does?”
I rebelled against the idea that Lucas was dumb. Maybe he was unmotivated in
economics, but nothing about him seemed unintelligent.
“Hello!?” Maggie
called. “Do you even know Will?” We all dissolved into fits of giggles.
Maggie’s boyfriend was a sweet guy, and he could probably bench press a small
Honda, but he wouldn’t be winning any acclaim for his GPA.
“Chaz is brainier
than me—but that’s not saying much,” Erin said.
I’ve tried
repeatedly to get her to quit knocking her B-average intellect, but at some point
in her life, she became convinced that she’s not smart. I poked her in the arm,
as I have every time she’s spouted that self-deprecating nonsense.
“Ow! I’m just
being honest!”
“No, you’re not.”
“ Anyway ,”
Erin continued, “I’ve been known to slum it and shop in the gag-him-and-bag-him
aisles, believe it or not.” Maggie hooted a laugh behind us as Erin continued. “Have
y’all seen the guy who took me to senior prom?” We’d all seen her photos of
that guy—the Adonis in a tux, his arm around her silk-clad waist. “What a
body—holy cow, I just wanted to lick his abs. He was in remedial classes, but let
me tell you, he was gifted and talented at plenty of non-academic occupations.”
I was pretty sure
my face was on fire—as it was whenever my roommate elaborated so explicitly,
and Maggie was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing. They’d both
come to college single and sexually experienced. Kennedy and I had been
sleeping together since winter break of senior year, but I’d never been with
anyone else. I’d had no complaints about our sex life, though the occasional
magazine article or something Erin said made me wonder if there was more to it than
I knew.
“And all of this
proves—?”
Erin grinned at me. “It proves you’re ready for a long-overdue Bad Boy Phase.”
“Ooohhh,” Maggie sighed.
“Um. I don’t think—”
“ Exactly .
Don’t think. You’re gonna seduce this Lucas guy and rebound the hell out of
him. That’s the thing about bad boys—they don’t have any qualms about being the
rebound guy because they don’t hang around for long anyway. He probably lives for being the rebound guy—especially in a situation like this, where he’ll get
to teach you all sorts of naughty stuff.”
Maggie endorsed Erin’s
crazy idea with one heavily sighed word. “ Lucky .”
I thought of Lucas’s
hands at my waist, his mouth grazing my ear, and I shivered. I recalled his
penetrating gaze Wednesday during class, and the breath in my lungs went
shallow. Maybe I was experiencing alcohol perspective, and everything would
look different tomorrow—but at the moment, Erin’s crazy idea was starting to
sound almost not crazy.
Oh, hell.
***
I was a ball of nerves as I
approached the classroom Monday morning, unsure if I should initiate the man-snaring
strategy I’d agreed to test on my unsuspecting classmate, or abandon it fully
while I still could. He walked into the room ahead of me, and I watched his
eyes flick over my recently assigned seat, and the vacant one next to Kennedy,
who was already seated, thank God. I had about thirty seconds to reconsider the
whole thing.
Erin and Maggie
hadn’t let up on the thankfully short drive back to the dorm, feeding each
other’s enthusiasm and swearing envy over what I was about to do. Or who I was about to do. Since Erin had nothing to drink on Saturday but Diet Dr.
Pepper, she’d sprung out of bed Sunday morning unhungover and chock-full of
plans for Operation Bad Boy Phase.
I pretended more
of a hangover than I had, just to put her off, but Erin with an idea was not
readily put off. Determined to impart her how-to-seduce-a-guy knowledge whether
I wanted it or not, she’d shoved a bottle of orange juice into my hands as I grumbled
and pulled myself to a sitting position. I wanted to tug the covers over my
head and plug my ears, but it was far too late for
I rebelled against the idea that Lucas was dumb. Maybe he was unmotivated in
economics, but nothing about him seemed unintelligent.
“Hello!?” Maggie
called. “Do you even know Will?” We all dissolved into fits of giggles.
Maggie’s boyfriend was a sweet guy, and he could probably bench press a small
Honda, but he wouldn’t be winning any acclaim for his GPA.
“Chaz is brainier
than me—but that’s not saying much,” Erin said.
I’ve tried
repeatedly to get her to quit knocking her B-average intellect, but at some point
in her life, she became convinced that she’s not smart. I poked her in the arm,
as I have every time she’s spouted that self-deprecating nonsense.
“Ow! I’m just
being honest!”
“No, you’re not.”
“ Anyway ,”
Erin continued, “I’ve been known to slum it and shop in the gag-him-and-bag-him
aisles, believe it or not.” Maggie hooted a laugh behind us as Erin continued. “Have
y’all seen the guy who took me to senior prom?” We’d all seen her photos of
that guy—the Adonis in a tux, his arm around her silk-clad waist. “What a
body—holy cow, I just wanted to lick his abs. He was in remedial classes, but let
me tell you, he was gifted and talented at plenty of non-academic occupations.”
I was pretty sure
my face was on fire—as it was whenever my roommate elaborated so explicitly,
and Maggie was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing. They’d both
come to college single and sexually experienced. Kennedy and I had been
sleeping together since winter break of senior year, but I’d never been with
anyone else. I’d had no complaints about our sex life, though the occasional
magazine article or something Erin said made me wonder if there was more to it than
I knew.
“And all of this
proves—?”
Erin grinned at me. “It proves you’re ready for a long-overdue Bad Boy Phase.”
“Ooohhh,” Maggie sighed.
“Um. I don’t think—”
“ Exactly .
Don’t think. You’re gonna seduce this Lucas guy and rebound the hell out of
him. That’s the thing about bad boys—they don’t have any qualms about being the
rebound guy because they don’t hang around for long anyway. He probably lives for being the rebound guy—especially in a situation like this, where he’ll get
to teach you all sorts of naughty stuff.”
Maggie endorsed Erin’s
crazy idea with one heavily sighed word. “ Lucky .”
I thought of Lucas’s
hands at my waist, his mouth grazing my ear, and I shivered. I recalled his
penetrating gaze Wednesday during class, and the breath in my lungs went
shallow. Maybe I was experiencing alcohol perspective, and everything would
look different tomorrow—but at the moment, Erin’s crazy idea was starting to
sound almost not crazy.
Oh, hell.
***
I was a ball of nerves as I
approached the classroom Monday morning, unsure if I should initiate the man-snaring
strategy I’d agreed to test on my unsuspecting classmate, or abandon it fully
while I still could. He walked into the room ahead of me, and I watched his
eyes flick over my recently assigned seat, and the vacant one next to Kennedy,
who was already seated, thank God. I had about thirty seconds to reconsider the
whole thing.
Erin and Maggie
hadn’t let up on the thankfully short drive back to the dorm, feeding each
other’s enthusiasm and swearing envy over what I was about to do. Or who I was about to do. Since Erin had nothing to drink on Saturday but Diet Dr.
Pepper, she’d sprung out of bed Sunday morning unhungover and chock-full of
plans for Operation Bad Boy Phase.
I pretended more
of a hangover than I had, just to put her off, but Erin with an idea was not
readily put off. Determined to impart her how-to-seduce-a-guy knowledge whether
I wanted it or not, she’d shoved a bottle of orange juice into my hands as I grumbled
and pulled myself to a sitting position. I wanted to tug the covers over my
head and plug my ears, but it was far too late for
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