Page 88 of The Dixon Rule

Leaning toward the coffee table, I grab my phone. A minute later, the screen shows the latest video from Diana’s ridiculous dance account. My stomach drops when I realize she has over a hundred thousand followers. Kill me now.

The volume is on silent, so I turn it up and press play. Diana’s high, bubbly voice blares out of my phone.

“Hello, dancers! I wanted to give you a quick update on NUABC. Kenji is out. No, don’t get all dramatic. We didn’t have a huge fight. He simply decided that superyachts are more important than me. Although, who can blame him? Superyachts probably are more important than me. But yes, he’s going to be spending his summer on the Mediterranean, which means he won’t be able to compete, so I’ve had to find a new partner. And I think, judging by all the comments on our last video, a lot of you will be happy with this partner reveal. You guessed it—I am indeed talking about Asshole Neighbor.”

Ryder snorts mid-sip of his beer.

“Oh, and you’ll love this too. Asshole Neighbor is now also Trial Boyfriend.”

“Trial?” I growl.

Will starts laughing. My friends are dicks.

“I’ve decided to give him a shot to prove that he is worthy of my love. So yes, we are dancing, and we are dating. We are dance dating. It’s going to be glorious. Our rehearsals start this weekend, so stay tuned for some Asshole Neighbor content and all the grief I anticipate him bringing me. All right, I’m off to bed. Good night, dancers.”

“She is so lame.” I groan.

“I think she’s cute,” Will says.

“Why don’t you date her, then?”

“I’ll make sure to tell her you said that when we’re having drinks tonight. Anyway, yeah, I gotta go.” He glances at Ryder. “Don’t expect me back tonight. I’ll probably crash at my cousin Rob’s in Boston. I think he’s joining us for drinks.”

I shake my head. “How are you and ‘Rob’—” I make quotations.

“Why are you using air quotes? Are you implying that Rob is not real?”

“—on a double date with Ryder’s wife and my girlfriend, while he and I are here, not on a date with them?” I finish in disbelief.

“I don’t know. Some guys have all the luck.” Will gives an exaggerated shrug and saunters out of the living room.

After the front door closes, Ryder’s dark blue eyes grow sober again. “Look, about you and Diana. Be careful, okay? Like you said, she’s Gigi’s best friend.”

“Trust me, you don’t have to worry.”

Literally. Because it’s fake.

“Honestly,” I insist when I note his dubious expression. “I can’t see this lasting too long.”

“No?”

“She’s not really my type. You know I prefer a more serious girl. Someone who’s on the same page as me.”

“And what page is that?”

“The long-term kind.” I shrug. “Dixon is great, but she lives in the moment. She acts on these whims, throws herself into random new projects. She’s the kind of person who’s going to, like, take off to Budapest for a year. I don’t think she’s wanting to settle down anytime soon. We’re just having fun.”

“Fair enough.” He rubs the side of his face, thoughtful. “But if you truly don’t see anything long-term with her, don’t let her get attached.”

“Nah. She’s the one insisting we keep it casual,” I lie. “The girlfriend-boyfriend label is just easier to say than ‘this is my friends with benefits,’ you know?”

He relaxes. “Got it. So it’s more of a friends-with benefits-sitch.”

“Exactly.”

“But you haven’t had sex.” He’s skeptical again.

“Not yet. But I assume we’ll be banging by like, tomorrow.”

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