My finish is rocky, but I make it, and my reward is the gigantic smile on Wes’s face, better than a thousand trophies. “You did it, Ives! That wasn’t bad at all! I’m impressed.”
My eyebrows raise, still skeptical. “Seriously?”
“I’d never lie about that,” he assures. “After a few more runs, you’ll be good to go.”
I drop back into the chair with a sigh. “We’ll see.”
“I had a thought about your attention getter,” Wes says. “What if instead you ask the room something like, ‘how many people here consider themselves introverts?’ It might be an easy way to engage the class, and you won’t have to turn the focus so much on yourself. That could be what’s making you nervous.”
I chew on my lip, considering. “What if no one raises their hand?”
“Do you see how many seniors are in our class? A ton. And they’re all most definitely introverts who pushed it to the last minute.” He points to himself and waggles his brows. “Case in point.”
“Oh my god, don’t even,” I say, rolling my eyes at his statement. “You’re Mr. Social Butterfly. You know every person on campus!”
“They knowme. Huge difference.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “How many happy birthday messages have you gotten this weekend?”
He blinks at me, adopting a much too innocent expression. “A couple.”
I shake my head, seeing right through him. “You’re such a liar. You need to count them.”
“Count them?” he asks in disbelief.
“As an apology for last night,” I tell him, surprising myself with my boldness.
“Okay, okay. Hold on, let me count.” I wait patiently while he goes through his inbox. “Thirty?” I ask, but he shakes his head, still staring down at his phone. “Fifty?” He shakes his head again. “Over a hundred?” When he doesn’t respond in any way, my jaw drops. “Wes, are youserious?”
He looks up, giving me a sheepish smile. “Maybe.”
“How do that many people have your phone number?” I ask, incredulous.
“I get added to a lot of group texts.”
I blink at him. He blinks at me. “You get added to a lot of group texts,” I repeat.
He grins like he realizes how ridiculous that statement was. “I don’t know. People just give out my number to whoever they want. It’s annoying, honestly. You should see how many propositions I receive a week.”
I frown, confused. “Propositions?”
“You know…” He raises his eyebrows suggestively. “Propositions.”
It hits me then, and my eyes widen, heat rushing to my cheeks. “Like forsex?” I blurt.
He stares at me for a moment and then bursts out laughing, shaking his head. “Oh my god, you look horrified. I don’t take them up on it, Ives! Come on.”
“I would hope not,” I mutter. “Can I see one?”
“No,” he groans. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Please? Pretty please?”
He sighs and starts scrolling again. “This is a horrible idea,” he mutters, almost to himself, before passing me the phone, “but I can’t say no to that face.”
I look down at his screen, and my eyes grow wider at the message there.
Unknown:Hi, Doc. It’s Chrissy, Jade’s friend. I’m free tonight if you want to come over ;)
