Free When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill

whatever it was that attracted Matt to her. Apart from the obvious facts of her face and those damn teeth.
    We packed up and hit the street. Courtney wanted to go back to the Southeast side of campus, closer to her dorm. It would mean a long walk home later, but I hadn’t eaten at that cafeteria, so I thought it would be worth the adventure.
    Sitting at dinner with Her Highness was a lot like sitting in the library. She seemed to know everyone. Or at least everyone who had come from the East Coast. The girls all shared a similar look—dark hair, tanned skin, a lot of white teeth. It was like they’d been discharged from a cloning facility. I felt very out of place with my orangey curls and Norwegian looks.
    Courtney was engaged in a conversation with a particularly loud pair of girls when I decided not to hold my tongue anymore. I leaned closer to Matt and whispered, “Are you sure we can sit here? I don’t have a Prada bag.”
    â€œSo much for being a rich girl, huh?” He cocked an eyebrow, as if he was enjoying me coming down a peg or two.
    â€œI never said I was a rich girl.” I reminded him, enjoying throwing it back in his face.
    He grinned. “Oh, that’s right, I said it.”
    â€œYou wanna revise that statement?” I asked.
    â€œNah.”
    I whacked him in the leg with the side of my foot and he laughed.
    â€œUm, Matt?” Her Highness directed her attention to Matt for the first time in a while. “I’ve gotta get going, okay?”
    â€œOh.” He blinked. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
    â€œGreat.” She gave him her big, beautiful smile and I was struck again by how pretty she truly was. “Sounds good.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Bye.”
    She disappeared with her friends, leaving us staring after her. Matt seemed considerably more impressed than me.
    â€œWhere’s she going?” I asked.
    â€œI’m not sure.”
    â€œDoesn’t that bother you?”
    He redirected his attention to me. “Why?”
    â€œI thought you guys were, like, a thing.”
    â€œWe’ve gone out a few times,” he said with a shrug. “I guess that’s a thing.”
    â€œYou talk about her like you’re a thing.”
    He shrugged and popped his last French fry into his mouth.
    I studied his face, and couldn’t get anything out of it. He seemed … impassive. “She always kisses you on the cheek,” I said. “Has she ever done more than that?”
    He laughed. “Uh, yeah.”
    â€œOh?”
    He grinned at me. “I’m not going to tell you.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œâ€™Cause that would be rude.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing to tell?”
    He shrugged. “Not much.”
    â€œYou haven’t slept with her?”
    â€œUm …” He drummed his fingers on the melamine cafeteria tray. “Yeah. I did.”
    My eyes widened. “Really?”
    â€œYou sound surprised.”
    â€œWell, no … I mean, I … you just seem so … unsure of yourself.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    I searched the ceiling for the right words, and of course, found nothing. “Matt … you got me to sleep with you like that”—I snapped my fingers—“how can this princess be making you act all weird?”
    He laughed. “Okay, first of all, it was not like that.” He did his own snap. “We had a deal. There were rules …”
    â€œOh, that’s right.” I nodded, as if I was just now remembering. “Rules. Did I sign a contract that I’m not aware of?”
    â€œYeah.” He nodded. “In blood.”
    â€œWow. When did that happen?”
    â€œThat night you were all over that frat boy. You seriously don’t remember this? I faxed a copy to your office …”
    â€œRemind me to