CHAPTER 30: NEW YORK CITY

"Did you really only need seventeen minutes, Julianna?" Piper's voice rings out before I've even crossed a few steps into the hallway. "I thought you'd need all twenty." Laughter follows her words. I take a deep breath, stand tall, and continue down the hall, entering the kitchen.

"Are we all ready?" I inquire, sweeping my hair off my shoulder. Piper's smug smile fades, Kyle stumbles into the pony wall by the front door while wrestling with his shoes, and Mark accidentally sprays beer across Chloe, who recoils with a disgusted exclamation.

"Ew!" Chloe shrieks, jumping up to grab a paper towel from the kitchen. The sudden silence makes me feel like all seven pairs of eyes in the room are locked on me.

"Well, it seems to be effective, huh?" Mark coughs, giving me a thumbs-up when I ask. "Fantastic. Let's give it a whirl at the frat house." Everyone gets up, retrieves their coats and shoes, and starts heading out. Kent, however, doesn't rise immediately. We share a few seconds of mutua