“I wasn’t just with him. I was with my brother and his…”
“Are you trying to justify this?”
“It’s not like I enjoyed any part of it.”
“Man, I’m such a chump. I don’t expect to spend every minute with you, but I also don’t expect you to go out with another guy.”
“It was fake. Okay, LJ didn’t know that, but my brother did.”
Dax groans. “You Ashworths and your games.”
My eyes water, and I blink it away. “Look, my brother already told me off, so I get it. I’m an idiot.”
Dax sighs, sliding closer again. “I never said that. I just don’t understand what was going through your head.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “My mother riled me up. It was an impulse reaction.”
There’s hesitancy as he asks, “So, where did you go?”
“To get ice-cream.”
He smirks. “How quaint.”
I nudge him. “It’s no smoothie bar.”
My purse sits beside me and vibrates against my hip. I want to ignore it, but the buzzing continues on a loop.
“What the heck?” I dig my phone out of my purse. “Why am I getting so many notifications?”
My screen is a mess with mentions, comments, and reposts. I click into the app and am taken to Hope’s page. There’s a photo of me and LJ at the ice-creamery. This is the moment before Hope and her boyfriend joined ourtable. My tongue clicks as I remember her walking over to us with her phone in her hand.
The photo is pasted beside an image of Dax and me outside the country club. Hope must’ve taken it when approaching us before the Saturday evening meeting.
Dax’s jaw rocks, and his face reddens. “Why does he look like he’s about to kiss you?”
In the picture, LJ leans over me with his eyes closing and lips parting.
My grip on the phone intensifies. On top of the side-by-side images, a crude poll asks,“Who dated her best?”with two options:“Prince LJ”or“Biker Boy.”
I grind my teeth together. She’s having people vote on who I should date?
“Who does she think she is!” I shriek and reach for my laptop. “That’s it!”
“What are you doing?”
My fingers furiously tap at the keys. I open up the student portal and log-on to Hope’s dashboard. “Hope’s about to get real honest with Mr. Riley about her crush on him.”
Dax leans forward, snatching the laptop from my grip. “Sass, stop.”
“Give it back,” I snap.
Dax shuts the laptop and tucks it under his arm. “What will it solve?”
“Just let me do it.”
He places the laptop on the armrest and grabs my shoulders. “Hope’s not the one you need to focus on.”
I point at my phone. “Did you not see what she did?”
