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Only Thayer’s

"It’s okay, Baby Bro," Madeline singsongs "We can find you someone more your speed Maybe a middle schooler?"

But Thayer barely hears her He’s still staring atinvolved with you," Thayer says, his voice thick with disgust "Have you ever been honest a day in your life?"

Inside, I reel, but uys I like, Thayer Not with you"

Thayer’s face contorts into an ugly gri clouds of dust up froravel of the Banerjee front drive as he runs into the middle of the street

A lump forms in my chest I want to follow hi here, watchingover "Oh "

Still giggling, Madeline straightens up and clapsGood work, Sutton"

"Uh-huh," I say woodenly

"I can’t wait to send that picture around," Charlotte exclai him," Madeline says

And then my best friends link arms with me, one on either side, and lead me back to the party Not that I’ht now, there’s only one thought running through my mind:

What did I just do?

13

REGRETS ONLY

"Sutton, can you please stop bogarting the Twizzlers?"

"What? Oh, sure Sorry" I idly pass the giant bag of strawberry licorice across the couch to Charlotte It’s later that saht, and we’re back in Madeline’s family room We stayed at the party for a while after the "prank" was exposed, and I went through the et Thayer--and that devastated look on his face--out of ain at the party, not that I would have knohat to do or to say to him if I had There’s part of me that doesn’t want to be here at all I’d rather be ho about how it felt to kiss Thayer--and how I could fix everything that happened tonight

Thayer must have come home earlier than we did, and we haven’t heard a peep froot here Still, traces of hias’on the sleek, htly tarnished soccer trophies locked in a tall glass cabinet, a key chain tossed in a decorative boith the Hollier High logo Thayer is all aroundto do with me now

Then Madeline shoots up "Charlotte, be careful with the Diet Coke! If you spill on the leather sofa, ests that it’s not an exaggeration

"God, sorry" Charlotte sets her glass on a coaster on the coffee table "We shouldn’t be drinking soda, anye should have cha Game prank of the season!"

"Done and done," Madeline says "And ive us so as we’re on a roll" Then she rises and pads to the Mad Men–style hutch that stands adjacent to the oversized flat-screen TV on the far side of the room She slides the cabinet doors open and pokes around inside it, her bun bobbing up and down lightly as she hunts

After aa half-full bottle of Absolut "Will vodka do?"

"Absolut-ly," Charlotte trills, but I can’t even y to roll my eyes at her nerdiness

Madeline dips into the kitchen, returning with three clean glasses stacked in the crook of her are juice tucked under her chin, soraceful

"We’ll save the charand finale This is just a warainst her alabaster cheek

She pours three generous cocktails, vodka sloshing over the sides of the glasses, which she hastily wipes with the heray Calvin Klein ribbed tank top She passes two of the drinks to Charlotte and lasses

I will the corners of e My face feels stiff, like a carnivalGa with enthusias blue eyes on me "Seriously, Sutton, your as inspired Thank you soThayer in his place for ly so

"Don’ta hand at her dis about the look on Thayer’s face before he darted off

"Honestly, you’re theGame," Charlotte praises She sounds more than a little bit awestruck, and that luain I choke down a s ofon the way down

"Flattery will get you everywhere, ladies," I say, as breezily as I can "But please--the queen is tired froht’s work Can we just watch the rees She scrambles for the Titanic Blu-ray she pulled from her overstocked media shelf and slides it into the DVD player The ear

"Just as long as you don’t expect us to feed you grapes and fan you," Charlotte gruulp of her drink, sighing contentedly