Chapter Two

The students spilled out of the classroom eagerly, having barely waited for Mr. Feeny to announce that class had been cancelled due to an impromptu meeting at the County school board which, as the principal of John Adams High, he was compelled to attend.

“Man, if only this could happen with all our classes everyday until graduation,” Shawn declared as he and Cory strolled out of the class together. He turned his head to look behind him and saw Angela talking with Topanga over by the door. “I wish you two wold hurry up and get back together.” A heavy scowl of displeasure adorned his handsome face. “The longer this separation goes on, the more Angela thinks she has to baby sit Topanga, and it’s starting to cutting in on my time. She and Topanga might be girlfriends, but she’s my girlfriend,” he huffed. “That implies that I’m entitled to certain privileges. I’m the first one in line for quality time.”

Cory nodded as Shawn continued grumbling about Angela’s preoccupation with Topanga, aware that since Shawn had started working a couple of months ago, he had to plan his free time with care.

“I wish my parents would let me get an after school job,” he griped. “Then maybe I wouldn’t have so much time to think about how I’ve screwed up everything or how much I miss Topanga.”

Shawn wagged his head, a knowing look in his eyes. “Well, yeah, it sucks that your parents keep harping on about you maintaining your grade point average.” He dropped down onto the sea green sofa in the senior’s corner across from their class. “What’s the big deal anyway? School’s almost over. It’s too late to improve our standings now.”

“Au contraire, Hunter! I beg to differ with you!” Stuart Minkus exclaimed loudly, causing the heads of several of the other seniors in the area to turn their heads to look over in his direction. As if that had been his plan, Stuart smiled and coyly waved to Angela and Topanga who had also looked up to see what he was shouting about.

The girls smiled diffidently and returned to their conversation.

“Minkus.” The boys sighed simultaneously. Here he was always showing up like the perennial bad penny.

Shawn tilted his head and looked up at the annoying, self-important little dweeb. He smirked at the shocking hank of red hair and the horn rimmed glasses that turned Minkus’s rather large blue eyes into beady little pebbles. He allowed his eyes to travel down to the striped red and blue shirt, tightly belted at the waist of his light tan pants with two inch thick cuffs hovering above brown penny loafers.

Shawn turned his head away from the irritating young man to glance at Cory whose face mirrored his feelings exactly.

“What do you want now, Minkus? Can’t you see we were having a private conversation?” Shawn said rudely.

“Well, I couldn’t help but overhear.” He didn’t seem offended in the least as he casually leaned against the side arm of the sofa. He clutched a set of notebooks and books to his thin chest. “You were talking about grade point averages and class standings.” He pulled out two sheets of paper stapled together from inside one of his notebooks. “I didn’t think either of you had seen this.” He held them up triumphantly. Steel braces somewhat harnessed Minkus’s prominent overbite as he smiled.

Shawn eyed him suspiciously, but took the sheets Minkus was holding out to him. Somewhat grudgingly like he was doing the other guy a favor, he lowered his eyes to peruse the first page. His heavy dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was a comprehensive listing of their senior class rankings and grade point averages. He looked up quickly while Cory leaned over to take a look at it.

“Where did you get this?” Shawn demanded forthrightly. He waved the papers at the gloating boy. “These stats aren’t supposed to be out for another week.”

Minkus’s smile widened. He transferred his gaze to the folded fingers and fingernails of one hand before rubbing them on his shirt front as though to impart a shine.

“Yes, Hunter, I know it isn’t. But you see I have a certain standing around here as class president,” he boasted, rocking back and forth importantly on the heels of his shoes. “Read it and weep, Hunter. Go on; I dare you.”

Shawn’s soft lips tightened. Was he imagining it or was there a distinct gleam of malice reflecting through the glass of the little rodent’s spectacles? Giving him a last glare of resentment, Shawn sat the sheets on his lap, bent his head and began to read. He swiftly sucked in a sharp breath as he recognized an unexpected and familiar name near the top of the list: No. 12. Angela S. Moore – GPA 3.8.

