Saving It

by Monica Murphy

  I can’t believe it.

  “Molly.” I whine a little. I want her to know I’m onto her game.

  “Eden.” She whines back at me, and we both smile at each other at our reflections. “I don’t like him.”

  I raise a brow.

  “I don’t.”

  Both brows shoot up.

  “Seriously, Eden. I have no interest in Abraham Chen. None at all.”

  I still remain quiet. I’m trying to get her to crack. And finally she does.

  “Fine, I think he’s cute. But that’s it.” She hangs her head, like she can’t look at me anymore.

  I’m still silent, and she lifts her head, blowing out an infuriated breath as she glares at me through narrowed eyes. “I’m totally into him, okay? And that’s the honest to God truth. I’ve liked him since the beginning of the school year.”

  “Oh my God, are you serious?” I’m the one squealing now. Like how cute is this? My best friend and Josh’s best friend could be possibly falling for each other? So adorable.

  “Stop, it’s nothing. Totally wasted feelings considering he likes you,” Molly says miserably.

  Oh right.

  Guilt swarms me, and I sigh heavily. Why did Abraham have to think he likes me? He’s messing everything up. “But I don’t like him at all. Not like that.”

  “You should. He’s the total package.”

  I send her a look. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know.” Molly shrugs. “My mom says that all the time. She’ll meet guys and say they’re the total package. Like they have everything a woman could ever want or whatever.”

  “Your mom also always says that she’s single and ready to mingle,” I remind her. Molly’s parents divorced a few years ago, and while it was an amicable breakup and there were no hard feelings, Molly’s mom has been on the prowl for a new husband ever since. Molly finds her mom’s behavior incredibly humiliating most of the time.

  I think it’s kind of funny. Molly’s mom is cool. She’s having a good time, proving that you can still have a great dating—and sex—life, no matter what your age.

  Molly groans. “Why’d you remind me?”

  We both start laughing. While I love Molly’s mom, she also says and does embarrassing stuff sometimes.

  “Well listen, we’re both single and ready to mingle at this party, so forget Abraham and everyone else,” I say as I turn to Molly and grab hold of her by the shoulders. “Let’s focus on nabbing some hot college guys tonight.”

  Molly frowns. “And by nabbing you mean…”

  “Flirting it up, getting a phone number, or a Snapchat add or whatever, maybe even sneak a kiss.”

  Molly’s mouth pops open. “Sneak a kiss? You don’t even know this guy.”

  “Exactly, and you’re already freaking out over this fictional guy. Stop.” I shake her by the shoulders. “Don’t take things so seriously. Let’s have fun tonight. Hey, I know. Let’s give the boys we meet fake names.”

  “Fake names? Why would we do that?” Molly’s frowning, her delicate brows furrowed, and I let her go. “What if I really like the guy and feel a connection?”

  Molly’s biggest problem is she’s always ready to really like a guy and feel a connection. I get it, I really do, but sometimes I think she takes all of this too seriously. It’s not always about connections, right?

  It’s about talking to cute guys and flirting. I’ve been looking for a new relationship since Cole and I broke up last year, and I can’t find one. Maybe that’s a sign from the universe I need to stop trying so hard.

  The doorbell rings, and we both look at each other, our eyes wide. Molly’s expression slides straight into panic, and she starts fluttering around the bathroom, waving her hands in front of her like she doesn’t know what to do.

  “Want me to get the door?” I ask calmly. I’m going for cool and collected, but deep down I’m a jumble of nerves—which makes me even more nervous because I never feel this way around Josh or Abraham.

  Until this very moment.

  “Yes.” Molly sucks in a shaky breath. “Give me a couple of minutes and then I’ll be out.”

  Vaguely irritated, I head for the living room. Molly does this every single time we go anywhere. She’s always running behind when I’m ready to go. It’s kind of annoying. At least her mom’s out on a date tonight so we don’t have to deal with her. Like I said, I love her, but she gets frantic like Molly, and the two of them together are like hyped-up Chihuahuas running in endless circles.

  No thanks.

