The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan Page B

because it’s such a cliché, but when it happens to you in real life, you giggle and squeal like a silly girl while your heart explodes with imaginary hearts), and in places where the sand was hot, he even picked me up and carried me so my feet wouldn’t burn! (Now that part you CAN write about because it was SERIOUSLY AWESOME!)

    We stayed there the whole day, and in the evening we all had sundowners at this place overlooking the beach and the sunset. Jackson even put his arm around me when it started getting cooler. (Swoon!) Sooooo no actual date yet, but there are definitely plenty of magical sparks flying around!

    xx Livi

    P.S. I apologise for the overuse of exclamation marks.

    P.P.S. No I don’t!!!!!!
    ___________________________________

Three weeks into the semester, and I’ve finally run out of clean clothes. I managed to sneak some underwear into a load of laundry Adam had already started this morning—and sneak it out as soon as the washing machine started singing its ‘I’m finished!’ song—but I didn’t have time to do anything more than that.
    Allegra picked me up and we spent the morning dashing around Canal Walk, getting our nails done and each looking for a new dress to wear tonight. In their first week here, Allegra and Co. discovered a nightclub called The Banana Pearl , and they’ve been wanting to take me there ever since I became part of their group. Instead of admitting that nightclubs have never held much fascination for me, and that I’ve never actually been to one—NOTHING on this earth could force me to confess that little detail—I simply acted excited every time they spoke about it.
    But now, after three weeks, they’ve made a plan to return to The Banana Pearl with a bunch of other people we sometimes hang out with. And that bunch of other people includes Jackson—a fact that makes The Banana Pearl suddenly become a whole lot more interesting. Jackson and I have sat together in lectures, we’ve doodled on each other’s notes, and I even visited his room in Smuts once with Charlotte and Amber while Allegra was busy.
    But he hasn’t asked me out yet.
    So TONIGHT could be the night where I show him just how amazing and desirable I am.
    My hair is straight and sleek, my dress is short and tight, my heels are dangerously high, my make-up is dark and sparkly, and all exposed skin is covered in shimmery powder.
    I’m ready to go.
    I’m also horrendously hungry.
    I barely ate anything all day in order to avoid the bloated stomach look tonight. I’m looking fabulous in this dress—if I do say so myself—so missing lunch was worth it, but I’m starting to think I need to eat something before I go out. I clip-clop my way to the kitchen and grab a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. I lean against the counter, remove the lid on the jar, and scoop out a spoonful of peanut butter.
    “Hey, Liv, do you want—Oh, wow. I guess you’re going out, huh?”
    “Mmm.” I remove the spoon from my mouth as Adam enters the kitchen. “Yes. What were you going to ask me?”
    “Oh, uh, I’ve got some friends coming around to play Xbox, and I wondered if you might want to join us. You haven’t played in a while, and I don’t think you’ve met any of my new friends yet.”
    “Oh, that would have been great. I’m sorry I can’t join you.” I stick a second spoonful of peanut butter into my mouth.
    Adam nods. “Yeah. You’ve, uh, got a busy diary these days. I should have known you’d already have plans.” There’s something a little bit … off in his voice. He crosses his arms and leans against the fridge. “Where are you going tonight?”
    “ The Banana Pearl ,” I say as I screw the lid back onto the peanut butter jar. “In Long Street. You heard of it?”
    He nods again. “Yes, I’ve heard of it. I’ve heard about … things that happen there.”
    Ah. So that’s what was off in his voice. That’s what the look is about.
    Disapproval.
    I place the jar on the counter and