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I paused before I blurted it all out. “Liam asked me out, I ran into Oliver, and I’ve been texting with a guy I’ve never met…but I may have screwed it up and I’m not sure why I feel so down about it.”

“Jesus,” Bree said as she placed her plate on the coffee table. “All that happened today?”

“Well, the texting started before today, but the screw-up with him, the Liam thing, and the Oliver thing all happened today.”

Sarah shifted on the floor to fully face the sofa. “We need to focus on one topic at a time. Text Boy first, then Oliver, then Liam. I feel that will be good, bad, good.”

Bree snickered. “Why does everything have to be in some weird, organized outline with you? Why can’t you just let the conversation roll?”

“Because it’s how I think,” Sarah retorted defensively.

I really didn’t want them to start fighting so I jumped in. “That’s why you’re going to be an amazing attorney someday, Sarah.” I shoved a big bite of pizza in my mouth to avoid any further conversation.

“Thank you.” Sarah smiled at both Bree and me. “Now, Anna, stop trying to change the subject and avoid talking by eating. Finish chewing and get to talking about Text Boy.”

I swallowed the bite of pizza and reached for my soda as a further delay. Sarah crossed her arms and knowingly raised her eyebrow. I set my soda back down without taking a drink. “Fine. His name is Mason. Apparently some chick he was hitting on at a bar gave him a made-up number…only the number she gave him was actually mine. He texted me the other day thinking I was her…and well, we just kept talking.” I shrugged my shoulders trying to act casual about the whole thing, when in reality, saying it out loud made it sound rather insane.

There was a moment of silence in the room as Sarah and Bree exchanged a quick glance with each other before returning to stare at me. Finally, Bree cleared her throat. “Does he still think you’re her?”

“No, nothing like that,” I answered quickly. “I told him I wasn’t her from the very beginning.” There. That sounded less insane already, right?

“So why do you keep talking to him?” Sarah asked.

I paused for a moment before answering. It was a good question, and one I’d been trying to answer myself. I took a deep breath and decided to just spill the thoughts that had been dancing around my mind all evening. “Honestly? I like it. I like texting with him. That’s why I keep doing it. He’s funny and kind of flirty with an appreciation for my warm and fuzzy personality.”

Bree and Sarah glanced at each other again. I was really starting to dislike the whole “side glance” thing they had going on. “How do you know he’s not some total weirdo living in his mom’s basement, out trolling for ladies with his lame pick-up lines? You need to be careful about this stuff, Anna. Otherwise, next thing you know, you’re lying in a bathtub full of ice missing a kidney in a foreign country and your bank account has been drained,” Bree said in a very matter-of-fact way.

Sarah snapped her head in Bree’s direction and dropped her mouth open. “Wow. No more true crime shows for you!”

“Those things happen,” Bree retorted. “It can happen to anyone and it’s always when you least expect it. Trust me.”

I couldn’t stop staring at Bree. Usually, Sarah surprised me with what came out of her mouth, but in that moment, Bree totally took the cake. I tried to brush off Bree’s comment. “I don’t think that’s what this is. He seems too…weirdly normal for money and kidney stealing.”

Bree was quick to respond. “That’s what all good psychos want you to think. Just look at Ted Bundy. A lot of people thought he was charming, but he was a deranged serial killer.”

Sarah threw a pillow at Bree, which landed in her lap. “Seriously, Bree! Not helping! Is that what you did all day? Stayed home and binged crime shows? I’m not joking when I say no more! It’s making you even weirder than usual.”

Bree wrapped her arms around the pillow Sarah launched at her. “No comment.” Sarah snorted and gave Bree a disapproving look. Bree ignored her and turned to me. “Has he sent you a picture yet?”

I picked at a loose thread on the hem of my pajama shorts. “See, that’s the thing…” I trailed off as I pulled harder on the thread until it snapped. Why did I do that? Now the whole hem was probably going to come out. I tossed the thread on the floor and sighed. “He asked for one of me and I kind of freaked out. I think one of the reasons I like talking to him so much is that it’s just about the conversation without all the superficial or physical stuff.” I couldn’t look at Bree and Sarah as I spoke. Even though I knew they’d understand where I was coming from, it still made me uncomfortable.

“You know you’re smokin’ hot right?” Bree said in a soothing voice. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as my hand unconsciously flew up and my fingers ran through my hair. “You’re so beautiful, Anna. I wish you could see it. I know Oliver had his own, totally wrong objective and he tried to change you into something you’re not, but that’s an issue with him, not you.”

“Yeah,” I said as I let out a deep sigh. “Thing is, I want a connection with someone that’s deeper than just appearances. I mean, ultimately, a physical connection is part of it, but shouldn’t there be more than just that? What better way to find out than by not knowing what someone actually looks like?”

“In a weird way, it makes some sense. Will you guys meet later on if things click?” Sarah asked from her position on the floor.

“I don’t know. It’s all totally new. At the moment, we’re not even talking so it might be a moot point.” I reached out and flipped my phone over, only to be greeted with a blank screen and a feeling of disappointment. “Looks like it was over before it began.”

“Does he live here?” Sarah asked.

I shook my head. “No. He lives on the West Coast.”

Bree jumped in. “I think this has ‘bad idea’ written all over it. This guy could be totally lying to you about everything and have some kind of creepy end game.”

“Or it could be a really romantic story to tell your grandchildren someday about how you met due to a twist of fate,” Sarah said as she put her hands over her heart in an overly dramatic swoon.

Bree’s brows scrunched together. “What the hell was that, Sarah? If I can’t watch any more true crime, you’ve got to stop reading romance novels.”

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