Page 18 of Debugging Love

“Trust me. It was. For one, his profile picture was fake. For two, he knows he’s a ten.”

Their jaws flap open.

“He’s a ten?” Kayla gasps.

I shouldn’t have said that. “It doesn’t matter. He was rude, arrogant, stuck-up, rude. Did I already say stuck-up?”

Morgan leans back against the couch. Her expression turns thoughtful. “But,” she says slowly. “He’s hot.”

“So,” I say.

“A few dates. Some knee-buckling kisses. A make-out session or two. It’s not like you’re agreeing to marry him.”

“I don’t find arrogance attractive.”

“Depending on the face it’s attached too, I may be able to put up with it for a few dates,” Kayla says. “Can I have his number?”

“No. Trust me. Any make-out session with him would be self-serving. On his end.”

“I might want to be the judge of that,” Kayla says.

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be so shallow. It’s not all about looks. You don’t know the worst of it yet.”

Morgan perks up. “There’s more?”

I mentally fast forward through the date, skipping the part where his lips almost turned me into a puddle on the dance floor, pausing by the paddlewheel. “He’s a player.”

“How do you know?” Kayla asks.

“He’s on a dozen dating sites, and he admitted he just goes on dates to hook up.”

Morgan’s blue eyes narrow. “He told you this?”

“Pretty much. He was ogling a blonde girl behind me while we were eating dinner.”

“How rude.”

Kayla nods in agreement.

“And...”

“There’s more?” Morgan clasps her hands in a mix of disgust and glee, my train wreck of a date providing oodles of rubbernecking entertainment.

“He followed me home.”

“What?!” Morgan shouts. “He’s a stalker?”

“No. He’s my neighbor.”

Morgan and Kayla gape at me.

“Huh?” Kayla finally manages.

“You know. The neighbor I’ve been complaining about. The one who leaves his clothes on the railing and his trash by the door.”

“The one who blasts country music at all hours of the morning and night!” Kayla confirms.

“Yep.”

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