“I have great respect for Angela,” Stuart announced, his eyes bright with an admiration that Shawn wasn’t entirely sure was based on her academic achievements alone. “She has a superior mental capacity for learning. If she hadn’t been in as many as five different high schools in four years, she’d be giving Topanga and me a run for our money for Valedictorian. Good schools, all of them, too. That’s why her landing in twelfth place on the senior class scholastic roster is quite an impressive accomplishment.” He winked knowingly. “As it is, she’ll probably crack the top ten before the semester’s over.”

Shawn frowned. “And just how would you know that?” he asked, upset.

Minkus merely gazed at him with a superior look in his eyes. “Oh, I have my sources, Hunter.” His horn-rimmed eyes traveled back to the conversing friends. Minkus sighed again. “I’ll never understand how either one of you guys,” he said with a disparaging tone in his voice, “managed to get women like those.” His chin sunk onto his hand as he stared at the two hot yet intelligent young women.

Shawn took his turn and looked down his nose at Minkus. “And that’s precisely why you never will,” he said cuttingly, giving a good imitation of Stuart’s snide biting wit. He didn’t like the look in the little weasel’s myopic eyes as he gazed at Angela.

“Hey! Stop drooling over my girlfriend!” he spat.

Minkus took his time turning his head away and favored Shawn with another of his infuriatingly provoking glances. “There’s no way you’re going to be able to hold onto that,” he taunted Shawn, carefully moving out of the range of his hands. “If she hasn’t dumped you before graduation, I’ll eat my cap in front on everyone!” With that last sally, he quickly loped off down the hall. A sea of milling students engulfed his diminutive form.

Cory kept his hand on Shawn’s shoulder, holding him back from following the impertinent little jerk.

“Shawn, he’s not worth getting expelled over,” Cory warned him. “Minkus is just trying to rub your nose in-in—”

“In my mediocrity? In my having a girlfriend who’s obviously a hundred times smarter than I am?” Shawn inquired sarcastically, turning to him. “I mean, I knew she was smarter than me, but—”

“Alright, Shawnie. Calm down. Angela doesn’t care about that. Besides, it’s not so much that she’s smarter," he began with soothing diplomacy; "it’s more you waiting until senior year to really start applying yourself to your school work."

Shawn shook his head, rejecting his logic. “No, Angela is smarter than I am, Cory. That I never doubted," he admitted candidly. "I just didn’t know how much smarter.” He tilted his to one side, eyeing his friend thoughtfully. “Actually, she’s smarter then the both of us put together.”

Cory raised his eyebrows. He'd already acknowledged Angela's intellectual acumen, but this was going a little too far. He thought Shawn's insecurity complex was rearing it's head again and spilling over onto him, Cory.

Shawn correctly identified the emotion showing on Cory's face as prideful resistence. "Okay, I’ll prove it to you.” He narrowed his eyes speculatively at his friend. “In all the years we’ve known her, how many times has Topanga asked one of us to study with her?”

Cory opened his mouth eagerly. The silence stretched out long until it covered a full minute. When it dawn on him that he couldn’t recall a single time, he closed it just as promptly.

“Well, that doesn’t prove anything!” he blustered uncomfortably.

Shawn emphatically nodded his head in disagreement, a knowing gleam in his blue eyes. “Oh, yes does! There’s no way Topanga would ever jeopardize her GPA by studying with someone she didn’t think was her intellectual equal. And that’s why,” he said slapping his knee, “neither one of us has ever studied with her. She’s known Angela less than a year, and they’re thick as thieves. Not only as best friends but as study partners.”

“Well, what does that have to do with you?”

“Are you kidding me?” Shawn snapped querulously. “Cory, we have a senior class of three hundred and fifty-nine students. According to the placement stats, I’m,” he paused to set his coffee down and pick up the papers, flipping the first sheet over to get to the second page, “at two forty-six.” Shawn threw the list down in frustration. “At one seventy-nine, you’re at least in the top half of the class, Cor. Topanga is tied with Minkus for the number one spot and Angela, who just transferred to John Adams last year, is ranked at number twelve with a good chance of moving into the top ten according to the brainiac who’s anal enough to keep track of something like that.” He made no attempt to hide his disgruntlement. “What’s wrong with this picture?”

