Page 75 of Bookworm

Natalia: "Bo said something about being your boyfriend. What's up with that?"

I gulped.

Casey: "Is he your boyfriend?"

A pause.

Casey: "You promised you'd answer, Lottie."

Me: "Then yeah, he kind of is."

I didn't add that it was temporary or that it was all fake.It wouldn't have mattered anyway.Before the end of my answer, Casey and Natalia were jumping up and down with giddiness. I crossed my arms.

"Is that really necessary?" I asked.

"Yes," they said in unison. When they broke apart, Casey grabbed one of my hands, and Natalia took the other.

"You guys were totally making out when we found you in the stacks," Casey said.

"We were not," I said back, blushing wildly.

Natalia gave me a dimply smile. "I believe you, Lottie."

"No, you don't," Casey said. "You were the one who suggested the idea in the first place."

The other girl elbowed her in the ribs, but I shook my head.

"You know, we're only teasing you because we love you," Casey added.

"Yeah, we do," Natalia said. "Yourhappiness is all we want."

"That and for you to spill the tea whenever anything juicy happens."

A laugh escaped my lips.

"I love you guys too," I said. "And I promise to spill the tea if there is any to be spilt."

My friends gave me a group hug, and not for the first time, I wished we went to the same school.

#

Mrs. Lee was behind the cash register when I walked into the flower shop.

"Hi, Mrs. Lee," I said.

She looked up, first to the clock on the wall then to me, andnodded. "You're on time today, Charlotte-Lottie-Lotte."

"Yes," I said with a smile. Technically, it was 10 minutes earlier than the time we'd agreed upon, but afterthe other day, I wanted to make a better impression. Gesturing to my ensemble, I added, "And I remembered my uniform too."

"Good," she said.

"I guess I'll go find Bo, see if he needs anything."

She nodded again then looked away.

I took that as my dismissal.

Walking to the back room, I spotted Bo. He waswearing a black apron over his uniform, standing at the table, frowning in concentration as he attempted to tie a pink ribbon around a batch of carnations. His sprained wrist wasn't helping.

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