Page 110 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove

TJ cringes inwardly; she introduced them to each other a few weeks ago, but the awkwardness is still deadly.

Chandani looks Simran up and down. TJ only has time to pray she’s not about to make some kind of callous comment before she speaks. “Your hair is gorgeous. What’s your routine?”

Simran blinks. “Um, just coconut oil.”

“Genetics. Got it.” Chandani eyes her. “Want to come for ice cream with us? We’re headed to the waterfront.”

TJ could cry. Chandani, making aneffort?

Simran shakes her head. “I’ve got money to count.” She hefts her cashbox for emphasis. “Say hi to Charlie for me, though.”

Chandani whips her head around to TJ. “Charlie’scoming?”

Piper starts choking on her water. TJ thumps her back and sends Simran an evil look, because she’s clearly enjoying this reaction too much. “He’s picking us up. Why is this so surprising? You kept begging to meet him.”

Piper finally recovers. “Yeah, but we didn’t think you’dagree.”

“We thought you were keeping him as your little secret summer fling,” Chandani adds, wiggling her eyebrows. TJ rolls her eyes.

“It’s not like that.” Okay, maybe a little bit. But she’s just trying to make their short time together count.

They bid goodbye to Simran and head off the field with their bags. Chandani sighs as they near the pickup zone. “I’m so single. MaybeIshould ditch my razors and get me a hot debate nerd, too.”

TJ snorts. “You wouldn’t last five minutes without your perfect eyebrows.”

Chandani jabs her in the ribs harder than necessary. “So what now? You proved your point, didn’t you? To yourself? Are you going to start waxing again?”

TJ shrugs. She’s gotten used to hair brushing against herfingers when she touches her skin. She sort of understands what Simran was going on about—it makes her skin feel alive.

Then again, if she chooses to head back to Lulu’s parlour, it’ll have to be different this time. It’s just another fun thing she can do for herself if she chooses, like getting a new pair of shoes, or a lipstick that speaks to her. But the nice thing is, whether she does it or not, no one who’s important to her will care.

A familiar grey SUV is in the pickup zone when they arrive, the driver’s-side window rolled down. As they approach, Charlie pokes his head out and slides off his sunglasses. His eyes find TJ’s.

It’s ridiculous how her heart jumps, seeing as she just hung out with him yesterday.

“Good game,” he says, and she blinks.

“You were watching?” She’d only asked him to pick her up afterwards. She hadn’t thought he’d come to the match.

“I wanted to see my jock girlfriend play at least once. Is that a crime?”

It shouldn’t please her this much to hear him call her his girlfriend, but it does. “Well? Was it everything you hoped?”

“No, it was better.”

His eyes have darkened. Interesting. She sort of wants to explore this further, but then she realizes Chandani and Piper are snickering behind her.

“TJ,” Chandani drawls, “aren’t you going to introduce us?”

TJ envisions strangling them both but pastes a fake smile on her face instead. “Charlie, this is my friend Piper, and that freak over there is Chandani.”

Charlie, unfazed as usual, extends his hand through the window to them both to shake. It’s so formal she has to restrain a laugh. What a nerd.

He gives Chandani a second look. “I actually think we’ve met before.”

Chandani blinks. Even TJ’s surprised. He goes on.

“You were timekeeper for a debate once, weren’t you? I remember because you let me go overtime.” He flashes her a charming grin. “Thanks for that, by the way.”