The Bookworm's Guide to Faking It (The Bookworm's Guide 2)

His tone was getting drier the longer he speaks.

“And that’s fine. I don’t begrudge anyone their choices, and if those are the ones she wants to make, then good for her. But I won’t be one of them. Besides, she’s clearly overly confident which is why she was furious when I turned her down, and I don’t have the patience for that kind of drama.”

“Have you met your friends? We’re the most dramatic group of people outside of Hollywood.”

He looked at me, lips curving again. “Yeah, but I like this drama. It’s harmless. It’s fun. It’s overreactions at stupid shit like you being a good little student and studying while your best friends were getting drunk, high, and making out over spin the bottle.”

“I’m still mad nobody ever told me about that.”

“I don’t think they’d ever told anybody, to be honest with you.”

“I know, but I’m still mad. I mean, Saylor tells me every detail about her periods. You’d think she’d mention that she played tonsil tennis with Tori.”

“The kissing thing was fun, but can we avoid the periods? I don’t care to know about Saylor’s.”

“Neither do I, but I don’t have a choice,” I mumbled. “Is that why she turned down Colton?”

“Who?”

“The redhead.”

“Oh.” Seb put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “A little, yeah. But I think mostly because Tori was glaring at her and she and Colton clearly have some issues.”

“No shit. We’re all just kind of waiting for them to fuck and get it over with.”

He barked out a laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

I shrugged as we turned toward my building. “It’s true. It’s been going on for weeks, but they both insist they hate each other, so here we are. We actually have a betting pool going on.”

“You don’t.”

“We do. I bet they’ll do it by the end of the year. Ivy thinks April, Kinsley says by the summer, and Saylor reckons they’re already doing it.”

“They’re not doing it yet.”

“Oh, totally not. It’s still too tense. They won’t last long though, so fingers crossed for December.” I crossed my fingers and dug into my purse for my keys. After I plucked them out of the depths of the abyss that was my beloved red Lauren Ralph Lauren purse, I unlocked the main door to the building, and Seb followed me in.

“Thank God. It’s warm in here.”

I smiled, removing my gloves and tucking them into my purse. “Thanks for walking me home. I appreciate it.”

He returned my smile, and his eyes sparkled. “You’re welcome. I’d hate it if a bear ate you.”

“I have you know I’d be a delicious snack for a bear,” I replied. “Do you want to come up while you call a cab?”

He hesitated. “I don’t want to bother you. I’ll call from here.”

“Okay.” I shrugged and headed for the mailboxes on the wall. “I didn’t get it earlier,” I explained when I caught him watching me.

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, hi,” he said into the phone, dipping his head and turning away. “I need a cab if you have one available, please.”

I flicked through my mail while he rattled off my address.

“Twenty to twenty-five minutes? Okay, yeah, I guess that’s fine… Thanks. Can you call when you’re outside? … Perfect, thanks. I’ll see you soon.” He hung up and turned to me. “Do you mind? They’re apparently busy tonight and are going to keep me waiting.”

“It’s fine.” I smiled and tucked my mail into my purse, then motioned for him to follow me.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have had that third beer.”

“Or the fourth,” I replied playfully.

“All right, settle down. As soon as Dylan gets to town, that’s it. I’m on a chicken and rice diet for the next three months.”

“I’ll think of you while I eat my weight in pizza.”

“Thanks. You’re so kind.”

“I do try.” We reached my apartment, and I unlocked the front door. “Come in.”CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – SEBASTIANrule seventeen: the only person you’re lying to is yourself.I followed Holley into her apartment. She stepped aside so I could enter, and I pushed the door closed behind me. It was hot as hell in here, but I wasn’t sure if it was because it was actually hot or because I was wearing close to an Eskimo outfit to stay warm outside.

I shed my layers and hung them on the empty hook next to her coat. Without my huge coat, gloves, and hat, it wasn’t quite so hot, but still warm.

“Damn. I forgot to turn down the thermostat.” Holley moved toward the little white box on the wall and pressed a button, then moved into another area of her apartment. “Do you want a coffee?”

“Bit late for coffee,” I replied, following her into the cleanest kitchen I’d ever seen in my fucking life. “Jesus, did a bleach monster attack your kitchen?”