"Fine. Then tell me this-did you give Brett your number?"
I let my forehead fall to the granite countertop. Despite the initial whack, the cold stone soothed my pounding head. "Are there any secrets in our school?"
"Not when it comes to this whole you and Brett thing. The entire school is talking about it. And you should've seen the shit-fit Summer had when she found out about the phone number request."
"First, there is no 'me and Brett thing.' " A little wiggle of disappointment nagged my gut as I said that. Even though he epitomized everything that was wrong with the social hierarchy in high school, I kept getting little glimpses of the person who hid behind the role of star quarterback. It was a person who intrigued me. "We're just working together for a class project-"
"That he switched places with someone to work with you on."
"Which I still have no idea why." And was precisely one of the reasons I couldn't easily dismiss him as the bonehead jock.
"Maybe he's harboring a secret crush for you," Morgan said in an overly dramatic tone, complete with the "duh-duh-DUH" at the end.
I thought back to the way he kept checking out my chest this morning before getting the "you're being delusional" wake-up call. "He's dating Summer."
"Yeah, that does put a kink in my theory. He's probably trying to get dirt on you so he can pass it on to her in exchange for sex."
I tried to laugh it off. "You mean she's not dishing it out for free?"
"No way. Girls like Summer use sex as a commodity that will only be given out once the party has met her demands. They end up becoming useless, arm-candy country club wives like my mother. I swear, I think she demands diamonds from my dad before she'll put out."
And I thought my "broken home" was bad. At least my parents split before their dysfunctional relationship made me any more cynical than I already was about romance. "Thanks for the warning, though. I'll be extra careful around him."
"Or you could just try flirting with him and seeing what happens."
"No way. I'm paired up with him until next Friday, and that day can't come soon enough."
"Fine, suit yourself. As for me, I would never turn down a chance to find out what Brett's lips taste like. He's just too yummy."
The granite countertop was no longer soothingly cold, especially after the rush of heat to my face. I lifted my head and massaged my temple with my free hand. "Not tempting enough."
"Liar."
Dammit.
"So are we on for tomorrow or not?" I asked, steering the conversation back to my original question.
"Definitely on! I'll meet you there at two."
Morgan hung up just as Junior started screaming again.