“I still say, ‘What’s the big deal’, Shawnie?” Cory kept his eye on Dillon Abercrombie who had stopped to talk to Topanga. “So what if our girls are smarter than we are. I always knew that Topanga was smarter than me and would achieve more.”

“Yeah, we’ll you’ve had six years since we were in the seventh grade to get used to that.” Shawn reminded him. “What if Angela decides I’m not good enough for her?” Shawn asked anxiously. Then a greater calamity occurred to him. He turned to Cory urgently. “Cory, what if both of them decide to go out of state to an-an Ivy League or a Big Ten college? Where’s that going to leave us? All I got accepted into was Penn State and Pennbrook. And Pennbroke only accepted me after I was wait-listed.”

“Well, Topanga applied to Yale, was wait-listed, and as far as we know—and you would know this better than me—Angela hasn’t applied to any out of state schools.”

Shawn was quiet. He didn’t think that Angela had. But then again, he hadn’t known that she had the kind of grades to get accepted into such schools. She hadn’t talked much about college since they’d all found out that they’d been accepted into Pennbrook. In light of her surprising grade point average and standing in their class, he found her silence on subject a little strange as well as worrying.

Cory finally took his eyes from his old rival and looked at his clearly bothered friend.

“Shawnie, you had to have suspected that Angela wasn’t exactly your run of the mill girl. Hello? Who carries around books of poetry and classical music CDs?” he asked seriously. “She’s artistic, musical and has a social conscious. I mean, she plays guitar and even has a membership in Greenpeace.”

Shawn groaned and grabbed his head. “I know, I know. The same things that made me fall in love with her are some of the things that are scaring me now. I-I just never associated all of that with just how smart and accomplished she was.” Shawn’s worried blue eyes met Cory’s inquiring brown. “Take Topanga, for instance. She’s vocal about her intelligence and talents. She answers all the questions any of our teachers ask,” he said, ticking off her idiosyncrasies on his fingers. “She volunteers to do extra assignments. She puts herself forward, Cory. I thought that’s how all really smart people were.” He sounded chagrined by his mistake.

Cory eyed his friend sympathetically as he fished around for a soothing answer. “Well, Angela’s more reserved than Topanga, Shawn. And she’s relatively new here. I didn’t know she’d been in five schools in four years.” He shrugged. “Maybe she just doesn’t feel as comfortable as Topanga does. We’ve been here since ninth grade, and most of our classmates came from the same junior high. We all grew up together. It’s different for Angela.”

“I guess you’re right.” Shawn’s unexpected exclamation startled Cory. “Look at this!” He’d retrieved the list and had been studying it again.

Cory obediently peered at the list.

“Can you believe that that lunk head jock, Ted Brazelton, is in the top twenty?” Shawn crushed the paper up in his fist. “I’m ranked in the bottom half of our class, Cor.” His confidence had suffered a major blow. “What’s Angela going to think when she sees this next week?”

Cory was tired of talking about how underachieving each of them was in contrast to their seemingly brilliant girlfriends. He said the first thing came into his head.

“You still trying to get Angela to sleep with you?”

That snapped Shawn out of his depressed stupor. “Cory!” he cried, looking around self-consciously. “I don’t want the whole world to know my business!”

Cory looked suitably chastened. “Sorry, buddy.” Shawn reluctantly inclined his head in acceptance of his apology. “But have you?” he added injudiciously.

Shawn raked a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. “I’m working on it,” he said shortly, trying to discourage any more questions.

