Page 28 of Operation Prom Date
Two minutes later, we were seated on my bed with my laptop. I scrolled through my Facebook feed.
“You just passed a post that you need to go back to,” Kate said. “Quick. Go back, go back!”
I dragged my fingers on the scroll pad until she said, “There.”
A picture of a puppy and a kitten snuggling filled the screen. The post insisted that if you liked it, the world would magically be better to animals, and butterflies and rainbows would rain down amazing karma on you or some shit, but if you ignored it, you’d have bad karma for a year.
I glanced from it to Kate, then slowly scrolled past it again.
Katetskedand shook her head. “So you’re saying you don’t need any good karma, not for animals and not for you? Even though you have a race coming up?”
“It’s more that I don’t negotiate with meme terrorists.”
Kate tried to hide her laugh. No doubt she liked every damn one of those posts, and because I’d clearly lost my mind over the girl, I found it incredibly endearing. If I had any good karma to give, it was hers.
“Looks like he posted something about an hour ago,” Kate said, reaching right over me and clicking over to Mick’s profile.
His pictures and deep thoughts filled the screen—I’d really been trying to avoid this. It was why I hadn’t just clicked on his profile from the beginning.
“Okay, now you take the wheel,” she said. “It makes me too nervous.”
I slowly dragged the cursor down, hoping she’d get whatever fix she was looking for and the torture would end soon.
Kate’s fingers brushed my knee. “Wait, scroll up again.”
My pulse quickened as she rested her hand where her fingers had brushed, her touch soaking through the thin cotton of my sweats. I swallowed and kept my eyes glued to the screen as I followed her instructions. If I looked at her, I was afraid I’d lose it and either tell her this was ridiculous and I wanted out—in words that’d probably come out way too harsh sounding—or that I’d try to kiss her.
So I just scrolled back up to post 307 of Mick talking about how awesomesauce he was at football and how hard it was for him to choose a school, and in #firstworldproblems news, the coaches from the colleges were calling him every day now.
Woe is you, dude, at least you get a choice.Harvard was nothing to turn my nose up at, and the truth was, Ididwant to go there. They had a great rowing team, and they were number one in marine biology, a subject I’d love to explore more and possibly major in. To go and study political science instead? It seemed like a wasted opportunity. But I didn’t dare say that to dear old Dad.
Kate made ahmmmnoise. “Okay, go to his recent check-ins…”
I stop and say hi to a girl I kinda sorta know one day after school, and now it’s come to this… Cyber stalking a guy I can’t stand for someone I want to stand close to a little more than I should.
She leaned close enough I could feel the warmth radiating off her body.Okay, alotmore than I should.
Chapter Sixteen
Kate
My phone chimed and I nearly jumped out of Cooper’s too big clothes. “It’s him,” I whispered when a text from Mick flashed across the screen. “Quick, close that down.”
“Gladly,” Cooper said, slamming his laptop shut. “For the record, he can’t see you through the phone.”
“I feel like he’ll sense it.”
Cooper gave me ayou’re insanelook that would’ve been easier to disputebeforehe’d seen how well I knew how to maneuver around Mick’s Facebook page.
Better keep the other places I use for recon to myself.Everyone knew that thanks to the adults on there, Facebook was where you censored yourself more anyway.
With the computer now closed and put away on the nightstand, I opened the text.
Future Prom Date:Are you and Callihan a thing?
“Future Prom Date?” Cooper’s scowl made his dimples disappear for a moment. “How’d I miss that the first time you shoved your phone in my face?”
“I was going for resolute,” I said, curling my phone closer. “It seemed like a good way to help my goals come true. Like all that visualization crap athletes talk about before a big game. Don’t you do it for rowing?”
