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beside him like he was a three-year-old—but anything that brought Gaia Moore’s face closer to his own was an okay move in Ed’s book.
    â€œOkay,” she said. “But you do research.
Only
research. I do the . . . other. Maybe together we can exterminate this guy.”
    We. Together . Ed liked the sound of that. It wasn’t just Gaia going after a killer. It was Gaia and Ed. Batman and Robin. Partners.
    â€œAll right,” he agreed. “I’ll dig into the Net. Maybe stop by the library.”
    â€œGood,” Gaia said. She smiled. In a strained way.
    Forced or not, two smiles in one day from Gaia Moore had to be a record. Still, something about this whole thing had Ed moderately wiggy.
    â€œWant me to call you tonight?” he asked.
    â€œI’ll call you,” Gaia said. She started walking again, and Ed hurried to keep up. “If you can get some info in the next couple of hours, maybe I can bag this loser before he moves on to a different neighborhood.”
    She made a sound that might almost have been a laugh and ran the long fingers of her right hand through the heavy mass of her tangled hair. “Besides, I’m busy tomorrow night.”
    â€œWhat’s tomorrow?” Ed asked.
    â€œI’ve got a date.” Gaia glanced over at Ed. For a split second she looked small, vulnerable. Like what he was about to say mattered . Unfortunately, Ed’s heart was in his mouth, temporarily making speech impossible.
    â€œA date,” Ed replied finally. “Wow.” Articulate, it was not, but he was pleased to hear that his voice sounded normal. He even managed to keep a smile on his face.
    But if the serial killer came for him, Ed wouldn’t have to be afraid. He felt dead already.

ED
    Girls I have liked:
    Jenn Challener
    Aimee Eastwood
    Raina Korman
    Ms. Reidy
    Jennifer Love Hewitt (Okay, I was fourteen)
    Storm, Rogue, Jubilee, Jean Grey
    The lady behind the counter at Balducci’s
    Girls I have loved:
    Heather Gannis
    Gaia Moore
    Girls who have ripped out my
cardiovascular muscle and
squashed it under their feet:
    Heather Gannis
    Gaia Moore
    Anyone besides me sensing a pattern around here?

the gaia flu
    One glance from afar was all he needed. But he needed it like he needed oxygen.
Give in to Insanity
    THE PARK WAS JUST A SHORTCUT. The fastest way from point A to point B.
    Besides, cutting through the park would take Sam past the chess tables. Not that he had time for a game, but it never hurt to see who was playing. He had to keep up on the competition. See who was new. Check out who was winning, who was losing. It wasn’t like he was looking for anyone in particular. Nope. Not at all.
    Except that he was .
    Truth? Sam was sneaking through the park, looking for Gaia. Not to meet her, not to talk to her, just to
see
her. One glance from afar was all he needed. But he needed it like he needed oxygen.
    Before Sam met Gaia, the park had seemed like the one safe place in his life. Sure, it was a hangout for muggers and junkies, scam artists, aging hippies, and gang members. If you wandered off the path on the wrong day or stayed too long on the wrong night, you could be beat up, maimed, or even killed. Every place had dangerous people, but Washington Square Park had more than its share.
    Sam knew about that firsthand.
    But none of that stopped him from loving the place. When he was hanging out in the park, he couldrelax. Nobody at the chess tables cared if he wore the right things, said the right things, or hung with the right people. Playing chess in the park was one situation where Sam could lean back and let his inner geek rise to the surface.
    Gaia had ruined that.
    From the first time they played, Sam had developed this weird kind of spastic tick . No matter who he was playing, every ten seconds Sam had to look up from the board to see if he might catch a glimpse of blond hair flying loose in the wind or a beautiful face centered around a