Page 103 of From Now On

“What did ‘Eve knows’ mean?”

Guess we’re sticking with this topic.

I shrug, then take a sip. “He’s a nice guy.”

“Which you know because…”

“What does it matter?”

“I just didn’t know you hung out with that crowd.”

“What crowd?” I question.

“That crowd. The popular jocks.”

“Um,you’rethe one who went bowling with Clayton Thomas and Conor Hart.”

Mary waves a dismissive hand in my direction. “Yeah, only because you talked Harlow into setting it up. I didn’t knowyouknew those guys. OrHunter Morgan.”

“Stop saying his name like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like he’s some type of celebrity.”

“Um, what school do you go to? Heisa celebrity on campus.”

I make a vague sound and shove a large bite of salad into my mouth. We’ve been friends since sophomore year, and I have never heard Mary mention Hunter’s name before. And, frankly, this timing couldn’t be worse.

“So, how do you know?” she persists.

“Know what?”

“You said you know Hunter isn’t a jerk. How do you know?”

I sigh. “Because we spent spring break together, and he was perfectly nice the entire time.”

Since then, though…

I shove the thought far away. Hewasnice to me while we were stuck on vacation together. And a few conversations didn’t mean he needed to hurry over to say hi to me at Gaffney’s. It’s possible he never even realized I was there. But Iwantedhim to notice I was there.

Mary gasps. “Youdid?”

“Yeah. I told you Harlow invited me.”

“Yeah.Harlow. You didn’t mention anyone else.”

“Oh. Well…” I take another bite of salad. “Conor and his friends were there too.”

“And?”

“And Rylan. She’s dating one of Conor’s teammates.”

“Details, Eve. What did you guys do? Let me live vicariously.”

“Uh, let’s see. I got drunk off tequila shots, kissed a surfer named Finn, and then threw up in the bushes in front of everyone. How’s that for details?”

“Oh, Eve.” Mary’s curiosity has morphed into sympathy.

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