Page 30 of All That Glitters
Debbie groaned and took a deep breath. “Okay, fine. You win. Yes, I have a thing for Tony.” The admission felt both terrifying and like a massive relief.
Veronica squealed. “I knew it! So why aren’t you guys going out?”
“Because he still thinks of me as the klutzy little grade school girl he used to tease.”
“As opposed to the klutzy college graduate he teases now?” Veronica teased.
Debbie shot her a frown. “Not helping.”
Veronica gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry. Go on.”
Debbie took a breath. “That’s pretty much it. He doesn’t see me. He just sees goofy, klutzy Deb. The friend who’s good for a laugh, who’ll help him with his script, who’ll always be there when he needs someone to talk to at three in the morning.”
“But not someone he’d date,” Veronica finished for her.
“Exactly. I’ve been friend-zoned since puberty.”
“So change that,” Veronica said.
Debbie let out a long, frustrated sigh. “I don’t know how!”
Veronica gave her a long, appraising look, her eyes scanning Debbie from head to toe — the faded university sweatshirt with its barely legible logo, the comfortable but shapeless jeans worn thin at the knees, the hair pulled back in a messy ponytail that hadn’t seen a brush since early that morning. It was the outfitof someone who prioritized comfort over appearance and did nothing to suggest ‘romantic interest.’
“Well,” Veronica said. “For starters, nothing about this outfit screams ‘ravage me now.’” She gestured at Debbie’s attire with her pizza slice. “It screams, ‘I own three cats, and my Friday nights are for laundry.’ We need to change the packaging. Get him to see you as a woman, not just the buddy he’s known forever.”
Debbie looked down at her comfortable, familiar clothes. “Like how drastic are we talking about?”
“Nothing major,” Veronica assured her. “Just enough to break the pattern. Get him to see you as a woman, and not just his perpetual sidekick.” She leaned back and folded her arms. “I have an idea.”
Debbie looked at her warily. “Uht oh.”
Veronica shook her head. “No uht ohs. Have you tried flirting with him?”
Debbie thought about. “I’m not positive, but I think we might have flirted a tiny bit when we were in La Jolla.”
“Really? What happened?”
Debbie bit her lip. “I think I blushed and looked away.”
“Aw, roomie,” Veronica said, giving Debbie’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Why’d you do that?”
“I don’t know. It felt weird.”
“Like weird in a bad way?”
Debbie shook her head. “Like weird in, I didn’t know what to do.”
“You’ve never flirted before?”
“I don’t think so.”
Veronica sat back and nodded. “Okay. You and I are gonna change that.”
“Change it how?”
“A little thing I’m calling Flirting 101 for Clueless Roomies. Your classes begin tomorrow.”
Chapter eleven
