"People have friends, Wilbur. I'm not going to say you can't be friends or be nice or do favors for someone just because they're female."
Nancy released a very long exhale. She was still a little stunned with the worry he'd worked up in her, but slowly she started to recover.
And then she punched him in the shoulder. It wasn't hard, she wasn't trying to hurt him, but it wasn't quite playful either. The relieved smile on her face was belated. "You scared the crap out of me!"