Foreplay (The Ivy Chronicles #1)(4)

Landing on my bed with a bounce, I snatched my phone from where I’d left it, glimpsing the caller’s name before answering. “Hey, Lila.”

“Oh my God, Pepper, you’re never going to believe this!”

I smiled at the sound of my best friend’s voice. She attended school across the country in California, but every time we talked it was like no time had passed. “What happened?”

“I just got off the phone with my brother.”

My heart squeezed at the mention of Hunter. It was no secret that I was infatuated with him. Crazy as it seemed, he was part of the reason I applied to Dartford. Not that it wasn’t a great school. When a little voice in the back of my head reminded me that there were other stellar schools out there, I chose to ignore it. “And?” I prompted.

“He and Paige broke up.”

My hand tightened around the phone. “Are you serious?” Hunter had met Paige his sophomore year and they’d been glued together ever since. I was beginning to fear that she would become the future Mrs. Montgomery. “Why?”

“I dunno . . . something about them wanting to date other people. He said it was a mutual split, but who cares? The point is my brother is single for the first time in two years. Now’s your chance.”

Now was my chance.

Excitement hummed through me for a few seconds before dying a swift death. Then the panic set in. Hunter was free. Finally. I’d been waiting for this moment forever, but I wasn’t ready. How could I get him to notice me? As far as Hunter was concerned I was his little sister’s best friend. End of story.

“Oh! I have to run,” Lila was saying in my ear. “I have rehearsal, but let’s talk more later.”

“Yeah.” I nodded as if she could see me. “I’ll call you later.”

I sat on my bed for a long moment, the phone in my limp hand. Emerson’s and Georgia’s laughter drifted from the neighboring room, mingling with “Dancing Queen.” It was a grim moment. The reality I had longed for had finally come. And I didn’t have a clue what to do.

Emerson pushed open my cracked door. She dropped down in my chair. “Hey. I’m about to finish off your popcorn.” She shook the bag at me. Her smile slipped when she saw my face. “What’s wrong?”

“They broke up,” I murmured, my fingers playing about my lips, tapping against them with a nervous energy.

“What? Who?”

“He’s single. Hunter is single.” I shook my head like I still could not quite believe it.

Her eyes widened. “Georgia, get in here! Quick!”

Georgia appeared, towel-drying her hair. “What’s going on?”

“Hunter is single,” Emerson explained.

“Shut up! No more Paige?”

I nodded.

“Well. Now’s your chance.” Emerson bounced onto the bed beside me. “What’s the plan?”

I blinked at her and held out a hand helplessly. “I don’t have a plan.” The plan was for him to fall in love with me. That was the dream. That’s what happened in romance novels. Somehow. Some way. That was supposed to happen. I never quite knew how it was going to happen. Only that it would.

“What should I do?” I looked at them helplessly. “Drive over to his apartment and knock on his door and declare myself to him?”

Georgia cocked her head to the side. “Um. I’m going to go with no.”

“Yeah. Too forward.” Emerson nodded as though I’d just made a viable suggestion. “Not enough mystery. Men like a bit of the chase.”

Georgia rolled her eyes and snorted. “This coming from you.”

Emerson looked affronted. “Hey, I know how to play the game. When I want them to chase me, they do.”

That was just it. I didn’t know how to play the game. I didn’t know how to do anything to entice a guy. I didn’t flirt. Didn’t date. Didn’t make out or shack up with random guys like other girls.

I buried my head in my hands. Why hadn’t I thought about this sooner? A little experience under my belt might help me win over Hunter. I was pretty sure I was a bad kisser. At least that’s what Franco Martinelli told everyone in tenth grade after we made out behind the cafeteria. Well, if one kiss and a quick grope under my sweater before I shoved his hand away constituted making out.

“I don’t know how to play the game,” I confessed. “How am I going to attract Hunter? I haven’t even kissed a guy since high school.” I held up a finger and looked at my two friends desperately. “And just one guy. I’ve kissed one guy.”

My two suitemates stared at me.

“One guy?” Georgia echoed after what felt like the world’s longest silence.

“Tragic.” Emerson shook her head like I’d just cited some horrible world hunger statistic. She snapped her fingers, smiling brightly. “But nothing we can’t fix.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“All you need is a little experience.”

My eyes widened. Emerson had uttered this so simply, and I guess for her it was. She had no shortage of confidence and no shortage of admirers.

“You’re going out with us tonight,” Georgia announced, locking eyes with Emerson. They nodded at each other as if reaching some form of unspoken agreement.