"Listen, I need you to do me a huge favor," he asked, out of the blue. It sort of exploded out of his mouth, like he'd been practicing it in his head. When I looked up at him, his face gave away his own shock at his statement.
"Okay, what do you want?" I asked cautiously. He was my best friend. We'd stuck it out through the best of times, and the worst of times, and all that. I would've done anything for him. Except sleep with him, although he'd asked before. Girls -- smart girls -- do not sleep with their best friends if they plan on keeping them. I'd learned that, or a version of it, the hard way.
"Okay, just don't freak out, okay?"
"Mark, we're in a library. Is this a library question, or do we need to go outside so I can yell if I should feel the need?"
"Yeah, okay, let's go outside," he stood up and walked away briskly. I figured he'd be smoking by the time I gathered my things and followed, so I didn't hurry. I knew letting him tag along on a research assignment would result in absolutely nothing being accomplished.
"So you know I've been with Heather for a while now, and things are looking good," he said quickly, between drags of his cigarette. "And so anyway, her girlfriends have got her thinking. And she said the girl was up to me. But it was her idea."
"You skipped a sentence, Mark."
"Oh. It was her idea."
"No, I heard that one. I missed the one about what her girlfriends have got her thinking about," I said, coolly. I lit my own cigarette.