Page 26 of Twisted Little Thing

Yuka rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on! You have to call him to make sure that it really is him! Hide your number and make it an anonymous call, if you're such a chicken. That way you can just hang up after hearing his voice."

"That's so immature," I object.

"I agree," Yuka says. "The mature way would be to actually talk to him and ask him out for coffee. But I don't see you going for that option – Miss Oh-so-cool."

"You should really stop with these silly names," I say.

Yuka laughs and winks at me. "But they suit you so well!"

I take another sip of my tea while Yuka looks at me with anticipation. Apparently, she enjoys watching my brain work in silence almost as much as he does.

"So," she eventually presses. "What's it going to be? The mature way or the chicken option?"

I look down at the article again, mesmerized by his beautiful face. He is smiling in the bigger picture, but it's not the same kind of smile I saw him use last night. This one is frozen and fake, a publicity smile.

Whatever his story is, I know I want to hear it. I also know that I have to be careful with him. He caught me off guard like no one has before. It both scares and intrigues me.

"Chicken," I say.

Yuka smirks at me as I get up from the table to fetch my phone.

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