Confessing feelings for your best friend takes being tongue-tied to a whole new level.

AUSTIN

Dex has always been my best friend, so it’s no surprise that we attend Franklin U together. We’re complete opposites. Dex is charismatic and outgoing. Me? Let’s just say I wish I could infuse some of his confidence into my veins. Making friends is hard enough, but trying to meet guys, even with Dex’s help? I’m useless. Maybe it’s because Dex is all about hooking up, but I want my first time to be straight out of the pages of the romance novels I read.

DEX

After a string of mishaps, I swore off helping Austin land guys. But when he asks me to show him the ropes with practice sessions, I get the feeling he’s desperate. Our dates are pretend, so why am I getting so into them? I want to make Austin happy, but the line between friendship and something more is getting really damned blurry. The fluttery feeling, that electric energy every time we touch…it’s addicting. I’m getting overprotective, not only of my time with Austin, but with douchebags who might break his heart.

Eventually, the pretending has to end so Austin can strike out on his own. But how do I tell him I’m not ready to let him go, when every attempt at confessing leaves me tongue-tied?