Page 5 of Official

I take deep breaths like I do when I practice yoga, inhaling and exhaling to the rhythm of my movements as I change into loose jean shorts and a cropped tee. I don’t know where Teddy and I are going to eat, but I’m positive it won’t be fancy.

After all, it’s Teddy and me. We’re casual ninety-nine percent of our lives.

And this is Santa Monica. Beach attire is practically a requirement around these parts.

After I apply a single coat of mascara to my lashes, I toss my wavy hair into a bun on my head and exit my room. Teddy’s antsy energy immediately hits me, and I stare at him as I cross the cold tiled floor toward my sneakers.

“What is it?” I ask over my shoulder.

“Um…” Teddy paces by the couch, one hand scratching the back of his neck while the other scrolls through his phone. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” he asks, lifting his hesitant gaze to meet mine.

I ignore my shoes and put both hands on my hips, fully facing him.

“Good news it is. Well, you lookravishing.” He squeezes his eyes closed, then smiles, but it’s the sarcastic one he gives when he asks for big favors. Like last summer when he begged if he and his friend Xander could crash on my couch.

What was supposed to be a two-day arrangement turned into two weeks of them taking up my space with their piles of dirty laundry and filthy dishes.

“What’s going on?” I inch toward my big brother, my eyebrows raised. “You’re blinking way too quickly, and you’re one second away from sweating as hard as Nick Miller onNew Girlwhen he lies.”

“Fucking hell.” He finally turns his screen around toward me, and I snatch the phone from him.

My face and—gulp—my ass are plastered all over it.

Memes and GIFs galore.

All from my fuck-up video.

“What the hell?” I gape at Teddy like this is all his fault.

“I’m just the messenger, okay? And the receiver. Quite a few of my friends have sent me those.” He shrinks away from me like I’m one second from exploding.

Which isn’t too far off base.

“You told them to delete it, right? Please tell me you did.” I grip his phone, ready to throw it at the wall.

“They did. But what about the rest of the world?”

I spin in circles and tug nervously at the bun on my head. “How did this happen? It was only up for a few minutes!”

“This is what happens when you share your life with millions.”

“Don’t start with me.”

“I’m not—”

“You are!” I hang my head. “This is so embarrassing.”

“It’s the internet, Sam. Let’s face it—they’ll have something else to laugh about by tomorrow. You’ll see. Why don’t we go drink? It’s only four, but that just means we have a lot longer to get wasted before last call.”

“I’ll need several drinks and a new identity under witness protection.”

“I can’t do the last one, but I’ll gladly take care of the first.”

“Asshole.”

“What did I do?” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and leads me toward the door.

As he swings it open, letting in the dull light of the early evening sky, my phone vibrates with a new text from my best friend.

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