“Shawn, you don’t think maybe you’re going a little fast.” He’d known Topanga for far longer than Shawn had Angela. And here he was about to hit a home run while Cory wasn't even up at bat with him and Topanga on the outs. He couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

“No, I don’t,” Shawn bit out sharply, overly sensitive at this point to any implied criticism after Jack’s harangue about the same subject. “Angela loves me, and I love her. It’s the perfect time for us to be together." His eyes narrowed with determination. "That’s why I’ve got to meet her father.”

Cory frowned, clearly bewildered. “You’re going to ask him for his permission?” he asked hesitantly.

Shawn turned his head and glared at him. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

Cory’s brow cleared. “Okay, well then, why do you want to meet Angela’s father?” He still couldn’t figure out why Shawn, avoider of all things complicated, wanted to meet his girlfriend’s father.

“Because Angela won’t have me over until I do meet him.” When Cory stared at him blankly, Shawn patiently added in explanation, “Our first time together is important, Cory, and I don’t want Angela to feel uncomfortable or-or strange. So I figure the best place for us would be her house when her father’s away on military business. He’s always traveling. Things really couldn’t have worked out better."

"How so?"

Shawn stared at him a moment, a derisive light in his eye. "I asked Angela to go the prom with me, of course," he replied with a slightly cynical smile on his lips, "and now, wonder of wonders, Daddy finally wants to meet me to see if I’m worthy of being Angela’s prom date.”

The tone of Shawn’s voice sounded unmistakably disgruntled. Cory knew that he believed that Angela’s father hadn’t wanted to meet him prior to this because of the color of his skin.

Shawn hadn’t finished and was speaking again. “But this time it works out in my favor because once that ‘s over, Angela won’t feel so weird about me being in the house alone with her while dear old Dad's away on government business,” Shawn crowed with satisfaction and rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the many nights of intimacy to come.

“What about your apartment?”

Shawn adamantly shook his head. “N. O. Absolutely not! Jack and Eric have one girl after another going in and out of the place. I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of them with the same one twice yet.” Again, he shook his head. “That’s no place for Angela. I don’t want them smirking and looking at her like-like she’s just some girl, Cory. People still hold girls to a double standard. Angela’s special. I won’t subject her to being talked about. ”

There was no mistaking the sincerity behind Shawn’s words. Cory nodded slowly, thinking that he was beginning to get some small measure of understanding.

“Well, what made you decide all this?”

“You remember the party last weekend?” Shawn’s blue eyes narrowed as he regarded his friend. “The one at Jerry Newberry’s house?”

Cory remembered it well. “Yeah. How could I forget it,” he said sourly. “Topanga brought a date.”

Shawn steered the conversation back to his story. “Well, I took Angela down into the basement.” Shawn paused and turned himself a little in Cory’s direction on the sofa. “You know that Jerry’s parents have got a separate room down there, right? I suppose it’s for guests or something.”

“Yeah, go on,” Cory encouraged him eagerly. He was getting over his initial pique at Shawn’s promise of sexual fulfillment in the not to distant future. His own love life sucked, and this was getting good.

“Well, like I said, I was down there with Angela. Picture this,” he urged Cory, holding up his hands like he was framing a scene from a movie: “dim lights, R&B music playing low, and all these other couples strewn around on two huge leather sofas and a couple of chairs, making out and waiting for their turn in ‘the room’. I was seated in one of the chairs nearest the room with Angela sitting in my lap.” With a faraway look, he stared into the past. When he didn’t say anything for nearly a minute, he got an impatient nudge in the ribs. Shawn colored up. “Oh, sorry. Um, well, to make a long story short, she and I were, well, going at it hot and heavy—very heavy—when this guy who’s been in with this chick comes over and tells me the room’s all mine.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cory uttered with bated breath. “What happened then?”

Shawn sighed and shook his head at the memory. “Well, Angela was definitely in the mood, and so was I.” Shawn’s preened a little here with his usual cocky bravado before growing serious again. “But the strangest thing happened,” he said, frowning down at his hands as he sat forward with his arms resting on his legs. “Even though the lights were low, I could still see her face. Cory, Angela gazed at me with this—trusting look in her eyes—with more love than I’ve ever seen in anybody’s for me—and the next thing I know,” he threw up his hands, “I’m telling the guy to pass our turn onto the next couple. I hustled Angela out of there and back upstairs so fast I made my own head spin.”

