Page 27 of It's a Date (Again)

Shawn’s text reads,Hey, babe. Flight’s about to take off. Thinking of you. Rest up.

Robbie peers over my shoulder, peering at my phone. I lean away and give him a look that I hope conveysWhat do you think you’re doing?

Maya squints. “What’s with all the phone action?”

“They’re texts from Nash, Shawn, and Tyler.”

Robbie leans farther into me. He smells nice, like a combination of trees and citrus. “Let me see them, so I can mark it down,” he says. I hold the phone against my chest and smile at him.

Maya crosses one leg over the other and bounces her foot. “Mark what down?”

“Robbie thinks he’s helping me figure out which of the guys I love.”

He cocks his head. “I don’t think. I am. That was the pact.”

Maya’s brows shove together. “I thought I was the one managing all of this.”

“We can comanage. Peyton and I already shook on it.”

“You said she shouldn’t be dating until she’s healed.”

Robbie grins. “I changed my mind.”

Maya cocks her head. “Why the change of heart?”

“Because he wants to cancel out the first pact we made when we were nineteen.” I roll my eyes.

“What pact did you two make?”

“That he and I would be together if neither of us were married, engaged, or in a serious relationship by thirty-two, which is in less than two weeks for me,” I say, scanning through the texts.

Maya bursts out laughing. “You both know you don’t have to follow through on a pact you made.”

“I know,” Robbie says. He points to me. “She’s the one that’s adamant about it.”

“A person is only as good as their word,” I say with a shrug.

“That’s Debbie talking.” Maya shakes her head, still in the middle of a fit of laughter.

“She may have said something similar to me today.” I flash them the phone screen. “Now, help me respond to these texts. I don’t know what to say.”

Robbie holds out his hand, palm face up. “Let me see it.”

I pause, tightening my eyes, but slowly set the phone in his hand.

“Oh, gross,” Robbie says.

“What?” Maya leans over to try to get a better look.

“Shawn called youbabe.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I ask. “It’s a term of endearment.”

“No, Robbie’s right.Babeis something you call a girlfriend, not someone you’re not even exclusive with.” Maya makes a disgusted face.

“I think it’s kind of cute.”

“This is exactly why you need us,” she says firmly.