I donothave a crush on Mark Caputo. He’s my enemy. As of right this moment, and for the next twelve hours, Mark is Enemy Number One. He’s all that stands between me and the new Jeep of my dreams.
I’m going to crush him.
With all the confidence I can muster, I type out a reply.
Me:Why yes, you can ride with me in my new Jeep. I’m assuming that’s why you’re messaging me?
Mark:I was actually messaging you to say you can ride in my new truck with me. Maybe we could go on a date or something next weekend?
The air whooshes out of my lungs when I read that. What a jerk! What a completely stuck up, arrogant, annoying, horrible jerk. Even now, over the internet, he’s still trying to flirt with me and mess up my head. It’s not. Going. To. Happen.
Never.
My fingers fly across my phone’s keyboard.
Me:Seriously, dude? You really think I’m that stupid? You can’t flirt your way into winning this competition. You’re cute and all, but you’re not cuter than a brand new Jeep. I’m not backing down. I will win this.
I send it before I have a chance to read over my words and edit them. Once it’s sent, I look back at what I wrote and hold my breath. Ah, crap. I told him he was cute.
I get more messages on Instagram, so I back out of this chat with Mark. Three people have replied to my babysitting offer and happily accepted. One person, a sophomore girl named Jameela, replies:Girl, I appreciate that but my brothers are hellions. I’ll give you some kudos just for the offer, but I’d never wish my brothers onto anyone. Haha. Good luck! Hope you win!
I smile. Not everyone is a manipulative jerk. Some people are just nice. Sure enough, my points go up a few seconds later. Two other people tell me they’ll let me babysit and then they give me kudos as well.
Several minutes have gone by and I’ve almost forgotten about Mark, but then he replies again. I bite my lip and check his message.
Mark:I know you’ll win. I’d still like to go on that date though…
You know how people say their heart “stops” when something crazy happens? And they don’t really mean that it stops, stops. It’s just a metaphor obviously because a stopped heart would mean you’re dead.
Well, I’m pretty sure my heart stops.
I take a quick breath and press my hand to my chest, relieved to feel my heart pounding away. Guess I’m not dead after all.
Is he serious?
Or is this a joke?
Another message appears.
Mark:Sorry… this is lame. I should ask you in person, but in person all we do is bicker. Maybe when this is over and you have your shiny new car, we could go on a date?
I swallow.
This is a trick.
Or is it?
I’m not a mind reader. I don’t have some Ph.D. in body language or anything, but… I guess it’s just a gut feeling. Every time I’m around Mark, well, I feel something. Not just my stupid crush on him but… something coming from him as well. The way he smiles at me. The tone of his voice when we talk. It’s different. It’s… it’s almost as if he likes me too.
Maybe this isn’t a trick.
And if I let my guard down, I know deep down that I’m crushing on him, hard. Like super hard. He’s gorgeous and smart and he can get me free Italian food. What kind of girl would turn down limitless pasta from a shockingly cute guy?
I taste blood and realize I’ve been biting my lip. If he’s for real, then I definitely want to go on that date.
Me:I’m not falling for your lies
Mark::( Not a lie
