The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan Page B

all the kick-ass fictional redheads. Like Jean Grey and Ariel and Princess Fiona from Shrek .”
    “And Dumbledore.”
    “Exactly. Let’s not forget Dumbledore.”
    “Well, anyway, Jackson called me sexy, so the blonde hair was worth it.”
    Adam sighs and says nothing.
    “You’re trying really hard not to roll your eyes or mime puking, aren’t you?”
    “Pretty much.”
    I stick my tongue out, then push my chair back and stand up. “Time to shower. Unless you want to go first?”
    “No, go ahead.” Adam places my mug and his plate in the sink.
    “Thanks. And, um, I’ll do the dishes before I go out. You can leave them.” See? I can take responsibility.
    He smiles. “Thanks, Liv.”
    “And Adam? Can I say something else?”
    “Yes?”
    “You were right. Which I guess isn’t surprising, since you turn out to be right about ninety-nine percent of the time. And in this case you were right about me, um, struggling a bit with—as you put it—‘real life.’” I add the air quotes with my fingers. “But I’m trying. I paid Luke back for the grocery shopping he did last weekend, and I saw the milk was finished on Thursday, so I bought more on my way home. And I managed to get most of my laundry done this week, so I won’t be borrowing any more of your clothes.”
    I half expect Adam to give me a slow clap and a sarcastic ‘Well done’—after all, as far as accomplishments go, buying milk and doing laundry aren’t exactly high up—but instead he looks at his feet, shrugs, and says, “It wasn’t … such a huge deal. I didn’t—I mean—yeah, anyway. Thanks.”
    I watch him as he leaves the kitchen. “Weird,” I murmur to myself.

Allegra and Courtney want to know every detail of my date with Jackson last night, but after all the family drama that’s occupied my mind since then, the date seems light years ago. And a whole lot less important. Nevertheless, I open up my Bag of Appropriate Responses and pull out my squeals, sighs, and giggles.
    We’re halfway to the vintage market when Courtney receives a text from Logan the Legend saying he’s free now if she still needs help with the section she’s been struggling with in Stats. Apparently he aced the course last year, which added to his legend status, because after that, everyone knew he could party hard and work hard. Allegra tells Courtney to ask Logan if Damien is around. When the answer comes back—yes—we’re all thrown against our seat belts as Allegra hits the brakes, performs an illegal U-turn, and accelerates back towards campus.
    I close my eyes and try not to groan out loud. I wanted a proper distraction today, and sitting in a guys’ res watching two of my friends flirt-study doesn’t count. I pull out my phone and text Jackson. I know I’m supposed to wait for him to contact me first so I don’t come across as desperate, but maybe if I make the message casually flirty, it’ll camouflage the desperation.

    Livi: Hey ;-) In case you couldn’t tell, I had fun last night ;-) Anyhoo, Allegra, Courtney and I are gonna be at Smuts in about 20 min. Just letting you know in case you’re free to come hang out with us. xx L

    I then spend the next ten minutes examining every word I wrote and cringing over all the things that shouldn’t be there, like the two winking smileys (too much? Should one have been a normal smiley?) and the word ‘Anyhoo’ (do people actually say that?) and—oh, terrific—the fact that I signed off as ‘xx L.’ Which is basically the same as XXL. Hello, my name is Extra Extra Large, and I am an IDIOT.

    Jackson: Hey, sexy bunny. Sorry, I’ve got a family thing on. Forgot to tell you about it last night. Must be because I was having fun too ;) I’ll see you Monday. J

    J. Now that’s a heck of a lot cooler than XXL. Disappointed, I return my phone to my handbag and watch the scenery flashing by outside. Jackson lives at home because his parents’ house is only twenty minutes from UCT, which means he