Page 17 of The Kiss List

"Or maybe it's because of Denton."

I scowl at her. "What about him? He helped me get what I wanted, remember? I'm done with him."

Are you, really? Then why can't you stop staring at him across the cafeteria? Why are you irritated with the girl at his table who's busy flirting with him instead of eating her lunch?

Because she's wasting good lunch, that's why.

Yeah, that's it. I'm not affected by the flirting at all. So what if a girl is flirting with him? Good for him, right? Get it, Denton.

"You know, if you glare at them any harder, their table is going to catch fire."

With a scowl, I turn back to my best friend. "I wasn't glaring at anyone. I was just wondering when you were going to tell me about Jason."

Iris gives me an innocent look. "What about him?"

I roll my eyes. "Please. You're so totally busted. I know that the two of you are text buddies now. Or probably even more than that."

Realization washes over her features. “Denton told you, didn’t he? Oh, my God. You guys have been texting too!”

“So it’s true,” I say accusingly, totally ignoring the last part. “Why didn’t you tell me? You came over to my house yesterday.”

“Because the Denton thing was more important, duh. And I was planning to tell you anyway. Denton just beat me to it. Which we will definitely talk about in a minute.”

“So how did it happen?” Again, I ignore the Denton thing.

She shrugs a shoulder. “While you were locked in the guest room with your chosen toad at the party, I kind of hung out with Jason.” She chews on her bottom lip. "I know he's on your list, but I thought since he wasn't your first choice anyway, and there were a ton of guys on your list, well—"

"It's fine. He was like my fifth choice or something so it's cool. And that's totally beside the point." I waggle my eyebrows. “Define ‘hung out.’”

Iris rolls her eyes, then pops a couple fries into her mouth. “He just kept me company, that’s all. Then before we let you guys out, he asked for my number. I gave it to him, and now we’re texting. That's it.”

“Uh-huh.” I grab some fries from her plate. “You’re leaving something out.”

A wide grin spreads across her face before she lets out a squeal. “We’re going on a date on Friday.”

I let out a snort. “Knew it.”

“You know, you and Denton are totally welcome to join us for a double date.”

Yeah, that’s never going to happen.

“That’s a no for me. But you can ask the girl he’s flirting with. Maybe she’d love to come. There’s your double date.”

Iris laughs. “You’re totally jealous right now, aren’t you?”

“Please,” I scoff. “Why would I be jealous?”

She props her arm on the table and rests her chin on her palm. “I don’t know, Maise. You tell me.”

“I don’t need to tell you anything. He can flirt with any girl he wants. I don’t give a crap.”

“Girl, I don’t know who you’re trying to convince—if it’s me or you. But one thing’s for sure, you’re not doing a good job.”

I scowl at Iris, but I can’t bring myself to argue with that. Because even to my own ears, the words sounded unconvincing.

*******

My eyes are glued to my phone, reading Denton's text message over and over again.

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