Lust by Francine Pascal Page A

cringed. But he couldn’t think of anything. They had seen every movie there was to see. They had done everything adventurous there was to do. There was no activity available to them besides hanging out, and that wasn’t going too well.
    â€œWe could make out,” Kai suggested.
    Ed looked at her. She was adorable. Her shiny, sleekblack hair fell to her shoulders, with two pigtails at her temples held up with Hello Kitty clips. He could see that under her white baby tee and army pants she had a seriously smokin’ body. Of course, as a red-blooded American male, he was completely willing to spend his hanging-out time tongue-wrestling with a cute skateboard girl.
    â€œOkay,” he said, and smooched her.
    But there was something unelectric about the whole thing. Sure, her lips were soft. Yeah, his body responded to hers as they lay together on the plaid couch. And he liked Kai. This was fun and all, but something was missing from the whole equation.
    Kai was great to do stuff with, but the minute there was a lull, Ed had to admit it: There just wasn’t much of a spark.
    Oh, no.
    Heather. Gaia. Tatiana. What did they all have in common? They all drove him crazy with their various insane behaviors. Bitchy, moody, or just plain schizophrenic, each one of them had a serious personality disorder that gave him a constant case of acid reflux.
    And now he was addicted to them. He knew it. He was addicted to the frustration. Ed Fargo had completely, utterly lost the ability to be with a regular girl.
    He shifted positions so that he was on top of Kai. She moved along with him willingly and opened hereyes long enough to smile at him between kisses. She ran her hands up under his shirt and he tried to stay in the moment.
    Stop thinking about them , he ordered himself. You’re making out with a cute girl. Who cares about them? Who cares about Gaia, especially? You are making out, Fargo. Come on!
    â€œCome on,” Kai said, sitting up. “We can go in my room. My parents won’t be home for hours.”
    Ed followed her into her room, decorated with standard-issue posters of Green Day and System of a Down.
    â€œWhat’s up?” Kai asked him. “You nervous?”
    â€œNo, it’s cool,” he said.
    â€œCool.” She stripped off her top and sat on her bed. “Come on, then.”
    He followed her over to the bed, smiling reassuringly, but he felt like a jerk. This was the most uninspired he’d ever been. What they were doing felt mechanical, cold. All it did was remind him how great it had been with Gaia. He kissed Kai one last time, closing his eyes and trying to enjoy it, but it was no use. He sat up.
    â€œOh, man,” Kai said. “Now what?”
    â€œI just remembered, my mom needs me at home,” he said. “I’m supposed to . . . do something.”
    â€œEd, what’s wrong?” Kai sat up. “Is something bothering you? Is it me?”
    â€œNo! No, it’s most definitely not you. It’s onehundred percent me,” Ed insisted. He shook his head. “You’re perfect. You’re awesome, you’re a great girl. I just forgot about this thing. My mom really needs me at home.”
    Kai peered up at him as though she wasn’t sure whether she should believe him. She seemed a little hurt. But she didn’t hit him with a stormy accusation, which was a relief. It was also a little strange.
    â€œWell, okay,” she said, pulling her shirt back on. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
    â€œRight!” he said. “Tomorrow. Yes.” Ed got up and grabbed his skateboard. “I’m really sorry I’ve got to go like this. That was really, you know . . .”
    â€œYeah! Totally!” Kai nodded. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
    Ed kissed Kai and left her apartment. The fact that she hadn’t started a big argument about his having to leave so