Page 14 of Betting on the Best Friend
Sydney collects her printout and leaves with a wave.
“Thank you, Charlieeeeee,” Ruby croons when Sydney is out of earshot.
“Is that supposed to be a Sydney impersonation?”
Her eyebrows waggle. “Ooh,Sydney. You know her name. This is getting serious. Ready to concede that she’s researching you and not minerals?”
“I’m ready to concede that you predicted she would come back today, and she came back today. We deal in facts at the reference desk, ma’am.”
“Fact: I was right. Why won’t you admit it?” she teases. “Sydney is cute.”
“Not cute.”
Ruby gives me a surprised face. “She’s a babe.”
“I meant she’s pretty, not cute.”
“And nowyouget to be right. It feels good, doesn’t it? Although not as good as the sandwich you’re buying me is going to feel in my starving belly.” She pats her stomach.
“Why am I buying you a sandwich?”
“Because I won the bet.”
“I didn’t bet you.”
“But I bet you, and I won a sandwich. Korean hot chicken. It’s going to be delicious. Thank you.”
At least one of us will enjoy it. The pit in my stomach when she announced her first date must be right where my appetite usually goes. It’s going to be like that for all her dates unless they suck, and I hope they suck.
Since that’s not something I can control, I make an excuse to Ruby about needing to go fill in the book display for National Nutrition Month. It will give me time to work on something I can control: my plan to become Ruby’s best option.
No. To become so undeniable that I’m the only option Ruby wants.
Chapter Six
Ruby
I walk into theliving room Thursday night expecting to be greeted by two nosy faces, and despite the bad date I just left, I have to laugh when four are waiting for me.
My brother and Oliver have joined Ava and Madison, all sitting on the sofa like the world’s most attractive interrogation panel.
“How was it?” Madison asks, holding up her phone. “Sami tagged you in a group dinner post. He’s cute, and you look like you’re having a great time.”
“Sami did not win the bet tonight,” I say.
Madison does a fist pump, and Ava gives a short nod, like this is what she expected. Joey looks bored because my brother doesn’t care about my love life unless I’m dating Niles, in which case he objects.
Oliver looks curious. “Bad date or just boring?”
“Bad,” Madison guesses. “That’s why Sami and Josh didn’t come in with her. They’re too embarrassed by how bad they whiffed it.”
“No, they dropped me off and went to get ice cream. Ed was fine. I never thought too much about what an archetypal Ed is, but now I know. Medium cute, medium interesting. But I have social proof of not being a loser, so we’ll call it a win.”
“Too small of a sample size,” Ava objects.
“To prove I’m not a loser? That’s mean, Ava.”
She rolls her eyes. “That this Ed is an archetypal Ed.”
