“It was nice.” I smile. “Like, we’ve gotten coffee before, as coworkers, and friends and stuff. But this felt different, you know? There was a sort of flirty vibe throughout.”

She nods. “Plus you probably didn’t make out after the other times you went for coffee.”

“Well...we didn’t technically make out this time either.”

“Sara.”

I hold up my hands innocently. “What? It was the middle of the day, okay? What was I supposed to do?”

“Uh, I don’t know, tell him your roommate is in class and invite him over. Or for God’s sake, just be one of those annoying couples who kiss in the middle of the quad, I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just, I don’t know. I don’t have much experience in this area. I didn’t know what to do.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe, you, of all people, run Perfect10.”

I ignore this comment. Unsurprisingly, she’s been doing quite well recently, just .4 away from Platinum. I offered to bump her up the last bit, but she said she wants to earn it.

“So,” she continues. “What happened the next time y’all hung out?”

“That was kind of it,” I say. “We’re between launches for the app, so I haven’t really seen him. He came late to class Thursday, and I always sit in front, so it’s not like I coulda talked to him then.”

“Huh,” she says. I can tell she’s trying to keep her expression neutral but is thinking that our relationship—or flirtation, or whatever it is—is dead in the water.

“But we’ve been texting, like, all the time.” I set my glass on the table and reach for my phone. “And really flirty stuff too. Look.”

I hand her the phone. I can’t believe she’s managed to get me invested in this conversation.

“I’ve been glued to my phone, and we’ve stayed up until like two every night talking.”

“Congrats, Sara, you’re in a middle school relationship.” She laughs. “Let me know if he chats you on AIM, will you? Maybe even puts you in his Myspace top eight.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

“Oh shut up,” I say. “I’m happy—isn’t that what matters?”

“Yeah.” She hands back the phone. “And those texts are quite cute, I have to say.”

“Thank you.” I stare at my open conversation with Braden for a second. I was the last person to respond, writing lol that’s amazing in response to a Buzzfeed article he’d sent me. There technically wasn’t a need for him to respond, but I’m kind of hoping he will. Every time my phone buzzes with his name, it sets off butterflies in my stomach.