Ditto Ditto by R.J. Ross Page B

If she’s flirting, she absolutely needs to know that we’ve (me and Ditto AND Aubrey) have already picked Taurus for Liz!  The whole man-stealing thing seems to run in the family!
    “So then she stops and stares at me,” Falconess says as I get closer, “and says ‘Well they said the wifi was free!’”
    Taurus starts to laugh.  “Oh, man, I wish I’d been there!” he says.
    “The entire town was down for a few days after that, Liz had to wear the cone of shame for the entire time--Mastermental made her swear not to go to Burger King ever again,” Falconess goes on, smiling.  Taurus is grinning so widely that I’m positive his cheeks hurt.  “She was such a cute kid--she’s still a serious handful,” Falconess finishes up, smiling as she sees me coming.  “Are we ready to start?”
    “Um, yeah,” I say, blushing slightly and feeling extremely guilty for the man-stealing thought.  I think I’m being overly paranoid right now, especially when Taurus walks over to me, draping a massive arm over my shoulders in a familiar way.
    “Be careful about her,” he says to Falconess.  “She’s pulled more pranks on me than I can count.”
    “It’s just cuz you’re a big target,” I tell him, grinning up at him shamelessly.
    “And NEVER fall asleep with her near--you’ll wake up with Mickey Mouse ears,” he adds, giving me a dry look.
    “His hair is perfect for it,” I admit, “plus, Adanna paid me for the pictures.”
    “Father has them hanging up in his office,” Adanna calls all the way from across campus.  “He still laughs whenever he sees them!  And Cubby thinks that’s how you usually look!”
    “Aren’t you supposed to be in panther form?” Taurus yells back.  “Cat’s can’t talk!”
    “I would be if my instructor was here!”
    “She has her father’s sense of hearing, doesn’t she?” Falconess says, looking amused.  “Are you her mentor?” she asks Taurus.
    “Yeah,” he says.  “I think that’s why they brought me into the school in the first place.  They brought Blackjack in for Emily, but he’s taken over Ace’s training--plus--“ he looks at me and I shrug.
    “Blackjack and I never really clicked, I guess,” I say.
    “She keeps falling asleep in his class,” Taurus says.
    “Well it’s right at nap time!” I protest.
    “See?” he says.  “Blackjack doesn’t take it very seriously in the first place, but he still finds it a bit annoying when she snores during his attempt of teaching the kids how to count cards.”
    “Gambling is a sin,” I say smugly, crossing my arms over my chest.  “Cheating is, too!”
    “And she’s been playing the ‘dating a preacher’s son’ card too often lately,” Taurus finishes.  “Even Trent doesn’t play that one, and he IS the preacher’s son.”
    “You seem quite proud of her,” Falconess says.  Taurus laughs and ruffles my hair.
    “I need to get to work--you behave for Falconess, Em,” he says, heading for Adanna’s playground rather than replying to that.  I feel a little red from that statement, myself, so it’s no wonder he ran.
    “He’s dating Liz,” I say, “not that she’ll ever admit it without a fight.”
    “I know,” Falconess says.  “They’re adorable.”
    “It’s this way,” I say, not sure how to respond to that.  Aubrey would know, she’d probably gush over how she “ships it” or whatever. 
    “Do you have a problem with the idea of Liz and Devon getting together?” Falconess asks quietly, making me glance over.
    “No!  I mean, I think I’m even more for it than Liz is half the time--but Liz is...” I wonder how I should put it.  I touch my chin, thinking hard on the subject of my foster mom.  “She’s... not... exactly straight-forward when it comes to stuff like this,” I admit finally.
    “As in she’d deny it up until the marriage is over and the first kid’s in kindergarten?” Falconess drawls.
    “I want to name her Adora,” I say, grinning