  I exhale my own shaky breath before opening Molly’s front door. Josh and Abraham are standing there, the both of them immediately scanning me up and down, making my skin go warm.

  Me? I’ve only got eyes for Josh.

  Ugh. Stop.

  But it’s like my brain is telling me can’t stop, won’t stop. Josh is wearing the black shirt and dark khaki pants he tried on earlier at Wavelengths, and he looks damn good, plus with the freshly cut hair, that faint smile curling his lips, and his hands shoved into his front pockets, I’d call him top notch swoon material.

  Freaking ridiculous, right? Seriously, what is wrong with me?

  “Looking extra sexy tonight, Sumner,” Abraham says with a low whistle, interrupting my Josh-fueled thoughts.

  I’m tempted to roll my eyes. Bad enough he called me sexy, but then he calls me by my last name, too, and that makes his comment even less flattering.

  “Hey. You guys look good, too.” I open the door wider. “Come in. Molly’s almost ready to go.”

  “Running late as usual, huh?” Josh asks as he walks past me.

  I catch a whiff of his cologne or aftershave or whatever he’s got on, and I inhale deeply, savoring it. Since when did he start smelling so good? Molly and I call it hot boy smell, and Josh has it tonight, that’s for sure. “Yeah, you know how she is.”

  “What? Does she always run late?” Abraham looks from me to Josh as I close the door.

  For someone who hangs out with us all the time, he sure is clueless about Molly’s behavior. That’s what I like about Josh. He pays attention. He knows what’s up. He’s not only focusing on himself. Most of the time, he actually cares.

  “Not always, but a lot of the time, yeah,” I tell Abraham. Josh sends me a knowing look, and I smile in return. Abraham’s oblivious to our secret silent exchange, and I like that we can share this tiny moment, Josh and me. After all the years we’ve spent together, we have a lot of private jokes.

  “Nice dress.” Josh stands next to me, and when I look over at him, he’s totally checking out my legs. Um, okay. “Trying to pick up college dudes with that short skirt?”

  “Yep, that was the plan.” I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow, and he pushes back. Somehow we collide. He’s warm and solid, and he has muscular arms and holy crap, I need to stop thinking like this. He doesn’t want me like that. He’s wants to find some other girl he can get with. Not me.

  Not.

  Me.

  It’s not that I don’t think I’m good enough for him…or do I? He’s never noticed me like that before. Oh, he may check me out and make the occasional lewd yet somehow complimentary comment, but otherwise, we are friends only. Hands off. He sees me as one of his bros.

  “Hey, guys!” Molly sweeps into the room, all smiles and her perfectly curled hair bouncing around her shoulders. “Ready to go?”

  “Let’s do this,” Josh says with a smile, taking a few steps away from me like he needs the space.

  “Molly, you are smoking hot tonight,” Abraham says with a shake of his head, his gaze locked on all the leg she has on display. And she has better legs than me. She’s taller and more slender. We took dance together for years when we were younger, and she was the one with the perfect, graceful dancer’s body. I was the one with short legs who just liked to shake her ass up on stage.

  Hey, at least I can admit it.

  “Thanks, A,” Molly says, her cheeks pink. “You look pretty smokin’
yourself.”

  Josh sends me another one of those secret looks, though this time his brows are furrowed, like he’s confused. I just shrug and smile in return.

  …

  Josh

  After about five minutes of arguing, I give in and let Eden drive. She’s got her mom’s Honda Accord, which is more practical than my truck—yes Eden, I actually agree with you for once—and besides, most of the time Eden drives like an old grandma, which is probably best considering we’re going to a frat party and some of us might want to drink.

  “I’m ready to get hammered tonight,” Abraham says as he slides in the backseat with me. Because not only does Eden drive like a grandma, but we’re riding together like a bunch of senior citizens, with the girls sitting together in the front and us old dudes in the back.

  “Yeah, if we can even get in this party,” I mutter with a slight shake of my head.

