A Good Candidate

** Harper **

Chelsea appeared to have frozen for a moment. The taco in her hand hung still, and she stared at Harper as if the words that just came out of her mouth made completely no sense.

"You … what?" she asked at last. "Is this a hypothetical situation or … some kind of a real guy?"

"… Um, real, of course?" Harper hadn't expected that reaction. "How would a hypothetical situation help with my writing dilemma?"

Chelsea continued to look thoughtful as she finished the rest of her taco. Then her eyes widened in sudden realization. "Holy shit. This is about that Eli guy, isn't it?"

"…" Right, this was the problem with having best friends — they know you so well that you really can't keep a single secret from them, because it was simply too easy to guess it from the smallest signs. "I didn't say that." Harper gave it a feeble attempt to talk around the truth.