Status: Updated Feb. 14, 2014

Love With a Motive

She's Got the Soul of a Poet and the Fire of a Bullet

I woke up that morning with a billion elephants running around in my stomach. I was completely nervous and excited to talk to Brian about his plans for us. Well, the fake us. I stretched and let out a big yawn.

“Mornin’, sunshine,” Liv said.

I looked over at her and then closed my eyes again briefly. She was already dressed and typing away furiously on her laptop, a look of deep concentration on her face. “Is that the English paper Mr. Johnson assigned yesterday?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed. “I’m almost done with it, too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Over achiever. You know it wouldn’t hurt you to wait, oh, I don’t know, maybe a day to get started on your homework. Besides that paper isn’t due for two weeks!”

“This is just how I roll, K,” she smiled up at me. “Your mom made breakfast and already left for work. She said to tell you to clean your room and to eat something healthy today. Apparently she saw the garbage from last night and thinks you need to start eating fruit or something.”

“Does orange juice count?” I wondered.

Liv shrugged. “It does come from a fruit, so maybe,” she said thoughtfully.

“Orange juice it is then,” I sat up and combed my fingers through my dark, messy hair loosening up the knots. “Did you already eat?”

“Yeah, a few hours ago.”

I frowned slightly as I checked the time on my bedside clock, it was only a little after ten. “I thought you’d been sleeping better recently.”

“I have been. It’s just some nights that I still can’t. Don’t worry, K, this isn’t anything new,” Liv glanced up at me and smiled. “That’s how you get wrinkles,” she laughed.

I shook my head at her but smiled anyway. “So I’ve heard. Alright, I’m gonna go drink some fruit per my mom’s weird request. Be back in a bit,” I left my room humming softly.

Liv nodded absently, her attention already back on her English paper. Sometimes, I envied her dedication to school and wish I could be the same, then again, I did have a great system working for me and didn’t want to mess it up. I passed my brother’s room and saw Matt snoring on the bed and Brian sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. He looked so adorable when he was sleeping. Even though I wanted to watch Brian sleeping a bit longer, I left before either Matt or Brian could wake up and catch me being a creeper. That would be humiliating and after last night, my ego couldn’t afford to take another hit so soon.

I skipped into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge to get the orange juice. I looked around for bit contemplating what I wanted to eat and popped off the top and took a drink straight from the bottle before pouring some juice into a glass.

“Totally saw that.”

I squeaked and twirled around to face a smiling Brian. I had no idea how I didn’t hear him coming into the room. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to sneak up on people like that? What are you, a ninja? And I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said as I recapped the juice and put it back in the fridge.

“Right, so about this whole me and you thing,” Brian started.

“Yeah?”

He bit his lip nervously. “It will work right?”

Brian looked like a lost puppy and I did my best not to say aww. “Yeah,” I said positively. “Any girl would have to be crazy to turn you down, Brian. You’re a really great guy and any girl would be lucky to have you.” Sincerity colored my voice.

Brian arched an eyebrow at me as he stared at me suspiciously. “Was that a compliment, Sanders?”

I felt my cheeks heating up and turned away from Brian’s knowing smirk. “Shut up. I am capable of being nice.”

“Well that wasn’t very nice,” he pouted at me.

“You’re ridiculous,” I laughed.

“Yeah, ridiculously hot,” Brian smiled. “Come on, we both know you think I’m hot.”

Yes, yes, you are. “Please,” I said aloud, doing my best to remain aloof. “You wish I thought you were hot.”

Brian sighed softly, a smile playing in the corners of his lips. He walked toward me and backed me up against the counter, his arms trapping me in place as he leaned toward me. He was standing so close to me, I could feel the heat from his body and smell the faint scent of his cologne. I tried not to get lost in his eyes as he stared down at me.

“One day, Kara, mark my words, you’ll tell me that you think I’m the hottest guy you’ve ever seen,” he said softly.

“Don’t hold your breath, Haner,” I scoffed and bit my lips to keep from smiling too big. Was Brian actually flirting with me just now? No, don’t get your hopes up, Kara, he likes Lindsay, remember? I sighed and turned away from the brown-eyed boy and drank some more of my juice.

I looked up to see Brian’s eyes narrowed on my face. “You okay?” He asked quietly.

“Peachy,” I nodded and moved away from him. “Fruit?” I asked and held my glass of orange juice up.

