Free Best Friends (Until Someone Better Comes Along) by Erin Downing Page B

the idea is, I always won games like this. And I had no doubt I’d win at this, too. I knew there was no way Bailey or Ava was better at getting a guy’s attention than I am. Hopefully, they would appreciate the chance to learn somethingabout flirting from me. They should be psyched that I was willing to teach them a thing or two!
    â€œI think that sounds awful,” Bailey said, shaking her head.
    â€œWhat . . . are you afraid of a little flirting?” I teased. “Do you not know how to flirt?” That was probably it. If she really was afraid to flirt, I felt bad for her. I was doing her a favor by showing her how this worked!
    Bailey didn’t laugh at my teasing, like Heidi or Sylvie would have. She almost looked like I’d offended her. “Yes, I know how to flirt,” she said coolly. “It just seems like one of us is going to end up feeling awful at the end of the week if we do that.”
    I considered her point. My friends and I did this sort of thing all the time. Sure, someone got hurt at the end of one of our little competitions, but whoever it was eventually got over it. There are winners and losers in life; that’s just the way it is, and people have to figure that out. Besides, I usually won—and that made our games a lot more fun for me. “Yeah, someone’s feelings might get a little hurt,” I agreed, lying back on my towel. I didn’t like the look on Bailey’s face. It was making me uncomfortable, like I’d disappointed her. “I just thought it would be fun. You can play or you can not play. But I’m going to try to get Brennan to notice me.”
    I caught Ava and Bailey glancing at each other. I glared at them from behind my dark glasses. “What?” I demanded. Clearly, they were upset about something. They were both so transparent, it was easy for me to read them. But I figured neither of them would have the guts to actually say anything to me, so it didn’t really matter what they were thinking.
    Ava pushed herself up and sat cross-legged beside Bailey. She squeaked out, “You don’t think you’re being rude?”
    â€œWhy is that rude?” I asked. I had no idea what Ava was so upset about. Neither she nor Bailey was actively going after Brennan, so why was he suddenly off-limits to me, too?
    â€œBailey just told you she thinks he’s cute. And now, suddenly, you’re going to try to get him to like you?” Ava’s voice went up an octave. “Maybe that’s how you do things with your friends, but that’s not how we treat each other. It’s just rude.” She sat up straighter and said, “No offense, but if you’re going to keep acting the way you do at school, I don’t really want to hang out with you.” She squared her shoulders and tried to look tough, but I could see that she was shaking.
    â€œFine,” I said, keeping my voice even.
    But it really wasn’t fine. I had just started to like Ava and Bailey, and having them tell me they didn’t want to spend time with me was hurtful. I’d discovered that they were easyand relaxing to be around, and I could feel myself unwind a little bit when I spent time with them. I could just be , and I didn’t have to work so hard to control everything around me. Something about them made me wish I was a better person. And I guess it was true that a nicer person probably wouldn’t design a game to try to steal someone else’s crush. “Actually,” I said, speaking quietly, embarrassed, “it’s not fine. You’re right.”
    â€œAva’s usually right about stuff like that,” Bailey added. “She’s a really good friend.”
    And Izzy’s not. I finished Bailey’s comment for her in my head. Sometimes I knew I wasn’t the greatest friend. But it was hard. There was a fine line between being a doormat and being a good friend, and I just