10000 Things I Hate About You

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman newly turned eighteen, with a few grotesquely cheap beers in her belly, will want to pounce on her best friend’s older brother.

Okay, so maybe that isn’t a “universal truth,” but it’s my truth.

I’ve had a crush on Derrick Olsen since I needed help tying my shoes. And yes, I was nearly ten by the time I finally mastered the skill—why are laces still a thing when Velcro is so awesome?—but still…

I could stare at the man for hours.

Meanwhile, he barely knows I’m alive. Or at least, that’s the way it’s been before. But tonight, with a spring moon overhead and bonfire flames dancing across the sexy planes of Derrick’s face, I sense things could change between us.

If I’m brave enough to make them change…

I can do that. I can come on to my best friend’s older brother. What’s the worst thing that can happen? He turns me down in a fashion so horrifically embarrassing that I decide to hate him forever, and he happily agrees to return the favor? I mean, yeah, I guess that’s a possibility.

But the odds of that are slim to none…right?