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He glances at my boot. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a piece of cake.”

Says the guy in freaking sneakers.

Eyeing the rushing stream, I make one last plea. “This is a bad idea.”

“Come on, we go on three. One. Two. Three.” Tyler leaps across the narrow gap with me in tow.

For half a second, I think I might make it. My left foot hits the opposite bank, and I almost get the right to cooperate, but at the last moment, I lose my balance. Instead of dragging me the rest of the way, Tyler releases my hand, letting me topple backward into the icy water with a spectacular splash.

7

Nicole’s gone by the time I get home, but she’s waiting for me in the dining hall the next morning with an extra-large white-chocolate mocha, sans whipped cream, and half a cinnamon roll.

“Wow. Thanks.” I inhale the fragrant aroma as I accept her offerings. “Dare I ask?”

“What?” She smiles. “I’m not allowed to bring my bestie breakfast?”

“And you went all the way to town to get it?” Sent Jeremy is more likely, but still.

She shrugs, but I’m not entirely buying her innocent act.

Scanning her for visible chinks in her armor, I set the coffee on the table and break off a large piece of the cinnamon roll. I shove the chunk between my lips, savoring the buttery goodness with a low hum of approval.

Indecision flickers in Nicole’s eyes, and she hesitates for a long moment before sitting beside me. “So . . . how was the date?”

“Complete disaster.”

“That bad?” She doesn’t look surprised as she brings her thumb to her lips and catches the nail between her teeth.

“Worse.”

“What happened?” She cringes like she already knows the gory details, but unless Tyler spilled the beans, that’s not possible.

“It’s gonna take a while for your boots to dry out.”

Her eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. “What happened to my boots?”

I pretend I didn’t hear her and go on. “And I think I got frostbite on my nipples.”

“What?” She shrieks so loud everyone in the dining hall stares at her. Her cheeks turn pink, and she lowers her voice. “Did you get naked? Outside?”

I nearly choke on my cinnamon roll.

“God, no! Nothing like that. We played miniature golf in the rain, and Tyler talked me into jumping over the stream that runs through the course. Unfortunately for me—and your boots—I didn’t make it.”

Nicole blinks a few times before doubling over in hysterics, her boobs nearly falling out of her low-cut top. “Oh my God. You fell into the stream?”

“More accurately, I was dropped into the stream. Instead of helping me across, Tyler decided to save his own ass.”

“He didn’t!”

“Oh, he most definitely did. And after nearly drowning me, the jerk expected me to continue with our date while I was soaking wet! He actually pulled the ‘shared body heat is the best way to stay warm’ line on me.”

“No!”

“Yes! And by that point, the gearshift in his crappy old car had better odds of taking my virginity than he did.”

“That’s one way to do it,” Nicole chimes in solidarity, but she can’t keep a straight face.