Cory was flabbergasted. He spread his hands. “But why, Shawnie? Why? You passed up a chance at a sure thing?” As someone who hadn’t even remotely had a chance of getting to first base with his own girlfriend, he was willing to live vicariously through his friend’s sexual adventures.

Shawn ran his hand over his mouth and got up to lean against the wall. Cory stared up at him as though in shock.

Shawn groaned. “Don’t look at me like that, Cor!” he cried, rather embarrassed by his own corniness. “Why didn’t you tell me that being in love came with such a heavy responsibility?”

“I-I didn’t know that it did,” Cory admitted slowly and without shame. “I could always depend on Topanga to shoot me down, so I never had to be responsible for choosing the right time or place.”

Running his hand through his center parted hair, Shawn leaned his head back against the wall.

“Well, to be honest that was the first time Angela’s ever given me a clear go ahead.” He pushed himself off the several years old off white colored wall, going to grab a cup of coffee from the coffee table over by the janitor’s closet.

“I don’t know. Maybe I panicked. What I do know is Angela trusts and loves me. I couldn’t have her first time be in some room and bed where there’s been an assembly line of people having sex. That’s not what I want for her,” he said with distaste plainly written on his face, and added somewhat to his own surprise, “or for me.”

Cory tilted his head. “Shawnie, can I ask you a personal question?”

Shawn looked up from pouring his coffee. “Technically.’

His friend frowned. “Huh?”

Shawn smiled ruefully and took a sip of coffee as he ambled over, easing down next to Cory on the old green sofa. He lifted his right leg to rest on the knee of his left.

“I’m what you’d call a technical virgin.” He raised a heavy dark brown eyebrow. “That was what you were going to ask, wasn’t it?” he speculated.

Cory was impressed with the accuracy of his guess. “Well, yeah. But—how come?” He shrugged. “I’ve seen you in action with countless girls, Shawn. Well, not in action ‘action’, but you know what I mean. It’s not like you haven’t had the opportunity.” Truth be told, Cory was slightly envious of the breath of opportunity that his friend had enjoyed with the opposite sex. Not that he didn’t love Topanga and wasn’t totally committed to her, but sometimes especially here lately with Topanga and him broken up, he wondered what he might have missed out on.

Unaware of Cory’s thoughts, Shawn replied candidly, “I don’t know. I never really thought about it before. Maybe it was the type of girls I was dating, and what they were willing to do.” He rubbed his ear thoughtfully. “You know, after Jill Howager refused to go out with me back in ninth grade because I lived in the trailer park, I realized that I needed to stick to my own kind. Yeah, I dated Dana and Jennifer for a short time each, but good girls—and Jennifer was one even if she was a stuck up princess—weren’t my speed.” His face softened visibly. “Until Angela, that is. I’m ready to do what I wasn’t with those other girls, Cory.” He glanced over to where Angela, Topanga and a group of their girlfriends were standing near the doorway to Feeny’s class. “Maybe I did unconsciously hold back that part of me, waiting for the right girl. A girl who really gets me. One who understood who I am and loves me anyway.”

“And that girl is Angela.” Cory was once again impressed with his friend’s acumen.

Shawn turned his head and his blue eyes met Cory’s. “That girl is Angela,” he repeated softly, nodding his head. A bow-like smile curved the edges of his mouth.

“So this is about more than just sex?” Cory inquired.

“It’s about a lot of things, man.”

“What’s about a lot of things?” Angela asked, walking up on the hind end of their conversation.

Shawn’s face lit up at the sound of her voice. He got up immediately and snaked an arm around her waist before leaning over to lay a gentle kiss on one smooth cheek.

“Hey, baby.”

Angela smiled and placed her small hand against his chest. “Hey there yourself,” she replied smartly. She looked up at him, a question in her dark eyes. “You have to work this afternoon down at the photography studio, right?”

