Anthony Avuldsen wove through the crowd； lifting his whiskey and soda high into the air to
avoid a spill。 He？d shaved his blond hair close to his head and had a deep summertime tan that
made his smile seem even brighter than usual。 The bouncer？a burly guy with no discernible neck？
gave him a quick nod； allowing him to step up onto the platform that doubled as the club？s VIP
room。
？Archibald； you son of a bitch；？ Anthony said； knocking his glass against Nate？s bottle in
greeting。 ？Where the hell have you been keeping yourself？？
？Hey；？ Nate greeted him。
？Coach working you？？ Anthony plopped next to Nate on the banquette； nodding his head in time
to the thumping bass line。
？Something like that；？ Nate admitted。
？Dude；？ Anthony continued； shouting to be heard over the deafening din of the music。 ？I hear
Blair？s back in town。 What？s the story？？
Nate frowned； then draped an arm around Tawny； pulling her even closer。 ？I don？t know。？ He
shrugged。
？I？m Tawny；？ the girl said； leaning across Nate？s lap and smiling in Anthony？s direction。
？What？s up？？ Anthony nodded in greeting。 ？Anthony。？
？You two know each other from school？？ she wanted to know。
？Yeah；？ Anthony responded。 ？How do you two know each other？？
Nate signaled to the waitress。 He needed another drink； immediately。
？Nate just fell at my feet one day；？ Tawny replied； draining the last of h