The Lying Game Complete Collection - Sara Shepard Page 0,527

Her turquoise dangle earrings sway back and forth, and the heady, cloying scent of Prada Candy that she’s doused herself in wafts my way.

“Operation what?” I ask, shooting her a stern look.

“Operation Loverboy,” Charlotte repeats. “You know. You and Thayer, sitting in a tree?”

We pull along the curb a few houses down from Nisha’s low, Spanish-style ranch—being fashionably late means losing out on the best parking spots, unfortunately. As I kill the ignition, I shoot Char daggers. “I thought I told you not to call it that.”

“Whatever.” Charlotte waves a hand at me dismissively. “I don’t care what we call it. I just want to do it. Tonight’s the night, Sutton. You look super-hot.”

I swallow hard. My stomach is jumping, but maybe it’s because I’ve hardly eaten all day. I check my reflection in the rearview mirror, and I have to say, Char is right. My hair cascades down my shoulders in soft waves. The red-and-white printed silk halter top brings out the rosiness in my skin and the green flecks in my eyes. And my smile is bigger and wobblier than usual because, well, I’m excited. Ready for the possibility of … possibility. I can’t remember the last time I went to this much trouble for a guy, cared so much, fussed so badly over every single Diorshow-coated eyelash and every last strand of hair. But after last night I just can’t ignore these feelings. They’re front and center. Huge letters on a marquee. The first thought I have when I go to sleep and wake up.

I can’t believe it myself, but, yeah: I’m into him. For real. And now I need to know, once and for all, if he’s into me.

What that means for my friends, the other kids at school … Laurel, I have no idea. But I can’t worry about that just yet—I have to figure it out with Thayer first.

We get out of the car. Across the street, two little girls dressed exactly alike are perched on matching bicycles, pedaling around their driveway. The grosgrain ribbons in their pigtails are perfectly coordinated to the piping on their bicycle baskets, and their sandals are the exact same shade of bubble gum pink. Laurel and I used to dress like that, back when we were friends and had less control over our wardrobe. A wave of guilt washes over me as I consider how far apart we’ve grown, and what I may do tonight. Steal Thayer from her. If I can.

But I need to keep up the front for a little while longer, because if Thayer doesn’t like me … I hold back a shudder.

“You guys, you should have been there last night, in the kitchen,” I say to my friends as we head down the sidewalk. “I’m telling you, Thayer’s, like, in love with me, big-time. I’m going to ask him on a picnic for tomorrow night. I’ll seal the deal there.”

“Sweet,” Charlotte chirps.

“He deserves it,” Mads adds.

I throw back my shoulders confidently as we stride up Nisha’s driveway. Bass pounds from the backyard. Kids stand on the front lawn, too, and, not surprisingly, every boy we pass stares at us. As I turn around to lock Floyd, I even see a curtain flutter next door. If I’m not mistaken, it’s Ethan Landry’s house. Why doesn’t he just come tonight? It’s not like he’s bad-looking—he could totally hang out at a party if he acted normal.

Suddenly, I’m bombarded by voices: “Sutton! You look ah-mazing!” “Is that top Thakoon?” Then I hear the distinctive, electronic click of an iPhone camera and look up. Gabby and Lili beam at me, phones in hand.

I extend my palm. “Girls, no pictures of me in Twitter-land without my permission.”

Gabby peers at the screen, then presents the photo to me for approval. I take in the image of myself on the sidewalk. My smile is wide and surprised. But I look a little nervous, too. A little, dare I say, in love.

Lili is already tapping away furiously. “Thank God you guys are here. Making a grand entrance, as usual.” Then she glances at Charlotte. “Oh. Garrett was looking for you.”

Charlotte smiles coolly. “Whatev. It never hurts to keep a guy waiting.” But even as she says it, she’s rising on her tiptoes to pick him out of the crowd. I want to make fun of her, but then I remember Garrett showing up on my porch the other day with that weird story about the phone. I’d forgotten to mention it to