“The hell I’ll be,” I hear my uncle say and I smile.

“You don’t even know what I’m talking about! Or who for that matter,” she yells back.

“You are trying to get her to invite that douche bag to the wedding. I swear I’ll be a complete asshole.”

“Then you won’t get laid.”

“Ew! Niece on the phone!” I complain and she laughs.

“Like you don’t know what sex is, but anyway, I’ll stop him. And also, remember we have a dress fitting Friday.”

I fall face-first on the bed and then roll over before saying, “Yeah, I’ll be there. Make sure the dress you pick for me isn’t whack.”

“I’ll let you pick it.”

Thank sweet baby Jesus. “I love you.”

“I love you more. See you Friday.”

“Awesome, tell Phillip I love him too.”

“I will, sweetheart. He’s leaving in a bit for Colorado.”

Before I can say anything, Phillip comes on the line. “Hey, I’ll be back in a week. Be good, okay?”

“Aren’t I always?”

“You have been, but I don’t trust this Jude guy. What kind of name is that?”

“A classic one and he’s supernice. I really like him. I think you would too if you gave him a chance.”

He makes a disgruntled noise. “I don’t think so.”

I snicker. “I love you, Phillip.”

“Love you, Claire-bear. Text me if you need anything.”

“I will. Have a safe trip and score a goal for me.”

He promises me he will, and with a grin, I hang up and then dial Jude’s number. I’m not sure if he’s done playing hockey, but I’ll leave a message if he isn’t. I just want him to know I’m thinking of him. He was so sweet to meet up with me for a few minutes. Okay, let me be honest; I just miss the guy.

To my surprise, he answers on the second ring. “Hey, beautiful, how was practice?”

“Completely horrible,” I say with a grin, butterflies doing crazy flips in my belly. “Are you busy?”

“Still playing some pickup but I’m never too busy to talk to you. What’s up? What happened at practice?”

“I think Rachael hates me and those dances are whack. I swear they’re from 1999.”

He laughs. “Yeah, they’ve been doing the same routines for years, and she probably does. You’re dating me. Everyone wants me, remember?”

I roll my eyes at his cockiness, trying to ignore how much it turns me on. I don’t have much luck with that. “Yes, you cocky thing, you, and that reminds me to really wonder if I should trust you.”

He laughs. “Baby, I’m all yours, I promise. People can want me, but I only want you.”

I smile, I don’t need the reassurance because I do trust him, but still, it’s nice to hear. “I know, but it’s not smart to tell the girl you’re dating that everyone wants you.”

I can hear his smile in his voice. “You’re right, but in my defense, I’m saying it just for the chance to remind you that I only want you.”

I hate that I’m grinning. I should be mad but I’m not. “Okay, fine.”

“Did we just have our first fight?”

“Hardly,” I laugh and he chuckles.

“I think we did which means we need to have makeup sex or kiss or something.”

“You just want a reason to touch me inappropriately.”

“Of course I do,” he says like it’s general knowledge, when really, it is. I was dumb to assume otherwise.

“Anyway, but yeah, back to dance issues. Reese told me to say something to them.”

“You should. You’re the girl to bring life back into the team.”

That makes me smile a little harder than it should. “Thanks. I’ll let you get back to hockey. I was gonna leave you a message. Didn’t mean to stress you out and be a bitch.”

He laughs. “You didn’t, and I want to know what this message was gonna say.”

I think for only a second and know exactly what it was gonna say. “It was gonna say that I hope you kiss me really hard when I see you next.”

“That would be a really hot message to get. Let’s hang up and you do it for me, okay?”

I bite into my lip to stop from grinning harder. “Okay.”

“And another thing.”

“Yeah?”

“I promise to do just that when I see you, baby. Gotta make up for being an asshole.”

I blush, covering my face with my hands. “You weren’t an asshole, and I can’t wait,” I say breathlessly.

“Me neither. I’ll text ya when I’m done.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye, babe.”

When the phone goes dead, I dial his number again and it goes straight to voice mail. Smiling extremely hard, I say, “I hope you kiss me really hard when I see you next. Which I hope is very soon. Have fun, text me later.”

Before I can say anything more, I hang up the phone and sit with a contented grin on my face. I like him. A lot. Way more than I’ve ever liked a guy. It scares me how strongly I feel about him. I may be rushing into this, and it may be insane of me, but I feel good about it.

I just hope he doesn’t prove me wrong.

“So heard you’re dating Jude Sinclair.”

I look up into my mirror to see Tessi standing behind me. She’s wearing only a pair of panties, her brown hair in curls down her chest, covering her boobs. I lift an eyebrow before coming closer to the mirror to fix my eyelash. “Yeah, I am.”

“You know he’s been around, like, everywhere, right?”

My lips go in a straight line as I nod. I know this isn’t the last time I’ll hear this, but coming from my friend kinda makes it worse. “Yeah, I know.”

“Okay, but you know, like, everyone, right? I mean, I think a good 70% of the girls in the school have been with him.”

“That’s a little exaggerated, don’t you think?”

She thinks for a second. “No, I don’t. Girls love him, and we all know Jude loves the ladies.”

“Have you slept with him?” I ask, and while I wait for her to answer, I try to figure out if I’m gonna care.

Her face twists in disgust. “Hell no. I don’t sleep with anyone, remember?”