“What do you like to read?” I ask, ignoring his last comment.

“I’ve always enjoyed Shakespeare.”

“What’s your favorite play?” I ask, even though I know it’s Macbeth.

“Macbeth. Hamlet and Titus Andronicus are also favorites.”

“You like ’em dark,” I note.

“I like things I can relate to,” he replies. “It’s easier for me to connect with a tragedy than a farce.”

I nod, fully understanding.

“And what kind of music do you like? What’s your favorite band?” he continues. “I can’t believe we’ve never talked about this. Wait, let me guess, you’re a Linkin Park girl . . . or maybe Nine Inch Nails. I can see you as a Nirvana enthusiast too.”

“Christina Aguilera!” The name bursts from my lips before I can stop it.

Lander looks at me, clearly startled. “Christina Aguilera?”

I feel my cheeks redden and I duck my head down to try to hide it. “I listened to her when I was young,” I say softly. “My mother would play her all the time when we were home. We would dance around our little living room to ‘Come on Over Baby’ and ‘Genie in a Bottle,’ and when ‘Beautiful’ came out, my mom said it was her song. I thought it was a little sappy at first but eventually I came around.”

Lander reaches forward and tucks my hair behind my ear so he can better see my face. Still, I won’t meet his eyes. “Did your father like her too?”

“I’ve never met my father.”

“Ah.” He sighs and shakes his head. “So where’s your mother now?”

“She’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

Finally I lift my head and meet his eyes. “She was killed when I was still a kid.”

He takes a moment to absorb this, his gaze sliding away from me to an abstract painting on the wall. “Do you want to talk about how it happened?”

“No.”

He nods his acceptance of this. “If she was killed when you were still a kid and your father wasn’t in the picture . . . what did you do?”

“I grew up.”

A sardonic smile plays on the edges of Lander’s lips. “Tragedy tends to do that to people. It ages them.”

“Yeah,” I agree with a sigh. “That’s probably why so many of the high schoolers on Glee look like they’re about thirty. If they sing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ one more time they’ll be ready for social security.”