Page 11 of A Favor Owed

“Purple hair.”

“Oh, yeah. She looks like a movie star, dude. Who’s in her study group?”

“Kurt Briggs, lucky bastard, and two other girls.”

“Fuck me. Figures that piss-ant ended up in her study group.”

“Like you’d have the balls to make a move on that.”

I lean against the kitchen island and sip my beer, my eyes on the game but my ears on the conversation. I feel tense, and not entirely because the Giants are down by ten points.

“I think she’s taken, man,” says Justin, one of the guys who I was out with last night.

“Oh, yeah? By who?”

Justin jerks his head toward me.

“Yeah?” says Caleb, another guy who’d been out with us last night. “You tapping that, man?”

Shit. I hadn’t realized my actions last night had generated speculation. I stare back blankly, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

“So? What’s the story, man?” Justin asks. “I saw you chatting her up at the bar.” Everyone is looking at me, mild surprise on their faces. I’ve never mentioned her to any of them, given that she and I hadn’t exchanged two words before Friday.

“Uh, well…”Angela Pines is a hard no, I remind myself. And yet… A plan begins to form in my mind.

“I’m talking to her,” I say, shrugging like it’s no big deal that I’m trying to get with the most beautiful, dangerous girl I’ve ever met.

And just like that, Angela is officially off-limits. If Angela started dating another guy, it would be harder for me to get close by playing the friendship card. But she’s going to date me. I can charm anyone, even an uptight princess pretending she grew up in foster care. It’s riskier than the friend zone, but it promises bigger returns, and I can make it happen fast, before she starts to want to take things to the next level. Score.

Oh, and the Giants end up winning. A good day all around.

Chapter Five

Angela

Monday is turning out to be a disaster. Lizette’s internet is down, so I’m not able to do the free online Pilates class that’s taken the place of my Peloton bike and treadmill. I scream bloody murder when a giant spider crawls down my shower. Inside it. While I’m showering. When I finally leave my seedy little apartment to head to school, I find my front tire low and have to go into the ramshackle, spider-infested shed to find the bicycle pump. Just freaking great.

Now I’m rushing into the office of the academic achievement director, Professor Kim, five minutes late for our appointment. I brought some of my notes on my reading assignments to share with her. As I sit in her bright, cheery office, complete with a coffee mug that says,Mistakes are just proof that you’re trying, I try not to feel anxious, but that would be like my mom stepping out of the house without makeup: never gonna happen.

“These look great,” she murmurs, scrolling through my laptop. She glances up at me and pushes her gray-streaked, wavy hair away from her eyes. “I think you’re getting it, Angela.”

I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until I release the air from my lungs. “Oh good,” I say, relaxing back in the chair. “That’s good.”

She frowns, a little crease appearing between her brows. “Why were you worried?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “I have a lot of questions, I guess. When I’m reading or in class, I think of all these different scenarios, and I don’t know what the outcome would be in those situations.”

She smiles. “That’s actually a really good sign, Angela. It means you’re absorbing the material and it’s triggering more in-depth analysis. I’d be worried if you told me that you read for class and didn’t have any questions.”

“Oh good,” I say, smiling shakily. “That’s good.”

“You’re part-time, correct?” she asks, glancing at her computer screen.

“Yes. I support myself. I need to work.”

Professor Kim nods. “That’s a lot of responsibility. You’re twenty-two, according to your law school application.”

“Yes.”

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