Page 29 of Romeo

Jasper: Favorite meal?

Me: Breakfast for dinner

Jasper: Strong answer.

Me: Yours?

Jasper: Gumbo.

Me: Also predictable

Jasper: You wound me.

Me: Next question.

Jasper: Beach or mountains?

Me: Mountains

Jasper: I knew it.

Me: Then why ask?

Jasper: I like being right.

I shook my head, smiling at the screen.

Me: Beach or mountains?

Jasper: Depends who I’m with.

My smile faded. There were at least a dozen harmless ways to read that answer. Naturally, my brain chose none of them.

Me: That’s cheating

Jasper: It’s strategy.

Me: You’re bad at this game

Jasper: You’re still playing.

I set my phone down and exhaled slowly.

Nash was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. “You like this guy.”

“I don’t⁠—”

“Fi. Come on. I’ve known you for two years. You don’t smile at your phone like that unless you’re into someone.”

Absently, I picked at the edge of my phone case. Nash was my friend—one of the few people my age I actually trusted. Maybe saying it out loud would make it sound less ridiculous.

“Okay,” I admitted. “Maybe I like him. A little.”

“A little?”

“Fine. A lot.”

Nash grinned. “Does he know?”