Brian chuckled. “Maybe later. I’m more in the mood for a burger, wanna come to Nicky’s with me? We can talk about our strategy to get Lindsay to fall for me.”

My smile was tight. “Sure, let me go tell Liv to distract Matt.”

Brian’s eyebrows quirked together quickly. “Why? It’s not like they’re gonna miss us. As soon as they figure out they’re alone, they’ll be all over each other,” he snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

I grimaced. “You’re gonna make me lose my appetite.”

“Still not used to them going out, huh?” He laughed.

“It’s not that,” my nose wrinkled at the mental image Brian’s words sparked. “I just don’t like thinking about my brother and best friend...’all over each other’. It’s gross,” my nose wrinkled again.

Brian laughed loudly. “You see, Kara, when two people love each other very much, they like to express their love in a physical fashion.”

I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks flush and knew I was blushing furiously. “Stop!” I cried and covered my ears. “La la la la la,” I chanted. “I can’t hear you!”

Brian tapped my hands trying to catch his breath, his was laughing so hard his face was red and he was doubled over clutching at his stomach. “Sorry,” he chuckled. “Your face was priceless.”

“What’s going on in here?” Liv asked, her questioning gaze flickered between my red face and Brian who was just standing there smirking widely, emitting a few chuckles every now and again.

“Nothing,” Brian answered innocently. “Just explaining the birds and the bees to Kara here,” he put his arm around my shoulder and let out a small laugh.

“Should I leave before you bust out the banana and condom?” Liv asked with a smirk.

“Olivia!” I groaned as I felt my face flush with a million shades of red. “Not cool.” Brian and Liv laughed while I covered my face with my hands. “Are you guys done embarrassing me now?”

I took their silence as their word to keep their mouths shut. “Okay, we’ll be at Nicky’s if you need us, Liv. Tell Matt when the beast wakes up, will you?”

“No problem,” Liv nodded. “See you guys later.”

“Bye,” I grabbed Brian’s hand and pulled him out of the kitchen before he or Liv could find another thing to say to embarrass me further.

Brian and I got into his black Jetta and he drove us to Nicky’s, the radio was on some classic rock station and Brian was humming and tapping his long fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. I was trying my best not to say anything stupid so I ended up being too quiet.

“I was just messing with you earlier,” Brian glanced over at me and I had trouble looking away from his eyes. “You know that right?”

I couldn’t help but drown in Brian’s brown eyes. I’d never noticed before just how pretty his eyes were and it was a moment before I could tear my gaze away from him and answer his question. “Yeah and I’m sure once the humiliation of an attempted sex talk dies down, I’ll find the humor in the situation,” I winked. “Don’t worry about it.”

He smiled over at me. “Okay then. So, why are you so quiet this morning? Usually you’re talking so much the trick is to get you to shut up.”

“I think I’m offended,” my eyes narrowed playfully. “Are you trying to say that you find me overly verbose?”

“Uh, ‘verbose’? You’ve been hanging out with Liv way too much, K,” he smirked.

I crossed my arms. “She bought me a word a day calendar to help me with the SATs.”

Brian just chuckled.

I sighed softly and turned my gaze back out the window. Millions of thoughts were running through my mind making it hard to focus on one thought long enough to make sense of it. I wasn’t this quiet, shy girl. I was loud and slightly annoying okay, a lot annoying, but Liv always said it was part of my charm.

There was just something about Brian that made it hard for me to relax and breathe and act like a somewhat normal person whenever I was around him. To make matters worse, Brian and I were alone together for pretty much the first time ever.

I’d been spending a lot of time with him lately but that was because Matt was dating Liv now, but they were usually our buffers. Things never got awkward between Brian and I when Matt and Liv were around, even if Matt and Liv were wrapped up in each other for most of the time. They were at least there to keep the awkward tension at bay.

The awkward tension on my part at least. Brian never seemed to be awkward or embarrassed to be hanging out with his best friend’s baby sister. He never made me feel as though I was wasting his time or getting on his nerves. Brian’s treating me like an actual person instead of Matt’s baby sister only made me like him all the more; which made me even more nervous around him.

“I know what it is!” Brian yelled suddenly.

I jumped in my seat and clutched at my throat, my pulse was racing beneath my fingertips. “What the hell are you shouting about?”

Brian tossed a grin at me that made him look as though he was just told that he and the guys would be touring with Metallica this summer.

