“Yeah, I know who he is.” I should finally tell Katie about our runs, but I’m too annoyed and hurt by his unexplained absence this past week. There’s no real justification for my feelings, though, so the resulting embarrassment keeps me silent.

“Well, he’s famous for never inviting anyone to their parties, so people—mostly girls—take extreme measures to get inside to talk to him. I heard he moved to a second-floor bedroom after what happened last year. It was all people talked about on campus for weeks.”

I want to ask Katie if Jace’s lack of invitations has ever extended to ensuring someone doesn’t receive an invite, but there’s no way I can do that without explaining all of our interactions since that day I literally collided with him.

“Well, I got invited, if you want to go.” I hadn’t decided yet if I would take Anderson up on his strange invitation or not until now, but after hearing Katie’s depiction of the parties, I’m curious enough to attend. And if I’m being honest with myself, I know the opportunity to see Jace is also a factor.

“You what?” Katie looks completely dumbfounded by my revelation.

“I just ran into a guy who’s on the football team, and he invited me. Said to come to the blue house on Fourth Street after eleven.”

“What guy?” Katie asks skeptically.

“He said his name is Anderson,” I relay.

Katie’s eyes widen. “He’s one of the starters,” she informs me. “Are you interested in him?”

“Interested in him?” I echo.

“Yeah, Anderson must like you if he invited you.”

“Uh—I’ve never really talked to him before, so I’m not sure whether he likes me or not,” I reply honestly.

“You’ve never talked to him before, but he invited you to the party tonight?” Katie’s voice is thick with disbelief.

“Yes, and now I’m inviting you. Let’s go shopping for outfits to wear tonight,” I urge her, eager to stop discussing the finer points of my invitation.

“Don’t you already have enough clothes?” Katie asks, laughing as she gestures toward my overstuffed closet.

“No such thing,” I tell her, winking. “And you need something special to wear, too. My treat. C’mon, if this party is as big a deal as you say it is, we’d better plan to make an entrance.”

“I still have a lot of reading to do,” Katie says as she glances back toward her desk, but the words are half-hearted at best.

“It’s Saturday,” I remind her. “You have all day tomorrow to get your work done.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Katie climbs off her bed and begins gathering her things.

“Let me call Philip. He can give us a ride. He’s been wanting to go to that bookstore in town.” He hasn’t, but I’m not supposed to leave campus without him and it’s the most believable excuse I can think of.

Philip picks up on the first ring. “Everything okay?”

“Hello to you too,” I reply. “Katie and I want to go shopping in town. Can you drive us? I know you’ve been wanting to go to that bookstore,” I tack on for Katie’s benefit.