“Oh.” Mandy looked over at me. The date had apparently just become a threesome, and not a fun one. The expression on Mandy’s face showed her disappointment—obviously a night out in a frat house wasn’t exactly her dream first date—and I couldn’t blame her. But Chris was cute and nice and clearly into her. It wasn’t his fault he lacked time management skills. Or finesse.

“You should come too,” Nathan said abruptly, and though he had his head down, his face mostly obscured by his cap, it was clear he was talking to me.

“Yeah!” Chris said. “Like a double date.”

“Not a date,” both Nathan and I said at the same time. We had already gotten started on the wrong foot by flirting, the last thing I needed was for him to think I was leading him on. Though, it felt like every time we were within a five-foot radius of each other, the sparks started flying. He made me want to act foolishly. Made me want to forget that I was here for a story, not for sex. Because at this point, one sounded a whole lot more fun than the other. And from the signals he was giving me, I could tell that Nathan felt the same.

“How about it, Sophie?” Nathan lifted his head. My skin tingled and I knew this was a dangerous game we were playing. But I was never one to back away from a challenge.

I exchanged a glance with Mandy and she gave me the smallest nod. I looped my arm around her shoulder and gave the guys a smile.

“What time should we be there?” I asked.

Chapter Eight

“I have nothing to wear!” Mandy wailed, throwing half her wardrobe across the room. I was seated on her bed, in jeans and a red shirt, as I had been for the past two hours, waiting for her to get ready. I looked at my watch. We were supposed to be at the party twenty minutes ago, but there was no rushing someone getting ready for a date they had been waiting months, maybe even years for. Who knew how long Mandy and Chris had danced around their mutual attraction for? I gave myself a pat on the back once more for finding a way to get these two together and then a begrudging pat in Nathan’s direction for saving the evening. We were a good pair, I observed and then quickly discarded that thought. We were not a pair. We were not a team. It was a bad idea to be thinking that way, even for a moment. Even if it gave me a warm feeling inside.

“I liked that yellow dress.” I pointed at the flowered sundress that was strewn over her desk chair. Mandy’s apartment was small, like my own, but adorable. It was neat—except for the bedroom—and had little personal touches throughout. I could tell that none of the furniture was expensive, but she had done her best to either paint or repair those parts that had a little more wear and tear on them.

“I wore that last week.” She was clearly frustrated. I could tell that she was on the verge of tears. I remembered how I had felt getting ready for my first date with Nick. Back when he had been a potential boyfriend, instead of his current status as ex. We had been flirting with each other for weeks and finally, finally I got him to ask me out. It involved a lot of hair flipping, a lot of V-neck shirts, and a variety of different smiles. I knew exactly how Mandy felt at this moment, though she probably had a better chance of things working out with Chris than I had had with Nick. Besides, Chris seemed like an incredibly nice guy. Already I could tell he was ten times more thoughtful than Nick had ever been. It was clear Mandy had better taste than I did when it came to guys.

But maybe not in clothes. She was still scowling at the yellow dress she couldn’t wear. I didn’t want to tell her that most guys didn’t really keep track of what girls wore, but then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris was the kind of guy who noticed that stuff, especially when it came to Mandy. He seemed thoroughly smitten with her, albeit slow to act. But that was typical in Texas, and not a bad thing in certain areas of life and love. I wondered if Nathan was the same. He had a similar languid style, though there was a focus that Chris lacked. I got the sense that whatever Nathan did, no matter how long it took, he did it with his full attention. The thought gave me a shiver. A good one.

“OK.” I shook my dirty thoughts away. “Sit down. I’m going to pick an outfit for you and barring any actual reason to reject that option, that’s what you’re going to wear.”

“This is why I need more female friends,” Mandy said, flopping down on the bed. “Boys are fine when you want to talk about sports or barbecue, but they are totally useless when it comes to clothes.”

“Girls are better at everything,” I told her, giving her a wink. “Boys are only good for one thing, really. And even that can be dealt with if you get the right vibrator.” I was half kidding. Not kidding at all when it came to Nick. Totally kidding when it came to Nathan, who I had a feeling was good for lots of things.

Mandy threw a pillow at me.

“You’re such a life-ruiner,” she quipped.

“It’s not my fault, you’re, like, in love with me,” I quoted back, still digging through Mandy’s well-organized closet. She didn’t have a lot of choices, which reminded me of my own wardrobe. Mandy and I were more alike than I had initially realized, with our work-two-jobs-to-get-what-we-need situation and our clear drive to be successful at our chosen professions. I had the sense that we were both trying to prove something. Me, I was trying to prove to my mother that my brains were worth more than my body.

“What do you need a fancy job for, hon?” she always asked. “You’re gonna quit it the minute you get knocked up.”

Trying to tell her that the reason I wanted a steady job was exactly so I wouldn’t end up like her never got me anywhere, so I just stopped trying. She was supportive, but cautiously so. She didn’t understand the things I wanted, just like I never understood why she didn’t keep trying to do better for herself.

“OK,” I said, pulling out a stretchy blue dress that had been shoved to the back of the closet. It wasn’t like any of the other items she had pulled out—those were nice, but sweet. This one was it. Scorching hot. “This is the dress.” I showed it to her.

She turned bright red and held up her hands. “Oh no,” she said. “That’s the dress my older sister gave me. It’s way too tight.”

“Put it on,” I said. “I’ll be the judge of whether it’s too tight or just right.”

Thirty minutes later we were in my beat-up Honda Civic headed down towards west campus. Mandy sat in the passenger seat, tugging at the hem of her dress, which frankly, looked fucking amazing on her.

“Chris is going to lose his mind,” I told her. “Possibly the entire team. And everyone at the party that’s interested in women. Maybe even a few who didn’t realize they were attracted to women.”

Mandy rolled her eyes in my direction. “Overkill,” she said.

“I’m telling the truth,” I said. “You look amazing. Blue is a great color on you and you are hot, my friend, very, very hot.”

“Thanks,” she said and then frowned at my outfit. “I still think you should have worn the dress you wore at the bar that first night.”

I shook my head. “The last thing I want is to remind Nathan of that night. You said he doesn’t like reporters, so I have to make him forget how he felt when he found out I was a reporter.”

“You should have borrowed a dress, then,” she said. “You saw how he looked at you today, right?”

I couldn’t deny that a part of me loved the way he had looked at me. God, those green eyes of his made my insides go all hot and unstable, like a powder keg that was itching for a light. And I had a feeling he was a guy who knew what to do with a match. I was overdue for a good boom, in a manner of speaking.

“Hey,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “I’m the wing-woman tonight, OK? This is about you and Chris.”