Page 13 of Daydream

“Halle and Cami,” Kaia says, scanning the room. “Your quest is…”

“Oh, so they’re quests now?” Cami says, pushing her—sort of blond but sort of red?—hair over her shoulder as she laughs.

“I mean, quest sounds more noble and honorable than calling it a dare,” Kaia argues. “Roll with it! Your quest… is go get someone’s phone number. Three, two, one, go go go.”

I’m taking a sip of my drink when Cami immediately runs intothe crowd of people. “Shit,” is the only thing I manage to say as I run off in a different direction. It’s not until I take a second to take in the guys in the room that I realize what I’m doing.

I’ve literally never asked for a guy’s number in my life.

And that’s when I spot him. Henry. Staring at his phone in the corner of the room alone. Considering he’s the only other person at this party whose name I know, I suspect it’ll be so much easier to explain to him why I need his number.

But as I’m about to head over, a girl approaches and hands him a Solo cup. She’s much shorter than my five-foot-ten height, I’d guess half a foot smaller. She has long brown hair and a gorgeous smile. He leans in to whisper something into her ear and she laughs, and for some unknown reason, I feel atinybit put out.

“Hi. You look lost.” Turning to my left, I immediately spot the guy talking to me. Much taller than me, probably about the same difference as Henry and the girl he’s with. “I’m Mason.”

I don’t know whether it’s the alcohol… No. That’s a lie. It’s definitely the alcohol that gives me the confidence. “Can I have your number?” I ask.

He holds out his hand. “Sure. Do I get your name before I give you my number?”

“It’s Halle.”

“Pretty name,” he says as he types his digits into my cell phone. The fact that he saves his name with both a basketball and an eggplant emoji tells me everything I need to know about this guy, but who am I to judge, I guess.

“Thanks,” I say over my shoulder as I’m running back to the girls. Cami joins the others a second before me and I don’t even wait to be encouraged to take the shot. I’m not someone who’s ever partied, which means every drink feels like five. Even in high school, if someone threw a party when their parents were out of town, I’d be Will’s designated driver.

“Gimme your phone,” Cami says seriously. I don’t question it as I hand it over and she navigates to my contacts. She taps on Mason’s recently saved number and hovers over the delete contact button with her thumb. “Do you like toxic men?”

“Huh?”

Kaia laughs and nods in the direction of Mason across the room talking to someone else. “Toxic men. Do you like them? Is your life being ruined by a fuck boy something that you want to experience in college?”

It isn’t something I’ve ever had to consider. “Uh, I don’t think so. No, no I don’t want anyone toxic. Why?”

Cami’s thumb taps the screen to delete the number and hands me back my phone. “Then I just saved your life. One of the housekeepers at the hotel has a sister who dated him, and let’s just say he isn’t for the weak hearted.”

Of course I picked out the guy in a room full of guys who is likely to ruin my life. Not that I would have called him, but it’s good to know that my natural instinct for self-preservation is zero. “Thank you?”

“You are so welcome!” Cami says happily.

I take another huge sip and Poppy wraps her arm around my shoulders. “This is why I don’t date men.”

“And this is why I hate them,” Kaia adds, sighing dramatically. “But I do date them… unfortunately. It’s my main character flaw, but nobody is perfect.”

I don’t know whether it’s the buzz from the drinks or the high from being surrounded by fun people who seem to be genuinely happy I’m here, but my brain doesn’t stop me when Henry walks toward the stairs alone in my line of vision. “What do you think of that guy?”

“Who?” Poppy asks. “Henry Turner?”

Oh crap. “Do you guys knoweveryone?”

They all look into their cups. Cami is the first person to break. “I don’tknowhim, know him. But I knowofhim. And his reputation. A very positive one, nothing like Mason, but well earned if rumors are to be believed. He’s… popular on campus. With women.”

“I think he’s nice,” Ava says, interrupting Cami. “I had a class with him last year. He’s quiet. Sweet.”

“I think he’s hot,” Kaia says. “Like really, unreasonably hot.”

“My friend is dating his roommate, Russ. Do you want me to find out about him?” Poppy asks.

It’s in that moment that I realize how entangled the Maple Hills web is. I don’t mention to Poppy that I know Aurora, too, or that Henry was talking to someone earlier anyway. I just down the rest of my drink and put the cup on the counter. “What’s my next quest?”

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