Chapter 2

I glanced at the empty seat across from me. "Of course, sit." Inside, I gave Alicia a mental thumbs-up.

No wonder she'd sworn she was going after William—girl staged that "accidental run-in" like a pro.

***

Alicia tried hard to keep the convo alive, but William barely said a word. Only perked up when she brought up schoolwork. Eventually, she bailed, tray still half-full.

Figured lunch must've sat heavy in her stomach.

As I watched her leave, a hand clamped on my head and spun me around.

I plastered on a sheepish grin.

William. Arms crossed. Face saying, 'start talking.'

"I just... noticed the campus queen had a thing for you, so I figured I'd play wingman. What if it worked out?"

He gave me a weird look. "Well, that was a waste of time."

I gawked. "Seriously? Alicia's gorgeous and you're not even interested? Either you've got no taste, or your standards are nuts."

He actually thought about it. "Sweet, gentle types aren't my thing. And I don't like people who waste food."

I stared. That was it?

Not your type—fine. But knocking her for wasting food? Dude, you iced her out so hard she couldn't eat.

I screamed that in my head. Out loud, I just kept nodding.

Still, I wasn't discouraged. The plan only bombed because I had no clue what kind of person William actually liked.

Couldn't just straight-up ask him—too obvious.

So I went fishing for answers from Jace.

Jace, the campus flirt. Always bragging about his 'plenty of girls, no strings' lifestyle. He hopped from girl to girl like it was a sport—always had one on his arm. If anyone knew, it was him.

That night I laid it out to him.

He cleared his throat. "You came to the right guy. Look, cute's got nothing on sexy. A dude like William—looks proper, secretly repressed? He'd totally fall for that type."

I cracked up.

***

Later, I scrolled through candid shots of Brittany Saxey on the forum.

Wavy hair, delicate face, slim curves, legs for days—walking head-turner. I stared at the screen, then at William, buried in prep for the Tech Startup Contest.

'Lucky you,' I smirked.

Finding out she'd once slipped him a love letter made my chest tighten.

Not that I was ugly. So why wasn't anyone chasing me?

I sulked over it while we walked, then asked him.

He gave me a once-over. "Your features are small. Face too. Makes you look super young. Honestly? First time I saw you, I thought you were some high schooler dropping off your older brother."

Yeah, message received—I was everybody's little brother.

"But you've got good looks," he added. "Especially your eyes. Shape's perfect. Really attractive."

He flashed a quick smile and walked ahead.

A few steps later, he glanced back. "I mean it. Your eyes are really pretty."

The sun hit his hair just right, turning it gold. Tall, gorgeous—my heart stuttered.

Crap. Was William actually flirting? No proof, but still.

I jogged up and smacked his arm, pretending to brush it off.

For days after, I kept slipping Brittany into conversation. Showed him pics, dropped random details.

Every time, he froze for a beat. Once, he even asked what I thought of her.

Yeah, felt like perfect timing to finally set them up.