She hesitated, thennodded.
“That makes so much sense! My roommate had a terrible date last night and then I caught your roommate's date making out with another chick in thebathroomof—”
“You’re not talking about Trevor Benson,areyou?”
“Like I know his last name.” But now that he did, he could do a little online snooping and see just how may girls he was stringing along. “All I know is that I saw him kissing some redhead in the bathroom during the movie, and leaving with Lacey on his arm when itwasover.”
“And she’s going on another date with him in a couple of days. Ugh...” Morgan covered her face with herhands.
“She is? Do you know where?” he asked, once again cursing his impulsiveness. He couldn’t explain his desire to protect Lacey, only that he needed to keep her far, far away from TrevorBenson.
Morgan shook her head. “Lacey didn’t say. Only that she wasexcited.”
“Then you’ve got to tell her aboutTrevor.”
“You don’tunderstand.”
“I don’t understand? Your roommate is going out with a guy who’s a total jerk, and you don’t want totellher?”
“It’s not that. I just… I’ll think about it.” She looked down at her wrist, which didn’t have a watch on it. “Well, look at the time. It’s been great chatting. I’ll make sure I get a date set up foryousoon.”
She clutched her bag tightly as she raced off in the direction of the Ordway Building. He wanted to follow her, demand she tell him more, but his class was in the opposite direction. Besides, he had no idea what else there was to say, so he lethergo.
Conrad made his way to class, even more confused than before after their short conversation. He wanted answers, and there was only one logical place to go. As he passed the water dome, took out his phone and pulled up the article Declan had written. At the bottom of the page was a line that read “If you’ve been cheated by the Date Maker, contact Declan Adams.” It included his phone number and email address. Conrad didn’t have time to chat, but sent a quick email to Declan that gave a short explanation of his concerns, along with is phone number, before walking into hisclass.
When Conrad leftthe lecture hall an hour later, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, surprised by several text messages from an unknownnumber.
Thanks for reaching out, Conrad. This is DeclanAdams.
I’d really like to meet up with you concerning Morgan Jones. Can I buy you a cup of coffee tomorrow morning before class? (I actually don’t know what time your first class is, but withinreason)
Wow, Conrad thought to himself. The drama between him and Morgan was the real deal. He’d had the briefest of interactions with both of them, but it was clear they were both ridiculously obsessed with the other—for better orworse.
Conrad wasn’t sure if he should stoke the flames by meeting with Declan, but decided to do it anyway. For Dominick and Lacey, he toldhimself.
Conrad: I have early morning classes. Can we do somethinglater?
Barely a minute passed before he had ananswer.
Declan: And I’m busy in the afternoon. Wanna grab a bite to eat at Palace Pizzaaround6?
Conrad: Likeadate?
It was the typical sarcastic reply he’d normally send to Dominick, and he hit send before realizing how weird it would sound to someone he didn’t know. One of these days, Conrad would need to learn to take something seriously. Thankfully, Declan responded quickly, and with an equally derisivereply.
Declan: Like somepizza.
Conrad: See youat6
Declan: It’sadate
Conrad chuckled as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He liked this guy already. He just hoped he had someanswerstoo.
“Tellme about what happened on yourseconddate?”
“As if youdon’talreadyknow.”
ChapterSix
