Page 22 of Falling Like Snow

“To be fair, I said it to him first,” I mumble, biting my lip.

This gets Asher’s attention. “You did?”

“Sloane!” Hannah squeals.

My cheeks flare. “It just slipped out!”

Hannah laughs. “So, like, what? You crashed into him, looked up, and said, ‘Sorry about that, you pretty-eyed boy.’ ”

“Yeah, basically,” I admit. “But it was an accident! I hit my head.”

“Clearly, but it’s not untrue,” Hannah says, giggling. “And he didn’t have to say it back, so the compliment still counts.”

“But he is an arrogant hockey guy, like Hannah said,” Asher adds. “He flirts with everyone.”

I click my tongue. “Thanks a lot!”

“Dang, Asher. Way to make a girl feel special,” Hannah says.

“Sorry, I don’t mean it like that.” He scrubs his hand through his hair. “I’m not saying you aren’t special or that he couldn’t like you. I’m just saying…” He pauses, searching for the right words.

“That a few flirty comments don’t necessarily mean a whole lot coming from a guy like him,” Hannah supplies.

I raise an eyebrow. “ ‘A guy like him’?”

“Yeah, a fuckboy,” she clarifies.

Asher gestures at Hannah, obviously grateful for her stepping in. “Exactly.”

“True,” Hannah says. “Like, is he hot and fun to fantasize about? Absolutely. But is he spending his free time thinking about you? Or talking to his friends about you? Highly unlikely.”

None of us actually knows Micah, though. Does he flirt with everyone? Or are they just perpetuating some hockey-guy stereotype?

Either way, they’re probably right. I consider myself to be a pretty confident girl, but a guy as popular and good-looking as Micah has no reason to be interested in me.

And it was only a minute-long conversation. I doubt he’s given our interaction a second thought.

“Yeah, yeah, okay, fine,” I say. “It meant nothing, I get it.”

“Sorry.” Asher unwraps his cookie and breaks it in half. “You can have half of my snobby purple cookie as a consolation prize, though.”

I take the cookie. “Cookies are better than boys anyway.”

Hannah steals the bag from Asher and digs out a banana s’more cookie. “I just don’t know why we can’t have both, you know? Good cookies and good guys. Is that really too much to ask for?”

“Seeing as I’m the only almost-seventeen-year-old girl who’s never even kissed someone, I’d say you’re asking the wrong person,” I tell her. “But, yeah, it does seem like it is too much to ask for.”

Hannah swallows her bite of cookie. “First of all, lots of girls haven’t kissed anyone yet. And second of all, it’s not because guys wouldn’t be interested. Right, Ash?” she asks, making him freeze in the middle of taking a bite. But apparently the question is rhetorical because she continues talking. “Think about it, Sloane. You’re always with Asher. They probably don’t think they have a shot.”

“Everyone knows Asher and I are just friends.”

“Even so, you don’t give anyone a chance to get to know you. You don’t give anyone the time.”

“Hanns, you act like I have guys lining up, waiting for me to have a free minute,” I say. “But that isn’t the case. And any guy who won’t make an effort because my best friend is a guy isn’t worth my time.”

“I’m just saying I think you could have a boyfriend if you actually wanted one. You’re funny and you’re hot,” Hannah says, making me blush.

“What kind of cookie is this?” Asher asks, eyeing his purple cookie.