Page 21 of Betting on the Brainiac

When they stop laughing, Ava says, “But wait, there’s more. The next morning, Madi makes me draw a fake tattoo of a frog on her.”

Josh looks surprised. “I didn’t know you could draw.”

Ava shakes her head. “I can do a pretty good lab sketch, but that’s about it. Definitely not well enough to draw a tattoo.”

“I don’t know this part,” Joey says. “You get a sus frog tattoo to do…what?”

“I pick up my sister at her dorm that afternoon for Sunday dinner with my parents. I’m wearing a deep V neck that shows off my new tattoo. Did I mention I made Ava draw it right over my heart?”

Even Ava gives a soft laugh at the sheer glee in my voice.

“Ahhh, Kaitlyn.” I lean back on my hands, remembering. “It still makes me smile to remember the sound she made when she got in the car and saw it. It didn’t have words. I told her our talk inspired me to get it after the game because someday one of these frogswouldfind my heart, and I was more motivated than ever to kiss a thousand if that’s what it took.”

Once Kaitlyn had realized it was fake, she hadn’t spoken to me for a solid week. It had been a good week. Kaitlyn starting at UT had meant my third parent was on campus and ready to scold me if I didn’t see her soon enough to avoid her.

“Dang.” Josh shakes his head.

“Oh, come on,” I say. “You’re not really surprised to hear I’m a button-pusher.”

“Hold up,” Sami says. “You’re skipping part of the story: boys and girls, Princess Madison Armstrong blew up her own game.”

“That’s an overstatement,” I say.

“It’s exactly what happened.” She leans forward to the audience she just stole from me. “She said the thing about frog kissing so often that she began to believe it.”

I huff. “I don’t even like y’all knowing this story. These two don’t need to hear it.”

“We do,” Josh and Joey say together.

Sami lifts an eyebrow at me.

I groan. “Ugh, fine. In the worst kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, I can tell with one kiss if a guy istheguy. It’s annoying.”

“It’s not, Madi. It’s good,” Ava says.

“It’s the reason she never breaks hearts,” Sami says. “She won’t let these guys fall further than she thinks she can fall.”

I don’t like being painted as a do-gooding marshmallow. “It’s also why I kiss so many guys. Lots of frogs, blah blah blah.”

“Aw, Mads, that’s cute,” Joey says, “but you’re supposed to lick frogs, not kiss them, and only if you’re on a psychedelic retreat in Argentina.”

“Don’t lick toads,” Ava says. “That’s not how it works. You collect their mucus secretions and smoke them when they’re dry. That’s how you get 5-MeO-DMT.”

“You okay, bestie?” I ask. “Need me to reboot you?”

“It’s called the God molecule,” she says, patient as always with us dumber mortals. “And you can find Sonoran Desert toads in Texas.”

“Excellent news,” Josh says, deadpan. “Taco and toad Tuesday next week, guys?”

“Is this going to come back to Ruby and the bet?” Joey asks.”

“Yes,” Sami says. “Everyone assumes Madison is jaded but she’s the opposite. Total romantic. She believes in one true love that you know when you find it, and that you pretty much know it right away.”

“I get it,” Joey says, and I look up, surprised that he’s not going to tease me even more. “You’re being efficient. If the kiss isn’t it, why waste time? Jump to the test and bail if it’s another frog.”

Ava gives him a light kick. “You would think that.”

Joey catches her foot and holds it against his thigh, his thumb pressing into her arch as he smirks at her. “How do you think I knew how to teach you to be a great kisser?”

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