He’s holding up our history project sheet and rambling off the different projects we can do.

“We can do a video!” he says excitedly. “I’m good at doing videos.”

I roll my eyes at him. “I don’t even want to know about the kind of videos you are good at doing.”

He shakes his head at me. “I told you, I’m more than just a sex god. Let’s do a video. We’ll do a reenactment video. You can dress up and I’ll shoot you being told your husband was killed in the war or something. Don’t worry, the camera will love you.”

I cringe when he says this. Vincent said something very similar. I close my eyes tightly and drop my head down on Dallas’ shoulder.

He puts his arm up over his head and runs his hand across my hair. It’s a sweet gesture that makes me reach down and give him an upside down hug.

“So did you and Katie get to hang out last night?”

He shakes his head. “No, but Riley met a girl.”

“Really? Who?”

Riley stops spinning. “Ariela.”

“She’s the pretty cheerleader with the long, dark hair, right?”

“And the most gorgeous green eyes,” he says dreamily. “And a body built for sin.”

“You know she’s a prude, right?” Dallas says.

“So?” Riley and I say at the same time. We look at each other and start laughing.

I stop rubbing Dallas’ shoulders. “What does that even mean, anyway?”

“I actually like that about her,” Riley says, before we have the chance to discuss. Both Dallas and I look at Riley like he just told us he is gay.

He holds his hands up in the air, like, whatever. “I didn’t even try to kiss her.”

“What did you do then?”

He shrugs a shoulder and starts rolling around the room again while he talks. “Just flirted with her. Turned on the Johnson charm.”

I laugh out loud. “The Johnson charm is designed to get a girl into bed.”

“Okay, so I didn’t turn it all the way on. Didn’t want to scare the poor girl away. She’s really pretty.”

“You said that already.”

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m in uncharted waters here, baby. I like her. I’ve never asked a girl on a date.”

“So you’re not afraid to ask a girl to hook up, but you’re afraid to ask one on a date. That’s priceless.” He gives me a pathetic look and I can tell he’s serious. I sigh. “Have you texted her?”

“No.”

“So do it now. Tell her you had fun hanging out last night and ask her on an actual date.”

“Can’t I ask her to just hang out?”

“You could if you wanted to be just friends.”

“But I do want us to be friends. You and Dawson are friends.”

“Yes, but he’s not in the friend box.”

Dallas stops texting whichever one of the girls he is currently texting. “I could make a really naughty comment about what box he is in.”

Riley laughs. “Ha! I didn’t even catch that. I must be in love.”

My mouth drops open and my eyes get big. Dallas and I look at each other. His face looks like mine.

“Did she give you her number?” Dallas asks Riley.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Then she’s interested in you, Riley,” I say. “How could she not be? You’re one of the cutest guys here.”

“Yeah, but she’s one of the prettiest girls here. Like, she is really pretty.”

“I think we know that now,” Dallas quips.

“Does she make you nervous?”

“Yeah. Like all the lines that usually have girls crawling all over me, she thought were funny.”

“Did you take off your shirt to test her?” I say with a laugh.

He rolls over and swats me with the notebook he’s been nervously rolling up in his hand.

“I’m sorry. Okay. So, you like her. Dallas, you know if she’s seeing anyone?”

“She’s still seeing a guy from home. Guy she met this summer.”

Riley’s shoulder’s droop. “So what do I do?”

“Well, you already have the advantage because you’re here. Maybe you should just ask her to hang out. This sounds dumb, but why don’t you invite her to make signs with us? It’s a group thing. No pressure. Then when we’re done, I’ll ask if you two want to go get lunch with me and Dawson.”

“It’s like a stealth date?” I nod my head as he tosses me his phone. “You do it.”

“You’re such a chicken.”

Riley: It was fun hanging out last night.

Ariela: I thought so too.

Riley: I’m helping Keatyn make some signs today at 10:30. Would you want to come help us?

Ariela: Sorry, I can’t.

I make a frown and read what she said out loud. He gets a rejected look on his face.

Ariela: I’m at chapel right now, but I could meet you at 11.

I show Riley the text. He pulls me up off the bed and starts twirling me around.

“I’m revoking your man card,” Dallas says to him.

Riley falls with me onto his bed. “What’d you and Dawson do last night? Why didn’t you come to the movies with everyone?”

“We did mini golf. I won. I may have wounded his pride. Then we got dinner and he took me parking. I had never been before.”

“Did you go down by the lake?”

“Yeah. But parking sucks. Dawson barely fits in his own backseat. Let alone with me in there. And it’s impossible to maneuver.”

“Maneuver?” Riley says with a smirk.

“I’m not talking about sex. I hated parking. He finally grabbed a blanket out of his trunk. And don’t say it. I don’t even want to know where that blanket has been.”

Riley chuckles. “That blanket hasn’t been anywhere. It’s new. Mom saw something on television about some kids freezing to death in a blizzard. The blanket is part of the winter survival kits she put in all of our cars before we left for school.”

“Thank God.”

“I’ll have to let Mom know that the blanket has already come in handy.”

I flip him off and laugh. “Don’t you dare!”

He starts tickling me. I scream, laugh, and squirm my way off his bed, then manage to launch myself back onto Dallas’.

“What happened with you and Beth last night?” Riley asks Dallas.

Dallas gets a sneaky grin.

“Did you have sex with her?” I ask. Based on his grin he definitely got something.

He shakes his head and laughs. “No, but I can confirm the color of her panties.” He picks up a pair of jeans lying on the floor, reaches into the front pocket, and flings something hot pink across the room to Riley.