“I know why you’re so quiet. You’re nervous about pretending to be my girlfriend because I’m Matt’s friend and you don’t see me that way. It’s cool, I get it. It’s a little strange for me too, and if you wanna back out of this it’s fine—”

“No, that’s not it,” I shook my head. “I think I’m just really hungry is all. I mean, I drank fruit for breakfast and it didn’t really fill me up.”

Brian arched a brow at me. “Even after all that junk food last night?”

“Empty calories,” I shrugged. “I need to eat something that has substance. I’m still a growing girl, you know.”

Brian grinned widely. “Good, I’d hate for you to back out before this even started,” he pulled into the parking lot at Nicky’s. “Thanks for agreeing to this, K,” his hand reached out for mine. “I owe you one.”

I bit my lip to keep from squealing at the tingles Brian’s light touch shot up my arm and sent racing through the rest of my body from my head all the way down to my toes. It took me a moment to get enough control over myself before I could respond. “No problem,” my smile was small but internally, I was grinning like a love struck fool.

Brian removed his hand from mine and I held back a mournful sigh from the loss of contact.

“Let’s go,” he said and got out of the car.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before following after him. I could do this, I told myself. I could do this, no problem. It’s only Brian, only the guy that I have a huge crush on, my brother’s best friend who I’m helping land the girl of his dreams by pretending to be his girlfriend, no big deal. I mentally slapped myself. Hard.

No big deal?

What am I? Crazy?

I’m doomed.

Brian held the door open for me and put his hand on the small of my back and led me to an empty booth. I concentrated in my steps instead of his barely there touch. Relax, K, I told myself. Just breathe.

“So what do you feel like having?” Brian asked as he sat across from me in the booth. “You are a growing girl after all,” he smirked.

I couldn’t help the smile that took over my lips. Brian was just too attractive when he smirked. The way his chocolate eyes sparkled made my heart race in my chest and made it hard for me to concentrate on what was going on around me.

“Kara?” Brian called.

“Oh!” I snapped out of my dream bubble and felt my cheeks flood with color. “Um,” I bit my lip. “Think it’s too early for a burger?”

Brian’s eyebrows shot up. “We’re at Nicky’s, is it ever too early or late for a burger?” He chuckled.

A few minutes later, Brian and I were graced with the presence of Nicky himself. Unlike popular opinion of what an owner of a greasy burger joint and diner should look like — grey haired and slightly balding with a large protruding belly, wearing a stained once white wife beater and faded jeans that had seen better days — Nicky was a young forty something with thick blonde hair, a charming wide smile and grey eyes that always seemed to shine with laughter. Frankly, Nicky was a great looking guy who treated everyone who ate at his diner like family and was loved by everyone.

“What can I get you, kids?” Nicky asked his ever present notepad in hand ready to jot down our order.

I opened my mouth to speak but Brian beat me to the punch.

“Lovebird Special,” he answered smoothly and shot me a grin.

Nicky nodded, pen flying over paper. “What kind of shake?”

“Strawberry,” Brian answered again, his voice was confident, sure. “It’s Kara’s favorite.”

Nicky smiled at us. “Coming up,” he said with another smile before leaving to attend to some other customers.

“I love it when you take charge and order for me, honey,” my smile was sickly sweet. “But why the Lovebird Special?”

“Well, we want people to think we’re a legit couple, right?” He smirked and his eyes twinkled. “Gotta pull out all the stops for my girl.”

I grinned and let my dark hair shield my face as my cheeks flushed with color again. I was sure that my cheeks were at least tomato red by now. “I suppose.”

“So,” Brian started. “There’s a party tonight and I think we should go. Lindsay is supposed to be there and I figure it’ll be a perfect way to start this whole thing.”

It’s a business deal, I reminded myself grimly, only business. “Where’s this party gonna be?” I asked as I frayed my napkin unto tiny pieces on the table. I kept my face blank. Lindsay Perkins. Brian was interested in Lindsay Perkins?!

Lindsay was on the student council, got straight A’s and liked to go horseback riding. I couldn’t see why Brian would be interested in her; they were just so different. Not that she was a complete robot, I mean, I talked with her a few times since school started; she was one of the few people who didn’t hate Liv when she broke up with Tyler Vaughn at homecoming. So that made her a little cool, but still, I had no idea that Brian would be interested in a girl like her.

