did not want to push any harder. He was about to step into his bedroom when his sister's door opened. Turning his head, he saw that she was now.