to get the list name changed to the Hot List, but …”
I barely hear her. How can that be? Texts can’t disappear, and I certainly didn’t delete it. Did I?
“They were killed.”
“What?” My head shoots up in shock.
“I think that’s just band-room folklore,” she says with a sheepish grin, her dark eyes sparking with humor. “C’mon, we’re almost there. Read me the messages. Did anybody really popular write to you?”
“Molly!” I know she’s always been a little more obsessed with popularity than I have, but this seems over the top. “Why is it so important?”
“Because for the first time, some doors are open that have always been shut and locked,” she admits quietly, pulling into the junior lot behind the gym. “So sue me if I’m a little excited to elevate my social standing. Hey, you gotta have a list party! At least I know I’ll be invited to that one.”
“As if my mother would let fifty beer-drinking lunatics into our basement for a list party.”
“Then you better take me to the ones you go to.”
“I will,” I promise, knowing my mother won’t let me go to parties anyway. I return to the phone, determined to find that text.
“Swear it,” she demands. “You will not get popular without bringing me along.”
“I swear it.” Could I have imagined the text after the accident? I was pretty dazed. But, no, I read it again before I went to—
A loud thwack on the trunk makes me jump, and Molly lets out a shriek.
“Oh my God, Kenzie,” she whispers, looking into the rearview mirror and grabbing my arm. “Look who it is. No, don’t look. Yes, look. But be cool.”
Without moving my head, I slide my gaze to the side-view mirror, blinking into the morning sun to see a tall silhouette. Very tall, broad, and sporting a Wildcats varsity jacket. I know that silhouette; I’ve watched it from every imaginable angle.
“Well, what do you know, Miss I Don’t Care About That List,” Molly says, turning to me with an awfully smug expression on her pixie-like features. “It’s Josh Collier, man of your dreams.”
“He’s not—”
She points a finger in my face. “Don’t even try to lie to me. You’ve crushed on him since eighth grade”
“Seventh,” I correct her, fighting a smile.
“Grats, Kenz!” Josh pounds the roof this time and lopes around to my side.
Molly and I just stare at each other. “Who says that?” we whisper in perfect best-friend unison.
“Kenzie?” He taps on the window and I turn, blasted by his slightly crooked, seriously cute half grin as he grabs the handle and yanks the door open with an air of possessiveness.
“Hi,” I say. Beside me, I hear Molly let out a soft ugh of disappointment. What did she expect, witty banter?
“Damn, girl,” he says, bending down to sear my face with eyes the color of a summer sky. “You made the list.”
I give him an unsure look. “That’s what I’ve heard.”
“You know what that means?”
Molly’s grinning as she gets her bag from the back. “She’s starting to find out,” she says with a bit of an “I told you so” singsong.
“It’s a big deal,” he says, his attention all on me. “Nice placement, too. Fifth.” He winks, sending a weight sliding right down my stomach and spine.
“Thanks.” I reach for my backpack on the floor, aware that Molly is taking her sweet time getting out, no doubt to eavesdrop. “But really, it’s no big deal.”
“I voted for you,” he says softly, a tremor of disappointment in his voice, as though I haven’t taken the honor seriously enough.
“That’s …” Kind of unbelievable. “Nice.”
“You almost came in fourth.”
My eyes widen. “I thought the vote count was some big secret.”
“It is, but I’m connected, babe.”
Babe? Did Josh Collier just call me babe?
He straightens as I get out of the car and then angles his head toward the school, those incredible silver-blue eyes still locked on me. “Can I walk over with you?”
I turn to look at Molly. “Go ahead,” she says, giving us a finger wave.
“No, come with us, Moll.” After all, she wants to ride the Popularity Train, and you don’t get much more popular than Josh Collier.
“Well, I kind of have to go into the band room.…”
He ignores her and steps close to me. “Bet you were stoked to see the list,” he says.
Molly backs away and catches my eye. “You go on, Kenz. I’ll see you at lunch.”
After an awkward beat, she takes off, leaving me alone and inches away from the guy I