Page 149 of The Perfect Spiral
Just like old times, Sam perches on the sink, I settle on the toilet seat—lid down, of course—and Hannah nestles into the tub.Andy joins Hannah, and I close the door behind us.
“Alright, spill it! What’s the big news?” Hannah initiates the interrogation.
“Okay, so... oh god, how do I put this—”
“Alex!” Sam interjects, her tone a warning.
“Wes asked me out... like on an actual date! And Knox was right there when he did it....”
“WHAT?!? You lucky bitch!” Hannah shrieks, her jaw dropping and her hands flying to her blonde hair. I cover my face with my hands, groaning.
“What did you say? Did you say yes?” Andy chimes in, her face a picture of surprise. I imagine I wore a similar expression when Wes asked me.
“Well, I said yes to the date....”
“And what did Knox say?” Sam asks, leaning back against the counter with a knowing smirk. I meet her gaze, debating whether to answer or deflect.
She flicks her hair over her shoulder, crossing one leg over the other.
“He said no, didn’t he? That’s why he’s been walking around like someone shoved a pole up his ass. I know him too well. I knew he was pissed about something, I just thought it was about that phone call he took,” Sam muses, her gaze drifting to the ceiling.
“Well, yeah, he said no. Kyle would’ve said the same. He was on a business call, and trust me, the only person annoyed about that is me, not him.”
“What? Why are you annoyed? Are you two dating too? Is he going away and you want to go with him—”
“No! We’re not dating, Sam, don’t be ridiculous! I have to go to New York with him. I’m giving a talk at the Science Conferenceabout girls in STEM, and we’re attending the People’s magazine event. He’s receiving his award for sexiest man... thing.”
“We?” Andy’s lips curl into a smug smile.
“Yes, ‘we’. I’m only going because I’ll already be there for the talk. So don’t give me that look!” I point at her as she taps her fingers against the side of the tub.
“Has Knox asked you out yet?” Hannah asks innocently.
“What? No! He will never ask me out, he doesn’t see me like that. I’m practically his little sister—”
“A little sister that he kisses? Well, in that case, your brother is my brother... Oh God, that sounds weird.”
Andy grimaces as the last few words leave her mouth.
“Yeah, don’t ever say that again! Please! That’s our brother!” Sam holds her hands up in front of her, looking between me and Andy.
“Look, if you like Wes, then go out with him. It might be fun. But don’t tell the guys! They’ll flip. We’ll cover for you if you really want to go out with him. But damn! Wes Avery, how did you land that?” Sam asks, eyeing me up from her perch on the sink.
“It was the dress today, wasn’t it? I swear the boys in that room couldn’t take their eyes off you!” Sam reminisces about the moment I walked out in the dress.
“And we all heard what Knox said when he finished my sentence,” Andy adds, pointing around the room at my sister and best friend.
“He came to the room when I was changing and said it again,” I confess, smiling down at the floor as I recall the moment he called me beautiful.
“Oh my god!—” Hannah screeches, causing us all to snap our heads in her direction. What? Is there a spider?
“You like him! You like Knox Carter!” The three of them scream in unison, their excitement palpable. I cover my ears and glare at them to keep it down. The boys might hear us.
“Shhhh! Stop! I don’t like him! The boys will hear you!” I hiss at the cackling trio beside me. I don’t like him, do I?
“Deny all you want, girl! Your face says otherwise. You like him and he likes you back,” Andy retorts, while the others nod in agreement.
“This is not why I called you guys up here! I wanted your opinion on whether I should go out with Wes. And—”
