Page 83 of Zero Chance

Except mentioninghercaused my abdomen to tighten.

Those few brief moments we’d shared behind the circ counter were still haunting me.

But her eyes had been so big and brown and understanding.And her lips.Fuck.I’m not sure how one damn haircut could reshape a mouth like that, but I felt absolutely positive her lips hadn’t looked that kissable before.

Which was bad.Waverly was firmly on my list of untouchables.She was even on the list of untouchables that thou shalt not even flirt with.And fuck, not even my best friends’ girls were onthatlist.Flirting with my buddies’ better halves was actually one of my favorite pastimes.

But I’d just barely touched Waverly’s hair, and now everything felt off balance.Like the universe was no longer located where it was supposed to be.

I just needed to get everything back where it belonged.

Across the table, Alec blinked in shock.“Library Girl?”he asked, only to wince and blow out a low whistle.“Oh man, what kind of favor do you gotta do for her in return?I bet it’s brutal.”

“Favor?”I lifted both hands in outrage.“What the fuck do you mean,favor?She did it for me out of the kindness of her heart.”

He sent me a look that told me I should know better.

“I’m serious,” I cried.“She loves me.She’d do anything for me.”

I was totally joking, of course, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she actuallywould’velet me kiss her when I’d leaned in.From the look that had been on her face, I kind of thought maybe she might have.

Jesus.

I should not eventhinkabout going there.Back off, brain.Do not enter.

“You mean, sheloathesyou,” Alec goaded.“She’s never going to let you hear the end of this.”

“Whatever.”I stuffed more cake into my mouth, refusing to think about her anymore.Too dangerous.“You just don’t understand the nature of our relationship.We snarl, we argue, and we part ways feeling so much better about ourselves again.The girl adores me.”

“Of course, she does,” Nana answered, bustling into the kitchen with a sack of flour loading down her arms.After plopping it onto the counter, she hobbled over to wrap an arm around my shoulders and kiss the top of my head.“Who wouldn’t love my sweet Keenie beanie?”

“Thank you, Nana,” I said, grinning angelically up at her and covering her hand with my own.“That’s what I keep telling everyone too.”Transferring a mocking glance at Younger, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes as Nana pulled away.“Any time, baby,” she told me as she patted the side of my arm and returned to the counter to open her bag of flour.“Who’re we talking about anyhow?”

“Just someone from school,” I dismissed with a wave of my hand and turned back to Alec.

As Nana began to hum under her breath, lost to her cooking, I leaned close to my friend and lowered my voice.“You’re not here to drag me back home so everyone can gang up on me with some huge intervention, are you?Because I gotta tell you, I’m not in the mood to hold hands and go around the circle, sharing my feelings tonight.”

He scoffed.“Trust me, no one wants that.Besides, that’s not why I’m here.I think everyone’s finally realized you just need a little space, and they’ve backed off until you’re ready to come around on your own.”

“Then?”I furrowed my brow, wondering why he’d felt the need to track me down.

He grinned.“I worked on my own list for you.”Shifting in his chair, he plunged a hand into his pocket and produced a folded piece of paper.“There.Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

When he tossed it at me, I caught it against my chest and frowned, sending him a suspicious squint before I unfolded the page and dropped my gaze.

“Dude,” I murmured in awe.Alec had composed a list of girls, and after reading their names, I knew he’d tried to think of everyone he could remember seeing at the party last night.

Strangely, I’d forgotten all about my mystery girl since my trip to the library.But now the obsession was back, and I really wanted to know who she was.

And this list was Alec’s show of support.Hehadcome here because of the whole Parker thing.But he was letting me know he was with me no matter what.

Damn.This was why he was my number one.

Glancing up at him, I sent him an appreciative nod, letting him see my approval.

He held up a pen.“You want to start checking off names?”

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