slow, apprehensive, his eyes playful. Shauna cocked her head and tried to sound indignant. "Do you always treat girls so rough when you try to pick them up? What were you trying to do, anyway? You scared me to death." He waited, then smiled wide. "Well, I had to get your attention, didn't I?" He moved his head back and smoothed the white-blond hair across his forehead. The moon had paled into a silvery glow, making the foam on the waves fluorescent. Hidden stars glittered in the mist. It was light enough to see every detail of a person's face, if it were very near. Dan spoke again. "Hey now, how about that party?... Or would you rather just stay here, Shauna?" An image of Bryce flashed in Shauna's mind...the way she had pictured him hurrying down the cliff path, looking for her. Her in-sides went tight with panic. She squinted up at the house, a distant outline above the cove. She could see a splotch of yellow to one side and remembered she'd left the bedroom light on. She couldn't see if the car was there. Then she realized...it had been less than an hour since she'd left the house. There was plenty of time. She cleared her throat in relief. "Oh, no, I couldn't go to a party. I couldn't even... well, you see..." His voice was serious and pleading. "I know..you're probably not the type of girl that goes for fast romances. Well, I haven't pick up that many girls in my lifetime either. But I saw you this afternoon and thought maybe.." He looked away and his feet dug into the sand. "Well, you must have been lonely, or you wouldn't be walking down here, all alone." He turned his head back slowly, and their eyes met. Shauna felt such a sudden flood of sympathy, she almost reached out and touched his face. He had betrayed the smooth confidence. His voice was a husky whisper. "You were lonely, weren't you?" "Well, I guess I was, but that was only because..." "Well, we don't have to hit the party. Right here's just fine, maybe better. We could go for a swim!" He stood up quickly, brushing the sand from his swimming trunks and reaching a hand out to her. She took his hand and came up slowly, thoughtfully. His voice dropped. "What were you going to say?... You were only lonely because of what?" Shauna let her hand slip from his easy hold. She reached back, lifting the long hair up off her neck and letting it fall back again. "I was lonely because Bryce left me alone tonight." She wished she didn't have to say it to him. It almost seemed cruel. "Bryce?" "My husband." Shauna watched surprise and humiliation drain his face. "This is our honeymoon summer. Tonight he went to San Clemente with a friend. It's the boat show." Dan studied the sand. He whistled low. "Wow! What do I say now?" Shauna brightened, moving close to him. "Well, you could start by telling me all about yourself, and we can at least sit here and talk, if you want." Dan broke in, seeming not to hear or see her. "Man, I guess the guys were right. I'm sorry, Shauna, that's about all I can say." He 34 turned his back to her, took a couple of steps toward the rock, and turned halfway around again. "You just go ahead and walk. I'm going to sit here on the rock a while, and then I guess I'll go back." Shauna felt hurt and helpless. Her legs almost collapsed under her as she ran the short distance in the sand. With both hands she clung to his arm. "Dan, just a minute. What do you mean, the guys were right? Don't you want to talk about it? It might help to tell somebody, you know." His head was down. "I guess I might as well tell you," he said. He walked to the rock and leaned back against it, braced by his elbows. "You see, I've got this thing about girls. I mean...I think they're the greatest, I love to be with them, but I like to go about it my own way." He brought his head up so he could look into Shauna's face. "I like to get to know a girl, slow and easy. I like to be with her, and I like to go on knowing her." His eyes left Shauna's and stared out at the water. "But the guys bug me about it and keep on buggin' me. They get their kicks being with one girl one night, another the next...bragging about smooth lines and fast pick-ups. It's the best part of being on our own, they say, away from home. Find a girl, just any good-looking bunny, and have a party. Have a few beers, get in some wild dancing, some lovin' and just have a ball of a night. Next night, start over. That's really living, they say. Well, I don't know about that being such a great life. It's okay, I guess, once or twice, but somehow I just can't see hustling a girl, making her think I think she's the greatest, and then never seeing her again." He looked down again. "So I'm a goody and a coward." Shauna watched the sun-darkened shoulders and winced at the thought of connecting Dan with words like that. He was not as tall as Bryce but even more masculine-looking. "The guys made a big deal about it tonight. I left mad...mad at them and myself, sick of not belonging, yet wanting my own way. They razzed me and dared me, half-jokingly of course, and I knew they'd get a girl for me. But I don't know...I was sick of the whole deal, I walked out to cool off, half-determined to come back with a girl just to show them I could. I came down here to think things out a little, and I'd about decided to just forget the whole thing and go back, when I saw you, coming down that path, alone." Dan looked at Shauna. A smile started around the white teeth. The blue eyes seemed to lighten. "Man, it was like a miracle or something." He bent down suddenly, scooping a handful of shells and sand. In one swift motion he threw it out into the water, causing a spatter that disappeared in a wave. "The guys would've loved you. It would've been a beautiful squelch." He sat down on his heels now, scooping up handfuls of sand, letting some run through his fingers, tossing the others into the water. Shauna squinted up at the house again. The bedroom light was still a blur. She knew Bryce wouldn't have come yet. He didn't know where she was. He hadn't even started to worry. She felt a surge of defiance again...along with the friendly, sad feeling she had for Dan, Then 35