Free Alphas by Lisi Harrison Page B

wanted to learn how to do that.” Triple tapped on Melbourne’s sleeve.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Look
that
good in a hoodie.” She smiled.
    “I bet you do.” He unzipped his hoodie and handed it to her. “Try it.”
    “Smells gooooood,” Triple purred, slipping it on.
    Allie rolled her fake green eyes and shuffled toward the warmth of the fire. Skye had already partnered off with Taz, and
     Renee was discussing her character’s emotional arc with Sydney. The last thing her heartache needed to witness was budding
     romance. It was more nauseating than ipecac. Heavy with hopelessness, Allie sat across from Darwin. With his drooping brows,
     slumped shoulders, and deep heaving sighs, his outsides matched her insides.
    Totally unfazed by her arrival, he pressed his white earbuds deeper into his ears and picked up the guitar leaning next to
     him.
    What?
    More than anything, Allie was embarrassed by his lack of interest. What if the other girls saw them sitting like a couple
     of monks? What if word spread to the mainland that Allie couldn’t score? What if Fletcher heard about it? He’d never want
     her back.
    But Allie had never made the first move. She never had to. Allie J, on the other hand, was a different story. Allie J wasn’t
     as pretty as Allie. She wasn’t even
blond
!
    Without further hesitation, Allie pulled the earbuds out of his ears and smiled.
    “Did you know that however long you date someone, it takes half that long to get over them?”
    Darwin popped a toothpick in his mouth. It smelled like cinnamon. “Then I’ll be fine in about six years, ten days, twelve
     hours, thirty-eight minutes.”
    Hazel eyes. Sideswept bangs. A black freckle above his lip. Presumably real.
    “Where’d you hear that, anyway?” Darwin asked with a skeptical chuckle.
    “Um, my parents are scientists. For the mind and stuff.” Allie shrugged. Actually she’d read the heartbreak-to-time ratio
     in
Seventeen
magazine, but he didn’t need to know that.
    She inched closer, placing herself within accidental knee-grazing distance.
    He turned to face her, and she inhaled the citrus-y scent of Burberry cologne. It made her eyes water. Fletcher wore cologne.
    “I’m Darwin.” He grinned at her mole.
    Allie instantly covered it with her hand.
    “Allie. I mean, Allie J.”
    His hazel eyes looked lit from within. “The singer-songwriter-poet?”
    She nodded.
    “I was literally just listening to you. ‘Three-second rule for your heart/Pick it up fast/Watch it restart.’” He held up an
     earbud as proof. “See?”
    The folksy track sounded tinny through the headphones.
    She changed the topic by pointing to the small white sweatshirt in his lap. “Did it shrink?”
    “No, it’s my ex’s.” His lips curved into a painful frown. “My brothers wanted me to toss it in the bonfire. But I can’t.”
    “Ah,” Allie sympathized. “I just went through a breakup too.” She pulled a dark lock of hair and inspected it. “And I got
     rid of everything.”
Including me.
    “That singer guy?”
    Allie sighed. Stupid
Us Weekly.
“No. That was a rumor. My ex cheated on me. One day I found him all over Trin—”
Oops!
Allie inhaled quickly. “Uh, I mean, all over a triple-meat burrito.”
    Darwin burst out laughing. It was a nice laugh—low and rumbly, but genuine. “You dumped your boyfriend because he cheated
     on you with a
burrito
?”
    Allie blushed right down to her kohl-mole. “Well, he lied to me about, um, being a vegan. It’s a betrayal of trust, really.
     If he’s eating meat, what else is he not telling me?”
    Darwin nodded like he got the betrayal part.
    Allie boldly snatched the sweatshirt out of Darwin’s hands. “Who cares about the hows or whys. We already said our goodbyes.”
     She dangled it in front of the fire.
    “‘Love on a Compost Heap’! Great song.” He gazed into her colored contacts. She wanted to look away to protect her identity.
     But she couldn’t seem to do it. He was a