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His face lights up, and his smile chases every other thought from my head.
“Pick you up at six?”
“Sure.” I nod like a bobblehead toy. “Can I ask where we’re going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“What should I wear?”
“Something comfortable.” He leans in and whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “And dress warm.”
“Comfortable and warm?” Nicole dips a fry into her ketchup until the red sauce drips off like blood, then dangles it above her lips and drops it into her open mouth. “Sounds promising.”
I shudder at her open-mouth chewing. “That’s so gross.”
“It’s delicious is what it is.” She stuffs a second fry in after the first.
“Back to my dilemma. What do I wear?”
She takes a long sip of her Diet Coke. “You can borrow my thigh-high boots and wear them with black leggings and a long sweater. It won’t show off the goods, but’ll be cute and warm.”
“I suppose—”
“Or . . . you can go for broke. Ditch the leggings and wear the boots and the long sweater. You know? Speed up the process?”
“I don’t think so.” I laugh, but her words send an uncomfortable tingle over my skin. Why does everything seem to circle back to that damn plan? Everything inside me screams the list got out, but that’s impossible. Nicole promised she’d burn it. She’s been my best friend since elementary school, and I refuse to believe she’d betray my trust like that. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for what’s happening, but I need to hear her say it. “You did get rid of the list, right?”
Nicole freezes with a fry hanging over her face, and a glop of ketchup drips onto her bottom lip. “Uh . . .” She blinks a few times before licking her lips clean. “Definitely. It’s gone.”
“And you promise you didn’t show it to anyone?”
“Not a soul!” The truth ringing in her voice makes it impossible to doubt her.
“Okay, good. I . . . have you noticed anything strange over the past few days?”
Her eyes slide over me. “Like what?”
“Like Zeta Nu Barbie calling me a slut? And guys who’ve never talked to me before—guys who happened to be at the top of that list—suddenly flirting with me and asking me out. And . . .” Jordan Keller’s face flashes before me, but I leave out the two run-ins I’ve had with him. “A lot of weird stuff. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we went ahead with the whole plan.”
“That is weird.” Nicole laughs, but it sounds forced.
“That’s what I said.”
“To answer your question, no, I haven’t noticed anything unusual. And so you know, those guys were already interested in you, which is why we picked them. You never gave them hope before. And maybe now that you’ve decided to go for it . . . maybe they felt a disturbance in the force, you know?”
“Really?” I gape at her. “The force?”
Nicole laughs. “The hymen is nothing but a proverbial force field.”
I let her words sink in. “I don’t know, maybe the Zeta Nu girls are jealous because Tyler asked me out.”
Nicole sits up straighter. “See? He’s a catch. Caleb, too.”
I’d almost forgotten about my date with Caleb. “You’re right. Maybe they’re mad that I’ve effectively taken two guys from the same frat out of circulation. Temporarily, at least.”
“That must be it.” Nicole shoots me a nervous glance before going back to her condiment-soaked fries.
Something else gnaws away at me. “You think Tyler’s pissed I’m going out with Caleb? Or vice versa, I guess. I mean, it’s only a date, right? It’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.”
