“Ivy?”
“Yes.” Her shoulders lifted. “The other day you said you didn’t know my middle name. It’s Ivy.”
“Very earthy names.”
“My parents claim they weren’t hippies, but… I’m not so sure.”
“My middle name is James.”
“I know.” With a slight head shake she rolled her eyes.
“You do?”
“Duh. If you Google your name, the entire right column is about you: full name, date of birth, height, current team, education, parents. Yep, it’s all there.”
“You’ve Googled me?”
“I may have.” She picked at some peeling skin on her arm.
“To find out my stats?”
She shrugged. “Among other things.”
I sat on the bed next to her, ducking my head to see her face that she tried to hide with her chin tipped down. “What other things?”
“Just stuff. Okay? Like places you’ve been photographed or…”
“Or?”
“Or maybe who you’ve been photographed with.”
“Did you go online to size up your competition?” I chuckled.
“Maybe.” She pinched her lips together.
“And?”
“It’s pretty stiff.” Lake shot me a quick, wrinkle-nosed look. “You don’t go for the average chick.”
I shook my head. “Actually, I don’t date that much.”
Her jaw unhinged. “Uh… I can do a search on my phone right now and prove that you are incorrect.”
“Photos don’t mean shit. If I lean too close to a waitress in a loud bar or restaurant to give her my order, some idiot snaps a picture and just like that, said waitress and I are an item.”
“Yeah, well, then you must hang out at some pretty fancy places that only hirereallysexy women to work there.”
“Did the sun fry your brain a bit too? Because this is a new side to you. Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not jealous. I said I knew your middle name. Youasked how. I told you and it led into this conversation. I’ve said nothing out of jealousy. I’ve simply made observations, that’s all.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, it sounds a little like jealousy.”
“You’re such a dope. Jealousy is: Who was the blonde? How did you meet? Did you have sex? How much? Did you love her? Do you miss her? I bet you’re thinking about her right now. When’s the last time you talked with her?
But if you’d listened to me you’d know I didn’t actually ask you anything. I said I looked at some online photos of you. Then I made the observation that the women in all the photos were very attractive. That’s it. Period.”
“Lake?” her mom called. “Get down here. Luke and Jessica just arrived!”
