Cupid's Guide to Murder

Chapter 11: What Happened That Night

Sophomore Year

"Jeremy Sanders is pretty cute," Taylor said. "Too bad he's a huge gossip. Ugh. He'd probably post about our first night together. Ooh, thoughts on Griffin Keely?" After a second, she shuddered, shaking her head. "Never mind. Gives me disturbed fuckboy vibes. Which is nice and all in a movie, but in real life? They ruin you."

Luce giggled.

I played with my soda can tab. A year ago, I would've laughed or even agreed with Taylor. After the country club and several hangouts, Griffin and I had become good friends somewhere along the way. There was a lot more to him than his notorious reputation, and in some weird way, we worked. If someone had told me that Griffin Keely would ever become a part of my life, I wouldn't have believed them.

"Natasha?" Luce nudged her. "What do you think? Would you go for someone like Griffin?"

"I wouldn't mind getting to know him better." Her voice was soft.

I looked at her, surprised. She had never mentioned that the whole time we had worked at the country club together. I guess I hadn't read the signs.

"Oh my god, you have a crush on him!" Taylor said. She stretched out in her pink bikini, looking satisfied with the recent discovery.

"He reminds me of someone," she said, her cat-like eyes focused on the distance. She didn't have to say it; I could see it written on her face.

Natasha's secret had been in front of me the whole time, and I had been too stupid to realize it — she liked Griffin.

She liked Griffin.

The words repeated in my head, and I didn't know why I felt a stab of disappointment. It wasn't like it had anything to do with me, and it wasn't bad that she wanted Griffin. He was a good guy — better than a good guy.

So why did I feel like my heart was crumbling?

"We'd have to do some intense matchmaking. Griffin normally wouldn't go for someone like you," Taylor said.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Natasha's face flushed pink. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Nat. It's just a joke." The thing was, it was never a joke with Taylor. She was sometimes too brazen, especially to people who weren't as close to her. I always thought it was her personality quirk. Sometimes, though, there was a fine line between her honesty and being rude.

When Natasha didn't reply, Taylor pushed on. "Look, do you even want to be his type? He probably likes easy girls."

"Easy," I repeated drily. "Isn't that sort of anti-feminist, Tay?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Can anyone take a joke around here?"

Uncomfortable silence hovered in the air.

Taylor pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. "It's not that deep, okay? Nat, tell me more about you and Griffin. If a new ship is sailing, I want to be on board. But I need details."

"Well, he kept showing up at the pool last summer, and he talks to me sometimes because of class," Natasha said. "There's not much more to say."

Taylor now looked interested. "I guess I was wrong. Nat, you dumb-ass. He showed up at the country club for you."

My stomach twisted. Could that be true? Was that the real reason Griffin kept showing up, time after time?

"I don't know," Natasha said, rubbing at a mosquito bite on her knee. "I'm scared I'll put myself out there, and he'll reject me. Then again, it's better to be hurt than to hurt someone else. Right, Luce?"