You Are the Shell to My Tortoise | ✓

9

Cody was smiling down at us when I looked up.

"Oh, hey, Cody! What's up?" I said.

"I was just heading to the library to meet my friends," he said. "I saw you guys while I was passing by, so I thought I'd say hi."

His eyes darted to Ashley for a split second before returning to me.

"Hi," Melissa said.

Derek nodded at him. "Hey."

"So, a secret mission? Sounds fun," Cody said.

Melissa shot me a panicked look, and I said, in as reassuring a tone as I could give, "He's cool. We can tell him."

"Are you sure?" Derek said, looking concerned.

Cody had been joining Ashley and me on our study sessions in the past week, and he was really cool. When we weren't brainstorming story ideas or offering ways to improve each other's work, he helped us with our homework. It turned out he was really good at math, and under his corrections and guidance we managed to complete our homework in record time.

Besides, he was willing to trust us with his secret that he wrote fan fiction. I was pretty sure he wouldn't tell on us.

"I think he's cool too," Ashley said, nodding.

"We're going on a hike in the forest Saturday morning," I told Cody. "Obviously, don't tell anyone."

His light-brown eyes widened. "Seriously? The forest?"

Laughter tore out of me. "That was what I said when I first heard that, too."

"That sounds really fun," Cody said, and his gaze flicked to Ashley again.

I knew it! In the past week, whenever he joined the two of us in our study sessions, he had been sneaking glances at Ashley whenever he thought I wasn't looking.

"Right?" Derek said. "These two keep complaining, though."

Ashley was really pretty, so I didn't blame him. Her silky, shoulder-length blonde hair shone in the sun, and her light-brown eyes sparkled with warmth. It probably helped that she'd been nice to him ever since she met him.

Unfortunately, she was denser than a block of leadwood when it came to romance. She had noticed absolutely none of his glances; as her best friend, I was certain of this.

I was even more certain of this: they would look so cute together.

In that moment, as I straightened up in my seat and looked Ashley—who blinked unwittingly at me—in the eye, I decided that I was going to set them up.

Chelsea Arnold, Matchmaker of the Year.

It was going to be perfect.

I would be invited to their wedding five years down the road, and it would be beautiful.

"Hey, Cody, why don't you join us?" I said, fighting the scheming smile that was threatening to surface.

Face, behave!

"Good idea." Melissa beamed. "I'd love to have another person, who won't keep reminding me of what a terrible idea it is, join us."

"You know, you saying that just makes me want to flood you with even more 'gentle' reminders," I told her.

Derek laughed. "As if everyone else hasn't sneaked in there at least once."

"As if you have!" Ashley said with a disapproving stare.

"I have," he said, snickering. "I went there last year with the guys I play soccer with."

Boggled, Ashley and I looked at him like he had two heads.