It rang five times before his rumpled sandy blond hair appeared on screen. He was one of the basketball players at UW I’d helped survive the first day of freshman orientation when girls kept asking him why he was so tall.
Literally, that was their pick-up line.
I told him the only way to get through that day was to pretend to be my boyfriend so I could scare them off.
Worked like a charm.
And I inherited a gorgeous, tatted-up athlete who actually kept it in his pants and liked my mom’s lasagna more than he liked me.
Boys.
“Why?” was all he said when he answered. Not hey, or what’s up, how’s Korea? You alive? Just… why?
I smiled.
“Oh, hell.” He wiped his hands down his bronzed face. “I hate that smile. I nearly went to prison because of that smile.”
“He exaggerates.” I waved him off with a nervous laugh.
“No.” Kevin’s green eyes narrowed in despair. “He. Does. Not.”
“So, we need your help,” I said quickly before he hung up. When he paused, I added, “You owe me. Remember?”
Ah, I had missed it when his face paled like that.
Think I had a Polaroid of it somewhere in my suitcase—you know, for moments I needed cheering up.
This was going to be great.
I just knew it.
Finally, I had a chance to help them, a real chance.
Chapter Fourteen
Incognito… kind of
Grace
“Do you even know what time it is?” Kevin’s arms were still crossed. “You’re calling me at 3 a.m.!”
I shrugged. “Sorry, failed math.” I grinned. “Hey, you been working out?”
“You were a TA for math, but sure, yeah, okay.” He groaned into his hands, ignoring my compliment. “What do you need, and what’s this about a favor? I distinctly remember—”
“Oh good, so you do remember the time I saved your goldfish from certain death, broke up with three girlfriends because you were too chickenshit to do it yourself, went to your nana’s two-day-long birthday party, and bailed you out of jail…” He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, I announced, “Thrice.”
“Thrice isn’t a word.”
“It is…” Rae chimed in. “Actually.”
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you with so many guys?” It was as if he was doing the calculations in his head and getting more panicked by the second. “Should I call the police? Should I be worried? Oh hell, are you a sugar baby now?”
“Kevin!” I was turning this into my personal Home Alone movie, wasn’t I? “No, I’m working, as you know, in Korea, these are the guys from—”
“Holy. Shit.” Kevin jerked the phone closer. “Are you working with SWT?”
Just deflect! “Yup, okay, so what we need from you—”
“Anything!” he shouted.
Next to me, Rae did a whole-body flinch.
“Whatever you need,” Kevin said. ”Holy shit! Hey, can I get an autograph for my girlfriend? She’s a huge fan, and you know it would be really cool.” He moved on his bed, and the light from his phone flashed on the wall directly behind him and lit upon an SWT poster.
“Are you twelve?” I shook my head. “I mean really…”
Kevin slowly looked over his shoulder then back at us. “That’s not mine.”
“Whatever you say.” I grinned. “I’m sure the nonexistent girlfriend hung it then. So, will you help us?”
He stared long and hard, then finally said, “Avengers, assemble.”
“That’s the spirit!” I clapped while the guys behind me seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “So, long story short, Lucas over there, the guy with the red hair that looks nearly too beautiful to be real—and don’t worry, he can’t understand me, so it’s fine to comment on his godlike beauty—was assaulted by a fan here, and it caused a huge scandal. I was thinking if we could at least pinpoint who that person was, we could possibly get an apology since they have no clue who I am. It’s a long shot, but you never know.”
Kevin was already typing furiously across his keyboard. When had he even gotten his laptop? Did he sleep with it or something?
“Cool, I just need any information you have.”
“Already emailed to you.”
He paused. “You know me too well.”
“That’s why we’re friends.” I winked.
“And why I could never date you, no offense.” He winked right back.
Rae cleared his throat interrupting our minor flirtation. “Do you think you can actually do it?”
Kevin paused and looked up. “Bro, I have every three-letter agency in the States begging me to work for them. This is nothing. Let me just break into— Oops! So yeah, that was probably illegal. Don’t worry, I’ll leave your names out of it.”
“At least I know why he went to jail before,” Jay said under his breath.
I laughed. “He lives dangerously.”
“Via his laptop,” Rae mumbled.
“Heard that.” Kevin kept typing. “Okay, I have an address.”
“What?” Rae and I asked in unison.
Rae got closer to the laptop, nearly gripping it. “That fast?”
“Like I said, I’m a pro.” Kevin flashed his gorgeous smile and cracked his knuckles. “Looks like your person lives in downtown Seoul, in Paradise Apartments. Smart girl deleted her footprint enough for me to have to dig a bit, but the address is correct. Oh, and…” He tapped on the computer again. “She’s alone and back online again with a different identity. Damn, she just won’t quit.”