  I can’t stop thinking about how freaking sexy Eden looks tonight. The dress she’s wearing is giving me dirty thoughts thanks to that short skirt, which isn’t normal. I mean yeah, I’ve had dirty thoughts about Eden before—hell, I’ve had dirty thoughts about Molly, which doesn’t happen often, but they’re there. I’m a guy after all.

  But something happened with Eden and me today. Some weird shift in our friendly universe. And now there’s this weird vibe between us that I can’t quite put my finger on. We got into that minor argument in front of Wavelengths, and I know I made her mad when I told her she wasn’t sexy, which is a fucking lie.

  She’s extra gorgeous tonight, too. Like she’s trying to prove a point that she is sexy as hell, thank you very much.

  “Don’t be such a downer, Evans,” Abraham says, knocking me from my Eden-is-so-sexy thoughts. “We’ll get into this party. Not like they have a bouncer at the door.”

  “We’ll get in,” Molly says firmly, turning in the passenger seat so she can look at us. “My sister has gone to a lot of parties at this frat, and she said they’re cool, especially to the girls.”

  “I don’t know about you, Evans, but I’m definitely not a girl.” Abraham grabs his crotch to—what?—prove that point, making Molly blush and turn away.

  I glance up to catch Eden watching me in the rearview mirror, a little smirk curling her lips. I roll my eyes. Her smile grows, and my heart starts to race.

  What the hell?

  “Ready to pick up on some fine ass college tail tonight?” Abraham asks me, his voice low like he doesn’t want to be heard. Not that the girls are paying us any attention. They’re too busy talking.

  “Fine ass college tail?” I repeat back to him. “You sound like you’re in some weird teen movie from the nineties.”

  Abraham frowns. “What are you talking about?”

  “No one talks like that, dude. If they ever even did. But yeah, I’m all for going to this party and meeting new people,” I say.

  Abraham shoves my shoulder, making an irritated noise. “Whatever. You sound like an old man.”

  “Right, and you sound like every sexed-up teen cliché come to life.” Abraham starts to laugh when I scowl at him. He rarely stays pissed at me for long, if ever. It’s just not part of his makeup. He’s an easygoing guy—a pain in the ass sometimes and totally ridiculous most of the time, but pretty easygoing.

  “What the hell ever, man,” Abraham says as he starts scrolling through his phone.

  I do the same, opening Snapchat. I have a bunch of Snaps, but I only check the ones from Taylyr and Whitney. Whitney’s is a cute selfie that looks like she sent it out to a bunch of people. I take a quick photo of myself and hit send.

  The one from Taylyr is actually to me. It’s a photo of the sunset with a caption.

  What are you up to tomorrow?

  Huh. This girl is pushy. But maybe I should go for pushy. Whitney’s flirty, but she might be flirty with all sorts of guys, I don’t know. Taylyr has zeroed in on me and while at first I was thrown by it, I have to admit it’s flattering.

  I take a photo of the streetlights we pass by and add my own caption.

  Nothing much. How about you?

  Taylyr doesn’t bother sending me another photo. She goes straight to chat.

  Want to get together?

  I raise a brow, staring at the words until they start to blur. Do I want to get together? If Eden were sitting next to me, she’d encourage me to say yes.

  Sure. Want to grab lunch?

  Yes. :) That sounds fun.

  Give me your address and I’ll come pick you up around noon tomorrow?

  Taylyr wastes no time and sends me her address. We chat a little more, and the next thing I know, we’re at the party. Eden parks a few blocks down from the frat house. We get out of the car, and we can hear the music and the dull roar of a lot of people talking from this far.

  “Sounds busy,” Molly says apprehensively.

  “It’ll be fun, Mol.” Abraham slings an arm around her neck and rubs the top of her head with his knuckles, making her yelp. “Come on, loosen up.”

  Eden and I fall into step behind them as we head toward the house. She says nothing, and at first neither do I, but that just feels weird. Why isn’t she talking? I thought she’d be excited about going to the party and full of nonstop chatter like usual.

  But she’s not. She’s quiet. Does that mean she’s thinking about Abraham? Maybe she does like him. Maybe she’s upset because he talks about fine ass college tail and now he’s flirting with Molly.

