“Well, well, Amy Carter.” Riley pulled out his
textbook and placed it on the narrow desk, right
next to my notebook. He raised an eyebrow, his
tone challenging. “What was it you wanted to
do to me last night?”
I smiled slightly and moved my notebook away,
putting some distance between us. He mirrored
my smile. “I knew you were using me to get to
Ethan.”
“That’s not true at all.” I denied it vehemently.
He scoffed. “As if. He would never go for a girl
like you, obsessed with boys.”
“Besides,” he continued, his expression serious, “I have principles. I’m not going to fall for some
lame trick like that.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
The attendance sheet reached me. I skipped
<
42
Ethan’s name and only signed my own. I passed
it to Riley, my hand brushing his briefly. He
flinched away like I’d shocked him, radiating intense single–guy energy.
“You…” He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you sign for Ethan?” He was acting like the guardian of Ethan’s love life. Too bad, I wanted to drag him down with me.
“Because you’re here!” I smiled at him. He
avoided my gaze, staring straight ahead at the professor.
“Here,” I said, offering him my pen. He took it quickly and signed Ethan’s name, his hand slightly shaky. His handwriting was nice.
“Your name’s not on the sheet,” I said, tilting
my head and looking directly at him. “So, did you come here just to see me?”
He immediately denied it, drawing a line in the
<
}}
sand. “I’m here to warn you!”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Can I have my pen back
now?”
ร
42
He practically threw it at me, like it was burning
his hand. I held it carefully, examining it closely.
“What are you doing?” he couldn’t resist
asking.
“This is the first pen we ever shared. I’m going
to cherish it forever,” I said sincerely.
The bell rang, and Riley bolted out of the room
without looking back. I let my smile drop and
slowly packed my things. As I walked past the
professor’s desk, I handed him the attendance
sheet.
“Could I borrow a pen?” he asked, rummaging
through a pile of chalk.
10:25
<
42
I offered him the pen. “Here, you can have it. I
have plenty.”
Outside the classroom, I pulled out my phone
and switched to a burner account, a fake guy profile. I added Riley on Snapchat.
NotADog: “Who dis?” His tone was more
cautious this time.
DogWhisperer: “Saw you holding hands with
Amy Carter in Room 203 this morning. Got
pics.”
NotADog: “?”
NotADog: “Our hands barely touched!”
NotADog: “I mean, it wasn’t on purpose. She
did it on purpose, not me. I mean, I didn’t do it
on purpose.”
A few minutes later:
NotADoa: “How much to delete them?”
<
He sent me a $20 Venmo request. I declined it.
DogWhisperer: “You and Ethan have a group
chat, right?”