“Eric Matthews’s place.”

“He’s Cory’s older brother right?”

Brian nodded. “Yeah, their parents are out of town for the weekend. Should be a lot of fun, what do you say?”

“Okay,” I smiled. “Let’s go.” After a few moments I looked back over at Brian. “Have you talked to Lindsay lately?”

“Yeah, I shot her a little bit of the Haner charm a couple of days ago. That’s how I knew she’ll be at the party.”

“I don’t get it,” I said as I dropped what was left of my napkin onto the table. “Why go through this whole fake girlfriend scheme? Why not just ask Lindsay out and see if she says yes?”

Brian looked at me as though I was the missing the obvious. “Girls want what they can’t have. If I’m unobtainable, Lindsay will want to go out with me even more than if I was single.”

I blanched at the blunt explanation. “You’re such a guy. How do you know Lindsay won’t say yes if you ask her? She could say yes you know. I mean, you’re a great guy, Brian; any girl would love to go out with you. You’re smart, funny, crazy talented—”

“And incredibly, incredibly attractive,” Brian put in with another smirk; this one looked almost lazy, like he was so confident of his appeal to the opposite sex.

I looked away before Brian could see how much I agreed with what he said. “You’re not horrible to look at,” I conceded with a smile.

“Hear that, Nicky?” Brian asked. “My girl thinks I’m smokin’.”

“Whatever you say, kid,” Nicky said with an easy smile and placed our food down in front of us with practiced ease.

“Thanks, Nicky,” I said popping a curly fry into my mouth from the large basket that I was meant to share with Brian.

“Have fun, kids,” Nicky left me and Brian alone to eat our early lunch.

The Lovebird Special consisted of a large basket of curly fries, two heart shaped burgers with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and bacon on the side. The only thing missing were the onions, because who wants to kiss anyone that has onion breath? And a huge strawberry shake with two straws to share.

“So, is there some guy you like?” Brian asked as he assembled his burger. “I mean since we’re trying to make Lindsay jealous, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone and make him jealous too that way we both come out of this arrangement with someone to date.”

I looked down at my burger as I answered. “Yeah, there’s a guy, but he’s interested in someone else,” I shrugged. “Thanks for offering though.”

Brian’s smile was soft, understanding. “I’m sorry, K, but hey, this guy must be an idiot if he doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”

My smile only lifted one corner of my mouth. “You have no idea.” I grabbed the cherries out of the shake and licked the whip cream off of them before eating them.

Brian moved so that he was now sitting next to me, his jean clad thigh rubbed lightly against my bare one and I tried not to squirm in my seat. Of all the days to wear shorts, I sighed internally. Every time Brian moved slightly, his leg would rub against mine and made tingles shoot through my body. Sometimes I thought he knew what he was doing to me and moved against me on purpose.

“So,” I tried my best to keep my voice steady as Brian’s leg rubbed mine again. “Are we just dating occasionally or are we an official couple?”

Brian finished chewing on his fry before he answered me. “I guess just dating,” he scratched his chin. “Yeah, dating. That way Lindsay won’t think I cheat on my girlfriends if I manage to hook up with her tonight.”

I did my best to keep my smile in place as I felt my heart throb achingly in my chest, spreading the hurt through me with each beat.”Yeah, good thinking, we wouldn’t want that.”

“Thanks for being so cool with this, Kara.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” I kept my eyes on the rest of my burger not feeling the slightest bit hungry anymore.

“So, since we’re talking about a fake relationship, has Matt heard anything about Tiffany lately?” Brian asked curiously.

I nodded. “She used to send him letters every day telling him about her undying love for him but they quickly turned to death threats against Liv when he didn’t write her back.”

“Oh,” Brian’s eyes flashed with understanding. “That’s probably why Liv didn’t want to help me out then, huh?”

“Probably. Why did you want her help though? I mean, after that happened after homecoming, the whole school knows she and Matt are together. No way would Lindsay believe that there was anything between you and Liv.”

Brian shrugged. “I guess because she helped Matt,” he frowned. “Why didn’t I hear about the death threats before now?”

I held my hands up in defense. “Don’t ask me, I only found out about it a month after it happened. You know how Matt and Liv, while I love them both, are still in that honeymoon phase where all they can think about is each other. If I didn’t think it was so damn cute, I’d strangle them both.”

Brian chuckled. “So, what does this mean for Tiffany?”

