Page 62 of Fan Favorite

“I thought you wanted me to save all my reactions for the cameras?”

“I just wanted to know if you’re inlooooooooove,” he singsonged.

She paused, taco mid-mouth, and stared at him.

“What?” he asked.

She stared.

“What? Why are you giving me such a hard time?”

She put down her taco and fixed him with a steady gaze. “Because you deserve it.”

“I thought we made up.”

“You hate being wrong, don’t you?”

“In what way?”

“Well, you were pretty certain Bennett could never fall for a girl like me, and I think it’s pretty clear after tonight that he does like me and that you were wrong.” She took her straw out of her empty margarita and placed it triumphantly in a new one.

“Hmm…” Peter said, sucking down the rest of his drink. Even if his throat was on fire, he wanted to keep up with her. “Not exactly. Maybe I thought that at the beginning, but I changed my mind a while ago. It was you who wasn’t so sure.”

Edie harumphed. “Me? Please. I’ve always known what Charlie and I have.”

“You said Charlie.”

“So?”

Peter shrugged. “I’m just saying—Charlie isn’t Bennett.”

“Oh, whatever,” she said, tossing a crumpled wrapper at him. “You’re insufferable. Bennett, Charlie, they both like me now.”

Peter laughed. “That they do.”

They were silent for a moment, and then Edie looked at him seriously. “Tell me the truth. Did you just want me on the show so you could make me look like an idiot?”

Her gray eyes looked very pretty under the fluorescent lights. He could lie, of course. But what was the point? He already had too many secrets.

“Edie, I’m a reality TV producer. Of course I did.” He put down his margarita. “But it isn’t like that anymore. If anything, you make the show seem sort of idiotic, not you.”

“I’m sure you say that to all the girls,” she said laughing, swatting him on the wrist.

“I don’t, actually. Just you. You’re special.”

“Stop saying that!” she exclaimed. “When you say ‘special,’ you mean ‘weird’ or ‘quirky,’ and all I’ve ever wanted my entire life was just to be like everyone else.”

“Really?” he said, curious. “Why?”

She laughed. “I don’t even know anymore!” She twisted her mass of hair up into a bun and secured it with the straight end of a plastic fork. “I blame my parents. They were old when they had me and never paid much attention, and I just felt like if I could be a cheerleader or homecoming queen, it would make everything okay.” She covered her face with her hands. “Which is, like, intensely embarrassing now, being here, after an extreme makeover. Like, I’m a full adult person, doing the same shit over and over again, expecting different results.”

He thought about it for a moment. “I’ve only ever wanted to be exceptional.”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “Aren’t you?”

“Definitely not.”

“I’d hate to know what you think unexceptional is.” She pursed her lips, finishing her margarita. “You seem pretty exceptional to me.”

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