Before he could answer, she felt a sharp, intense jab right above her shoulder blade. Nerve endings screamed, then so did she.

“Stop! Just stop!” She half rose, turning to face the guy. “Is that really what you’re going to do?”

He nodded. “That’s what it feels like.”

“How many pokes would you have to do?”

“I don’t know. It’s gonna take a while.”

“No,” she said firmly, stepping away from the chair and pulling on her T-shirt. “I’m not doing this.”

“I can’t give you a refund.”

“You keep the money. It’s fine.” Her shoulder still throbbed from the needle punches.

As she pulled out her hair clip, she heard a snuffling sound. She spun toward Thaddeus who was obviously trying not to laugh.

“Don’t,” she snapped. “It hurts.”

“Obviously.”

“You think you’re so tough, let’s see you endure that.”

He held up both hands. “I wouldn’t think of it.”

“My pain is not funny.”

“Of course not.”

She grabbed her bag. “We’re leaving now.”

She stalked out, Thaddeus trailing behind her. When they reached his car, she glared at him across the hood. “We’re never going to talk about this again.”

“Whatever you say.”

She reached for her door handle. “Did you really kill someone?”

The grin returned. “No.”

“You weren’t in a gang?”

He shook his head.

“So you lied?”

“It got your attention.”

“Not enough.” She got into the car and leaned back against the seat, only to wince when her shoulder came in contact with the leather. “I’m going to have a bruise.”

He took her hand in his. “You were very brave.”

“Oh, stop it,” she said, trying not to smile.

He was still laughing when they left the parking lot.

There were days and there were days. Keith sat on the beach in Santa Monica, questioning nearly everything about his life. Why had he thought agreeing to bring a bunch of teenagers to the beach was a good idea? The ocean was big and dangerous. He’d had to use his stern voice to get everyone to use sunscreen and now the guys were out in the surf, like they knew what they were doing.

The morning tour of UCLA had gone well, so that was something. Coop had been a little distracted, no doubt thinking about his upcoming lunch with his father, but he’d done a good job on his interview yesterday. Lissa, on the other hand, could not have been less interested. He’d tried to talk to her about how great it all was, but she’d given him the why did I think having parents was a good idea look and had avoided him for the rest of the tour.

Keith adjusted his baseball cap, trying to keep tabs on everyone. Ellen should be arriving shortly. She was dropping Coop off at the restaurant where he was meeting his father, then joining the group on the beach. Tomorrow was the Disneyland visit and the day after, they would head up to Santa Barbara.