If we hadn’t gone to school together our entire lives and made friends back when we had everything in common because our entire lives were My Little Pony, Dead Man’s Float competitions in Kiki’s pool, and getting our parents to take us out for ice cream, we might not have anything to do with each other. But we’ve kept at it and made it work, and now we are a scary and awesome force of mutual support, and I love that about us.

Even in their bitchiest moments, they’ve never genuinely torn me down for anything. Would that stay true if they knew about Jasmine? Would they look at me differently? Treat me differently?

And was Jasmine serious about coming to the Clementine Walker event? I’m not sure I can handle knowing she’s in the room if Clementine reads one of her more … risqué scenes. Maybe I should bring Chase, share one of my interests with him, given how many football games I’ve attended. Maybe those scenes will work on him just as well.

Anyway, it’s not like Jasmine would’ve ever touched her books before I recommended them, and she ended up reading four. They’re good. Maybe Chase will give one a shot. He’s not the kind of guy who’s, like, “Ew, romance novels are for girls.” At least, I don’t think he is, though I can’t imagine him adding reading on top of schoolwork and football and college applications. It was different with Jasmine. We were free during the summer, and she was already reading at least a book a week, if not more.

It was different with Jasmine, for sure.

Chapter Ten

THEN

“Okay, not that I’m creeping on your reading choices or anything, but I’m pretty sure every single book I’ve seen you read this summer that wasn’t one of my recommendations has been by that woman.”

I look up from Make Me a Catch to Jasmine standing over my hammock, her long waves swept into a ponytail. It’s been three days since we made out, and we haven’t talked about it once—we just got up the next morning and proceeded to the next shoot as if nothing had happened, then spent the afternoon at the beach with Keisha, Carter, and the others. I haven’t seen her since breakfast this morning. She’d disappeared into her room immediately to do some photo-editing work, and I hadn’t expected to see her until dinner. She isn’t avoiding me, I don’t think, and I’m not avoiding her, but we aren’t going out of our way to spend time alone. In fact, this is the first time I’ve seen her in days without a camera in her hand and a bag of gear in mine.