Page 46 of A Little Tempting
“Okay, fine.” I drop my hands to my lap. “We had fun. Like…a lot of fun, actually.” My mouth tilts up as I replay the sound of his husky laughter during the Severus pickup line.
“Okay, I need details because”—Finley waves her finger in front of my face—“with a look like this? I’m getting secondhand butterflies for you.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I tell them. “It’s just…I was able to make him laugh, and he made me feel comfortable enough not to make a fool out of myself, which we all know is basically a miracle. And when I was pretty sure he was thinking about kissing me, Everett showed up, and?—”
“Noooo,” Finley drags out the word and clutches at her chest as if he’s dealing the final blow to her personally when it was my moment with Reeves he managed to obliterate. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“Definitely not joking. Then again, it’s probably for the best since Everett is also the one who told me to stay away from Reeves in the first place and?—”
“He’s totally your Cinderfella,” Finley interrupts.
Confused, Ophelia shakes her head. “Who? Reeves?”
“No, Everett.”
“No way.” Ophelia’s jaw drops. “Everett?”
Finley nods. “Yup.”
“No,” Lia repeats with another shake of her head. “No way.”
“Uh, one hundred percent, yes.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Okay, I don’t technicallyknow,” Fin admits. “But I’ve been suspicious of Everett for a couple days now. From the info I gathered from a bunch of the other girls at the costume party, Everett is definitely still on the list of possibilities. And it makes sense why he isn’t owning up to it, too, because he’s scared to ruin the friendship or whatever. And let’s not forget how he warned you to stay away from Reeves and, come on. You gotta see where I’m going with this.” She turns to Lia, probably looking for backup. “Why else do you think he's so protective of her?”
Ophelia shoots me a look and frowns. “Well…”
Silence follows, and I touch the scar along my hairline as the memory resurfaces, and I let my hand fall. “Aaaand, I’m done with this conversation.”
“Why? I think it’s awesome,” Fin argues. “You basically have two hot guys fawning over you. I say go for it.”
“Everett’s your brother,” I remind her.
“So? He’s a cutie.”
“Not the point,” I start.
Ophelia cuts me off. “She’s right. The point is, you’re a catch, and either guy would be lucky to have you. The question is…who do you want to pursue?”
I scoff. “We’re talking about me, remember?”
“Okay, who do you want to be pursued by?” Ophelia amends.
I open my mouth to answer but close it quickly. It’s weird. Thinking about one guy pursuing me, let alone two. I’m not the pursued-by kind of girl. I’m the friend. The buddy. Thehey, your friend’s cute, mind if you introduce us?girl. Honestly, I’m still the same girl, so this entire conversation is a moot point. Either A, Cinderfella reveals himself, and we ride off into the sunset or B, Reeves winds up actually liking me and…
Okay, apparently, Finley’s delusion rubbed off on me.
“Technically, we don’t know if Everett is Cinderfella, andtechnically,” I repeat, “we don’t know if Reeves is even interested in pursuing me.”
“You said he tried to kiss you,” Finley reminds me.
“I said Ithoughthe was going to try and kiss me,” I clarify. “But this wouldn’t be the first time I completely misread a situation.”
“So we all need to take a deep breath,” Ophelia orders, giving Finley a sharp look. “And we all need to be patient and see if Everett reveals himself as the real Cinderfella or if Reeves contacts you and asks you out. Until then, we wait. What do you guys think?”
I think I’m about to have a panic attack. Puffing out my cheeks, I wipe my sweaty palms along my still-damp jeans as the possibilities circle through my brain like a carousel. What if Cinderfella is Everett? Would I be okay with it? Disappointed? Elated? I don’t know? And what if Reeves does ask me out? Would I be okay with that? I have no idea. Not when he’s supposedly an escort.