？I？m　actually　not　feeling　that　well。？　He　wasn？t　even　lying；　really；　since　the　thought　of　what

might　happen　if　he　didn？t　get　out　of　there　made　him　feel　totally　queasy。Wincing　in　pain？　but

trying　not　to　overdo　it？Nate　let　out　a　pathetic　cough。

？Poor　boy；？　she　cooed；　using　one　hand　to　cinch　her　flimsy　robe　closed。　She　placed　her　other　palm

against　his　furrowed　brow。　？You　do　feel　a　little　warm。？

Maternal　instinct　andBasic　Instinct　？what　a　disturbing　mix。

？Yeah。？　he　agreed；　backing　away。　？I　don？t　know　if　I　can　tackle　the　lawn　today。？

？No；　of　course　not。We　should　get　you　out　of　those　clothes　and　right　into　bed。　I　can　make　you

some　nice　herbal？？

？I　should　really　just　go；？　Nate　interrupted　the　disturbing　quasi…porno　scenario　Babs　was

describing。　He　didn？t　want　to　trade　her　Mrs。　Robinson　fantasies　for　some　skanky　nurse　setup。　？In

fact；　I　think　I　hear　my　ride　outside。？

？You　just　rest　and　take　it　easy；？　Babs　cooed。　？Don？t　you　worry　about　work。　I？ll　tell　Coach　you

need　a　rest。　He？s　wearing　you　down。？

？Thanks　Mrs。　M。？　Nate　nodded　gratefully　as　he　bounded　off　the　porch。　Forgetting　that　he　was

supposed　to　be　sick；　he　whooped　with　delight　when　he　heard　a　car　horn　and　saw　Anthony？s　black

BMW　turn　recklessly　into　the　coach？s　driveway。Saved。

？You　sure　you？re　just　playing　sick？？　Anthony　momentarily　took　his　eyes　off　the　road　to　study

Nate；　who　was　sunk　low　in　the　cream…colored　reclined　leather　seat；　shielding　his　eyes　from　the

bright　sunlight　with　his　hand。

？No；　dude；　I？m　fine；？　Nate　assured　him；　fiddling　with　the　dashboard　vents　so　that　the　cool　blast

of　AC　was　aimed　directly　at　his　face。　？Babs　was　just；　you　know；　ing　on　kind　of　strong。？