“And the problem is?”
“Ireallywant to have sex with her, Jace. Repeatedly.”
“That’s the crush talking,” he said with a smirk.
“Great, well, this crush is going to be a fucking problem, man. She only wants one night.”
“Then you better hope you’re as good as all those other girls say and she comes back for more.”
I shook my head, shaking off the stress as I gestured to the hockey video game Jace had queued up. “Are we playing or not?”
Jace tossed me a controller and picked up the other for himself.
It wasn’t a bad point. I wanted more than sex with Sophia, but sex was what she wanted, and sex was what I was good at. Even if I had a crush on her, I could do this and give her what she asked for. I’d be secretly dying for more, but that could probably be okay. I could survive that.
Chapter Eight
Sophia
I hadn’t told Alyssaand Jia that I was going out with Leo tonight. It’s not that I was ashamed to be going out with him—if anything, I kind of felt like hot shit for having his attention in the first place—but I knew they’d make a big deal about it. They’d probably squeal and jump up and down before picking out my clothes. I didn’t want to do any of that. I wanted to show up and be me. Yes, I was meeting him for a singular purpose, but we also had a connection, one that felt genuine enough that I didn’t want to show up with perfectly styled hair and makeup trying to be someone I wasn’t. He’d agreed to this without any of that, and I didn’t need to start primping now, because I was not a primper.
Looking at the pile of clothes on my bed, I also realized I was not capable of picking out my own clothes for this. I grabbed the phone and called my sister. I was meeting Leo in an hour, and with the time difference, she should be just getting out of school.
“Hey,” Elena chirped.
“Hey. I need your help,” I said, sounding more panicked than I’d realized I was.
“Hit me, girl.”
“What should I wear for a one-night stand?”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and if I knew my sister, she was checking to make sure it was my name on her screen. “Who is this?” she asked slowly, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Soph, are you in a hostage situation? Is this your code phrase? Was I supposed to know this one?”
I sighed. “Elena, it’s me. I’m perfectly safe. But I’m having a one-night stand tonight and it turns out dressing for that occasion is more pressure than I can handle.”
My phone lit up with a request for a video chat.
Are you fucking kidding me, El?
I accepted her request and Elena’s light brown face filled my screen. A blue sky was the only backdrop against her black hair, highlighted with purple streaks. We were half sisters, which meant she’d gotten some of her father’s native Hawaiian coloring but she was constantly highlighting her dark hair with different colors. Lately, blue and purple were her favorites.
Her eyes shifted around the screen before settling on me. “Wow, you really do seem to be safe and in your room. So, what the hell is happening right now?”
“Will you stop it? I’m safe!”
“Well, you can’t blame me for wondering.” She sat down, the Hawaiian sun bright behind her.
“Where are you?”
“The bench outside Joe’s by Kennedy. I’m working a shift this afternoon. I can finish this conversation first.”
“Will you be late?”
“If I am, it’ll be worth it.” She smirked at me as she leaned back, running a hand over her ponytail. Her dark brown eyes shimmered in the sun and made me long to be home with her. “Tell me more about this one-night stand and how you know you’re going to have it when you’re still in your dorm.”
“I arranged it yesterday.” I sat down on my bed. “It’s not a big deal, but he’s gorgeous and very experienced and I’d like to show up looking like I’m at least someone who’shadsex before.”
Elena’s eyes widened until they were bugging out of her head. “Stop. Did you just sayarranged?”
