Melissa spent the evening until the wee hours compulsively channel surfing. It was totally unlike her, but it was also the second night in a row she had found herself doing so. She studiously avoided Channel Twenty-Seven because she knew this was where she would find Fame TV and the LiveWildCelbs program.

She almost never watched TV and certainly never trash TV but tonight again she felt compelled. Somehow it was linked in her mind with her seemingly illicit date tomorrow, should she choose to go .

Every hour that passed would make it more difficult to refuse.

If refusing was what she even wanted to do.

She checked the...