Brian had met a few people without middle names before. He always wondered if the required middle initial box on forms ticked them off. He’d never heard the name Vause before and immediately wanted to look up what it meant.

“Well I’m not gonna ask how much you weigh,” he joked back. He reached up and took a throw pillow from the line of them on the back of his couch. He dropped it on Valerie’s head and attempted to take advantage of the visual obstruction by stuffing his fingers into the front pocket of her jeans, where there was a ticklish spot in the juncture of leg and hip. The bonus was that he got his hand pretty well lodged in there. Even people who weren’t that ticklish often kicked like crazy for that one.

His fingers dug in.

“My last name’s Campo, my middle name’s David, my favorite color is blue, my favorite food is spaghetti… Want me to keep going?”