Not one to flaunt her talents, but flattered when someone remarked on it, she felt her cheeks grow hot. "Yeah. I like anime. 'Record of Lodos War' and 'Sailor Moon' are my favorites."

"Wicked cool. Especially 'Dragonball Z.' You're really good. Could you show me how to draw like that?"

"Really? It's not that hard. Let me know when you want to, and I'll show you." The idea of teaching this dream boat anything, of being with him for any reason, floored her.

He nodded, his gaze admiring her. "Cool. It's a date. You're looking fine lately."

She almost fainted. Her feet forgot how to move and she almost tripped. He had noticed her! A state champion wrestler and captain of the team noticed that she was alive? Her heart hammered crazily at the idea. Her gaze drank him in. He was so dark, so intense, so perfect. Never had a finer boy been made. His eyes slanted ever so slightly and she wondered if he might be part Asian. She was mainly English and German, with a little French tossed in. She wished that she had more of the exotic French blood and not so much of the sturdy German stock.

"You're looking pretty good yourself." As soon as the words left her lips, she simply wanted to die. Whatever had possessed her to say that? She gulped and painted on a silly smile. What would Lauren say? Chin up. Act confident. Smile. She might never have Jesse Curtis to herself again. Make the most of it, she decided, however long it lasted. Two minutes in heaven was better than nothing. Something to remember when she spent the rest of her life in purgatory.

"You're losing weight." His critical, but appreciative gaze devoured her, making her tingle all over. She had been wearing a lot of belts with her slacks and clingy leggings lately. She'd been wearing her shirts loose and baggy to cover her weight loss and they hung over her waist. Food made her deathly ill and she avoided it as much as possible.

She nodded. "I'm not really trying. It's just sort of coming off." Had he been watching her for awhile? Sarah didn't know whether to be embarrassed or complimented by his attentions.

"That happens when you skip lunch a lot. I hardly see you in the cafeteria anymore."

Her ears were ready to burn. Should she take that to mean that he'd been watching her? Taking notice? Her pulse skittered erratically and her toes twitched. She tried to wave off his speculation.

"I got tired of guessing the mystery meat of the day. Or eating salad soup." She giggled, self-conscious.

He leaned against a tall, sturdy coconut tree that had a round, squat base. His eyebrow quirked. "Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but you don't seem to be very happy either. Why would that be?" His voice was deep and resonant and would make a perfect radio announcer's voice. At the angle he stood the sun left his face in shadow and she couldn't see his expression. Right now, she was very happy, giddy in fact. She'd dreamed of being with Jesse Curtis just like this. Well almost, but without the inquisition.

"Why would I be unhappy?" It was hard for her to admit her innermost secrets, even to Lauren, her best friend in the world, and impossible to the hunkiest guy in school.

"Maybe because your dad bailed?"

She gasped and turned away ashamed. If he knew, the whole school must know. Did they know about Mariella and the baby, too? The humiliation was too much to bear. She started to hurry away.