The Chosen One Read Online Free

you’re officially a college student, of course. What did you think I meant?” Fiona’s towering, broad-shouldered frame stepped in front of me, and she bent her head over mine, as if she couldn’t hear little me standing there at five three. “Did you finally pop‌—‌?”
    I cut her off. “No! Of course not!”
    Feet shuffled behind us, and I was absolutely mortified that Maya had overheard Fee asking whether I was still a virgin. How could I explain my countless imaginary conquests?
    Fiona laughed her boisterous laugh, which always reminded me of Teddy Roosevelt, and I half-expected her to belt out, “Dee-lighted!”
    Gray Eyes finally received her savory crepe. It smelled of cheese and ham, and she moved to the back of the shop to sit at a secluded table mostly hidden by a column covered in vintage French movie posters. Thank God for her need for privacy; who knew what calamity would strike next?
    “Your drink.” Pierced-girl half-heartedly motioned to Fee’s latte. We took a seat near the counter. My eyes searched for Maya, but the column kept her out of sight, although obviously not out of mind. What was wrong with me today?
    “So tell me. How was your day?” Fiona asked.
    “Fine,” I muttered, sipping at my lackluster coffee. I hated to admit it, but I was the type who needed coffee with frills or an abundance of flavor‌—‌preferably both.
    Fiona eyed me over her hazelnut latte. “What’s up your bum?”
    “Nothing. Why?” I stared intently at the place where Maya’s head would be, even though all I could see was a poster of Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in Drôle de Frimousse .
    “Because you’re acting like a spoiled brat. What gives?”
    “Guess who’s in my Mass history class?”
    “Roughly forty Massholes.”
    “True. But also the biggest Masshole: Susie Quillian.”
    “Really?” Fee’s voice was operatic. “How is Bottlenose?” Fiona’s nickname for Susie referred to bottlenose dolphins, one of the cutest but deadliest of animals. It wasn’t unusual for them to kill another porpoise just to play with the lifeless body.
    “She accused me of cheating on today’s pop quiz.”
    Fee smiled. “So, just as deadly.” She tapped her cell phone. “Or not. No story about you on her blog today, just another condemnation of Obamacare.”
    “Oh please! Susie wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her in that perfectly round caboose.”
    “Ainsley Carmichael!” Fee slapped the top of the table. “Do you have the hots for Susie Q?” She waggled her strawberry blonde eyebrows and leaned closer. “Scandalous! You two could be like the married Democratic commentator James Carville and Republican consultant Mary Matalin. Grandmother would blow her stack!”
    “What? No. Not a chance in hell!” I sat back in my chair.
    “Methinks the lady doth protest too much. And I wouldn’t fault you. I’d sleep with her.” Fiona waved a hand.
    “Oh my God! Oh my God!” I rubbed my face with a palm. “Must erase that image from my mind!”
    She laughed. “Seriously, what’s bugging you? I don’t believe Susie Q is the source, unless she really does get you all hot and bothered. There’s a first time for everything, my dear cousin.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “Google ‘uptight asexual girl excessively focused on her future political career’ and your pic pops up.”
    “That’s not true.” Fee knew me better than most, but even she didn’t know about the racy lesbian romance novels I devoured nightly.
    “Yeah?” Fiona punched some keys on her phone before handing it over to me.
    Right there on Susie Q’s blog was an article about me titled “The Sexless Ice Princess.”
    “When did she publish this?”
    “Right before your high school graduation.”
    “That bitch! And after the Cassidy situation‌—‌how could she?” I continued to scrutinize Fee’s phone as if I was expecting the truth to magically appear.
    “Please. You aren’t suggesting Susie is rational or