  Then again, she’s walking with me.

  “I talked to Taylyr just now,” I say to break the weird tension between us.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. We’re getting together tomorrow. I’m gonna take her to lunch.”

  “That’s nice.” I glance down at her to see she’s looking up at me. “So I guess you don’t mind that she’s so pushy after all?”

  “She’s the one who asked if I wanted to get together.” I shrug. “I figured you’d tell me to go for it, so I did.”

  “Good. I’m glad you took my advice.” I can hear the amusement in her tone, and I chuckle.

  “You would’ve told me that, and you know it.”

  “You’re right. I would’ve. I’m glad you went for it. She might be a good match for you.”

  Is it me or is there something in the way she just said that Taylyr and I might be a good match, that she maybe sounded…disappointed? Nah. “Yeah, I’m thinking so, too.”

  “Even if she spells her name in the dumbest way possible. Though I guess I shouldn’t hold that against her. It’s her parents’ fault,” Eden says with a little laugh, making me laugh, too. The tension eases, just like that.

  I like it when Eden laughs. It’s one of my favorite sounds.

  “So you think it’s a good idea? Me and Taylyr?” I sound serious, because I am serious. I might be moving too fast, but isn’t that the point? I’m on the fast track to sex, which sounds kind of awful if I’m being honest, but hey, if I’m down and Taylyr’s down, then what’s the harm in it?

  I’m trying to be like Abraham. No more strings. No more relationships. I need to be free and single when I go to college. Free and single and rid of my virgin status once and for all.

  “If you like her, Josh, then I say go for it.” Eden’s answer is way too vague.

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I guess tomorrow will tell me if I like her or not, you know?”

  “You can’t base your decision on one date.”

  “Are you being serious?” I’m surprised. “I firmly believe if there’s no connection from the start, then there never really will be.”

  “But is that what you’re looking for? A connection? Or are you just looking to get laid?”

  Huh. She does have a point, not that I want to admit it. “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Seven

  Josh

  The minute we got to this dumb party, the girls ditched us. I knew that would happen, but I’m still a little butthurt over it. And while there are hot girls crawling al
l over this house, most of them aren’t interested in a high school boy, even if I am a senior.

  Not that I told them I was in high school, but I swear I must give off some sort of vibe that screams he’s only seventeen. Maybe it’s because of Abraham acting like an immature asswipe, but whatever. I’m drinking foamy beer and checking out hot girls and thinking about Taylyr.

  And Eden. Where’s Eden?

  “You wouldn’t believe who I just ran into.” Abraham is standing in front of me, his expression anxious.

  “Who?”

  “That chick from the track team. The first girl I ever had sex with.” Abraham shakes his head. “I never thought I’d see her again. It’s weird, man. She goes here. She’s in a sorority, and I swear to God, she somehow got even hotter.”

  This doesn’t surprise me. “Is she still into you?” He went on and on about this girl for a while, and then one day, he was over her. It was kind of odd, and he never did tell any of us what happened between them to end whatever it was they had. I don’t even remember her name.

  “I don’t know. She was being super cool just now.” He glances over his shoulder, and his expression brightens, the smile on his face downright blinding. “Oh hey, Nicole.”

  Nicole sidles up next to him, resting her hand on his arm. Abraham’s right. She’s hot. With long, bleached blond hair and dark brown eyes, her full lips covered in shiny gloss. She’s wearing tight jeans and a cropped black sweater that reveals a flat stomach. Plus, it shows off her big boobs. No wonder Abraham’s all wound up. “Hey.” Her gaze locks with mine, and she smiles. “Who’s this, Abe?”

  No one really calls Abraham Abe, but I guess he doesn’t mind when it’s a gorgeous girl like Nicole. “This is my best friend, Josh.”

  “Hi.” I smile at her.

  “You’re adorable,” she tells me before she rises on tiptoe and whispers something in Abraham’s ear. He turns about fifty shades of red, and when his gaze meets mine, he looks almost embarrassed.

  “You care if we go upstairs for a few minutes?” he asks me.

  “Go for it.” I flick my chin at him.