Page 69 of Eye of the Beholder

Jack just grinned at her for a second while my eyes went back and forth between them, trying to figure out what was happening. I did catch Lydia’s eyes, but her expression was entirely too smug for my liking. I ended up staring at my feet instead.

When the bell rang, Jack thumped the table and said, “Well, talk to you later?”

When Mina nodded, he turned and walked away, and I turned to Mina.

“What wasthat?” I said. “That was flirting. You were flirting!”

Mina frowned. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No,” I said automatically.

Mina raised one eyebrow. “Of course I’m flirting. I’ve been practicing. I mean”—she lowered her voice—“it feels weird,” she admitted. “But I think I’m getting better, don’t you?” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

So, yeah. She flirted with Jack today, and I’m still reeling. Clearly Jack is too, if he’s telling me he wants to ask her out.

I swallow hard and stare at the eraser of my pencil as I try to figure out what to say. There’s somehow a stillness in my head that wasn’t there ten seconds ago, and I feel an irrational surge of annoyance at the thought of Jack asking Mina out.

“Cohen?” Jack says, and I realize I’ve been silent for too long.

“Oh, right. Yeah, man. Go for it. Ask her out.” Then, even though I don’t love the idea, I put the call on speaker so Mina can hear. Girls like to hear guys talk about asking them out, right? I sit up in my chair and set the phone on the bed. Then I look up at Mina.

To my surprise, she isn’t smiling. She doesn’t even look happy. She just looks…disconcerted, maybe. Or worried. She’s biting her bottom lip. Why isn’t she happy? This is the whole point of Operation Jack.

I raise my eyebrows at her, but she just waves my look away with one hand.

“Yeah, I will,” Jack says, his voice blaring into the room. “Things with Virginia really aren’t going anywhere, and she’s starting to get irritating. She’s not the only hot girl out there, you know?”

I can feel a headache coming on. “I know,” I say.

“And Mina—she’s hot,” Jack says, sounding distracted.

Crap. Speaker phone was a bad idea. What am I supposed to say to that? I can’t very well agree. Not while Mina is right here. I lean forward to grab the phone, but Mina swipes it away so that I can’t turn the speaker off.

We then have a totally silent argument that involves me gesturing for her to give me the phone and her shaking her head emphatically.

Into the silence Jack says, “What, don’t you think so?”

I give up on the phone and rub my temples with my fingers. “No, she is,” I say, wincing slightly.

“Her hair,” Jack says. “And she’s got a killer body.”

I wince again, but my voice is more fervent than I’d like when I say, “I know.” I glance at Mina. She’s just staring at me. “Hey,” I say, hopefully preventing him from going on. I really am not interested in having this conversation, and especially not with Mina here. “Hang on a second.”

I hold out my hand for the phone again, and this time Mina passes it over. I cover the phone with my hand so Jack won’t hear me as I whisper to Mina, “What do you want me to say to him?”

“A killer body?” she says, sounding incredulous. “That’s it? That’s so objectifying.”

“Look, Mina, you’re hot. Okay?” I say, finally giving up on being embarrassed. “You’re attractive. People are going to notice. We can argue about it later. What do you want me to say to him?”

“You’ve never said that before,” she says, still staring at me.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t like it,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And in what situation would it have come up? Now, what do you want me to say to him?”

“You think I’m hot?” she says.

“Yes,” I say, stressing the word. “Now last chance—what do you want me to say to him?”

“Tell him about my personality,” she says vaguely. Her eyes are still locked on mine.

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