Chance Encounters

two

Chapter 2

I wasn't happy about having to be out in the open wearing my Go Cougars!! shirt. It wasn't just because the Cougars have never won a single basketball game in a decade, but also because I was a firm believer of not using double exclamation marks. It was, however, the only shirt I had in the backseat of my car and it was better than walking around with a Coke-stained shirt sticking to my boobs.

Tori eyed the shirt as soon as I got out of Parker's comfort room. "Isn't it too late for you to show your school spirit?"

 "Oh, I'm not wearing this for our basketball team, Tor. I'm supporting the exploitation of men by women who are twice their age," I replied, balling my Arctic Monkeys shirt into a sad heap of Coke-stained cloth.

"Age is just a number, what matter is that it's—"

"True love," I said with an eye-roll.

She frowned. "I was about to say not illegal."

I snorted. "When have you ever cared about the law? Underage drinking, driving without a license, destruction of private property. What else?"

"Destruction of public property? It was an accident."

"Right."

By the time we reached my car, I was still laughing as she tried to explain how destroying her neighbor's mailbox when she was out jogging was nothing but an accident. The details have never been clear to me as to how she managed to do it, but it was Tori, so I guess that was enough of an explanation.

"It's not my fault it was poorly constructed," she grumbled as I fumbled for the keys to unlock the car with one hand, my shirt bundled up in the other.

"At least they didn't press charges," I said.

"Oh, please." She waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "I can get away with anything."

I couldn't actually argue with that. I heard the unmistakable click of the doors being unlocked as I turned the key. I tossed my purse on the backseat along with my shirt before climbing behind the steering wheel. I might have seen Tori wince at how I carelessly threw my purse away, but she didn't comment on it.

Once we were both seated, she threw her black hair over one shoulder and straightened in her seat. I recognized it as her Let's get this started gesture, so I wasn't surprised when she said, "So, first stop."

"You mean there are other stops?"

She shot me a look. "Yes, there are a lot of other stops. You don't expect to find true love without a challenge, do you?"

"I don't expect to find true love, period."

"Reed."

"Fine. Where to?"

"I heard Tyler Howard's holding a party."

My eyes snapped to hers at the mention of both Tyler freaking Howard and the word party. "You're kidding me, right? Please tell me you're joking."

She checked the clock on the dashboard before looking at me with an innocent smile. "Hurry up or we'll be late, babe."

If there was one thing I knew about Tori Matsunaga, it was that her innocent smile was always anything but that.

---

The party was in full blast when I parked somewhere along Tyler Howard's street. There were a lot of cars already, so we had to park a few lots away. I could still feel the bass thumping from where we stood, despite the relatively far distance from here to Tyler's house.