"It's okay. I didn't see that," Sean said calmly beside me.
                          
I stood up. "This really isn't interesting to see. I mean, Fiji is just an island...with...lots of water surrounding it."
                          
Sean nodded. "Yes, I believe that's the definition of an island." I could see the teasing glint in his eyes, which were the exact shade of blue as the lagoons in Fiji.
                          
"I should show you the one where I went to cheerleading camp."
                          
"That's something I've got to see," he said, being the cooperative gentleman he was.
                          
My fingers paused over the album. Cheerleading camp...I didn't make any male friends there, did I? I didn't think so.
                          
Wait. Sandra's then-boyfriend visited and brought a friend, and we hit it off right away. We were strictly platonic, of course, but maybe it didn't look so innocent in the photos. Maybe I could show him the ones I took with Sarah and Jess, back in the days of St. Margaret's, my private girls' school life.
                          
Oh no we had dances with St. John's.
                          
I sighed without even knowing.
                          
"Not safe, either?" Sean asked. I couldn't tell if he was more turned off or entertained by my embarrassment. I was usually really good at dating, but in front of him I was super uncool.
                          
"Look. I have to be honest with you." I sat down next to him on the bed and met his eyes. "I have a lot of friends, and at least half of them are guys. Most of the time they really are just friends."
                          
"You don't need to explain, Flora."
                          
"Do you really not care or are you just being passive-aggressive?"
                          
I really should stop being so blunt. Sean blinked, then after a short pause he smiled. "I really don't care. And that's before you met me, right?"
                          
"Yes. Yes." I breathed a sigh of relief. "All of that is BS to me. Before Sean," I explained.
                          
He grinned, now apparently entertained.
                          
"Aha! There's a really safe one." I knew what to show him. I had a bunch of photos of me in my tutus as I learned ballet very briefly in elementary school, and those were adorable.
                          
"Seems like you've been beautiful all your life," he commented.
                          
"Yeah, that's my one and only talent," I joked, but it was at least partially true. I really wasn't sure what I was good at aside from shopping and applying nail polish with my left hand. In front of smart people I always felt inadequate. "I bet you're beautiful all your life too," I said quickly to direct the attention away from myself.
                          
"Not really. I had braces in middle school, so you probably wouldn't have thought so," he said. I refrained from telling him that even if he still had them, I'd still totally kiss him.
                          
I turned the music up and basically we just chatted for a long time, until he said, "Why do I have a feeling of déjà vu? Did I really spend two consecutive nights sitting in a bedroom alone with you?"
                          
Finally, Sean, now we're talking. I summoned my sultry spirit and ran my eyes slowly over his face. "Well, I hope you've changed your mind about being just friends."
                          
"Let's just see how it goes," he said, but I didn't miss the faint trace of suggestiveness in his tone. "Although..." He paused, looking around and frowning with feigned disgust. "Seeing the state of this room really pushed things in the wrong direction."
                          
I laughed. "I just want you to see the real me, and see how imaginative and carefree I am."
                          
"Yes." He nodded. "This room really leaves a lot to the imagination. Nothing seems to be in its usual location."