looked Lane and Vivi over, as if considering whether or not they were pathological, then sighed in a resigned way. Vivi winked at Lane from the end of the table.
107
"All right, fine. I'll do it," he said finally.
"Y es!" Lane and Vivi cheered and Vivi sat back down.
"But right now, I do have to get my brother home." He whipped out a notebook from his backpack and scribbled something down, then tore out the page and handed it to Lane. "Here's my information. Call me and we'll figure out a time to meet."
"Thanks. We really appreciate this," Lane said, grinning widely.
"No problem. Y at least, seem like a nice girl," he said pointedly to Lane. Then he looked at Vivi and narrowed his eyes. "Jury's still out on you," he
ou, joked.
"Ha-ha," Vivi said, giving him a little smirk.
Jonathan started past the table to get his brother, but paused. "And, by the way, my hair is not parted on the wrong side."
The second he was gone, Lane and Vivi cracked up. "We did it! We found our Brandon!" Lane cheered, giving Vivi a high five.
"Isabelle is going to love him!" Vivi said proudly, grabbing one of Lane's fries. "Shawn Sluttig is history. Thanks to my brilliant maneuver."
"Oh my God. I can't believe he fell for that! Reverse psychology is the oldest trick in the book!" Lane said. She got up and moved to the other side of the booth, dragging her plate of food with her. Considering how wary she'd been about this plan from the start, she was surprised to find that her heart was pounding with excitement. But why not? Jonathan was gorgeous and funny and, with a little work, could
108
definitely be Isabelle's perfect guy. Maybe Vivi had been right all along. Maybe this plan was really going to work. The very idea of Isabelle being happy and Shawn Littig-free made Lane's skin tingle.
"Well he does have a C in psych," Vivi joked, munching on the fries.
"So, ladies. Is Operation Skewer Sluttig a go?" Curtis asked, standing at the end of the table and rubbing his hands together. The girls cracked up.
"It's a go!" Lane cheered.
"Sweet!" Curtis slapped both their hands, then groaned when his cell phone beeped. He yanked it out of his pocket. "Third message from my dad. We'd better go."
Vivi started to get up, but Lane grabbed her hand. She was too high on life to let this moment pass just yet. "Wait! Don't you guys think we should, like, soak in the moment? We just found our Brandon!"
"Totally! A toast!" Vivi said, picking up her chocolate shake. "Here's to helping Isabelle be Sluttig-free. To Brandon!"
Lane lifted her soda glass, and Curtis grabbed one of the untouched ice waters. "To Brandon!"
109
109
* * * * ten * * * *
"What if he's never read any of the books that Brandon's supposed to like?" Lane asked as they walked back into Vivi's house later that night. "Or seen the movies? Oh my God. What if he doesn't watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition like we said? Isabelle has every episode practically memorized! If he's never seen one, she's gonna know."
Vivi bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to snap. Lane was so putting a damper on Vivi's victory buzz.
"Okay, what happened to you between the diner and here?" Vivi asked. She whipped her suede jacket off and threw it toward the hooks next to the door. It missed by a mile and hit the floor, where she left it. "Y were loving Jonathan half an hour ago."
ou
"I know. And I still am. It's just. . . how are we going to turn a preppy boy with manners into a bad boy who plays
110
the drums?" Lane paused on her way up the stairs. "Oh God! He's supposed to play the drums!"
"It doesn't matter!" Vivi said, frustrated. She charged ahead up the stairs and down the hallway. "They're just going to the prom! Do you think Isabelle's going to bring a drum set with her and demand that he play?"
Vivi pushed open the door to her bedroom and, as always seemed to be the case these days, there was Marshall, sitting at her computer. Over a plain burgundy
107
"All right, fine. I'll do it," he said finally.
"Y es!" Lane and Vivi cheered and Vivi sat back down.
"But right now, I do have to get my brother home." He whipped out a notebook from his backpack and scribbled something down, then tore out the page and handed it to Lane. "Here's my information. Call me and we'll figure out a time to meet."
"Thanks. We really appreciate this," Lane said, grinning widely.
"No problem. Y at least, seem like a nice girl," he said pointedly to Lane. Then he looked at Vivi and narrowed his eyes. "Jury's still out on you," he
ou, joked.
"Ha-ha," Vivi said, giving him a little smirk.
Jonathan started past the table to get his brother, but paused. "And, by the way, my hair is not parted on the wrong side."
The second he was gone, Lane and Vivi cracked up. "We did it! We found our Brandon!" Lane cheered, giving Vivi a high five.
"Isabelle is going to love him!" Vivi said proudly, grabbing one of Lane's fries. "Shawn Sluttig is history. Thanks to my brilliant maneuver."
"Oh my God. I can't believe he fell for that! Reverse psychology is the oldest trick in the book!" Lane said. She got up and moved to the other side of the booth, dragging her plate of food with her. Considering how wary she'd been about this plan from the start, she was surprised to find that her heart was pounding with excitement. But why not? Jonathan was gorgeous and funny and, with a little work, could
108
definitely be Isabelle's perfect guy. Maybe Vivi had been right all along. Maybe this plan was really going to work. The very idea of Isabelle being happy and Shawn Littig-free made Lane's skin tingle.
"Well he does have a C in psych," Vivi joked, munching on the fries.
"So, ladies. Is Operation Skewer Sluttig a go?" Curtis asked, standing at the end of the table and rubbing his hands together. The girls cracked up.
"It's a go!" Lane cheered.
"Sweet!" Curtis slapped both their hands, then groaned when his cell phone beeped. He yanked it out of his pocket. "Third message from my dad. We'd better go."
Vivi started to get up, but Lane grabbed her hand. She was too high on life to let this moment pass just yet. "Wait! Don't you guys think we should, like, soak in the moment? We just found our Brandon!"
"Totally! A toast!" Vivi said, picking up her chocolate shake. "Here's to helping Isabelle be Sluttig-free. To Brandon!"
Lane lifted her soda glass, and Curtis grabbed one of the untouched ice waters. "To Brandon!"
109
109
* * * * ten * * * *
"What if he's never read any of the books that Brandon's supposed to like?" Lane asked as they walked back into Vivi's house later that night. "Or seen the movies? Oh my God. What if he doesn't watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition like we said? Isabelle has every episode practically memorized! If he's never seen one, she's gonna know."
Vivi bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to snap. Lane was so putting a damper on Vivi's victory buzz.
"Okay, what happened to you between the diner and here?" Vivi asked. She whipped her suede jacket off and threw it toward the hooks next to the door. It missed by a mile and hit the floor, where she left it. "Y were loving Jonathan half an hour ago."
ou
"I know. And I still am. It's just. . . how are we going to turn a preppy boy with manners into a bad boy who plays
110
the drums?" Lane paused on her way up the stairs. "Oh God! He's supposed to play the drums!"
"It doesn't matter!" Vivi said, frustrated. She charged ahead up the stairs and down the hallway. "They're just going to the prom! Do you think Isabelle's going to bring a drum set with her and demand that he play?"
Vivi pushed open the door to her bedroom and, as always seemed to be the case these days, there was Marshall, sitting at her computer. Over a plain burgundy
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