“Liv told me that she can no longer send or receive mail and she has therapy sessions five days a week to get a hold of her obsession on Matt and aggression toward Liv.”

Brian only nodded and after we were done eating, he dropped me back off at home and hugged me goodbye. There was a purple Post It note stuck to my bedroom door from Liv.

Hey, K.

Matt and I went to my house
to work on the car.
Text you later.

<3 Liv


I sighed and flopped down on my bed and sent Liv a text.

There’s a party at Eric Matthews’s house tonight.
You’re going with me.
I’m not taking no for an answer.


My phone didn’t buzz so I tossed it aside and figured Liv was too busy with Matt “working on the car” to check her texts. The last time Liv said she and Matt were working on the car I ended up walking on in them. Matt had Liv pressed up against the side of the car, her legs were wrapped around his waist and they were making out like the fate of the world depended on him shoving his tongue into her mouth. Needless to say, I learned a very valuable lesson that day: always knock. Always.

Since my best friend was busy as the moment, I raided my closet on my own, tossing aside anything that didn’t seem right for tonight. I didn’t want Brian to see me as Matt’s little sister tonight. No, tonight, I wanted him to look at me like he’d never had before.

I stacked a few items on my bed knowing that Liv would let me borrow anything else of hers and started thinking about how I should style my hair.

*****


Liv picked me up at a quarter to six and before I could go out to her car, Matt stopped me in the kitchen. Brian had told him what was going on and I had to listen to a ten minute lecture about why this was such a bad idea. I finally managed to shut him up when I asked, “Oh, so it was okay for my friend to help you out in a similar situation but I can’t help your friend?”

Matt didn’t have much to say after that.

Liv and I spent a couple of hours in her room getting ready for the party. She asked me what Brian and I were planning on doing and I let her know. I also let her know that Brian offered to make himself jealous with the whole fake relationship thing; she thought it was funny.

“How’d you do it?” I asked as she curled my hair.

“Do what?”

“Pretend to be Matt’s girlfriend when you liked him?”

Liv sighed. “It was hard. Sometimes, Matt would do or say something sweet or kiss me and I forgot the whole thing was fake,” she smiled. “Sometimes it sucked but I made him a promise and I didn’t want to let him down just because, at the time, he didn’t like me back.”

“Was that your subtle way of reminding me to stick to my word to help Brian?”

“No, because I know you don’t need me to tell you what you already know.”

“Do you think Brian’s right? About girls only wanting guys they can’t have, I mean,” I twirled my already curly hair.

“I don’t know. I think some girls and guys, for that matter, do. Depends on the person, I guess,” she said as she finished with my hair.

I didn’t think I wanted Brian simply because I couldn’t have him. Brian was amazing and funny, and he was always fun to joke around with. Sure, the fact that he was my brother’s friend was a bit of an obstacle but a manageable one once Matt got used to the idea of me dating his friend. It was the least he could do for me after dating my best friend. Then there was the way Brian smiled and my brain got fuzzy and my pulsed quickened. No other guy had been able to turn me to complete mush the way Brian could.

I looked down at my deep red halter top and short black skirt, Liv let me borrow her dark grey ankle boots that had a short heel that made me only a couple of inches taller. Maybe after tonight, Brian would see me as someone more than just his best friend’s sister.

“If Matt saw you right now, he’d never let you out of the house,” Liv smiled at me.

“You should talk, your dress is shorter than my skirt,” I retorted.

Liv looked down at her lacy coral dress and laughed. “It’s not that short, besides, Matt’s not my brother.”

I laughed.

“You should be happy I’m dressed this way.”

“Why would that make me happy?”

“I’ll be able to keep Matt distracted so you and Brian can do whatever it is you’re going to do tonight.”

I laughed again. “You have an excellent point, my friend. Let’s get going.”

Liv and I left and she drove us to Eric Matthews’s house. The radio was blaring some pop song and Liv and I were singing along and butchering it on purpose mostly because the song was so overplayed and we both found it incredibly annoying. The closer we got to the party the more the nervous knots in my stomach made themselves known.

Brian’s game plan for tonight was just to “play it by ear”. I didn’t see how that was much of a plan but this was his thing and I was just along for the ride.

Liv reached over and turned down the radio before giving me a look full of understanding.

