“Proud of you, babe.”
“Don’t be. I think I just took years off my life pretending to be a functioning human.”
“You do have to participate in society, Delilah.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
“Come over tomorrow.”
I frown. “Why?”
“BecauseI haven’t seen your ass in like, a month, and I’m officially demanding friend time. Plus, it’ll be fun, like old times,”
I hesitate. Lacey iswaymore social than me. She doesn’t need to make plans in advance because she thrives in chaos. I, on the other hand, need a minimum of three business days’ notice to mentally prepare for human interaction.
“Please?” she uses her sad voice.
“Alright, fine…”
“Yay! I promise you’re going to have fun.” She laughs.
“You’re being suspicious,” I say slowly. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch!Just come overtomorrow night. We’ll do something fun.”
My eyes narrow.
“Define fun.”
Lacey hums innocently. “Getting ready together. Drinking something strong. Wearing outfits that scream, ‘weare bad bitches who don’t care about men but look hot, anyway.’”
My stomach drops.
“And then,” she continues sweetly, “we’ll simply happen to go to a party hosted by my wonderful new boyfriend, who worked very hard to throw a big, fun night for his friends—and you haven’t even met him yet, and I really want you to.”
I close my eyes. Breathe.
“You tricked me.”
“Nope. Tricking implies deception. I merely... curated the information.”
“Lacey.”
“Delilah.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I am glad that Carter finally contacted you, but he’s in Alpha Si.”
“Correct.”
“A frat, Lacey.”
“Also correct. Wow, I can see why you’re in thesuper smartcompetition now.”
“I hate frats.”
“I am well aware, babe.”
I let my head thunk back against the couch again. Jesus Christ.
