“Do you watch it?” Beck questions.

“I mean, sometimes. If it’s on…” I hedge.

“She watches it,” Emma confirms, and I glare at her.

“Okay, let’s watch it,” Beck states.

I glance at him. “Seriously?”

“Why not? I’m definitely not playing Clue with you again.”

I fight the smile, I really do. But I don’t win. “Okay, let’s watch it.”

We all migrate into the living room. Cressida plops down on the recliner. Emma takes a seat on one side of the couch. Beck settles on the opposite end. I take a seat closer to Beck, but toward the middle. Then Anne comes out. I’m surprised. She’s never watched before. Then again, Adler Beck’s never been in our living room watching it before. Her presence means I have to scootch farther down the couch.

Closer to Beck.

Our thighs press, then our sides, then our shoulders. Acute, self-conscious awareness pulses through me, and it’s ridiculous. Absurd. I’ve been a lot closer to Beck than this, but somehow being pressed against him in front of my friends feels more intimate.

The show starts with an elaborate montage replaying last week’s most scandalous events.

“That’s the guy they’re all fighting over?” Beck whispers to me incredulously as the new episode starts.

“Yup,” I reply. “Not your type?”

Beck chuckles, and I lean a little closer to feel his chest vibrate. “Nope. Yours?”

“I prefer blonds.”

“Karl will be disappointed.”

I laugh softly. “Are he and Sophia still dating?”

“No idea. I made my opinion about him pretty clear. He’s not exactly a popular topic of conversation.”

“It’s sweet that you’re protective,” I say quietly.

“Is it? Because I made my opinion clear after he spent brunch staring at you. Because he spent brunch staring at you.”

I look up at him. He’s staring at the television screen. “Yeah, it’s sweet,” I murmur. I look away, back at the screen, which is currently depicting a hot-air balloon ride over a field of wildflowers. “This is even more ridiculous than the helicopter last episode,” I say at a normal volume.

“I thought you weren’t watching last episode,” Emma replies from the opposite end of the couch.

“I just wanted to see if Madison ended up getting on it,” I respond. “I mean, who plans a helicopter ride for a woman afraid of heights?”

“He didn’t know she was afraid of heights,” Cressida defends.

“Well, maybe he should know that about the person he’s supposedly falling in love with,” I retort.

“Like her allergies?” Anne comments beside me. I don’t think anyone else hears, but I scowl at her anyway.

The hot-air balloon lands in the field, and the couple disembarks to discover a picnic that’s already been prepared. “Seriously? How unrealistic,” I grumble.

“Saylor! I can’t hear what they’re saying,” Emma complains.