know ;hes

Chapter 6

"Yeah, I remember him."

"Well, he invited me out for drinks tonight and I want you to come with me."

"It sounds like he asked you out."

"Yes, I know, love, but I've also told him to bring a cute friend for you to meet."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Why did you do that?"

"Oh, come on, Jules. In the entire time I've known you, I have never seen you with a single lad before. You never even talk about them!"

I lean in closer and whisper as convincingly as I can, "Had it ever occurred to you that I might like girls?"

She glares at me with a raised eyebrow.

I keep my expression straight and my composure serious, waiting for her to crack first, but I should know better. Effy is the champion of this game.

"Whatever," I finally give in, laughing. "I don't need a guy. I'm dating my career, and we're getting pretty serious."

When we get back to our apartment, I sit on my bed, watching her emerge with several different outfits for my judging. Each one she tries is just as nice as the others but it takes her some time before deciding on one of them.

She stands in the closet-door mirror and adjusts every tiny detail. The black blouse flatters her petite frame, creating curves where there normally aren't. Her skinny jeans conform to her shapely legs and the pumps give her added height. Her makeup is minimal, but her natural beauty makes it look like she spent hours on it, and her short blonde hair is curled, exquisitely framing her face.

"How do I look?" she asks, twirling around.

"Gorgeous," I say, "like always."

Effy smiles bashfully, one of her rare kind of smiles. After collecting her coat and purse, she unlocks the front door.

She looks over at me, standing in the doorframe. "Last call, love."

"Have a drink for me," I reply.

Within minutes, I'm curled up under my covers, sipping hot tea and studying design concepts from my textbook. I've just finished one of the chapters when my phone beeps from the other room. I think about ignoring it but it could be Effy, asking me to rescue her from her horrible date or something.

I grunt as I roll out of bed and head to the kitchen, my comforter still wrapped around and dragging on the floor behind me.

The name on my phone isn't Effy. In fact, there's no name at all. Just an unfamiliar number. Or rather, a slightly familiar number. I open the message.

It's a beautiful evening, hope you're enjoying it .xx

It's Harry. Again.

I start typing back,

Well I was having a great time under my covers until you interrupted!

I laugh maniacally as I start to delete the message but my phone tumbles out of my hand. Fortunately, I catch it just before it hits the floor. Not so fortunately, after checking the screen, I accidentally tapped send.

"Fuuuck," I groan with my hand slapped against my forehead. The drawled syllable bounces around our tiny, empty apartment.

To my horror, he responds shortly after.

Really? May I join you?

"No, you may not, pretty boy," I grumble out loud.

A second later I get a call. It's that same damn number, of course. I could simply walk away or hit decline and get back to the warm corner of my bed. I'll never see him again anyways, so why do I answer it?

"Hello?" I say.

"Are you seriously in bed when it's this nice out?" he asks right away.

"I'm studying," I flatly reply.

"How about you take a study break and come out with me?"

"Where?"

"Idunno, anywhere. Let's take a walk or something," he proposes. "It won't take long."

"Um..." I start to say.

"Come on, this is probably the last decent day we'll have for a long time. It'd be a shame to waste it indoors," he continues to coax.

I stare at my textbook, spread open with the cover facing up. I have gotten a lot of reading done so far. And that test isn't until next week. I glance at the clock. Effy won't be home for a while. Maybe if I hang out with Harry, she'll stop trying to hook me up with random guys.

"There's nothing wrong with taking a walk with a friend," Harry says after my long pause.

Friend is fine. Friend is safe. I like the word friend.

"Okay," I say. "Just as a friend."