"I think so. I like him and not just for his gigantic dick. He's nice, and he's funny," she said. I knew Nicole. I knew she wanted to say more, but she'd always been very private about a lot of things. Whatever internal battle was raging under her skin right then was only for her to take on. I wanted to tell her I had an idea what she was feeling and going through but I wouldn't. Nikki had always needed to figure things out on her own.

My phone vibrated from its spot in my purse, the chime was muffled. 'Magellan' showed up on the screen.

I think I want a dog.

Well, that was random.

Get one, then.

Go with me to the shelter?

Sure.

I have to go back to work on Monday, so maybe after I get off?

I have plans.

Total lie. I had nothing to do.

Liar. Monday after work. I'll pick you up.

"What's that smile on your face for?" Zoey teased from her seat.

Did I have a dumb look on my face that gave me away? Probably. "Just making plans, Slutey."

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye as a sad smile crossed her features. "Still no progress?"

I only had the heart to shake my head. There was no progress on the romantic front. He treated me like a sister except for the whole-sleeping-on-the-couching-while-pressed-up-against-each-other thing. The ponytail holder incident was still bothering me. Using deductive reasoning, I was pretty positive he took the elastic out of my hair because I knew I wouldn't have done it in my sleep, but why would he do that? I wasn’t naïve, I noticed that he flirted with me sometimes, and I had caught him looking at me in a way that was definitely more than friendly but that was it.

"He's probably confused, Booger. Give him some time... but not too much time," Nicole piped up from the backseat. "You can't wait around for him forever."

I wanted to tell them that I wasn't waiting for him, but I guessed I kind of was. I was just settling for taking what I could get from him. "Yeah," was my lame reply.

Zoey decided to be merciful and blast the radio a moment later. It was a pop music extravaganza with her singing at the top of her lungs for the next twenty minutes until we made it to the venue. Eva was dancing with a modern company, and we sat out in the humid warmth, enjoying the hour and a half of performances. Zoey was beaming every time her friend appeared onstage which was too cute. I made a note to ask her later about Eva because something told me she really liked her.

The three of us were shuffling down our aisle when a voice from behind stopped us. "Zoey Star?"

Zoey turned around first, and then Nikki and I followed. A gorgeous girl with chestnut hair and striking blue eyes was standing two rows behind. She had gigantic fake boobs that were barely holding themselves back from popping out of her shirt. I could hear Zoey snicker before she talked. "Hi... Ashley... What a surprise."

Ashley.

You've got to be kidding me. She better not be the same Ashley that Tristan had just told me about. What were the fucking chances?

"—Visiting my cousins for the weekend before I go back to the Valley," I caught the end of what enor-boobs said. Her voice was sickly sweet. I hated it. I also wanted to punch her in the fucking face for some reason.

"Nice. I'm not going back for another two weeks," my inky-haired friend said. I could see the tension in her shoulders as she shot me a look out of the corner of her eye. The look told me that she knew about Ashley and Tristan.

"Well, it was nice seeing you, Zoey! I should really go find my cousins before they forget about me. Toodles!" Ashley said with a curl of her fingers that I guessed could have been considered a wave.