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took the flowers up to her room. She stopped in the bathroom and put on her face, her armor. By the time she went back down, the tears didn't even show.

Chapter Five
    Diego grinned. Lavender had gotten the arrangement. She sent him a picture of her sniffing the flowers. He told her she was beautiful. She sent him a picture of her rolling her eyes. She was still beautiful.
    Last night, Patrick teased him about robbing the cradle, but he was back at work before Diego could reply. She really was nineteen, wasn't she? He needed to find a way to check her ID.
    First things first. He had to survive the seven hours until he saw her again.
    Patrick was still working, but Jessica said she'd show Diego around town. He needed to find places to take Lavender.
    *~*~*
    Lavender needed a girdle. Diego made her too hard to comfortably tuck her bits up between her legs. The right girdle would keep everything in place and unable to be felt from the outside. But she didn't have the money for it and more hormones. One of her bottles was nearly empty. She paid extra to buy the full ones with the seal still on them. Her needles, she got free from the clinic. She wasn't going to risk her health with a shared needle in an alley somewhere.
    Was a week with any man worth her health or femininity?
    No. Not even one as breathtaking as Diego.
    But maybe she could have both. If Abuelito could use help at his ice cream shop.
    Lavender tucked her journal into her purse and ran to catch the bus. If she called him, he'd say, no, enjoy your weekend, but if she showed up and begged, he'd give her seven dollars an hour to entice people to buy his ice cream. The arrangement was a win for both of them. He got more customers and someone to talk to, and she got a few dollars under the table, no questions asked.
    At the bus stop, she kept a good hold on her purse. She waited until she was on the second bus to pull out her journal. She felt good today. No headache or back pain. She wasn't irritable or cranky. She'd taken her latest estrogen shot three days ago. She was pretty good with needles by now, but maybe she should try patches. That might level out her highs and lows better than taking smaller shots more often.
    She flipped back a few pages to the name of the anti-androgen she was taking. Her dealer could no longer access her usual kind, so she bought the one Ariel and Vish used. It had worked fine to keep her from turning boyish, but those two were the horniest of the girls. Maybe this stuff with Diego was the medicine's fault.
    Or maybe he was just hellishly handsome.
    She got off the bus at the pier and walked down to Abuelito 's shop. He greeted her with a hug and told the T-shirt shopkeeper next door that his granddaughter was back. Lavender would have loved to have a grandfather like him.
    He tucked her purse into the little safe and handed her an ice cream cone. She leaned against the stall front and licked it slowly, catching peoples' eyes as they walked past. About a third of them stopped for ice cream, and a few guys stopped and talked to her. She was good at flirting and she always paid the most attention to guys who bought ice cream.
    When any guy got too close or looked like he wanted more than a talk, Abuelito would have a tirade in Spanish about how his granddaughter didn't want any of that type of boy and chase the guy away. His granddaughter was a good girl, a lady. But the guy always laughed as he left and promised to return.
    Lavender would smile to show no hard feelings, and Abuelito used the attention they gathered to sell ice cream. Today was slow, so Abuelito pulled that trick three times. It always worked. Lavender stuck her head in the window. "What if I liked one of these guys?"
    Abuelito shook his head. "You are too good for them."
    Lavender scanned the crowd. "I'll have to leave by four. I've got a date."
    "No," said Abuelito . "You will bring him here. I will meet him."
    Lavender smiled. "But I still need off at four."
    She'd hardly