Ripley elbows me. “She is. She does that thing when she lies.”
“What thing?”
“An over-the-top smile,” she says.
“I do not. I smile a lot,” I say defensively.
“Yes, Miss Sunshine,” Bridget says with a smirk. “But it’s a fifty-mile-wide smile when you’re lying.”
I cover my mouth, then mutter, “Lies, sweet little lies.”
Bridget turns to Ripley with a knowing look in her eyes. “We have no choice, right?”
“None,” Ripley says.
I tense, bracing for what’s coming.
Bridget tickles me. Ripley gets in on it too. “What are you lying about?” They demand as I fight off a torrent of tickles until I finally blurt out, “Fine! I’m seeing him, and I like him. Happy now?”
They relent, with Bridget flashing a satisfied grin my way. “So it’s more than DNA-rearranging?”
My heart sputters in my chest, and I give a tentative, hopeful nod. “I think so.”
Ripley cheers. Bridget shouts an enthusiasticyes.
“But he’s still rearranging your DNA?”
“So well,” I say with a salacious hum. “And I also really like him.”
Bridget’s eyes are wise and thoughtful as she asks, “What are you going to do about that?”
That is the big question. “I don’t know. But tickling won’t give me any answers,” I say with a pout.
“Still, we have to try,” Ripley says.
I let out a forlorn sigh.
Bridget wraps an arm around me. Ripley does the same on the other side, and they hug me tight.
“Ugh, feelings,” Ripley says.
“I know,” I whine.
Feelings can suck it, even though I’m secretly hoping they stick around this time.
31
HIS FAVORITE GROUPIE
SAWYER
This is weird—getting ready with someone else for a performance. But weird good.I think.
For now, it’s mostly just weird knowing Chloe will be here any minute to help me prep. I step out of the shower, dry off, and wrap a towel around my waist. I grab another one, run it through my hair, then add some gel. Well, it helps make it messier for Sam.
I head to the bedroom to get dressed when the doorbell rings.
For a hot second, I weigh pulling on boxer briefs and jeans before I answer the door or not.