Riley catches it and holds up a hot pink cotton thong.

“That’s so gross,” I screech while Riley says, “That’s awesome.”

Dallas shakes his head at us and laughs. “Can you believe that? I’m starting a collection. I’m calling it Panties For the Poor. I’m going to collect as many as I can and then at the end of the year, I’ll donate them all to charity.”

“That’s very philanthropic of you. Your dad would be proud.”

Dallas starts laughing really hard.

I slap him on the back and say, “Come on, boys. It’s time to go play in the glitter.”

French kissing crisis.

7:50pm

Hottie God: Desperately need you. For workbook help.

Me: Library 20 min?

Hottie God: My room 20 min.

Me: NO!

Hottie God: Fine. Library it is.

The girls and I are in our hangout spot. On the floor of Katie’s and my room. Annie is sorting through all the signs we made this weekend. This afternoon, Annie had the brilliant idea of buying a bunch of Milk Duds. Like, she went and bought out every store in a ten-mile radius.

Now we’re wrapping then with leopard print labels that have big red and black letters on the front: Don’t Be Cougar Poo. Vote for Keatyn Monrooooo!

Which is really quite hysterical, if you ask me. Because Milk Duds do kinda look like cougar poo.

Annie says to me, “It’s too bad you didn’t come with Ace and all of us to the movies. We saw Running with the Angels. It was such a good movie. But then I love all of Abby Johnston’s movies. Isn’t she just great?”

I nod. “Yeah, she really is.”

“It’s weird, but she reminds me of you.”

Oh, crap. “Really? How so?”

“It’s not that you look like her, but your mannerisms and your gestures. The way you tilt your head. Even your voice. They are almost identical.”

“That’s really weird. I’ve seen most of her movies and never noticed that.”

I look around at them. All spending their time to help me with my campaign. Doing it because we’re friends. I wish I could tell them the truth. I wish I could tell them even Tommy can’t tell us apart on the phone. But I can’t. Fortunately, Annie drops it.

“What did you and Dawson do last night?”

“We played mini golf. Got some dinner.” Spent a lot of time at the lake.

“So did you kiss Ace?” I ask Annie to change the subject.

“No,” she says disappointedly.

“Did anything happen?” Maggie asks.

“He held my hand most of the night. That’s a good sign, right?”

Maggie and I both smile at her and say at the same time, “It’s a very good sign.”

“Jinx!” We both scream at each other.

Maggie blurts out, “Ohmigawd, did you have sex with Dawson yet or what?”

“Look, I don’t want to disappoint you guys, but I don’t really think it’s anyone’s business, and I don’t want it getting around school either way. So I’m gonna have to say no comment.”

Annie looks at me, trying to size me up. “That means you did it.”

“No, it doesn’t. It means I don't want people talking about whether we did or didn’t, so I’m saying no comment either way.”

Katie huffs. “Okay, so you did some stuff, right?”

“Yeah, I can say we did some stuff.”

Maggie starts to play along, “And was that stuff good and fun?”

My eyes get all dreamy, I know, but I can’t help it.

“It was very good, very fun. Did you notice the key necklace he’s started wearing around his neck?”

“I did notice because it’s not something guys usually wear,” Annie says.

“It’s the key to his heart. He tried to give it to me the other night. I told him no, so he’s wearing it until I cave.”

“Oh, that is so cute. Why wouldn’t you want the key to his heart?” Maggie asks.

“He’s not ready for that, and neither am I.”

“So what are you ready for? Hot, naked sex?”

I laugh out loud. Maggie is funny and she really loves to talk about sex.

I roll my eyes at her but then give her a little. “I can say that he is seriously hot. All of him.”

“Ahhhh!” Annie giggle-screams.

Maggie continues, “So did he give you the key before or after all of him was hot?”

“Well, it was supposed to be before, but I thought he was my gift, not that there was an actual gift. So it ended up being after.”

“Why are you okay with doing naked things with him but not going out with him? You must like him,” Katie says.

“I do like him. I guess I’m trying to guard my heart. Whitney told him that dating me would be social suicide. She wanted to set him up with that Rachel girl.”

“Rachel is a wannabe. She’s in zero activities. All she does is follow Whitney around and try to look perfect. No way dating you will be social suicide. Everyone loves you,” Maggie says. “Which is pretty amazing since you just got here. Everyone is talking about you and Dawson. They love you two together. You’re the perfect couple.”

I close my eyes and shake my head. “I don’t want to be the perfect couple. And if people think that, my chances of being with Dawson are even slimmer. As soon as his reputation goes back to golden boy, Whitney’s going to want him back. They were together for almost three years. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I don’t think that will happen,” Katie says sweetly, touching my arm. “She’s always kissing on Jake.”

“Jake doesn’t seem to be very happy with how things are going. And why aren’t they in his room, doing private stuff yet? I’m not talking sex, but even just like good making out, under the clothes kind of stuff.”

“Maybe she wants to make him wait.”

“I got the impression that it wasn’t great sexually between her and Dawson. I really don’t know how it couldn’t be though; he is so hot.”

“Like, he makes you hot, turns you on?” Katie is raising her eyebrows up and down at me.

“Very. Okay, so I will tell you one thing.”

They all move in a little closer, rapt with anticipation.

“At the game the other night, when I had on his big sweatshirt, he put his hand inside it and was like just sweetly rubbing my sides, my stomach, and then pretty soon his hands were in my underwear, rubbing me. It was like the hottest thing. So many people around us, but no one knew.”

Annie is shocked. “I can’t believe you let him do that. At the game!”