Tobias' eyes narrow, and he frowns, but I'm so damn curious … I lean forward and kiss him, this pathetic, sloppy teenage kiss that I know I'll never be able to live down.

But holy shit, it feels good. Real. And honestly? So utterly and completely different from Micah's.

My face is burning with embarrassment as Tobias blinks at me in surprise, and I slide off Micah's lap, and off the edge of the car, landing on my feet on the soft earth.

“I was promised pancakes.” I purse my lips and glance over at the city and the ocean beyond it, gleaming silver under the moon. “Oh, and boy clothes.”

“Ugly boy clothes,” the boys correct in a lazy drawl.

I roll my eyes, but they're both hopping off the car, and the moment has passed.

I'm already dreading coming face-to-face with Cody again.

Because now I have the answer I needed.

Micah's kiss, and that brief brush of lips with Tobias, were both better than Cody. Infinitely. And Spencer. I just can't stop thinking about Spencer …

The twins and I grab pancakes at the diner, and then head over to a big box store that's open late. They both sit on a bench outside the dressing room, randomly switching places, so that every time I come out, I have to guess who's who.

Actually, now that I've spent a little time with them, it's not all that hard. Sure, they can move and talk in unison, but Micah has a hard glint that Tobias counters with a strong but gentle demeanor.

They bring me heaps of clothes to try on, so many that we end up getting kicked out of the store at closing—but only after they drop nearly five hundred dollars on me.

“Thank you,” I tell them when they drop me off at Cody's car in the boardwalk parking lot. I'm holding the shopping bag handles in both hands, biting my lower lip and trying my best not to blush.

I sort of, like fail, but whatever.

“You're welcome,” they say together, exchanging a look. Tobias pulls out a bag from inside the back seat of his car and hands it over to me. “Just because you're a very ugly boy doesn't mean you're not a gorgeous girl,” he says with a smirk as I peek inside the bag and find a beautiful yellow and white dress. My cheeks go from pale pink to rose red, and I know they can both tell I'm blushing, even in the darkness.

“So when we get back to Adamson, you guys will actually start being nice to me?” I whisper, looking back up at them.

They glance at each other before turning back to me with a pair of matching Cheshire Cat grins, big and wide and full of nonsense.

“Most definitely fucking not,” they say, and then they both pat me on the head, and climb into their matching sports cars.

I notice they don't leave the parking lot until they make sure I do first.

How gentlemanly of them.

When I get back to Monica's, both she and Cody are sitting on the couch in the media room watching a movie. They perk up when I walk in, but since the seat backs are so high, I can't tell if they were snuggling or not.

At this point, I don't even care.

I flop down into the chair one over from Monica with a sigh, dropping my shopping bags on the floor.

“You ditched us to go to Target?” she chokes out with a high-pitched laugh, putting her hand near her throat. “That's … an interesting choice. The Charlotte I knew wouldn't be caught dead in cheap department store garbage.”

My eyebrow ticks with anger, and I can feel my lips twitching as I glance between her and Cody. My eyes catch briefly on his unzipped fly and flushed face, and when I look back at her, I see her lipstick is smeared.

Uh.

Doesn't take a genius to put all the pieces together.

“Were you just sucking his dick?” I ask, not caring how crass I sound. My eyes meet Monica's brown ones, and her gaze widens in surprise.

“What the fuck, seriously?” Cody chokes out with a forced laugh. “Why would you say that, cutie?” Monica glances his way and he purses his lips. She tucks her dark hair carefully behind one ear and looks back at me.

“What's your problem, Charlotte? You've been weird since you got here.”

“Me?” I ask, scoffing a laugh as I sit up. The shopping bags the twins gave me are bolstering my courage. I press my foot against the side of one and channel the McCarthy boys' energy. “You two have treated me like a stranger since the first second you saw me.” My eyes water, and I have to close them to maintain the strength of my conviction. When I open them back up, they're both just staring blankly at me. “Did either of you even remember that it was my seventeenth birthday today?” They both widen their eyes in surprise, and I get some small satisfaction out of that. “Strangers on freaking Facebook are wishing me happy birthday, and my two besties can't be fucked remembering?” My eyes begin to water again, and this time, I just let the tears slide down my face. They need to see how much they hurt me because it's not okay.

“You just came in here with that snooty East Coast attitude,” Monica quips, and my jaw drops open in surprise. “Like you're too cool for fucking school.” She flips her dark hair, and glances over at Cody as if for support. “I guess we were so put-off by that, that we forgot your birthday.”

“You're making this my fault?” I whisper, my voice cracking. Monica doesn't even flinch, just meets my gaze dead-on.

“Cody and I are dating now,” she says, and Cody cringes, rubbing at the back of his head like he's too cowardly to even speak up for his new girlfriend. “We have been since June of last year, actually.”

I'm floored. I'm seriously freaking floored.

“What …” I start, looking between the two of them. “But Cody and I … you asked me to give you my virginity,” I whisper, staring at him like the monster he is. Now that I'm sitting here and thinking more clearly, that statement is creepy as all get out. Give him my virginity? Ew. Virginity isn't a commodity to be traded. That's actually pretty disturbing if you think about it … “Just days before I left for Connecticut—in August.”

Monica turns to look at Cody, and he holds up his palms in a placating gesture.

“Whoa, whoa, don't drag me into your little catfight.”

“Catfight?” Monica spits. “Are you serious, Cody? You said we'd tell her together!” But Cody's nothing if not a coward, and he's already standing up and holding out his hand toward me.

“Look, just give me my keys and I'll bounce until you two work your shit out.”

“There's nothing to work out,” I tell him as I stand up and chuck the keys at his chest. They hit him right in the face which is actually pretty funny, and he curses at me before bending down to pick them up. “I'm leaving, too.” Yanking my cell from my pocket, I dial up Micah's phone. He stole mine out of my pocket and programmed his number in while we were in Target.

He answers on the first ring.

“What do you want, Chuck?” he asks, but he sounds playful enough.

I wet my lips briefly as both Cody and Monica glare at me. I should probably preface my question with something like I know we don't know each other very well, but … or I'm sorry to bother you. Except … I don't want Cody and Monica to know anything about my relationship with the twins.