Page 59 of The Defender

Make them yourself. I’m not your personal chef

I mean, technically…

Brooklyn

Finish that sentence and I will sic HR on you

Not HR. C’mon, you know Lizzie’s had it out for me since I accidentally ate her yogurt

Brooklyn

You should’ve thought of that before stealing other people’s snacks

Three dots popped up, disappeared, and reappeared.

I held my breath.

Brooklyn

But I was thinking of you because Bake Off comes on soon

A grin stretched across my face.

Were you? Interesting

Brooklyn

Don’t read too much into it

Brooklyn

You’ve brainwashed me into turning on Channel 4 every Tuesday night and I WILL make you pay for it

You’re lying again. You love watching Bake Off with me

Actually, she reminded me that I needed to leave soon. The show started in ten minutes, and our book club had devolved into a half-pillow fight, half-philosophical debate about the dinosaurs’ extinction.

Want to watch it together? I can regale you with hilarious commentary over the phone

I waited. Nothing. Not even the three dots.

“Who are you texting?”

The voice was so close to my ear, I instinctively jumped and nearly banged my head into Adil’s nose. “Jesus! Don’t sneak up on me like that. I almost punched you.”

“Sorry.” He plopped down in Asher’s vacated spot. He’d given up on mediating a book club discussion and was eyeing me with open curiosity. “So, who were you texting? New girlfriend? You have a goofy smile on your face.”

My mouth flattened into a straight line. “My smile isn’t goofy.”

“Hmm. I beg to differ.”

“Don’t make me rethink punching you.”

“Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” Adil held up his hands in surrender. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you because, um, I wanted to apologize again.”

“For what?”

“For telling Coach about your intruder.” He shifted, his brows pulled so low they formed a sharp V. “I wasn’t trying to get you in trouble. He’sCoach, you know? He always has the answers, so I thought…I don’t know. I thought he might be able to help.”