“I have nothing to wear!” Mandy wailed, throwing half her wardrobe across the room. I was seated on her bed, in jeans and a red shirt, as I had been for the past two hours, waiting for her to get ready. I looked at my watch. We were supposed to be at the party twenty minutes ago, but there was no rushing someone getting ready for a date they had been waiting months, maybe even years for. Who knew how long Mandy and Chris had danced around their mutual attraction for? I gave myself a pat on the back once more for finding a way to get these two together and then a begrudging pat in Nathan’s direction for saving the evening. We were a good pair, I observed and then quickly discarded that thought. We were not a pair. We were not a team. It was a bad idea to be thinking that way, even for a moment. Even if it gave me a warm feeling inside.

“I liked that yellow dress.” I pointed at the flowered sundress that was strewn over her desk chair. Mandy’s apartment was small, like my own, but adorable. It was neat—except for the bedroom—and had little personal touches throughout. I could tell that none of the furniture was expensive, but she had done her best to either paint or repair those parts that had a little more wear and tear on them.

“I wore that last week.” She was clearly frustrated. I could tell that she was on the verge of tears. I remembered how I had felt getting ready for my first date with Nick. Back when he had been a potential boyfriend, instead of his current status as ex. We had been flirting with each other for weeks and finally, finally I got him to ask me out. It involved a lot of hair flipping, a lot of V-neck shirts, and a variety of different smiles. I knew exactly how Mandy felt at this moment, though she probably had a better chance of things working out with Chris than I had had with Nick. Besides, Chris seemed like an incredibly nice guy. Already I could tell he was ten times more thoughtful than Nick had ever been. It was clear Mandy had better taste than I did when it came to guys.

But maybe not in clothes. She was still scowling at the yellow dress she couldn’t wear. I didn’t want to tell her that most guys didn’t really keep track of what girls wore, but then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris was the kind of guy who noticed that stuff, especially when it came to Mandy. He seemed thoroughly smitten with her, albeit slow to act. But that was typical in Texas, and not a bad thing in certain areas of life and love. I wondered if Nathan was the same. He had a similar languid style, though there was a focus that Chris lacked. I got the sense that whatever Nathan did, no matter how long it took, he did it with his full attention. The thought gave me a shiver. A good one.

“OK.” I shook my dirty thoughts away. “Sit down. I’m going to pick an outfit for you and barring any actual reason to reject that option, that’s what you’re going to wear.”

“This is why I need more female friends,” Mandy said, flopping down on the bed. “Boys are fine when you want to talk about sports or barbecue, but they are totally useless when it comes to clothes.”

“Girls are better at everything,” I told her, giving her a wink. “Boys are only good for one thing, really. And even that can be dealt with if you get the right vibrator.” I was half kidding. Not kidding at all when it came to Nick. Totally kidding when it came to Nathan, who I had a feeling was good for lots of things.

Mandy threw a pillow at me.

“You’re such a life-ruiner,” she quipped.

“It’s not my fault, you’re, like, in love with me,” I quoted back, still digging through Mandy’s well-organized closet. She didn’t have a lot of choices, which reminded me of my own wardrobe. Mandy and I were more alike than I had initially realized, with our work-two-jobs-to-get-what-we-need situation and our clear drive to be successful at our chosen professions. I had the sense that we were both trying to prove something. Me, I was trying to prove to my mother that my brains were worth more than my body.

“What do you need a fancy job for, hon?” she always asked. “You’re gonna quit it the minute you get knocked up.”

Trying to tell her that the reason I wanted a steady job was exactly so I wouldn’t end up like her never got me anywhere, so I just stopped trying. She was supportive, but cautiously so. She didn’t understand the things I wanted, just like I never understood why she didn’t keep trying to do better for herself.

“OK,” I said, pulling out a stretchy blue dress that had been shoved to the back of the closet. It wasn’t like any of the other items she had pulled out—those were nice, but sweet. This one was it. Scorching hot. “This is the dress.” I showed it to her.

She turned bright red and held up her hands. “Oh no,” she said. “That’s the dress my older sister gave me. It’s way too tight.”

“Put it on,” I said. “I’ll be the judge of whether it’s too tight or just right.”

Thirty minutes later we were in my beat-up Honda Civic headed down towards west campus. Mandy sat in the passenger seat, tugging at the hem of her dress, which frankly, looked fucking amazing on her.

“Chris is going to lose his mind,” I told her. “Possibly the entire team. And everyone at the party that’s interested in women. Maybe even a few who didn’t realize they were attracted to women.”

Mandy rolled her eyes in my direction. “Overkill,” she said.

“I’m telling the truth,” I said. “You look amazing. Blue is a great color on you and you are hot, my friend, very, very hot.”

“Thanks,” she said and then frowned at my outfit. “I still think you should have worn the dress you wore at the bar that first night.”

I shook my head. “The last thing I want is to remind Nathan of that night. You said he doesn’t like reporters, so I have to make him forget how he felt when he found out I was a reporter.”

“You should have borrowed a dress, then,” she said. “You saw how he looked at you today, right?”

I couldn’t deny that a part of me loved the way he had looked at me. God, those green eyes of his made my insides go all hot and unstable, like a powder keg that was itching for a light. And I had a feeling he was a guy who knew what to do with a match. I was overdue for a good boom, in a manner of speaking.

“Hey,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “I’m the wing-woman tonight, OK? This is about you and Chris.”

“And getting that interview with Nathan,” Mandy said, and I could sense some disappointment from her. “That’s why you’re really coming to the party with me, right? To get the interview?”

We had arrived and I pulled over and parked on the street. I turned to her.

