Page 66 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you two can’t hook up. He’s obviously into you—and you need to destress. When’s the last time you got properly dicked?”
“Shh! We’re in the library, Chloe!”
“You don’t think people aren’t doing the deed here?” Her voice dropped. “I highly recommend the natural sciencessection. It’s isolated enough that you can get away with, well, getting off.”
I plastered my eyes to my laptop and tried to shake the mental image she’d painted for me. “Good to know. Can we go back to our assignment now?”
“I have a better idea. Let’s take a break until . . . I dunno, seven?”
“Two hours? Are you going to take a nap?”
“If you want to call it that, sure.” Closing her laptop, she picked up her phone and began scrolling.
I drew in a breath and released it before speaking in what I hoped was a reasonable tone. “Chloe, this is due tomorrow.”
“We still have tonight.” Then she stretched as if we’d been working for multiple hours instead of just one.
“I have other things to do tonight.” Logically, I could review my macroeconomics lesson while she took a break, but she was the one who’d insisted we meet this afternoon. I’d had to switch shifts with Kai to accommodate her schedule, and I was tired of always having to tiptoe around her so I wouldn’t mess up our shaky friendship.
“Fine. Give me an hour.”
My skin grew hot and tight. “Look, if you don’t want to do this, fine. I’ll do it on my own.”
She blinked at me, as though surprised by my tone. Laughter sputtered out of her. “Well, well, well. Did Miss People Pleaser finally grow a backbone?”
I sat upright. “I’m sorry but?—”
“Don’t back down now, Lulu.”
The nickname that sounded affectionate coming from Kriz dripped with condescension when it came from Chloe.
“Do you have to be so hostile?” I blurted out.
“I love the SAT word, but you can give it to me straight. Call me a bitch; I don’t mind.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder.“I know exactly who I am, and I’m not faking shit. What about you?”
I stared at her, my throat suddenly dry.
Standing, she grabbed her purse. “I’m grabbing a coffee.”
Then she left me to stew over her words. She’d pretty much accused me of being a faker when all I was doing was trying—to give people what they needed from me, to live up to my family’s expectations. To become better than who I was.
Did it count as faking when you were striving to be someone you weren’t?
I tried to concentrate on my spreadsheet and actually be productive, but my brain kept returning to that question. Snapshots flashed in my head, evidence of the times I pretended to be someone I wasn’t. There were too many to count, and Chloe’s words hit me again.
I know exactly who I am, she’d said.
Could I say the same about myself?
To my surprise,when Chloe came back, she had two iced coffees in her hands. She plopped one in front of me, then we dove back into our data and formulas without addressing our earlier exchange. She left as soon as we finished while I stayed a bit longer to get a head start on my macroeconomics review. In reality, I just needed time to lick my wounded pride.
I took the long route out, and my feet brought me in the direction of the campus store. The Closed sign hung on the glass door, but I spotted Kai inside, wiping the cashier counter. I waved my arms at him, and he looked up, beaming as he saw me.
Hurrying to the door, he unlocked it. “Luna! I didn’t expect to see you today. Done with your assignment?”
“Yeah. Thanks again for switching with me.” I smiled at him, but the muscles around my mouth felt worn out.
“Of course, anytime.” He squinted at me. “Hey, you okay?”
