Page 40 of Harnessed in Gold

“Yup.” She tosses a rag at me. “So get busy and dust your desk.”

I have some reading to do for World Religions at 1:00, but I obey, eager to help her ‘cleanse.’

She drops a stack of books onto her bed and dusts the filthy desk shelf where they stood, grumbling about how disgusting it is. “Do they not have filters in the HVAC here?”

“Couldn’t tell you.”

“Oh, by the way,” she says, so off-handedly I can tell she’s faking it. “Guess who texted me?”

I try to shake my head, but I sneeze instead. It’s scary-dusty in the back corners of my desk.

“Remember that guy Liam? The one we met at BuRN?”

“Yeah, I remember him. That was only, what, two weeks ago?”Please, please, please tell me he asked you out and you said yes.

She turns her back to me, supposedly to rearrange the contents of her top desk drawer. “And you remember Josh, right?”

“Yes.” The suspicion in my voice is enough to get her to face me again.

“You thought he was hot, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah. Very much so.”

“Did you—I mean, would you—would you want to go out on a double date?”

I hesitate. What I want isto wantto go out on a double date. I want to trust men again and give a nice guy like Josh a chance.

And I want to not have feelings for Leo.

“I liked Josh,” I finally say, hoping Liv will understand. “But honestly, I don’t think I’m ready to date again. Not yet.”

“Yeah, okay. Of course.” Her casual tone belies her disappointment.

“You absolutely should go out with Liam, though. He seems really awesome, like, really, really nice.”

“Yeah—” She busies herself unwinding the vacuum cleaner cord.

“Seriously, Liv, why wouldn’t you?”

“I probably will.” She fires up the vacuum, rendering conversation impossible.

Yes, she will, because I’ll nag her every night until she gives in. Liam might not last more than a few dates, but he and Josh are proof frat boys can be gentlemen. And Liv needs to know there are plenty of guys better than Braden.

She shuts off the vacuum and rests her weight on the handle. “So you not wanting to go out with Josh, is that because of Zander—” Her eyes narrow ever so slightly, like she’s trying to see inside me. “Or because of Leo?”

“Leo?” His name is like a kick in the stomach. I catch my breath and put all my focus into dusting every corner, crevice, and knickknack on my desk, willing away the heat shooting up my neck. “Why would it be about Leo?”

“Okay, don’t get pissed, but...”

Dammit, her pause is so long, I’m forced to turn around and prompt her. “But what?”

“Last night Zander said something—I mean, I don’t know if it’s true, because you would’ve told me, right?”

Shit.My stomach twists into a knot. “It’s true.”

Her jaw drops. “Seriously? You slept with Leo?”

I nod and set down the picture frame I was dusting, one that holds a photo of Liv and me taken in this very room.