Nova Read Online Free Page A

eyebrow.
    “Just a simple question,” he added, holding up his hands. I’d already had possibilities going through my head and maybe he read into that.
    “Fine, one question.”
    He smiled and glanced at the other guys before he asked, “How old are you? See ‘cause I’m guessing you’re probably nineteen, Will is going with twenty, Austin thinks twenty- two , and Nash is thinking you’re barely even eighteen.”
    I looked over each guy as he pointed to him , finally getting some names in my head . Then I looked at Brock and asked, “And what are the stakes?”
    “Fifty bucks.”
    I raised an eyebrow again. “Hmm, so if someone happens to be correct, they win the fifty bucks?”
    “No, we each put in fifty bucks. Winner gets two-hundred.”
    “Two hundred dollars? For guessing my age?”
    “Yep.”
    “ Jeez , and what if you guys are all wrong?”
    It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. “Are we? You can’t possibly be over twenty-one, and if you’re under eighteen I kind of feel like an ass.”
    “Which is why he needs this bet settled,” Will told me with a smile.
    I looked over each of the guys at the table. Of c ourse Brock was the forward one; kind of cute but I think he knew that. Nash seemed to be a little on the goofy side. He reminded me of Bart Simpson for some reason. Maybe it was his hair and wide mouth. Will and Austin appeared to be fairly normal, and Austin was even better looking than Brock. But Austin was also the quietest one, and I think that kind of intrigued me.
    “Well one of you actually is right,” I eventually said.
    “Oh, thank God,” Brock exhaled with relief. “So who is it?”
    “Ah, no, no, no,” I smiled, waving my finger at them. “This seems a little unfair to me.”
    “How so?”
    “I’m about to win someone two hundred bu cks just by saying how old I am? This person is going to win a bet based on me. Why don’t I get a cut?”
    Brock smiled, and so did the others. After he seemed to silently deliberate with each of them he said, “Okay, that’s fair enough. So whoever’s right spends that money taking you out on a date,” he smiled triumphantly.
    I laughed out loud. “Are you serious?”
    “As a heart attack,” he grinned.
    “How is that fair to me? Wouldn’t it be easier to just give me half the winnings? I mean the guy is still making fifty bucks on the deal, and without the hassle of the date.”
    “Nah, that defeats the purpose.”
    “And what’s the purpose?” I looked at each of them and no one wanted to answer. But their smiles said it all and I had to roll my eyes, realizing they had played m e perfectly. “Nice plan, boys—really, I do like it—b ut I’m not interested, okay?”
    “And she goes for the kill, right to each of our tiny hearts,” Nash cringed.
    The others chuckled.
    “Look, I need to get back to work. Can I please take your orders now?”
    “Okay, okay,” Brock said. “How about this? You tell us your age, and then you get a choice. You can go out with that guy if you want, or you can just take the hundred bucks. Does that sound fair?” He made the rounds to see if each guy agreed, and they all nodded or shrugged. Then he looked at me and added, “And if you choose the money, no big deal, okay? We won’t take offense, and we’ll still come and be your favorite customers.”
    I actually smiled at that. I was wondering what Brock did for a living because he was actually quite gifted in his interactions with people.
    “Okay, here’s my offer, and you guys can agree to it or not. I’ll tell you my age, and I’ll make the choice between the money or the date, but first each of you have to tell me your ages and what you’re studying in school or what you do for a living. If you actually have a job,” I added.
    “Oh, y ou’re a feisty one,” Brock smiled.
    I shrugged.
    “Hmm, it’s a two- question interview, boys. She wants to know what her options are. Should we agree to it?” They took a few seconds to