Page 25 of Betting on the Best Friend
“Reject the superpower,” she says.
“Right. What are all these questions for?” They are by no means the weirdest she’s ever asked me; she just doesn’t usually ask so many weird ones at once.
“Building the perfect dating bio for you to draw premium babes only.”
“I have concerns.” So she’s making me more dateable to other women. Is any of this getting through toRuby?
“You’ll see,” she says. “It’s all about nuance with you. I’m figuring out how to communicate the nuance.”
“I’m going to sound like a pretentious wine when you’re done. An Appalachian base with notes of Charlie’s Angel.”
“Trust me.”
“I don’t have to. I’ll edit anything I don’t like.”
She smirks. “You won’t need to revise.”
She hits me with a handful more questions before lunch comes around, and I’m getting ready to leave the reference desk for my break when Sydney walks in.
“Hey,” Ruby says, her tone surprised. “It’s not Wednesday.”
“Ignore her,” I tell Sydney. “You can come in any day you want. Also, hi and welcome. Mineral emergency?”
“Self-help today,” she says with a smile. “Looking for books on dating.”
Ruby’s eyes go wide. “Charlie can help you. You want the 300s. Take her to the 300s, Charlie.”
Before I can shoot Ruby aknock it offlook, Sydney says, “Yes, Charlie, take me to the 300s.”
Ruby and I both stare at her. Guess I’m not the only one sensing something different about Sydney today. She’s not nervous, I realize.
“Right this way,” I say, coming around the desk. She follows me until I turn down the correct aisle, but when I stop at the shelf with dating guides, she keeps going to the last shelf.
She turns, puts a finger to her lips, points it in the direction of the reference desk, then crooks it.Shhh. Ruby. Come here.
Clear enough, and she’s got my attention.
I glance at the shelf she’s ended up in front of. “May I interest you in some astronomy?”
She smiles but doesn’t look at the books. “May I interest you in a confession?”
Pretty sure I know what the confession is. Is it more respectful to hear her out or stop her before she makes it?
She decides for me. “I’m friends with Katie Armstrong.”
I blink. That’s not the confession I expected. “Madison’s sister Katie?”
“Yeah. She had this idea that we might hit it off, and she wanted to set us up.”
Katie has been hanging out at the condo the last few months as she and Madison work on rebuilding a relationship that broke in high school. All of us like her, but she and I have never talked about my love life.
Sydney seems to sense my confusion. “I asked her not to. I haven’t been sure I want to date right now, and I figured it was lower stakes if I checked you out unofficially.”
“I’m flattered, but . . .”
She holds up a hand. “Brace yourself, because I’m about to make it more awkward, then weird but not awkward, then possibly helpful.”
What do you say to that? “You have my attention.”