Shawn raised his free arm and gazed down at his silver toned watch. “Yeah. I was just waiting for you before I left. Cory’s going to give me a ride.”

Angela sighed and made a moue of displeasure. “I was hoping you could come with us.”

Shawn shook his head. “Duty calls. Besides, without this job, I wouldn’t be able to afford to take you to out to do all the fun things we’ve been doing these last couple of months. The movies, plays and symphonies. Oh, and how about that Alvin Alley Dance Troup show I took you to last month.”

Angela’s eyes glowed. Her face became animated. “Oh, that was the best, Shawn.” She turned to look at Cory. “Can you believe that he actually surprised me with those tickets? You of all people know how terrible Shawn is at keeping anything secret,” she said with an exaggerated eye roll.

Cory laughed, got up and went over to join them. “Yeah, he’s pretty hopeless, our Shawnie is,” he agreed teasingly. “Those tickets were burning a hole in his pocket for two weeks. One more day, and he’d have spilled for sure.”

“Okay, you two. I’m not that bad,” he countered quickly.

Angela and Cory looked at each other and then at him.

“Okay, well, so maybe I am.”

The three friends grinned at one another companionably. Topanga glanced over at them and left the group of girls to come over to stand near her friend but still sort of on the outskirts of the group. She and Cory were still broken up. And Topanga had actually begun seeing a guy she’d met at an art exhibit at the local Museum.

Cory and Topanga stood eyeing each other awkwardly.

“Hey Cory.”

“Topanga,” he said a little coolly, still hurt by her dating another guy.

While Angela observed the two estranged lovers anxiously, Shawn looked his girlfriend over with admiring eyes. “Did I tell you how pretty you looked today?”

Angela laughed. It mimicked a cascade of harmonious musical notes. Sobering, she assumed a thoughtful expression, saying lightly, “Hmmm, let’s see. Yeah. Yeah, I think you did. Actually this would be the fourth time today.” However, she didn’t sound displeased.

Shawn grinned and held her tightly against him. “So where’re you and Topanga heading off to?”

Angela’s slight hesitation was imperceptible. “Oh, um,” she replied airily, “a bunch of us are going to hang out at-at the mall.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Topanga confirmed, turning her shoulder to Cory to address her two friends. She was glad to be able to contribute to the conversation and in her eagerness to avoid further contact with her ex, spoke without thinking.

“A couple of the lettermen invited a bunch of us to celebrate getting into Stanford.” She shrugged off-handedly. “Angela and I have been studying so hard we thought we’d tag along before we hit the books again.”

His eyes narrowing, Shawn stared at Topanga. A slight furrow creased the smooth skin between his brows.

Hoping against hope that she was wrong for anticipating trouble, Angela nevertheless cast her eyes up to the ceiling, a pained expression stamped on her pretty features. During the uncomfortable silence that ensued after Topanga’s slip, Angela, forcing herself not to fidget, dropped her eyes to the ground as Shawn’s arm fell from around her waist. He turned from Topanga to his girlfriend. Vigilant blue eyes examined her closely.

“Lettermen, huh? Which couple of lettermen exactly?” he inquired suspiciously.

When Angela bit her lip and didn’t respond right away, his blue eyes sharpened even more, boring into the graceful profile of his girlfriend.

He’d seen Dillon Abercrombie, same as Cory had hovering around Topanga. Who he hadn’t seen was Ted Brazelton, but where Dillon was, Ted, his co-captain and best bud, was usually not too far away. Shawn surmised that he’d probably missed him while he’d been wrangling with another type of irritant, one Stuart Minkus. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Ted would be sure to be present at the so-called celebration. He'd made it a habit to be wherever Angela was these days.  A hghly irritating habit as far as Shawn was concerned.

Topanga, who realized her mistake as soon as the words had left her mouth, said hastily, “Ange, I-I’m going to wait for you in the car.” After glancing briefly at Shawn, making an inward plea for him not to go all dramatic on her friend, she spun around and walked away.

