Free Crush by Stefan Petrucha Page B

laughed. “Thank God, right?”
    â€œSo what’s with the blatant untruth?”
    â€œYeah, sorry about that. I didn’t want you giving me a hard time about it. I mean, if we went out, and she didn’t groove on the magic that is me, I didn’t want it to be a thing, you know?”
    No , Jonathan thought. He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to get up in David’s grill over it. His best friend looked too happy for him to try and spoil it. David’s round face was glowing, his smile wider than Jonathan had seen in a long time. He liked seeing his friend having such a good time, but the lie still gnawed at him.
    â€œSo, how’s it going?” Jonathan asked. “Is she groovin’ on your girth?”
    â€œWe’re cool,” David said. Flashes of red rose on his cheeks, and he looked away. “Yeah, we’re cool. Full on SHAC.”
    â€œOkay,” Jonathan said, “what does that mean?”
    â€œShe’s hot and cool.”
    â€œYou’re just reaching now. SWIM was better.”
    â€œWell, I think she actually is, that’s the weird thing.”
    â€œThat’s great,” Jonathan said. “But you might want to get back over to her before she has time to think about what a grotesque mistake she’s made.” He grinned and grabbed his coffee.
    David rolled his eyes.
    Before David could reply, Kirsty walked around the counter. In her hands she held a couple of tall cups of coffee. She looked great. Again, she seemed prettier than Jonathan remembered, though he had seen her in class just that morning. Maybe it was her makeup or the short jacket that revealed more of her figure.
    She saw Jonathan and smiled. “David said you were here.”
    â€œAnd here I am.”
    â€œI didn’t see you when we came in,” Kirsty said. She set the coffees on the table. “Can we join you?”
    â€œSure,” Jonathan said, “but I was about to head out.”
    â€œOh, come on,” Kirsty said. “You can stay for a few minutes.”
    Jonathan noticed the expression on David’s face—a small smile, tight with annoyance—and knew hanging out wasn’t the best idea. He almost agreed to stay, a bit of payback for the lie his friend told him, but he decided not to be a tool.
    â€œNah,” he said. “I should bail.”
    Kirsty looked genuinely sad he was leaving, and Jonathan wondered if maybe she wasn’t having as good a time as David. Then he decided she was just being nice to him. He slid the paperback off the table and fitted it into his jacket pocket.
    â€œYou two can take the table if you want,” he said, standing up.
    â€œWait,” Kirsty said. She fished in the pocket of her jacket and retrieved a thin flip phone. “I want a picture.”
    David laughed. “We just bought that thing,” he said.
    â€œI’m glad David was with me,” Kirsty said. “I was gonna get this totally crappy one. I mean, I don’t know anything about these things. They’reall the same to me, but he thought this one was a lot better.”
    â€œIt’s got more features,” David said, his voice edged with pride. “And it didn’t cost much more.”
    â€œOkay,” Kirsty said lifting the phone in front of her face. “David first.”
    â€œYou already took three of me outside,” David said.
    Jonathan could tell his friend was playing it cool. He liked that Kirsty wanted pictures of him. David’s posture straightened, and he ran a hand along his hair just over his ear.
    â€œSmile,” Kirsty said.
    â€œAck!” David protested playfully.
    Kirsty looked at the phone screen and pushed a button. Jonathan heard a dull click.
    â€œOh, that’s a good one,” Kirsty said. “Now Jonathan.”
    He gazed at Kirsty, again struck by how good she looked. He tried to smile, but it felt heavy on his face. He didn’t know if