My pulse quickens and my stomach dips. Yes, all the yesses! My mind screams, but “Absolutely not” leaves my mouth.

“Absolutely not? That’s pretty firm, considering the way you were just looking at my mouth.”

My eyes turn to slits. “I was not looking at your mouth.”

“Liar.”

“She lies all the time!” Brie shouts from the other side of the door, and I groan while Cobi starts to laugh.

“Shut up, Brie, and get away from my door, you spy.”

“I dropped an earring,” she says, and I roll my eyes toward the ceiling and hold them there, praying to get caught in a vortex that will send me to another time or place.

“What are you doing today?” Cobi asks, and my eyes meet his.

“Just girl stuff then a movie with Brie.”

“Good.” He reaches out, wrapping his fingers around a piece of my hair before tucking it behind my ear. “What time do you think you’ll be home?”

Whenever you say you’re going to be here.

“Late, really late.”

“She’s lying. She’ll be home by six,” Brie states, sounding like she’s smiling.

“Oh my God, get away from my door, Brie.”

“Just trying to help a brother out,” she mumbles.

“It’s appreciated,” Cobi calls, and I groan then jerk my eyes to his when he grabs my hand. “I’m off duty today. Gonna help my dad with some stuff. But I’ll be here at six with pizza.”

“I don’t thi—”

“See you then.” He brushes his mouth against mine, startling me silent and sending my body into a frenzy. Without another word, he opens the door and leaves me standing in my room frozen in place. I hear him say goodbye to Brie, and then I listen to the front door open and close.

“I really like him,” Brie says, dancing into my bedroom, her long hair tied up in a ponytail bouncing with her. “Like a lot, and he’s funny.” She plops down on my bed, and I turn to look at her, wondering how it’s possible that my lips are still tingling—how every inch of me is still tingling. “I didn’t expect him to be funny, because he has that whole serious badass vibe about him, but he’s really funny.”

“Brie.” I know she hears my warning when she rolls her eyes.

“Don’t tell me to stop or give me the same ‘I’m not interested’ crap you gave me yesterday, because you and I both know that’s a lie.”

“Brie.”

“Hadley, a woman would have to be dead not to be interested in him, and I’m thinking that even then they’d turn into the walking dead if he were around.”

“I need to get ready.” I sigh when I see she’s not going to give this up anytime soon.

“You do that. I’m going to call Ken and fill him in on what happened.”

I stop digging through my drawers and turn to look at her. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.” She pulls her phone out, dials, and then puts it to her ear. “Hey, babe, you are not going to believe this.”

I don’t wait around to listen to her talk to Kenyon. I don’t need a recap of this morning. I really don’t need to spend any more time thinking about Cobi, who’s barely there brush of the lips left me paralyzed—Cobi, who will be back again tonight with pizza.

I get dressed in a pair of my favorite jeans, with a white tank top and a light sweater over it, and then slip on a pair of sandals so I won’t mess up my pedicure. I quickly run a brush through my hair, add a little mascara to my lashes, and then swipe some gloss on my lips. When I’m done and come out of the bathroom, I find Brie exactly where I left her, still on the phone and lying on my bed. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles then says goodbye to Kenyon and hangs up.

“I’m thinking we should go to the wax place before we head to the nail salon,” she states as she gets off my bed.

“I’m not getting waxed.” I shake my head and head to the kitchen to grab my purse.

“When was the last time you—” She pauses. “You know, took care of things down there?” She stops at the island as I go to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

“We are not talking about this.”

“Just answer this. Can you wear a swimsuit right now without worrying?”

“Seriously?”

“I’m your best friend. If anyone can ask you this kind of thing, it’s me.”

“My vagina is fine, and I’m not sleeping with anyone, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“You’ve already slept with Cobi twice. Eventually, one of you is going to push things past just sleeping. You need to be prepared for that when it happens.”

A vision of Cobi and me fills my mind, but I push it away.

“Have you always been this insane?”

“Come on, it won’t even take but twenty minutes tops, and you have to admit you’ll feel better knowing it’s done.”

“I’m thinking about going natural from now on. Hairy legs, underarms, and bush.” Her nose scrunches up. “Can we go now?” I ask.

“Yep.” She types something into the phone still in her hand then looks at me. “But I’m driving.”

“Fine by me. That means I can drink wine at the theater.”

“Crap, I didn’t think about that,” she mumbles, and I smile. The theater we go to is one of those dine-in ones with fully reclining chairs, dinner, and drinks if you want them. It’s awesome.

I follow her to the door and we both get into her car. When we make it across town to where our nail salon is, I frown when she pulls into a parking lot across the street. When I see the name of the business she pulls in front of, I shake my head. “You think I’m hardheaded? You’re relentless.”

“Whatever. You’ll thank me later.”

“It’s Saturday, Brie. I’m not waiting around here all day,” I tell her as she opens the door.

“Don’t worry about that. I sent Mandy, who always takes care of me, a text. She knows you’re coming,” she says cheerfully, and I groan.

_______________

“I hate you.” I shift awkwardly after taking a seat in the dark theater.

“Oh, stop. It’s not that bad.” Brie laughs, grabbing the menu and glancing over it.

“Not that bad? Are you insane? I feel like my whole….” I look around, then hiss, “She didn’t even ask what I wanted. She just took it all.”

“Give it a few hours. The uncomfortableness will go away. When that happens, you’re going to be singing ‘A Whole New World’ at the top of your lungs.”

“Whatever.” I shift again then press the button on the side of my chair. When the waiter arrives, I ask him to bring me two glasses of wine and an order of nachos with extra jalapenos, and Brie asks for a Diet Coke and a popcorn with extra butter.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Brie says when the waiter leaves, and I glance over at her.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Um, hello? Cobi is coming to your house tonight and you just got a wax job.”

“I’m not having sex with him, Brie.”

“Sure you’re not.” She smirks at me.

“I’m not,” I state firmly as my stomach twists. I can’t even fathom the idea of sleeping with Cobi. If one brush from his lips sent me into a tailspin, sex with him would likely leave me brainless.

“Yet,” Brie mumbles, but I ignore her and focus all my attention on the movie as it begins to play.

When the movie comes to an end, I look over at Brie and we both grin. “Chris Pratt is so hot.”

“So hot,” I agree with a cheesy smile.

“Cobi is hotter.”

“Here we go again.”

“Just sayin’.” She grabs her purse, and I grab mine off the chair next to me. “Cobi could totally give Chris a run for his money.”

“Does Kenyon know that you’ve become obsessed with Cobi?”

“My man knows exactly what he gives me. Trust me, he is not concerned.” She smiles at me over her shoulder as we walk down the stairs.