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“Your eyes look really pretty today.”
“Better. But better yet, would be saying something like, ‘The color of your shirt really makes your eyes pop.’”
I scratched my head, mulling this over. “But what if the color of her shirt doesn’t make her eyes pop?”
Scarlett stared at me like I was stupid, then glanced over at Penelope for help.
“You think she’s beautiful, right?” she asked.
“She’s the prettiest girl at Lakeview.”
“And you think she has nice eyes?”
“They’re like espresso.”
“And since she has the most amazing eyes, then it’s safe to say that no matter what color shirt she’s wearing, they’ll be beautiful, right?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I conceded, wiping my damp palms over my pants. Why on earth was I so nervous? Ella wasn’t even here.
Maybe because I had two cute girls in my room for the very first time. Sitting on my bed. Alone. Friends or not, it was enough to make any dude lose his cool.
“And don’t forget to compliment her on more than the exterior. Girls love when you pay attention. Like . . .” Scarlett waved her hand in the air. “I love your laugh. Or your laugh makes me smile. Or some kind of compliment on her intelligence when you’re working together.”
I nodded. I could do that. I may not know Ella all that well, but there were a lot of things I liked about her aside from her looks. Like how she was nice to everyone. It didn’t matter how popular they were or what crowd they ran with, I never heard her muster a bad word about anyone. I loved the sultry sound of her voice and how she always sang a solo at the Christmas choir concert every year. And more recently, how much she cared about her sister. The way she worried about how she’d cope once she was gone.
“And also engage in normal conversation, too. Not just compliments,” Penelope said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “On Monday, ask her how the rest of her weekend went. Ask her what she did and use her answer as a launching point to dive deeper into her hobbies if the opportunity presents itself.”
“Yes! And it’s okay to use what she says as an opening to say something about yourself. That’s good. It’s the only way she’ll get to know you,” Scarlett jumped in. “But don’t talk about yourself too much. Girls hate that. We like it when you show more interest in us.”
I nodded, hoping I’d remember all of this.
Don’t talk too much about myself. Don’t dole out shallow compliments. Act interested. Find out how her weekend went. Be confident.
The list went on as they continued talking. My head spun from the information, and by the time Penelope and Scarlett left two hours later, I had a headache the size of Texas.
Unsurprisingly, the rest of the weekend, Ella was all I thought about. Even on the ride to school, she occupied my thoughts. Though I tried to push her out of my head, nothing worked. It wasn’t rational, liking her. Besides the fact that she was clearly way out of my league, she very obviously liked Luca and had zero interest in me for more than a lab partner. At best, I was a love interest for her sister. Still, I wouldn’t give up. Not that Thorne would let me anyhow. I believe his exact words were,If you don’t find a way to charm her and ask her out, I’ll kick your ass.
And maybe Scarlett was right. Maybe all I needed was to find her weakness, the one thing I could give her that no one else could. The one thing that would make her fall.
Now to figure out what that was . . .
I pulled into the student lot, and any positivity I felt moments ago vanished at the sight of JT traversing the walkway to the front entrance.
With a sigh, I chose a spot, then parked and turned the ignition off as I stared ahead at the throng of students clustered outside the large stone archways of the school. Ella wanted a grand gesture. Someone to prove how much they liked her and wanted her. It’s what Luca did for her at the baseball game, and something I was sure I’d suck at, but if I wanted her, then I’d have to woo her. My only fear, and the one thing I couldn’t get out of my head, was that no matter what I did, she’d never really see me. Because I wasn’t like the boys she normally dated. I was a nerd. Introverted and awkward. Unpopular. Uncoordinated. What if I put myself out there and got laughed at? What if I became even more of a joke to the Royals than I already was?
With a groan, I got out of the car and grabbed my bookbag from the backseat, then slung it over my shoulder. Already, the campus was teaming with students, and I followed behind a group of giggling freshmen, up the sidewalk, toward the main doors of the school. I headed inside, stopped at my locker, and popped it open, reaching for the books of my first two classes just as Penelope and Scarlett appeared beside me.
“Hi,” I said with waning enthusiasm. I was too lost in thought to socialize. Not with Ella heavy on my mind and the good chance I’d need to humiliate myself in an effort to win her over.
“Today is a new day, Glick. Another chance to charm Ella. Remember, just be yourself,” Scarlett said.
Right, because that was bound to win her over. After all, I’d been myself for the past eighteen years with zero success where girls were concerned.
“How will that win her heart, exactly?”
Scarlett sighed and crossed her arms, then glanced at Penelope for reinforcement. “A little help here?”
“You’re genuine and sweet and easily the smartest boy in our school. Ella seems like the type that will appreciate that.”