Although not always the most tactful of people, Cory, too, decided that a strategic exit was warranted. He tentatively approached Shawn and laying a hand on his shoulder, told him that he’d also be waiting for him in his car.

Shawn’s curt nod was the only indication he gave of having heard him. Cory scooped up his book sack and took it as his cue to leave.

“Well, Angela,” Shawn began, coming around to stand squarely in front of her. He crossed his arms and planted his feet apart. He gazed down at her bowed head.

"Well what, honey?" she asked, feigning innocence.

“Don't play like you don't know what I'm asking. It’s a simple question requiring a simple answer.”

Angela released a long sigh and lifted her head. “Shawn, it’s no big deal, really.”

“Well,” Shawn cried, throwing his arms wide in a grandiose gesture indicative of just how upset he was, “if it’s no big deal, I should've gotten a straight answer by now, huh?”

Angela gazed into hard, critical orbs which normally looked at her with a gentle and loving expression in their depths. They’d been so happy for the last couple of months that she hadn’t seen the reoccurrence of this unreasonable jealousy Shawn harbored toward her ex-boyfriend in quite some time. Reminding herself that she was crazy about the sweet, sensible version of the young man standing so confrontationally before her, she threw herself into the impending fray without exercising the proper amount of caution.

“Dillon and-and Ted got into Stanford,” she announced as normally as possible and laid a hand on one of Shawn’s folded arms. “So they invited a bunch of us to get some pizza and-and celebrate.  Um, isn't that...nice of them?"

Shawn pursed his lips and looked away for a moment before turning his head back to her.

“Oh yeah, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day!” he exclaimed with biting sarcasm. “Angela, how hard is it to understand that I don't want that guy anywhere around you?”

“But why?” Angela asked bewildered by his attitude. “I thought we’d settled this obses--thing about Ted months ago, Shawn.”

“Yeah, we did when Teddy boy was going out with Tabitha Johnson. But that only lasted a minute. Then he dated and just as quickly dumped Teresa Gilliam, Deborah Washington and Keisha Davis,” her irate boyfriend cataloged off the top of his head.

Angela’s mouth fell open. She stared at Shawn quizzically. “You’ve sure been keeping close tabs on Ted’s romantic life. Even I didn’t know about Keisha.”

Spots of deep pink color flooded Shawn’s pale skin. “Okay, so I know a little something about who the guy’s been dating,” he admitted uncomfortably and rushed on to make his case, “The point is, Angela, that none of them lasted because the guy's still hung up on you!”

Angela gripped both of his arms. “Shawn—”

“No.  I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and if he doesn’t quit,” he warned with a martial light in his blue eyes, “I’m going to poke his eyes out!”

Shawn went on to mumble and grumble some more about the fickleness of Ted Brazelton and the crush he had on Angela until she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his to shut him up.

It was immediately effective. Shawn piped down and returned her kiss. After a long minute, Angela pulled away and looked up at him.

Shawn opened his eyes, saw her watching him anxiously, and caved. “Okay, I’m being an idiot."  He unfurled his arms and pulled her to him, linking his fingers together behind her back.

“Yeah, but you’re my idiot,” Angela said in a gently teasing tone, "who doesn’t have to worry about other guys.”

Shawn smiled, his happiness restored. “I know I have nothing to worry about.” He gazed down into her eyes. “Have fun at the mall. Okay?”

Angela sighed with relief. “Thank you, baby.” She stood on tiptoe with puckered lips and kissed his mouth. “I will now, you silly ass.”

Shawn removed one arm but kept the other about her slender waist.

“Hey, I know I’m an ass, but you do still love me?” he asked quietly, a subtle but still detectable note of anxiety in his voice. The deep set blue eyes gently probed hers.

“Yes, of course, I do.” Angela slipped her arm around his and together they walked down the hallway, arm in arm, parting only at the front entrance of the building after a long lingering kiss before heading in the opposite directions toward their respective rides.