Brian nodded, exchanging his faded blue teeshirt for a black polo with a narrow white stripe on the collor and sleeves. Rumaging on one of the cluttered shelves in the wardrobe, he unearthed a comb and ran it quickly through his hair. He nodded absently to the knews that she'd been studying as he continued looking through the wardrobe, now seeking a pair of pants, though he wouldn't change those with her in the room.

"Eh, depends on how invested you are in the societal norms of greed, avarice and usury, I guess." He gave a negligent shrug, "Kind of sad to think that stuff essentially makes the world go round. But it's a good book, very thorough." He tossed the pair of slacks he'd finally located over the end of the bed and bounced down beside her with a grin.

"Your kind of book" Clair said smiling at him softly. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go for a walk? I feel like being out in the sun after being cooped up in my room."

She knew he woudn't change his pants with her in the room he was a gentlmen with with her. And her parents would love that about him even more. "Want me to wait out in the hall till you put new pants on?"

Brian grinned, leaning over to kiss her softly before bouncing back up. He was often overly energetic after reading for a long period, becoming suddenly conscious of his extended sedentary posture. He could feel himself fairly thrumming with energy and realized that a walk would at least keep him from bouncing of the walls of his room. Plus, the company would be great.

"A walk sounds great. I could use some exercise myself." He smiled as he nodded to her query about stepping outside. "Yeah, thanks." He knew Claire had been raised in a certain kind of household. While personal modesty wasn't a big thing for him, he could appreciate that others didn't feel comfortable being so open with their bodies.

~Rachel~

After Rachel got home from her last class, she climbed upstairs. But instead of going to ehr room, she went down to David's. She ahdn't seen him much recently with his preparing for his tests and everything, and she missed him.

She knew he wouldn't mind, so she opened his door quietly and walked into his room.

She grinned slightly when she saw him curled up in his bed, asleep. She didn't want to wake him, he probably needed the rest, but she did miss him, so she gently climbed into bed with him, hoping he wouldn't mind.



Vivian squeaked between the doors of the subway just as they were sliding closed. They rumbled shut a bare inch after her bookbag cleared them and she paused momentarily to catch her breath. She'd stayed after Professor Russell's class to get some clarification on the theory of cultural exchange they'd been discussing the past two classes. It was simple enough on it's face - continents with a latitudinal spread made it easier for different peoples to exchanged cultures and ideas because they could grow the same foods and knew the same animals. What was less clear to her was why Native American tribes, such as the Iroquois and Walla Walla, didn't seem to have traded much despite similar climates and considerably *less* distance than the European and Chinese cultures.

Unfortunately, the *brief* consultation with Professor Russell had run a good bit longer than she'd anticipated and she'd had to run the two blocks to the subway station to catch her train. Now safely aboard, she could relax and steady her breathing. She sighed inwardly as she noted that all the seats were taken and reluctantly propped herself up against one of the vertical dividers.

Clair stepped outside and leaned against the wall. She was glad how Brian understood she was raised in the traditional southeren home where a man would only change his clothes in front of you if he was your husband. Most men wouldn't put up with it be he amazingly did.

She knew he would love the walk after reading for so long. He usually got that way after extended periods of time in one postion. She was amazes she knew him so well but really wasn't suprised she did.

Liam jumped down from the bed of the semi that the crew had just finished unloading. While Martin grabbed the other door, Liam grabbed the one on his side and swung it closed. He left Martin to secure them while he ducked around to the driver's side and waved the 'all clear' to his boss who was exchanging paperwork with the driver. He received a quick wave of acknowledgment and then headed over to help with the next truck. It was a fairly slow night so far and if they got this truck done quickly, it looked like there might be a half-hour break before the next one came in.

Liam added his muscles to the the six men already hauling the cargo into the outbound truck. Some of the cargo was already on pallets and they had to stay out of the forklifts way as it trundled in and out. Although he knew the loads they were shifting were just as heavy as any other night, they felt a bit lighter and he reasoned that it was because he knew he got off early tonight. He'd taken another guy's shift on Sunday afternoon and in exchange, he'd be off tonight and tomorrow night at nine rather than midnight. He wondered if maybe he's be able to talk Vivian into taking a night off from her studies and going to a late dinner.

It didn't take Brian long to change into the fresh slacks and he appeared in the hallway only about 4 minutes after Clair had left the room, now dressed in clean, un-rumpled clothes and shoes that didn't look like they weren't going to make it through the entire walk. He'd also run a quick comb through his hair and put on a fresh coat of deoderant so Clair wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with him.

"Hey, you ready to go?" He bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, jigging slightly to get circulation slowed by his long period of inactivity going again. "Any place you wanna walk particularly tonight?"