Chapter 16 (1/2)

God, I am never drinking again, I remind myself as I sit back down on the floor.

After a few minutes of silence Hardin finally speaks up. “Can I ask you a question?”

The look on his face tells me I should say no but the room’s still not feeling entirely solid, and I think maybe talking will help me focus, so I say, “Sure.”

“What do you want to do after college?”

I look up at him with new eyes. That is literally the last thing I thought he would ask. I assumed he would ask why I’m a virgin, or why I don’t drink.

“Well, I want to be an author or a publisher, whichever comes first.” I probably shouldn’t be honest with him; he will just make fun of me. But when he doesn’t say anything back, I start feeling brave and ask him the same question, earning an eye roll from him but no answer.

Finally I ask, “Are those your books?” even though it’s probably futile.

“They are,” he mumbles.

“Which is your favorite?”

“I don’t play favorites.”

I sigh and pick at a small fray on my jeans.

“Does Mr. Rogers know you’re at a party again?”

“Mr. Rogers?” I look back up at him. I don’t get it.

“Your boyfriend. He is the biggest tool I have ever seen.”

“Don’t talk about him like that, he is . . . he is . . . nice,” I stutter. When Hardin laughs, I stand up. He doesn’t know Noah at all. “You could only dream of being as nice as he is,” I say sharply.

“Nice? That’s the first word that comes to your mind when talking about your boyfriend? Nice is your ‘nice’ way of calling him boring.”

“You don’t know him.”

“Well, I know that he’s boring. I could tell by his cardigan and loafers.” Hardin’s head rolls back in laughter and I can’t ignore his dimples.

“He doesn’t wear loafers,” I say, but have to cover my mouth so I don’t laugh with him at my boyfriend’s expense. I grab the water and take another drink.

“Well, he has been dating you for two years and hasn’t fucked you yet, so I would say he is a square.”