"What do you mean?" I asked instead. "What do I mean? He didn't leave until about an
 
 hour ago," she said, and stopped as if she had drawn
 
 dots on a page that I was supposed to connect in my
 
 own mind. "I didn't exactly chain him to the sofa," she
 
 added. "Understand?" She laughed. "I think I'll make
 
 some toast," she said, rising. "So," she continued as
 
 she worked, "how far did you two go?"
 
 "How far?"
 
 She turned and raised her eyebrows.
 
 "Yes, how far? Did you take the advice of our
 
 two leaders and make your kisses seem like gold?" "Oh. He kissed me good night," I revealed. She continued to stare at me, waiting. "What?" I asked.
 
 "That's it? You two were dancing very closely
 
 at one point, and you did spend a lot of time with him
 
 in the kitchen, I noticed."
 
 'We were preparing the food:'
 
 "Uh-huh," she sang.
 
 "That was it," I assured her. She still looked
 
 skeptical. "He's calling me this morning. He wants to
 
 take me to the beach and then to lunch."
 
 "That's nice. I'm going with Chris to the Santa
 
 Monica mall this morning. He wants me to help him
 
 buy his mother a birthday present. I wonder where
 
 Star and Larry ended up last night," she added after
 
 the toast popped up.
 
 "Larry was very nice," I said. "All the boys
 
 were:'
 
 "It's our new aura," Misty declared with
 
 dramatic flair. "Jade was right. Our spiritual sessions
 
 have wrapped a ring of charm about us that attracts
 
 only handsome, nice guys. See how we're all