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“Believe me, I’m not mad.” Not at him, anyway. Nicole’s face flashes before me, and I can barely see past the red haze. “I think it’s something I ate.”

He smiles, but his hands tremble on the steering wheel. “You shouldn’t have had that last bite of lava cake.”

“Probably not.”

It’s all I can do to keep from throwing up on the ride home. My thoughts bounce between Nicole’s frantic texts, my dates with Tyler and Caleb, and every nasty remark thrown at me on campus this week, including Lucas’s furious reaction in the dining hall the other day. And I don’t know how, but I suspect even Jordan’s bipolar behavior is somehow related. Everything leads back to that damn list.

And Nicole.

The bitter sting of betrayal brings tears to my eyes, but I blink them back, determined to make it home before crying. The desperate hope that this is all a big misunderstanding slips away with every passing minute.

Elijah pulls into the circular drive at Delta Sig house and walks around the car to open my door. “Are you sure you’re not upset with me?”

“Positive.” I force a smile, my thoughts moving at the speed of light.

Before saying another word, I need to talk to my best friend—to find out what and how Elijah knows. He must already think I’m desperate. I don’t want him to think I’m stupid, too.

He takes my hand and leads me to the front door. “Can I call you? I’d like to go out again.”

“Absolutely.” This time my smile is genuine.

I truly like him. And I like him more because he didn’t try to have sex with me despite the massive misunderstanding looming between us.

“Good. I had fun tonight.” He leans in and kisses me good night—a quick press of his lips. No tongue. No roaming hands. A sweet kiss, nothing more. Then he climbs back into his car.

I wait until his taillights disappear into the night, then key in my code and shove through the door as if my ass is on fire. As angry as I am, maybe it is.

The moment the door clicks shut behind me, the three girls sitting on the sectional across the room swing their heads in my direction, abandoning the saccharin-sweet rom-com playing quietly on the screen.

“Home before midnight?” Susie asks, climbing to her knees and folding her arms over the back of the sectional separating us. With a mass of dark curls skimming her cheeks, she looks like a little girl waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney.

Rashida joins her so they’re both facing me, expectantly. “How was your date?”

“And don’t leave out a single dirty detail!” Lola adds from her spot in the corner with a cherubic grin.

“I got sick. Bad fish,” I lie, grabbing my stomach for dramatic effect.

“Oh damn! That sucks.” Rashida slides down the seat cushions and faces the TV again.

“Tell me about it. I need to get upstairs before I barf all over the floor.”

“Eww. Gross.” Susie screws up her face. “Go! ’Cuz I’m not helping you clean up puke!”

I slip off my fancy shoes and hook them over my fingers, then take the stairs two at a time, my phone burning a hole in my pocket the whole way.

As expected, Nicole isn’t in our room, and her absence ratchets my anger to another level. Fear of waking the whole house drives me all the way to the bathroom, where I close and lock the door and crank on the shower to drown out the inevitable screaming. I don’t care that it’s Valentine’s Day. Or that she and Jeremy are probably in the middle of having sex in some shady location. Unless she wants to be my ex-best-friend, she’d better answer her phone when it rings.

She picks up almost immediately, as if she’s been waiting for my call.

“I can explain.” The words tumble out in a frantic rush, and I know. Somehow that list got out.

“You lied to me.”

“No.” Her voice cracks. “I may have kept things from you, but I never lied.”

“It’s the same thing!”

Her breath hitches, and she sniffs a few times before whispering, “I’m sorry.”