“Don’t worry, K, I’ll be there and so will Matt. Say the word and we’ll get you out of there like that,” she snapped her fingers together.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right. I can do this.” I didn’t let Liv in on my little plan to make Brian see me differently tonight only because I know she’d only warn me against it. Tonight, I didn’t want her concern, lectures or warnings. I also didn’t want to admit out loud or to myself that she could possibly be right in the end.

When we got to Eric’s, the party was in full swing. A lot of upperclassmen were there from our school and a lot of people that I didn’t recognize were there also. Liv and I managed to move through the swarming bodies on the make shift dance floor in the living room and talked with a few people from school.

I was looking out for Brian and Lindsay and let Liv lead me through the house in search of a corner of the house that wasn’t packed to the rafters with drunk partygoers.

Liv tugged my hand and I stumbled over my feet and bumped into someone.

“Sorry, I wasn’t—”

“Kara! Hey,” Brian said as he steadied me. He shot me a smile and nodded toward Liv in greeting. “Ready to do this?” He whispered into my ear.

I gave a nod and smiled as he took my hand. Brian led me out to the living room and positioned us so that we were in full view of Lindsay and her friends. He turned me around and his hands gripped my hips lightly and he started moving our bodies to the music.

“You look nice tonight, Kara. I almost didn’t recognize you,” Brian said as we swayed together.

I smiled at his compliment. “Thanks, you clean up nicely yourself.”

Brian had dressed in all black and no one should have a right to look as good as he did tonight. His black shirt made his eyes look darker and his smirk seemed almost devilishly wicked. I was having a hard time keeping my breathing under control and Brian’s warm hands on my waist weren’t helping at all.

After a couple more songs, Brian and I took a break to go get a drink. When I’d been standing by myself for longer than Brian said he’d be gone, I looked around for him. He was technically my non date and I wanted to know where he’d gotten off to; there was nothing wrong with that. At least that’s what I was told myself.

In my gut, I knew his plan to make Lindsay jealous worked and they were probably making out somewhere in the house. Trying to steel my nerves so that when I saw them my heart wouldn’t break in my chest, I took a deep breath and prepared myself to see them at any moment, limbs wrapped around each other and mouths busy.

I ran into Jimmy and Zacky and talked to them for a bit before looking for Brian, truthfully I was stalling for time, hoping that Brian would find me first and that he’d be alone. After making two unsuccessful rounds on the first floor without seeing a sign of Lindsay or Brian, I knew there was only one other place they could be: upstairs.

Unable to find it in myself to actually want to catch them in a room upstairs tangled in the sheets, I found Liv and told her I wanted to leave. She didn’t ask me any of the questions that I saw in her eyes and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I knew she wouldn’t ask me when Matt was around either and I was thankful for once to have Matt around so I wouldn’t be left alone with my best friend.

I caught her looking at me with a frown in the rearview mirror so many times I lost count as she was driving me and Matt home. I could just hear her voice in my head, ”Don’t jump to any conclusions just yet, K. We don’t know what happened so just try to keep positive.”

I was positive alright. I was positive that Brian and Lindsay hooked up tonight and I didn’t need to hear it from Brian or anyone else to confirm it for me.

As soon as Liv stopped her car, I was out in a flash and nearly ran into my house and up the stairs to my room. I locked the door behind me and launched myself onto my bed hoping that neither Liv nor Matt noticed the mascara running down my cheeks.

I buried my head into my pillow as the tears continued to flow. The last thing I needed right now was for Matt to hear me crying and ask why I was so upset.

I was stupid to think that I could compete with Lindsay freaking Perkins. She was pretty much perfect, nice and downright gorgeous with her light blonde hair and blue eyes to top it all off. And I was just me; plain old Kara, Matt’s baby sister.

I don’t know what I was thinking earlier when I was getting ready at Liv’s before the party, there was no way Brian would ever be interested in me. It was so stupid to think that he could fall for me the same way Matt fell for Liv.

Tomorrow is going to suck even worse than tonight if Brian calls and tells me that he and Lindsay hit it off. But she’s not dumb, Lindsay will see Brian for the amazingly sweet guy that he is and they’ll end up falling in love and I’ll have a front row seat and get see it all up close and personal.

That thought just made me feel even grimmer and I tried to shut my brain off before I could torture myself further with thoughts of Brindsay.

With unwanted thoughts of Brian and Lindsay floating through my mind, I fell into a restless sleep.
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Title credit: The Audition - Love With a Motive