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“Yeah, sure.” She wanted to catch up with him? That told him she probably needed a favor.
“I need your help,” she told him.
“Okay.”
“Okay? You don’t even know what I want you to do.”
“Whatever you need, Callie. You know you can count on me.”
She beamed him a smile. “I know you’ve got some impressive computer skills.”
Spencer and his friends were good. Really good. They pushed one another and had broken through several cybersecurity systems just to prove they could. None of them would ever brag about it, otherwise they could get in serious trouble.
“Who told you that?” He worried that word might have somehow gotten out about his skill and exploits.
She didn’t answer for a long moment. “No one, really. I just know how smart you are.”
Spencer had to wonder if Ms. Goodwin had put Callie up to this. “Are you asking me to tutor you?” Callie was an honor roll student herself, so that couldn’t be right.
“Not exactly…It’s a bit more than that.”
“More what?”
“I…I’d rather not say at this point.”
This was getting stranger by the second. Whatever it was must be serious.
“I’ll admit I’m intrigued,” he said, playing it cool—well, as cool as he knew how to be. The thing was, Spencer wasn’t a cool guy.
His hesitation seemed to surprise her. “I know I haven’t been much of a friend lately,” she said, by way of an apology.
“I know how it goes. So what do you need?” he asked, willing to do whatever he could.
“I wouldn’t expect you to do this for free. I’ll pay you.”
“Pay me?”
“Anything you ask within reason. I mean, I have some money saved up. I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important.”
Spencer wondered what it was that made her sound so desperate. “I don’t want your money, Callie.”
“Okay,” she said, her face tightening. “We’re friends, but I don’t expect you to do this for nothing.”
“Is there risk involved?”
She bit into her lower lip and glanced down. “Maybe. I can’t be sure. That’s why I feel I should do something for you in return.”
Callie held his gaze, waiting. Anticipating. Eager.
“There is one thing I want.”
“Name it.”
“I’d like for you to be my date for homecoming.”
Her eyes grew shockingly round, as if the request had thrown her off balance. “You want to take me to homecoming? As your date?”
He nodded, his heart pounding so hard it felt as if it was slamming against his rib cage.
“I…guess that would be a fair exchange.”
Spencer held out his hand. “Then we have a deal.”
“Yeah,” she said, in a tone that indicated she wasn’t happy about this. She’d do it because she was desperate, but she didn’t like it.
Even so, for Spencer this was a dream come true. Callie Rhodes was his date for homecoming.
