Page 26 of Finding My Charming

“Except I screwed that up.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Minor detail. Your life has been too easy so far. Karma had to go and throw a few twists in.”

“It’s like a fairytale gone wrong.”

“No fairytale is complete without a spell, or witch, or beast to complicate things for the princess, but… you know the best part?”

“What’s that?”

“The princess and the prince always live happily ever after.” She winked, and I groaned. Can she be any cheesier?

“You’re a dork. Get back to the list.”

She smiled and looked back down. “Next is Cargo Shorts.”

I cringed. I definitely remembered him, unfortunately. “He grabbed me when I was walking and tried to get me to dance with him. Touching me without my permission, sweaty palms, and cargo shorts. He’s a minus, and don’t bother trying to argue that one. I’d rather be alone and loveless for the rest of my life, thank you very much.”

Her eyebrows shot up at my story, and she simply nodded while crossing his name through completely. “Got it. Next is… Preppy?” She giggled again at the name.

“Baby-blue button-down tucked into baby-pink shorts. His hair did look better than mine, so I’ve got to give him credit for that.”

She put a minus next to his name. “Wait. Headphones? A guy was walking around a party wearing headphones?”

I folded my arms over my chest and finally lay back against the pillows. This was going to be a long night. “Yes, and I had to ask him to move so I could get to the backyard. Not so easy to do when the guy was in his own little world.”

“So?”

“I don’t really know. He wasn’t terrible, but it’s a little rude that he thought listening to his own music was better than being a part of his surroundings.”

“Check?”

I groaned. “Sure.”

“Oh, this one sounds good! Mysterious Beanie Man.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she read the name.

I laughed. “He was a cutie. We only smiled at each other though.”

“Not a deal-breaker. I’ll put a star.” She tapped the paper and gave me a serious look. “Only a few more left. How about Hat, number two? Did he do better than his predecessor?”

“He was cute. His friends were all congregated in a hallway, so I had to squeeze through them. He put his arm up and made room for me. When we passed, he gave me a gorgeous smile smirk thing and said, ‘Excuse us,’ in this really deep, sexy voice. He was pretty tan and had brown hair kind of slicked to the side.” I sighed, remembering him. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of him sooner!”

Ari looked amused. “Looks like we have a winner! Double stars for him. Last one! Tell me about Jersey Boy.”

“Uh… oh, he seemed like a tool. He was in the backyard near the fire pit with some other jock-looking guys. I was looking for you, but he called me over and offered me a seat since it was crowded.”

She looked confused. “That’s sweet! Why did you think he was a tool?”

“The seat was his lap,” I deadpanned.

“I should have seen that coming.”

I laughed. “Me too. If you’re going to be an idiot, at least try to be original!”

“He probably thought you were cute! Guys our age are stupid. It’s a sad, unfortunate truth. We need to cut them some slack.”

“Fine, give him a check.”

She nodded and looked back to the list. “Two checks and four stars. Ready to find Mr. Right?”