“Look,” I said. “I need this interview, it’s true, but tonight, I’m not a reporter. Tonight I’m your friend.” I held up my purse. “I didn’t even bring my recorder.”

Mandy smiled at me. “You really think Chris is going to like the dress?”

“It’s going to make him forget his own name, I swear on my laptop.”

* * *

I had spent a lot of time wondering what things would have been like if I had been able to go to college. If I could have gotten a scholarship or found a better paying part time job or had a parent that could pay for my education. Would things have been different? Better? But even after spending hours and hours thinking about it, I still didn’t have an answer.

Being around Mandy and Chris and Nathan, all who were lucky enough to be getting a college degree next month, I kept feeling twinges of jealousy. It didn’t happen often anymore—feeling jealous of people who had the things I had wanted as a child—but these were people who had something I still sort of wanted. No, not sort of. Wanted. Definitely wanted. Being able to get a college degree remained a dream of mine. But I couldn’t see it ever happening. I already had the job I wanted—going back to school would just derail all the progress I had made on my own. Besides, did I really want to spend my evenings in frat houses drinking cheap beer? I looked around the room, everyone laughing and having a great time. The answer to my own question was clearly: yes.

The music was loud and the ground was rumbling with the beat as we walked up to the frat house. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected, but I definitely wasn’t surprised by the noise and the kegs set up everywhere. The house was cleaner than I had expected, but still had the faint aroma of boy. Not an unpleasant variation on it, but nice, clean boy. Though the guys clearly weren’t much for decoration, the house didn’t really need it, all brick walls and wood floors. There was even a huge fireplace at the end of the living room. Kind of a fun, snow lodge feel to it all, ironic considering we were in Texas where snow fell on a cold day in hell. It was jam-packed, of course, girls in short skirts, boys wearing boots paired with button-up shirts. Everyone looked like they were here for a good time. I gave my shirt a tug, feeling a little under-dressed. Everyone else was clearly looking for attention, especially the other girls, showing lots of tanned skin, but I had come hoping to blend in. It was Mandy’s night, after all. I was her wing-woman and any good wing-woman knew that all the attention needed to be focused on the girl looking to get some action. I was hoping that Chris would rise to the occasion. I had faith in him, even if he did have the jock thing down pat. At least on him it was charming.

And the music was good. Perhaps tonight would be fun, even if Mandy abandoned me for Chris and Nathan totally ignored me as I completely expected him to do. But then there was the poem from this afternoon. And that smile of his. That sexy fucking smile.

I scanned the room and sure enough, found that familiar grin on a pair of familiar lips over by the doors leading out to the porch. I lifted my gaze to his, finding the same heat and intensity in his green eyes that I had seen that first night in the bar. It was a line drive straight to my panties. I swallowed hard. I hadn’t been lying to Mandy when I told her that I had left the reporter side of myself at home. Now I was wishing I’d left the attracted-to-Nathan-Ryder side of myself there as well.

He was wearing a button-up shirt that strained across his chest and jeans that were practically molded to his thighs. He looked delicious and he wouldn’t stop staring at me. It wasn’t until he broke eye contact, glancing to his right, that I realized that Chris was standing right next to him, his mouth completely hanging open. I glanced over at Mandy, who still hadn’t spotted either of them, due to the fact that she had practically been swarmed by guys the moment she walked into the house.

I grinned. I knew that dress had been the right choice. Now the ball was in Chris’ court, and I looked over to see how he was handling all the attention she was getting.

He still seemed a little dumbfounded and I couldn’t really blame him. Mandy looked stunning. I glanced over at Nathan, who seemed to be trying to get Chris to go over to Mandy, but the guy seemed totally frozen. Clearly he needed some help.

“Hey Chris.” I walked up to them.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes still on Mandy.

“She looks great, doesn’t she?” I caught Nathan’s eye. He just shrugged, as if to say, “I’ve been trying.”

“Yeah,” Chris echoed. “Great.”

“I think I heard someone ask if she came by herself,” I said, not very casually. I got the feeling that subtlety wasn’t the best way to approach Chris. “And I think she was looking for you.”

“She was?” Chris finally looked over at me.

“Yep,” I told him. “I mean, you did invite her, right? So you could spend time with her?”

“Right,” Chris responded, the realization perking him up. “Right. I did ask her here.” But still, he didn’t move. I was starting to wonder what I was going to have to do to get him over to her. Literally throw him there?

“Well, she’s probably looking for you.” I mentally applauded Mandy for paying attention to the crowd of guys surrounding her instead of scanning the room for her slow-moving date. “And she looks a little thirsty,” I hinted. “Like, for a beer or something.”

“Dude,” Nathan finally interrupted, sounding exasperated. “Go get her a beer before someone else asks her out.”

Chris blinked up at his friend.

“Now,” Nathan said.

“Right.” Chris made a beeline for Mandy, who welcomed him with a huge smile she hadn’t given to any of the guys around her. Immediately, all her attention was on him. The poor guys who had been vying for her attention were shit out of luck now. Offers of drinks and dancing were politely declined and it didn’t take long for them to scatter.

Now that Chris and Mandy had settled in to a conversation, I turned my attention to Nathan, surprised to discover that we too were alone, everyone around us at a respectful distance, though all eyes were on us. If Nathan noticed the staring, he seemed to ignore it, focused primarily on his beer. It was weird and I could only imagine how frustrating it was to Nathan, who had to deal with it all the time.

But at the moment he didn’t seem especially frustrated as he looked up and caught my eye. He looked around, seeming to notice that we had been given some semblance of privacy and smiled. He then leaned towards me.

“So,” Nathan’s voice was warm in my ear. “Now that you have me alone, what are you going to do with me?”